Lynxar's Searching Heart (Lynxar Series - the Vampire King, Book 7)
Author: Melissa F. Hart
Date: 2013-09-22 00:00:00+00:00
Description: Lynxar is happily settled with his wife Dr. Rachel Deering and their daughter Lynxiennia, until a new heart surgeon at his wife’s hospital raises his suspicions. Dr. Archer Speedlight is more than he seems, and it’s up to Lynxar to determine if he intends to use his supernatural powers for good or for evil. Follow Lynxar through this steamy and sexy novel as he seeks to learn the truth and keep the citizens of Colossal City safe.
Publisher: MFH Ink Publishing

Lynxar Series- The Vampire King: Books 7-13 (7-Book Bundle)

Copyright © 2013 by Melissa F. Hart. All rights reserved worldwide.

No part of this book may be replicated, redistributed, or given away in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, without the prior written consent of the author/publisher.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

http://www.melissafhart.com/

Books in the series

Lynxar's searching Heart - Volume 7

Dreams of the Heart - Volume 8

Heartfelt Farewells - Volume 9

Strength of the Heart - Volume 10

The Heart of Danger - Volume 11

Deceptions of the Heart - Volume 12

A Heart for Family - Volume 13

Synopsis

Book Seven: Lynxar's searching Heart

Lynxar is happily settled with his wife Dr. Rachel Deering and their daughter Lynxiennia, until a new heart surgeon at his wife’s hospital raises his suspicions.  Dr. Archer Speedlight is more than he seems, and it’s up to Lynxar to determine if he intends to use his supernatural powers for good or for evil.  Follow Lynxar through this steamy and sexy novel as he seeks to learn the truth and keep the citizens of Colossal City safe.

Book Eight: Dreams of the Heart

Lynxar’s realization that heart surgeon Dr. Archer Speedlight isn’t from Earth, causes him to have strange dreams warning him of impending danger.  When he finds his dreams could lead to a real-life nightmare happening in Colossal City, he must form an alliance with a new super-hero in order to stop an old enemy.  Join Lynxar on the hot and sexy journey as he battles to save the Earth.

Book Nine: Heartfelt Farewells

Lynxar, Archer, and the rest of the Alliance of Hero Friends are on the brink of an epic battle to capture the evil vampire Prince Vlorian before he can unleash a new reign of terror on the people of Colossal City.  It is a dangerous task that leaves their spouses concerned for their safety and inspires them all to make love in case it might be their last chance.  At least one of these heroes doesn’t return from the battle; find out who in this steamy adventure

Book Ten: Strength of the Heart

Lynxar and the others join Archer on a quest to save his girlfriend, the beautiful Dawn Bright.   In the course of things, they make a surprising new ally and learn that their enemy, the evil Lord Vladimus, has joined forces with a new friend of his own, the powerful witch Etherial.  It’s an adventure full of sexy passion and exciting dangers, as the heroes discover if they have the heart to overcome heartless enemies.

Book Eleven: The Heart of Danger

Lynxar, Archer , and their friends are walking right into the heart of danger in this sexy adventure full of passion and peril.   The vampires, led by Lord Vladimus, are preparing a portal that could mean the end for the citizens of Colossal City.  Our heroes have no choice but to try and stop him, even though they know it will cost one of their lives to do it.

Book Twelve: Deceptions of the Heart

It’s been a year since Lynxar and the others defeated the vampires, and the members of the Alliance of Hero Friends are looking forward to the wedding of Archer Speedlight to Dawn Bright.  It’s been a peaceful time of healing and new developments for them all, but everything is not as it seems.  A dark evil from their past has found a way to impersonate anyone he chooses, with disastrous consequences.  Adventure, danger, sex, and love all abound in this exciting tale where everyone could be anyone.

Book Thirteen: A Heart for Family

Things look bad for Lynxar and the members of the Alliance of Hero Friends, as Lord Vladimus has captured them all, except Archer and Dawn, whose wedding bells may turn into funeral bells by the books end.  When the evil vampire learns that the heroes’ daughters are at a nearby school, it puts their lives in immediate danger.  An epic battle of good versus evil will determine the fate of all.   Exciting action and passionate sex scenes will keep you eager to turn the page in this thrilling book where the lives of the heroes’ families hang in the balance.

Table of Contents

Lynxar’s Searching Heart

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Dreams of the Heart

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Heartfelt Farewells

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Strength of the Heart

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

The Heart of Danger

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Deceptions of the Heart

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

A Heart for Family

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Lynxar’s Searching Heart

Chapter One

Dr. Rachel Deering groaned as the alarm clock buzzed on her nightstand.  She turned it off with a slap of her palm, then rolled over to snuggle the person lying next to her.  It was the warm body of her husband Lynxar, and her frown turned into a smile as she rested her cheek against his muscular chest and felt him put his arm lovingly around her shoulder.  Even after six years of marriage, they were still wildly in love with each other and she still couldn’t believe how lucky she was to be his wife.  It was as if she had made a wish on a star and he had fallen to Earth to make all her dreams come true.

Rachel giggled to herself at the analogy, for Lynxar had indeed “fallen to Earth” when his space ship had accidentally crashed here and he became stranded as an alien on a strange planet.  He saved her from being kidnapped that night and in return, she helped him to contact his home planet and repair his space ship.  Neither one of them had ever imagined that they’d fall deeply in love, but that’s exactly what had happened as they worked in close proximity to each other, day after day, risking their lives  and getting to know each other intimately.  It seemed like it had all happened yesterday, and yet here they were, approaching their seventh wedding anniversary and raising their five year-old daughter together, Lynxiennia.

Lynxiennia was the jewel of both their lives.  Smart and cheerful, they couldn’t have asked for a sweeter, more loving child.    She had her mother’s blonde hair and fair skin, and the deep violet eyes of her father.  They had both expected that she might inherit some of her father’s supernatural powers since she was half alien, but so far, there hadn’t been any evidence of that.  It filled Rachel with mixed emotions; part of her was disappointed that Lynxiennia was denied the gift of Lynxar’s abilities, and part of her was relieved that their daughter would be able to live a “normal” life.

“I know exactly what you mean.  I feel the same way.” Lynxar said aloud, and Rachel was startled from her thoughts.  She lifted her head to glare at him in mock reproach.

“You aren’t supposed to read my mind, remember?” she said with a wag of her finger, but there was laughter in her voice and her eyes sparkled merrily.

“I know, but I can’t always help it.”  Lynxar said sheepishly.

“You can’t fool me.” Rachel said playfully.  “You were reading my mind to check and see if I might be in the mood for sex before work!”

Lynxar pretended to look shocked and cried out, “Now you’re reading my mind!”

Rachel laughed at the joke.  They both knew that she couldn’t really read his mind.  Only Lynxar possessed the ability to do that, in addition to having superior speed, strength, and the telekinetic power to move things with his mind.  These were abilities that all the people from his home planet of Flonar possessed.

Rachel sat up in bed and straddled Lynxar at his waist as he lay flat on his back, looking up at her with adoring eyes.  Teasingly, she peered down at him and said, “How does it feel to have someone reading your mind like that?”

“I think I rather like it.” Lynxar grinned.  “Tell me, what other secret abilities do you have?”

“Well, for starters, I can do this.” Rachel bent down and kissed Lynxar on the lips, welcoming his tongue with her mouth.  She kissed her way down his muscular torso, playfully running her fingers through his chest hair, and delighting in the feel of his firm, hard abs.  When she came to his pelvis, she found his organ was already rigid and eager for her.  She took great pleasure in licking him and up and down there, as he groaned in absolute ecstasy under the feel of her lips and tongue.

“That’s a pretty amazing power!” Lynxar groaned with ecstasy as he grinned widely.

“Yes.  Can you beat it, or am I more powerful than you?” Rachel challenged with that gleeful giggle that he always found so sexy.

“That’s a hard act to beat, but I’ll try.” Lynxar said, eager to accept her challenge.  With the powers of his mind, he lifted Rachel into the air and gently lay her down in the middle of their soft bed.  He stripped away her silky pink nightgown and matching panties, and then proceeded to make love to every inch of her body with his hands, fingers, lips, and tongue.  Rachel writhed on the bed, moaning and gasping as he brought her to orgasm with just these simple actions.

Just as she was winding down from her climax, he used the powers of his mind to pull her body up to his waist.  His organ was still throbbing with desire and he entered with a single, solid thrust, sliding deeply into her hot, wet folds.  Rather than thrusting within her, he used his telekinetic abilities to move her body instead, powerfully sliding her over the length of his manhood, causing her to climax for a second time.

“Read my mind now!” Rachel cried out, as every muscle in her body pulsed with the pleasure of her orgasm.  “Open your mind to my thoughts.  I want you to feel what the pleasure you’re giving me!”

Lynxar followed his wife’s instructions and let his mind read her thoughts and feelings.  It connected him to the raw ecstasy of her climax, and allowed his brain to feel the incredible waves of pleasure she was feeling as if he were experiencing the orgasm himself.  The sensation was too much for him and he climaxed along with her, spilling his seed deep within her as he thrust with powerful excitement.

The waves of pleasure from his own climax combined with the waves of pleasure he felt from reading Rachel’s mind.  It gave Lynxar what he could only describe as a “double-orgasm.”  With the power of his mind, he sent the incredible feeling back to Rachel, so she could sense it too.  She cried out loudly, gripping the silk sheets of their bed as her body convulsed with a pleasure more amazing than words could even describe.

“Wow!” she sighed contentedly, as they lay tangled in each other’s arms afterward.  Their hearts were both still pounding and their bodies were glistening with a thin layer of sweat, but they were both smiling widely. Rachel kissed her husband on the lips and said “I think you definitely won that round.  Your powers are way better than mine.”

Kissing her back, Lynxar said, “It may seem that way, but you’re the one who drives me so wild with passion that I’m able to do all that.  So, in all actuality, you are the one with the greatest power.  That makes you the clear winner.”

“Let’s agree to call it a tie.” Rachel said, and they kissed each other in agreement.  Suddenly, Rachel looked at the clock and sprang from the bed.  “Is that the time?  We’ve got to hurry!  I’ve got to be to the hospital on time today.  I’m presenting my latest research to the new cardiac surgeon, so I can’t be late!  That means you have to take Lynxiennia to school today.”

“What?” Lynxar pretended to look upset, but Rachel knew how much he loved taking care of their daughter.  Teasingly, he said “How did I get stuck on grade-school-duty?”

“I guess you’re just lucky.” Rachel said.

“I sure am.” Lynxar agreed wholeheartedly.

He joined Rachel for a quick shower and then the two of them got dressed as quickly as they could.  For Lynxar, it was a matter of seconds, as his superhuman speed allowed him to perform tasks within the blink of an eye.  By the time Rachel had finished buttoning her blouse; her husband had already dressed himself and was feeding their daughter breakfast.

“Hi Mommy!” Lynxiennia cried out happily from the kitchen table when Rachel finally entered the room.  “Daddy made me a bowl of cereal and packed my lunch faster than I could count to ten!”

“That’s because he’s a super hero.” Rachel smiled at her daughter and kissed her on top of her blonde head.

“That’s what I told all the kids at school.  I told them that my daddy could do anything a hundred times better than any other daddy on Earth.  My teacher Miss Wilson said I shouldn’t brag, but it’s not bragging if it’s the truth!”

Rachel looked at Lynxar and he didn’t even have to read her mind to know what she was thinking.  It was a problem they both knew they’d have to face when they decided to raise their daughter on Earth instead of taking her back to his home planet of Flonar.

Lynxar sat next to his daughter with his own bowl of corn flakes in his hand and said “It’s true that I have powers humans don’t have, but I use them to do good things and help people.  I don’t use them to show off or make other people feel bad.  When you brag like that, it could hurt people’s feelings.”

“I don’t understand.” Lynxiennia frowned.  Her innocent young face looked confused.  She was a good girl who cared about other people, but it was tough being the only child with a father who was an actual super hero.  It was harder still for Rachel and Lynxar, because they had no one else to give them advice as they tried to raise the first half-human/half-alien child in all of Colossal City, and probably the world.

“I’ll try and explain better this afternoon when I pick you up from school.  For right now, we don’t want to be late.  Tie your shoes and put your lunch in your backpack and I’ll take you to school.”

“Can I ride on your back and have you run there at super-speed?” Lynxiennia asked with such a hopeful look in her eyes that Lynxar couldn’t resist.

“Yes.” Lynxar said Lynxiennia clapped her hands with joy.  Then he looked at his wife lovingly and said, “What about you, doctor?  Would you like me to carry you to the hospital today so you’re not late for work?”

“I would say ‘no thank you’, since as we’re trying to teach our daughter how to live like normal people, but something made me delayed this morning and I really can’t be late, so I’ll say ‘yes’ just this once.”

She arched her eyebrows mischievously as she referenced their sexual encounter that morning and Lynxar winked at her playfully.  Then, using his super strength, he lifted both his favorite ladies into his arms and ran with super speed to deliver them to their destinations.

Chapter Two

Dr. Rachel Deering walked through the doors of Hillman Research Hospital, Colossal City’s largest medical facility.  She pulled a white lab coat over her green-colored blouse and black pleated skirt.  The color of the blouse, which had been a gift from Lynxar, matched her eyes perfectly.  She swept her long blonde hair back into a ponytail and turned to face the doctor approaching her along with the hospital’s Chief Director.

“Rachel, there you are!” the Chief said amiably.  “I want to introduce you to Dr. Archer Speedlight.  He’s going to be the hospitals new cardiac surgeon.  The man is a genius; an absolute genius!   Dr. Speedlight, this is Dr. Deering.  She is the most gifted research scientist I’ve ever met and once she shows you the breakthrough she’s made in surgical equipment, I’m sure you’ll agree.  Between your skill as a surgeon and her new invention, this hospital is going to become famous overnight!  The patients will be pouring in for miles!”

Rachel ignored the Chief’s embarrassing boasting and extended her hand to the new surgeon.  He was quite handsome, with thick blond hair and piercing blue eyes, almost like an angel’s.  He wore a suit under his lab coat, but through it all, Rachel could tell he had an athletic build.  He moved with a sinewy grace that could only come from having highly-toned muscles or having spent years practicing a sport.

When their hands met, she felt a spark of electricity pass between them and her eyes flew open in pleasant surprise.  When she looked into his eyes, she felt an immediate sense of trust.

“I’m pleased to meet you, Dr. Deering.” He said in a deep yet friendly voice.

“I’m glad to meet you too Dr. Speedlight, but please call me Rachel.” She said, feeling herself blush slightly, like a school girl with a crush.

“Only if you call me Archer.” He said charmingly.  “Now, please show me this surgical equipment I’ve heard so much about.  I’m eager to see if it’s as incredible as I’ve heard.”

“Well, I hope it doesn’t disappoint.” Rachel said and led him to her lab to show him her invention.  They spent the entire day together as she taught him how to use it and mentored him as he practiced with it.

“I must say, your reputation is well-deserved.  Your invention is truly groundbreaking.” Archer said as they walked down the hospital corridor together on their way to the coffee lounge.  They’d been working for hours and needed a break.

“Thank you.” Rachel said.   “I can’t wait to see it in action in an actual surgery.”

“Stand back!” Archer suddenly threw his arm out to block Rachel from stepping around the corner into the next corridor.  Seconds later a gurney went rolling past, pushed quickly by two running paramedics.  If she had taken one more step, she’d have been run over by them.

“Wow!  I’m lucky you knew they were coming.” Rachel said with relief, then turned to face Archer, saying, “It’s like you could see through that wall.”

Ignoring her comment, Archer watched as the paramedics loaded the gurney onto the elevator at the end of the hall, and the doors closed behind them.  He said, “That man needs immediate heart surgery.  This could be just the patient to test out your invention on.  I’ll tell the Chief I want to perform the operation. Would you like to watch?”

“Yes!” Rachel said, her eyes beaming.   As she watched Archer scrub his hands in preparation for the surgery, she began to feel guilty.  She said to him, “Don’t use my invention if it’s not necessary for the operation. I didn’t mean to put pressure on you to use it if you don’t think it’s the right time.”

“Don’t worry; I’m not the kind of doctor who caters to outside influences like that.  I do what I know is right for the people I’m trying to save.  In this case, I think your invention is going to be the right tool for the job.”

“How can you tell?  You haven’t even examined the patient yet.” Rachel marveled.

Archer hesitated for a moment, then said lamely, “Oh, I’ve seen him before and I’m familiar with his chart.”

“Okay.” Rachel said just to ease his mind, but it seemed odd to her that he could know so much so fast.  She went to the observation room where she could watch him perform the surgery from a bird’s eye view.  It was incredible.  He moved with such speed and agility, she wondered how many years he must have practiced to have gotten so good.  He could see things no other surgeon would have been able to detect with their bare eyes and repaired them in record time.  Seeing her new invention in his hands used with such expertise and fluid of motion made her heart swell with pride and brought tears of joy to her eyes.  She fluttered her eyelashes, trying to keep her tears from spilling over onto her cheeks, but it was no use.  Embarrassed by her unprofessional display of emotion, she dabbed at her eyes with the sleeve of her lab coat and left out the back door of the hospital before anyone could see her.

Chapter Three

“You should have seen him!  He was like an angel, the way he saved that man’s life!” Rachel gushed for the hundredth time that evening.   “He really was amazing.”

Everyone at the dinner table groaned and sighed with mock annoyance.  Rachel and Lynxar were having a dinner party with their friends; a sort of unofficial league of super heroes and their spouses.  There was Lynxonna (a woman from Flonar) and her husband Mike McIntyre, who was the mayor of Colossal City; and there was billionaire Bryan Hillman (known as “the Ghost” for his ability to turn invisible) and his wife Vicky Campbell, who was a news anchor.  Over the years, the six of them had all become really close friends and even in times of peace enjoyed getting together socially.

Rachel held up her hands in a position of surrender.  Teasingly, she said “I know, I’ve been going on about Dr. Speedlight too much this evening.  I’m sorry, I just can’t help it.  You should have seen the speed and agility he had in diagnosing patients.  It was like he could see directly inside them without even using equipment.  He really was…”

“AMAZING” everyone at the table said in unison and Rachel couldn’t help but laugh at herself.

“Okay, I get the hint.  No more talk about Dr. Speedlight or work of any kind.  I think I’d better go into the kitchen and get dessert ready.”  Rachel said, and excused herself from the table to hide her embarrassment.

“I’ve got to commend you, Lynxar,” Mike McIntyre complimented his friend as he slapped him jovially on the shoulder.  “In the past, you would have been wild with jealousy to hear your wife talking about another man like that.  You’ve come a long way!”

“Thanks.  I’m glad to hear you say that.  Now, what can you find out about him for me?” Lynxar said, speaking to the Mayor in a low voice and looking over his shoulder to make sure Rachel couldn’t overhear.

“What do you mean?” Mike asked, feeling taken aback.  “I don’t work in the hospital.”

“But you do have access to police records and the hospital’s surveillance videos! What can you find out?”

“You can’t ask my husband to abuse his position of authority like that.” Lynxonna glared at Lynxar with her lavender eyes and gave Mike a supportive squeeze on the knee.  Because she and Lynxar both came from the planet Flonar, she wasn’t intimidated by his abilities and had never been afraid to argue with him.  Plus, they had a friendship that went way back before either of them had come to live on Earth.

Lynxar knew better than to debate with Lynxonna and turned to Bryan Hillman instead.  He said to him excitedly, “What about you?  You funded the hospital; doesn’t that give you access to the personnel files?”

Bryan shook his head and said, “Sorry, it doesn’t work that way.  Just because I donate money to keep the hospital running doesn’t mean I can just ransack the employee’s files.”

Lynxar wasn’t ready to give up though, and said to Bryan, “Can you use your powers of invisibility to follow him around the hospital?”

Bryan stood up from the table and said “Forget it!  You’re acting crazy!  None of us are going to spy on some heart surgeon for you just because you get jealous of him seeing your wife!”

Lynxar’s face grew calm and he urged his friend to please sit down.  He said, “This isn’t jealousy.  I know Rachel loves me and would never cheat on me.  This is something else.  Haven’t you heard everything she’s been saying about this guy?  I get the feeling he’s no ordinary doctor and I want to know if I’m right.  If he is what I think he is, all of Colossal City might be in danger!”

Lynxar could read his friends minds and knew that they had all had their own suspicions about the doctor as Rachel had been telling her stories about him, only he was the first one willing to say it aloud.  Slowly, each of them admitted that it did sound like he might have superhuman powers, and as the protectors of Colossal City, they had a responsibility to find out for sure.    Quietly, they formed a plan.

“Hey!  Look who woke up from bedtime just in time for dessert.” Rachel said as suddenly she came from the kitchen carrying a big chocolate cake in one hand, and little Lynxiennia’s hand in the other.

“There’s the two most beautiful girls in the world.” Lynxar smiled, and reached out to take his daughter’s hand from her mother’s.  Then he said to Rachel, “We’re sorry we were teasing you before.  I’d like to meet this new co-worker of yours.  He sounds like an interesting guy.”

“I’m pleased to hear you sounding so mature.” Rachel grinned, as she passed out slices of cake.  Looking at his little girl, Lynxar was more determined than ever to make sure that Colossal City was a safe place to live.

The following morning after they dropped their daughter off at school, Lynxar took Rachel to work where he had her introduce him to the famous Dr. Archer Speedlight.  The two men seemed to shake hands for an extraordinarily long period of time, as if analyzing each other.

“How long have you been in town?” Lynxar asked Archer, still gripping his hand firmly.

“Not long.” Archer said cryptically, but with a charming smile.

“I see.” Lynxar said, refusing to release his grip.  “Where did you live before?”

“Oh, I’ve lived just about everywhere.  If you’ll excuse me, I have patients to see.”

“Certainly.” Lynxar said, and finally released his handshake.

As Archer left the room, Rachel turned to look at Lynxar with a happy expression on her face. She said cheerily, “Isn’t he nice?  There’s something about him I just really like.”

She kissed Lynxar goodbye and left to go work in her office, never realizing that Bryan Hillman, as the Ghost, stood invisibly next to her husband.

“So that’s the guy you want me to follow?” The Ghost whispered in Lynxar’s ear.

“Yeah, that’s him.  I tried to read his mind as we were shaking hands and I couldn’t sense a thing.” Lynxar whispered back.

“Well, that’s good, right?” The Ghost asked, hopefully.  “It means you didn’t sense any evil or treacherous thoughts.”

Lynxar shook his head grimly and said, “It means I didn’t sense anything; good or bad.  Who else but a super natural being could block my mind reading powers?  He’s definitely not from around here and he’s definitely up to something.  We’ve got to find out what it is before it’s too late.  Follow him and see what you can learn about him.  I’ll meet with the others and see what they’ve been able to find out.  We’ll get together at my house tonight at eight o’clock.”

The Ghost nodded his head, forgetting that Lynxar couldn’t see his expression, and headed toward Archer’s office.  All day, he kept himself invisible and followed Archer around the hospital.  The more he watched the cardiac surgeon, the more he knew that Lynxar was right about him.  Whenever Archer was around other people, he was very careful to behave normally, but whenever he thought he was alone, he displayed powers that no normal human being could possibly have.

Archer always used the stairs instead of the elevator, traveling up and down the floors of the hospital with a speed the Ghost could barely keep up with.  He displayed incredible strength, moving boxes, equipment, and even a 250 pound man entirely with just one hand.  Most incredible of all, he seemed to have the special power to see things that no one else could possibly see.  It went beyond seeing through walls or great distances.  The Ghost began to suspect that Archer could even see things at a cellular or even microscopic level.  He guessed correctly that was how Archer was able to diagnose and heal patients without the use of hospital equipment.

“He really is amazing!” the Ghost said to himself, marveling that Rachel’s adjective was really the best way to describe the man. He’d already helped more patients in just one day than most doctors could in a week.

A look at the clock in Archer’s office made the Ghost realize that the day was almost over.  Soon, Archer would be going home for the day, and it would be time for him to turn from the Ghost back into Bryan Hillman and meet his friends at Lynxar’s house to tell them everything he had learned.  He only hoped Rachel wouldn’t be too mad that he had been secretly spying on her friend all day.

The thing he wanted to tell them about the most was the strange things in Archer’s office.   He had plenty of time to study the pictures, books, and knick-knacks that covered the doctor’s shelves during the day, and found some of them to be even more disturbing than his secret abilities.

The pictures didn’t concern him too much, as they just looked like very old black-and-white photographs, presumably of Archer’s great-grandparents.  The knick-knacks were a bit stranger; crystals, an ancient-looking dagger, and jagged pieces of wood.  The books, however, were what the Ghost found most concerning of all.  The topics were on a variety of subjects, including coffins, vampires, graveyards, and unsolved murders.  Most concerning of all was a map of Colossal City, where the doctor seemed to be marking off locations one by one.  Clearly he was searching for something; the question was, what?

The Ghost felt relieved as he saw Archer put away the last of his patient files and grab his jacket, preparing to leave for the night.  It had been a long day for both of them, and the Ghost was eager to tell Lynxar and the others about all the things he had learned during his spying.  He slipped silently through the open door, leaving nothing more than a breeze as he went.

No sooner had he gone, than a young woman came into Archer’s office.  She looked to be in her early twenties, with light brown hair that fell in loose curls to her shoulders and bright blue eyes full of worry.

“Sorry to disturb you, Doctor,” she said gently.  “I was wondering if I could have just a moment of your time.”

“Actually, I was just leaving for the day, but I would be happy to talk to you tomorrow.” Archer said.

“I have a daughter who is very ill.  They tell me her condition is inoperable, but then I heard that you might be able to help her.” the young woman said in a tearful voice.  Archer looked at her then, and suddenly his eyes fell on a crystal pendant necklace the woman wore.  He stared at it long and hard, it was as if he were mesmerized by it.  His face went pale and he reached out his hand slowly, as if he were going to grab it right off her neck.

The young woman put her hand up protectively over the crystal pendant and Archer awoke from his trance.  He fumbled awkwardly with his files for a moment, but quickly regained his composure.  With a smile he said, “I’d be more than happy to see if I can help your daughter.  Take me to her.”

Archer put his arm around the young woman’s shoulders and guided her outside his office.  It appeared that his searching was finally over.

Chapter Four

Dawn Bright waited anxiously in the hospital waiting room while her young daughter, Aurora, was being operated on by the brilliant cardiac surgeon, Dr. Archer Speedlight.  Dawn had just about given up hope, as every doctor she’d seen told her that Aurora’s condition was inoperable, when another parent she knew from Aurora’s school, Dr. Rachel Deering, told her about a surgeon who could perform miracles.  It was almost too much to hope for, but Dawn couldn’t let her daughter die, so she bravely went to Hillman Research Hospital, found the famous surgeon, and asked for his help.  To her overwhelming joy, he said that he thought he could save her.   Now, all she could do was wait while he worked his magic on the operating table.

Suddenly, Dr. Speedlight emerged from the operating room.  Dawn felt her breath catch in her throat and could feel her heart pounding and then she saw the smile spread across his face and instantly a huge weight was lifted from her chest.

“The surgery was a success.” Archer said and Dawn leapt into his arms and hugged him while tears of joy streaked down her cheeks.  “Your daughter is going to be just fine.  They’ve moved her into a recovery room.  Come with me; I’ll take you to her.”

Archer placed a comforting arm around Dawn’s shoulder and led her down the hall to her daughter’s room.  Aurora lay sleeping peacefully on a bed, already looking healthier.  Her curly hair was the same light brown shade as her mother’s and it was easy to see that when she grew up she would possess her same beauty.  Her eyes were closed and her chest moved up and down in the rhythmic pattern of deep sleep.

“When will she wake up?” Dawn asked, sitting on a chair by her bedside and delicately caressing her hand.

“Oh, it will take a few hours.” Archer explained.  “Why don’t you go home and rest?  I’ll call you when she wakes up.”

Dawn shook her head. “No, I’ll just wait here.  I have no reason to go home; Aurora is all I have in this world.”

Archer nodded his head in understanding.  “My shift here is over.  I’ll wait with you and keep you company.”

“Thank you.  I didn’t want to be alone.” Dawn smiled.  She patted the seat next to her, inviting the handsome doctor to sit beside her.  As the long hours passed, waiting for Aurora to wake up, they talked about their lives.  She didn’t know why, but for some reason Dawn felt like she could really trust Archer and wanted to tell him her story.  She explained how she had gotten married when she was barely eighteen, and how her husband had died in a terrible car accident when Aurora was just a baby.  Ever since then, she’d been struggling to raise her daughter entirely on her own.  At times it was difficult and scary, and she often wondered what would happen to Aurora if anything ever happened to her.

Her hand rose to the crystal pendant on a gold chain around her neck, and she fondled it with her fingers.  Archer said, “That’s a beautiful necklace.  Was it a gift from your husband?”

Dawn shook her head and smiled.  “No, it’s an old family heirloom from my great-grandmother.  It’s been passed down between the women of my family for three hundred years, with each woman eventually giving it to her daughter.”

Archer leaned very close, staring at the crystal with an intensity that Dawn had never seen before.  He said in a soft, low voice, “I know.  I’ve been searching for this crystal and you for a long time.  I see you aren’t even aware of the power that it holds, but I will teach you.  At last, both our destinies will be fulfilled.”

Terrified by his words, Dawn knew she had to escape.  She grabbed the fire extinguisher off a nearby wall and sprayed it right in Archer’s face, blinding him.  Then, as quickly as she could, she picked up Aurora into her arms and ran.

Archer wiped the fire retardant out of his stinging eyes, groaning in pain.  It took a moment for his vision to clear, and then he was able to easily see through the walls of hospital until he spotted Dawn.  She was running down the back exit into the alley behind the hospital, still holding her daughter in her arms.  He then saw something else in the alley and he knew he had to act quickly.  With his superior speed, Archer ran down the stairs and cut her off in the alleyway.

“Stop!” he cried out and Dawn froze in her tracks.  The look of fear in her eyes was combined with a serious determination to protect her daughter.  Archer held his hands out in a friendly gesture, trying to show he wasn’t a threat to her.  He said, “I’m sorry I frightened you.  I’m not here to harm you.  The crystal holds great power and I was entrusted to be your guardian and protect you from those who would steal it.”

“Too bad you’re too late.” Another voice cried out and Dawn looked to see a terrifying figure emerge from the shadows of the alley.  He was incredibly tall, with a muscular build, red eyes, and skin that was white as death.  He had jagged pointy teeth and a look so evil that Dawn instinctively stepped away from him.

Archer held out his hands, and suddenly a bow and arrow appeared in his grip, as if out of thin air.  They shimmered as if made out of pure energy or light, and yet were solid and sturdy as metal.  He aimed the weapon directly at the terrifying figure.   He yelled out “Vlorian!  Step away from the girl and go back to the Vampire World from which you came!”

The evil man held up his hands and a shield appeared in one and a sword in the other.  They were both made of a strange black metal that Dawn had never seen before.  He said “I am Prince Vlorian to you; my father was the king, Lord Vladimus, before your people imprisoned him!  I care nothing about the girl!  I only want the crystal so that I can set my father free and he can take his rightful place as ruler.  Then we will enslave the race of humans and drink their blood!”

Vlorian lunged at Dawn and Archer quickly fired an arrow at him.  It was deflected by the shield, but when it struck the metal, Dawn saw that it was no ordinary arrow.  It exploded in a flash of light, as if it had been made of pure energy.  The blast shook the ground beneath Dawn’s feet and Aurora fell from her arms.  The little girl awoke as her body hit the ground.

“Mommy!  What’s happening?” Aurora cried out.  Her young face filled with confusion and fear.

Vlorian recovered from the blast quickly and lunged at Archer, swinging his sword with all his might and deflecting arrows as Archer fired repeatedly at him.  They both moved with such incredible speed, Dawn could hardly see their movements.

“Come to me, baby!  We’ve got to get away from here!” Dawn called to her daughter.  Aurora ran toward her mother’s arms, but Vlorian was faster.  With his superhuman speed, he scooped up the child and held his sword to her throat.

“Give me the crystal pendant or I will kill her!” he cried menacingly.

Archer had an arrow ready to launch from his bow and trained the point right at Vlorian, but he dared not fire.  He couldn’t risk the vampire prince killing the innocent child.  He looked at Dawn and nodded at her.

With trembling hands, Dawn removed the necklace from her neck and held the ancient crystal pendant out toward Prince Vlorian.  “Take it!” she cried.

Vlorian reached out his hand to snatch his prize.  It was the moment Archer had been waiting for.  He launched his arrow and it pierced the vampire right through the hand.  He dropped his weapons and let go of the girl as he screamed out in pain and gripped his wounded arm.

Archer then fired arrow after arrow into the ground, surrounding Vlorian in a circle of exploding energy.  The light from the arrow was blinding and Dawn had to shield her eyes as she took Aurora into her arms and held her close.

Prince Vlorian cried out in agony as the light surrounded him; he swirled his cape protectively around his body and suddenly vanished into thin air.

Chapter Five

“I think she’s finally fallen back to sleep.” Dawn Bright said with a sigh of relief as she exited her daughter’s bedroom.  Dr. Archer Speedlight stood in the living room of her small apartment, keeping a protective vigil.  He still gripped his bow in his left hand and his quiver of energy arrows was slung over his shoulder, although he no longer held one ready to launch.  He smiled reassuringly at Dawn and relaxed his stance even more.

“You should get some sleep too.” Archer said gently.  “Prince Vlorian will not be back tonight.  Even if he tried, I will protect you.  My species does not need sleep.  I can keep watch all night long.  You will both be safe; I promise.”

“I don’t think I could sleep after all that’s happened tonight.” Dawn said, sitting on her couch with a heavy frown.  She looked at Archer and said “Who are you?  What’s going on?”

Archer paced the room, trying to think of the best way to explain.  Finally, he decided the only way to handle the situation was just to be completely honest.  He sat on the couch beside her and told her everything.

“Hundreds of years ago, an evil race of vampires led by Lord Vladimus rose to power in the universe.  He would conquer a planet, enslave all the inhabitants, and allow his hordes of vampires to drink their blood.    The people of the planet Flonar tried to fight him, but they were losing the battle.  My people discovered that our planet, Mathias, produced crystals that could be used to hold the light of sun.  We developed a coffin that could be used to capture Lord Vladimus and gave it to the people of Flonar as a gift.   They were able to defeat the vampire and lock him inside of it—he lies in there still to this day.

The coffin can only be opened with a certain crystal key.  To protect the key, the people of Flonar asked my people to hide it by giving it to someone on another planet so they knew the vampires would never find it.  That was three hundred years ago.  Since then, the women of that family line have passed the crystal key from generation to generation, not even aware what it was.  Their innocence and purity kept it safe and hidden from those who would seek to free Lord Vladimus.”

“My great-grandmother’s crystal pendant?  I never knew!” Dawn whispered, looking at the precious family heirloom with even more awe than she had before.  After a moment, she looked at Archer and said, “So what is your connection to the crystal?  Why did you protect me tonight?”

Archer said, “The people of Flonar decided they needed to hire a guardian to protect the crystal.  His identity needed to be secret even from the people of Flonar, so that he could not be sabotaged or corrupted.  I was the one chosen for that task and for three hundred years I have done just that, secretly guarding and protecting the women of your family.”

“So why haven’t I met you before?” Dawn asked, her eyes bright.

Archer frowned with humiliation and said, “The women of your family have always been bright and perceptive.  Your grandmother figured out that she was being followed by me and devised a very clever plan.  She was able to change her name and went into hiding when she was pregnant with your mother.  It took me twenty years to find her, and by then she had already instructed your mother to change her name and go into hiding as well.  I have been searching for her and then for you, ever since.  I heard word that one of Lord Vladimus’ followers had placed a curse on your offspring, and that she would die without surgery.  I knew Prince Vlorian would be able to use that illness to discover your location.   I became a doctor, hoping I could fine you before he did and cure her.  I’m so glad I found you in time.”

“Me too.” Dawn said, with a look of gratitude in her sparkling eyes.

Dawn and Archer stayed up talking for hours.  The more she got to know him, the more she liked him.  He was intelligent, sensitive, dedicated, and brave.  More than that, she correctly guessed that he was in love with her.

As they sat on the couch, side-by-side, with their feet propped up on her coffee table, he confided to her.  “I know we just met today, but I felt like I’ve known you for a lot longer.  I’ve watched over your relatives for three hundred years, and I’ve studied everything I could about you during my search to find you.  I read the essays you wrote when you were a school girl and the diary you left behind at your mother’s house when you got married.”

“You did?” Dawn was embarrassed, but a little flattered too that he would go through so much trouble to find her.  “I wrote some pretty personal stuff in that old diary.”

“It was beautiful, and so are you.” Archer said.  Unable to help himself, he leaned forward and gently kissed her on the lips.  They tasted soft and sweet, just like he knew they would.

Dawn drew back and blushed.   It was first time a man had kissed her since her husband died nearly five years ago.  She had always felt uncomfortable with the idea of kissing another man, but with Archer, it didn’t feel wrong or awkward.  It felt perfectly right.  She leaned in and kissed him again.  He reached up and caressed her hair and she opened her mouth to him, wrapping her arms around him as he held her.  Their kiss grew stronger and more passionate as they embraced each other and she could feel her heartbeat quicken.

“Sorry.” Archer apologized, pulling away from her reluctantly as they both struggled to catch their breath.  “I’ve wanted to kiss you since I first saw you.”

“It’s okay.” Dawn assured him.  “I wanted you to.  In fact, I want even more.”  They kissed again, clinging to each other with a passion neither of them had ever felt before.   Dawn whispered, “Take off my clothes.  I want to share myself with you.”

Tenderly and slowly, Archer peeled away the clothes from her body, exposing her tan skin inch by inch.  Her breasts heaved with excitement as he removed her bra, and her rosy pink nipples puckered in the cool night air.  She cupped her breasts in her hands, holding them up to him like an offering and said softly, “Kiss me here.”

Willingly, Archer tenderly took her left nipple into his mouth, kissing and suckling her hard nub and flicking it his tongue.  It had been so long since Dawn had felt any kind of sexual excitement; she had forgotten how good it could feel.  She gasped sharply at the sensation, and then sighed happily.  She grabbed his head and pushed him deeply into her bosom, never wanting him to stop, as he went from her left breast to her right, licking and sucking.

“Come with me to the bedroom,” she whispered between gasps of pleasure and he nodded his consent.  She grabbed him by the hand and led him into her bedroom and locked the door.  He had already removed her dress and bra, so all she had left on was a pair of silk panties.  Slowly, she stepped out of them and lay on her bed.  She said, “Make love to me, Archer.  I want you.”

Archer gazed longingly at her luscious, naked body.  She was tan and voluptuous.  He desperately wanted to make love to her, but he wasn’t sure if he should.  Seeing his hesitation, Dawn guided him to lie beside her on the bed and slowly undressed him just as he had done for her.  She kissed his muscular body, just as he had done to her, letting her lips work their way down his torso, to his groin.  When her lips kissed his most sensitive organ, he drew a sharp breath of pleasure, and she felt every muscle in his body tighten in response.

“I know you want me just as much as I want you.” Dawn whispered gently.  “I’ve never felt this way about a man before.  I think we were brought together by more than the crystal.  I think we were destined to be together.”

Archer nodded in agreement.  “I’ve never felt this way about anybody either.  I love you and I want to make you mine.”

With those words, Dawn straddled Archer’s naked body and slid herself on top of his throbbing organ, enveloping him into her wet folds.  The sheer pleasure of it made them both gasp.  Slowly and deliberately, they began to stroke together, bringing him deeper and deeper into her with every thrust.  As their movements quickened in pace and intensity, so did their breathing and the level of their pleasure.  Never before had either one of them experienced such ecstasy in the act of making love.

“I’m going to climax!” Archer moaned.  He withdrew himself from her to hold off his orgasm, and massaged her with his fingers until his body had cooled off enough to continue.  The movement of his expert fingers brought her climax, and she writhed and moaned on the mattress as he rubbed her folds in just the right way.  As her screams of pleasure came to an end, she smiled up at Archer, feeling utterly happy.  She didn’t think she’d ever feel as alive as she did now and she had Archer to thank for it.

“Now it’s my turn to orgasm.” Archer said.  He bent Dawn’s legs high, toward her shoulders, and drove his organ deeply into her.  He thrust into her with slow, deliberate movements, remembering the pace she liked best and was rewarded by her cries of pleasure.  As he pumped, he used his fingers to delicately massage her outer folds in just the perfect place, and she orgasmed almost immediately under his expert touch.  Feeling her muscles ripple around his organ caused him to ejaculate with a power and a passion more intense than he had ever felt before.  It was amazing, like being thrust into heaven.

When their breathing finally slowed, they both lay collapsed in each other’s arms on her small mattress, smiling contentedly at each other.

“I’m so glad I found you.” Archer whispered as he stroked Dawn’s hair.

“I’m so glad, too.” Dawn said.

Neither of them noticed that the crystal pendant around her neck was glowing, as far away the coffin of Lord Vladimus began to move.

TO BE CONTINUED IN BOOK EIGHT: Dreams of the Heart - Volume 8

Dreams of the Heart

Chapter One

Lynxar said goodbye to his friend Bryan Hillman and went home to his wife Dr. Rachel Deering.  He’d asked Bryan to turn into the Ghost and spy on the new cardiac surgeon, Dr. Archer Speedlight, who worked at Hillman Research Hospital along with Rachel.  The information Bryan had brought back to Lynxar had him more worried than ever.

Usually, Lynxar could use his ability to read people’s thoughts to learn everything he needed to know about someone; but Dr. Speedlight had the ability to block him from his mind.  This alone had Lynxar suspicious about Archer, but everything Bryan had learned about him was even more worrisome.  It seemed the doctor had supernatural powers, including great speed, superior strength, and the ability to see things no human could see.  He could look beyond great distances to see things on the microscopic level.  It’s what made him such a great surgeon.

When Lynxar reached his home, the house was dark and he knew that everyone had already gone to bed for the night.  He walked down the hall to his daughter Lynxiennia’s bedroom and peeked in on her.  At only five years old, she looked so small and helpless sleeping in her bed with her doll tucked under one arm.  Lynxar knew he would do anything to protect her

Rachel was already asleep as he climbed quietly into bed beside her, trying not to wake her.  He lay on his pillow for hours, tossing and turning, but it was difficult to sleep with so many thoughts and worries troubling his mind.  When he finally did fall asleep, his dreams were strange and very disturbing.

He saw himself on the jagged hills of Mount Bluerock on his home planet of Flonar.  It was night, and the twin moons glowed orange in the sky.  In the valley below, a war raged between good and evil that had been finished nearly three hundred years ago.

Down in the valley, the soldiers stopped their battle to watch as their two leaders stepped forward to settle the war with a fight to the death. On one side was Lord Vladimus, the dark and evil king of the vampires.  He was extremely tall with a muscular build, red eyes, and skin as white as death.  He drew an enchanted sword from his sheath and held it out, ready to use it to cut his enemy’s throat and drink his blood.   Opposite of him, was the mighty Lynxarione, Captain of the free armies of Flonar, and also Lynxar’s father.  It made Lynxar’s heart swell with pride to see him looking so young and full of life, even though he knew it was just a dream of an event that happened centuries ago.

Lord Vladimus waited for Lynxarione to draw his weapon and laughed with cruel malice when the Captain drew a fragile-looking sword made only of delicate crystal.

“That pitiful weapon is useless against me!” Vladimus sneered.  “I will shatter it into a thousand pieces with one blow of my sword and then you will be defenseless against me.”

“Do your worst, for it will be your own end!” Lynxarione shouted as he held the crystal sword high and it shimmered with magical light.  “This is no ordinary sword!  It is a gift from the people of Mathias; the planet of crystals!”

Vladimus struck at Lynxarione with ferocious power and he defended himself with equal strength.  As their swords clashed, the force of the impact caused the crystal sword to shatter, just as Vladimus had predicted, but then something else happened which the evil vampire had not anticipated.  A blinding light was released from the crystal sword.  It was the pure light of the sun, magically held within the crystal blade, as only the people of Mathias knew how to do.  Vladimus cried out in pain as the light burned him.  He dropped his sword and threw his cape around himself for protection, uttering hateful curses.

“Now!  Quickly, before he recovers!” Lynxarione commanded and his soldiers brought forth a coffin made entirely of Mathias Crystal.

Lynxar watched as his father, along with the help of his best soldiers, pushed Lord Vladimus into the coffin and closed the lid.  It was thrilling to see such an important act of history unfolding before his eyes.  Then his father picked up a crystal shard from the broken sword and with the powers of his mind, molded it into an enchanted key.  It fit into the lock of the coffin perfectly, sealing it shut and bonding the two items together.  No other power or magic could ever open the coffin again and the vampire lord would be locked inside forever, with the crystal key as the only way to break the spell.

The vampire army, having seen their king defeated and imprisoned, fled the planet at once, disappearing back to their own realm in a puff of smoke.  The good people of Flonar were free and they rejoiced.  They marched back to the city, singing songs of victory and cheering loudly.  Everyone, that is, except for a small group of men, who placed the coffin in a cave high on Mount Bluerock, where it stood enshrined as a monument to the war.

As the years passed, however, it became clear that the coffin was in danger.  Followers of Lord Vladimus tried to steal the crystal key from Lynxar’s father in order to set the vampire king free.   Many urged him to entrust the key to a Key Keeper for his own protection, but he was hesitant to do that.

“If I give the key to a keeper to hold, the responsibility of it would weigh heavily upon them, just as it does me,” Lynxar heard his father explain.  “The vampires would be able to sense who held the key and hunt them down.  They would be in just as much danger as I am.”

A soldier said to him, “Then the solution is easy, entrust the key to a keeper, but do not tell them what it is for.  Then the vampires will not be able to find them.”

“A good idea, but impossible.” Lynxarione said.  “Everyone on Flonar knows about the vampire war and how we defeated Vladimus with the crystal coffin.  They would be able to figure out this is the crystal key.  There is only one solution; we must hide it with someone from another planet, where they know nothing of the vampire war or even Flonar itself.  Their own innocence will protect them.”

The soldiers nodded their agreement, but one shook his head in objection.  “We cannot in good conscience endanger an innocent being.  If somehow the vampires do discover their identity, they will be killed.”

“What if we assigned a guardian to protect the keeper of the key?” Lynxarione suggested.

“No.  Then the vampires would be able to sense the guardian.”

“Not if no one on Flonar knows who the guardian is.”

“How is that possible?”

“We have made an alliance with the planet of Mathias.  They are a mighty race of warriors; noble and brave.  They could take the key, entrust it to a being who is innocent of our planet and assign a guardian to watch over them.  We will not know who has the key or who the warrior is who guards them; thus protecting them both.”

“They should go to a little planet I know of that is very far away, called Earth.  It is perfect for what we need.  They know nothing of other planets and have an appearance that is the same as the people of Mathias.  The guardian will be able to live among them easily.  Let us take the key to Mathias now and then have our memories wiped of this meeting, forever.”

Suddenly, Lynxar’s dream changed.  He was back in the cave on Mount Bluerock, but it was no longer the past.   He sensed that somehow he was now in the present, or perhaps even the future.  The coffin was gone and tracks in the dirt showed that it had been dragged away.  With his heart pounding, Lynxar followed the tracks and discovered that they led to a transporter pad.  Unfortunately, there was no way to find where the coffin had been taken to unless he activated the pad and had it transport him to its last destination.

He stood on the pad, took a deep breath and activated it.  He only hoped it didn’t lead to the vampire realm, but when he opened his eyes he saw that the destination was far worse.  He was back on Earth, in Colossal City!  This could only mean one thing; the vampires had discovered where the crystal key was hidden and now the coffin and the key were nearly together again!  All they had to do was put the key in the lock and the people of Colossal City would be enslaved by vampires!  A new reign of evil was about to begin!

Chapter Two

Lynxar sat up in bed.  His heart was pounding and he was dripping with sweat from the horrible nightmare that he had just awoken from.  The clock showed it was only 4:00a.m., but he knew he’d never be able to go back to sleep now.

“What’s wrong?” Rachel asked with concern, as his startled gasp had awakened her too.  She lovingly put her hand on his shoulder and kissed him gently on the lips.  Just feeling her touch had a calming effect on him.   His breathing slowed and he held her hand in his own.

“Nothing.  I just can’t sleep.” He tried to sound casual, but Rachel wasn’t fooled.  She knew her husband too well and could tell that something was bothering him.  She decided to do what she could to help him relax.

Smiling mischievously, she said, “Well since we’re both awake, maybe we should try and think of something we can do to make ourselves tired again.”  She let her hands trace their way down his muscular torso to his groin and gently massaged him there.  Judging by his quick response, she knew her attempts to distract him from his worries had been successful.

“I don’t get tired easily.” Lynxar grinned back at her as he removed her nightgown.  Her naked body aroused him even more and he took her breasts into his hands and began to nuzzle them.

“That’s because you don’t exercise your mind enough.” Rachel teased.  “Try making love to me with just the power of your telekinesis and see if that helps you relax.”

Lynxar grinned, clearly turned on by the idea.  He released her ample breasts from his hands, but Rachel could still feel the sensation of them being fondled and squeezed as Lynxar pleasured her purely with the powers of his mind.

A gasp of pleasure escaped her lips as she felt the sensation of him gently biting her nipples, although he wasn’t even touching her.  Lynxar levitated her into the air and Rachel felt like she was floating on a cloud, as waves of pleasure rolled through her body.  Lynxar stimulated every part of her, until her every nerve was pulsing with ecstasy and she cried out in orgasm.

“Enough mind play; I want to feel you inside me!” Rachel cried out between gasps of pleasure. “The real you!”

Lynxar lowered her from the air and laid her gently on the mattress.  His male organ was throbbing and eager to enter her.  He plunged deeply with one solid thrust, and she nearly climaxed again.  Slowly and deliberately he paced his rhythm, drawing out her pleasure for as long as they both could stand.  Her muscles rippled as she orgasmed yet again, and he groaned loudly in ecstasy as he filled her with his seed. When at last they had both finished, they collapsed side-by-side on the mattress, utterly happy and content.

“Well, it worked.  I’m finally relaxed enough to fall back asleep.” Lynxar grinned, stretching across the bed exaggeratedly, but through his window he saw that the sun was just rising over the horizon.

“Too bad it’s morning now.  Time to get up!” Rachel said and walked into the adjoining bathroom to take a shower.

Lynxar smiled contentedly as he heard her singing under the spray of hot water, thinking how lucky he was to be married to her, but then his thoughts quickly turned to worry again.

What if my dream last night was more than just a nightmare? He thought to himself.  What if it was real?  What if the historical legends are true and that the ancient coffin rumored to imprison the vampire king has been stolen and brought to Earth?  I didn’t have the dream until I met Archer Speedlight.  Clearly he is not human, and clearly he is hiding something.  The Ghost even said that his office was full of books on coffins and murder.  He must be the one the vampires have sent to search for the crystal key and release the vampire king, and I must be the one to stop him!

“What’s with the frown?” Rachel asked as she emerged from the bathroom wearing nothing but a towel.  “You look so serious.”

“Oh, it’s nothing.”  Lynxar said, putting on his clothes in the blink of an eye.  “I need you to take Lynxiennia to school today.  I have some important work to do this morning.”

“No way; it’s your turn to do chauffer duty.” Rachel wagged her finger at him admonishingly.  “I’ve got early morning meetings at the hospital with Dr. Archer Speedlight.  He’s been doing trial surgeries with the new equipment I invented and we need to discuss the results. Colossal City is at peace right now; every villain in the solar system knows it’s protected by you and your little alliance of hero friends.”

“Is that what people are calling us now?” Lynxar asked with surprise and a bit of a blush.

“That’s what Vicky Campbell said on the news.  You and Lynxonna are both friends who knew each other from Flonar.  Then Bryan Hillman joined you as the Ghost with his powers of invisibility, so now they’re calling the three of you an Alliance of Hero Friends, or AHF for short.  Don’t let it go to your head.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t.” Lynxar laughed with amusement, and then quickly became serious again.  “Still, I have to meet with them.  I think the city is under great threat again and I’ve called Lynxonna and the Ghost to come over for an emergency meeting of the AHF.   I really think you should stay home from work today; or at the very least, stay far away from Dr. Speedlight.”

“Are you crazy?” Rachel cried out, and anger burned in her eyes.  “Archer has been fundamental in getting my invention tested.  I’m not going to stay away from him!  This is my career and you can’t tell me how to run it!  I didn’t spend all those years earning my doctorate for nothing!  If you try and stop me from doing my work, I’ll show you what a real threat is!”

Lynxar followed Rachel down the stairs, apologizing all the way.  By the time they got to the front door she’d already forgiven him, but it didn’t change the fact that she was going to keep working with Dr. Archer Speedlight.  She kissed Lynxar goodbye and left for work just as Lynxonna and the Ghost arrived.

One look in his friend Lynxonna’s eyes and Lynxar knew that she had experienced the exact same dream that he had.  That, combined with all the information the Ghost had acquired about Archer the day before had all three of them convinced it was time to take action, before Archer found what he was looking for.

Chapter Three

Dr. Rachel Deering walked happily down the halls of Hillman Research Hospital.  The early morning fight with her husband was already forgotten from her mind.

“Hi Archer!” she greeted pleasantly as she saw him exiting his office and walking toward her in the corridor.  A lovely young woman with blond hair and a sweet smile was with him and a little girl who was about five years old and had her mother’s same blonde hair.

“Hi Rachel.” Archer said, with his usual charming smile.  “I want to introduce you to Dawn Bright and her daughter Aurora.  I used your new surgery equipment in a procedure on Aurora yesterday, and it saved her life.  I was just preparing to run some post-surgery tests to make sure she’s healing correctly.  You’re welcome to join us, if you like.”

“Thank you.  I’m so glad to know my invention helped and I would love to see the results,” Rachel said sincerely.  As they walked down the hall together, she couldn’t help but notice the dazzling crystal pendant that Dawn wore on a chain around her neck. She said to her, “Wow, what a beautiful necklace.”

Dawn blushed and touched her hand to it, almost as if she were trying to cover it up or hide it.  In a soft voice, she said, “Thank you.”

Aurora wasn’t as reserved, and cried out with her childish exuberance, “It’s an old family heirloom, passed from mother to daughter for three hundred years!  One day Mommy will give it to me and I’ll give it to my own daughter, if I have one!”

Anxious to stop Aurora from saying too much, Dawn said to Rachel, “Thanks to you, I’ll still be able to carry on the tradition.   I can’t thank you enough for inventing the tools that allowed Dr. Speedlight to save my daughter.  Tell us more about them.”

Rachel was just about to speak when suddenly the crystal pendant began to glow brightly and they all stopped and stared at it.

“I’ve never seen it do that before!” Dawn gasped in amazement.  Looking at Archer with wide eyes, she said, “What is that supposed to mean?”

Archer’s brow creased into a frown and he suddenly looked alert.  Grabbing Dawn and Aurora by the hand, he started rushing toward the back stairs of the hospital.  “It can only mean one thing; they’re here!  We’ve got to get as far away as possible—fast!”

Totally confused, Rachel ran after them, following them down the stairwell.  Breathless, she cried out, “Wait!  What’s going on?”

The foursome burst out the backdoor into the alley behind the hospital and was instantly surrounded.  Black storm clouds filled the sky, making it dark outside, despite the fact it was daytime.  It made it difficult to see, but they all sensed the figures closing in on them and looked around, trying to see who was out there.

“Don’t move!  We know who you are and we know about the crystal!” a deep male voice shouted from the shadows and Rachel instantly recognized that it was her husband Lynxar. What was he doing here?

Lynxar walked out from the shadows, along with Lynxonna, and they both stood on either side of Archer, surrounding him.  Archer began to glow with a magical light and Rachel realized there was more to him that she first thought.  Perhaps she had better listen to her husband after all.  Slowly, she backed away from Archer, and then she felt a rush of air that she knew meant the invisible form of the Ghost was also with them.  The entire Alliance of Hero Friends had come; this must be serious indeed.

“They know about the crystal!” Dawn Bright said to Archer, as she and her daughter cowered behind him for protection, trembling with fear.

“Stand back, Dawn!  They must be working for the vampires!” Archer shouted.  He held out his hands and instantly a bow appeared and a quiver of arrows.  They shone brightly, as if made out of energy or light, and yet they were solid and sturdy as metal.  With lightening quick reflexes, he put an arrow into place, cocked back the string, and aimed it right at Lynxar’s throat.

Lynxonna charged at Archer in an attempt to defend Lynxar.  She knocked him to the ground and the arrow flew straight up into the air before falling to the earth again.  When it struck the ground, the arrow exploded with a blast of pure light, as if unleashing the power of the sun.

The shadow of a man could be seen in its flash and everyone gasped as they realized the Ghost had been caught in the blast.  He flew back from the concussion of air, but the blinding light preventing anyone from knowing where he had landed.

“Bryan!” Rachel cried out in horror, forgetting to call him the Ghost, but he didn’t answer.  “Bryan!  Are you conscious!  Where are you?”

There was still no response and Lynxar and Lynxonna realized the danger of the situation.  Because the Ghost was invisible when he was hit by the blast, they had no way of knowing where he was in order to give him medical attention.  He could be seriously injured and needing help.  They turned to search for their friend, but quickly saw that Archer had a new arrow in his bow and was aiming it right them.

“My first shot may have missed, but my next arrow won’t!” Archer warned, pointing his arrow directly at Lynxar’s throat once more.  “I won’t let you take the crystal key and unleash Lord Vladimus!  Go back and tell the vampires that you have been defeated or I will kill you both!”

Lynxar and Lynxonna paused their attack and stared at him surprise.  Lynxonna said, “We don’t work for the vampires; you do!”

“I am a guardian, sent here from the planet Mathias to protect the keeper of the key.  I have seen its glow, warning that danger is near.  I know you are here to steal the key and I will defend it to my death!”

“We had a dream warning us that the key had been discovered.   We thought it meant you were here to steal it.  We came here to protect it as well.” Lynxar explained and Archer sensed that he was telling the truth.  Cautiously, he lowered his bow.

Confused, Dawn said, “If they’re not here to steal the key, then who is?”

“We are!” a chorus of voices cried out in unison.  Suddenly, a dozen vampires appeared seemingly out of nowhere and filled the alley.  Archer recognized that one of them was the vampire king’s son, Prince Vlorian.  He commanded his vampires to spread out and grab the key.

“I won’t let you!” Archer said, and fired two arrows in rapid succession.  Each one hit a separate vampire, causing them to disappear in a puff of smoke as the magical light exploded into them.  He wasn’t fast enough; however, for a third vampire was able to grab Dawn Bright.  She struggled in his grip.

Lynxar said to Archer, “You won’t have to fight this battle alone; you have friends!” With his super speed, Lynxar closed the distance to the vampire who was holding Dawn hostage and grabbed the creature by the throat.

“You cannot stop me by strength alone,” the vampire laughed as he kept his grip on Dawn.

Lynxonna found the same to be true of the vampire she had picked up.   Normally, her superhuman strength would have subdued a criminal she had captured, but these unholy monsters seemed utterly unaffected.  She squeezed the vampire by the throat, but he continued to hold young Aurora in his grasp and searched for a place on her neck where he could bite the little girl and drink her blood.

Archer called out to his new allies, “Vampires can only be killed by pure light or by impaling them with silver or wood! They can be weakened by garlic or holy water!  There is no other way to defeat them!”  He fired arrows into the ground directly in front of his friends.  The blinding flash of light caused the vampires they were holding to release their human hostages and cry out in pain.  Dawn and Aurora went running to Rachel’s side, and she guided them to hide with her behind a row of garbage cans.

Lynxar looked desperately for a weapon he could use against this strange enemy, and suddenly inspiration struck.  He sent a message with his mind to Lynxonna and she looked around until she saw what he wanted.

“Ready!” she said to him with a nod.  Together, with the combined powers of their minds, Lynxar and Lynxonna uplifted the long wooden fence that lined the alleyway.  It shattered and split into sharp stakes that Lynxar and Lynxonna sent flying through the air, directly at the vampires.  The dangerous stakes, combined with Archer’s arrows of light, were too much for them.

“Retreat back to the lair of the coffin!” Prince Vlorian cried and disappeared in a puff of smoke.   The remaining vampires huddled together in a circle and prepared to follow him, but they were too late.

“You’re not getting away that easy!” a voice from an invisible source cried out, and suddenly long strands of garlic were wound around the vampires like a rope, weakening them and making them unable to escape. Rachel sighed with relief, as she realized that Bryan as the Ghost wasn’t unconscious or injured after all.  He had merely been hiding in invisible form.  When the fighting broke out, he had run to a nearby restaurant, knowing that they would have ropes of garlic that could weaken the vampires.

Archer banished the vampires to a dimensional prison that his people used to capture vampires, and then turned with a relieved sigh to his new friends.  “Thank you so much for helping me by protecting Dawn and the crystal key.  Prince Vlorian may have escaped, but things could have been a lot worse.  I wouldn’t have been able to defeat so many of his men on my own.”

“Welcome to Colossal City’s Alliance of Hero Friends.” Lynxar said to Archer and the others nodded in agreement.  “It’s not often we gain a new member to our group, but I think you definitely merit the invitation, if you’ll accept it.   You help us protect Colossal City, and we’ll help you protect the crystal key.”

“I accept.” Archer grinned and shook hands with each of them.  The Ghost had to remember to turn himself from being invisible back into Bryan Hillman before Archer could find his hand, making everybody laugh.

“Now that the vampires know who you are, you’ll be in danger.” Lynxar said to Dawn Bright.  “Perhaps you should stay with one of us from now on.”

“It’s okay; I already have a bodyguard.” Dawn said, smiling at Archer.  He took her in his arms and kissed her gently on the lips.  Almost losing her today had made him realize just how much he was in love with her.

Chapter Four

Over the next few days, Lynxar and Archer both shared everything they knew about the crystal coffin, Lord Vladimus, and Prince Vlorian with the other two members of the AHF.

“I suspected that my dream meant the vampires had brought the coffin here to earth,” Lynxar said, “and Prince Vlorian confirmed it with his words.  Where do you suppose he has hidden it?”

“I don’t know.  It would emit a powerful magical aura of energy and light.  I haven’t been able to detect its presence anywhere.”

“Nor have we.” Lynxar said gravely.

“Perhaps you should take Dawn and the crystal key someplace far away, so at least they aren’t in the same place as the coffin.” The Ghost suggested to Archer, but the guardian shook his head.

“Now that they’ve found us, I can’t be certain they wouldn’t just follow us anyplace we tried to go.  We should make our stand against Prince Vlorian here; where at least I know I’ve got friends to help me.”

All members of the AHF agreed and dedicated themselves trying to find the coffin, night and day.  They each used their individual powers to the best of their abilities.  Lynxar had his ability to read peoples thoughts, move things with his mind, and had super speed and strength.  Lynxonna had his same powers, plus her husband was the city’s mayor, which gave her inside access the others didn’t have.   The Ghost could turn invisible and his alter ego, Bryan Hillman, was a billionaire with ample resources at his disposable.  Archer had incredible vision that allowed him see things no one else could see, going beyond distance, to the microscopic level.  Still with all their powers, none of them were able to locate the coffin.  The days turned into weeks, and they all grew frustrated and despaired that they never would.

“Still no luck?” Dawn asked, as Archer came home to their apartment looking defeated and tired.

“No.  I must have searched every inch of this city by now.  Perhaps it’s not even here.  Maybe the vampires have taken it someplace else by now.”

“Maybe.” Dawn said, and put her arms around him consolingly.  “Are you hungry?  Can I fix you some dinner?”

“No thanks.  I’ve lost my appetite.” Archer said, and then noticed the apartment was unusually quiet.  Aurora usually came bounding into his arms, excited to see him and tell him about her day at school.  He’d grown to care for her like his own daughter.  “Where’s Aurora?”

“Oh, she’s having a sleepover at a friend’s house tonight.” Dawn said lightly.

“Is that safe?  She needs to be protected just as much as you do!” Archer was instantly upset and Dawn felt touched by his concern.

Smiling easily at him, she said “Don’t worry.  The friend is Lynxiennia.  Rachel and Lynxar promised to keep a close eye on her.”

“Oh, good.” Archer sighed with relief, and then looked chagrined at Dawn.  He should have known better than to doubt Dawn’s parenting skills.  She was a terrific mother and he knew she’d never do anything that put Aurora in danger.  Making a sexy look, and deepening his voice, Archer said playfully, “So, does that mean we’re alone together?”

“It does.” Dawn said, feeling playful herself.  “You know, Dr. Speedlight. I don’t think we’ve ever been alone together.  What should we do?”

“It’ll be strange not having to wait for Aurora to fall asleep and then locking our door to make sure she doesn’t come in while we’re making love.” Archer thought aloud.

Dawn grinned and said, “Not only that, but we won’t have to keep quiet to avoid waking her up.  We can be as noisy as we want and do it anywhere we want!”

“Oh, really?” Archer said, feeling turned on by the idea.  “So, if I wanted to strip off your clothes right here in the kitchen, I could?”

Dawn nodded her consent and Archer skillfully removed her clothes, kissing his way down her body as he did so until she stood naked before him and her breathing and pulse had quickened.

“You’re not noisy yet.” Archer said with a playful tone.  “Let me see what I can do about that.”

He held out his hand like he always did when summoning his bow and arrow, but this time, he manifested a different object.  Dawn looked to see it was a small vibrator toy.

“I’ve never used one of those!” Dawn blushed.

With a voice that was gentle and patient, Archer asked, “Would you like me to try it on you?  If you don’t like it we can stop, but I have a feeling that you’ll like it lot.”

“Okay.” Dawn said, feeling embarrassed and yet excited at the same time.  She never realized it could be thrilling to try a sex toy; especially with someone she loved.

Archer turned on the toy and it began to vibrate with a low hum.  He touched it to Dawn’s skin and it made her giggle.  Then he moved it slowly to her most sensitive places and she felt waves of intense pleasure roll through her body.

“Oh my!” she cried out loudly.

“Do you want me to stop?” Archer asked with concern.

“No, I want more!” Dawn gasped, crying out in pleasure.  “Touch me with it right there!  Yes!”

Dawn gripped the kitchen table for support, as Archer brought her to orgasm with the toy.  It was the most incredible sensation of her life.  Archer found it sexy and stimulating too, as revealed by his throbbing organ.

“Your turn to climax!” Dawn said, seeing his need and wanting to feel him inside her now more than ever.  She pushed him onto the kitchen table and he lay on top of it.  Then Dawn climbed on top of the table too, straddled his waist and mounted his organ.  A moan of pleasure escaped her mouth as she enveloped him with her sacred folds.  Instinctively, she clasped her hand over her mouth, but then she realized with delight that she didn’t need to keep her voice quiet.  Thrusting wildly on top of him, she cried out loudly in ecstasy as she orgasmed and Archer let his own groans of pleasure join hers as he climaxed with her.

When they had finally finished, they both collapsed on the table top, sighing happily.

“Well, we can’t use this table for dinner ever again.” Archer joked, and Dawn laughed along with him.

“We’ll have to buy a new one.” Dawn said with a grin.

“We’ll need to get all new furniture anyway when we move into our house together.” Archer said and Dawn looked up at him with surprise.

“What are you talking about?” she asked, feeling her heartbeat quicken with happy excitement.  “Are you asking me if I want us to live together?”

“Well, we kind of live together already, here in your apartment.” Archer said, suddenly feeling sheepish.  He swallowed hard, found his courage and continued on.  “What I’m really asking you is; will you marry me?”

“What?”  Dawn gasped, utterly surprised.  She loved Archer deeply, but she had never considered marrying anybody since her husband had died.  She loved everything about Archer, how he made her feel as a woman, and how good he was to Aurora.   She realized that for first time she could picture herself spending the rest of her life with him, and the idea made her very happy.  Of course, she had felt that same way about Aurora’s father, but when he had died, the pain had been almost unbearable.  She didn’t know if she could survive that kind of loss again if anything were ever to happen to Archer.  She said to him, “I don’t know; I have to think about it.”

“Take as much time as you need.” Archer said, trying to hide how disappointed he was that she hadn’t said yes immediately.  Still, he knew that he would wait for her forever if he needed to.  Then something occurred to him, and he said to her “Are you worried about Aurora?  I asked her if it would be okay with her, and she gave her full blessing.”

Dawn smiled, picturing the scene with the two of them together.  It was clear that they loved each other as a father and daughter, and it made her heart soar.  Shaking her head, she said “No, actually I was worried about you.  I lost someone close to me before, and you’re constantly putting yourself in danger, battling vampires and now you’ve joined the AHF to protect Colossal City.  What if something happened to you?”

Archer finally understood.  He looked very somber as he tried to think of the words to best soothe her fears, but he realized he needed to be fully honest with her.  Taking her hand in his own, he said “I have a great many powers and abilities, and my people live for thousands of years, but it is true that I am not immortal or invincible.  I do have weaknesses.  So far, the vampires have not discovered any of them, but one day they might.  I would die to protect you and Aurora.  I understand if you think it’s too risky to marry me.  Perhaps you are wise not to love me.”

Dawn felt the tears running down her cheeks and it made her realize what she should have known from the start.  She said to him, “If anything ever happened to you, the pain of losing you would already break my heart.  You already have all my love.   Yes, I will marry you!”

“Really?” Archer cried out happily.  He took her into his arms and kissed her passionately.

When they finally paused to catch their breath, Dawn smiled broadly and said “Yes, really; but not until after you eliminate Prince Vlorian and the vampires.   Then we can begin our new life together, free from the danger of either one of us having to lose the other.”

“Well, in that case, I’d better find him quickly!” Archer smiled.

Chapter Five

“They’re getting closer,” the young vampire said in a worried tone.

“My lair is utterly undetectable.  They haven’t found me yet and they’re not going to,” the fat man growled in his deep and gravelly voice.  His obese body barely fit into the leather chair in which he sat, watching his monitors.  Lynxar and Lynxonna walked right over the secret ground entrance to his fortress without even pausing.

“But they keep passing by here.  They must be detecting something,” the young vampire continued to fuss.

“They’ve passed by here a thousand times over the years, and they haven’t discovered me yet.  That’s what makes me the Mafia King,” the overweight gangster laughed heartily.  He hefted himself out his chair and strode across the room to the crystal coffin that was displayed proudly in the center of the room.  He ran his fat hand over the smooth surface of the coffin and patted it like one would a pet.  “I’ve been waiting all these years for a chance to get revenge on the Alliance of Hero Friends and reassert my power over Colossal City.  Now at last, I have found the way to do it, while they keep searching for me, not even realizing I’m right under their noses.”

“I don’t think they are searching for you; they are searching for the coffin of Lord Vladimus.” The older, more confident vampire said.  The Mafia King detested the one called Prince Vlorian.  He was far too full of himself.

“It’s the same thing!” the Mafia King growled.  “I have the coffin, so when they search for it, they are searching for me.”

“Actually, the coffin belongs to me.” Prince Vlorian said haughtily.  He thought the Mafia King was just as much of a self-obsessed fool, as he knew the gangster thought he was.  Still, they needed each other, and so they had to find a way to tolerate each other.  In an effort to placate him, the vampire prince said, “Still, you are right.  You’re fortress is as undetectable as you promised.  Tell me, when will you enact the next part of your plan?”

“When I’m ready, and not before!  This is my city and my turf!  I ain’t gonna let some nobody from another planet come in and start acting like he’s the boss!” the Mafia King blustered.  Prince Vlorian rolled his eyes and waited for him to quit his tirade.  It was something the former gangster did often. No doubt it was his temper tantrums that lead to his defeat to begin with.

The Mafia King talked often about how he had once stolen the powers from the AHF and used them to rule Colossal City.  He made very little mention of how they defeated him and forced him into hiding.  He had been obsessed with finding a way to defeat them again, ever since.

The Mafia King had developed specialized equipment which he used to scan for superhuman abilities.  They had led him to find Prince Vlorian and his group of vampires.  The Prince thought about killing him at once, but he saw the wisdom in keeping him alive.  The equipment he had was just what the vampires needed to find the guardian of the crystal key, who would then lead him to the key itself.

The Mafia King was eager to make an alliance with the Vampire Prince when he thought they would help him overtake Colossal City and even promised them a safe place where they could hide their coffin.  So far, he had lived up to all he had said; except for his final promise.

“I’m beginning to doubt that you really can deliver your word.” Prince Vlorian taunted.

The Mafia King turned purple with rage and clenched his fists into tight balls.  “I never go back on my word; it’s just taking a little more time than I expected.”

“So you admit you can’t really defeat the AHF like you promised me.” Vlorian sneered.

“According to the tale of your own defeat, they have a fourth member now.  That changes things.” The Mafia King said, with barely contained rage.

“I can handle the guardian, now that I know what he can do.  However, the others make it more difficult.  Hold up your end of the bargain and take care of them, and I’ll take care of the guardian of the key keeper.”

“I’ll give the orders and make the plans around here!” the Mafia King roared, slamming his fists against the coffin.

“Careful with that.” Prince Vlorian said in a cool tone of warning.

“Why? It can’t be broken by strength alone; otherwise I’d have opened it long ago and I wouldn’t need you at all.”

“Being careful implies respect.” Prince Vlorian said icily.  “When we get the crystal key, and Lord Vladimus is free once more, you’ll want to show him a lot more respect if you want his favor.”

“When I set him free, he’ll be the one answering to me; just like you’d better start doing if you want my help!  I’m in charge!  I’m the Mafia King!” the fat man roared, stomping around the coffin like a child throwing a fit.

Rolling his eyes again, Prince Vlorian decided to play along for now.  He needed this fool to create a distraction that would occupy the AHF.  Only then could he defeat the guardian and get the crystal key.  Then, he would kill this insolent jerk and feast on his blood.  With a tone that was almost too polite, he said “Fine.  Please tell us, what are your plans for capturing the Alliance of Hero Friends, so that we may assist you?”

“That’s more like it!” the Mafia King grinned, missing the sarcasm in the vampire’s voice. He sat back down heavily in his chair, and turned his monitors so they showed an image of Hillman Research Hospital.  With a gloating air, he said “Next week is the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new surgery wing of the hospital.  They’re all going to be there and we’re going to make sure it’s a ceremony they don’t ever forget.”

“How will you do that?” Prince Vlorian asked.

The crafty gangster pushed a few buttons on his computer and suddenly red dots glowed all over the hospital.

“What are those?” the young vampire that was with Vlorian asked curiously.

The Mafia King grinned evilly and said “Those are the indicator lights for a new kind of bomb I’ve invented.  I’ve planted one on every support beam underneath the hospital.  With the push of a button, the entire place will be crumbling into a pile of dust, with the heroes stuck underneath it all.  They’ll never survive underneath all that steel.  I guarantee it!”

Chapter Six

“Do I look all right?” Dawn Bright asked nervously, smoothing the pleats of her dress with her hands as she sat in her chair on the main stage in front of the new wing.

“You look absolutely lovely.” Archer said.  “In fact, I would say that you’ll be the most beautiful lady at the ceremony, but you’ve got some tough competition with this little girl right here!”

Aurora giggled at the compliment that Archer had obviously directed at her, and twirled once more in the new pink dress before taking her seat.

“I just hope it doesn’t rain today.” Dawn continued to fuss.  “Look at all those dark clouds in the sky.  They’ve entirely blocked out the sun.”

Archer used his powers to manifest an umbrella and handed it lovingly to Dawn.  He said, “Rain, I can handle.  I just hope I don’t mess up my speech.  I’m used to blending in to the background, not public speaking.”

Dr. Rachel Deering approached them, looking very relaxed and put together in a fine suit.  She smiled at them and said “Don’t worry about a thing; I know you’ll do great.  I’m going to say a few words first, and then I’ll introduce you Archer.  You’ll give a brief speech.  Then Bryan Hillman and the Mayor will cut the ribbon, and that’s it.  Easy as a piece of cake!”

“Will there really be cake?” Aurora asked, hopefully.

“Actually, yes there will.” Rachel smiled at the little girl.  “There will be a reception right afterward with all the cake you can eat!”

“Well, not all the cake she can eat.” Dawn laughed.  Then she looked over and noticed the strange expression on Archer’s face.  Putting her hand on his arm, she said, “What’s wrong?”

“Where is your crystal pendant?” he asked her.  His voice was tight and his face looked pale.

Feeling scared, Dawn reached under her blouse and pulled out the necklace she kept hidden there.  She handed it to Archer and cried out, “It’s glowing!  That means they’re here!”

“I just saw Prince Vlorian in the crowd, but I wanted to be sure it was him.” Archer said, pressing the pendant back into her hand with a reassuring pat.

Rachel said, “I’ll alert Lynxar and the rest of the AHF!”

“Good!” Archer said, as he manifested his bow and placed an arrow in the string.  “Dawn, take Aurora and go with her.  I will watch your every step.  If anyone comes within twenty feet of you, I will protect you.”

Trembling, Dawn took Aurora by her hand, and followed Rachel across the stage and down the steps.  Lynxar, Lynxonna, and Bryan Hillman were standing in a circle at the base of the stage, talking.  As the three women approached, Lynxar suddenly stopped and stared intently at the crowd.  “Something’s wrong,” he stated.

“I sense it too.” Lynxonna said.  “There is an evil in the air, and it’s thinking about the support structure of this hospital.   They’re going to blow it up!”

“Lynxonna, do what you can to guide all these people to a safe distance!” Lynxar commanded “Bryan, turn into the Ghost and come with me; we’re going to find those explosives and destroy them!”

Just then Lynxar saw his wife, approaching with Dawn and Aurora.  Rachel called out to him “The vampires are here.  Archer saw one of them in the crowd!”

“The three of you have to get as far away from here as possible!” Lynxar said urgently.  “Vampires aren’t the only danger here!”

Before Rachel could say another word, Lynxar and the Ghost ran into the hospital, at speeds faster than the eye could see.  Meanwhile, Lynxonna guided the crowd away from the hospital and into the streets.

Archer noted that all of his companions were busy, and felt the added pressure that he alone must keep an eye on Dawn and the crystal key.  If the vampires were going to make a move to steal it, now would be the time.  He had promised Dawn that he’d never let anything happen to her, but he’d made an error in sending away with Rachel.  The fleeing crowd blocked his line of fire between her and him.  If a vampire did attack, he would not be able to fire his weapon upon it without hitting a member of the crowd instead.  He could only hope they did not realize it.

As if in answer to his worst fear, Archer saw Prince Vlorian appear in front of Dawn.  Vlorian reached out his dead-white hand and snatched the crystal pendant from her neck.  Then, before she even had time to scream, he swirled his cape around himself, and disappeared with it, forever.

“NO!” Dawn cried out.  Archer used his super speed to arrive at the spot where Vlorian had stood just seconds ago, but he was too late.

Lynxonna finished evacuating the crowd, but all Archer could do was stand there, holding Dawn closely to his chest, and feeling grateful that she hadn’t been taken by the vampires, too.

Lynxar and The Ghost were able to find one hundred bombs that had been set on the support beams underneath the hospital, but none of them had been activated.

“These bombs are all duds.” Lynxar said, with a puzzled frown.

Archer said knowingly, “The bombs were merely a distraction.  They never intended to blow up the hospital, they just wanted to keep you all occupied so they could steal the crystal key.”

“It looks like they got what they wanted.” Lynxonna said.

“Yes, it sure does.  Let’s just hope they think so, too.” Archer smiled.

“What do you mean?” Lynxar asked.

“I mean, I switched Dawn’s pendant with a fake one.  The real crystal key is still safe and sound.  They’ve taken home a beacon that will lead us right to them.”

“Great!  Let’s follow the beacon and go get him!” Lynxar said, excitedly.

“Not yet, first we need to build a second crystal coffin to imprison Prince Vlorian in when we get there.  I must teleport to Mathias to fetch one.  I’ll be back at sunset, when the vampires will surely be preparing to set out onto the city.”

Dawn sent Aurora home with Lynxar and Rachel, and returned to her apartment with Archer, where he kept a secret teleport pad.

“I’ll miss you while you’re gone.” She said sadly, even though she knew it would only be for a few hours.  She knew that when he returned he would be fighting a dangerous battle to capture Prince Vlorian, and she knew this might be the last time they were alone together.

“I know; I’ll miss you too.” Archer said.  His own voice was just as choked with emotion as hers had been.  Taking her into his arms, he kissed her tenderly and said, “I was so scared for you when Prince Vlorian was standing next to you.  I was terrified he would try to take you, too.”

“We discussed that.” Dawn said.  “I knew the risk I was taking, being the bait to give him the fake pendant.  I knew that if he had tried to take me, and not just the beacon, you would have stopped him.”

“Thanks to your bravery, after tonight, he’ll be captured and then you and I can get married.”

“In that case, we’d better make love before you leave.  It could be the last time we get to do it before the drudgery of becoming a boring-married couple ruins the excitement.” Dawn teased.

“I’ll take that kind of drudgery anytime!” Archer said his voice husky with desire.  He kissed Dawn’s neck and nibbled on her earlobes, loving the way it made her sigh.  She unbuttoned his shirt and ran her fingers over chest, delighting in the feel of his muscles.

“Make love to me,” she whispered, and stepped out of her clothes in a slow and sexy dance that made his pulse quicken.  She lay on their bed and he began to kiss her feet, suckling her toes and making her squeal with delight.  Then he kissed his way up her legs and over her thighs, until he came to the sweet triangle of her sex.  He made love to her there with his mouth and tongue, until she was moaning with pleasure and begging him to enter her.

At last he did, and slid his engorged organ deeply into her with one solid thrust.  She wrapped her legs around his waist and raked at his back with her fingernails, thrilling him.  They moved together in perfect rhythm with each other, exploding into orgasm together, as they climaxed as one.  It was the perfect way to say goodbye to each other.  When they had finished, Archer programmed the transporter pad to take him back to Mathias.

“I’ll be back soon.” Archer said. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Dawn said, and then he was gone.  She only hoped it wasn’t the last time she ever saw him alive.  By this time tomorrow, she knew that either the Prince would be captured forever, or the man she loved would be dead.

TO BE CONTINUED IN BOOK NINE: Heartfelt Farewells - Volume 9

Heartfelt Farewells

Chapter One

Dawn Bright paced back forth across her bedroom carpet, clutching her hands together nervously.  Her curly brown hair bounced with each step, and her blue eyes brimmed with barely-contained tears.  Thank goodness her daughter Aurora wasn’t here to see her worry like this, or the five year old girl would feel afraid as well.  It was better that her daughter remained innocent of the dangers of the world.  In moments like this, Dawn almost wished that she had remained ignorant of the truth as well.

All her life, Dawn had believed that the crystal pendant she wore as a necklace was nothing more than a family heirloom, handed down from mother to daughter for nearly three hundred years, until she met Dr. Archer Speedlight. He had the thick blond hair and strong build of an angel, but the secrets he taught her were more startling than she would have ever imagined.

He explained to her that the pendant was actually a key that could unlock a magical crystal coffin built to imprison Lord Vladimus, the evil king of the vampires.  Archer’s people had created the coffin on his home planet of Mathias and given it as gift to the people of Flonar during the great Vampire War.  For nearly three hundred years, the vampires had been searching for the key to the crystal coffin so that they could free Lord Vladimus.  Eventually, they learned that it had been hidden somewhere on Earth.  They discovered the city where Dawn lived and were coming for it.  One day they would find her, take the key, and begin a new era of evil.  Ever since she learned this horrible secret, Dawn lived in fear, and there were moments when she wished the crystal key had never been entrusted to her family.

Of course, if it weren’t for the crystal, she also never would have met Archer.  He had been sent to Earth from the planet Mathias to serve as her protector and guardian.  Meeting him had been a true blessing in her life.  Not only did he keep her safe, but he had taught her to love again.  When Dawn had been widowed at a young age and left to raise her daughter Aurora by herself, she’d thought that she would never know the love of a man again.  Archer was so tender, caring, noble, and brave; he brought out those feelings in her again, and she knew that he loved her, too.   When they made love together, it was more incredible than anything she’d ever experienced in her entire life.

Best of all, was Archer’s relationship with Aurora.  From the day he’d saved the little girl’s life by performing surgery on her at Hillman Research Hospital, they had formed a special bond.  He loved and cared for her just as if she were his own daughter and Aurora loved him, too.  They even shared a special song together, called “Present in my Pocket.”  They would take turns hiding a small gift, like a piece of candy or a small paper heart, in the pocket of each other’s jackets.  When one of them heard the other singing or humming the song, they would search their pocket and find a special surprise that showed them how much the other cared for them.

It always made Dawn smile when they played the game and sang the song with each other.  She no longer had to bear the burden of caring for Aurora completely by herself.  She had a partner in protecting her; and soon he would be her partner in raising her, too.  Just before he left, Archer had asked Dawn to marry him, and she had said yes, with one condition.  He needed to defeat the vampires trying to steal the crystal key first.  She couldn’t bear the thought of marrying him, only to lose him like she had her first husband.  Archer had promised he would, and left to bring back another crystal coffin, this time to imprison the son of the vampire king, Prince Vlorian.

The evil and cunning vampire prince had teamed up with the notorious gangster known as the Mafia King.  Together, the two villains had executed a plot to steal the crystal key from Dawn’s neck, and believed that they had succeeded.  Fortunately, Archer had cleverly switched the real crystal pendant for a fake one with a tracking beacon inside it.  As soon as Archer returned with the crystal coffin, he and the Alliance of Hero Friends, consisting of Lynxar, Lynxonna, and the Ghost, would be able to trace the beacon to the villain’s lair, and end their reign of evil.  The closer it came to that moment, however, the more fearful Dawn became.  She realized that she could not bear to see Archer risk his life just to save her own.  She would rather die at his side than live alone without him.

Suddenly, the transporter pad that Archer used to travel to his home planet became active.  There was a strange noise and a bright light, and then Archer appeared out of nowhere, with a large crystal coffin at his side.

He searched the area carefully, using his superior vision to look for vampires. He could see through the walls of their apartment, clear across Colossal City, but the vampires were still hidden in their secret lair.

With his super-strength, Archer hauled the heavy coffin off the transporter pad and set it on the floor near their bed.   Looking at Dawn triumphantly, he said “Call the AHF, and tell them to come here immediately.  I’ve got the crystal coffin from Mathias.  As soon as Vlorian is placed inside, we can remove the key from the lid of the coffin and imprison him forever.  ”

“You just got back.  Can’t this wait a few hours?” Dawn asked, hugging him tightly.

Archer pulled himself gently away from her and said “Prince Vlorian doesn’t know the key he possesses is a fake one.  When the night has fallen, he will call his father’s followers to come and witness as he tries to set Lord Vladimus free.  The sun will set in less than an hour.  We must act to stop him now!”

Dawn wrapped her arms around Archer and pressed her cheek to his muscular chest.  “Don’t go!” she said, as tears spilled down her cheeks.  “You have no idea how afraid I was when you were gone!  I can’t bear the thought of us being apart.  Let the others capture Vlorian.  I need you here with me!”

Archer held her close.  He could see the effects of her cardiovascular system on a cellular level as her heart pounded and it brought moisture to his eyes.  Stroking her hair, he said soothingly, “I’ll stay right here with you and won’t ever leave you.  Lynxar and the others can be the heroes and have the glory of capturing the bad guys.  I’m only concerned with protecting you, and I can’t do that if I’m not here.  Suppose one of the vampires found you?  I’m going to stay at your side, protecting you always.  What kind of guardian of the crystal key would I be if I didn’t?”

Dawn kissed him happily, relieved to know that he cared more about her than glory, and even more relieved that he would be safe from harm’s way.  With pleasure, she sent out a text message alerting the AHF that the coffin had arrived and it was time to fight.  Then she pushed Archer onto the mattress of their bed and made love to him.

Chapter Two

Lynxar heard his cell phone beeping that a text message was waiting and rushed to turn it off.  With his superhuman speed, he was able to cross through the house and push the button before it had even finished its second chime, but he wasn’t fast enough.  His wife, Dr. Rachel Deering, had already heard it too.  She strode into their bedroom with her long blonde hair flowing behind her and looked at him, her blue eyes full of worry.

“I was hoping you hadn’t heard that.” Lynxar said, looking chagrinned.

“Too late.” Rachel said.  She sat on the bed trying to look casual, but her husband’s ability to read minds betrayed her, and he knew exactly how concerned she was about this mission to capture the vampire Prince Vlorian.

Lynxar locked their bedroom door to prevent their daughter Lynxiennia from interrupting them with her friend Aurora, and sat on the bed beside his wife.  His violet eyes gazed at her lovingly and he said, “I’ve been on plenty missions to protect Colossal City before.  This time won’t be any different.  Besides, I’m not going alone.  I’ve got Lynxonna and the Ghost to help me.”

“I know.” Rachel said, “But this time feels scarier somehow.”

“Don’t worry.  We already know how the vampire leader can be defeated, and once he is, the others will retreat back their realm.  It won’t take us years to defeat Prince Vlorian, like it took my father to defeat his father.  Archer has already brought the crystal coffin back from his planet.  Archer is going to stay with Dawn to protect the crystal key, and the rest of us are going to get Prince Vlorian.  I’ll be home in time to help you tuck the girls in bed for the night.”

“You’d better be.” Rachel said, with an unhappy pout.  “We haven’t made love in days and I really miss you.”

“Well, I can solve that problem quickly, right now.” Lynxar said with a playful leer.

“Not too quickly!” Rachel teased, making them both laugh and easing the tension between them.  With the powers of his mind, Lynxar stimulated his wife’s most sensitive areas, making her feel like his mouth and hands were upon her bare flesh, even though she was fully clothed and he wasn’t even touching her.  When he sensed that she was about to orgasm, he quickly stripped the clothes from both their bodies with one swipe of his telekinetic powers, and plunged his organ into her.  Moaning softly in his ear, Rachel urged him to thrust faster and harder, wrapping her hand around his buttocks to draw him even deeper.  Then, at the exact moment of her climax, he opened his mind to her, so that he could experience her orgasm in his mind, and returned the thought pulses back to her, so that she sensed his orgasm in her mind, too.  The technique amplified each of their own orgasms, as they experienced the intense pleasure the other was feeling, in addition to their own physical pleasure.

“That was incredible!” Rachel sighed, happily as Lynxar pulled his clothes on within the blink of an eye.

“Will that sustain you while I’m gone?” he asked playfully.

“Yes, but you’d still better be careful tonight.  I’ve got an uneasy feeling that this might be the last time I see you, and I’m definitely going to want more of that!”

Lynxar swore a solemn vow to be careful and return quickly, and then ran with all his speed out the house to his mission.

“We have to be quick!” Lynxonna whispered to her husband, the Mayor of Colossal City, Mike McIntyre.  She set her cell phone on his desk, wrapped her arms around his neck, and continued nibbling on his ear.  Between nips, she said, “I have to meet the others at Archer’s apartment to pick up the crystal coffin!”

“I know!” Mike breathed his voice husky with excitement.  He reached up and stroked her long lavender-colored hair and stared into her violet eyes.  “You’re just so beautiful when you’re about to fight villains, I can’t help but want you!”

“I know, I can read your thoughts and feel your desire.” Lynxonna said with a naughty smile that made him want her even more.  She kissed him passionately, running her hands up and down his body, while he did the same to her.  She loved the feel of his muscular chest and firm buttocks.  Lynxonna gave Mike’s rear a playful squeeze as they continued making out, and then sent a thought into his mind.  Is your office door locked?

Yes. He thought the answer, knowing she would be able to hear it in her mind as clearly as if he had spoken.

Good! She sent her thoughts to his mind so he could hear them.  I wouldn’t want your secretary or anyone else bursting in with business for the mayor and catch us having sex here on your desk!

No sooner had she thought the words, than she levitated her husband with the powers of her mind and placed him on top of the large oak desk.  They made love there with an urgency that neither of them could deny, knocking over pencil holders and piles of papers in their frenzied passion for each other.

“Mr. McIntyre, are you all right?” his secretary called through the door, sounding concerned.

“Yes! I’m just having a private meeting with my wife about city security.” Mike called out to her, stifling a laugh.  He and Lynxonna had both just finished climaxing, and endorphins flooded through him, along with all the love and joy he felt for his wife.

“I feel the same way about you.” Lynxonna whispered, and Mike blushed, knowing that she had heard his most intimate thoughts.

“That was private, you know.” Mike made a stern scowl, but Lynxonna wasn’t fooled.

She gave him a light kiss on the lips and said with a smile, “Nothing’s private between us; that’s what you love about me!”

“You’re absolutely right.” Mike smiled, and then grew serious.  Looking into her eyes, he said, “Then you also know how worried I am about tonight.  Don’t let those vampires get the upper hand on you tonight.  Make sure you come home safe.”

“I will.  Don’t worry.” Lynxonna gave him a final kiss, and then she unlocked his office door and disappeared into the city.

“They’re all waiting for me!” billionaire Bryan Hillman said, turning off his cell phone with the urgent text message on it.  He faced his bedroom mirror and tried to fix his necktie and sighed with frustration.

“Well, then they can wait a few more minutes.” His wife, Vicky Campbell, said to him in a calm and rational tone.  As the anchor for Colossal City’s most popular news channel, Vicky always looked perfectly put together in elegant suits, with her ebony hair flowing flawlessly to her shoulders, and her makeup just right.  Bryan never felt comfortable in the spotlight and always looked awkward and out of place.  Smiling at the bumbling billionaire she loved and married, Vicky took the necktie out of Bryan’s hands and proceeded to untangle the knot he had somehow made.

“I just hate feeling like I’m late.” Bryan said as Vicky smoothed the tie and draped it around his neck.  “It reminds me of all those years when I was nothing but a shy, lonely geek, and everyone would laugh at me and stare.”

“Well, you’re not that kid anymore.” Vicky said lovingly. She caressed his cheek and ran her fingers through his reddish-brown hair and stared into his green eyes. “You’ve grown into a capable and handsome man, who built a business empire worth billions.  People stare at you now out of respect.   Of course, you have the ability to never be stared at again, if you chose.”

Bryan grinned at her words of encouragement and support.  He stiffened his spine, puffed out his chest, and held his chin high.  The exaggerated posture made Vicky giggle, and Bryan scooped her into his arms and kissed her with all the love he felt in his heart.  He said to her, “Thanks for reminding me.”

Vicky kissed him, her lips parting his and her tongue searching hungrily for his.  She said to him, “You know you’ve always been a hero in my eyes.”

She kissed him again, and Bryan felt himself becoming sexually aroused.  The changes in his pulse and breathing activated his powers of invisibility and he disappeared right before Vicky’s eyes.  After all these years of marriage, she’d grown accustomed to the unusual quirk of his, and found it to be an odd sort of compliment.

“I see someone finds me sexy,” she teased. Then a deliciously naughty idea occurred to her and she said “Let’s make love before you have to go.”

“Only if you can find me!” Bryan called from across their bedroom and Vicky’s eyes lit up with delight.  She loved the excitement of the game and searched the room carefully for clues as she walked slowly around it.  Listening carefully, she thought she could hear him breathing, and noticed a slight wrinkle in the bedspread.  Without warning she lunged at the bed, but landed on soft mattress.  Bryan laughed from nearby and said “Close; try again!”

This time, Vicky was able to pinpoint his exact location from the sound of his voice.  He was just a few feet away, sitting in an armchair they kept near the bed.  She sat on the chair and had the satisfaction of feeling his firm body beneath hers.

“Gotcha!” she grinned.  “Now you have to pleasure me!”

“It will be my pleasure.” Bryan said, and Vicky giggled at his play on words.  With his body still invisible, Bryan began to kiss and fondle every inch of Vicky’s body.  It was incredibly erotic to never know where he would touch her next.  First his lips were on her nipples, kissing and suckling them into hard nubs.  Then, she felt his fingers caressing her thighs, massaging their way up the slope and curving to her most intimate folds.  When at last he entered her, they both climaxed quickly, crying out as they orgasmed in perfect unison.

Afterward, Bryan’s invisibility wore off as his breathing and pulse returned to normal.

“Don’t forget to activate that again.” Vicky warned.  “I love looking at your handsome face, but we don’t want any vampires doing the same.”

“Don’t worry; I’ll turn invisible again as soon as I get to Archer’s. Everyone hates it when I arrive and they can’t see me.  It makes them feel like I’m spying on them.”

“Well, aren’t you?” Vicky teased.

“Sometimes.” Bryan confessed with a look of chagrin.

“Be careful tonight.  I don’t want to have to report your capture on the six o’clock news.”

Chapter Three

“What are you waiting for?” the Mafia King shouted impatiently.  His deep voice echoed off the walls of his secret underground lair.  Glaring at the vampire Prince Vlorian, he said, “You have the crystal key!  The sun is setting, open the coffin!”

Prince Vlorian walked casually around the crystal coffin that imprisoned his father, Lord Vladimus.  His eyes glowed red as he looked at the crystal pendant that was the only key to unlock the coffin.  It felt differently than he thought it would; lighter, less powerful.

He held the precious pendant between the forefinger and thumb of his left hand, and tapped it against his deadly white palm, as he was thinking.  When he spoke, his voice was icy and calm, belying the excitement he felt at finally be able to free his father.  He’d been waiting for this moment for three hundred years, and he wasn’t about to make a mistake now by rushing and ruining everything.

“Be patient; my unsophisticated friend.” Vlorian said, making the Mafia King clench his fists in anger.  “The sun is quite low on the horizon, but it has not fully set.  More vampires will be arriving soon.  Some of them may have the strength to endure an overcast day like I can, but not all of them can and I don’t want any of them to miss this special occasion.  My father has been captive for centuries.  When he is released, it will be a night my people will honor forever.  We must wait until his followers have all arrived.  Only then will I turn the key and release him.”

“Then your father and his followers can swear their loyalty to me, and I will allow them to feast on the citizens of Colossal City in payment for their service to me as King!”

“Believe me; Lord Vladimus will give you all the respect you deserve.” Vlorian said with an evil twinkle in his eye.

The Mafia King turned to his monitor screens and checked them.  With a satisfied grin, he said “The sky is fully dark.  Do it now!”

Prince Vlorian saw that dozens of vampires filled the room.  He had expected hundreds, perhaps thousands, but it looked like his father’s followers had dwindled greatly.  It didn’t matter.  When they saw that he had risen to power again, they would all return to follow him in even greater numbers than ever before.

Vlorian walked grandly to the lock on the side of the crystal coffin and held the key high for all to see.  With formal exaggeration, he inserted the key and turned it.  The Mafia King and the horde of vampires leaned close to watch as he tried to lift the lid.  Nothing happened.

“It hasn’t been opened in three hundred years.  It’s no surprise that it’s stiff.” Prince Vlorian said.  Looking at the vampires closest to him, he commanded, “Help me pull!”

Straining with all their might, the vampires pulled on the lid, but it wouldn’t budge.  Suddenly, a blast of light flashed from the coffin as a defense mechanism, knocking them all on their backs and expelling the fake key from the lock.

Laughing heartily at the vampire’s humiliation, the Mafia King picked up the pendant and stared at it.  His face turned from amusement to rage, and he yelled out, “This isn’t a crystal!  It’s ordinary glass!  You’ve been tricked, you fools!”

The Mafia King slammed the fake key onto his desk and pounded it with his fat fist, breaking it.  Prince Vlorian stared at the remnants, just as the Mafia King did, and they both saw a tiny computer chip had been concealed within the key.

“It’s a locator beacon!” the Mafia King roared.  Suddenly, the ceiling above them began to shake.  Lynxar and Lynxonna ripped open a hole in the street above the Mafia King’s secret underground lair.  They jumped down into the room, carrying a large crystal coffin between them and set it down roughly on the debris-covered ground.

“Attack!” Prince Vlorian cried out to his hordes of vampires, and they leaped upon the two superheroes.  With the powers of their minds, Lynxar and Lynxonna pushed away the creatures, slamming them painfully in the walls, where they lay crumpled like dolls.

“I’m here for you, Prince Vlorian, just like my father captured your father three hundred years ago.” Lynxar said, striding up to the vampire lord.  “Looks like you’ve made friends with an old nemesis of ours, but we’re not alone.  We’ve brought someone he’s sure to remember, too.”

The Mafia King looked worriedly around the room, knowing Lynxar must be referring to the Ghost.  He remembered their last encounter all too well.  Suddenly, the Ghost flipped him up into the air, and the Mafia King crashed hard against the ground, showing that the Ghost remembered the encounter, too.

“I owed you that!” the Ghost called out to him, but it was a mistake.  Using his voice allowed the gangster to determine his location, and he lunged at him with the full force of his weight.  He could feel the Ghost pinned underneath him and hoped he was squeezing the air out of him.

We’ve got to help the Ghost! Lynxonna sent her thoughts to Lynxar.

Bryan will be okay.  He can handle the Mafia King for now.  If we’re going to really help him, we’ve got to get Vlorian into the crystal coffin first!  Lynxar’s thought back to her was as clear as if he shouted it.  With slow and cautious steps, Lynxonna and Lynxar moved closer to Vlorian, narrowing the distance, and preparing to grab him.

Holding out his hands, Vlorian called forth his favorite weapons, and suddenly they appeared in his grip as if out a nowhere.  Two swords, one for each hand, glimmered brightly.  They were made of a strange black metal that was unlike any substance on Earth.  The blades were short, but incredibly sharp.  Vlorian swung and twirled them in a complicated pattern, showing his expertise and skill.

“Careful!” Lynxar cried out to Lynxonna.

“You know me; I’m not the kind of girl to just sit back and be cautious.” Lynxonna said, and she rushed at Vlorian with all her speed and strength.  She sent a thought to Lynxar as she rushed forward, Open the coffin; I’m bringing him to it!

Heeding her words, Lynxar opened the lid to the new crystal coffin as Lynxonna tackled the vampire and tumbled with him in her arms toward the coffin.  The blades of his swords nicked her arms, but she didn’t mind a slight cut when it meant capturing him.

“Time to sleep!” she cried out to Vlorian as she lifted him up to throw him into the coffin.  Suddenly, she felt strange.  Her whole body felt weak and she had to release him back onto the ground beside her.  Then, she felt nothing at all; her entire body had gone numb!  Lynxonna realized with horror that she was paralyzed.

With lightening quick reflexes, Prince Vlorian pushed her into the coffin, where she lay helplessly, unable to move.  Laughing evilly, he said “Did I forget to tell you my swords were enchanted?  Looks like its sleepy time for you and not me!”

Prince Vlorian swung his swords protectively in front of himself and faced off to Lynxar.

“Ghost!  I need your help!” Lynxar shouted out, but he was having struggles of his own.  The Mafia King was locked with Ghost in a wrestling match.  The two of them knocking over tables, chairs, lamps, and everything else that got in their way as they rolled on the ground, struggling for the upper hand.

“Show yourself, so I can find your neck and choke you to death!” the Mafia King growled, as he felt the invisible man’s arms in the grip of his fat hands.  Little did he know he already had the Ghost’s throat in one of his hands and his two arms together in the other.  The Ghost was quickly losing consciousness as his oxygen supply was cut off by the gangster’s powerful grip.

“I don’t think your friend is going to help you.” Lord Vlorian sneered, as he charged at Lynxar with both swords.  Lynxar leaped out of the way, landing behind the vampire, and gripping him with his arms pinned at his sides.

Prince Vlorian struggled, trying to break free of Lynxar’s arm hold, but he couldn’t.  Step by step, Lynxar dragged him toward the crystal coffin, preparing to force him inside, but first he had to find a way to pull Lynxonna out or she would be imprisoned in there along with him.

Standing inches away from the coffin, Lynxar used the power of his mind to levitate Lynxonna out of the coffin.  As soon as she was clear, he would push Vlorian in; meanwhile, he still had to keep his grip on Vlorian who struggled even harder to get free, and keep an eye on the other vampires who were starting to recover from being thrown against the wall.

Lynxar was so busy concentrating on all the things he had to do, he failed to notice when Vlorian nicked his foot with the tip of one of his swords.  The tiny cut on his toe was all it took.  The enchantments of the dark magic coursed through Lynxar’s veins.  He became weak, then totally numb.

Prince Vlorian easily broke free of his arms, and then hoisted the paralyzed hero into the air and put him in the crystal coffin next to Lynxonna.  Prince Vlorian cried out in victory as his horde of vampires danced around the coffin.

“Don’t celebrate too soon.  There is still one more.” Vlorian warned them.

“Not anymore!” the Mafia King shouted out.  The Ghost had finally passed out from being choked and reverted from being invisible to being Bryan Hillman.  With obvious disdain, the Mafia King dropped his prone body into the coffin, and he landed on top of Lynxar and Lynxonna with a painful thud.

The fall helped him to regain consciousness, and Bryan tried to leap out of the coffin, but he was too late.  The lid had been sealed shut and locked forever, the key taken from the lid of the coffin.

“Victory is ours!” the Mafia King shouted triumphantly, his huge belly shaking.   “Colossal City is now mine to rule!”

“Not yet.” Prince Vlorian said, calmly.  He placed the key to the coffin in his jacket pocket.  Then he crossed the room with an intense look in his eyes that made the Mafia King wince.  He said, “We still need to get the real crystal key and release my father, and I know just how to do it.”

The Mafia King watched as the vampire prince rubbed his finger along the tip of his sword, removing a tiny drop of Lynxar’s blood.  He then opened the unusual-looking ring on his right hand and placed the drop of blood within it.  The ring began to glow, and instantly Prince Vlorian was transformed.  His black hair became purple, his pale skin turned lively, and his body and face morphed in an incredible feat of magic.  The vampire Prince Vlorian now looked exactly like Lynxar.

Chapter Four

“Do you think Lynxar and the others are all right?” Dawn Bright asked with concern.  It had been over an hour since he and the others had left with the crystal coffin.

“I’m sure they are.” Archer Speedlight said confidentially.  “They’re going to destroy both coffins when they’re done, and then come back here.  When they do, I’m counting on you to uphold your promise to me.”

“What promise is that?” Dawn teased, knowing exactly what promise he meant.

“As soon our lives were no longer threatened by vampires, you agreed to marry me.”

“Oh, that promise!” Dawn giggled, her eyes sparkling with merriment.  She gazed at Archer with all the love she felt in her heart and saw that he felt just the same way about her.  She said softly to him “I’m glad you stayed here with me, instead of going with them.  After tonight, you won’t have a need to guard the crystal pendant anymore, but I still never want us to be apart.”

“We won’t be.” Archer said, and he leaned forward to kiss her passionately.  She parted her lips for him and their tongues intertwined, as they drank each other in.   Archer wrapped his arms around her waist, and slowly slid them up her body, under her blouse, until he found her breasts.  He cupped them in his hands, loving the feel of their full roundness as they filled his hands.  Dawn enjoyed it too, and arched her back, pressing herself into his touch as he fondled and massaged them in just the right way.  His thumb grazed her nipple, and he felt it grow hard under his caress.

Dawn pulled her blouse over her head, revealing her naked body to him and guided his face to her bosom.  Knowing just what she wanted, Archer took her nipple into his mouth and suckled her there while she moaned in pleasure.  First the right one, then the left.  Then he kissed his way down her belly until he came to her waist.

Eagerly, Dawn stripped out of her pants and lacy underwear until she was fully naked, and Archer did the same.  Lying back on their bed, Dawn spread her thighs, welcoming him to make love to her, but Archer wanted to extend the foreplay.  Holding out his hands, he manifested some objects.  With gleeful curiosity, Dawn looked to see what he had created, and was surprised to see it was a handful of scarves.  They were long, silky, and the color of gold.

“What are you going to do with those?” she asked.

“Close your eyes and you’ll be able to find out,” Archer said seductively.  Dawn closed her eyes and felt Archer tie one of the scarves around her head, like a blindfold.  He said “Now lie back on the bed and put your hands above your head.”

Dawn complied, feeling deliciously naughty.  She’d never realized how erotic it could be not to see.  She had even more thrills of sexual excitement as she felt Archer tie one of scarves around her wrists and bind them to the headboard of their bed.

“Are you comfortable?” Archer asked with concern and Dawn assured him that she was.  Then he asked, “Do you like this game, or do you want me to stop?”

“I like it.  Keep going.” Dawn assured him.  She could feel that he hadn’t actually knotted the scarves binding her wrists to the headboard, so she knew she could escape if she wanted to.  She also trusted Archer completely and knew that he would never hurt her or do anything she didn’t want him to.  She found the game thrilling and erotic, and couldn’t wait to find out what would happen next.

Dawn gasped as she felt a sudden tickle on her belly.  It was Archer, brushing a scarf lightly across her flesh.  She giggled and sighed with sensual pleasure as he gently tickled her with the scarf in all the right places.  She never realized how such a thing could stimulate her senses and awaken her nerves.  When she felt Archer put his mouth upon her body, to make love to her with his lips and tongue, the sensations of pleasure were even more powerful than they had even been before, plunged her into new depths of ecstasy.

“I want you inside me!” she moaned, as her body shook with the waves of an orgasm.

Archer pulled the blindfold off her wrists and away from her eyes, and then plunged himself into her with one powerful thrust.  Dawn wrapped her arms and legs around him as the rhythm of their thrusts matched each other perfectly, and she was pulled to the edge of another climax.

“Harder!” she moaned.   “Harder!”

Archer complied, and it pushed Dawn over the edge into another orgasm, this one even more powerful than the last.  She’d never experienced such intense pleasure and couldn’t even cry out as she gasped for breath and clutched at his back.  Archer felt her muscles rippling around his organ and it caused him to climax with her, groaning softly r as his body shook.

“That was incredible!” Dawn gasped, as they lay on the bed, trying to regain her breath.  “We should play that game every time we make love.”

“We can do it however you want.” Archer promised and made the scarves disappear in the same way he always did with his bow.  Suddenly, he looked sharply toward the wall, as if seeing right through it to the other side.  “Someone is coming down the street!  It looks like Lynxar, but something isn’t right.”

“Oh no!  What’s wrong with Lynxar?  Is he all right?” Dawn cried out worriedly.   She threw on her clothes and ran outside as fast as she could.  She saw that Archer was right; Lynxar was limping down the street, dragging the crystal coffin behind him.  She ran up to him, with her eyes full of concern and said “Lynxar!  Are you all right?  Where are the others?”

Prince Vlorian, disguised as Lynxar, tried to conceal his smile as Dawn approached him with the crystal pendant dangling at her throat.  This was the prize he had been trying to get his hands on for so long, right here in front of him, but with Archer at her side, he needed to be cautious.  An evil plan hatched in his mind.

“I’m okay.” Vlorian said, trying his best to imitate Lynxar’s voice.  “The battle was more difficult than we anticipated.  We managed to destroy the coffin of Lord Vlorian, but the others were all badly hurt in the process and have been taken to the hospital.  I managed to get the vampire prince locked into this coffin.   It needs to be destroyed too, but I cannot do it alone.  Archer, you must help me!”

Archer’s incredible powers of vision allowed him to see inside the coffin and he knew that his three friends were trapped inside; just as he knew the man he was talking to wasn’t really Lynxar.  With Dawn standing so near, he couldn’t risk her safety and decided to play along.

“What do we need to do?” Archer asked.

Dawn gasped and said to Archer, “You’re the best surgeon in Colossal City.  You should go to the hospital and see if the others need your help!  Destroying the coffin can wait until we know our friends are okay!”

To her surprise, Archer shook his head.  He said, “No, I want to this matter settled once and for all.”

Vlorian struggled to conceal his smile.  He thought his evil plan was working.  He said, “As you know, the coffin cannot be opened except with the key that sealed it.  To prevent enemies from trying to pry open the coffin, it was designed with a safety mechanism.  If the coffin is damaged, it will self-destruct, destroying the coffin and killing whoever is imprisoned inside.”

Dawn gasped in surprise.  Gawking at the fake Lynxar, she said, “How did you know that?  I thought only the people of Mathias knew about the crystal coffin’s design?”

Vlorian stammered for a response.  Archer wanted the advantage of Vlorian thinking he had fooled them with his disguise, so he said, “Lynxar’s father taught him about it from the first vampire war.”

“Yes.” Vlorian agreed.

Dawn was appeased by this and nodded with acceptance.  She said, “So how can you damage it enough to activate the self-destruct mechanism?”

Vlorian looked up and down the street, thinking.  After a moment, he said, “Let’s lift it to the top of that tall apartment building and throw it off the edge.  That should damage it enough!”

“That’s a good plan.” Archer said, then turned to Dawn and said, “When the coffin hits the street, it should be damages enough to cause it to explode.  I don’t want you nearby when that happens.  Go to our safe place and wait for me there.”

“I’m safest when I’m with you.” Dawn said, not understanding the danger she was already in.  “I’ll be far enough away from the blast if I’m on the roof with you and I know you’ll protect me if the vampire inside isn’t dead yet.  Besides, you promised me we’d never be apart ever again.”

Archer couldn’t think of a response to his own words that wouldn’t alert Vlorian to the fact that he saw through his disguise.

“Let’s go!” Vlorian said enthusiastically, picking up one end of the coffin.  Dawn ran up the stairs to the top of her apartment building while Archer helped his enemy carry the crystal coffin slowly up the levels.  Archer could have easily carried it there on his own with his super strength, but as was stalling for time, he pretended it was burdensome.  He needed time to think of a way to get Dawn to safety, then he needed to get the crystal key from Vlorian, free his friends, and lock Vlorian inside.  It was an impossible task, and yet one he could not fail.  There had to be a way he could do it!

As they neared the top, Archer dropped the coffin, pretending that it was too heavy to carry any further.  Dawn stared at him with a puzzled frown.  Something obviously wasn’t right.  She knew Archer could have carried that thing with just one hand.  She said, “Is everything all right?”

“My hand just got a cramp in it.” Archer fibbed.  Then he said to Vlorian, “Do you think there’s any danger that the coffin might be opened when we throw it off the roof?”

“No.” Vlorian said impatiently.  This was taking far longer than he anticipated.  Archer was much weaker than he thought he would be.  Not wanting to wait any longer, Vlorian began to push the coffin toward the edge of the roof.  He said to Archer, “The coffin cannot be opened by any force, except by the key that originally locked it, and we have that right here.”

Vlorian patted the pocket of his jacket and Archer knew the key was tucked inside it.  Archer grinned widely, having gotten an important piece of information that he needed.  Now he just had to find a way to get the key without endangering Dawn.

Dawn stared at Archer even harder than she had before.  He knew more about the crystal coffins created by his people than anyone.  There was no way that he wouldn’t have known it couldn’t be opened by dropping it off a building.  Combine that with all the other suspicious things he had said that evening, and Dawn knew without a doubt that something was deeply wrong.  Trying to look casual, she crossed the roof to stand by the imitation of Lynxar.  Whispering low in his ear she said, “Lynxar; that man is not Archer!  I think he is a vampire in disguise!”

Chapter Five

“Stay close to me; I’ll protect you.” Prince Vlorian, disguised as Lynxar, whispered in Dawn’s ear.  He put his arms protectively around her shoulders and drew her close to him.

Archer knew he couldn’t delay action any longer.  Abandoning all pretenses, he held out his hands and manifested his bow.  In the blink of an eye, he had an arrow on the string and aimed it right at Prince Vlorian’s chest.

Archer shouted out, “Drop the games, Vlorian!  I know you’re not really Lynxar and I know you’ve got my three friends locked in that coffin!  Unlock it and release them now, or I will shoot this arrow right into your heart!”

Vlorian’s disguise instantly melted away, and Dawn screamed in fear to see the man she thought was Lynxar turn into the vampire prince.  She felt as if she might faint, but the vampire gripped her roughly by the shoulders and pulled her in front of himself, like a shield.  The violent jerking motion forced her to keep conscious, as adrenaline and fear surged through her.

Hiding behind Dawn, Vlorian shouted out, “There’s no one to help you this time!  Back away or I will kill her!”

Looking at Dawn, Archer began to hum a song.  It was the song “Present in my Pocket” that Archer and Aurora always sang together.  Vlorian sneered, not understanding the significance of the ridiculous tune, but Dawn nodded her head.  She knew exactly what Archer was asking her to do.

“I don’t think you’d give up your human shield by killing her!” Archer said to Vlorian.   He wanted to keep the vampire’s attention on himself and away from Dawn. Taunting him, he said, “The moment you hurt her is the moment you’ll feel my arrows in your gut!”

Vlorian taunted back, and the two enemies jousted with insults and threats.  As they did, Dawn slowly moved her hand into Vlorian’s jacket pocket and gripped the crystal key.  Her heart began to pound.  Archer saw the change in her pulse and knew it was time to complete his plan.  He shouted out to Vlorian, “You won’t need to worry much longer.  You’re hostage doesn’t look well; I think she’s about to faint!”

Hearing his instructions, Dawn slumped to the ground, pretending to pass out.  It left Prince Vlorian without protection, and Archer instantly fired his arrows.  However, the vampire was too quick.  Vlorian manifested a shield a fraction of a second before the arrow would have hit him.  In the blink of an eye, he turned the shield into a sword and charged at Archer with ferocious hatred, the dark metal blade shimmering in the moonlight.  Archer turned his bow into a sword of his own, which glistened with the white light of the crystals of Mathias.  Their swords clashing, the two enemies began a fierce battle that would surely end with one of them being killed.

With her heart still pounding, Dawn crawled away from the skirmish, crossing the roof to the crystal coffin.  Vlorian’s crystal key was clutched in her sweaty hand, but she was trembling so hard, she couldn’t fit it into the keyhole.

Archer was being forced to take steps backward under Vlorian’s attack, making his position weaker.  Dawn knew that if she could just open the coffin, their friends would be able to help him and everything would be okay.

She fumbled with the lock, still unable to calm her shaking enough to fit the key into the tiny slot.  Meanwhile, Vlorian continued to slash at Archer with so much power and anger, she didn’t know how much longer he’d be able to defend himself from the blows.

Taking a deep breath for courage, Dawn lined the key up with the lock and slid it inside.  She’d done it!  Squealing with joy, she turned the key and the coffin began to glow with a magical light.  Now, all she had to do was lift the lid!

“No!  I won’t let this happen!” Prince Vlorian screamed, having seen the light.  He dropped his sword and charged at the coffin.  He slammed into it with all his strength, shoving it along the rooftop with incredible speed until he came to the edge of the tall building.

“He’s going to push the coffin off the roof!” Dawn cried out in horror.  She knew that when the coffin hit the ground bellow, the impact would damage it enough to activate the self-destruct mechanism and their friends would be killed.  Archer realized it, too.  He dropped his own sword and charged at Vlorian, tackling him to the ground just in time.  The crystal coffin teetered on the edge of the roof, ready to fall at any moment!

Dawn watched helplessly as the guardian and the vampire wrestled on the floor of the roof in a battle of good versus evil.   Vlorian got the upper hand and pinned Archer down, and then he manifested a dagger in his dead-white hand and raised it high above his head so that he could plunge it down into Archer’s heart and kill him.

With strength and courage she didn’t even know she possessed, Dawn grabbed Vlorian by the wrist, saving the man she loved.  Yelling out in rage, Vlorian knocked her to the ground.  It was the chance Archer needed to flip the vampire off of him and send him flying through the air.  Vlorian crashed against the coffin with a painful thud, tipping the balance and sending the teetering coffin over the edge of the roof.

With all the super-speed he possessed, Archer raced across the roof and grabbed the edge of the coffin, just as it was falling out of reach.  With his superior strength, he managed to lift the heavy coffin made of dense crystal, and filled with three full-sized adults. He dragged it back onto the rooftop.  With a hardy shove, he pushed open the lid, and a blinding light filled the night sky with a flash and then was gone.

Lynxar, Lynxonna, and Bryan Hillman stood shaking on the rooftop, blinking their eyes and trying to understand what had just happened to them.

“Are you all right?” Archer asked them with concern.  He used his vision to scan their vital organs and saw that they were all healthy, but it was their emotional trauma that had him worried.  Luckily, they were all hardy superheroes used to being in unusual and dangerous situations.

“I’m fine and ready to fight!” Lynxonna spoke up first, showing her usual feisty passion.

“Me too.  Where are the vampires?  I believe there’s an empty coffin ready for them!” Lynxar said.

“I’ll take on our old friend the Mafia King.  We still have a score to settle.” Bryan said, turning himself invisible and becoming the Ghost.

Archer grinned at his three friends, happy to see that they weren’t harmed in any way.  He turned around to face Lord Vlorian, knowing that he would now have help forcing him into the coffin, where he would imprisoned just like his father.

Nothing but an empty roof greeted him.  Archer turned in a slow circle, searching the entire roof, but no one was in sight.  Prince Vlorian was gone; and so was Dawn!  With his superior vision, he could see for miles, but there was no trace of his enemy or the woman he loved.  Dropping to his knees, Archer buried his face in his hands, trying to hold back the tears that threatened to overwhelm him.

Lynxar and the others immediately understood what had happened.  Putting a comforting hand on Archer’s shoulders, Lynxar said to him, “Don’t worry.  Nobody knows Colossal City as well as we do.  He won’t be able to hide for long; not with the four members of the AHF hunting him.  We’ll capture Prince Vlorian and have Dawn safely back in your arms in no time.”

“I hope so.” Archer said softly.  “I hope so.”

TO BE CONTINUED IN BOOK TEN: Strength of the Heart - Volume 10

Strength of the Heart

Chapter One

“I’ve failed in my duty!” Dr. Archer Speedlight cried out miserably.  He was standing on the roof of the apartment building where he lived with Dawn Bright, the woman he had sworn to protect and had fallen in love with.  The vampire Prince Vlorian had kidnapped her only moments before, while Archer had been saving his friends: Lynxar, Lynxonna, and Bryan.  Now they stood around him, wishing there was something they could do to ease his anguish.

Archer crumpled on one knee and said sadly, “I came to Earth from my home planet of Mathias for one purpose only, to be a guardian to the keeper of the crystal key.   For three hundred years I was able to uphold my duty.  I protected the women who held the key, following them as they passed it from mother to daughter throughout the generations.  Now, finally I have failed.  Dawn is gone without a trace and Vlorian has taken the crystal key along with her.  Not only have I failed Dawn and disgraced the people of Mathias, but I have failed the people of Earth, too.  Vlorian will use the crystal key to release his father, Lord Vladimus, and once he does, no one will be safe.”

Lynxar clasped his hand on Archer’s shoulder in a show of support.  He said “You haven’t failed yet.  We can get them both back!   You aren’t alone in this fight; you are now a part of the Alliance of Hero Friends.  The AHF found Vlorian once, we’ll find him again!”

Archer’s eyes lifted at the encouraging words, but then he shook his head with discouragement again.  “Vlorian must have been planning to open the coffin inside the Mafia King’s lair, since it was shielded from our powers, but we ruined his plans when we tracked him there with our beacon.  He won’t go back there again.”

Bryan Hillman said thoughtfully, “How do we know he hasn’t opened the coffin already?  I mean, what’s to stop him from just opening it up anywhere?”

Archer answered him, saying, “Lord Vladimus will be weak and vulnerable after having been imprisoned for so long.  Prince Vlorian won’t risk his father being harmed or captured after all this time. He’ll need to take the coffin someplace secluded, where we could never find him.”

The four friends grew silent, each of them consumed by their own thoughts, trying to figure out where that could be.  Archer knew the area least of all, having just moved to Colossal City a few months ago.  It surprised him how quickly he had come to love Dawn.  She was beautiful, kind, caring, and brave.  When he thought about how difficult it must have been for to raise her daughter Aurora alone after her husband had died, and he felt a respect for her.  He had never thought much about children before, but Aurora was so bright, funny, and full of life, he had come to love with the five-year-old girl as if she were his own.  The thought of having to tell the child that her mother was gone brought a lump of emotion to his throat that made it difficult for him to breathe.

Archer swallowed hard against it, straightened his spine, and stood tall.  Determination flashed in his eyes.  He wasn’t going to have to tell Aurora that her mother wasn’t coming home, because he was going to do whatever it took to find her and bring her back!

“Let’s go!” Dr. Archer Speedlight said, holding out his hands and summoning his bow and arrow seemingly out of nowhere.  The magical weapon glowed like the sun.

“Where are we going?” Lynxar asked, slapping him heartily on the back.

Archer grinned at him and said, “Vlorian won’t be at the Mafia King’s lair, but he will have gone back there one last time to fetch his father’s coffin.  We might be able to find some clue of his whereabouts.  Hurry, there’s not a moment to waste!”

The four friends raced across Colossal City, traveling at speeds faster than the human eye could see.  Within seconds, they arrived at the gaping hole in the ground that marked the place where Lynxar, Lynxonna, and Bryan had entered the Mafia King’s secret lair hidden below the city.  The first time they had come to this place, they had been over-confident in their ability to capture him and Prince Vlorian, and had suffered a humiliating defeat at their hands.  Now, they were prepared to enter the lair with much more caution.

The Mafia King had built the underground fortress out of a special alloy that blocked their superhero senses.  Lynxar and Lynxonna could not use their mind reading abilities and Archer couldn’t use his vision to see within the fortress.  It virtually left them all blind to what they might be facing inside.  That left only one solution; someone would have to go in first to see what was down there.

“I’ll do it.” Bryan Hillman volunteered.  He activated his powers of invisibility, turning himself into the Ghost.  Instantly, he was as transparent as the air itself.  He said, “If anyone is down there, they won’t even know I’m there.”

“Just be careful.  The Mafia King has fought you before and he may have come up with a way to detect you.”  Lynxar warned.

The Ghost nodded his head, but then he realized no one could see the gesture and said aloud, “Don’t worry, I will be.”

Moving cautiously, the Ghost lowered himself down the hole into the gangster’s lair, hanging by his fingertips.  The room looked safe, so he let himself fall the fifty feet to the floor, landing easily on the ugly carpet.  The room was a mess, with tables and chairs overturned from the battle they had fought earlier that day.   The area in the center of the room where the crystal coffin had sat was now empty.  No one else was there.

The Ghost deactivated his power of invisibility, turning himself into Bryan Hillman once more and shouted up to his friends.  “It’s safe to come down!  No one’s here!”

The three remaining members of the AHF jumped down the hole, landing powerfully in the center of the room, making the walls tremble for a moment.  Once they were on the inside of the shielded lair, the heroes found they could use their powers again and each of them scanned the room.  Lynxar’s violet-colored eyes immediately looked alert.  He said, “We’re not alone; there’s someone else here!”

Lynxonna nodded in agreement.  She had sensed it, too.  Archer manifested his bow and cocked an arrow back on the string.  He asked urgently, “Where are they?”

Lynxonna placed her hand on the tip of his arrow and lowered it safely toward the ground.  Smiling, she said to Archer, “You won’t need that.  It’s not a vampire or a gangster.  It’s Dawn Bright.”

“Where is she?” Archer cried out excitedly.  His entire face was lit up with happiness at the thought of seeing her again.

“She’s in there.” Lynxonna pointed to a wooden coffin across the room.  Archer used his vision to peer through the wood and the moment he saw her inside, tears of joy filled his eyes.  He crossed the distance in a flash and reached out to open the lid, but Lynxonna interrupted him, crying out “Wait!  I can hear Dawn’s thoughts.  She’s telling us not to free her; it’s a trap!”

Archer cried out, “I can’t just leave her in there!  You three stay on the far side of the room.  When I open the lid, whatever trap has been set should just hit me, and the rest of you should be safe to rescue Dawn.”

“No.  Let’s analyze the trap first and figure out what it is.  If we put our minds together, we can think of a safer way.” Bryan said smartly, and Lynxar and Lynxonna nodded their heads in agreement.  It was too late, however.  Archer couldn’t wait another second rescue her and impulsively pulled open the lid to the coffin.  Dawn was lying there, frightened but perfectly safe.  He scooped her into his arms and held her tightly to his chest, kissing her passionately while tears streamed down both of their faces.

“Thank goodness you’re safe!” Archer said to her, when finally their lips parted.

“None of us will be safe for long.” Dawn said with concern.  “Vlorian and the Mafia King took the crystal key and Vladimus’ coffin.  I thought they would kill me, but instead they left me here as bait for all of you.  They plan to kill you with a trap that was activated by opening this coffin!”

Suddenly, the floor of the lair split open at the middle and the two halves began to move into the walls, disappearing like a sliding door.  Below, the floor was nothing but a great chasm in the earth, plummeting miles into nothingness.  The furniture in the room began careening into the chasm, falling for what seemed like forever before crashing at the bottom.  The heroes realized that none of them could survive a fall of that distance.  If they fell into the chasm, they would surely be killed.

Chapter Two

The five friends scrambled toward the walls of the Mafia King’s lair as the floor was rapidly disappearing beneath their feet, retracting into the wall.  Archer and Dawn were on one side of the lair and Lynxar, Bryan and Lynxonna were on the other.  The gap between them grew wider by the second.  Frantically, they each looked for a way out.  Lynxar tried to open the doors used by the Mafia King and the vampires, but they had been sealed shut.  The hole in the ceiling was now the only way out.

“Use your strength and jump out to safety!” Archer cried out to his friends across the gap in the floor.

“What about you?” Lynxonna cried out to Archer.  She recognized what Archer already knew.  The angle of the hole in relation to the area where he and Dawn were trapped made it impossible for him to leap to safety while carrying Dawn.  He’d never be able to make it.

“Just go without me!” Archer said, feeling deep concern for the safety of his friends.  “I’ll find another way out!”

“Forget it!  We’re not leaving until we can all escape together!” Lynxar shouted to Archer across the chasm, and the others shouted their agreement.  The floor plates had receded into the wall over half the distance of the lair.  Within moments, the floor would be fully retracted and they would all fall to their deaths.

Lynxar suddenly had an idea.  He communicated his plan telepathically to Lynxonna and she nodded her head in agreement.  Working together, they tried to levitate their friends up to the hole in the ceiling.  It looked like the plan was going to work, but as they approached the ceiling; the metal alloy that shielded the lair hindered their abilities.  Their powers of levitation weakened the closer they got to the ceiling and then failed completely.  They fell from the ceiling until they were far enough from the shielding for Lynxar and Lynxonna to be able to catch them with their mind powers once more and set them gently on the floor where they had started. Dawn and Archer were on one side of the gap and the rest on the other.

Dawn clung to Archer, trembling, as it seemed like their last chance at survival had failed.  There was barely enough room now for them to stand on the receding ledge, and in seconds, the floor would be completely gone.  They were all standing on tip-toe now to keep from falling into the gaping earth.  Dawn felt consumed by the guilt that they would all die because of her, and that her daughter Aurora would now be an orphan.  She clung to Archer, thinking that at least she would be dying in the arms of the man she loved.

Suddenly, Archer shrugged out of her arms.  Dawn felt heartbroken until she realized he wasn’t trying to end their embrace, but to string an arrow in his bow.  He had manifested a rope that shimmered like the sun.  He anchored the rope to the rock wall of the lair on one end and the other end was tied to his arrow.  Archer fired the arrow across the room, sinking it sturdily into the wall right above Lynxar’s head, effectively creating a lifeline that strung across the chasm.  As the last inch of the floor vanished, everyone was able to grip the rope with their hands.  Breathless with fear, they dangled over the gaping earth, alive but not out of danger yet.

“Hang on!” Archer shouted out needlessly.

“Now what do we do?” Lynxonna asked, staring down into the pit of nothingness.

Archer pulled himself up onto the rope like a circus performer and wrapped his legs around it in such a way that he could dangle from it by his knees, allowing him to use his hands.  He held them out and manifested a rope ladder that glimmered like sunlight.  With careful aiming of his arrows, Archer launched the ladder as close to the hole in the ceiling as he could.  Then one by one, his friends climbed up to safety.  When they were on the top rung of the ladder, they were able to reach up, grip the edge of hole in the ceiling, and pull themselves out to safety.  Archer was the last to emerge onto the street above, and each of them hugged him gratefully for having thought of the plan that saved them.  Dawn hugged him tightest of all.

“I can’t believe you came back for me!” she cried in his arms.

“Of course I came back for you.  I love you!” Archer said, kissing her passionately.  When at last they stopped, he smiled at her playfully and said, “Besides, I’m not letting you get out of marrying me that easily.  We agreed that as soon as the vampires were defeated, you’ll be my bride, and I’m not going to give up a prize as wonderful as that just because of one lost battle.”

Everyone chuckled softly and Dawn kissed him again.

Then Archer said thoughtfully, “Now we just need to figure out where the Mafia King and Prince Vlorian have gone.”  He looked at Dawn gently and asked her “Did you hear anything from inside that wooden coffin?”

“Yes” Dawn said, nodding her head enthusiastically.  “Their voices sounded quite muffled through the coffin, but I kept hearing one word repeatedly.  Only, I don’t know what it means.”

“What was the word?” Archer asked, holding her hand in support.

Dawn crinkled her brow in concentration as she drew on her memory and said “'Etherial.  They kept saying Etherial.”

Dawn worried that the clue wouldn’t mean anything to the group of super heroes either, but one look at the grim faces of Archer and Lynxar let her know that it did.

Lynxar was one who spoke up to explain.  He said, “Etherial is known by all the members of the Alliance of Planets.  You and Bryan are both from Earth, so you don’t know, but she is a witch of immense power.  She was a devoted follower of Lord Vladimus and was always looking to align herself with those who would rescue him.  It is rumored that she knew a way to increase his powers by mating with him.  We can only hope she has not come to Colossal City!”

Chapter Three

Prince Vlorian knocked on the iron door of the stone fortress and it opened slowly on its creaky hinges.  A beautiful woman stood on the other side, smiling at him wickedly as she looked him up and down.  She was very tall, with pale white skin, almost as colorless his own.  She had long fiery red hair that flowed past her shoulders like licking flames.  Her face was beautiful, with red pouty lips and cruel eyes that were such a dark blue, they were almost black.  Her body was her most striking feature of all.  She was curvy and voluptuous, and the black gossamer dress she wore left nothing to the imagination.   A spindly wand made of gnarled wood was clutched in her left hand.

Prince Vlorian gave her a polite short bow, then took her right hand in his and kissed it with his cold lips.  He said to her, “Thank you, Lady Etherial, for inviting me to your home.  It is almost as impressive as your beauty.”

“Where is Lord Vladimus?” Etherial asked sharply, clearly unimpressed with his obvious attempt at flattery.

“In there,” Vlorian said in a wounded tone.  He stepped aside and a small band of vampires carried the heavy crystal coffin that imprisoned Lord Vladimus inside the fortress.  The obese Mafia King waddled behind them, wheezing with exhaustion from the long journey from Colossal City.  He was beginning to wonder if he had made a mistake aligning himself with the vampires.  He had thought they would bring him closer to ruling Colossal City, but now he was further away from it than ever.

Lady Etherial directed Vlorian’s men to set the crystal coffin in the middle of her grand hall, and ran her fingers across the top of it seductively.

“I can feel him within!” she said, her eyes glistening with excitement.  Whipping her head around to look at Vlorian, she commanded, “Open it!  Release him at once!”

“We must be cautious.” Vlorian warned her.  As anxious as he was to free his father, he felt protective of him, too.  He explained to her with a condescending tone, “He will be greatly weakened from three centuries of imprisonment.  A band of superheroes stalks us and he will be vulnerable to them.”

“I have the cure for that.” Etherial said with such confidence that Vlorian did not doubt her words.  Her eyes flashed with passion and impatience.  She raised her wand threateningly, and said, “Open the coffin now and free Lord Vladimus.  I will restore his strength so he can take his rightful place as ruler of all he sees.  If you are truly loyal to him, you will stop this sniveling procrastination.  If you don’t have the guts to do it, then I will!”

Prince Vlorian prickled at being accused of disloyalty and cowardice.  He said, “No one has been more loyal to my father than me!  For the past three centuries I have scoured the galaxy searching for him!  The moment of glory is finally upon us and I will be the one to turn the key and set him free!”

With great flare, Vlorian removed the crystal key from his pocket, inserted it into the lock on the crystal coffin, and turned it.  A blinding light filled the grand hall of the fortress and in a flash, it was gone.  When his vision cleared, Prince Vlorian saw that the coffin was now open and his father stood beside it.

Lord Vladimus was extremely tall, with long black hair, red eyes, and skin as white as death.  His face was handsome and distinguished, but his body had lost much of the muscle he had before, causing him to look gaunt and weak.  Still, he had charisma and a foreboding presence that commanded respect.  Everyone in the room knelt before him, even the Mafia King.

“Welcome, my Lord!” Etherial said, quivering with excitement.

“Where am I?” Vladimus asked, feeling puzzled and disoriented.

Vlorian stepped forward to explain.  The Vampire king recognized his son at once and listened to his tale.  His version of history was somewhat altered, but the results were the same.  Vladimus understood that he was on a new planet full of victims ready for the taking, if only he had the strength to get rid of few pesky heroes first.

Vladimus took a step forward to command his small group of loyal followers, and instantly felt weak from the effort.  Etherial stepped forward graciously and took his arm in hers to cover his embarrassment.   She said, “If it pleases you, follow me and I will see that you are refreshed from your long sleep.  Your subjects can wait a few moments, I’m sure.”

“Yes.” Lord Vladimus agreed.  He followed Etherial up the stairs to her own private bed chamber.  It was a large room with a round bed at its center, surrounded by dozens of glowing candles.  Exhausted, Vladimus sat on the edge of the bed.   Etherial locked the door and lit all the candles with a few simple flicks of her wand.

Vladimus said in a regal tone, “Okay, witch.  Refresh me.”

With a wicked smile, Etherial knelt at his feet and said, “Let me pleasure you and you will gain strength and power a hundred times greater than you’ve ever had before.”

Vladimus nodded his consent and Etherial lowered his zipper with her hands and pulled out his organ.  She caressed him there with her fingertips and then began to stroke him sensuously with her palm.  He responded quickly, growing rigid in her grasp.  He could already feel tingles of his strength returning to him.

With a naughty smile, Etherial took his organ into her mouth and began to suck.  Vladimus sighed with pleasure at the feel of her tongue dancing around the tip of him and her lips sliding over the full length of his throbbing member.  His entire body was tingling now, not just with sexual excitement, but with the power of her restorative magic.

“Let me strip for you.” Etherial purred, rising to her feet and slowly unbuttoning her dress.

“No, I prefer to undress you myself!” Vladimus said.  With a sudden move, he grabbed her and pulled her onto the bed.  It felt good to have his strength returned, and seeing the surprised look in Etherial’s eyes as he threw her to bed excited him even more.  He ripped the gossamer fabric from her body with almost violent force until she was completely naked.

Etherial’s nipples grew hard and he could smell the sweet scent of her arousal.  He made love to her with his hands, feeling her hot wetness on his cold fingers and knew that she was ready for him.  More than that, he knew that he was ready for her.  His muscles felt invigorated and his manhood was pulsating with lust.

“Get on your hand and knees!” he commanded gruffly.  Etherial eagerly complied, kneeling in the center of the bed.  She’d been dreaming of this moment for countless years and finally it was here!

Kneeling behind her, Vladimus entered her wet folds with a forceful thrust of his manhood.  Ripples of power shot through his body and he felt himself growing stronger still.

Vladimus began to thrust slowly and Etherial rocked her hips back to meet him, drawing him deeply into her.   They moved in perfect rhythm with each other, gyrating faster and faster.  Vladimus felt as if three hundred years of lust had built up within him and was about to explode from within him.  That’s exactly what happened at the moment of his climax, and Etherial cried out passionately as she felt him spilling his seed within her.  Her gasps of pleasure mingled with his as she orgasmed with him, both their bodies shaking with pleasure.  Vladimus felt a huge surge of power flow through his body and flashes of lightening streaked across the ceiling, even though they were indoors.  He knew that Etherial had used some kind of dark magic to not only restore his power, but increase it.

He withdrew from Etherial and flexed the new rippling muscles that now filled out his entire body.  He lifted the bed with Etherial still on it above his head with one hand and laughed evilly.  He could feel the power and strength surging inside him and knew no one could stop him now.  Colossal City would be his!

Chapter Four

“So, how exactly is this equipment going to help us find Vlorian?”  Archer asked, turning the dials on the machine with a curious expression.  He was at Lynxar’s home, in the laboratory he’d built for his wife, Dr. Rachel Deering.  Archer had worked with her before at the hospital and respected the fact that she was a brilliant research scientist and inventor.  Still, he’d never seen anything like the equipment in this laboratory and as a doctor himself, he wanted to know more about it before using it.

Rachel smiled easily.  She said, “Since Vlorian and Etherial are both from other planets; they’ll be emitting special particles that only come from outer space, called Regmaglypts.  These scanners are designed to detect those particles.  We couldn’t detect them before because the Mafia King’s lair was shielded, but hopefully we can pick up on them now.”

“We need to find Prince Vlorian before he opens that crystal coffin, so these scanners had better work.” Archer said worriedly.

“Believe me, they work.” Lynxar said with chagrin, remembering how one of the scanners had first brought him and Rachel together years ago.   Suddenly, Lynxar’s expression changed to one of fear followed by intense sadness.

“What’s wrong?” Archer asked with concern, setting down his device and rushing to Lynxar’s side.

“We’re too late.” Lynxar said with a heavy voice.  “The crystal coffin has been opened.  Lord Vladimus is now free and stronger than ever.”

“I sensed it too.”  Lynxonna said.  She looked pale, as if in shock.  “He’s joined forces with Etherial and the Mafia King. They’re making plans to …”

Lynxonna’s words trailed off and she shook her head angrily.  “I’ve lost them!  I can no longer read their thoughts!”

Lynxar slammed his fist against the table, cracking it in half, and said, “I’ve lost them too!  They must have gone into a new shielded location. Damn it!  Now we’ll never learn what they were planning!”

“It’s okay.” Archer said calmly and confidentially.  “We already know more than they’d want us to.  When Vladimus and Vlorian come to attack Colossal City with their little group of vampires, we’ll be ready for them.”

“Except they’ll have help.” Lynxar pointed out.  “They’ve formed an alliance with the Mafia King and the witch, Etherial.”

“Leave the Mafia King to me.” Bryan said.  His passionate words made him lose his concentration, and he turned invisible before everyone’s eyes. They could only hear his voice, as he said, “The Mafia King may have bested me in our last skirmish, but the fight’s not over yet.  I have a score to settle with him and this time I won’t be the one stuck in a prison; he will!”

“Yes, and I think Etherial and I need to have a little talk, girl to girl.” Lynxonna said, eager for a fight of her own.  “Let me take care of her, and you boys can handle the rest.”

“I guess that leaves you and me taking care of Vladimus and Vlorian,” Lynxar said to Archer, giving him a hardy slap on the back.  “You can use your transport portal to zip over to Mathias and get a couple more of those crystal coffins and I’ll stay here and prepare some new weapons.”

Archer began to squirm uncomfortably.  He shrugged his shoulders and said, “Actually, that’s where we run into a small problem.”

“What problem?” Lynxar asked, raising his brows.  “We can make enough wooden stakes and silver spikes to impale the vampires that Vlorian brought with him.  Then we just push the father and his son into a couple of new crystal coffin prisons, and the rest will to be too scared to even put up a fight!”

Archer swallowed hard and said, “We can’t get any more crystal coffins from Mathias.  It takes hundreds of years to grow the specialized crystals needed to create the coffin prisons.  My people used all the ones they had to create the last one they gave me.”

“So how do you expect us to capture and defeat Vladimus and his son?” Lynxar asked incredulously.  His wife Rachel lovingly put her arms around him in an effort to keep him calm and stop him from accidentally breaking any more tables.

“Well, that’s where you come in.” Archer said, looking pointedly at them.

“What can I do?” Lynxar asked, but Archer shook his head and explained that he’d actually been looking at Rachel.

Archer said to her, “I noticed you’ve been doing some research on accelerating the growth of certain compounds. I’d like to apply that research to crystals.”

Rachel looked with interest as Archer began to scribble frantically on a piece of paper.  He said, “If you make these adjustments to your formula, we should be able to grow the crystals we need to create our own coffin prisons within a matter of days.”

“I think it just might work.” Rachel said, grabbing the paper and scribbling new calculations on it.  “We should get started right away!”

Chapter Five

Over the next several days, Dr. Rachel Deering and Dr. Archer Speedlight worked tirelessly in the lab, accelerating the growth of crystals.   The formula had to be just right and administered to the crystals at the precise moment.  Afterward, they had to be monitored closely with constant adjustments to make sure the rate of growth didn’t cause abnormalities.  It was exhausting work, but the results were hugely rewarding.

Rachel was worried that her long days working in the lab would cause her daughter Lynxiennia to feel neglected, but it was just the opposite.  Archer brought along Dawn’s daughter Aurora and the two five-year-old girls were never happier, spending the entire day together playing after school.

Meanwhile, Lynxar, Lynxonna, and Bryan spent their days patrolling the city to keep it safe.  They were also looking for any signs of the vampires, Etherial, or the Mafia King; hoping they could find their secret hideout.  At the end of the day, they returned to Lynxar’s house, exhausted and frustrated.

“I guess not finding any vampires today was a good thing,” Lynxar said. “But I just wish I knew when they’d attack.  The waiting and not knowing is the worst part.”

Rachel greeted her husband with a smile and a kiss. She said “Well, it’s good that they’re waiting long enough for us to finish the crystals.  They’re finally in the final phase of growth.  Archer and I will be able to assemble the coffin prisons first thing tomorrow morning.”

“That’s great!” Lynxar cried out proudly.  He gave Rachel a congratulatory kiss, saying, “After that, they can attack anytime and we’ll be ready!”

“I was hoping the vampires would wait a little longer, so maybe we could have a date night.” Rachel teased.

Lynxar smiled at her and said, “I know, ever since Lynxiennia was born, we just don’t get out like we used to, but I’d rather stay in.”

He sent a thought to Rachel’s mind and she blushed.  She whispered to him, “I want you right now, too.”

Archer said tactfully, “It’s been a long a day, and we’ve all gotten a lot accomplished.  Why don’t Dawn and I take Lynxiennia to our house for a sleepover tonight, so you two can have some alone time.  We’re all going to need our rest if we’re going to assemble the coffins tomorrow.”

Lynxar and Rachel thanked Archer gratefully.  No sooner had everyone left, than Rachel threw herself at her husband, wrapping her arms around him and kissing him passionately right in the middle of their living room.

Take off my clothes, she thought, knowing he could her mind.  Lynxar complied, using his telekinetic abilities to strip off both their clothes without having to remove his hands from fondling her.  They lay down on the couch together, still kissing and grabbing each other passionately.

I’m going to make you orgasm; he sent the thought into Rachel’s mind, as he nuzzled her neck and nibbled her earlobe.

She giggled with delight, then pulled away, arching her left eyebrow at him challengingly, and said aloud, “I bet I can make you orgasm first!”

Lynxar grinned, accepting her playful challenge.  He cupped her full, round breasts in his strong hands and brought his mouth to her nipples, kissing and suckling her.  Rachel sighed with pleasure as her rosy nipples became hard with arousal and she felt moisture growing between her thighs.  She twisted out his reach and took his manhood into her mouth, pleasuring him with her lips, mouth and tongue. She delighted in the salty taste of him as he moaned in ecstasy.

I won’t let you win that easily, Lynxar sent his thought to Rachel’s mind, and even though he could not reach her with his hands, Rachel felt as if he were caressing her.  With the powers of his mind, Lynxar was able to stimulate her most intimate places, rubbing and caressing them in just the right ways.  Rachel’s breath came in ragged gasps as she struggled to hold back her orgasm.  Every nerve and muscle in her body was tingling with erotic pleasure and it was all she could do to hold herself back.  If she was going to keep from losing the game, she was going to have to do something quick.

In a sudden and unexpected move, Rachel turned over on the couch so Lynxar was underneath her, and straddled his waist.  She slid his rigid member deep into her wet folds and began to thrust wildly on top of him, sliding up and down the full length of him.  She ran her hands over his chest as she did so, scratching erotically at his torso with her fingernails.  The sensation drove Lynxar wild with passion and he could no longer control himself.  He groaned loudly as he climaxed inside her, gripping her hips and squeezing her buttocks as he spilled his seed.

Rachel could still feel the sensation of Lynxar stimulating her nipples and innermost folds as she gound on top of his throbbing organ.  When he grabbed her buttocks and she could feel him climaxing, she let go of her restraint and allowed herself to climax with him.  Her orgasm sent waves of rapture rolling through her.  She threw back her head and screamed out in ecstasy as her body convulsed in pleasure.  Finally, she collapsed on top of him, utterly exhausted and satisfied. His skin was damp with perspiration and she delighted in curling her fingers through his long purple hair.

Lynxar curled his arms around her and hugged her naked body against his own.  He said aloud, “That was worth the wait.”

“It sure was.” Rachel agreed.  “But who won our challenge?”

Lynxar grinned and said, “I think it was a tie.”

Rachel giggled and said, “Want to go for a tie breaker?”

“I sure do.” Suddenly, Lynxar sat up and accidentally dropped Rachel from his lap onto the floor with a gentle thud.  He said urgently, “Get dressed; someone’s coming!”

“Who could it be at this late hour?” Rachel asked, pulling on her clothes with a look of concern.

Lynxar was already fully dressed, thanks to his super speed.  When he saw that Rachel was descent, he pulled open the front door and Rachel gasped in horror to see the Mafia King standing there.  He was dirty and sweaty, with leaves clinging to his clothes.  It looked like he’d escaped some terrible accident in the forest.  Rachel drew in a gasp of air, preparing to scream, but Lynxar held his hand out in a calming gesture and said to her, “Don’t worry; he’s not here to harm us.  He’s here to help.”

Chapter Six

“How do we know we can trust him?” Bryan asked doubtfully.  He’d been eating breakfast with his wife, Vicky, after a beautiful night of making love, when he’d gotten the call to return to Lynxar’s house.  When he arrived, he was hit with the unpleasant surprise of finding his nemesis sitting in their living room, and he wasn’t the least bit happy about it.

Lynxar had been talking with the Mafia King since late last night, and after listening to what he had to say, decided to invite all his friends over to hear his story.  He could understand Bryan’s suspicions and tried to calm him. He said simply, “I trust him, and you can, too.”

Lynxonna said, “I’ve been reading his mind and there is no deception there.  His story is true and his feelings are sincere.”

Archer spoke up as well.  He said, “His biological signs are all steady.  There are no elevated levels of adrenaline or stomach acids.  No increased rate in pulse or breathing.  I’d say he’s telling the truth, too.”

Bryan respected his friends’ opinions, but he still had his doubts.  He said, “And why would our enemy, who’s been plotting for years to take over Colossal City, suddenly come here with an offer of help?  All he cares about is destruction and power, so much so that he aligned himself with vampires!  We can’t trust him!”

The Mafia King stood up, hefting his heavy body from the couch with a groan and said, “You’re right; for years all I’ve thought about was how I could destroy you and take Colossal City for myself.  I was hungry for power and I thought I could get it by aligning myself with Prince Vlorian.  We made a deal.  I would help him free his father and he would bring a small band of vampires to help me take over the city.  Then I would rule Colossal City and give the vampires a few victims as a reward, but things aren’t going as I planned.”

Bryan tried to maintain his distrust, but as he listened to the Mafia King’s story, he thought perhaps the others were right.  Maybe he was telling the truth.

In his deep and gravelly voice, the gangster said, “After I helped Vlorian get the coffin safely out of Colossal City, we went to the witch’s fortress and he opened it and let his father out.  Lord Vladimus was nothing like I thought he would be.  He had no plans to let me rule the city as I’d been promised.  He plans to build a portal that will link Earth to the vampire realm and bring thousands of vampires here to enslave the human population and drink all their blood.”

Lynxonna gasped at this awful news and Bryan could barely stop himself from turning invisible.  Archer went pale with horror and only Lynxar, who had already heard the story, was able to maintain his cool.

The Mafia King gave them a moment to regain their composure, and then continued, saying, “I’m not a good man. In fact, I’m the farthest thing from it, but this is beyond evil.  I wanted to rule Colossal City, not see the entire human race wiped out.  I knew there was only one thing I could do; I had to come to you.  I managed to escape Etherial’s fortress and come here, hoping you’ll believe me.”

“Why come to us?  You’re a powerful man; why not call upon your gangsters?” Bryan asked, but there was no distrust in his tone, just curiosity.

The Mafia King bowed his head and said “Vladimus is calling forth thousands of vampires.  My men would be useless against forces like that.  You’re the only ones who can protect Colossal City from that kind of attack; I’m willing to do whatever I can to help you do it.”

The room was silent for a moment as everyone digested all this new information.  Then Bryan himself patted the Mafia King’s shoulder and said, “We’re glad you came to us.  We can use one more man on our team.”

Lynxonna and Lynxar began to exchange ideas about what they could do to defend the city.  Huge defenses would have to be put into place.  Bryan offered to provide all the funding necessary, thanks to his billion-dollar estate.

Archer sat quietly in the corner thinking.  After a while, he sat by the Mafia King and said, “Tell me everything you can about this portal.”

The gangster let out a sigh and said, “It’s being constructed in the top tower of Etherial’s fortress, deep in the Evergreen Forest.  She’s cast a spell, shielding it from your detection, but I know how to get through it.  The portal itself is huge, at least twenty feet in diameter.  An entire army will be able to pass through it easily.  The vampires are working on it twenty-four hours a day.”

Lynxar and the others couldn’t help but overhear their conversation and be drawn to it.  Lynxar asked “Did they say when it will be ready?”

The Mafia King shook his head, making his jowls flap.

Archer stood up, with a serious expression and said darkly, “I already know when.  I’ve been studying the skies.  In three nights’ time, at midnight, a rare event will take place.  The stars of Mathias, Flonar, and Earth will be aligned in a perfectly symmetrical triangle.  It’s the only time the portal will be able to get enough power to transport an entire army.  I’m certain they plan to activate it then.”

“Three nights!  There’s no way we can make Colossal City defensible against an army by then!” Lynxar cried out.

Archer nodded solemnly.  “You’re right.  There’s only one solution.  I’ve got to shut the portal down and destroy it.  I just need to get into the fortress and I’ll have to count on all of you to create a distraction while I do it.”

“We can keep Vladimus, Etherial, and all their minions occupied easily enough.” Lynxar said confidently.

“And I can get you into the fortress.” The Mafia King volunteered.

Lynxonna, usually eager for a good fight, was uncharacteristically quiet.  Putting a gentle hand on Archer’s shoulder, she said softly, “Are you sure you want to do this?”

“Yes.” Archer said, without hesitation.  “I’ve failed Dawn before and it almost made Aurora an orphan.  I won’t fail her again, or the people of Colossal City.  Once I destroy that portal, the vampires won’t ever come back here again.  They’ll seek easier prey and Dawn and Aurora will be safe forevermore.”

“Okay, well if you’re sure, then you can count on us to help you.” Lynxonna said with tears in her eyes.

“Good.  We’ll leave at noon today; the vampires will be weakest at midday.  I’m going home to be with Dawn before I leave.”

Lynxonna wrapped her arms around him and gave him a hug goodbye.  After he left, Bryan stared at her and said, “What was that all about?”

Lynxar, who possessed Lynxonna’s same mind-reading abilities, already knew.  He said to Bryan, “Archer knows that in order to destroy the portal, he’ll have to do it from the other side, in the vampire realm.  Once he does, he won’t be able to get back.  This mission will be his last.”

Chapter Seven

Dawn Bright had just finished dropping her daughter Aurora off at school and was thrilled to find Archer sitting in their living room.

“Well, this is a pleasant surprise,” she smiled happily, greeting him with a kiss.  “I thought you were going to Lynxar’s house for the day to work on getting rid of the vampires.”

“We found a way.” Archer said, holding her tightly to him and not wanting to let her go.  He forced himself to release her from his embrace and said, “I’m leaving at noon today to go on a mission.  When I’m done, the vampires will never harm you or Aurora again.  You’ll be able to live the rest of your lives free from danger.”

“That’s wonderful!” Dawn beamed proudly.  “Tell me all about it!  I want to know every detail of your plan.”

“I will, but first I want to know every detail of your body.  I want to be able to take the memory of how it feels to make love with you on this mission. Your love will give me courage and strength.”

Archer kissed her then with such passion that Dawn melted in his embrace.  She opened her mouth to him and felt his tongue meld with her own.  When she finally turned her head away from him, gasping for breath, he began to kiss her earlobe and the slope of her neck.  Dawn’s gasps turned into sighs of pleasure, as she felt his hot lips work their way down to the hollow of her throat.

She pulled her blouse over her head, to give him access to what was underneath.  Archer was delighted to find she wasn’t wearing a bra, and he took her firm, round breasts into his hands, cupping them and squeezing them tenderly.  Then he kissed every inch of them, in slow deliberate circles, starting from the outside and working his way towards the center, until he ended with her rosy pink nipples in the center and suckled them.

Next, he stripped off her skirt and underwear and began to kiss his way down the rest of her body.  Archer delighted in his task, taking his time and letting his lips, mouth, and tongue devour her inch by inch.  Dawn marveled that it was as if he didn’t want to miss touching a single inch of her naked flesh.  It felt amazing and she thought she had never been more aroused.  Her entire body quivered with desire and she reached down for his manhood.

To Dawn’s immense joy, she found that he was already swollen and ready for her.  She spread her thighs eagerly and pulled him toward her, inviting him in, but Archer hesitated.  He knew in his heart that this was the last time he would ever be able to make love to Dawn Bright, and he wanted to savor the moment and make it last.

“Wait,” he whispered in a husky voice, although his entire body ached for her.

“I don’t want to wait!” Dawn giggled, grabbing at him lustily.

Archer held out his hands as if calling for his bow and arrows, and manifested a pair of delicate handcuffs that looked to be made of crystal.  They were as light as a feather, and not really intended to restrain anyone, but to be used in playful fun between the lovers.  With his superior speed and strength, Archer deftly cuffed Dawn’s hands together behind her back.  Her eyes glistened with erotic excitement at the game, knowing full well that she was perfectly safe with him.  Archer smiled at her lovingly and said, “Now I can take my time and make love to you as long as I want.”

Dawn delighted as Archer made love to her with his mouth, expertly using his tongue to bring her to near orgasm.  Then he held out his hands and manifested a small vibrator toy made of smooth crystal.  He turned on the toy and held it to Dawn in just the right place, pushing her over the edge into orgasm.  Wave after wave of incredible rapture crashed over her and the handcuffs snapped apart as she clutched at his back in ecstasy.

“I want you inside me!  Now!” she panted and at last Archer entered her most sacred folds with his throbbing manhood.  She was hot and wet and he could feel her muscles rippling around him as she took him in fully.

“I’m going to climax too soon!” he moaned, wishing he could make it last longer, but Dawn was entering her third orgasm and didn’t care.  She wrapped her legs around his waist and thrust wildly against him, screaming out his name as her fingernails raked across his back.

“Harder!” she cried out, and Archer complied eagerly, losing his inhibitions to the moment of passion.  As he felt himself orgasm, he knew that he loved Dawn more than life itself, and he would do anything to protect her.

Afterward, as they lay cuddling naked together, and their pulses slowed back down to normal, they both basked in each other’s love.  Dawn then broke the magical moment by asking him again about his final mission.

“So, tell me what you have planned?” she asked curiously.

“What time is it?” Archer jumped up and started getting dressed, instead of answering her question.

“It’s ten minutes till noon,” she said, arching her eyebrow at him suspiciously.  It wasn’t like Archer to avoid answering a question.  Frowning, she said, “But that doesn’t mean you can change the subject.  I want to know about this solution you came up with for getting rid of the vampires.”

Archer used his super speed to dress himself before she could even see his movements.  He held out his hands, manifesting his favorite weapon, his bow and arrows, and then kissed her lovingly on the lips.  “I have to go.” He said, urgently.  “I love you.  Always remember that.  I want you to live a long and happy life, and Aurora, too.  I have to go now.  Remember, being with you is the best thing that ever happened to me. I love you.”

Archer turned suddenly and fled out the door, on his way to his mission. Dawn ran to the door to try and stop him, but he was already gone from her sight.  She sensed intuitively that this was no ordinary mission.  Something was terribly wrong and she was determined to find out what.  She knew that Archer loved her enough to die for her and she knew now that she loved him enough to die for him, too.

TO BE CONTINUED IN BOOK ELEVEN: The Heart of Danger - Volume 11

The Heart of Danger

Chapter One

“That’s it, I’m done.” Dr. Rachel Deering sighed, sounding exhausted but also exhilarated.  “The final crystals have been put into place.  The coffin prisons are properly assembled according to Archer’s precise instructions.”

“All we need now are a couple of vampire leaders to put inside them and they’ll be perfect,” her husband Lynxar said.  He was beaming with pride at his wife’s accomplishment and she smiled at his playful joke as he took her into his arms and kissed her warmly.

“Getting the vampires is your job; my part is complete.” Rachel said and kissed him return.

Lynxar realized sadly that after all of Rachel’s hard work, they’d have to leave the crystal coffins behind.  They had originally intended to use them to capture Lord Vladimus and his son, Prince Vlorian.  Of course, that was before they had learned from the Mafia King that they had created a giant portal hidden in the fortress of the witch Etherial.  Now the hero’s mission had changed.  Destroying the portal had to be their first priority now, and Archer planned to embark on a suicide mission to accomplish the task.  It was a tough decision, but Lynxar knew how much it meant to Archer and decided to support his friend in his greatest moment.

Lynxar looked at the clock.  It was half an hour until noon, when they had agreed to meet again so the Mafia King could lead them to Etherial’s fortress.  Thirty minutes wasn’t much time, but it was just enough for him to show Rachel one last time how much he loved and appreciated her.

As Rachel took off her lab coat and prepared to leave the lab, Lynxar grabbed her suddenly and looking lovingly into her deep blue eyes.  He kissed her passionately, sliding his hands up her body, to caress her face.  As they paused for breath, he removed the pins from her hair, releasing her bun, and sending her long golden locks cascading down her shoulders.

“Ooh, what’s this?” Rachel giggled in happy surprise.

“Just giving you a little thank you for all your hard work.” Lynxar said.  “Plus, we’ve both been working so hard lately, I’ve missed making love to you as often as we used to.”

“I’ve missed it, too.” Rachel smiled.  She pulled off her dress and performed a sexy little striptease for her husband.  His violet-colored eyes grew darker and his purple hair flowed ever so subtly as his lust grew.

It wasn’t very often that they made love in the laboratory he had built for her in their home, but when they did, it drove them both wild with desire.  It reminded them of the days when they first fell in love, when he was just a lonely and scared alien stranded on Earth and she was the kind and beautiful scientist who helped him.

With the powers of his mind, Lynxar levitated all the lab equipment off one of her tables and set them safely on shelves across the room.  He then levitated Rachel and prepared to lay her down onto the cleared surface.

“Wait!” Rachel cried out, her voice thick with desire.  “We can’t use my lab tables.  Just make love to me here, in the air.”

Lynxar grinned at the fun and kinky idea.  With the powers of his mind, he kept Rachel floating in the air and brought her level with his mouth.  She sighed and moaned as he pleasured her with his lips and tongue, kissing, licking, and suckling every inch of her.

“I want you now!” she moaned, and Lynxar lowered her slowly from his mouth down to his groin.  He was firm and ready for her, and he already knew that she was wet and ready for him.

She wrapped her legs eagerly around his waist as he entered her, and her breath came in rapid gasps of pleasure as she undulated against him, meeting his thrusts and bringing him deeper into her.

When she orgasmed, Lynxar opened his mind so he could read her thoughts, allowing him to feel her orgasm as she was having it.  The sensation caused him to orgasm powerfully, spilling his seed inside her.  He sent the pleasures from his mind back into hers, so she could experience the intense pleasure he was feeling too, giving her what he liked to call a triple orgasm.

As Lynxar read her mind during the unbelievable euphoria, he lost his concentration and forgot to keep levitating her.  She started to drop, and he grabbed her instantly with his lightning-quick reflexes, and hugged her to him tightly.  She gripped at his torso, clawing at his back in pleasure, until finally the intense orgasm subsided for them both.

“That was incredible,” Rachel sighed with satisfaction.  “I should make things for you in my lab more often.”

“And I should make it with you in your lab more often.” Lynxar grinned.  He noticed the time and realized sadly that the fun was over.  The noon sun was high overhead.  It was time to find the vampires, even though it meant saying goodbye to a friend.  The fate of Colossal City depended on it.

Chapter Two

“Father, the portal is ready.” the vampire Prince Vlorian said, as the mighty king of the vampires strode into the room.  Vlorian’s men had been working around the clock to complete the project with the curtains drawn tightly to keep out the daylight.

“Well done.” Lord Vladimus praised his son, who beamed with pride at the rare words.  His red eyes danced excitedly, and the corners of his lips turned up into a smile, showing his pointed teeth.  Vladimus circled the portal, inspecting the work, and said, “Two nights from now, the planets Flonar and Mathias will form a perfectly symmetrical triangle with Earth, and we will have enough power to bring an entire army through this portal from the vampire realm.  Soon, vampires will rule Earth, drinking the blood of all its inhabitants until every last human his dead.”

The small band of vampire workers all cheered at the speech.  They’d been promised great rewards when they helped Prince Vlorian free his father from the crystal coffin in which he’d been imprisoned all these centuries.  Now that the task was done, they wanted their due.  They were growing impatient from waiting and were thirsty for blood.

The witch, Etherial, who had allowed the vampires to hide in her fortress, stepped forward to gaze at the portal.  Her long red hair flowed behind her in the wind and her black gossamer dress clung to her body.  She turned to Lord Vladimus with an unimpressed pout of her lips and said “How do you know the portal even works?”

Vladimus glared at her, his eyes flashing with anger.  How dare she question him in front of his men?  He turned to his son and the other vampires and said in an icy voice, “Leave us.  I wish to speak to Lady Etherial privately.”

Prince Vlorian shepherded the vampires out of the door, saying jubilantly, “Come; let us celebrate the completion of the portal!  Soon, an entire army will join us and Colossal City will be ours!”

Cheering loudly, the vampires retreated to the great hall, leaving Vladimus and Etherial alone.  She stood tall, staring down at the portal with a sneer of condescension.

Vlorian felt himself growing aroused by her willfulness.  Puffing out his chest, he said to her, “Never question me like that again!  You cast the spell that multiplied my strength a hundred-fold, but you do not hold power over me!  I am lord of the vampires, not you!”

Etherial bowed low in a show of respect, but when she stood again, a smirk of derision curled the corners of her lips.  She said sarcastically, “Of course, my Lord.  If you say so, the portal will transport an army.”

Glaring at her, he said “Do you doubt my word that the portal links Earth to the vampire realm?”

Etherial laughed, a haughty sound, and said, “Of course I do not doubt you, but it was built by lesser men and I have no reason to trust their work.  They tell you the portal is ready, but they have not even tested it.  What happens, if on the eve of the planetary alignment, you attempt to bring your army here and the portal fails?  You could lose thousands of your men.  Surely a leader of your intelligence intends to test the device first.”

“Of course I do!” Lord Vladimus shouted, hoping his anger would mask his embarrassment. She was right, he had trusted the others too much, but he could not let her know that.  Then an idea occurred to him, and his voice turned seductive.  He curled his fingers around her shoulders and whispered in her ear. “I just didn’t want to test it in front of them.  I wanted to do it privately, with only you.”

“Really?” Etherial purred.  Her eyes danced with naughty delight and her nipples strained visibly against the thin fabric of her dress.  “What did you have in mind?”

Lord Vladimus activated the portal and it flashed with a blinding light.  With confident strides, he stepped boldly through the portal, disappearing before Etherial’s eyes, as he travelled across time and space in an instant.   Etherial paced nervously outside the portal, hoping he was all right and wondering if she should go for help.  Just when she couldn’t take it anymore, suddenly he reappeared again, but he wasn’t alone.  A woman was at his side.

Etherial looked the woman up and down and saw she had the dead-white skin of a vampire.  The new guest also had short black hair, piercing black eyes, and enormous breasts on a very petite frame.  Vladimus smiled and said “This is Fatallia, from the vampire realm.  She proves that the portal works and that vampires can be brought through the portal.  Now, it is time to celebrate our success.”

“Celebrate how?” Etherial said, eying the girl jealously.  The sexual chemistry between the two vampires was evident and Etherial felt more than a little slighted.

Fatallia sauntered sexily up to the beautiful witch, put her lips upon hers and said, “How about with a ménages à trois?”

Etherial’s eyes lit up at the suggestion of three-way sex.  She eagerly slid her hands up Fatallia’s skinny body until she came to her enormous bosom.  It took both her hands to cup just one of them, and she reveled in the soft feel of first one and then the other.  Eagerly, she began to kiss and caress them all over, letting her tongue flick lightly over her dark pink nipples.

“Suck them.” Vladimus commanded, aroused by the spectacle.  Willingly, Etherial obeyed and Fatallia gasped in pleasure at the feel of her hot mouth on her hardened nipples.  After a while, Fatallia returned the favor, eagerly pulling away Etherial’s gown and taking the witch’s nipples into her own mouth.

As Vladimus watched, his male organ became engorged and began to throb with lust.  When the two women paused in their sexual activity, they saw his need and both took turns pleasuring him with their mouths.  Etherial licked and sucked the length of him on the left side, while Fatallia did the same from the right.  Occasionally, their mouths would meet and they would pause to kiss each other.

“The only question is, which of us will he do first?” Fatallia asked with a naughty gleam in her black eyes.

“Well, I am the hostess.” Etherial said sweetly.  “That means it’s my job to accommodate both you and Vladimus as my guests.”

Fatallia spread her thighs invitingly, and Etherial knelt to make love to her most private folds with her mouth.  Fatallia panted and gasped loudly as the witch’s expert tongue quickly brought her near to climaxing.  As she worked, Vladimus entered Etherials intimate folds from behind, sliding his organ into her hot wet tunnel, and began to thrust passionately.  The harder he pumped, the more pleasure Etherial felt, and the more enthusiastically she then pleasured Fatallia.  The three of them worked together, thrusting, licking, and moaning in ecstasy in a ménages à trois of evil, never realizing that as they made each other climax, a small group of heroes was slipping into the fortress, and preparing to save Colossal City.

Chapter Three

“Follow my steps exactly!” the Mafia King whispered in his gruff voice, as he treaded carefully along the fortress wall.  Lynxar and Lynxonna walked closely behind him, dressed in vampire costumes.  They carefully positioned their feet in the same places as the large man, trying not to trip on the capes they weren’t used to wearing.  It was hard to believe they were dressed this way, following a man who had once been their enemy, to stop an even greater evil.

Bryan came next, snickering at his friends’ appearances and grateful that he didn’t need a costume.  Once again, he enjoyed his ability to become completely invisible far more than any other power he could have had.

Archer took up the rear, walking backward with an arrow strung on his bow in case anyone attacked from behind.  He was dressed in costume as well, as the vampires would be on the lookout for him more than any other.  His mind wandered as he thought of Dawn Bright and her daughter Aurora.  He knew in a heartbeat that he’d do anything to protect them, even if meant sacrificing his own life.  He was just grateful that he’d gotten the chance to make love to Dawn one last time before he’d left.

“Pay attention!” the Mafia King barked at Archer in a harsh whisper.  “The witch has protected this place with a powerful curse!  If you don’t follow the precise pattern going in or coming out, you’ll set off the spell and we’ll all be killed!”

“Don’t worry; I can see where you’re putting your feet, even when I’m not looking directly at you.” Archer said reassuringly.

“Yeah, he can literally see behind him.” Lynxar assured the Mafia King, who pursed his lips, impressed by Archer’s powers of vision.

Suddenly, the Mafia King held up his chubby hand, signaling the party to come to an abrupt halt, nearly causing them to bump into one another.  He whispered, “This is the door to the fortress!  Now what’s the plan?”

The four members of the Alliance of Hero Friends had agreed not to share the details of their attack with their former enemy until he had proven himself trustworthy, but now that he had led them this far, they could no longer exclude him.  The mid-day sun was sinking lower in the sky.  It had taken a lot longer to find the fortress than they had hoped, and soon sunset would be upon them.  If they were going to attack, they needed to do it now.

Lynxar used his mental powers to send the first part of their plan straight into the Mafia King’s mind.  The large man squeezed his eyes shut painfully at the unexpected sensation; his fists clenched at his sides, then grew accustomed to it and relaxed.  He opened his eyes, nodded his consent, and said, “Let’s do it!”

He pushed open the door to the fortress and burst into the grand hall exuberantly.  As expected, it was filled with dozens of vampires, partying and celebrating wildly.  They looked up carelessly, saw it was just the fat human and a few other vampires, and ignored them all to continue their celebration.

Archer breathed a sigh of relief.  He had secretly doubted if the disguises would be good enough to fool the vampires, but apparently they were.

“Where have you been?” one of the vampires asked the Mafia King casually, as he sank his teeth into a piece of raw meat.

“Lord Vladimus told me to go into the forest and find these three friends of his.  Where is he?”

“He and Etherial are still in the tower.  We just completed building the portal; celebrate with us!”

“Of course!” the Mafia King said, almost too loudly.  He grabbed a bottle of wine and pretended to join their revelry.

Archer and Lynxar passed a meaningful look between each other.  The portal was complete: they had to destroy it now!  Lynxar, Lynxonna and the Ghost would create a distraction big enough to draw Vladimus and Etherial out of the tower.  Then the Mafia King would help Archer find the portal and he would destroy it.   Lynxar gave Archer a long hug, silently wishing him good luck on his mission.  He just wished it wasn’t the last time he would see him.

Archer and the Mafia King quietly worked their way to the back of the grand hall, toward the staircase leading to the tower.  Without seeming to be looking at them, Archer watched as they spread out to opposite corners of the room, preparing to enact their plan.  The Ghost was invisible, even to Archer’s incredible vision, but he knew he was out there, too.

Lynxar was ready to use his mind powers to give the signal for action, when suddenly he was interrupted.  Lord Vladimus himself burst through the tower door, followed by Etherial and a petite, busty female.  The vampire king spread his arms grandly and shouted out, “The portal works!  It has been successfully tested!  In two nights’ time, we will bring forth all our brothers and sisters from the vampire realm!”

“Not if we have anything to say about it!” a new voice suddenly cried out, ending his speech of victory.  Lord Vladimus looked to see a strange vampire stride into the center of the room.  He ripped off his wig to reveal flowing purple hair and pulled away his mask.   It was Lynxar!

“Get him!” Vladimus roared and a mob of vampires pounced on him at once.  He knocked them back against the walls with a blast of his telekinetic powers, but they recovered quickly and prepared to attack again.

Archer held out his hands, preparing to manifest his bow and help his friends, but the Mafia King grabbed him by the arm and yanked him onto the stairwell leading up to the tower.  The gangster said, “Let Lynxonna and Bryan help him.  This is the distraction we’ve been waiting for!  We’ve got to destroy that portal or all this will be for nothing!”

Archer looked over his shoulder hesitantly.  He hated to abandon his friends, but the Mafia King was right.  He’d come here to destroy the portal and this might be his only chance to do it. One thought of Dawn’s beautiful face strengthened his resolve and he was determined to do whatever it took to save her.

He followed the Mafia King up the steps to the top of tower and there it stood.  Archer gasped in awe at the sight of it.  Vampires could travel short distances on their own, so his people had developed portals to chase after them.  They used the small devices to send individuals from planet to planet, protecting innocent people from the creatures.  However, over time, the vampires had stolen the technology and expanded on it.

With the portals, the vampires could travel greater distances than they could normally.  They started making the portals bigger and bigger so they could travel in groups across the universe, causing destruction.  This one was the largest portal Archer had ever seen; at least twenty-five feet in diameter.  With enough energy to power it, they could move hundreds of vampires to any location in the galaxy!  He had to destroy it for the sake of the entire universe!

Archer regained his composure and held out his hands, manifesting his bow with a single arrow.  It was immediately clear to the Mafia King that this was no ordinary arrow.  The tip of it was made of pure crystal that shimmered with all the colors of the rainbow.

Archer pulled the arrow back onto his string and cried out to the Mafia King, “Activate the portal!”

“What are you going to do?” the Mafia King asked, for Lynxar had only shared part of his plan.

Archer said, “I’m going to pass through it and destroy it from the other side.  You need to join back with Lynxar and get out of here as fast as you can!”

“How will you make it back if I do that?” the Mafia King asked naïvely, then hitched his breath as he realized Archer didn’t intend to return.

The former gangster grabbed Archer by the shoulders and shook him roughly, saying, “If you do that, you might as well just let the vampires get us.  Colossal City needs you, and the woman and her little girl need you the most.  It will be like their world has already ended if you go on this suicide mission, and you know it.”

The Mafia King released him from his grip, and Archer struggled to steady himself.  Archer said, “I don’t want to leave Dawn and Aurora, but I have to do what I can to protect them and all the other citizens of Colossal City.  This is the only way.  Now, activate the portal!  I have to deploy this weapon from the vampire realm to destroy it.”

“Why, what is that?” the Mafia King asked, indicating the strange new arrow.

Archer said “This crystal arrowhead is a special weapon I can only manifest once.  In fact, making it now has drained me of all my powers for several days.  I’m just a regular human now.”

“Why? What is it?” the Mafia King asked in awe.

Archer said “It holds a piece of an exploding star.  If I detonate it on this side of the portal, we could all be killed.  The only safe way to destroy the portal is from the vampire realm, where no one else will be hurt if the blast radius is too large.  I just can’t take the chance of detonating it on this side.”

The Mafia King understood.  He pushed the button, activating the portal.  A blinding light burst from it as it whirred to life.  Archer strode bravely toward the portal, when suddenly the Mafia King stuck out his hand, blocking him.

“Wait!” he said.  “I’ve seen you hit incredible targets from impossible distances.  Why can’t you launch your arrow through the portal, safely from this side?”

Archer shook his head and said, “I told you; I don’t have my super powers of vision right now.  I could still shoot an arrow at a simple target, but hitting a target through the portal is a lot more difficult.   I just can’t risk messing this up.”

The Mafia King grabbed his new friend roughly by the collar and said, “If there’s a chance you could destroy the portal without having to kill yourself by going to the other side, then you have to try.  Think of the people who love you.  Don’t abandon them like the people I had loved did to me.  It ruined my life and made me want to do terrible things.  My heart wasn’t able to heal from it until the day I learned that all of humanity was in jeopardy.  I know you can hit that target even without your super-vision. You just have to believe in yourself!”

Archer gasped for breath as the Mafia King released him.  He thought of Dawn and Aurora and his heart broke for them.  He knew the Mafia King was right; he had to try.  He looked him the eye and nodded his head affirmatively.  “Okay!  Let’s do it!”

Archer stared into the shining portal, straining his eyes to find the exact place through time and space that he needed to aim his arrow.  He raised his arm, knowing the arc of flight had to be perfect, or all would be lost.   Heaving a great breath for courage, he opened his fingers and let the arrow fly.

Chapter Four

Downstairs, the great hall was in chaos.  Lynxonna had removed her disguise as well and joined Lynxar in his battle.  The two of them stood back to back, each of them hurling vampires away from each other as the villains approached in an endless tide of evil.

Meanwhile, the Ghost searched the grand hall, completely unseen, until finally he found what he was looking for.   A box full of silver spikes the vampires had confiscated from their enemies lay hidden in a chest.  As quickly as he could, he began hurling the weapons at the horde of vampires surrounding his friends.  The vampires dropped as one by one he hit his mark, impaling them through the heart.

Terrified by their unseen attacker, the remaining vampires began to scatter around the room.  Lynxar realized they were at risk that some of them would flee back up to the tower.

We’ve got to keep them distracted and away from the fortress tower! Lynxar sent his thought into the minds of his friends.

The Ghost deactivated his invisibility so he could suddenly be seen by everyone in the room.  He threw the last silver spike he had, killing the vampire closest to Lynxonna, then held up his empty hands and said, “Oops! I’m out of ammunition!”

Lynxar understood Bryan’s ploy and yelled loudly.  “We’re in trouble now!  Run!”

Bryan winked at Lynxar and reactivated his invisibility, becoming the Ghost once more.  With his super strength, he broke open the front door of the fortress and ran out into the forest.   Lynxar and Lynxonna followed him, and just as the hoped, the remaining horde of vampires chased after them.

With just a dozen vampires left, all they had to do was keep them distracted long enough for Archer to complete his mission.  It wouldn’t be an easy task, however, as the remaining vampires were the fastest, most bloodthirsty of the bunch. The sun was setting in the sky and as it grew darker, their strength just kept increasing.

Feeling them getting nearer, Lynxonna pulled on a tree trunk out by its roots, throwing it down into the vampire’s path in an attempt to slow them down.  The horde jumped easily over it, following close at their heels.

Lynxar levitated a huge boulder to cause a rock slide behind them, wiping out a few of the vampires, but the rest continued their pursuit.

Suddenly, there was a bright flash of light and the sound of a loud explosion in the distance.  The heroes stopped in their tracks to look behind them.  Far away, the tower of Etherial’s fortress was crumbling down in the wake of a huge blast that was as bright as an exploding star.

The vampires stopped too, their faces filled with shock and despair.  One of them yelled out, “Lord Vladimus has been defeated!”

“He will rise to glory again!” a busty female with short dark hair cried out, but the rest began shouting angrily.

“He does not deserve our loyalty.  He promised us easy prey on this planet and it has been nothing but trouble.  I’m going elsewhere!”

The first vampire who had spoken twirled his cape around himself and disappeared in a puff of smoke.  The rest began to vanish just as quickly, vaporizing before the heroes eyes, disappearing to nearby planets where the people were not so resistant.

Fatallia soon saw that she was the only vampire remaining.  Pouting out her lip indignantly, she snorted at the trio of hero friends and vanished along with the others.

“He did it!” the Lynxar shouted triumphantly.  “Archer succeeded in destroying the portal and it drove the vampires off!

The Ghost deactivated his power of invisibility and became Bryan Hillman once more. He sat down heavily on a tree stump and said sadly “I just can’t believe he had to sacrifice himself to do it.  The world won’t be the same without him.”

“Archer is still alive!  He’s in the tower!” Lynxonna said, but her tone wasn’t joyful, it was full of fear.

“Are you sure?” Bryan asked, his voice full of excitement and hope.

Lynxar nodded his head.  He could see with his mind the same thing she had.  He said to Bryan “Archer found a way to destroy the portal without having to sacrifice himself, but the weapon he manifested drained him of all his powers.  He’s now completely defenseless and what’s worse is, he’s not alone!”

“What do you mean?” Bryan asked, still utterly confused.

Lynxonna said, “Our distraction didn’t work on everybody.  Lord Vladimus, Prince Vlorian, and Etherial stayed behind in the fortress, and now they’ve captured Archer.  If we don’t go after him, they’ll kill him. But if we do, they’ll kill us all.”

Lynxar grinned and said, “That’s what they believe; but they don’t know what Rachel built in her lab.  Let’s go!”

Chapter Five

Archer crawled out from the rubble of what used to be Etherial’s tower to find the witch glaring down at him with a look of hatred burning in her eyes. She used her wand to levitate him the rest of the way out of the debris and dropped him at the feet of Lord Vladimus.

Archer saw that the Mafia King had been captured too and was already bound and gagged at the vampire’s feet.

Prince Vlorian looked embarrassed that it had been his ally who had betrayed them and led Archer to the portal.  Lord Vladimus looked strangely calm, although a dark rage burned in his eyes.

He walked casually around the Mafia King in a slow circle, contemplating what to do with him.   Suddenly, he held out his hand and manifested a double-edged sword as if out of thin air.  He cried out to the Mafia King, “Let me show you what happens to those who betray me!”

Archer summoned his powers in an effort to save his friend’s life, but nothing happened.  A feeling of great fatigue and weakness overwhelmed him, and it took all his strength to keep from passing out.  He suddenly remembered how he had destroyed the portal and what it had done to him!  He knew that manifesting such a powerful weapon would drain him of all his abilities, but now he wasn’t the only one to pay the price.

As Lord Vladimus raised his sword, all the color drained from Archer’s face.  For the first time, he was helpless to protect his friend, or even himself.  He cried out to the Mafia King, “I’m so sorry!”

For his final words, the Mafia King said to him, “Don’t be.  You let me be a hero for once.  I’m glad we destroyed that portal.  Now finish the job we came here to do.”

Archer wanted to promise him that he would, but in all honesty, he didn’t see how it was possible.  With tears in his eyes, he watched sadly as the Mafia King died.

“Don’t worry; you won’t suffer his fate…yet.” Lord Vladimus said tauntingly to Archer as he wiped the blood from his sword.  He stepped callously over the Mafia King’s corpse and pressed the tip of his blade to Archer’s throat.  “But that doesn’t mean I can’t have a little drink of blood first.”

Archer said, “Kill me if you want to, but you won’t win.  My friends are still out there, protecting Colossal City.  They’ll get you in the end and send you back where you can never hurt anyone ever again.”

“Oh no! Don’t tell me your friends are coming to save you!” Lord Vladimus cried out mockingly.  With a wave of his hands, his manifested sword disappeared into thin air.  Then his lips curled into an evil sneer and he said to Etherial, “Why don’t you tell our captive why we’re keeping him alive.”

The witch laughed a cruel and awful sound.  She ran her long fingernails teasingly along Archer’s chest and said, “You may think you’ve destroyed the portal, but I have a spell that can reopen it, as long as I have enough power to cast it.  All I need is to drain the power from four superheroes and I’ll be able to perform my magic spell.”

Prince Vlorian couldn’t resist joining in on the fun.  He said tauntingly, “It looks like we already have one hero in our midst.  Now we just need three more.  When they get here, we’ll be ready for them!”

With a wave of her wand, Etherial cleared away the debris of the tower to reveal the remnants of the portal, piling up huge mounds of wood and stone.  Archer struggled as Prince Vlorian hoisted him over one shoulder as if he were nothing but a sack of flour and laid him beside the damaged portal.  It was humiliating being without his powers, and he felt pathetic and weak as they bound him with ropes to a large chunk of broken stone.

“Now we just wait and they will come.” Lord Vladimus said to his cohorts.  They didn’t have to wait for long before a strange rustling of air let them know that someone invisible was sneaking past them toward the bait.  It was almost too easy!

With a flick of her wand, Etherial cast a spell in the air and instantly the outline of the Ghost was revealed to them as plainly as if he weren’t invisible at all.  Prince Vlorian tackled the form of Bryan, and the two men tumbled to the ground.  Both of them possessed equal strength and speed, and they fought powerfully against each other for the upper hand.

Etherial raised her wand to give Vlorian the advantage when Lord Vladimus touched her hand to stop her.  He said, “Let him win this on his own.  We have two more guests to deal with.”

Etherial turned her head to see Lynxar and Lynxonna leap beside the remnants of the portal with two large boxes in their hands.  She realized instantly that they were crystal coffins, designed to capture her beloved Lord Vladimus and his son.  Without hesitation, she pointed her wand and cast a powerful spell upon them.

To her surprise, the incantation rebounded off the coffins and hit her squarely in the chest, knocking her powerfully to the ground.  Lynxonna laughed and said to the witch, “Careful, they’re shielded.  Now why don’t you step aside while we put your boyfriend back where he belongs?”

“Never!” Etherial screamed, and used her wand to throw a powerful spell at Lynxonna.

Thanks to her ability to read minds, Lynxonna knew what the witch was going to do a split second before it happened.  It gave her just enough time to use her super-speed to dodge out of the way of the spell.  Circling around Etherial in a fighting stance, Lynxonna said, “Okay, we’ll just have to settle this girl to girl!”

Etherial thrust out her wand, firing a series of powerful curses at Lynxonna.  The witch anticipated that she would dodge the first one, and aimed the others on either side of her, so that whichever way she dodged, she would be struck by a spell.

To Etherial’s surprise, Lynxonna didn’t dodge to the left or the right, but stood firmly in place.  With the powers of her mind, Lynxonna levitated one of the heavy crystal coffins swiftly in front of her, to act as a shield.  The long coffin rebounded all three curses back onto the witch, striking her hard.  Etherial flew across the room, landing in an unconscious heap on the floor, with her long red hair spilling around her.

Just then, Vlorian and the Ghost went tumbling across the floor, still locked arm in arm in a brutal wresting match.

“Get the coffin!” the Ghost called out to Lynxonna and she levitated one of the coffins to his side.  Vlorian forced him to roll the opposite direction, trying to get as far away from the prison as possible.   Acting quickly, Lynxonna levitated the other coffin onto the opposite side of the vampire, basically sandwiching him between the two coffins.  Now all the Ghost had to do was get him to roll either left or right.

It took all of the Ghost’s strength, but he managed to get the upper hand on Prince Vlorian and rolled him just enough to the right that he was then able to push him into the coffin.  Lynxonna rushed to his side, pushed the lid shut, and turned the key, locking Prince Vlorian inside the prison.

“Thanks!” the Ghost said to her with gratitude, gasping to catch his breath.

“You’re welcome.” Lynxonna said when suddenly she was slammed with a full body tackle.  It was Etherial!  The witch had recovered from the spells and flung herself at Lynxonna with all her strength, pushing her into the crystal coffin that still stood on the left.  The two women both fell inside.

“Lynxonna!  NO!” the Ghost cried out, rushing to the side of the coffin.

With all the power she possessed, Lynxonna launched herself out of the coffin.  The moment she was clear of it, the Ghost slammed the lid shut before Etherial could do the same, locking the witch inside.

“Thanks!” Lynxonna said breathlessly to the Ghost.

“Now we’re even,” her friend joked, but they both realized the seriousness of the situation.  There were only two crystal coffins, and they were both full.  Now they had no way to capture Lord Vladimus.

Chapter Six

Lynxar heard his friends embroiled in their battles with Etherial and Prince Vlorian, but he couldn’t take his eyes off of Lord Vladimus for even a second to help.

In his hands, Vladimus held two double-bladed swords which he twirled with alarming speed and skill.  Lynxar knew there was no way he could get near him without being cut to shreds.

With the powers of his mind, Lynxar tried to disarm the vampire, but Vladimus still had the increased strength granted to him by Etherial’s spell, making him a hundred times more powerful than he should have been.  He laughed tauntingly at Lynxar’s attempts to use his telekinesis to pull the swords away from him.

Archer was still tied to a large stone by the remnants of the portal, helpless without his powers.  Lord Vladimus took a small step toward his captive, grinning cruelly.

Vladimus said to Lynxar “Let’s play a game.  With every attempt you make to disarm me, I’ll take one step toward your friend.  If you can take my swords before I reach him, I’ll let you have him.  If you can’t, then I’ll cut off his head while you watch.”

Behind him, Lynxar could hear Lynxonna and Bryan struggling to capture Etherial and Vlorian, and he knew they were too busy to help him.  He was going to have to find a way to beat Lord Vladimus on his own.  Archer looked at Lynxar and an exchange passed between them that Vladimus didn’t understand.

Are you sure? Lynxar asked his friend silently with his mind.

Yes, I’m sure. Archer thought in his mind, knowing his friend would hear his reply.

“Okay.” Lynxar aloud said to Lord Vladimus.  “Let the game begin.”

In an instant, Lynxar pushed violently against Vladimus with the power of his mind, blasting him with all the strength he possessed.  The vampire laughed cruelly as he withstood the telekinetic attack as if it were nothing more than a puff of wind.

Lynxar ran out of steam and stopped, slumping slightly and gasping for breath.

“Is that the best you can do?” Lord Vladimus taunted as he took one large step toward Archer, swinging his swords in eager anticipation.

“Not by a long shot!” Lynxar yelled out.  He turned and picked up a large chunk of stone wall from the crumbled tower and hurled it at Vladimus with all the strength in him.  It hit the vampire squarely in the chest, knocking him down and crushing him just a few feet away from where Archer sat.  Lynxar cried out, “I did it!”

“Don’t rejoice yet.” Lord Vladimus said ominously, as he pushed the stone wall off himself and rose up from underneath the debris.  “Don’t you know you can’t kill a vampire that way?  The only way to harm me is with sunlight or by impaling me with a wooden or silver stake.”

Archer had been struggling all this while to free himself from the ropes keeping him tied to the stone.  He finally managed to get his hands free and held them out, but his body still couldn’t manifest any weapons.

Vladimus laughed at the pitiful display then noticed how close he now was to Archer.  Looking pointedly at Lynxar, Vladimus said, “And look at this; you’ve brought me even closer to my newest victim.  According to the rules of our game, it looks like you’ll only have one more attempt to disarm me, before I’m close enough to cut off his head, so make your next attempt a good one.”

Vladimus crouched into a fighting stance and twirled his twin blades with a blinding speed.  Archer worked to unravel the rest of the ropes that bound him as fast as he could, but without his super speed, it didn’t look like he’d be able to escape in time.  Lynxar realized he had to risk it all to save his friend.  Knowing that he would be bringing himself within cutting distance of the blades, Lynxar charged at Vladimus, running toward the vampire with all his strength and speed.

As their bodies collided in a tackle, Lynxar felt the blades slashing into him and cried out in agony.  Vladimus struck hard against the ground, knocking one of the swords from the grip of his left hand, but the other remained firmly in his right hand.

Rising up from the ground, now just inches away from Archer, Lord Vladimus grinned widely and said, “Looks like you failed to disarm me.  I win the game!  Prepare to watch your friend die!”

Lynxar gripped his bleeding side and staggered to his feet.  He had to do something, but he realized with despair that there was nothing he could do.  Lord Vladimus raised his right arm high, prepared to cut off Archer’s head, when suddenly his victim reached into the debris and grabbed a small piece of broken wood that had been part of the crumpled fortress.

Lord Vladimus screamed out in rage and pain as Archer unexpectedly thrust forward with the stake of wood.  He had aimed to strike the vampire in the heart, but Vladimus moved his arm defensively as he saw the weapon coming, and the wooden stake sunk deep into his left arm instead.

Vladimus dropped his sword with his right hand to clutch at his wound.  Glaring at Archer, he hissed the words, “You have not seen the last of me!  I will get my revenge on you and everyone you’ve ever cared about!”

With his final words still echoing in the night, Lord Vladimus twirled his cape around himself and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Archer pulled the rest of the ropes off himself and rushed to Lynxar’s side.  Lynxonna and Bryan had just finished sealing the crystal coffin with Etherial inside and joined them.  The elation they felt from their victory instantly vanished when they saw the blood on Lynxar’s hand and clothing.

“Lay still! I may be temporarily without my powers, but I’m still a doctor.  We’ve got to get pressure on that wound!” Archer said firmly to Lynxar, sounding far more confident than he felt.

“No, don’t bother trying to save me.” Lynxar said, pulling his hands away from the wound on his side.

“Don’t be ridiculous!” Archer insisted.  “You came here to save me and you did.  There’s no way I would have been able to defeat Vladimus without you.  So I’m going to do whatever it takes to save you!”

Lynxar held up his hands and revealed to Archer that his wound had already fully healed itself, thanks to his powers of regeneration.  Bryan and Lynxonna laughed jovially at the surprised look of chagrin on Archer’s face.

Lynxar slapped his friend on the back and said, “Not all of us take so long to regenerate as you do.”

Archer laughed along with them and said, “Hey, let’s see you manifest the power of the sun and see how much it drains you!”

Lynxonna said, “I’ve got a better idea.  Let’s take you home to your own little pieces of the sun; Dawn and Aurora can’t wait to see that you’re all right.”

Archer nodded with tears in his eyes.  He couldn’t wait to see them, too.

Chapter Seven

“Come away from the window now, Aurora.  It’s time for bed.” Dawn Bright called her to her daughter.  The sweet little girl had been waiting for Archer to come home for hours, and her eyelids were starting to droop.

“Just five more minutes Mommy,” Aurora begged.  Dawn shook her head firmly and guided her daughter away from the window, when suddenly something caught her eye.  Aurora saw it too, and shouted out joyfully.  “He’s back!  He’s back!”

Lynxar and Bryan were helping to carry a weakened Archer up the path to the apartment building, with Lynxonna smiling at their side.  The four members of the AHF looked exhausted but victorious.  Aurora ran outside and tackled Archer with all the love in her five-year old heart, knocking him out of his friends’ arms and causing him to tumble onto the ground, with the two of them laughing all the while.

“I missed you too,” Archer said lovingly to the child as he hugged her tightly.  She helped him back up to his feet and he suddenly saw Dawn standing in the doorway of her apartment, looking lovelier than ever.

Archer summoned his strength and crossed the path to quickly pull Dawn into his embrace, kissing her passionately on the lips.  When at last they paused for breath, Dawn said, “I was so scared that I’d never see you again!  I’m so glad you made it home.  Are you injured?”

“I’m not hurt, just temporarily drained of my powers for the next few days.  I did what I vowed to do.”  Archer said to her softly.  “The vampires have been defeated.  You and Aurora will be safe now.  You no longer have to live in fear.”

Dawn hugged him tightly and said, “The only thing I fear is living without you.”

Archer looked deeply into Dawn’s eyes and said, “I never want you to fear being alone again.  I asked you to marry me once and you said you would when the vampires were gone, but that was never a proper engagement.  I’ve fulfilled your requirement, and defeated the vampires, so now I want to do this right.”

Dawn gasped in happy surprise and looked over at the small crowd of their closest friends.  Lynxar was holding Aurora, Bryan was struggling not to turn invisible again because of the strong emotions he felt, and Lynxonna was openly crying.

Archer reached into his pocket and pulled out a magnificent diamond ring that sparkled in the moonlight like a thousand suns.  Kneeling on one knee, he said, “Now that my old task is complete, my new task is to spend the rest of my life loving you and doing whatever it takes to make you happy.  Dawn Bright, will you please marry me?”

“Yes!” Dawn cried out happily and Aurora and all their friends cheered joyfully.   There was a lot of hugging and happy tears, and quite a few congratulatory toasts before the last of their friends finally left.  Aurora had fallen asleep in her bed long before, and Dawn and Archer were finally alone together.

Archer admired the ring sparkling on Dawn’s finger, and then he kissed the back of her hand and led her into their bedroom.  Grinning mischievously, he said, “I’ve never made love to an engaged woman before.”

Grinning back she said, “I’ve never made love to you without your powers.  I won’t hurt you, will I?”

Archer thought for a moment and said, “Not if you’re gentle, but even if you do hurt me, it’s a risk I’m willing to take.”

Smiling, Dawn kissed him softly, wanting to be gentle, but then her passion grew and she drank him in hungrily, almost desperately.  She had thought she might never see him again, and now that she had safely in her arms, she never wanted to let him go.  She pushed him onto their bed and climbed on top of him, ravishing him with all the passion and love she felt deep inside.  Archer winced slightly, but didn’t dare complain; he wanted her just as much as she wanted him and the pleasure she was giving him far outweighed the pain.

Straddling him on the bed, Dawn gently worked her way down his body; nibbling his ear, kissing his neck, down the hollow of his throat, and across his chest.  She let her fingertips caress the muscles of his abdomen, played with the curly hairs on his chest and then down the muscles of his biceps.  Then, at last, she came to his groin.  Sexily, she brought her hands and mouth to his most sensitive organ and made love to him with them.

Archer groaned with the exquisite pleasure of it and ran his hands through her light brown curls, encouraging her to draw him even deeper into her mouth.

When she feared he would explode, she drew herself away to let him cool off and lay on the bed beside him.  Archer grinned and said, “Now it’s my turn to pleasure you.”

He lavished all his attention on Dawn, just as she had done for him.  Not a single inch of her flesh went unnoticed, as his firm caresses and hot wet mouth indulged her.  Dawn clutched at the mattress and struggled to keep her voice quiet as his expert tongue brought her orgasm.

“I want you inside me!” she gasped, and reached down for his throbbing organ.  She spread her thighs wide and guided him to enter her most sacred tunnel.  A sigh of immense satisfaction escaped from both of them as he sank himself deep within her welcoming folds.

Dawn wrapped her arms and legs tightly around him as they undulated and thrust in perfect harmony with one another, as if they were one being.  Soon, the incredible ecstasy of orgasm overtook them, and wave upon wave incredible pleasure shook through their bodies.  Dawn buried her face in Archer’s neck to muffle the screams of rapture she could no longer contain.

At last, their climaxes subsided and they lay breathless, cuddling each other in their arms.  They fell asleep cuddled in each other’s arms, each of them dreaming of their wedding day.

Deep in the forest outside Colossal City, Lord Vladimus crawled into a dark cave and nursed his wound.  The injury was nearly fatal, but it hadn’t killed him.  It would take a long time for it to heal; months, possibly years.  The vampire hissed angrily and then smiled.  The long recovery was good.  It would cause Archer to grow complacent and forget that he anything to fear.  Then, it would be the perfect time to exact his revenge.

TO BE CONTINUED IN BOOK TWELVE: Deceptions of the Heart - Volume 12

Deceptions of the Heart

Chapter One

Dr. Archer Speedlight strode quickly through the halls of Hillman Research Hospital, performing his early morning rounds and checking up on his latest patients.  He had a lot to do, and very little time to do it in, if he were going to meet Dawn Bright in time.  It had been almost a full year since he had asked her to marry him and she had accepted his ring.  In the twelve months since that night, his life had become a whirlwind of meeting with florists, choosing menus with caterers, having fittings with tailors, and much more.  He had no idea that preparing for Dawn’s dream wedding would take so much work.  It was almost enough to make him miss the peaceful days of fighting vampires.

The night he had proposed to Dawn had also been the night he had defeated the last of the vampires, seemingly forever.  As relieved as he was to have done it, it also marked a huge change in his life.  Archer had spend the past three hundred years serving as a guardian against vampires, always searching for them and being prepared to battle them when necessary.

Most specifically, he had been tasked with protecting the women of one family, as generation after generation passed down the crystal key that could open the coffin prison to Lord Vladimus.  The last of those women had been Dawn Bright, the beautiful young widow raising her six-year-old daughter, Aurora.  She had captured Archer’s heart like no other woman had before and he fell deeply in love with her.  He adored Aurora as well, and came to care for her as if she were his own daughter. When Archer failed in his task and the vampire Lord Vladimus had been set free by his son Prince Vlorian, Archer knew he had to do whatever it took to capture the vampires and keep Dawn and Aurora safe.

It would have been an impossible task, but Archer had the help of his new friends.  The aliens Lynxar and Lynxonna and the billionaire Bryan Hillman who could become the superhero known as the Ghost, invited Archer to join their Alliance of Hero Friends.  Together, they were able to capture Prince Vlorian and the witch Etherial and lock them into crystal coffin prisons.

In the course of events, Archer had been depleted of his powers and it looked like Lord Vladimus would succeed at killing him, but then Lynxar dared to challenge the vampire king.  Thanks to Lynxar’s distraction, Archer was able to impale Vladimus with a wooden stake.  He had been aiming for the villain’s heart, but pierced his arm instead; wounding him very badly.  No one had seen or heard from Vladimus ever since and probably no one would ever again.

After his victory, Archer had proposed to Dawn in front of his friends and to his immense joy she had said yes.  Although Dawn had been married years before to Aurora’s father, this was Dawn’s first wedding and she wanted it to be really special.

“My first marriage was hastily done in the courthouse before he had to leave on a military assignment.  I didn’t have any flowers or even a dress.  I think I was just wearing jeans at the time.” Dawn had told him as they were cuddling in bed after their engagement.  “I want our wedding to be something truly special.  I want the dress and the flowers and all of our friends there in their nicest clothes.  Most importantly, I want us to recite our own wedding vows.”

“Our wedding will be everything you’ve always wanted.” Archer had promised foolishly in an act he would nearly regret.  Still, despite all the effort and expense it was taking to create the perfect wedding, the happiness he saw in Dawn’s eyes as each detail fell into place made it all seem worth it.

Now, with the wedding just a few days away, there was really only one task left undone.  Archer still hadn’t written his vows yet, and with only seventy-two hours left until the big day, he had no more time left to procrastinate.

Archer looked at the clock as his last patient left the hospital and noted he had a few minutes before he had to meet Dawn for their appointment with the clergyman.  Maybe he could scribble down a few hasty vows if he acted quickly.

Archer grabbed his prescription pad and tried to think of what to write, but he just couldn’t think of the words to put his feelings onto paper.

“Hey, a penny for your thoughts!” a familiar voice broke Archer’s concentration.  He jumped up, dropping his pen, and laughed to find Dr. Rachel Deering standing there.   She patted him on the back and said, “I didn’t mean to startle you.  What’s got you so preoccupied?”

Archer smiled at his best friend’s wife and confessed, “I was just trying to write my vows.”

Rachel’s eyes grew wide and she said, “You haven’t written them yet?  The wedding’s on Saturday!  That’s just three days from now!”  She picked up his pen off the ground and shook it at him admonishingly.

“Thank you, I hadn’t realized that.” Archer said, as he snatched the pen from her hand with a rueful grin.

Rachel grabbed him by the arm and pulled him into her office, saying, “Come on!  I used to be pretty good at writing poetry when I was in medical school.  Let me help you.”

“I really think my vows need to come from me,” Archer said. “But I just can’t figure out how to put what I want to say into words.”

“Don’t worry about trying to write it out.”  Rachel said wisely.  “Just talk to me like you’re talking to her.  What do you want Dawn to know when you take her hand in marriage?”

“I want her to know how much I love her.” Archer said.  “I want her to know that she makes my life feel brighter and full of light and love.  I want her to know that I’m going to do everything I can to make all her hopes and dreams come true, because she’s already done that for me just by loving me.”

Rachel had been writing on the prescription pad for him as he spoke; putting his words onto the paper as they spilled from his lips.

When he’d finished, Rachel showed him the paper with his heartfelt vows now written upon it.

“Do you think she’ll like it?” Archer asked worriedly.

“Yes!  This is perfect!” Rachel squealed, handing the paper to Archer and hugging him tightly with joy.  She’d been happily married to Lynxar for over seven years and was glad that her friend was about to embark on the same wonderful journey for himself.  Teasing Archer, she said “If she won’t marry you after hearing this, than I will!”

Suddenly, Archer squirmed out of her friendly embrace, gently pushing her away while he stuffed the slip of paper into his pocket.

Rachel looked to see Dawn Bright standing in the doorway, staring at them.

Chapter Two

“Dawn!  Hi!” Archer said, almost too excitedly. “I thought I was meeting you at our appointment later this morning?” He rushed forward to greet her with a welcoming kiss, but she turned her head away, avoiding the advance with a cold glare.

“The appointment’s been rescheduled.  I came here to talk to Dr. Deering.” Dawn said to them stiffly.

Rachel noticed that Dawn had intentionally called her by her formal last name, instead of her first name like she usually did.  She knew she had better offer a quick explanation of her hugging Archer to smooth the matter.  Smiling warmly at Dawn, Rachel said, “Archer was just giving me a congratulatory hug.  Lynxar and I are expecting another baby!”

“You’re pregnant?” Dawn said without emotion, while Archer masked his surprise and tried to act like he already knew the joyous news.

“Yes!” Rachel gushed happily.  “Lynxiennia is really excited that she’s going to be a big sister.  I’m certain she’ll tell Aurora about it at school today, but I wanted to tell you in person, myself.”

“I see.” Dawn said, with a cold look of calculation in her eyes.  “That makes my plans even more perfect.”

“What did you want to see me for?” Rachel asked, hoping to lighten Dawn’s strange mood.

“The Mayor needs your research files on the crystal coffins you used to capture Prince Vlorian and Etherial last year.  It’s a matter of security for the entire city and he needs to know exactly how they were constructed.”

Rachel nodded.  Mike McIntyre was a terrific Mayor, but he was married to Lynxonna, one of the key members of the AHF.  Why didn’t he just ask his wife for the information?  Why did he send Dawn for it?  She was about to ask when Archer beat her to it.

Archer put his hand on Dawn’s shoulder and said, “Does this mean you got that job you were hoping for at the Mayor’s office?  Is that why you rescheduled the meeting with the clergyman?”

“Yes.” Dawn said stiffly.  She pulled her shoulder away from Archer’s touch and held her hand out to Rachel.  “Now, please give me all the research files on the two coffin prisons.”

Rachel frowned and said, “What about the third one; doesn’t he want the files on that one, too?”

Dawn drew back her hand and clutched it to her throat, as if fearful of her life.  With huge eyes, she said, “There is a third crystal coffin prison?”

“Yes.” Rachel said simply.  “We started building it the day after Lord Vladimus escaped, in case he ever came back.  He never did, but we keep it in my laboratory at home.  I thought you knew this?”

“Yes, of course I did.” Dawn snapped, angrily.  “I just forgot, because it’s been so long.  How do you plan to capture him in it?”

Archer stared at his fiancée.  An unusual jeweled amulet hung around her neck, which he’d never seen before.  The alloys in it shielded her bio-signs from his superior eyesight. He couldn’t read her like he usually could.  He said to her, “The four members of the AHF, all working together as a team, are a formidable force.  He won’t be able to escape when we all attack him together.”

Rachel laughed lightheartedly and said, “Yeah, his only hope would be to split the team up and eliminate them one by one beforehand, but that will never happen.  Lynxar and Lynxonna have been friends since they lived on Flonar; they were even engaged for a time.  Bryan Hillman joined them as the Ghost just a year later, and now that Archer has joined, the team is complete.  You guys are unstoppable together.”

“Unstoppable together, but not when separate.” Dawn mumbled to herself.  She snatched the files from Rachel’s hand, turned, and abruptly walked out the door with quick strides.

“Dawn, wait!  I’ve completed my vows and I need to give them to clergyman. When has the appointment been changed to?” Archer called after her, running out into the hall to stop her, but Dawn was already gone.

“That was strange.” Rachel commented.

“Yeah.” Archer frowned.  “You don’t think she suspects anything funny was going on between us, do you?”

“No.” Rachel said reassuringly.  “Everyone knows how much you love her and how much Lynxar and I love each other.  Dawn’s probably just excited about starting a new job working in the Mayor’s office in addition to getting married this weekend.  It’s a lot to take in for a girl; but she’d always been strong.  She’ll be okay.”

Archer nodded.  Dawn’s resilience was one of things he loved most about her.  Still, he couldn’t help but worry about her odd behavior.

Dawn walked from the hospital as quickly as she could until she rounded the corner into an alley and was safely out of sight.  Grinning evilly, she pressed the jewel in center of her amulet, deactivating its magical spell.  The sacred amulet had the power to transform the wearer into any person they chose.  The disguise appearance of Dawn Bright melted away to reveal the figure’s true form.  The vampire king, Lord Vladimus, now stood in the alley, clutching the amulet and laughing to himself.

For the past twelve months he had been in hiding, healing from his wounds and plotting his revenge against Archer and the other members of the AHF.  Now he knew just how he would do it.  First, he would divide them against each other and then he would capture them one by one.  Once he had them all, he would drink their blood, stealing their energy and strength.  With the blood of superheroes inside him, he would be unstoppable and Colossal City would be his for the taking!

Chapter Three

The real Dawn Bright rushed into Hillman Research Hospital, looking worried.  She saw the figure of Dr. Rachel Deering standing by her office, quietly stroking the jeweled amulet that hung around her neck.  Excitedly, Dawn ran up to her and said “Have you seen Archer?  He was supposed to meet me at an appointment with our clergyman an hour ago, but he never showed up.  Do you think something has happened to him?”

Vladimus, disguised as Rachel, looked at Dawn with his black eyes and smiled cruelly.  Trying to imitate Rachel’s voice, he said “Yes, something has happened to him, but not what you think.”

“What do you mean?” Dawn asked, now even more scared than she had been before.

The image of Rachel sneered and said “He’s fallen out of love with you and in love with me.  We’ve been having an affair for months.”

“No!  That can’t be true!” Dawn gasped, covering her mouth with her slender hands and shaking her head.

“Ask anyone who works here.  They’ve all seen us embracing,” the figure who looked like Rachel sneered.

“Why would you do such a thing?” Dawn cried out, as tears sprang to her eyes.

Vladimus enjoyed her reaction and embellished his lie.  He said, “Lynxar’s the one to blame.  He and Lynxonna have been in love since they lived on Flonar together.  He only married me because he was trapped on Earth and he thought he’d never see her again.  Ever since Lynxonna arrived on Earth, they’ve been having an affair.  Well, he’s not the only one who can cheat.  I decided to have an affair of my own and Archer was only too happy to participate.”

“I don’t believe you!” Dawn cried out, openly sobbing now.  “I’ve got to find Archer and talk to him!”

“Don’t bother.” Vladimus said, coldly.  “Archer’s called off the wedding.  He never wants to see you again.  He’s going back to his home planet of Mathias.  He’s at my house right now saying goodbye to Lynxar.”

Dawn ran from the hospital, blinded by her own tears.  She hopped into a taxi and asked the driver to take her to Lynxar’s house.  When Lynxar opened the door, Dawn was hysterical.  He told her that Archer wasn’t there and she told him the shocking news that Archer and his wife were having an affair.

Vladimus was still at the hospital, disguised as Rachel, when he saw the phone in her office light up.  The caller ID said it was Lynxar and the vampire already knew why he was trying to get a hold of her.  Grinning, he touched the jewel in his amulet and changed his appearance so he was now disguised as Archer.  The plan was going perfectly, now it was time for the next part.

Vladimus passed the real Rachel Deering in the corridor on his way out of the hospital.  The amulet bounced against his chest as he walked quickly briskly past her, but she stopped him.

“Hey, Archer.  Where are you going?” the real Rachel asked the fake Archer innocently.

“Oh, I’ve got to go see the Ghost about a plan I’m finalizing.”

“Okay, well have fun.” Rachel smiled.

Vladimus winked and said, “Oh, don’t worry; I certainly will.  By the way, your husband’s been calling for you.  It sounds urgent.”

Vladimus stifled a laugh as he saw Rachel pick up a phone to dial her husband, then he used his super speed to rush through town to the Hillman Mansion.

Bryan was on the phone himself; sitting on his leather chair behind the antique oak desk of the hi-tech office he kept on the third floor of his mansion.

“Turn on your camera, so I can see you.” Bryan said into the phone, as he flipped the power switch to the large, high-definition monitor screen he kept on his desk.

The sexy voice of his wife, news anchor Vicky Campbell-Hillman came clearly over the phone.  She said “Okay, my camera is on; are you receiving the feed?  Can you see me yet?”

Bryan grinned as the image of his wife filled the video monitor.  She looked absolutely gorgeous in a white silk blouse that was cut just a little too low.  Her erect nipples protruded through the thin fabric of the blouse, making him aroused for her.  He said teasingly into the phone, “I can see you.  Is that how you usually dress for work?”

The rich sound of Vicky’s laugh came through the phone line and she said, “I only dress like this when I know I’m getting a very important and private phone call from my husband.”

“Well, I’m sure it’s appropriate to dress so provocatively at the office.” Bryan continued to tease.  “Perhaps you should take that sexy blouse off.”

Enjoying the game of phone sex combine with the voyeuristic use of the surveillance camera, Vicky performed a sexy striptease for her husband while he watched.

She ran her hands seductively over her bare flesh, as ever so slowly it was revealed, inch by inch.  The last thing to come off was her black silk panties.  Once they were removed, Vicky slowly slid her hands up the inner curve of her thighs, and caressed her most sacred folds with her fingertips.

“Oh, that feels so good.  I wish you were here at my office so I could do you.” Vicky moaned and Bryan practically dropped the phone, he was so turned on.

To his extreme delight, Vicky treated him to a show and let him watch as she masturbated for him.  Her long fingers rubbed and stimulated her folds until they glistened with the juices of her arousal.  Then she slid her fingers deep inside herself, thrusting slowly at first and then faster and faster as her pleasure increased into a frenzied passion.

“Climax for me, baby.” Bryan breathed into the phone, excited beyond belief at the private treat she was giving him.  He couldn’t wait till she came from work after giving the 11:00 a.m. News broadcast, so he could make love to her.

Vicky stifled her moans of pleasure so no one else in the television studio would hear through her locked office door and worked her fingers until her body exploded with the ecstasy of her orgasm.

When she finished, Bryan could feel himself perspiring along with her.  He said, “I knew it was a good idea to install that security camera in your office at work.”

“You just wanted to keep an eye on me.” Vicky teased, as she put her clothes back on and smoothed her hair for the broadcast.

“Well, with a wife as beautiful, smart, and sexy as you; who can blame me for wanting to look at you twenty-four hours a day?”

“Yeah, but I don’t get the same pleasure.” Vicky teased, shaking her finger at him in mock admonishment through the video monitor.  “I hardly get to see you at all.  Every time you’re emotions or passions flare, your powers of invisibility get activated and you disappear.”

“You said you liked that!” Bryan said, looking worried and a little hurt.

Vicky laughed lovingly and said, “I do; I really do.  I think having a husband who can do the things you can do is sexy beyond belief.”

“Whew!  You had me worried for a minute.” Bryan teased and Vicky laughed that beautiful laugh of hers one more time.  “Uh oh.  I’ve got to go.  It looks like someone’s come to visit.  Good luck with the eleven a.m. broadcast. I’ll see you when you’re done!”

“Bye, love you!” Vicky said as she turned off her video camera and hung up her phone.  Bryan looked at the security monitors that guarded his front door and saw this guest was a familiar face.  Happily, he bounded down the stairs and threw open the front door.

“Archer, what a pleasant surprise.” Bryan Hillman said, shaking the hand of the man he thought was his friend as he invited him inside.  “What brings you here this morning?  Aren’t you supposed to be getting ready for your wedding?  After all, the big day is Saturday.”

Vladimus sat down heavily in one of the gorgeous antique chairs in Bryan’s sitting room.  Trying to imitate Archer’s voice, he sighed and said, “I don’t think so.  The wedding has been officially called off.”

“Why?” Bryan asked, leaning forward with concern.

Vladimus smiled cruelly and said, “Because, I’m no longer in love with Dawn; I’m in love with your wife!”

“What?  How can this be?” Bryan shouted out.  He felt his emotions getting out of control and his invisibility turning on.  As he felt his body fading away, he struggled to maintain his focus and control.  “How can you be in love with Vicky?”

The man who looked like his friend then grinned and said, “It began when I learned that Dawn was having an affair with the Mayor.  I was hurt and jealous and I turned to Vicky for comfort and boy, did she comfort me.”

The words were more than Bryan could take.  He vanished from sight and began racing around the room, trying to get a grip on his pain and anger.  He wanted to smash something; preferably over Archer’s head.  How could one of his closest friends have seduced his wife in such a way!  The Ghost realized he had to get out of there before he did something that he’d regret.  He had to go talk to Vicky.

Vladimus saw the doors to the mansion burst open, even though he couldn’t see the person who had done it.  He knew it meant that the Ghost had fled the mansion, and correctly assumed that he was going to the television station where Vicky worked as a news anchor.

“Tonight’s news broadcast should be very interesting indeed.” Vladimus joked to himself.  He pretended to be giving a newscast, saying, “The four members of the AHF all hate each other now; leaving Colossal City completely defenseless.  Be prepared to surrender yourselves to Lord Vladimus, the new ruler of Earth!”

Chapter Four

Rachel gasped in pleasure as she felt Lynxar using the powers of his mind to caress every part of her body.  Her nipples grew hard and taut as she felt the sensation of his mouth upon them, even though he wasn’t actually touching her.  She loved it when he used his telekinetic powers to make love to her almost as much as she loved his goodness and honesty.

The fight they’d had when she came home from the hospital could have been brutal and ugly, but it only lasted a few minutes.  Thanks to Lynxar’s ability to read her mind and to allow her to read his, they were both able to instantly see the truth within each other’s hearts and minds.  No lie or vicious bit of gossip could tear them apart when they could so easily learn the truth.  The short-lived fight ended with both of them wanting to make love.

Lynxar removed Rachel’s clothes with one easy swipe of his telekinetic powers, leaving her naked before him. She lay down on their bed and he began to stroke her, not just with his mind, but with his hands.  He loved the feel of her soft skin and ample breasts, which were fuller now that she was expecting their second child.

The smallest bump was starting to show on her slender stomach and he kissed her there, letting his lips trail down her navel to the sacred folds between her thighs.  She spread her legs invitingly and he made love to her there with the expert workings of his tongue and fingers, all the while continuing to stimulate her nipples with his mind, giving her the sensation that he was gently pinching them.

“I want you inside me!” she gasped between moans of pleasure.

“I don’t want to hurt the baby.” Lynxar worried, making Rachel smile.  For all his toughness and superhuman abilities, he was always so tender and full of concern.

She reached her hand out and began to stroke his member, caressing his hardness and guiding him toward her.  She said gently “Don’t worry.  The doctor said it’s perfectly safe to make love to me while I’m pregnant.”

“Still, I don’t want to be too rough.” Lynxar said.  “Sometimes I’m stronger than I mean to be.”

Rachel pushed him gently onto the bed, so he was laying flat on his back and straddled his waist.  She slid her body over his organ, enveloping him into her hot, wet folds.  Lynxar groaned with the intensity of the pleasure he felt at being inside her.  Smiling at him seductively, she said, “Well then, let me set the pace.  Then you don’t have to worry about getting too passionate.”

Lynxar agreed with her plan whole-heartedly and let his wife set the pace as she undulated and thrust on top of him.  With the powers of his mind, Lynxar elevated himself off the bed, and the couple made love in the air, about a foot above their mattress.  It felt incredible and Rachel began to thrust more wildly as her breathing came in ragged gasps and her body began to orgasm.

Reaching back, she gently caressed his balls and the pure pleasure of it caused him to explode with an orgasm of his own.  They climaxed together, each of them crying out wildly as their bodies spasmed with pleasure in the air above their bed.  When at last they’d finished, Lynxar softly lowered them back down to rest comfortably against the mattress.

“I promise I would never do anything like that with any other man.” Rachel said, kissing her husband lovingly on the lips.

“I know you wouldn’t and I hope you know that I wouldn’t either.” Lynxar said, looking solemnly into her eyes and kissing her in return.

“I know.” Rachel said assuredly. She snuggled against his chest and said, “The question is, why would anyone try and make us think otherwise?”

Lynxar hugged her tightly to him, liking the feel of her breasts against his bare chest.  He said thoughtfully, “I don’t know, but I’m going to find out.”

The doorbell rang downstairs and Rachel and Lynxar rushed to get dressed.

“Lynxiennia doesn’t get home from school for another three hours.” Lynxar said, pretending to complain with a teasing grin.  “We could have made love all that time if it weren’t for this interruption.”

“Who is it?” Rachel asked her husband as she pulled on her blouse and tried to fasten the buttons.

“I don’t know.” Lynxar frowned suspiciously.  “Their mind is shielded from my abilities.  Whoever it is, must be wearing some strange metal alloy.

“Be careful!” Rachel warned.  “It might be a trap of some sort.  Just because you haven’t encountered any enemies in the past year doesn’t mean there aren’t some out there.”

Lynxar looked out the window and smiled.  Looking at Rachel, he said “Don’t worry; it’s Lynxonna.  She’s wearing some gaudy amulet necklace.  I told her that jewelry like that can sometimes gets in the way of my powers, but she never seems to care.”

Lynxar waited for Rachel to finish straightening her clothes, then the couple went downstairs together and opened the front door for their friend.  No sooner had Lynxonna crossed the threshold, then she held out her hands and manifested manacles made of a strange black metal, seemingly out of thin air.  With lightening fast reflexes, she used them to bind Lynxar by the wrists and he felt a strange sensation rippling through his body, as if the manacles were sapping him of his powers.  Lynxar was instantly weakened and he slumped to the ground, helpless to even struggle in his bonds.

Rachel screamed out in terror and ran for the door, but the figure that looked like Lynxonna captured her easily and bound here with a set of manacles of her own.

“Who are you?” Lynxar glared at their captor.  He wanted the question to sound threatening, but in his weakened state, it sounded pitiful.

Laughing, the figure of Lynxonna touched the jewel in the center of the amulet and instantly the disguise dissolved to reveal the true form of Lord Vladimus.

Rachel stifled another scream and Lynxar tried to stand, but found he couldn’t.  Lynxar glared at him angrily, and said, “What do you want with us?”

“I heard there’s been some fighting between the members of your little gang lately.” Lord Vladimus said tauntingly.  “I think we should throw a little lunch party to help all you kids make up.”

“We don’t feel like having lunch!” Lynxar glared.

Vladimus laughed cruelly and said, “That’s okay.  I’ll be the only one who’s eating.  Now you two kids sit tight.  I’m going to gather up the other guests.  I’ll be right back.”

Lynxar and Rachel watched in horror as Lord Vladimus pressed the jewel in the center of amulet and transformed himself into an exact replica of Lynxar himself.  It was strange for Rachel to see someone so evil looking like the man she loved.  It was stranger still for Lynxar to peer at an image of himself, as if he were looking in a mirror, and know that it wasn’t really him.

“I’ll stop you!” Lynxar tried to shout, but his words only came out as a weak whisper.

“Go ahead and try.” Vladimus jeered.  “The more you try to use your powers, the more those magical manacles simply absorb them.  The very source of your power is what gives them the strength to restrain you. “

Laughing, Vladimus disappeared.  Lynxar closed his eyes and tried to use the powers of his mind to forewarn his friends of the vampire’s treachery.  Unfortunately, Vladimus was right.  The manacles absorbed his abilities and he was unable to send out any telepathic messages.

“What are we going to do?” Rachel asked, her eyes wide with terror.

“I don’t know yet.” Lynxar said.  “I just need time to think of a plan.”

Chapter Five

Mayor Mike McIntyre smiled as his wife came into his office in downtown Colossal City, and locked the door behind her.

“This is a pleasant surprise,” he grinned at her.  She looked even more beautiful now than she had when he first fell in love with her.  Her long lavender colored hair flowed over her shoulders and her purple eyes sparkled with excitement.

“Is everything all right in the city today?” Lynxonna asked him, her cheeks slightly flushed with concern.

“Yes, of course it is.”

“Are you sure?” she asked again, rushing across his office to look out his window.  He had a magnificent view and the streets bellow looked peaceful and calm.

“What’s wrong?” Mike asked with concern.  He’d learned long ago to always trust his wife’s instincts and telepathic abilities.

Lynxonna pulled the office shades closed and shook her head.  “I thought I heard the barest whisper of a cry for help in my mind just a little bit ago.  I thought maybe it was you, but obviously not.”

“Oh, I don’t know.” Mike said in a loving tone as he kept up behind her, wrapped his arms around her waist and began to nuzzle her neck from behind.  “I may have been feeling a bit of distress earlier.”

“What kind of distress?” Lynxonna asked with a flirtatious grin.  She turned around in his arms and kissed him passionately.  Her hand trailed down his pants to find he had an erection.  Massaging him there, she said, “Is this the source of your distress?”

“It is.” Mike nodded with mock solemnity.  “I need a superhero to rescue me from my distress.”

Lynxonna giggled playfully at the fun game and said, “Well, have no fear.  I will save you.”

With a whisk of her telekinetic mind powers, she stripped the clothes from both their bodies, leaving them both naked in the middle of the Mayor’s office.  Then she swept his desk clean, knocking all his papers onto the floor with one sweep of her mind powers.

“Make love to me, right here and right now,” she whispered sexily, as she draped herself across the top of his desk.

Mike eagerly devoured her with his mouth, kissing her from head to toe as his hands caressed her body.  Lynxonna’s breathing came in rapid gasps as she moaned in delight under his expert touch.  All the while, she used the powers of her mind to massage and stimulate his most sensitive organ, making him gasp and moan in ecstasy.

“I want you inside me!” she cried out, and levitated him off the ground so he joined her on the desk.  Willingly, Mike plunged himself inside her, filling her up and making her moan in pleasure.  They thrust together in perfect unison, undulating wildly on the desk such that they would have fallen off of it, if it hadn’t been for Lynxonna’s powers of levitation that kept them safely in the air.

She lowered them gently to the ground and they continued thrusting with uncontrolled passion, both of them deep in the throes of simultaneous orgasms.

As their climaxes came to an end, and their breathing and heart rates slowed, a sudden knock came on the office door.

“Mr. Mayor, I’m sorry to interrupt when you’re in a conference,” came the urgent voice of his secretary, “but Lynxar is here.  He says its matter of life and death.”

Mike looked at his wife with a worried expression.  “Maybe you did hear a cry for help earlier. “

“Maybe.” Lynxonna said, looking deeply suspicious.  “Why didn’t I sense Lynxar come into your office, though?  He and I are very strongly connected.  I should have known he was here, but I have no reading of his mind.”

The couple threw on their clothes as quickly as they could and opened the office door.  Sure enough, the figure of Lynxar stood on the other side.  A strange jeweled amulet hung around his neck and Lynxonna properly guessed that it had shielded him from her powers.

“What’s the emergency?” Mike asked Lynxar, inviting him into the office and closing the door behind him.

Lynxar looked at them strangely, with odd black eyes.  He said was holding a large sack.  He said “Lynxonna, come here.  I’ve got to show you something that I found that may be dangerous.  Let me know if you can identify it.”

Curious, Lynxonna came up to Lynxar and held out her hands so he could hand her the mysterious object in the sack.  Quickly, before she even had time to blink, Vladimus pulled out a pair of the manacles he had created and bound them to her wrists.  Instantly, she was drained of her powers and fell to the ground, helpless and weak.

Mike made a fist and swung with all his might, but his punch with human strength had no effect on a supernatural enemy.  Seconds later, Vladimus had the Mayor bound in shackles, too.  He hoisted the two captives like sacks of flour, carrying one over each shoulder, and ran with lightening speed back to Lynxar’s house, where he deposited them on the ground next to the real Lynxar and his wife.

“What’s going on?  I don’t understand!” Lynxonna cried out angrily as she stared at the twin images of her friend, one bound as she was and the other clearly up to some evil plan.

Vladimus pushed the jewel in his amulet, revealing his true form, and Lynxonna recoiled in surprise.  The vampire grinned and said “I’ll let your friends explain the situation.  I’ve got two guests to bring back.  Don’t worry, I’ll return before you even have time to miss me.”

By the time Lynxar had finished explaining their predicament to Mike and Lynxonna, Vladimus had returned again, this time with Bryan and Vicky both bound by the magical manacles as well.

Rachel looked at the clock with terrified eyes.  Her daughter Lynxiennia would be getting out of school in just a few hours.  They had to find a way to stop this villain before she got home from school or her life would be in danger, too.

Lynxar looked at his wife, not needing his mind powers to know what she was thinking.  He’d been formulating a plan that he thought just might work.  All he needed was for Lord Vladimus to leave the house one more time and they could all escape.  If Vladimus succeeded at capturing Archer and Dawn and returned with them, he’d be coming back to an unpleasant surprise, as the six of them would be free and ready to capture him.  The crystal coffin was still downstairs in Rachel’s lab, they just had to work together to lock him into it.

“I think our lunch party is almost complete.” Lord Vladimus said happily as he looked at the six prisoners lying helplessly on the floor of Lynxar’s living room.

“What about Archer Speedlight?” Lynxar asked, hoping Vladimus would leave to soon so he could enact his escape plan.

Vladimus smiled evilly and said, “Oh, I don’t need to seek out Archer.  Once he hears the ugly lies I’ve been spreading all over Colossal City, he’ll come here looking for you.  Then I will get my revenge in the form of his blood!”

Chapter Six

Archer went home for his lunch break from the hospital.  Traditionally, it was his favorite time of day to spend with Dawn.  Aurora was at school and they could be alone with each other, to make love and talk about the things that mattered to them.

Archer realized with a little sadness that today Dawn probably wouldn’t be there, since she’d just been hired to work in the Mayor’s office.  He was happy for her and proud of her accomplishment.  It was a job she’d wanted to get for a long time, and she’d finally achieved her goal.  A small part of him, however, was selfishly disappointed, because it meant they wouldn’t be able to spend this time together during his lunch break.

Archer was surprised however, to see Dawn’s car parked in front of their apartment when he got there.  He was even more surprised to find her tossing all his things out of the window and onto the lawn.

“Take this!  And take that!  And take all of those!” Dawn was shouting at him as she tossed his most treasured items out the window.  His books on coffins went hurling past him with dangerous speed, and he barely dodged getting hit in the head by one.

“What’s going on?” he asked, darting to the left to avoid being pelted by his favorite pair of shoes.

“I talked to Rachel today!” Dawn cried out, angrily.  “I know everything!  I know all about your affair with her!”

Archer held out his hands to manifest a shield made of gold that shimmered like the sun.  He held it up in front of him, so that he could make it through the gauntlet of objects she was hurling at him as he tried to get through their front door.  His music collection smashed against the shield, one by one, as she chucked them at him like baseballs.

Finally he got close enough to her to reach out and grab her arms, stopping her from throwing any more of his possessions at him.  Looking at her with eyes full of confusion and love, he said “What are you talking about?  Is this because you saw me hugging her today?”

Dawn struggled in his grasp and said “I know you’ve been affair with Rachel.  She told me so herself, so don’t bother denying it!”

Archer was so shocked he let go of her arms and collapsed into the nearest chair.  In a voice that was nearly a whisper he said, “Why would Rachel make up such an outrageous lie?  What reason could she have for trying to break us up?”

This was not the reaction Dawn expected.  She sat down next to Archer and said, “So it’s not really true?”

Archer reached out gently took Dawn’s hand in his own.  He put her hand to his chest, directly over his heart, and said, “See for yourself what is true.”

Archer closed his eyes and his entire body began to glow with a magical power Dawn had never seen before.  The bright energy warmed her hand and began to move up her arm, until her entire body was glowing too.  Dawn closed her eyes and she could see Archer’s innermost thoughts and feel his deepest feelings.  He loved her and only her.  He had never been unfaithful or untrue to her.

Dawn pulled her hand away from Archer’s heart and the connection between them broke.  The glowing faded away, but the smile on her face and the love in her eyes remained.  She hugged Archer tightly to her and kissed him passionately on the lips, drinking him in as if she were starving.

“I’m so sorry I ever doubted you.” Dawn said. “If I had listened to my heart, I would have known it couldn’t be true, but it took listening to yours to really convince me.”

She kissed him again, letting her hands run through his hair as their tongues intertwined.  He wrapped his arms around her, sliding his hands over her backside to squeeze her buttocks in just the right way.

“You have nothing to apologize for.” Archer breathed, as he nuzzled her neck and kissed the hollow of her throat.  “You were deceived, but you can always come to me and I will let you see what’s inside my heart anytime you want to know the truth.”

Dawn pulled her blouse over her head, revealing her naked breasts to him.  He dove into them hungrily, kissing them all over, until he came to her luscious nipples in the center.  He kissed them with his mouth, teasing her by flicking them with his tongue.

Dawn reached down and grabbed his rigid member with her hands and began to stroke him while he nuzzled her breasts.  She whispered, “I want you inside me.”

“Not yet.” Archer said.  He held out his hands and manifested a small vibrating sex toy.  Smiling at her, he said “Not until I make you orgasm first.”

Dawn’s eyes danced with excitement at the prospect and she knelt on carpet.  She said, “I’ll only let you give me an orgasm with that toy if I get to suck on your organ while you do it.”

“Agreed.” Archer grinned, delighted at the naughty bargain.  He lay on the carpet and Dawn knelt beside him in such as position that Archer could pleasure her with the vibrating toy while she made love to him with her mouth.

The intensity of the pleasure she felt was incredible as the toy stimulated her in just the right places.  It brought her to orgasm quickly and made her suckle him with her mouth all the more passionately.  Archer had to withdraw himself from her hot, wet mouth for fear that he would climax too soon.

Dawn remained kneeling on the carpet and asked him to enter her from behind.  Willingly, Archer complied, sliding his rigid member deep into her sacred folds from behind, sinking himself fully into her with one hard thrust.

Dawn rocked back against him as he thrust again and again, drawing him even deeper into her than either of them would have imagined was possible.  The intensity of it drove them both wild with passion, and they climaxed together, crying out in ecstasy.

Afterward, they took a quick shower together, got dressed, and began putting away all of Archer’s possessions, which were now strewn all over the apartment and out onto the lawn.

“You’ve got a pretty good pitching arm.” Archer complimented in jest, as he brought a pile of his books in from the lawn, along with his shoes and clothes.

“Yeah, I’m really sorry about that.” Dawn said with a look of chagrin.  “Thank goodness you’ve got such quick reflexes or I could have hurt you.”

“The only way you could really hurt me would be to call off the wedding.” Archer said, and then he grew thoughtful for a moment.  Looking at Dawn, he said, “Someone must have known that.  Someone must be trying to hurt me by breaking us up just before our wedding; but who?”

Dawn said “Whoever it is, they aren’t just hurting you.  They involved Lynxar and Rachel in their crazy lie, too.” Suddenly, Dawn dropped the pile of clothes she’d just picked up off the floor and cried out “Oh, no!  After I talked to Rachel and I went her house and told the lie to Lynxar!  He looked so heartbroken and angry!  I think I just destroyed their marriage over a lie!”

“Don’t worry.” Archer said reassuringly.  He grabbed her hand and looked into her eyes.  He said “We’ll go to Lynxar’s house together and tell him the truth.  Maybe together we can figure out who’s behind this conspiracy.”

Dawn gave Archer a grateful kiss.  They had several hours before it was time to pick up Aurora from school.  That was plenty of time to go to Lynxar’s and get this mess straightened out.  Or so they thought.

Lynxar’s house looked peaceful and quiet when they knocked on his front door.  Only something unexpected was about to happen that would change the fate of Colossal City forever.

TO BE CONTINUED IN BOOK THIRTEEN: A Heart for Family - Volume 13

A Heart for Family

Chapter One

Lord Vladimus, the evil vampire king, checked on his captives one by one, making sure the enchanted manacles he had locked to their wrists and ankles were still secure.  Not only would the devices keep his victims from being able to move, but their magical properties would drain away any superpowers that they possessed.  They were the perfect restraint for the three members of the Alliance of Hero Friends that he had captured, as well as their three spouses.

Vladimus towered over his victims with his tall, muscular body as they lay on the living room floor.  His long, black hair hung loosely to his shoulders as he walked imperiously past each one of them.  There was Bryan Hillman, the billionaire who could turn into the invisible superhero known as the Ghost.  He couldn’t turn invisible now, however, with the manacles draining him of the ability, so he lay on the carpet and glared up at the vampire.  Next to him was his wife, the television news anchor, Vicky Campbell-Hillman.  She was such a know-it-all on the news, but now she looked much more contrite.  Her raven black hair fell over her downturned face, hiding the fear in her bright green eyes.

The same couldn’t be said of the superhero alien Lynxonna.  Always feisty, she continued to struggle in her bonds, no matter how weak it made her.  Her lavender hair flew wildly around her as she thrashed violently, and her ample breasts began to heave for breath as exhaustion threatened to overtake her.  Her husband, the Mayor Mike McIntyre, tried uselessly to get her to lay still and preserve her strength, but as usual, she wouldn’t listen.  Having the abilities of superior speed and strength combined with the mental powers of telepathy and telekinesis, made it hard for her to accept failure or defeat.  The more she struggled to use her powers, the more the enchanted manacles drained them from her and grew all the stronger because of them.  The more powerful the wearer was, the stronger the manacles became, so that no one could escape them.

Next to Mike and Lynxonna lay the renowned scientist and inventor, Dr. Rachel Deering.  Her blonde hair was still swept up in an elegant bun and she still wore her lab coat over her clothes, as if ready for her work.  A great sadness filled her bright blue eyes, as if she knew someone she loved were about to die.  Vladimus grinned cruelly, thinking that she was indeed correct, for next to Rachel lay her husband, Lynxar, the best prize of them all.  The alien from Flonar with the lavender hair and purple eyes was the one victim he longed to kill most of all.  He would wait to drain Lynxar’s blood last of all, making him watch the grisly deaths of everyone he cared about first.

Vladimus remembered all too well the great vampire war that had taken place on the planet Flonar over three hundred years ago.  Victory was nearly his, and he would have ruled the entire planet and enslaved the entire population.  Then, the unthinkable happened and the Captain of the free armies of Flonar stepped forward from the line of battle.  His name was Lynxarione, and he was Lynxar’s father.

Lord Vladimus had been armed at the time with his favorite sword, an enchanted weapon he could manifest at will.  Captain Lynxarione held only a fragile-looking sword made only of delicate crystal.  The vampire king’s victory seemed sure, but when he struck the crystal sword, it shattered and released the pure light of the sun upon him, burning him painfully and allowing the captain to push him into a crystal coffin prison where he had languished for three centuries, thinking only of his revenge.  Now at last, he had in his clutches the son of the man who had defeated him.

Three hundred years in prison had taught Vladimus the value of patience and caution.  He needed to capture the fourth member of the AHF before he could safely enact his revenge; this member was an alien from the planet Mathias named Dr. Archer Speedlight.  While he was at it, he figured he’d capture Archer’s fiancée Dawn Bright, too.  Once he had all four superheroes and their loved ones captured together, he would drink all their blood at once.  Then his enemies would be dead and their supernatural blood would make him invincible.  There would be no one in the universe that could defeat him then.  Revenge would finally be his, as he ruled the Earth and then Flonar, drinking the blood of all of Lynxarione’s descendents and the population of all the worlds where they’d ever lived!

“Let our spouses go.” Lynxar said weakly from carpet of his own living room, as Lord Vladimus passed by him and nudged him with his boot.  “You only need us.  Our families are worthless to you.”

The evil vampire’s eyes danced with delight to hear his victim beg.  Laughing cruelly, Vladimus said “Ahh, but they will make a delicious treat nonetheless.”

Just to torment Lynxar, Vladimus ran his hands over his wife Rachel’s tender throat, as if preparing to drink her blood right then and there.  Lynxar cried out angrily, “Let my family go!”

The words sparked an insight in the vampire’s mind that he hadn’t thought of before.  Lynxar hadn’t said ‘let my wife go’; he’d said ‘let my family go’.  Vladimus moved his hand to Rachel’s stomach and felt the slight bulge there that was undoubtedly a pregnancy.  Closing his eyes, the vampire sensed the innocent life growing within her and grinned maliciously.

As Rachel squirmed, trying to escape his icy touch, Vladimus said, “Well, this is an even more scrumptious treat than I expected.”

Without thinking, Rachel cried out, “No!  Don’t hurt our children!”

The vampire’s eyes lit up even more at the choice of words.  He said “Children?  So you have more than this one growing inside you? This just keeps getting better and better.”

None of the captives lying helplessly on the floor dared to speak another word after that, for fear the vampire would learn even more things to use against them.  It didn’t take long for Vladimus to discover everything he needed to know, just by looking around the room.  Pictures of Lynxar and Rachel’s six year old daughter Lynxiennia were everywhere.  In many of them, she could be seen with Dawn Bright’s daughter Aurora.  In many other pictures, the two girls were doing activities with the members of the AFH.  It was clear that they were precious to all the superheroes and that harming them would be the perfect way to torment them all.

At last, Vladimus found the clue he needed most of all.  It was a copy of Lynxienna’s schedule at Jefferson Elementary School.  It gave the address of the building and what time of day the final bell would release the students.  He looked at the clock and it was clear what he intended to do.

“No!  You can’t!” Rachel cried out, unable to stop herself as tears poured down her cheeks.

“Oh, I don’t believe anyone here is in a position to stop me.” Vladimus sneered at her.  “Don’t worry, though.  I’ll bring the two little brats here so you can all watch them die.”

Desperate to save her daughter’s life, Rachel said, “Even you couldn’t drink the blood of two innocent children!”

Looking thoughtful for a moment, Vladimus said tauntingly, “You’re right; I am trying to watch my figure and it would be awfully sweet.  I’d bring along a date, and we can share the dessert together.  Thank you for the idea.  I knew you were a romantic.”

Rachel wanted to say something back to him, but words failed her in the face of such pure evil.  She watched as Vladimus pulled a small portal pad out of the folds of his cape and set it on the ground.  He pushed the button to activate it and the device whirled to life with a blinding light.  Lynxar and the others gasped in horror, wondering what evil creature would emerge.

Chapter Two

The teleportation portal whirled and flashed.  Suddenly a figure stepped out of it.  She had long black hair, which hung in a sheet clear to her waist.  Her voluptuous figure was accentuated by the clinging dress she wore of shiny, black silk.  Her enormous breasts strained against the buttons of her bodice, threatening to pop out at any moment.

“I’d like everyone to meet Scarrietta.” Vladimus said, as he charmingly took her hand helped her step into Lynxar’s living room.  Vladimus kissed the back of her hand, then spread his arms wide, showing off his six captives to her and said “Scarrietta, I’d like you to meet tonight’s feast. You can have the regular humans; I’ll take the superheroes.”

“They look positively delicious,” the female vampire said, licking her lips hungrily. Then she looked Vladimus up and down sensuously and said, “But right now I’m hungry for something else.”

The vampire king led her up the stairs to Lynxar and Rachel’s very own bedroom and said, “Let’s build up our appetites with a little exercise first.  Then we can fetch the brats from school and feast on them while we make their parents watch.”

“I like the way you think.” Scarrietta said.  As soon as the bedroom door was closed, she ripped the clothes off the vampire king’s body.  Hungrily, she took his manhood into her mouth, sucking on the length of him with greedy slurps.

“Easy.” Vladimus said, pushing her away.  “You’ll make me climax too soon.”

Scarrietta would not be pushed away and leaped at the vampire king, knocking him onto the bed.  She pounced upon his prone body and straddled his waist.  She was already wet and ready for him, and she mounted him quickly, causing him to enter her willingly with one solid thrust.

Scarrietta bucked wildly on top of him, thrusting and gyrating like an animal. She threw back her head, moaning in ecstasy as she ran her fingernails up and down his chest.

Vladimus grabbed her by the wrists and flipped over with sudden and unexpected force.  Before she realized what was happening, Scarrietta was laying flat on her back in the middle of the bed and Vladimus was on top, continuing to thrust as she had been doing.

“Yes!  Harder!” the female vampire cried out in pleasure.  She lifted her legs and wrapped them firmly around his waist, as she ran her hands across her own chest, pinching and squeezing her hardened nipples.  She bucked her hips upward with every thrust, driving him deeper into her than he would have thought possible.  She screamed loudly with pleasure, crying out, “Harder!  Deeper!  Do it!”

Vladimus sensed that she was about to climax and withdrew himself from her suddenly.  Scarrietta cried out in objection.  “Don’t stop!”

Enjoying himself, Vladimus laughed cruelly.  He said to her in his most commanding voice “I am the vampire king, not you.  You don’t tell me what to do, I tell you.”

Scarrietta bowed subserviently, but a naughty smile curled her lips and her eyes danced with delight.  “What do you command, great Lord of the Vampires?”

Lord Vladimus liked the title almost as much as her gorgeous body.  Stroking himself with his hand, he said to her, “Pleasure yourself for me while I watch.”

Willingly, Scarrietta brought herself to orgasm with the expert use of her fingers while Vladimus enjoyed the show.  Then he entered her from every position he could think of, thrusting with almost violent force while she screamed out in pleasure and climaxed again and again.

When at last they had satisfied their dark lusts, the clock on the wall was striking two o’clock in the afternoon and Vladimus shoved her off of himself and leapt up from the bed.  “We must go!  The children will be leaving the school and we will lose them!  If we are going to capture the two little girls, we must do it now before the final bell rings and they scatter with their friends!”

“Wait!  I cannot go out into the sunlight!” Scarrietta objected, but she had no need to fear.

Vladimus held out his hand, manifesting a jeweled ring that matched the one he wore on his right hand.  He handed it to Scarrietta, and her eyes lit up with excitement.  Putting it on, she said “Does this gift mean what I think it does?”

Vladimus sneered at her and said “No, it is not some silly symbol of commitment.  It has the power to protect you from the sun.  As long as you are wearing the ring, you can go out into the daylight without any harm.”

Scarrietta looked disappointed for the briefest moment that the ring didn’t have more romantic importance, but quickly recovered.  Smiling with a malicious gleam in her eye, she said, “Too bad the humans don’t have anything to protect them from the harm we’re about to inflict upon them.”

“Let’s go!” Vladimus cackled.  He took Scarrietta by the hand and led her down the stairs and out the front door.  As Lynxar and the others watched them leave, one look at the living room clock told them where the vampires were going; school was about to get out for the day.

“We’ve got to escape now, or it will be too late!” Lynxar shouted to his friends.

“I’m trying!” Lynxonna cried out, straining so hard that she nearly passed out from the effort and her husband Mike had to plead with her to stop.

Bryan’s body began to fade slightly, and it looked like he might overcome the draining powers of the manacles and achieve the ability to turn invisible.  If he could, it might mean that he could also regain his superior strength and break free of the bonds.

“You can do it!” his wife Vicky encouraged, but suddenly all his strength was sapped from him and he lost all his powers once more.

“I tried.” Bryan wheezed.  He had barely enough energy to speak now.

“What will we do?” Rachel asked her husband, looking at Lynxar with her big blue eyes full of tears.  “Any minute, Vladimus will come back through our front door holding our daughter and we’ve got to find a way to stop him!”

Lynxar wished he had a way to answer her, when suddenly a figure burst through the front door and there was no longer any need.

Chapter Three

“Archer!” everyone cried out joyously together, as he and Dawn came through the front door of Lynxar’s house.

“Thank goodness you’re here!  How did you know we needed you?” Lynxar asked with a sigh of relief. He’d never been so glad to see Dr. Archer Speedlight or Dawn Bright in his entire life.

“We were just coming here to talk to you and I saw through your walls that you were in trouble, so I decided not to bother knocking.” Archer said.  He moved to Lynxar’s side and tried to remove the manacles from his friend’s wrists, but they had absorbed all of the superhero’s strength and were now many times stronger than he was.  Even when he pulled with all his might, the manacles didn’t budge.  Fortunately, they only absorbed the powers of the wearer or the situation could have been made even worse.

Dawn moved to Rachel’s side and tried to remove her manacles too.  Because Rachel didn’t possess any supernatural powers, her manacles only had their original strength and Dawn was able to remove them easily.  Once her hands were free, Rachel was able to remove the ones from her ankles herself while Dawn moved on to help the Mayor.

Teasingly, Dawn said to Archer, “Looks like I’m better at rescuing people than you are.”

Everyone laughed at the joke, even Archer himself, as Dawn finished with the Mayor and moved on to help Vicky.  The lighthearted moment was short-lived, however, as it became clear that Archer wasn’t going to be able free any of the three captured superheroes.

“What are we going to do?” Rachel cried out fearfully, as she rubbed her tender wrists and peered at the clock.  She knew the afternoon bell releasing the children from school would be ringing in just a few minutes.  She said to Dawn, “The vampires are on their way to Jefferson Elementary right now to capture Lynxiennia and Aurora!  The bell will ring any minute, and then they’ll be easy prey for him to grab as they walk out the door.”

“We can’t let that happen!” Dawn Bright said in shock and horror.  Her motherhood instincts took over and she pulled a bobby pin from her hair.  She handed it to Archer and said, “Sometimes raw strength isn’t the answer and you just need some clever ingenuity.  Try picking the locks instead of pulling them open.”

The fragile wire bobby pin snapped in half when Archer tried to use it to pick the lock of the supernatural manacles, but he realized Dawn was right.  He had to work smarter, not harder.  Holding out his hands, he manifested a slender pick made of the golden metals and shining crystals of his home planet of Mathias.  The precision tools were delicate enough to fit inside the lock, but strong enough not to break.  With his superior eyesight, Archer was able to see inside the lock itself to use the picks to unlock the mechanism.  Within moments, all three superheroes were set free.

Without a moment to lose, the four members of the AHF rushed out the door with lightning speed.  Dawn Bright felt tears stinging her eyes as she watched them go, hoping they would get to the elementary school in time to save her only little girl.

“I just feel so helpless.” Dawn said, as Rachel handed her a tissue to dab her eyes.

“Don’t worry, the AHF has never failed us and they won’t start now.  Our daughters don’t just belong to us; they’re like the daughters of the entire group.  Plus, there are plenty of things we can do to help from here.” Rachel said.  Even as she spoke, Dawn saw that Mike was already on the phone, using his position as Mayor to summon police forces to the school.  Vicky was on her own phone, directing her television news station to broadcast the evacuation protocols directing all citizens to safe locations.

Dawn sighed with relief to know that everyone was doing what they could, but she still felt useless herself until Rachel grabbed her by the hand and started pulling downstairs.  Rachel said to her, “Come on!  We’re going to my laboratory downstairs.  When Lynxar and Archer capture the vampires, they’re going to need someplace to put them.  It’s up to us to have the last crystal coffin prison ready to go!”

The crystal coffin had been untouched for nearly an entire year and was hidden the corner, buried beneath boxes and piles of papers.  The two women worked quickly to uncover it and push it into the center of the lab.

“We’ve got to increase its holding power to contain two vampires, instead of just one.  Otherwise, over time, they might be able to break free of it.” Rachel explained.  “I’ve been experimenting with Mathias crystals by growing some in an incubator.  These crystals have double the magical properties of the originals.  We’ve got to replace the primary crystals in the four corners of the coffin.  If we fail, it won’t hold one vampire, let alone two!”

Dawn felt her hands shaking as she handed Rachel the tools she needed to extract the old crystals.  When Mike and Vicky had finished their calls, they came downstairs to help, too.

“Okay, everybody take a crystal and place it in the slot I assigned you.  Do it just like I showed you.  If we work together, attaching the crystals simultaneously, we should have it done in time.  By my calculations, Lynxar and the others should need this coffin any minute now!” Rachel commanded.

“Ready!” Vicky said, sounding more confident than she felt as she picked up her crystal and carried it very carefully to her assigned place on the coffin.

“Me too.” Mike said, sounding equally authoritative and confident.  He was grateful that his position as Mayor had taught him how to sound calm under pressure, even when he was terrified inside.

Dawn couldn’t stop her hands from shaking and wished she could be in control of her fear like the others.  Closing her eyes, she thought of Aurora and how her little girl depended on her.  Then she thought of Archer and how eager she was to walk down the aisle on Saturday and be his bride.  The two people she loved most in this world were both counting on her to help them, and she wasn’t going to let them down.

When Dawn opened her eyes, her hands were steady and sure.  She picked up the crystal and carried it to her assigned place at the coffin.  Rachel counted down to three and the four human friends slid the crystals into place, activating a new coffin prison that was stronger than any one before it.

“We did it!” Rachel cried out triumphantly and they all cheered their victory.  She looked at her watch and said “We’re not a moment too soon, because our heroes should be along any minute to pick it up.”

Chapter Four

Vladimus sneered distastefully at the cheerfully-painted school building, with its manicured lawn and shining playground equipment.  Suddenly, a loud bell sounded and the front doors of Jefferson Elementary school burst open.  Hundreds of children poured out of the doorway, laughing and running.  Their youthful innocence and joy disgusted the two vampires who were watching them.

“There she is!” Scarrietta called out.  Vladimus followed her pointing finger with his eyes and saw her as well.  The six year old girl would have looked like any other child in the first grade with her backpack and her lunch box, if it hadn’t been for the lavender color of her braided hair.

Lynxiennia skipped down the steps leading away from the school, holding the hand of a little girl with sunshine-blonde hair.  Her facial features were the mirror image of her mother, and there was no doubt she must be the daughter of Dawn Bright.

“Get those two and bring them to me!” Vladimus commanded and Scarrietta rushed to do his bidding.

Scarrietta swooped down upon them and grabbed Aurora and Lynxiennia around their waists.  Suddenly, all the surrounding children began to chant in unison, “Stranger danger!  Stranger danger!”

A barrage of hardbound text books and heavy backpacks rained upon Scarrietta as the children pelted her with painful force.  The surprise of the attack caused her to drop her victims, who fled as fast as they could onto the safety of a nearby school bus.

“You fool!  Can’t you capture two simple little girls?” Vladimus shouted in rage.  He bore his fangs at the crowd of children and lunged at them, as if to bite them.  Screaming in fear, they scattered and ran.

Feeling embarrassed, Scarrietta said, “The little brats are harder to catch than they look.  Try grabbing them yourself and you’ll see what I mean.”

Vladimus saw the faces of the two girls peering out of the windows of the school bus, along with all the other children within the vehicle, and his eyes glistened with an evil idea.  He said to Scarrietta, “No need to waste our efforts when they’re already so neatly packaged for us.”

He picked up one end of the school bus and Scarrietta quickly grabbed the other end.  The school children inside screamed in terror as the bus was hoisted into the air.

“Put that bus down!  It’s time for you to leave!” a deep voice boomed.  The two vampires turned to see Lynxar, along with Archer and Lynxonna, standing in front of the school.  Although they couldn’t see him, they both realized the Ghost must be nearby as well.

“If you want these kids, take them!” Vladimus shouted at the three members of the AHF.  Suddenly, Vladimus and Scarrietta hurled the school bus at the superheroes as hard as they could.  The bus fell onto its side and began to roll like a clumsy bowling ball against the hard ground.  The horrific sound of crashing metal blended with the children’s screams.

Lynxar and Lynxonna didn’t have to even think about it.  They both knew what they had to do.  Working together, they used the powers of their minds to levitate the children within the school bus, so they floated safely in the air and weren’t harmed by being tossed inside the rolling vehicle.  When the bus finally came to a stop, they gently set the children down on the ground, all of them injury-free.

Archer leaped on top of the overturned bus and held out his hands, manifesting his bow and arrow.  He fired the weapon in rapid succession, releasing a series of arrows at the two vampires.  Vladimus, however, manifested his sword and shield, and deflected the arrows harmlessly away.  As the arrow struck the ground, they exploded in flashes of light, releasing the pure light of the sun that was contained within their magic crystal arrowheads.  The sunlight burned the vampires despite their protective rings, making them recoil from the light. Scarrietta screamed out in pain, swirled her cape around herself and vanished, teleporting safely to some distant place.

Lord Vladimus hissed angrily at her abandonment and knew that he couldn’t face the heroes alone.  Grabbing his cape by the hemline, he prepared to swirl it around himself and make a hasty retreat of his own.  An invisible force, however, suddenly whisked the cape off his body, leaving him without the ability to escape.

“I’ll be taking that!  Thank you!” the invisible voice taunted, and Vladimus knew he had been robbed of the cape by the Ghost.  Watching the garment move through the air gave the vampire an easy way to know exactly where the superhero was, and he lunged at him with his sword drawn.

“Bryan, look out!” Lynxonna cried out.  She blasted the vampire backward with the powers of her mind, protecting her friend.

The vampire was still able to fling his sword, despite being pushed backward by Lynxonna.  The weapon hurled through the air and struck his intended target.  The Ghost cried out in pain and fell hard against the ground, leaving an imprint on the grass where his body lay.

“Bryan!  Are you all right?” Dr. Archer Speedlight cried out in horror.  With his super speed, it only took him seconds move from the bus to the spot on the ground where he knew the Ghost had fallen.  All he could see, however, was the sword and an imprint in the ground.  Archer said “Bryan, if you’re conscious, deactivate your invisibility, or I can’t help you.”

The image of Bryan fluttered before his eyes, and then slowly came fully into view.  He’d been struck in the chest and was bleeding badly.  Lynxonna felt her passion to stop Vladimus increase at the sight of her hurt friend.  Forgetting to think, she lunged at Vladimus, using all her speed and strength to tackle him to the ground.  He dodged her easily and she crashed onto the ground, more infuriated than ever.

Archer knelt over Bryan’s prone body.  He used his incredible abilities of vision to see inside Bryan’s wound, through the torn tissues, all the way to the cut internal organs.  Manifesting the surgical tools he needed, and using his powers of speed and supernatural sight, Archer worked to heal the gaping wound, hoping he could keep his friend from dying.

Vladimus laughed at the sight of Lynxonna rising up from her missed tackle and manifested a fresh sword to replace the one he’d lost.  He twirled it in his hands, showing off his skill with the blade and Lynxonna knew better than to charge at him again or she’d suffer the same fate as the Ghost.

Instead, she blasted at the vampire with her telekinesis, slamming him against the wall of the school building with the power of her mind.  The police had arrived and were escorting the children to safety.  They screamed loudly as the vampire crashed against the bricks just above their heads and the police had to work even faster to guide them away.

Vladimus slid down the wall and landed on the ground below.  Lynxonna didn’t dare blast him again, for fear the fleeing children might get hurt.  It gave the evil vampire the advantage he needed.  He grabbed the nearest child he could, a little boy about ten years old.  He was the last one in the line the police were escorting to safety, and Vladimus used his supernatural speed and strength to grab the lad by the shirt collar and hoist him into the air.

“If you touch me again, I’ll snap the boy’s neck!” Vladimus cried out to Lynxonna as Archer kept working to save Bryan’s life.  Lynxar was nowhere to be seen, but the vampire knew just how to draw him back out.  Clutching the boy closely to his side, Vladimus carried him to the school bus, which still lay on its side in front of school, filled with children.

Vladimus jumped on top of the overturned vehicle with the boy and said, “I’ll trade this one for the girl with the purple braids.”  A gasp came from inside the school bus as everyone realized he was speaking of Lynxiennia

“Don’t go!” Aurora Bright said, clutching her best friend’s hand fearfully.

“I have to do something.” Lynxiennia said.  Her lavender braids flew behind her as she glanced in every direction, thinking of her options.

Vladimus shouted down to her “Come on!  You don’t want to be responsible for this boy’s death do you, little girl?  What would your father think?  You don’t want to disappoint him!”

Suddenly, Lynxar himself came running from the distance, carrying the crystal coffin.  He set it down in front of the school bus and shouted up to Vladimus, “Nothing she could do would ever disappoint me.  Now surrender, Vladimus!  It’s time for you to go back where you belong.”

Vladimus hissed angrily at the sight of the familiar prison.  He raised his sword high above his head and prepared to jump down inside the school bus, where he would slaughter as many children as he could before the superhero could stop him.  With any luck, he’d be able to get to Lynxar’s little girl.  Vladimus knew he could be captured, but his only desire was to get his revenge first.  If he could make Lynxar watch as he killed his daughter, Vladimus would feel satisfied.

Lynxar gasped in horror as he read the vampire’s mind and knew what he was about to do.  He was so far away that even with his superior speed, there was no way he could stop Vladimus from jumping down into the school bus.  Feeling helpless, Lynxar could only watch as Vladimus leapt up into the air with his sword swinging and his body moved toward the open door of the overturned bus.  Suddenly, a blast of immense power exploded against the vampire’s body, blasting Vladimus a hundred feet into the air.  He fell to the ground, stunned and wracked with pain.

Immediately, Lynxar pounced upon him and was quickly joined by Lynxonna, who was eager to help.  Archer had finished healing Bryan’s wounds and it was clear he was going to survive. Trying to sit up, Bryan said, “Let’s get that monster back in his box!”

Archer gently pushed Bryan back into a laying position and said firmly, “Let the two people from Flonar be the ones to put their enemy back in his prison.  My people were the ones entrusted to build the coffins and protect the ones who held the keys that lock them.  You, my human friend, are entrusted to care for the humans on Earth and protect the people of Colossal City.”

“Okay.  I’ll let them have the fun this time.” Bryan said weakly, and clasped his friend’s hand in gratitude for his words of wisdom and for saving his life.

Lynxonna pulled open the heavy lid to the crystal coffin and a bright light shone from within. It looked different than the other coffins had, sparkling with all the colors of the rainbow.  Archer gasped, understanding what the change meant, although no one else knew.  He properly guessed that Rachel must have switched the coffin’s crystals for the enhanced ones they’d been developing in her lab.  He was glad she had.

Lynxar picked up Lord Vladimus and shoved the struggling vampire into the coffin and slammed the lid shut, imprisoning him inside.  Leaving his patient in the care of Dr. Rachel Deering, who had just arrived on scene, along with Mike and Dawn, Archer strode to the coffin and pulled a crystal key from his pocket.  With great solemnity, he shoved the key into the lock and turned it, forever locking the coffin prison.  He withdrew the key from the lock and ushered Lynxar and Lynxonna away, saying, “You’ll want to back far off now.”

Suddenly, rays of rainbow light erupted all around the coffin, blinding them all with its beauty.  Then, the rainbow collapsed into itself, as if turning into a black hole.  As quickly as the hole in space had appeared, the entire thing disappeared, and the coffin vanished along with it.  All that remained in its place was the empty grass.

“What was that?” Lynxar cried out in shock, echoing the thoughts of all the others.

Archer said, “It is done.  Lord Vladimus will never harm anyone ever again. He’s been sucked back to the vampire realm by the light of goodness.  It destroys everything evil that it encounters, and so now the entire vampire realm will be gone.  The universe has been saved by the tyranny of the vampires forever. ”

The crowd of people watching cheered in joy and excitement, and other people were quiet in shock and awe.  Lynxar and Lynxiennia pulled open the roof of the school bus, releasing all the children who came running out, all of them completely unscathed.

Lynxiennia ran straight into the arms of her father and they were quickly joined by her mother.  The family hugged each other tightly, with tears of relief and joy in their eyes.  Rachel grinned as she could feel the baby in her tummy kicking for the very first time.

Aurora ran into the arms of her mother and Archer strode up to them and hugged them both tightly in his arms.  “This is for you.” He said to Aurora as he handed her the crystal key.

Aurora held out her hands and took the gift.  It was beautiful and shimmered in the sunlight.  It looked just the one that her mother had worn before, that had been passed down from generation to generation for three hundred years, and had been the key to the first coffin that Vladimus had been locked in.  Until Dawn Bright had met Archer, she didn’t know the significance of the key, but Aurora had seen the events of today and knew just what the crystal meant.  With a timid voice, she looked at Archer and asked, “Is it safe for me to keep this?”

Dawn looked at him with worried eyes, curious for the answer herself.  She trusted Archer fully and knew how much he loved Aurora, but she couldn’t help but wonder if entrusting her daughter with that key was putting her life at risk, as it had her own.  Archer smiled confidentially and said, “Yes, it is perfectly safe.  No vampire will ever come looking for this key.  It is simply a piece of jewelry that you can enjoy in safety and even pass down to your daughter if you choose.”

“That means there is only one thing left to make all my dreams come true.” Aurora said brightly.

“What’s that?” Archer and Dawn both asked together.

The child smiled up at her mother and the man she had come to love as a father and said, “You two need to have your wedding tomorrow.”

Chapter Five

“I can’t believe this day is finally here!” Rachel said happily as she entered the church with her family.  She was wearing a simple dress that covered her growing baby bump, although her pregnancy was no longer a secret.

“I can’t believe we all made it to this day alive.” Lynxar joked, looking exceptionally handsome in his black tuxedo.  His lavender hair was slicked back and hung nicely to his shoulders and a yellow rose boutonniere garnished his lapel.

Rachel rolled her eyes at him and laughed, but she knew he was only half-joking.  Any one of them could have very well perished the day before, which made the joy of today’s wedding ceremony even more poignant.  Rachel looked down at her little girl, who was standing between them, holding each of their hands in her two outstretched ones, and smiled down at her gratefully.

Lynxiennia looked pretty and sweet in her yellow dress with her hair done in curls and a wreath of flowers on her head.  She couldn’t wait to be a flower girl along with Aurora.    As soon as she saw her best friend she released her parent’s hands and ran to hug her.

“Where’s your mom?” Lynxiennia asked, excitedly.

“She’s in the reverend’s office getting dressed.” Aurora said, wearing a yellow dress identical to Lynxiennia’s.  “You should see her bridal gown! She looks so beautiful!  I hope I can wear it when I get married one day!”

The rest of the guests filtered into the church, including Bryan Hillman, who was making a full recovery from his injury, thanks to Archer’s medical powers.  He leaned heavily on his wife Vicky, but she didn’t mind.  He’d always done so much to protect and care for her, she was happy to be the one to take care of him for a change.

When the last guests arrived, the church was absolutely packed, with a few guests having to stand in the very back.  Lynxonna signaled to the organist that everyone was ready, and the music began to play.

Archer stood at the front of the altar, looking charmingly handsome in his black tuxedo, and just a touch nervous.  The Mayor of Colossal City, Mike, stood by his side and was honored to be his best man.  The role was supposed to belong to Bryan, but situations being what they were, Mike was touched to be asked to fill in for the injured comrade.

As the organ music filled the air, Lynxonna was the first person to walk down the aisle.  As the matron of honor, she looked dazzling in her yellow evening gown.  Her lavender hair was done up in an elegant style, with long tendrils of curls hanging down her back.  She smiled at her husband, Mike, as she approached the altar, remembering the day when she had told him “I do.”

Next came Lynxiennia and Aurora, carrying the large wicker basket filled with rose petals between them, and carefully sprinkling them along the aisle with great concentration.  It was obvious that they took their duty seriously and wanted to do it right.  More than one of the guests chuckled at the adorable sight they made.

Finally, the bride herself appeared.  Dawn Bright looked like an angel.  Her wedding gown was tailored to perfection and made of the most delicate lace anyone had ever seen.  Her hair and makeup were perfect and her veil was so delicate it looked like it would melt away if anyone touched it.  She looked like a vision on a cloud as she seemed to float down the aisle, until at last she reached the front of the altar and Archer took her hands in his own.

The ceremony was everything she’d always wanted it to be.  They said vows they’d written from their hearts, which brought tears to everyone’s eyes, exchanged the rings, and were finally pronounced husband and wife.  The reception party afterward lasted for hours, with Aurora happily staying the night with Lynxienna’s family when it was through.

At long last, Dawn and Archer left on their honeymoon, collapsing onto the luxurious bed of their hotel room, happily exhausted.

“So tell me, Mrs. Speedlight,” Archer said, taking her into her arms and looking deep into her eyes.  “Did I deliver the perfect wedding I had promised you?”

“Yes!” Dawn said happily, loving the sound of her married name.  She kissed him passionately on the lips and said, “You didn’t just meet my expectations for the perfect wedding, you exceeded them!”

“Well, good.” Archer smiled, kissing her tenderly along the neck down to the cleavage of her bosom.  “Now you know that when I promise something, I deliver.”

Dawn grinned and said, “Well, you also promised me an incredible honeymoon.”

Archer slowly began to unfasten the buttons of her lavish wedding gown and said “Well, in that case, I’d better make sure I uphold that promise.”

Helping him to pull the massive gown over her head and off her body, Dawn said, “You’ve set a precedent though.  Not only do you need to meet my expectations of a great honeymoon; you have to exceed them.”

Archer was more than happy to dedicate himself to the task.  Just looking at Dawn, dressed in the white lace bustier she’d worn under her gown, along with the matching garter belt, white thigh-high stockings and high heels, he was filled with desire.

With slow, deliberate movements of his mouth, lips, and tongue, he made love to every inch of her body.  He suckled her toes, kissed her thighs, and flicked her most sensitive folds until she orgasmed.  He kissed her flat stomach massaged her round breasts, and let his lips suckle her hard nipples.  He nuzzled her earlobes and kissed her mouth, and entered her sacred folds as he ran his hands up and down her body, squeezing and caressing her in all the right places.  She orgasmed a second time as she felt his male hardness enter her with a satisfying thrust and she wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck, never wanting to let him go.

With movements as slow and sensual as he could manage with his growing lust, Archer made passionate love to his wife, drawing out each movement of his hips to maximize her pleasure.  When at last she had her third orgasm, he let himself go and thrust wildly with unhindered passion.  He exploded inside her, filling her with his seed, as he cried out uncontrollably in delirious pleasure.  Her own screams of pleasure blended with his in a glorious song of love and ecstasy.

Chapter Six

Lynxar and Rachel quietly opened the door to Lynxiennia’s bedroom and peeked inside.  Their little girl was sleeping peacefully in her bed, while her best friend Aurora snored softly beside her.

Smiling at the sight, Lynxar and Rachel closed the door and retreated back down the hallway.  Normally, they would have gone to their own bedroom to sleep, but the memory of Lord Vladimus invading their bedroom for his own dark sexual conquests made the thought of making love in there unbearable.  In the morning, Lynxar would begin tearing the room down and rebuild a new suite in its place.  In the meantime, they would sleep in the guest bedroom normally reserved for company.

As they entered the pretty room, Rachel sighed happily and said, “Archer and Dawn’s wedding sure was beautiful.  It almost makes me wish we’d taken the time to have a fancy wedding.”

Lynxar took her into his arms, kissed her passionately, and said, “No way.  Once I decided not to return to Flonar, I wanted to make you my bride right away.  I couldn’t have stood to have waited.”

Rachel giggled under the tickling touch of his lips as he nuzzled his way down her neck and kissed her belly.  She said, “Well, I certainly wasn’t a virgin when we got married.  Why couldn’t you have waited?”

Lynxar kissed his way back up her belly to suckle her luscious breasts and said, “Making love to you when we were single was nice, but making love as husband and wife is even better.”

Rachel arched her back and moaned with pleasure at the feel of his teeth gently biting her nipple and said, “I have to agree.”

They lay down on the bed together, positioning themselves so that Rachel could take Lynxar’s manhood into her mouth while his mouth made love to her warm folds.  The feel of Rachel’s hot tongue lapping along the full length of him drove Lynxar wild with desire and he had to force himself to keep from climaxing.

The growing lust inside him caused him to work even more passionately at pleasuring her with his tongue.  He let his tongue lap, flick, and caress her most intimate and sensitive folds, encouraged by her moans and gasps of pleasure.

“I want you inside me!” Rachel gasped, and Lynxar happily obliged.  He took her from behind and she rocked gently back against him, drawing him deeply into her.  Lynxar tried to restrain himself so as not to hurt the baby, but when Rachel reached back and cupped his balls with her hands, it pushed him over the edge and he let loose with reckless passion.

“Yes! Yes!” Rachel cried out with intense pleasure as the climaxed along with her husband.  Lynxar opened the powers of his mind to enhance the experience, accessing the pleasure parts of their brains, and amplifying the pleasure they felt to new heights.

Finally, their passion was spent and they collapsed in satisfied exhaustion, cuddling in each other’s arms.

“I love you so much.” Lynxar whispered into Rachel’s long blonde hair, feeling truly at peace.

“I love you too.” Rachel smiled, feeling just as happy, but somehow not as relaxed.  Some troublesome thought was niggling in the back of her mind, and Lynxar could sense it.  Squeezing her arms in a gesture of loving support, he said gently, “What’s wrong?”

“Oh, nothing’s wrong exactly.” Rachel said, frowning in thought.  “I just can’t get the events of yesterday’s battle against Lord Vladimus out of my mind.”

“It was a horrible thing to have witnessed.” Lynxar said sympathetically. “No one can blame you for having some emotional trauma.  I can help erase the thoughts from your mind, if you like.”

Rachel shook her head and said “No, it’s not that.  It was scary, but I’ve seen worse and been fine.  It’s more like, I’m trying to make of sense of something that doesn’t quite make any sense.”

“What do you mean?” Lynxar asked.

Rachel said “When Vladimus was about to jump into the school bus, something powerful blew him back.  I asked Lynxonna if she had done that with her telekinesis and she said she hadn’t.  I also know that you didn’t do it either.  So who or what did?”

Lynxar thought hard, concentrating on the memory.  After a moment he shrugged and said “Maybe Lynxonna and I did it together and just didn’t realize it.  After all, a blast as powerful as that one had been couldn’t have come from either one of us alone, so we must have unconsciously worked together during the excitement of the moment.  It’s the only explanation.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Rachel said with a shrug.  She nestled into her husband’s arms and they both drifted off to sleep.

Down the hall, little Lynxiennia opened her eyes and snuggled her favorite stuffed teddy bear.  Her telepathy had alerted her that someone had been talking about her.  She wondered if her parents had finally realized she’d been hiding a power that exceeded even her father’s abilities.  She hoped not.  The idea of keeping it a secret filled her with a delicious glee, like when she would sneak a cookie from the cookie jar.

She had no real reason to keep her powers a secret from her parents.  She knew they would love her and support her, and her father could even help her learn how to control and use them better.  Still, it was fun having something that no one else knew about that was just hers, at least for now.  Something told her that one day a danger would come that was so great, she’d need to use her powers openly.  When that day came, she knew she’d be ready for it.

THE END