The Death of Zoth

by Gemini Explorer

Zoth returns, and Finn is determined to slay her archenemy before he can cause further harm to the world. But will she succeed, or will the demons kill her and the other Treehouse crew and wreak havoc?

THIS STORY IS RATED MATURE, and will contain violence, supernatural aspects, strong sensuality with some sex, limited profanity, and horror. Reading this story attests that you were aware of these inclusions and read accordingly. However, there is nothing here that might not be encountered in many modern bestselling novels. This is where Finn deals with her archenemy, who would slay all mankind that he might have absolute dominion over a sphere devoid of humans, as he is devoid of humanity, let alone mercy. As you read, keep in mind the events that Zoth will set in motion if he is not stopped in time. Finn lived through the aftermath of his scheme in the 21st Century, and if she can, she will kill him to prevent that future from occurring. But, if she does succeed in killing Zoth, and her world is spared, what will the young blonde do? Will she find a way to rejoin her future world, or will she stay with Prof. George Challenger, her man in this time, and with the new life that they have created between them before the tale ends?

Reference: View the, "Imposters" and "Finn" episodes from the Third Season of, "Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World" as background. However, as in all but one of my Fics, Finn and George Challenger are a couple, which was not a component of the TV show. My Fics are set after the Third Season, ignoring the final Third Season episode, and do not embrace the possible plot lines that MIGHT have been used in the Fourth Season, which never took place. Thus, it is possible that the Treehouse residents would have become three committed couples, as I write them: The Roxtons, the Malones, and the Challengers. I hope that this arrangement won't confuse those who loved the show, or who read Fics by other writers who don't see the romances evolving as I do. Every Fic writer has his/her own view of just who the characters are and exactly how they should be interpreted. None of us owns rights to the characters or to the basic Plateau line, which reside with the estate of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, New Line Cinema, and other interested parties, and no inference is made that this story reflects any script ideas created by those entities or by their employees. This is presented wholly as an original work of Fiction, as seen by one writer. But I hope that it will prove as entertaining as anything that anyone else has written about those intrepid explorers. Enjoy. If nothing else, the price is right...and I hope it proves the adage about the better things in life being free.

At the time of this story, George and Finn do not yet know that Jessie Challenger succumbed to flu in the winter of 1921. They will not learn that until leaving the Plateau, at which point they will marry in the British Embassy in Rio de Janeiro. (Brasilia was not built until the 1950's; Rio was the capital city until then.)

The Death of Zoth

by

Gemini Explorer

The Treehouse, early 1924

Finn lay next to George Challenger in bed, her head resting on his shoulder, her body draped half over his, kissing as they breathed hard, the aftermath of their exertions of the past hour, as they had come together in sexual and spiritual union, slaking their lust and their love within and upon one another. They were nearly spent now, their lips lingering upon one another's, pausing in their kisses to whisper sweet somethings into one another's ears.

"Oh, Genius, that was so hot," murmured Finn, whose real name was Nicole Elizabeth Finnegan, but whose friends called her Finn, the nickname that she had given them when they first met.

"Eh?" queried her man. "I thought that you said the last time we did this that it was 'so cool'. What did I do differently that made me change from 'cool' to 'hot'? You by the way, were neither cool nor hot, but simply sublime." He chuckled at his witticism. "At least, you are consistently sublime, Darling. I must be the luckiest man alive to have you in my bed."

"Probably," she agreed, and snickered. "George, 'cool' and 'hot' are words that can mean the same, like I heard that Hawaiians used to use, 'Aloha' to mean both hello and goodbye. Maybe not, but that's what I heard somewhere. Anyway, I think it's 'cool' that my man is so 'hot'. And she ground her pelvis lightly against his manhood, rotating her hips lewdly but pleasurably before tucking her head back down into his neck, where her tongue began performing light, erotic motions that made George Challenger wonder if he was really worn out, after all.

He ran his hand down her neck and back, lingering to caress her trim, shapely buttocks, a gesture that he knew she loved and which excited her.

They heard faint sounds from the room through the wooden wall, and Finn asked whether he thought their friends the Roxtons were still awake.

"If so, they are quieter tonight than sometimes, even if one has to listen to know when they are ravishing one another." And it was true that one had to listen carefully on a still night to hear the other couple when they moved in passion, for the Treehouse where they dwelt was well built, and most sounds stayed within the rooms where they originated.

Finn stretched, extending her limbs luxuriously. She loved the breeze generated by the ceiling fan, its blades turning in perpetual motion as long as they managed to generate enough electricity from the machinery below the tree, the creation of her lover and mentor. She ran fingertips over her smoothly shaven public area, seeing George's eyes follow her movements. Her female companions had told her that she was the first girl they had known to shave there, and they had blushed on seeing that as the three women swam in a clear pool of a nearby jungle river. But Finn knew that men liked seeing her bareness in that zone and flushed slightly as she saw George's expression confirm that again. She smiled shyly and ran her hands down her body, shivering slightly at her own erotic touch.

"What's so much fun?" asked Challenger as Finn did a lascivious bump and grind to expose herself to the output of air from the wide blades of the fan. "Are you getting 'cool' because you got so 'hot' tonight?"

She hugged him and laughed. "Pretty good, Genius. We'll soon have you a sense of humor out of all proportion to what you had when I met you, when your head never really left the lab."

"You have taught me that there are things in life that matter as much as my quest for knowledge," he admitted. "Darling, I once told John Roxton that science was my Marguerite. You know how much he thinks of her. And she returns that love, even when they try to hide it and squabble. I'm so glad that they finally conceded that they are in love. It makes life so much easier on all of us. But science is no longer my full Marguerite, and it can never be my Finn. Know that you are first in my esteem, and always will be."

She leaned over and kissed him. "That was so sweet, Lover," she acknowledged. "But what about when we have kids? Now that you gave me permission to go off that pill that you came up with to keep me barren, I may conceive at any time. We even stroked that totem thing that the Zanga gave us, their fertility symbol. I may have a bun in the oven soon. Could you love me as much as the son that I mean to give you?" She teased him, but was somewhat insecure about his answer. How might he feel, given that conflict?

"Oh, bosh!" Challenger exclaimed. "Child or no child, you are my Finn, and I will feel no less love for you because I find some for a new Challenger. The types of love are separate, and I will draw from different wells the affection that I will have for each of you. I should spank you for even wondering whether I would love you less because you provided me with an heir. If anything, I shall probably love you all the more. You are a naughty girl to even speculate on such a silly thing."

"So, you're gonna spank me, Genius?" she purred, and giggled furiously as he sat up and pulled her suddenly over his lap and began paddling her with his hand. She squirmed, her right arm held behind her as he struck her bottom in mock punishment.

A moment later, face flushed, she lay again beside him, kissing tenderly. "That baby stuff wasn't altogether theoretical," she offered. "I'm late with my period this month. We may be in a family way. Would you really not mind?" She looked anxiously into his eyes, trying to find his true reaction there.

"I said that we could have a child if you want, Finn," he reminded, "and I meant it. I had better get started if we really anticipate having any offspring. I want to be young enough to enjoy and guide them as they grow, and I haven't many more years in which to do that. Unlike you, I am long past my teens, and there is no time like the present if we are to become parents."

She saw the truth in his face and reassured, lay her head on his chest and toyed with his arm and stomach, tracing trickles of fire along his flesh with her fingernails. "Good, George. It means a lot to me to have your child, and I will, I bet. I manage most things that I set out to do. And I'm doing this because I love you, Muscles, not to get out of helping Veronica in the garden when I get a few months along." She ran her tongue along the edges of his ear and felt him stir in response.

He laughed. "Get out of helping in the garden, my word! That sounds more like something that Marguerite would try. In fact, if she becomes pregnant, I think we should accuse her of having that motive." He chuckled, and pulled Finn closer and brought his lips against hers and one thing led to another and in time, they were again breathing heavily as they lay in one another's arms. Finally, they turned off the lamps and checked that their pistols were on each side of their bed, ready in case some nameless threat came in the night, for this was a tropical jungle.

The fan cooled them, and Finn snuggled against him, her back and the rear of her legs against his front. They were tired now and she squirmed only a little against his half erection, moving more sentimentally than to achieve another arousal. He threw the sheet over them, a colorful cotton one loomed in the nearby Zanga village. A pale blue quilt made by their hostess Veronica Layton and their friend Marguerite Krux lay ready at the foot of the bed, but wasn't needed this night, especially with the couple sharing their own warmth.

Finn ran her right hand down her partner's leg and moved against him. "I do love you, Genius," she murmured.

"And well that you should, girl. I taught you to read," he pointed out.

She smiled to herself. "Well, there is that," she admitted. "You know, we'll make a comedian of you yet, George."

And, they lay together, close in body and soul, and the moon moved across the star-bright sky, and they drifted off to sleep, each knowing a peace together that they had once thought never to achieve. In our union, thought the scientist, there is bliss. And he slept with a hand on the flank of his woman, the source of his content.

In a tree nearby, an owl hooted, calling to a mate, stirring a rat in the bush below. It would soon become a meal for the avian predators. Different creatures have different priorities in the stillness of the jungle night...

CHAPTER TWO

"Hark!," spoke the demoness named Salamine. "The savages come. They are now in the Cave of the Void. Give the word, Kale, uh, Zoth, and we shall enter their bodies. Their clothing is rudimentary, but we can compensate by making more when we are in their world."

The Indians that they had seen approaching entered the cave, a few hunters chasing a brocket deer. They had two women with them, having strayed from their group to hunt and take pleasure, for they were newlyweds, and friends, and they sought privacy from their tribe, which had camped not far away. They were on the fringes of the Zanga lands, and dared not intrude beyond, lest the Zanga kill them for trespassing on their hunting grounds.

One hunter saw the deer scrabble at some rocks and leap into the darkness of the tunnel. They lit torches and pursued, for they thought the animal was trapped and would become easy meat.

Not long after all had entered the cavern, the women eager to see their men make the kill, something not often allowed to females, a bright light shone from within the depths of the cave, and they started in alarm. The deer forgotten, the Indians turned to flee. One cast the dart from his atlatl at a shape emerging from the light, then he was swept into it, and was gone. The others saw and one screamed, a sound truncated by her absorption into the high-lumen brightness.

All was still. Then, what appeared at first glance to be the Indians emerged from the tunnel entrance. But the Indians were pale and had Caucasian features. The men wore loincloths and sandals and had headbands with the colors of their tribe. One carried an atlatl and several shafts for it. Another had a bow and conventional arrows, and the rest, spears. The two women wore brief skirts or sarongs that could be easily peeled away from their brief loincloths and their upper bodies were covered by cotton halter tops. One had white cotton clothes with green trim, and the other had several colors incorporated in her outfit. The cotton was hand loomed in their village. The girls also had headbands, but narrower and more colorful than the mens', and their sandals were more dainty, and had laces wound around their legs almost to the knees. The male sandals more nearly resembled moccasins with stouter soles.

"Hau! I breathe again! The air enters my lungs and excites my senses," bellowed the largest of the "Indians". He was a demon with horrible facial features, called S'jok.

"Una is taller than the Indian girl whom she has replaced," complained Salamine. "Her skirt is shorter than intended. Rixel, quit staring at her. Your weakness is still with you. If you have to gaze intently on a woman, look at me. Una is Zoth's." Mainly, she was jealous, for like the others, she was susceptible to human emotions, including envy.

"Fear not, Salamine, I will look upon you," said Grendel, the second largest of their number. ,"You are cunning and ruthless, but your countenance is fair. I approve of your copper hair. It is the reddish gold of the setting sun in this world. Many human females would be envious of it."

"Enough!" said Zoth. "We will become more human as time passes, but remember your origins and nature. We must be of this place, but remain above it. This clothing is absurd, but it is what these creatures had. We will seek better, or make it. We must find better weapons, too. These will prove frail against those dinosaurs that we encountered before." He looked at the fringed trim on his knees, untied the decorative devices and tossed them away. "Those irritate my legs, and serve no purpose," he declared. "This spear may prove more valuable." He hefted it, noting the sharp obsidian blade, made of volcanic glass.

They examined their knives, finding them to be of steel, with antler handles. "Hmmm. These people have steel blades. They must trade with metalworking tribes, " muttered Zoth. "We will need steel for some of our plans."

They set off toward the Treehouse where Finn, Challenger, and their friends lived, Zoth recalling the path all too well. It was along that path that the golden-haired girl with firearms had pursued him before, and he had barely reached the Cavern of the Void in time to save himself from her fury. Now, the time for revenge was at hand, and he wanted to see her face when she again became his captive. If need be, he could menace her to get the brilliant scientist who loved her to yield his secrets, those that Zoth could not remember. But even if the man was away, his notes would enable Zoth to design and construct the implements of devastation with which he would triumph and reign.

Hours before, the day was yet to fully dawn when a brunette woman in a short gown of a material similar to satin opened a door on the Treehouse and stepped out to look at the jungle.

Her name was Marguerite Krux, but she was betrothed to Lord John Roxton, who still slept in their room as his woman slipped softly from bed and came to look at the moon, still visible above the jungle. She jumped as a bat whizzed past, brushing her cheek in passing. She hoped that no spiders were near, for she wore only the brief slip or nightgown, a style yet to appear otherwise in her day, but designed by Finn after those of her time, a hundred years and more in the future. The women made many of their own garments and lingerie, and Marguerite liked the freedom and sensuality of these styles. But they did not cover much, and a spider would be an unpleasant visitor. Some of these arachnids were very dangerous with potent venom. She shivered, and ran one hand down the other arm, feeling goose pimples. Some were caused by the night's chill, but some from fear as she tried to recall what had roused her.

Marguerite was a remarkable woman in most ways, but she was also a reincarnated Druid priestess, and the local Indian shaman called her Sorceress. He knew that she possessed senses beyond those of most mortals. She could read any language, and knew, often, when evil lurked, even when she could not identify the source and proximity.

Now, a feeling of dread had wakened her, and filled her with foreboding. She realized that her right hand had taken the lacy hem of the slip and was wadding it in her hand, a sign of stress and apprehension.

She heard Roxton rise and pad to the door in his bare feet. He wore nothing, and she felt the warmth as he pressed against her from behind. His arms encircled hers, and he felt the goose bumps, and caused a few more to rise as she responded to his presence. He had been able to arouse her physically, even when she had tried to pretend to herself and others that he was a mere man, another in a chain of unrequited suitors, not the one whom she truly desired, so much so that the knowledge frightened her and she fought the weakness that it imposed on her independent spirit. In time, she had grown to respect him and admire him, and to dream that he might even accept her, for Marguerite had many secrets, many unsavory, and being a sorceress was the least damaging of them in her eyes. She felt unworthy of Lord Roxton, but he had made her his, and she felt more self esteem than she had ever felt before, and had learned to love not only him but their other friends and to rejoice more in life itself as it had become so much more to her than a chance to admire herself for cunning and deceit and the money she had made from swindling, jewel theft, and various schemes of which she was now unproud. Her pride in her skills remained, but she now knew hope and love and desire, where once she had let men have her mainly to insinuate herself into their lives to take advantage of them. John Roxton had given her much, and she would die for him, if need be, although she would probably not tell him this, fearing it would make her appear weak or in awe of him. Which she was, but a girl needed her secrets, lest Roxton assume too much control of her.

"What's wrong, Marguerite?", the tall man asked. "Why are you out here communing with the jaguars and the owls? Did Ned's chili get to you?" He chuckled, and ran his thumbs over her nipples, shielded only by the delicate lace of her bodice. They rose to attention, stiffening as he massaged and tweaked at them, sending sparks of desire through her body. She arched her back, leaned to kiss him, and moved her hips against his growing erection. She let him raise her arms and strip her of the single white garment, which he tossed onto a chair just within their room. He turned her, taking her lips with his, running a hand down her spine, sliding his fingertips around gently at the base of her spine, then cupping her buttocks in his powerful hands, pulling her in to him. She gasped, then yielded as he drew her into the room, shutting and fastening the door. He picked her up and carried her to bed.

"John, oh, oh, DO THAT!" she purred as he laid her down and began igniting her with probing, skilled fingers, one, then two, within her nether lips and deeper. And she responded fiercely, passionately, following his lead, until she lay bucking beneath him, moving with all the thrust of her lust, until both were satisfied, and lay in each other's arms, breathing as if they had run a mile.

Roxton held her then, and asked what had roused her. "Other than me, I mean," he added. "You seemed intent on something, and I don't think that I caused all of those goose pimples. Tell me, Marguerite. Did you have a bad dream? I've told you a thousand times: I will hold you and protect you, and you need never fear again. Well, that isn't quite true: you still need to shake out your boots in the morning in case something has crawled in, but as for the dreads of your mind, I'll shield you and protect you and cherish you until you fear no more."

She reached for him and pressed against him, looked into his eyes, and kissed his brow. "Oh, John, that means the world to me. You cannot ever fully know what nightmares I've had and fears of some coming true. I've told you of some, and others will come, as I unburden my soul to you. But tonight isn't something from my past. I just feel uneasy, like something bad is about to happen. The air trembles with evil. I sense it. I don't know what it is, but we had better be alert for a few days, at least. I don't even know if this is me speaking, or Morrighan. But thanks for telling me that you'll be there to help me defeat whatever it is that I fear. Together, we can conquer almost anything, even my fears. Kiss me, and let's try to get another hour of sleep before anyone gets up. But hold me; I won't be able to sleep if you don't. That just makes me feel safe, or at least safe enough to sleep...for now."

"I'm glad that you get these nerve attacks," he teased. "It's one way to get your desirable body in my grasp. Seriously, Marguerite, it's all right. I listened before I reached for you, and there were no unusual noises, for this place, anyway. Just the usual jungle sounds, plus my panting when I saw you silhouetted in that doorway, with the moonlight coming through that slip." He chuckled and fondled her ears and rubbed noses with her.

She looked troubled and replied, apprehensively, "John, thank you for trying, but I KNOW there was something there. It seems to have passed, but I was truly uneasy." She shivered. "I'd better get my slip. We still have time to rest awhile and I slept badly." She started to rise, but he pulled her back into bed.

"Never mind the slip. It isn't going anywhere, and I like you the way you are. I love seeing you, watching you, clothed or unclothed. But especially, unclothed. Your body is a marvel, even in this Treehouse, with all three women well able to turn male heads. You have the body of an angel, and the feel of one. Lie next to me and sleep. I'll protect you. The slip won't keep you very warm, anyway. I'll do that; just let me toss the sheet over us and let's sleep. The others will be up soon, and Veronica or Ned will pound on the door telling us to come to breakfast or make our own."

She shifted in his arms, facing him now, and laughed softly. "If I have to cook for you, I will, Lord Roxton. I'll get Finn or Veronica to watch me, but I'll get you fed. I need to learn how to cook eggs without incinerating them. Love isn't all about sex, not that I'm complaining about that. But I'll broaden my domestic skills yet. You deserve no less for the joy that you have brought this miserable urchin whom you chose over the ladies that you deserved. You make me whole, John." And she held him as they drifted off to sleep again, this time more successfully than before.

Predictably, an hour or so later, Veronica Layton rapped on their door. "Hey, John! Stop whatever you're doing to that woman and come eat! If you're late, she'll have to cook for you. You're a nice man. Have you ever done anything bad enough to deserve that?" And she laughed at this witticism, a reference to her brunette friend's culinary skills, or lack thereof.

"We'll be right there," Roxton replied. "Marguerite has drained me of all energy; I need to eat. This woman is insatiable, I promise you!"

"Lord Roxton! Veronica, don't believe him. It's HIS lusts that are insatiable. Why, I barely get any sleep. He thinks beds are just for One Thing, and I get up exhausted. No worries; we'll be right down."

She shook off the sheet, kissed Roxton good morning, slipped away as he tried to pull her back into bed, and stumbled toward the washroom.

Veronica rolled her eyes, shook her head, and smiled as she went downstairs to the kitchen, where her man Ned was making whole wheat toast in an electric device devised by Challenger. He looked inquiringly at his jungle princess, who told him that the Roxtons would be along as soon as they had finished teasing one another.

"I'm glad that they admit now to being in love," Ned reflected. "Sometimes, they can be a little bawdy with their jibes, but it sure beats them squabbling, pretending that they weren't crazy about one another."

"Yeah," Veronica agreed. "At least, Finn and George weren't coy about it when they got together." She reddened. "I swear, some of what I've seen them doing when they didn't think anyone could see still makes me blush. Uh, Ned? You know the way she sits on his lap, with her arm around his waist or neck? Like I painted them? It is sort of sweet, and well, close. Would you like for me to sit on your lap that way? Not as often, but sometimes, when I feel especially near to you, or just want to bond? It is sort of cute, and I can see why they like it." She blushed, for Veronica had been a near virgin when she first opened her legs to Ned Malone. Yet, she was athletic, and rather unabashed, not having encountered much of the primness of society off of the Plateau. The more she was with Ned, the easier intimacy with him became, and she was thrilled at how she responded to him as they lay together. This couples thing has its points, big time, she thought, and blushed again.

"Yeah, uh, sure. I mean, you wouldn't be heavy or anything. Would you like for me to play with your hair or run my hand down your back or arm like George does to her? It seems so unselfconscious; they just reach out and touch or caress each other. Challenger isn't even embarrassed about it, anymore. Yeah, I think I would like to feel you on my lap, sometimes. Could we try that? I mean, we live in a jungle, among friends who are all but our family. It's not like we'd be doing that in Grand Central Station." Ned colored, and Veronica smiled at her lover's shyness. They were still discovering each other, and she liked that he was a little reserved, but tender. He was such a contrast to the more swaggering, sensual, very male John Roxton, or to the Challengers, whose union was so tender and natural. George certainly treated Finn like he was her man, and she responded as his woman, but there was also a great equality, and an intellectual union there, as well as a spiritual one. George asked her opinion, and she often saw solutions to problems in the lab, with her different way of looking at things. It intrigued Veronica to observe her best friend looking at her man, Challenger, and sometimes, they seemed to be communicating telepathically. It was a bit weird, and Veronica was a little jealous of it, and was glad to find herself being more in tune with Ned, so that she could often anticipate his thoughts or next move. That felt warm and comforting, and she was glad to be in a relationship with him, having for so long struggled with whether he was more brother, friend, or lover. His new attitude, more confident, more masculine, as he rescued her from the Tecamaya in Xochilenque impressed on her that Ned was not her "brother" and that she was glad of it! Yet, in some ways, Ned remained shy and a little unsure, and she treasured that, and knew that she made him feel manlier. That was all right, for he had taught her what it meant to be a woman in a man's arms, and in his heart. Still, the Roxtons...Marguerite must feel faint with desire as John took her. There was just something about a man who was...all man. Veronica blushed furiously as the thought struck her, and she recalled a nude Roxton standing before the Emperor Cuauathemoc XIV in his throne room in Xochilenque, when the Indian monarch had ordered his captives stripped. She recalled Roxton, too, in the gladiatorial combat in the arena later, as she watched, like Marguerite, a near nude, bound captive, as Marguerite's man had fought the mighty Xu'ac. THAT was a masculine sight! She took in her breath remembering, and recalled apologizing to Marguerite for staring at John. Marguerite had taken it well, as if she knew that her man would have that effect on any woman. Marguerite could be so smug at times. And, she couldn't even cook...(NOTE: The story of those events is no longer on the Net. It was called, "The Crystal Skull.")

"Honey?" Ned looked at her with curiosity. "Penny for your thoughts?"

Veronica wasn't about to tell Ned what had brought that flush to her cheeks. She said, tactfully, "I think I will sit on your lap soon, Ned. I think I'd like that. Um, is the bacon done?"

Malone, misinterpreting what had actually been in his mate's mind, checked the stove.

The Roxtons arrived then for breakfast, followed shortly by the Challengers. Eggs, with bacon from a tapir, were served, with ample coffee, loved by all and genuinely treasured by Marguerite as a balm for all of life's travails, or so she said: "Coffee isn't a luxury; it's a neccesity!" She could even make coffee quite presentably, although most kitchen skills eluded her.

As they ate, the couples discussed what they had planned for the day. Challenger and the Roxtons decided to look for medicinal plants and the Malones wanted to visit the Zanga village and trade with Assai and her friends for some food and cosmetic staples and a little jewelry.

Finn, uncharacteristically, complained of feeling slightly queasy and said that she needed to finish some work in the lab and wanted to rest. She wanted to garden a bit, then have a leisurely shower.

Challenger raised a concerned eyebrow, but Finn said to go ahead with the Roxtons, that she was expecting the young Zanga queen Sa'eera later that day, anyway, and needed to be home to greet her. Her mate reluctantly agreed to go hunt his botannicals and leave Finn to her own devices for the morning, at least.

After they ate, Finn was helping Veronica to clean up in the kitchen, and confided to her best female companion, her virtual sister, that she had missed her period. "George took me off The Pill last month, and I think we may be expecting," she admitted. "I don't know what pregnancy feels like in the early stages, but I think I may be headed for mommyhood."

She looked anxious, thought Veronica, but seemed intrigued, too, and a little proud. The girls talked more about her symptoms, and decided that it could go either way. "It's probably just that Texas-style chili that Ned made for supper last night," teased Veronica, and Finn offered a wan grin.

"How would you feel if this is the real thing, though?" queried the older blonde.

Finn shrugged, drying a plate. "Vee, I want George's child. We don't have forever to start reproducing, and I guess the best time is now. I try to ignore the age difference, and just see him as George, my guy. Usually, I don't find myself even conciously remembering that he's so much older than me, but his biological clock is ticking faster than mine, I guess, and he wants to be able to play with and teach our kids. So, if I am pregnant, I guess it's fine. It needs to happen pretty soon, and we want two children before we try to quit. That just seems the right number, to give them the attention they need, and we'd like a boy and a girl. So, if my queasiness today is morning sickness, bring it on, I guess. But it will change me, and it will change us some. George and me, I mean. But if we are the first couple here to reproduce, how will you others feel about it? Do you still want us in the Treehouse? We have only one spare room, and the one that John used to have before he moved in with Marguerite."

Veronica set aside her dishtowel and took her friend by the shoulders and turned Finn to face her and looked directly into her eyes, as ever thinking what a lovely shade of blue they were. She had tried hard to reproduce that shade when she had painted Finn's portrait.

"Look, 'Sis'," Veronica said. "You and George are valued members of this group. If you have the first child, you get a spare room. Woe betide John or Marguerite if they break up. He'll just have to find bachelor 'digs', although we'll all help build him something. But they're tighter than ever, he and Marguerite, and Ned and I get along better every day. I could just kick myself for not realizing earlier how much I love him. I can't begin to tell you what it means to wake up with him holding me on a cool morning and how it feels to snuggle next to him and be held and not feel all alone any more. You know?"

Finn nodded, "Sure, Vee. Don't forget: I was alone a lot, myself, and I know absolutely what you mean. I get a real charge out of screwing, and George and I fool around in other ways, too. Well, you know. I haven't forgotten that time that you saw me on my knees in front of him on the veranda. Thanks for keeping that between us, by the way. Marguerite would have a field day with that if she was in the mood, and George would be SO embarrassed!" And Finn blushed, herself. "But you know what I dig most of all? It's when he lets me rub myself up against him, all along his front, "spooning". And when he holds me when I cry, thinking about my dead family and some of the other stuff that I've had to live through. It is just so nice to lie in his powerful arms at night, just talking, or getting him to hold me when we wake, before we see anyone else. Sometimes, I feel almost as if I'm living in a fairy tale. I feel so loved, so sheltered, so NEEDED! Like, I'm still in awe of this genius who cared so much for me, before I could even READ! I feel so privileged to be his woman...and the least that I can do is to give him the child that he's finally decided to have. He never especially wanted kids until we got involved, and now, he seems really intrigued. Do you know how much it means to me, to have him change his mind on something that important, because he wants to have them with me?" Finn blushed and Veronica decided that her face was actually glowing from within.

She looks so female, so fulfilled, so fertile, or something, mused the Layton lass. And as sexy as can be. I wonder if Challenger sees her like this, and realizes just what he means to her. Probably. She walks around a lot with him and I see the way they look at one another, just on a daily basis, when they think of one another in the midst of whatever they're doing. I was shocked the first time I saw this independent, potentially dangerous, survivor woman buttering George's bread and making goo-goo eyes at him or sitting on his lap, but when those two "got it" with each other, they got it bad. And she is SUCH a wonderful friend and I almost forget that she isn't really the sister that I'd wanted...

"So," spoke Veronica. "I take it that you and George plan to be together for awhile, that you aren't likely to break up soon?" And she laughed out loud.

"Okay, Sis, laugh," Finn retorted. "But it does feel pretty damned good to be George Challenger's bedmate and confidant, and I take the responsibility seriously. And, joyously. It embarrasses me when he sets me on that pedestal in our room, but it also makes me feel so female, so HIS, and just so fulfilled as me, too...Don't worry. We aren't going to break up anytime soon, and I hope, never. The world needs at least one example of what love can be, and we're it. You and Ned and the Roxtons and every other couple can just eat your hearts out wishing that you had it as good as the Genius and I do." She snapped her damp dishrag at Veronica's butt, popping her solidly, and the girls began laughing, screaming, and wrestling until Ned walked in and asked what was going on.

And so it was, that the others went about their errands that morning, leaving Finn alone in the Treehouse, with none of their crew having the slightest idea that Zoth and his minions were afoot in their world once more.

CHAPTER THREE

Zoth and his demons paused at the edge of a clearing just beyond the Treehouse.

"Wait," he commanded. "We must be certain of who is here before we make our next move. Watch for any activity. And remember: that fence is electrified, the work of that scientist whose knowledge I must have. We must find a way to seize the elevator, and be prepared to overpower the occupants. Perhaps if we are watchful, one will come out and we can seize him or her as a hostage. These humans are sentimental. Let us exploit that as we seek to overwhelm them."

"You are wise, Zoth," commented Una. This earned her a scornful glance from Salamine, who saw through her statement as Una's attempt to curry favor with the demon king whose interest she courted. Salamine would willingly use her sex appeal to manipulate men, but saw no reason to feed male egos more than needed. She suspected that Una not only sought Zoth's favor, but genuinely wished to serve him as his female. That seemed much like humans, and was a weakness, to Salamine's thinking. Could Una really LOVE Zoth? she asked herself?!

On reflection, she decided that this was possible for her kind, especially while they asssumed human form. One disadvantage of being on this plane was that they absorbed some of the nature of those whom they replicated. Perhaps Una's staying close to Zoth and carressing him or taking his hand was more than mere duplicity to curry his favor and power. Perhaps, although a demon, Una was feminine enough that she was one of those women who crave a strong man and wish to serve him, finding fufillment in nuturing their lord.

Zoth had an ego that would revel in this, she decided. Perhaps she should also play on this, Salamine concluded. Not enough to make a foe or rival of Una, who might turn on her, but just enough to incline Zoth to see her in a charitable light.

Salamine decided to test her skills as a woman. She knew that Rixel would be the easiest male among them to test, although Grendel appealed more to her, and was the stronger. Perhaps she might play both, deciding on whichever she chose according to how much they might benefit her as circumstances developed...

Salamine sauntered past Rixel, brushing his arm with hers, flashing an apology as his head turned. She remembered to sway her hips as human women did when wishing to emphasize their appeal and see whether they drew a man's eyes. Pretending that she didn't know that Rixel's gaze followed her, Salamine untied the knot fastening her brief sarong in place, took it off, and reshaped it somewhat before refastening it. She could almost feel Rixel's eyes slide over her body, clad for a monent only in the brief bra top and brown doeskin loincloth. It thrilled her to know that she could hold his attention so easily, and she drew power from it. Still, these garments were brief, and the tropical night at this altitude could be cold. Salamine hoped that by nightfall, they would have found warmer garb, or coverings such as blankets. But in the meantime, if they had to wait for the humans to do something, it might be amusing to see whether she could also arouse Grendel's interest. Salamine's lips parted and she breathed deeply. This was a new form of power, and it was fun to think of how she might employ it.

"Hark!" said Grendel, who was watching the Treehouse only casually, considering Salamine's vamping. "Get under cover, quickly. Someone has come out onto the balcony of their dwelling."

They crouched in the shadows, and Challenger stood on the veranda, running his eyes over the landscape, viewing with his ten power Carl Zeiss binocular. A slim blonde girl dressed in black shorts and a crop top came out and stood by him, handing him a cup of tea or coffee. He let the big binocular hang from his neck on its strap, finished the beverage, and talked to the girl, who was soon joined by another blonde. This one asked something of the man, who replied. A short blond man joined them, standing behind the second girl, holding her by the waist with both of his arms, in a familiar manner. She leaned her head back on his shoulder, and the four talked for a moment, then all went in, closing the door.

"Who were these people?" queried Rixel. "I know the first girl from our last trip. She is the evil houri who tricked me. The older, tall man is the one with her in the past. We saw their portraits together. He is the genius whose plans you need, Zoth. But that other couple, we did not see. And the first girl seems to be the mate of the big man, not his daughter, as we had supposed, or perhaps his protege or plaything."

"I do not know who the others are. The other couple whom we saw was dark haired, and the man was larger than this one. He is not much taller than his female. And his woman dresses more like an Indian than a white person, although she is clearly the latter. She wears little more than our women, dressed as they are in what the girls whom they replaced wore.

"But, no matter," Zoth continued. "Whoever they are, this new couple is human and our foe. We will deal with them. But we must be sure where the other couple is, the brunette one, who dress as civilized people. Judging from the guns he carried before, the dark man is dangerous. We can be slain in this world, and I wish to take no unneccesary chances."

"The tall man with the beard and the girl in black looked around through his far-seeing glass," noted Una. "I think he wanted to see if there were any threats about. That probably means that they will soon come down from their dwelling."

"Excellent, Una," exclaimed Zoth. "You impress me yet again. When I rule this world, you shall be my queen. In this form, I have physical needs, and you shall quench my desire. But you will also give me wise counsel and support my reign."

"Yes, Zoth: I beg this." Una glowed, and stood shoulder-to-shoulder with him, their arms touching, bare in the attire of the savages whose clothes they wore. "Great Zoth," she murmured. "Mighty Zoth, powerful Zoth. I am Una, and I beg to serve you. Use me for your physical pleasure and for such other puposes as you may see fit for me, to achieve your rightful power."

"Why not me, Zoth?" demanded Salamine." I am more of your temperment than Una. She worships you, and feeds your pride. I can plan more like you, and satisfy your lust even better than she can." And Salamine looked condescendingly at Una.

Una opened her mouth to say something strident, but Zoth raised his hand and commanded both women to silence. "Look," he noted, "That elevator contraption is coming down. They are indeed leaving the Treehouse."

The demons hid in the undergrowth and ferns and saw the younger blond man and his woman and another couple step off the elevator. It went back up, and Zoth realized that this second couple was the one that he had seen before. There must be at least three couples in that home, if the girl in black who had tried to kill him was in fact the partner of the big man with the beard, not just his child or student. He had never really determined her relationship to this Challenger man...

The couples stood together, talking, as the elevator came back down and the bearded man and the girl in black stepped off. Then, the three sets of people gestured and spoke, evidently declaring their intentions for the day. All were armed, the new blonde girl with a bow and arrows, the others with firearms. From what he could see at this distance, the girl who hated him wore a revolver instead of her nasty little crossbow. She also carried a rifle. But she didn't have on any gear like the rest: canteen, pack, etc., nor did she wear a hat. Not that the other blonde did, either. The dark -haired girl and the men all wore hats. He decided that the slouch hat made the brunette woman look rather stylish and a bit sexy, and she carried herself well. Like her man, she wore a light blue shirt and khaki nether clothing, her a skirt and he, trousers. He sensed on some level that they might have selected this clothing to match one another. Silly. But humans were known to be sentimental.

The foursome broke up, the young blond couple going in one direction, the other couple and the big bearded man another. The girl in black stood by the gate in their electric fence and leaned up and kissed the big man goodbye, and they touched, holding hands briefly after he had run his right hand down her arm. So, they were lovers! That might prove to be useful knowledge, if he could capture this girl again. The scientist might give him all he wanted to save his female. It was clear that they were close.

Then, the others left, and the girl in black shut and secured the gate. She walked over to a garden, set her rifle down carefully, and took a large net off of some vegetables. She lifted a can and began watering the plants. She had seemingly been left behind today, while the others were going far enough away to want their packs and canteens. Hmmm. Zoth's mind began to consider his options...

"There is only the one left," noted Sjok, "and she is a frail female. We can rush her and get through that thin fence before she reacts. She will probably just scream and run, anyway! We can catch her; I run fast."

Zoth gave him an an amused, sour glance. "Sjok, you are deceived. That girl will not run. She will lift that rifle and shoot us! I know her temperament, having encountered her on our last visit here. She tried very hard to kill me, and she knows how to shoot. Probably, she will shoot even better now, for the rifle she has is her own. She used the big dark man's the last time, and his pistol. She is also very athletic, very nimble and strong for her size. Ask Rixel! She can fight, and she is subtle and crafty and determined. She is pleasant to gaze upon, but she is dangerous. Do not be deceived by the tenderness that she showed the bearded scientist this morning. We will see none of her affection, although I wonder how she would be, if interested. I imagine that she would be quite passionate in bed."

"Zoth, you need not think like that," interjected Una." She is probably sexy when she wishes, and the other two women moved well today, too. But they are as nothing, compared to the lust that I have for you, and I have more endurance than human women. Besides, you need her to feed to the Void, that we may get another female of our kind."

"Oh, we can always try her out before feeding her to the Void," mused Grendel. He enjoyed toying with the jealous Una, so obvious in her adoration of Zoth. "Forced, she might perform well, if we pretended to spare her or her friends if she pleased us."

"Enough of this talk. Let us decide what to do. Zoth, what are your orders?" This from Salamine, who didn't like the way the men were talking any more than did Una, but was determined not to let her pique show, lest the males prick her further, to amuse themselves. Men! They could be so chauvinist and adolescent, even when demons.

"I think we will watch a bit longer. Maybe she will work her way around the great tree and be out of sight and we can get closer," said Zoth. "Wait! What is she doing; she is pulling that netting back over the vegetables that she just hoed and watered. Perhaps she is done. If she leaves the fence, we will have her! By the way, Sjok, remember that the fence is electric; it will fry you if you touch it. We must find a big stick and use it to pry open the strands of barbed wire, that we may step through the fence between them."

"My spear should suffice, " said Sjok. He hefted the strong jaguar spear. It had a head of hammered iron, the work of some tribal blacksmith.

"Yes," agreed Zoth. "That will do. But look! She is going to the elevator, not outside the fence. Now, what?"

Finn walked into the elevator and sent it up. In the Treehouse, she set her Mannlicher-Schoenauer rifle in the gun rack in the main living room and went to the refrigerator for a glass of limeade. She sat at the kitchen table to drink and ate the last remaining slice of toast left from breakfast. She wet a towel and mopped her brow and neck, for the work in the garden on this hot morning had left her sweating a little. In fact, she could use a shower, and she knew that the water reservoir was full. She brightened, deciding to shower before she made a cup of coffee and set out some things she wanted to show to her Zanga friend, Sa'eera, when the young queen arrived later this day. Shall I tell Sa'eera that I may be pregnant, and blame it on that fertility totem that she and Assai gave George and me?, she wondered. Her lips curled in a grin. Sure, why not? I'd like to see her face when she hears that. She has yet to have her own first child, which is just as well, considering that she's only 18. But she and Assai and Xma'Klee have been needling us Treehouse women, wondering if we're all cursed, because none of us has a kid yet. That'll fix her. And Finn laughed in delight and pride. I may not only be pregnant, but I'm having the child of a genius, an icon! I feel like I'm mated to Leonardo DaVinci or Einstein, or somebody like that. Well, not Einstein, for sure. George is a hell of a lot better looking than that, at least since I began cutting his hair! But he is lucky to have me to cut his hair and trim that beard, so that he looks younger and spiffy. I don't know why that witch Marguerite didn't cut his hair better before I came. He let it get so gross! Gad, he looked worse than some of those creepy rock stars that I saw photos of when I was in my century! He could have looked in the mirror and used scissors on himself, and done better than he did. If Veronica hadn't cut their hair sometimes, they'd have all looked awful, and now, I have her trained to cut hair and she does Ned's, and the other girls and I all help to groom one another. It's kind of cool and helps us to bond. And I really like seeing Marguerite cut John's hair, even if I have to help her touch it up a little. She's learning, and she's so much nicer than she was. I have it made here. I used to dream of having friends, and now, I have a surrogate family! And when this baby comes, George and I WILL have a REAL family! Oh, I hope that I am preggers. It will be so humongous to see George hold our first child, and look at me. Just thinking about it almost makes me melt. I love that man so much that it half scares me when I think about it. And I know that I'll be a great mom. It means so much to me to give my children the love and security that I mostly missed out on.

She rinsed out her glass and went to the shower. Stripping, she set her clothes aside on a small table near the shower room and hung her gunbelt with the Smith & Wesson .38 from a hat tree nearby, followed by her bra. Her boots went under a chair and slipping off her panties, she entered the shower cubicle. She had started to move the shower head further outward to get the stream of water on her just right, when she saw that the screw holding the shower head onto the pipe was loose. The shower head wouldn't stay put at the right angle. Finn stepped out and got her Swiss Army knife, a Victorinox in the model the maker had called the Camper. She opened the larger screwdriver blade and tightened the shower head, then set the closed pocketknife just outside the shower cublcle on a small shelf, by her towel. She knew nothing yet of how important this would be to her later...

Finn turned on the water, and squealed in delight as the stream cascaded over her, producing a feeling of indolent luxury. She soaped herself and played with her nipples and other areas that she liked to feel Challenger's fingers toy with. Breathing heavily, with the shower on, she couldn't hear much, but what would there be to hear, on this safe, quiet morning, with her friend due soon?

Below, Zoth led the way to the fence and with a spear shaft holding the wire apart, they stepped one by one through the deadly strands and entered the Treehouse yard. They made their way to the trunk of the giant tree and found the control for the elevator. Una remembered how to work it, and they sighed in relief. They would soon be into the Treehouse.

Sjok boarded the elevator first, for he had a shield to ward off the crossbow bolt if Finn used her old weapon, and maybe deflect a bullet if she used the new. Grendel was next, holding a length of rope from an Indian's hunting pouch, to bind the girl quickly. Maybe she could be taken by surprise, for the elevator ran fairly quietly, and she might not hear it if she was high enough in the Treehouse as it ascended.

Finn finished washing herself and began rinsing, keeping her hair dry, for she wouldn't have to wash it for another day or two, and wanted to look nice when Sa'eera came. She never heard the elevator...

CHAPTER FOUR

Sjok stepped quickly off the elevator, followed by Grendel. The hulky demons swarmed into the Treehouse, followed quickly by Zoth, who then sent the elevator back for the others.

"No one here?" whispered Sjok. "Maybe the girl has heard us and is lying in wait with firearms." He looked uneasy, for Zoth and Una had told them of the damage that guns had done to them during their last foray into this world. They eased through the Treehouse, going up a deck to the main living quarters.

"Hark!," said Grendel. "I think I hear a shower running, or some other sort of water. Let us follow that sound." And, they did.

As they rounded a corner, the saw the hat tree with Finn's revolver and bra on it and her clothes folded on the table next to it. The men looked at one another, and all broke out in grins, for it was now evident what was happening. With any luck at all, they would only need reach into the shower and drag out the screaming human female they sought.

The water abruptly shut off, and they froze. Then, Sjok went around one way and Grendel and Zoth the other, so that Finn would be intercepted by one or the other if she tried to flee.

She stepped out of the cubicle and dried herself, then tossed the towel on the shelf, over her knife, not thinking at the moment how she usually took pains to keep it from moisture, although the blades were stainless and the handle scales, plastic. As she started forward, she heard a floor board creak behind her, and looked back, startled.

Finn saw Sjok, and turned to run for the .38, only to find her way blocked by Zoth and Grendel. Her eyes widened in shock as she recognized the former, it taking only a second for her to recall his hated features, although he was dressed so differently than on his last visit. Seeing his image on television screens so often as a child had burned his visage into her brain so indelibly that she knew him in an instant.

"You!," she screeched. "Zoth! You BASTARD! You DEMON!" And then, they were on her. As Sjok grabbed her from behind, she sank slightly, then cut back fast with the edge of her left hand, connecting with an intimate and tender portion of the assailant's anatomy. When he screamed and bent over, she drove a hard elbow into his face, sending him over backwards, gasping in further pain. He tried to rise, and her right knee struck his jaw, sending him tumbling.

Grendel reached for her, his powerful arms extended to seize her by the neck. Finn ducked, and aimed a karate kick at his solar plexus. Grendel flinched and evaded the full force of the kick, but saw stars and felt buzzing in his head as her other foot smashed into his withdrawing jaw. Zoth barely parried a blow from the heel of her right hand that would have smashed under his jaw, snapping his head back with dangerous force. He grabbed her right arm, yelling for assistance.

The others had now entered the Treehouse and had crept forward. On hearing his cry, Rixel swarmed in and got Finn by her left leg and as she slipped on the damp floor, Salamine pulled her right leg out from under her. She swung between the two holding her legs and with Zoth still holding her arm. He was losing his grip, but the three managed to avoid falling over one another and turned Finn to the wall and pressed her against it. Una saw the length of rope that Grendel had dropped on the floor, scooped it up, and was binding the young blonde's wrists as soon as Rixel and Zoth forced her arms behind her. Rixel held her to the wall as Zoth and Grendel, the latter shaking his half stunned head, slid Finn down the wall, forcing her to kneel. They crossed her ankles and tied them with a second piece of rope.

Thinking they now had her safely in hand they lifted her to her crossed feet and started to half drag, half march, her to the nearest chair. She turned her head and bit Grendel in the ear, hard. He yelled and let go of her, clapping a hand to his head. Rixel stepped in, slapped Finn with the palm of his hand and told her to beware, lest she suffer the consequences of angering them. He got her arms from behind, pinning them, and Zoth took her feet. They carried her to a couch in the main living room and knelt her on it, Rixel stepping around behind and wrapping his arm around her throat to hold the furious girl in place. She bucked and struggled, but was helpless in his grasp.

Sjok was helped into the room and into a chair, then Rixel, Salamine, and Zoth lay Finn face down on the couch, and retied her wrists, more carefully and securely than they had been able to before. They retied her ankles, side- by- side with two inches of rope between them now, so that she could stand if she was careful or someone supported her, but not do much else. Una brought in a towel left hanging beside the shower and as Rixel again knelt Finn upright, Una finished drying her, for she was still slightly damp in places.

"Thanks, " Finn said. "I'd hate to feel like I was going to catch cold before you creeps kill me." Her glare was murderous, and Una was glad that the angry girl was now safely bound. Even without weapons, she was clearly dangerous, and Una began to realize just how she might have overcome Rixel on their last trip, when she had disarmed him of Roxton's weapons. At the time, Una had simply felt that Rixel was incompetent, or a male who had been careless because he was dealing with a woman. Now, she had new respect for Finn's capabilities, for she had seen the damage she had done in seconds to much larger men before she had been overpowered.

"Who says that we will kill you?" queried Salamine. "Perhaps, if you are submissive and cooperative, we will only use you as a hostage to compel your lover, the great scientist, to divulge information that we require."

"George Challenger would die before he'd give you his formulas and plans to destroy our world. I'll sacrifice myself before I'd let you use me to coerce him, too. What are our lives against the hope of preventing Zoth from coming to power? That would deprive millions of people of their lives, their loved ones, their hopes and dreams and their world. All of us in this Treehouse know you, Zoth, and what you did to me and my family and our Earth. I HATE you, you bastard! This time, I'll kill you or die trying!"

"That can easily be arranged," spoke Sjok, wheezing as he began to breath enough to speak. "You harmed me, girl. I will gladly slay you in revenge. You have embarrassed me before these others, and I am a proud demon. Say the word, Kale, er, Zoth, and I will happily snap her neck after I make her beg to die."

"I wouldn't beg you for anything if you had water and I was dying of thirst," retorted Finn, glaring daggers at Sjok. "Give me a second chance, and you won't be hurting anyone else again, ever."

Grendel chuckled, a mean, frightening sound. "Girl, you overestimate yourself. Sjok is a mighty warrior and you were fortunate to have struck him as you did. Had we not wished to be careful with you, you would be dead now. Show some fear and some respect, or I will compel them from you. Zoth, I know how to make her squeal for mercy, and not be harmed enough to alter your plans for her."

"Later, perhaps, if she remains obstinate and uncooperative," murmured the demon leader. "Girl, what is it that you are called? Do I remember Finn as being your name?"

"I don't know what your numbskull brain can remember," snapped Finn, "but that's what my friends call me. My real name is Nicole, but what's that to you? You're just going to use me for your purpose, then throw me into that Void that you came from to get another female demon out here, right?"

"I have yet to decide," lied Zoth. "Perhaps if you are sufficiently humble and helpful, I will let you live, as a slave to serve me or Una. Some humans will be needed for such purposes. Now, will you tell me how you knew me from our last visit? I have become very curious about that. I am quite sure that we had never previously met Yet, you knew me at a glance, and were immediately hateful. Why? When did I do the deeds that you accuse me of?"

Finn thought, then said, "Okay, get me a glass of water and I'll tell you. But I probably won't tell you much more. Get me my panties, too, and have Una put them on me. I don't like seeing Rixel's eyes on me there. I save that view for my man. He deserves it. What Rixel and the rest of you deserve, I'm too much of a lady to say."

Zoth threw back his head and laughed. "Well, that was certainly a ladylike fight that you gave us. And, you have used some unladylike language to me. But I agree: You shall have your undergarment and your water, and Rixel will have to wait a bit to see you in the altogether again. You see, he and the other male demons have pointed out to me that they can have their recreational way with you and we can still offer you to the Void, with no ill effects. I, myself, have no particular ambitions regarding you in that way, preferring Una's attentions when my desire rises, and I am more successful at holding such needs in check than most males of my, or your, kind. But it would amuse me to see your horror if I give you to my companions, so you had better speak with a true and gentler tongue, if you wish to avoid humiliation and punishment. Will you truly tell me what I asked, for the considerations that you requested?"

"Yes, " said Finn, who actually was irritated and embarrassed at being wholly on view for this group of fiends. "Get me the panties and the water, and we'll talk. And what I'm going to tell you will blow your socks off, I think. Not that you're wearing any socks. Who were your victims of the Void tunnel this time, some poor local Indians?"

"Yes, Indians. I don't know or care which tribe. Una, bring her garment. Salamine, find their water source and you and Una bring drink for all of us."

Salamine bristled. "Why must Una and I serve you? Must we be as the females of this time? We, too, are mighty demons, and you need us, Zoth."

Grendel soothed her. "Salamine, it is just that you and Una are so much more graceful than we men in such things, and the whole atmosphere is made more civilized and genteel if the feminine graces are displayed in mixed company. Besides, you need to accustom yourself to thinking like a human woman of this day, if you are to pass as one for awhile until our work is done. Most are trained to nurture their men. Finn, girl, is this not so? Did I not see feminine affection in your parting kiss to your scientist hero this morning? Did you not take him a cup of refreshment on the balcony earlier and stand by him admiringly as the other blonde girl was embraced by her man? "

"I adore George Challenger, and what I do for him, I do out of love," Finn told him. "Who are you, anyway, Gargoyle Head? You weren't here, before. How long have you been watching us?"

Grendel stiffened. "Girl, I have been best known to your kind in the past in Scandanavian and Old English tales and legends. I was known then as Grendel, a name which I continue to use. But I have destroyed humans as far back as the time when they called me Gilgamesh, in ancient Babylon. Have you heard of me?"

Shaken, Finn stammered that she had. "Zoth, you brought out the big guns this time, didn't you? I've read the books here, and talked with my friends, and this gink Grendel was in some story about a guy named Beowulf. He was a really bad dude. Okay, Grendel, you have my attention. Yeah, women sometimes nurture their men, but whether it'll work universally, I'll let you learn on your own. What do you say, Una? Do you want to nurture and serve Grendel and these other jerks?"

Una and Salamine looked at one another and laughed, delighted. Then, they saw Zoth and the others looking at them, not amused, and hurried to do as they had been told. But Salamine marked down the occasion. Someday, Zoth would learn how to treat her better, or regret it.

They untied Finn's feet, given her oath that she would not take advantage of it, and helped her stand as Una slipped on her black bikini panties with the pretty lace butterfly applique so skillfully incorporated by Marguerite Krux, their best seamstress and garment designer. Then, she sat and extended her ankles to be rebound, before Una offered her a glass of water.

"I will kneel her before you, Zoth, then she will speak, or wish she had," intoned Sjok.

Zoth made a dismissive motion. "Just help her to sit upright on the couch at one end, " he ordered. "Una, if she wishes more water, she may have it, if she speaks freely. Now, Finn: what do you know of me, and how?"

And so Finn spoke to Zoth, telling him how she had been born many years in the future and how she had come to this remote jungle from the year 2033, after having survived the destruction of her society by Zoth and his forces of chaos.

As she spoke, the demons looked at her increduously and some smothered chuckles. Others just looked at her as if they had expected a better story, even if she meant to ridicule them or lie.

As Finn told how Prof. George Challenger and the Roxtons had rescued her and brought her to this time, Salamine tired of what she was sure was a stupid charade and interrupted.

"Zoth, this girl tires me and insults you. Let me skin her feet while Sjok and Grendel hold her down. Perhaps we had better tie her in place, for the pain will test even their strength as she struggles with all her might. The pain will be more than she can conceive, and will give her antics almost superhuman strength. But she will pay for what she has done to us with this stupid tale. Or, let me split her tongue if she is going to utter nonsense with it." She offered some other cosmetic alterations of Finn, which made the young blonde's blood run cold, although she tried to maintain a brave front.

"Zoth," Finn insisted. "I have NOT lied. You demanded that I tell you where I saw you, and I did. I didn't say that you'd believe it. But that is true, I swear."

Zoth considered. "Finn, you swear that this is true? That your man has invented time travel?" He was clearly intrigued.

"Well, yeah," she stammered. "But look: George didn't invent time travel, intentionally. He was really just trying to transport himself and his friends to London. His calculations were off. He doesn't even know where or how. We got back here, but that cave we were in may still be travelling through time. He has no idea how the time travel occurred; he's racked his mind over that. I can't go back. I wouldn't, if I could. My place is here now, with my man and my friends. This has become my world. I think I'm pregnant, too, and I would not want to raise my child in that world that you left."

It struck her that she should have repressed the knowledge that she was perhaps blessed with new life, lest this fiend use that information against her. She blanched at what these creatures might do to her and the embryo, if given free rein by their dark lord.

Zoth saw her face and filed that information for later, if it might be useful in forcing her to do something. For now, he said nothing.

"I will consider what you have said, girl, and you had better not have been trifling with me." Zoth turned to his followers. "You watch Finn, Una. The rest of us will search this place for weapons and for better clothing. We may need to leave soon, and I want to consider our plans. First, we must ready ourselves." And he led the way upstairs to the bedrooms.

Una and Finn warily considered one another. Finally, Una said, "You are not a bad looking human, Finn. And although I feel sure that you have wasted Zoth's time and tested our credulity beyond tolerance, you are plucky, brave to a fault. I see how you bested Rixel on our last visit. I see that your breasts are larger than I would have expected." Her eyes dropped, to where Finn was used to seeing men look at her. "You are not really well endowed, but much better than I'd have thought. Your top must fit more loosely than I'd realized. I suppose this Challenger man is satisfied?"

"Oh, I satisfy George very well, in many ways," Finn smirked. She continued trying to brass this out, showing faked nonchalance to mask her fear.

"George admires me for my mind, too," she razzed. "But he hasn't had any physical complaints, and he says that my boobs are medium, not small. I've had compliments on them from other guys in the past, but a few others who've seen my pair have made snide remarks about how they should be bigger. But I think those geeks judge women mainly by things like that. George sees the whole picture, but he likes what he sees there. Why, Una? You like looking at girls, too? Are you that kind of demoness?" She lifted an ironic eyebrow, wishing that her hands had been free to offer a more explicit gesture, one that would embarrass George if he had seen it. Finn blushed, thinking how this would embarrass her now, too, in that she might fail Challenger in what he'd expect of her. Gad, I have got it bad for that man, she reflected. Some of me is still irreverent enough to want to give this bitch the middle finger salute. But I wouldn't want George to know that I'd done it. He thinks I'm civilized now, and I guess I want to be, for both of our sakes...

Una smiled, amused that she was being taunted by this helpless captive, for whom she felt a grudging respect. She was, after all, another female, and they shared some things.

"Actually, Finn, I was merely observing that you have the physical weapons to enable you to have charmed Rixel, as you did. I suppose that your other men here are also pleased with you?"

Finn looked slightly shocked. "We girls here don't share mates, although we've all seen one another with our clothes off several times. I know the other guys like my bod, and I've seen them look, but they're too nice to say anything other than compliments. But I'm definitly the least endowed chick living here. You need to keep that in mind in choosing clothes upstairs, when Zoth gives you your chance to rummage. My tops fit me slightly loosely, except for a few that I made to show what I've got, when I want it to be noticed. I like to be able to move in my clothes. But my things won't fit you, Una. Wear Marguerite's again. You looked good in them last time. Veronica has a little more for men to stare at where you were looking, so Salamine might try her things. Most aren't much more than what you have on, but she has a few nice dresses she wears for party nights and that sort of thing. I designed them, to look like fashions of my time, mainly before Zoth destroyed most of our world, and sort of put an end to the social season, if you know what I mean. But we girls like parties here, and sometimes dress for that. It won't do Salamine much good, though, because those dresses aren't meant for jungle travel. She may as well wear what she has on, unless she thinks she can pose as Veronica with that auburn hair."

Una shrugged. "I know Salamine well. Marguerite's blouses will fit her more tightly than me, but she will be able to wear them. Look: did you really expect us to believe that absurd time travel story you told? Why not tell a more believable lie?" She seemed genuinely curious.

Finn looked at her without rancor. "Una, I didn't lie. You just made a great point about why I'd tell a better tale if I had. The fact is, I was born in 2011. Theoretically, I'm not even alive yet. You're talking to a broad from the future. Maybe if you creeps find my friends, you'll believe them. Our stories will jive, and we'd have had no reason or chance to rehearse them. Go look at my clothes by the shower. The shorts are the ones I wore in here. The shirt I had made by the local Indians, to copy my old one. Look at the material in the shorts. It doesn't exist yet. Look at my bra, the thing I wear over my boobs to support them. It's my original one, that I don't wear a lot these days, because it's getting past its prime. The elastic is a kind we don't have now, although George is trying to figure how to copy it, and he has come up with some really good stretchy cloth, but not that real Lycra. Most of the bras we've made don't stretch, we just have to fit them carefully and rely on the shape to make them comfortable and stay in place on the sides, especially when we have to run. Hell, women today don't even HAVE bras as I know them. The only ones around are those we made, after the other girls saw mine. My crossbow is in my room. Maybe someone could make one like it now; I don't know. But the materials are probably too advanced, especially the springy tempered metal bow part. I'm not lying; I am from the future. Weird stuff happens on this Plateau. Like you being here, for instance."

Una wondered if this wild account might actually be true. She went to the couch and had Finn lie on her side facing the back of the couch and draw up her legs. "If you move, girl, I will punish you. Do you understand?" And then Una went to the shower and handled the clothes, the garments in question puzzling her. Perhaps there was an outside chance that Finn was telling the truth. Remarkable...

Una returned to the couch and had Finn kneel upright while she bound her hands a second time, running the remaining length of the cord around her waist, tying her wrists to her waist now. She cast about with her eyes, seeing a scarf of Margeurite's on a nearby table. She got it and blindfolded Finn before helping her to sit again.

"Scared of me still, Una?" Finn taunted. She thought: Maybe you should tie my knees too, witch. At least, I wouldn't have to worry about them shaking and knocking and showing how frightened I really am.

Una patted Finn's cheek patronizingly. "I just want us both to know that you're helpless for now, sweetie, while I look around a little. If you try to get loose or roll off that couch, I will make certain that you regret it. Understand, prettykins?"

Finn nodded and leaned back, trying to get as comfortable as she could. She heard Una collecting the guns from the rack in the main living area and some other things, probably canteens and packs. She went to the kitchen and fiddled around, probably putting food and other items into the packs. Finn heard running water, and knew that Una must be filling the canteens. So, the demons would probably soon leave the Treehouse, maybe in pursuit of her friends. What would they then do with her? Leave her here, or take her as a hostage? She tried to calm herself by imagining how she might try to exploit either situation. If only they would leave her alone again with Rixel as her guard, Finn might manage to subvert him.

Then, she recalled that her Zanga friend Sa'eera was due soon. Oh, that's all we need! They'd have the youngest wife of the Zanga king as a second hostage. Jacoba would love that! He might never forgive us for letting that happen. That's if Jacoba and any of the rest of us live through this present visitation from these fiends...

Then, she heard the others returning from ransacking the upstairs rooms. Finn remembered her handcuffs, taken from the late Avery Burton and his slavers, and now used occasionally when she role played "slave girl and master" games with Challenger. They were kept in her lingerie drawer, and would probably now be about to replace the thongs on her wrists. Great, she thought. Like Marguerite says, can this day possibly get any better?

Then, she remembered that she and George had fooled around with the cuffs the night before, and when he took them off her, he had put them under the bed, where they might have been missed. Marguerite had a set, too, but being less open than Finn, she usually hid them somewhere unless she wanted Roxton to use them on her, so they might not have been found. Marguerite was a genius at hiding things, being naturally devious and untrusting.

Then it hit her. She had unwittingly hidden her Swiss Army knife when she'd dropped that towel on it. Maybe Una hadn't found it. If they hadn't found the handcuffs, she would remain tied, and if they left her here, she might somehow reach that knife or get Sa'eera to get it, if she wasn't taken prisoner, too. It was a slim hope, but for now, it was all she could think of to keep her spirits up...

The others were in the room now, and Zoth walked over and asked Finn where Challenger's notes were. "I've looked everywhere for them, and he has hidden them, hasn't he? Where, girl?"

"You're out of luck there, Zoth," she said, joyfully. "After I got my friends back from the Void the last time, George burned those notes, so that no one could ever again use his knowledge to cause ruin on such a scale as you plan. Professor Challenger is a moral man. It took me weeks just to get him in bed with me, because he's married back in Britain, even though we were in love by then. He swore that he will never allow his work to be subverted, although I told him that others will eventually invent an atomic bomb, in the mid-1940's."

Grendel snorted. "Are you still trying to sell the idea that you are from the future, Finn? Zoth, let me have her for half an hour and she will beg, plead, to tell the truth."

"No," replied the head demon, thoughtfully. "Finn, I have been looking at your things, and there is just a chance that you are being truthful. Something about you just rings true. You are blunt, if devious, and you would lie to save your world and your loved ones, but something about you makes me think that you are who and what you say. Una, remove her blindfold for awhile. I want her to see some things."

Una removed the scarf, and Finn blinked as they got her up and untied her feet. She was led over to the area where the few photos of Veronica's parents were displayed, and where her paintings of her friends were displayed, well away from the windows, where rain spray might affect them. There were also some black and white photos of their group, including a Dr. Summerlee, who Finn said was dead before she had arrived.

Zoth gestured to a portrait of Finn sitting on Challenger's lap, her boots off, her arm draped casually and affectionately around the great scientist's neck, his arm on her waist. Beside it was a painting of John Roxton standing beside a seated Marguerite. And another showed Ned Malone, holding one of his journals, an alert, attentive look on his face. He was looking at the presumed artist, smiling. Another showed him with Veronica, arms on each others' waists.

"Who are these people?" Zoth wanted to know. "The brunette couple I saw on our last visit. Who are they, and the new blond couple?"

Finn saw no particular reason to lie, and she told him who her friends were, her pride in knowing them evident.

"They're dangerous, Zoth," she warned. "Roxton was a big game hunter in Africa and won his country's top medal for gallantry in battle in a huge war that was fought a few years ago. Veronica has been fighting slavers and savage tribes here for all of her life, and Marguerite has been through some rough times, too. You don't want to mess with them. Leave them alone. They've done nothing to you."

"True, but I have plans for them and for all your kind. As you noted, I want to summon additional minions from the Void. I want them alive, for exchange with my sort. If you cooperate, they will not be tortured before they are sent into the Void. Where have they gone?"

"I don't know, and Grendel, wipe that look off your face. Even you couldn't make me tell, because I really don't know where they are. George and the Roxtons went to look for medicinal plants, and even they weren't sure where they'd be. The others went for a walk in the jungle, maybe to barter some with the Zanga tribe, but also just to wander on their own for a while and be together."

"Why?" asked Sjok.

Finn grimaced. "Well, they are in love, and want some time to just be themselves. I guess you wouldn't understand. They have several places in mind where it's beautiful, and they can just swim and hang out with each other."

"They cannot simply rut in their room here?" queried Rixel.

Finn shot him a nasty glance, but explained that a different, romantic atmosphere was desirable, although what he had said was true. "But sometimes, we like to be in special places, with just our lovers, and where the day makes everything wonderful, no matter how much we fool around at home, as much fun as that is, too. You have to be human to understand, I guess. Something that you jerks will never be."

"No", gloated Salamine. "Being human is something that our kind are spared. We do not have your weaknesses. Although I must say, the dark haired man is handsome. I can see why his woman might wish to dally with him. And I suppose the other couple care for one another. But your man loves you. Zoth, if we can seize this Challenger, no matter how moral he is, he will draw again his plans and make his notes, if we threaten his woman. They are weak that way. If he sees a noose on her neck, he will speak, and not let her hang, or die slowly and painfully as he has to watch. You will have your plans. I feel sure of it."

Finn shrank within herself, wondering if this might be true. Her gut feeling was that Challenger would die first, but Salamine had a point. George cared very deeply for her, and the reverse. She had begun to wonder how readily she could kill herself if she had to, to avoid being used as a bargaining tool. Not only would she miss George, but she was probably now becoming a mother, and she had her unborn child to consider. Still, what were the three of them and her friends, against saving all the world? She was unable to prevent tears slipping from her eyes as she thought, knowing that her captors would not give her a chance for suicide, even if she sought that.

Zoth decided. "We will lay an ambush on the trail back from that Zanga village and seize the blonde couple as they return. We will then decide how best to get hold of the others, and I want to kill some Indians, also, and hunt for food. We need to accustom ourselves to this time and place, and let our strength grow. We are not yet stronger than we would be as humans. Two days hence, we shall be almost industructible."

"We shall take the weapons, storing those we cannot carry in a locked room, that Finn cannot reach them, even if she miracuously frees herself. She will remain bound here, with Salamine, who will continue to search for the notes. Challenger has probably just hidden some. In any event, Salamine will study this Treehouse and learn all that we need to know about it. If others return, she can capture them, for she will have Finn's gun."

"I can stay with Finn," offered Rixel.

Zoth smiled and the others openly laughed. "No, Rixel," Zoth proclaimed. "I think we had best leave another woman with her, and I want Una with me. Salamine is stronger than Finn, and Finn will remain bound. Your strength will not be needed, and Finn has shown an ability to cloud mens' thinking. Now, hasten, let us prepare to leave."

Soon, the remaining guns locked away, Finn was taken to a chair set in the center of the main room, and sat in it so that she faced the back. Her neck was tethered to the top of the chair, and her ankles each taken back to the front legs, and tied in place, her wrists remaining bound behind her and fastened to her waist. They had not found the handcuffs, and Finn thought that this at least was nice. Unfortunately, it was all of the good news, and she knew in her heart that her wrists were bound so skillfully that it really made no difference that they weren't closed in steel. In fact, she was more tightly confined than she would have been in the cuffs, which had only one link between the bracelets, an alteration made by Burton's slavers, to more tightly restrain the girls in whom they traded. (See, "A Night in the Lost World" for that story.)

"Does she really need a blindfold?" asked Una. "She isn't going to be able to wander around, anyway, and she knows this place intimately. It won't hurt if she and Salamine see one another, and I love this scarf. I want it." She caressed Marguerite's Hermes silk scarf, aware of how wonderful some of these human womens' things felt to the touch.

"Then, take it, Una. If Salamine wishes Finn's eyes covered, she can doubtless find another blindfold. Later, we will gag her when we take her from this place, too, but that is unneeded now. I think Finn realizes that she is helpless, although she is very pretty sitting there bound in that chair, wearing almost nothing. That is why we are leaving Salamine, not one of the men. Now, let us depart. Salamine, we shall return in a few hours. Try to find something suitable for the evening meal, if we do not kill any game while we are gone."

Salamine hid her anger at being ordered about in this way, and being left behind like a housewife while her companions explored this new world. In time, she thought, Zoth may find that he has erred in dismissing me so thoughtlessly.

Una sensed Salamine's wrath, and said, "Salamine, look through their clothes again. The women have some really nice things you may want. And the view from here is remarkable. Drink it in: we have found a fine new home." Una now wore a set of Marguerite's clothes, a lavendar blouse and tan jodhpur pants, with tall boots. Her panties were the modern, brief style introduced by Finn, and Una felt sensual in them, but she had no bra, selecting one of Marguerite's silken camisoles as her top undergarment. This Marguerite woman had exquisite taste in clothes and jewelry, and Una was glad to wear her items. She felt very feminine in them, if charged with power, and she came to stand by Zoth, wanting him to feel the touch of her sleeve on his arm. The softness of these garments was not lost on men, although women delighted in the wearing of them...

So, it came to pass that Zoth and the others left Finn alone with Salamine. And, Sa'eera had not yet arrived, and might not be taken by this group, if they missed her on the trail. But how could Finn, stripped to her sexy little panties, bound to a chair, warn Sa'era? Would the young queen at least bring bodyguards? She had wanted of late to go to the Treehouse alone, in part so that she and Finn could sneak off and practice with the sling that she was learning to use, against the Zanga tradition of women not bearing arms. Finn had also shown her how to use her crossbow, and they loved to romp in the jungle, feeling free and strong and adventurous, sisters at play in the wild. Sa'eera was very persuasive, and a favorite among Jacoba's women. What if he chose this occasion, of all times, to allow her out on her own?!

CHAPTER FIVE

The demons strode boldly down the jungle path, having decided to follow Ned and Veronica's footprints as far as they could, then continue in the direction that they would have gone. With luck, they would find the young blond couple and seize them. If not, they would later lie in wait for them to return to the Treehouse.

They especially wished to capture Veronica, for she would know most about the Plateau and where Zoth could find elements that he needed to construct his explosive devices and to make biological poisons. She could also be used as a forced contact to communicate with the Zanga, although it was uncertain whether they would value her enough for her to be of much use as a hostage. Zoth felt sure that the Zanga knew a way off the Plateau and were just keeping it to themselves for reasons of their own. Probably, they didn't want the expedition to leave, lest other whites return to the Plateau in numbers and colonize it, ending Indian autonomy. That is how Zoth's mind worked, so he assumed the same of Jacoba, whose name he had coerced from Finn.

But he had ultimately to get Challenger, to have access to his fount of scientific knowledge and the research he could do, if Finn was used to prod him to service in Zoth's cause.

"He may be bold in resisting, but by tomorrow night, we shall have our full powers, and if I tell Grendel to pull off Finn's arms and legs if he won't help us, I feel sure that he will apply himself to our needs." Zoth chuckled as he said this, and his entourage smiled, Grendel licking his lips at the possibility of revenging himself on the human girl who had defied and embarrassed him and mighty Sjok!

Una was more skeptical of this plan, knowing that both Finn and Challenger would resist more than the others thought, but she also knew the truth was that if Challenger truly thought that Finn was in danger, he would, however grudgingly, protect her if he could. But he would have to be watched, lest he deliberately prolong his calculations or make Zoth's plans backfire. It was well that they had Finn, for Challenger might indeed sacrifice himself if only he mattered. But Una agreed after seeing the portrait of Finn on his lap and the expressions on their faces, and the casual affection that those two showed in the painting, that it was obvious that they were deeply involved, and Finn's probable pregnancy would also weigh heavily on her man's mind and heart.

The brunette couple were of little immediate value, not really being needed to force service from Challenger, or for any other reason that Zoth could see, and the man, at least, was dangerous. He announced that this couple could be exchanged for others of their kind, as soon as the woman had provided carnal entertainment for his men. Making the man watch as his woman was taken by others would give pleasure to Zoth and his demon horde. It would produce pain and misery and vexation among the humans. What could be funnier than to see the wretched looks the humans would have on their faces as they saw what was in store for them! Veronica could also serve to please his men for awhile, but Ned might as well go into the Tunnel of the Void when the Roxtons did. Zoth wanted more of his troop present here soon, and Malone and the dark-haired

couple would replace three demons very nicely. And it would be pleasing to hear the wailing of the humans as those sent to the void left the others, who would remain prisoner in this world. Zoth's heart sang, and he knew the joy this action would bring to his companions. Here now only for hours, and his plans were already progressing! He might achieve true chaos within this very year, if Challenger didn't dally in giving up his genius!

As they walked boldly down the trail, the underbrush stirred, and a six-foot high raptor dinosaur that was probably Troodon or something very similar, rushed out at them, evidently intent on killing one of the demons for its lunch. Zoth raised Roxton's .416 Rigby rifle and sent a 400 grain softnosed bullet into its solar plexus. The reptile gave a great cry and fell, then scrabbled around trying to rise. Sjok stepped over to it and fired a bullet from Marguerite's spare rifle, a .275 Rigby, into its brain. This stilled the beast, although it continued to twitch, for reptiles die hard, movements sometimes continuing after the mind has been destroyed.

They studied the fallen killer, making comments about it, then circled the corpse warily, afraid to touch it. They elected to move on, before other raptors came to scavenge it. If the humans had heard the shots, Zoth reasoned, each party would just think that the others had fired at an attacker, or that they shot game for food. It was well that Challenger and the older couple and the Malones were not together, or they would know that others with guns were nearby. As it was, Zoth was not particularly concerned. The Malones might even come to him, looking for their friends, to see what they had shot. He smiled. That would shorten the time needed to have them in hand.

Sa'eera slipped down a nearby path, proud that she had talked her regal husband into letting her go alone to the Treehouse. For once, she wasn't accompanied by a multitude of guards, and she felt free to a degree that she seldom could. She looked forward to cavorting in a pool near the Treehouse with Finn and Veronica, swimming, talking about "girl stuff", and being 18 with no worries about her duties in the Zanga royal kraal. In fact, she had news for the other girls about her home, and was eager to see what new foods that V. and Finn had planted and which new clothes they had made. Veronica had promised Sa'eera a new dress to wear at the Treehouse parties, and she wanted to see it. Although Jacoba would probably think it odd, she needn't wear it home. In fact, Jacoba was reluctant for her to have too much contact with the whites, lest their culture rub off overmuch on one of his wives, and have her begin to behave assertively, as did the white women much of the time. This was unseemly, and Jacoba wouldn't welcome white fashions in his village.
But Sa'eera looked forward to trying on clothes like the Treehouse women wore, while in their company, and listening to their music, learning their dances, and sharing their foods. As long as she transported none of this back that Jacoba might find fault with, what harm was there in joining Finn and the others for fun as they knew it? And she knew that she would look fabulous in the styles they wore.

She heard the two shots, and paused. She knew that Ned and Veronica planned to visit her village that day, but they would be beyond this point by now, probably most of the way to her kraal. Perhaps the Roxtons had fired the shots, for Finn would be waiting for her at the Treehouse...

Sa'eera moved ahead carefully, staying under cover, parting reeds and ferns cautiously until she could see down the trail. If there were predators about, she needed to be very wary, for she was unarmed, save for the sling masquerading as a sash on her sarong.

Finally, she saw the whites ahead, and almost rushed to them in glee. But something was odd. Sa'eera shinnied up a tree where she could better study the group before showing herself. As they passed beneath her, she had an excellent view of them from no more than fifteen feet distance.

She saw that the men were nothing like those she knew, although they wore spare clothing of Challenger's and Roxton's, and carried guns that Sa'eera thought she had seen in the Treehouse and in the jungle with her friends. One man was too large for even Challenger's clothes, and remained dressed as an Indian, as when he had arrived. The woman was Marguerite at first glance, but had a different face, and her hair, when she took off her hat and fanned herself, was definitely that of a stranger. Then, it struck Sa'eera that this woman was wearing Finn's gun! Her prized Smith & Wesson .38 was on the gunbelt she knew, with the small Bowie knife made by Roxton for Finn before last Christmas. Sa'eera recognized it, having been shown it with much pleasure by her friend.

Before leaving the Treehouse, Salamine had expressed a preference for Marguerite's spare .38, and she and Una had exchanged handguns. So, Una now wore Finn's gun, neither having any idea that a jungle queen would see this, or know one pistol from another. But Sa'eera had sat with Finn and Roxton and cleaned those guns, and Finn had let her shoot hers a few times on previous visits, when no one saw them. Sa'eera knew that Finn loved that gun and was very unlikely to lend it to a stranger, or indeed to anyone. And she knew the knife that Roxton had made for Finn, too, and its handcrafted sheath with the attached pocket for a whetstone.

These people came from the direction of the Treehouse, but they were strangers, and she got very bad feelings from them. This crew exuded what her best pal Finn called, "bad vibrations", to the amusement of her peers. Sa'eera remained silent, and she was now quite worried.

She wondered if she should run back to the village and get help, but she didn't really know what was happening. And it was too far. If Finn needed help, Sa'eera would have to provide it by herself. Besides, truth be told, Sa'eera had realized that this might be a grand adventure, in which she could become a heroine, if anything was actually wrong. But she really was worried about Finn. She had better get on to the Treehouse, and see what she could determine there. At least, Finn was not a prisoner of this group...

Something nagged at Sa'eera's memory, seeming familiar. Then, it struck her with great force that these might be the demons that her friends had told her about after Zoth's first visit to the Plateau. The largest man had even looked much as a demon in human form might. Sa'eera shuddered as she recalled the frightening face of Sjok. Grendel had also aroused immediate fear when she had seen him. Some people just did that; one sensed that they were both powerful and evil. And the other three seemed much like those in Finn's description of the "creeps" who had menaced her and her friends on that occasion.

Sa'eera's blood ran cold, but she was determined to help Finn, if she still lived. If she found Finn's body, she would know the worst, and hasten to sound the alarm from the drum in the Treehouse. Why these people would have those clothes and guns and not have Finn much concerned her.

At the Treehouse, she paused to listen carefully and gathered several smooth stones for her sling, which she took off her sarong and draped on her left wrist. Seeing and hearing nothing amiss, she found a big stick that would let her part the wires of the fence and slip through. Sa'eera was about Finn's size, and easily negotiated the strands of electrified barbed wire with the aid of the stick.

At the tree, she found the switch to the elevator, and debated whether to ride it up. It would have to first come down, making some noise both ways. But she couldn't climb this huge tree, and she HAD to know Finn's fate. She summoned the elevator.

Once aboard, she loaded her sling, ready to step clear of the car and have room to swing the sling, if need be. Heart in throat, she waited, hoping that all would be well. Finn was the best friend that the half-white Indian maiden had ever known, and she was full of dread at what she might discover.

The elevator stopped, and Sa'eera was off and into the room like a flash. She saw nothing, but heard a faint noise from the floor above. Carefully creeping up the stairs, she entered the main living area and soon saw Finn bound in the chair. Finn, in turn, looked to her left, and saw Sa'eera. Upstairs, Salamine was trying on womens' clothes and rummaging through Marguerite's jewelry, and might arrive at any second.

Finn mouthed, "Look out!" at Sa'eera, who nodded. She crept quickly to her friend and Finn warned her that there were demons, and that one female one was still in the Treehouse.

"Go to the shower, and see if my little red-handled Swiss pocketknife is still under the towel on that shelf right outside the stall. If not, we have to think of some other way to get me loose, then we'll fix that bitch. But don't be caught. They'd love to have you as a royal hostage to threaten Jacoba with."

Sa'eera looked, found the Victorinox knife, and was soon cutting Finn's bonds, using the small blade to minimize the chance of an accident. She had freed her neck and the rope from her waist, but Finn's ankles and wrists were still tied when Salamine decided to come down and taunt Finn, wearing nothing but the brief ceremonial Tecamaya loincloth with its colorful feathers that Marguerite had been forced to don in Xochilenque as the prisoner of Emperor Cuaauhtemoc XIV. (See the Fic, "The Crystal Skull", not now on the Net.) She wore jewelry that set this off, including a gold bracelet and arm band, and a diadem of gold, with a rearing Egyptian cobra with ruby eyes, made by Marguerite originally to deceive an investor. She had given the mate to this crown to a noble Zanga girl for a present the previous Christmas.

Sa'eera hastily left Finn's side and loaded her sling, hiding behind the wall where it turned. Finn put her neck down on the chair back, hoping that Salamine might not look closely or come near her.

Alas, Salamine had come down specifically to show Finn her savage finery, and to preen and point out that she was at least as lovely as any of the Treehouse women. Subconciously, she was showing female vanity, demon style, or just becoming more human as she spent time in this dimension.

"Finn, you human cretin, behold me," intoned Salamine. "Am I not more lovely in this revealing outfit than you or Marguerite, or this Veronica girl? When do you wear such attire? I have not seen you in it, but all three of you girls have these skimpy things in your dressers." She paused by the shower to admire herself in the full length mirror that had once belonged to Veronica's parents.

"The other two girls got those outfits when they were captives of an Indian ruler who made them dress that way to display them," Finn told her. "I got Veronica to make me a couple of those things just to wear for George when I want him to totally forget what he's doing in the lab and concentrate on me. Ned insisted that V. keep her little ocelot loincloth and wear it for him in private, and she did. She thinks it's silly, but she sure likes the way Ned looks at her in it. But we just wear these things for our men when we're alone. And Marguerite is going to be thoroughly aggravated when she finds that you've worn hers. Go put it back; I know that you have a smoking bod, lady. You don't have to display it to me. I saw the way you were dressed when you came in. You're beautiful, but you're still a moral monstrosity, and so is Zoth."

Salamine came around the corner, ready to say something cruel, determined to harrass this blonde slip of a girl, jealous of the way that the male demons' eyes had looked on her with unbridled desire.

"Finn," she managed, then it struck her that the human female's neck was unbound and that her waist rope was missing, lying cut on the floor. Salamine recoiled, and turned to run for Marguerite's gun.

She never made it. Sa'eera stepped out and whirled her sling. She let drive at Salamine as the supernatural woman reached the stairs for the next level of the Treehouse, and the big Brazil nut that she used as a projectile smacked Salamine in the head and dropped her on the first landing of the stairs.

"Quick, Sa'eera! Finish cutting me loose. That bitch probably isn't dead, and we're in deep doo-doo if she wakes up and gets Marguerite's gun!" Finn was frantic, for Sa'eera had paused to stare in wide-eyed surprise and glee at how effective her sling had been.

Jarred back to reality by her friend's plea, Sa'eera opened the knife again and soon had Finn's wrists and ankles free. She helped her companion to stand and rub her limbs to fully restore circulation, for the position in which she had been bound had left Finn stiff and it was painful to stand for a few minutes. She twisted her neck, rubbing it, then closed her knife and ran over to her clothes, which she hastily donned, putting her treasured knife in a pocket that Marguerite had sewn onto the shorts for her.

Salamine was beginning to stir as Finn and the Zanga queen reached her, but was still groggy as they walked her to the chair where Finn had sat and tied her wrists behind her and then to the back of the chair. Her crossed ankles were bound to the bar that ran between the front legs of the chair. Finn found a flashlight and studied Salamine's pupils as they began to focus properly, and pronounced her probably just dazed, and likely to make a full recovery.

Finn lifted her enemy's body slightly and had Sa'eera strip her of Marguerite's loincloth, then took it and the golden Egyptian crown upstairs to Marguerite's room. The other jewelry she left on Salamine, having forgotten to take it before tying her. She smiled grimly as she recalled the way in which the demons had looked on her own naked body not so long before, and felt little pity for Salamine, whose pride and arrogance needed some adjustment, anyway. She rather hoped that the Treehouse men would see Salamine unclad, although Finn promised herself not to smirk if they did. George would probably give me a lecture about that if I gloated, she mused. But I'm going to take a certain satisfaction from it, even if I have to try to hide it. Salamine had taunted her, whereas Una had merely looked her over clinically and seemed to concede that Finn was attractive. Between the two, Una evoked some compassion, and some acknowledgement of her love for Zoth. That could be seen as human and loving, if she had chosen a better candidate. Finn even felt some pity for Una, who had honored the wrong man with her devotion. I did that a couple of times myself, before I fell for George Challenger, she admitted to her conscience...

Finn found Marguerite's revolver, a MK. III Webley .38, not the hammerless model that she had with her. She buckled the gun belt on, adjusting it to let the holster ride well back on her right hip. She opened the Webley, checked the ammuniton, closed the gun and holstered it. There were 12 spare cartridges in loops on the belt, but no hunting knife, as Marguerite never carried a knife, other than the switchblade that she had taken from the late Avery Burton, worn in a special pocket sewn into the inside of one boot. Finn winced at this, knowing full well the value of a good knife in jungle survival. Her Swiss Army pocketknife was too small and not rigid enough for the heavy cutting that she might have to do to make a spear, and to chop vines to clear a path or to dress game for food. It was also more a tool than a weapon. She missed the fine silver-mounted Bowie that Roxton had made for her, but it wasn't here, so no use crying. She had seen Una leave wearing her gun belt, and swore to soon have it and her prized Smith & Wesson and hunting knife back into her own hands.

Sa'eera had watched Finn, and asked about the exotic costume that they had taken from Salamine. She examined it, saying that it must certainly take Roxton's mind off of anything else when Marguerite wore that! She had been with the others in Xochilenque when Marguerite and Veronica had been paraded almost nude, bound, trophies of the First Speaker of the Tecamaya, and knew that Marguerite had been embarrassed at the time to appear in this brief garment. She laughed when she realized how much pleasure it must now give Marguerite to wear it for her man, the one she didn't mind seeing her so fully displayed. She said as much and asked if Marguerite or Veronica would make her copies of these costumes. "Jacoba will love me in them, and when he is pleased, he more readily grants favors, " she pointed out with smug vanity.

Finn snorted a brief burst of laughter and shook her head in wonder that her friend was more absorbed with how she would look displaying herself to her king and husband, when there were so much more immediately vital matters to be dealt with. Then, realizing how lovely Sa'eera would appear in such brief garments, she admitted that there was something to be said for them and the effect they had on male eyes, and promised to see that Sa'eera got such things. "First, though, we have to kill some demons"," she pointed out.

"Cool!," exclaimed Sa'eera, who had picked up on some of Finn's 21st Century speech. "This is dangerous and important, I know, Finn, but it's also the greatest adventure that I've ever had, except for the trip to Xochilenque. Husband would freak if he knew what I'm doing now!" And she laughed in delight and excitement.

"'Husband' would have us both whipped if he thought we were enjoying this and exposing his favorite wife to peril on this scale," Finn pointed out. "If anything happens to you, Jacoba will be deeply unhappy, and I bet he'd let us all know about it. Be careful and pay attention. This isn't a lark, Honey. These gremlins mean to ruin our whole world." And she gave Sa'eera a quick synopsis of just how frightful a situation they were facing.

The two blondes went back down to Salamine, who was now alert and glaring at them as they approached her. "Who is this new slut, Finn?" she demanded. "Just how many of you live in this treehouse, anyway?"

"Demoness, I will tell you myself who I am, and I am not a slut. I am a queen, the favored youngest wife of Jacoba, monarch of all the Zanga!" retorted Sa'eera. "You and your kind have humiliated and threatened Finn, my closest friend, and thus have angered me. I will ask my regal husband to have you all slain slowly and in great agony if you anger me further. Where have your companions gone? Tell me now, or tell my husband, under torture!"

Salamine was taken aback and looked at the young queen more closely. She saw a girl about Finn's size, dressed in a green and yellow print halter and loincloth with a short sarong that Sa'eera now picked up and fastened in place with the belt that she had employed as a sling. She wore native sandals, but seemed white. Salamine asked about that.

"Her father was an American who worked for my friend Veronica's parents," Finn explained. "Sa'era is indeed half white, and Challenger made her blonde hair dye, so she looks European, not Indian. Her mother was a pale skinned Zanga, and the Zanga are mostly not dark-hued Indians, anyway. Most resemble Polynesians, like Hawaiians. Now, you heard her: are you going to tell us how to find Zoth, or do you want to tell the Zanga, under torture, which they do awesomely well, when in the mood?"

Salamine looked puzzled. "Girl, you heard my friends. When they left, they hoped to find your cohabitants of this place. I have no idea where they have gone, unless they have been able to track the rest of you humans. Perhaps, they will ambush them on a trail?"

"I saw the direction in which they went when I passed them, " said Sa'eera. "Finn, we can bypass them until we get help. Should we not instead find our friends and warn them, and get their firepower to help when we discover these fiends?"

Salamine narrowed her eyes and regarded the Zanga beauty more carefully. There was more to this snippet than was at first apparent. She seemed more than the plaything of her chief, no simple Indian woman. But what could Salamine do, bound naked in a chair, at the mercy of the women whom she had offended? She had to play for time, until Zoth returned, or until her own strength grew until she could snap her bonds. We should have stayed under cover until tomorrow night, when we had our full powers, she reflected. But Zoth, in his arrogance, wanted to strike early, and to exact revenge for his last failure...

"Let's use the signal drum and get the word out to our friends and your husband," said Finn and led the way to Veronica's big Zanga drum. But the top and bottom of the drum had been slashed, clearly to prevent it being used! Finn almost cried out in her agony. She must warn George and the others, but how?!

She felt Sa'eera's hand on her bare arm, and saw the look on her friend's face as she offered sympathy and what comfort she could. Clearly, Sa'eera now understood the gravity of their situation in full.

"Let's get after them. I think I may know where George and the Roxtons went for those medicinal plants," Finn muttered. "And I know Veronica's favorite way home from your village."

She led the way into the kitchen and the girls soon had a pack with food and some other likely needs ready, with two canteens.

Finn ran up to her room and got her Zeiss 8X30 binocular (looted from the goods left by a perished expedition) ) and grabbed a sheet off the bed.

She tucked the colorful sheet around Salamine, who was astonished. "Do you need a drink before we leave, witch?" asked Finn.

Salamine nodded and when she had been watered, she asked Finn why she had shown her these kindnesses. "We reveled in your lack of clothing and the embarrassment it caused you. Now, you give me this sheet, and water. Why?"

Finn squirmed, but admitted that she thought it was what Challenger would expect of his woman. "Even our other men would cover you out of gallantry, although they would enjoy what they saw. But even if I and the other women here were not present, our men would treat you with chivalry, as much as they dared. That is the difference between your kind and ours. They might even be stupid enough to tie your hands in front or take chances with you. I know you better. But George would be the most gentlemanly of all three, and he would chide me if I left you bare in that chair to be seen that way, or to catch cold. You truly cannot fathom the innate decency of the great man whose brilliance you came to steal, with my safety as the means to force him to do your will! I hate you, Salamine, make no mistake. In time, I will see you and the others dead. But I will not embarrass my man by behaving badly to you before the time comes to slay you. You have Challenger and my devotion to him to thank for any kindness I show you. Understand?"

Salamine swallowed with fear and nodded. She saw in Finn's eyes that she meant every word she'd said, and was glad that this lethal girl loved her scientist so much that she had felt compelled to behave as he would wish of her. What that must be like! In her world, Salamine could not conceive of giving her heart to a lover to that degree! Yet, this submission to her man made Finn whole and happy! How odd these creatures were!

"Bye, bitch," said Finn. "We'll be back. Don't get too comfortable. Even my kind-hearted friends will see the need to exchange you for those poor Indians that you replaced here. You're going back into the Void, and Zoth is going to stay here, very dead. On my soul and those of my friends and relatives, I swear this to you. Zoth will die, or I will die, and I'm quite the survivor, lady."

Salamine felt the chill of Finn's words in her veins, and for the first time in her life, she knew grave dread.

Finn and Sa'eera went to the elevator and descended, eager to find their friends and fight demons.

CHAPTER SIX

Challenger paused as he heard two shots in rapid succession. He turned to the Roxtons and asked if they had heard the same.

"Yes, " said Marguerite. "John, that didn't sound like the .450 that Ned took. Who else would be shooting around here?"

"I certainly can't think of anyone," said a bemused Lord Roxton. "If Finn needed to shoot something, she'd use her 6.5mm Mannlicher or that .44 Winchester, and that didn't sound like either. Oh: the Zanga have those 7mm military Mausers they got from Burton's dead men. That's probably it. They must be hunting. Not that many of them have very good marksmanship." (See, "A Night in the Lost World.")

"One sounded about like that," agreed Marguerite, "but that other was louder, with a different tone. I have an ear for these things, and it seemed to me more like your .416 or something similar. If I didn't know better, I'd say it sounded about like a couple of our spare rifles. John, I'm getting a bad feeling about this..."

He motioned to her to come to him and when she had, put his arms around her and hugged her. "Marguerite, really. Who could it be? Maybe some new expedition, with similar rifles? Our Rigby rifles are popular with those Britons wealthy enough to hunt in Africa or India. The .275 cartridge is among the best for lighter, deer-size game and the .416 for big animals. Finn wouldn't let Sa'eera fire my .416, though, if that's what it was. Finn was scared to shoot that rifle much after she nagged me into letting her try it: the recoil is too much for her. She wouldn't let Sa'eera shoot it. And those shots were in quick successsion, as if two people were firing at some object, maybe an animal."

Marguerite agreed. "Of course, officially, Sa'eera isn't shooting anything, although we know that she gets Finn to let her do that. It's a real thrill for her, violating the Zanga ban on women handling weapons, lest they jinx them. She loves to visit us, because she can feel more free and talk about more topics than at the village. She and Finn are very close, but I agree that neither would relish firing a rifle that kicks like that .416! This is something more; I sense it. George, I was wakened early this morning, while it was still dark, and there was an aura of evil. I sensed that something bad would happen soon. Roxton here took me back to bed and got my mind off it, but that feeling is back, stronger now. I'm uneasy." And she shuddered, hugging her arms and pressing against Roxton.

"Oh, really now, Marguerite," said Challenger. "There must be an explanation. John, where were those shots from? Not that far from the Treehouse, I think, and the Malones will be most of the way to the Zanga village by now. It can't have been Ned. Most curious."

Roxton looked into Marguerite's eyes and they nodded, each realizing that the other was troubled. "George, "said Roxton, "If there is no good explanation for the shots, we had better investigate. Finn may be in danger. There almost have to be new people with guns for those to have been fired. Lets' finish gathering these plants and get back. This needs looking into."

Challenger thought carefully, holding up a hand to tell them to be quiet as he considered the evidence.

"You're right," he decided. "This flies in the face of logic, and that's troubling. Help me get more of these plants on the left, and we'll go back. I'm worried about Finn, too. Surely, if she heard the shots, she'll take cover and see what's up, but we need to be getting back. She may need us, and Sa'eera shouldn't be out in the jungle alone, as she wanted to come."

All three pitched in and gathered the plants, from which Challenger made a stomach relief potion, and some that he used to provide primitive antibiotics. Then, moving uneasily, looking at each other with concern, the trio retraced their steps toward the Treehouse.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Xma'Klee, Paramount Shaman of All the Zanga, and the second most powerful man among his people, sat before his hut. His second wife had gone to visit neighbors, but the Great Wife and the new girl whom he had taken to his hearth not yet two full months ago, sat with him by a small fire.

He had dishes of food before him, from which they ate. The Great Wife, who was his first bride some ten years ago, also fed him slices of oranges and papaya from her hand, a tender gesture that he prized, for he loved her and her ministrations. She saw to it that the younger girls also knew how best to please him, whether it was in bed, in cooking, or in dancing for his pleasure. She made sure that they cleaned the hut well, and that colorful carpets and tapestries soothed his senses and pleased him. Her name was Hermosa, Spanish for beautiful, and she fit the description, although the name was coincidental, not Hispanic. The new wife was named Ta'leea, and Xma'Klee had coveted her for some time before he made marital overtures to her father. Their wedding had been one of the biggest social events of the year, with the Treehouse crew attending, as well as Zanga from each of their various villages.

Hermosa noticed that Xma'Klee was distracted, accepting a slice of papaya from her hand without really paying attention to what he was eating. He had hardly touched his meal of peccary and banana, with wild rice and yams. Yet, these were among his favorite foods...

"Lord, is your food displeasing?" she enquired. "Shall we bring you something else, more suited to your palate?"

Ta'Leea reached out to caress his shoulder, tracing gentle designs on his flesh. She knew that he looked at her with delight and often, desire, when she did this.

Xma'Klee smiled across at Hermosa, and took Ta'leea's hand and squeezed it. These were fine women, and he loved them.

"No, girls," he said, "I am just contemplative. I will soon eat. Remain and comfort me, and I shall take that fruit from your hand with more interest, Hermosa. But I must think, too. You have done nothing wrong. I just have a certain forboding, an evil feeling. Later, I will go to my medicine hut and make the smoke and roll the bones, and see what is forecast. If it is important, I will tell Jacoba of the omen. Now, give me another slice of that orange." And he smiled at Hermosa, who brightened.

"I am glad that you are more cheerful, lord, for I had the thought that your mind was with another woman, not one of us three. I am sorry; I am a silly female to think such things."

Xma'Klee barked a short laugh. "You were right, Hermosa. You know me too well. I was thinking of Ma'Greet, the Englishwoman, who belongs to the white hunter in Veronica's Treehouse, Lord Roxton."

"Lord, I am dismayed if I and your other wives cannot please you enough to avoid such. What can this pale skinned woman do for you that Ta'leea, I, and our sister cannot? I have heard it joked about that this English woman cannot even cook! Her friend Veronica teased her about it on their last visit here! I know that she is a sensual dancer, and has trained Jacoba's youngest queen, Sa'eera, to do a wicked dance of the Sand People, and that men are said to much enjoy seeing that. Shall your wives seek her to teach us to please you in that way?" She was apprehesive, shaken that her man should even think of the woman of the white hunter.

"Lord, this is dangerous to think, is it not?" chimed in Ta'leea. "The whites do not share their wives with their close friends or honored guests. If you want his woman, will Lord Roxton not be angered? He is dangerous, and he has guns. He is probably jealous of her; I see it in the way they look at one another. Will he perhaps consent to renting her for your use? If he does, please tell us how she pleases you that we cannot. We are shamed as your women." She wiped away a tear.

Xma'Klee reached out and drew each of his wives to him, hugging them, kissing first the Great Wife, then the other. "Girls, you misunderstand me. I do not want Ma'Greet physically. Well, no more than most men, in their fantasies, I suppose." He laughed. "My interest in her is in another way. She is a sorceress, a witch of her kind, with deep insight into spiritual matters. She senses things that most mortals cannot. I wish to know if she was troubled this morning, when I arose and went forth from the hut, concerned."

The Great Wife brightened. "I recall that. I thought that you had gone to relieve yourself, then you stayed out there, thinking. I was troubled, but I soon slept, before you returned to lie beside us. Husband, what bothers you? Is this serious? Will the Xingu or the Jivaro headhunters come, seeking warriors' heads to shrink, and women to steal? Are our crops at risk of drought?" She looked into his eyes, frightened now.

"Be at peace, women," he said. "There is just an uneasy feeling that evil persons or forces are afoot. I know not what, but I will try to devine more in the medicine hut. Now, let us be more cheerful, and finish lunch. If I cannot decide what to do, I may go to the Treehouse later to confer with Ma'Greet, but it is not to enjoy her favors. Either of you could doubtless show that girl how to better please men. You have no cause to doubt your abilities. I feel sure that my bed is more joyful than Roxton's." He laughed."Now, each of you get a piece of fruit in hand. Hermosa, get a slice of melon. Ta'leea, pick up a bit of papaya, then each of you offer it to me. I daresay that Roxton has to feed himself! Although I have seen Finn butter bread for her man, the white shaman, and even feed him grapes as he lay on a couch in their living room once. Hmmm..that couple knows more what a marriage should be like than do Malone or Roxton. She treats him almost as well as my wives treat me. But he is a mighty shaman, very wise. He deserves such things, and his woman surely senses that. She ministers to his wants even when her sisters tease her for it, saying that she spoils her man. Strange. What else are women for, but to please and spoil their men?"

Ta'Leea laughed."What indeed, husband? But may I be taught this sinful dance that Ma'Greet has shown to Sa'eera? I have heard that it greatly pleases Jacoba. I could so please you, if you will pay her to teach me. If you go to see the white woman, will you take us? We have heard about the pretty dresses they make for parties in their Treehouse, and I wish to learn what they are like."

Xma'Klee nodded. "When I next go to the Treehouse, I will send ahead a drum message, asking Veronica if you women may accompany me, and if Ma'Greet will consent to show you her dances. She is said to often be secretive, and if she will not teach you to move in that way, ask Sa'eera. She is, after all, your own cousin, and rather vain about what she has learned. I think she will show you the moves. If they dance as well as is rumored, I will look forward to your learning this new technique. Now, about that fruit..." And he looked at each woman and licked his lips.

They giggled, and passed him slices of oranges and papaya, glad that he had become happier, and that his interest in Ma'Greet was only as a sorceress. They had seen her, and neither wanted the Englishman's mate as a rival.

Ned Malone and Veronica Layton had not heard the shots. They had paused by a waterfall on a stream they knew. It ran high in the hills, and the water was clean and free of stagnant pools and nasty growth that would contaminate it and be unhealthy to humans bathing in it.

The stream cascaded over a clean limestone bottom, and was clear, so that one could see whether crocodiles or caiman or dangerous fish were about. In fact, reptiles usually avoided water this clear and cool, for the stream issued from the depths of the earth before flowing down this hillside and nourishing the land around it.

This place was favored by the Treehouse dwellers as a rest stop between their home and the main Zanga kraal, and the girls, sometimes accompanied by Assai and Sa'eera, paused here to gossip, picnic, and swim naked in the cool water, which was bracing, but not so cold as to be uncomfortable under the tropical sun. The mated Treehouse couples also enjoyed it, whether alone or sharing with another couple, in which case, the long pools and the shallow falls afforded ample privacy. It was certainly far less intimate than a Japanese bathhouse...

Veronica doffed her loincloth and top, and sauntered over to Ned, telling him that she wanted him to remove her sky blue panties, made only the week before, with Marguerite sewing the lace trim around the legs and a rose on the area that fit over her abdomen. He did, coloring as he took them, for Ned was still shy at times, and her open embrace of their sexuality still embarrassed him as he enjoyed it. But he was mellowing, and he loved the closeness of them and the way that Veronica looked at him now.

He tossed her bikini briefs atop the pile of his own clothing, and holding hands, the young couple jumped into the pool. Laughing, spashing water at one another, the sound of the falls above and the gurgling water as it rushed past a rock in midstream, combined to preclude them hearing either shot fired far back down the trail. Thus, they took no notice of anything but one another. But that alone absorbed their attention, especially as Veronica reached for Ned under the water and caressed him intimately, to the point that he saw only her, as she saw only him.

Finn was beside herself with anguish and indescision. "What should we do?", she demanded of Sa'eera. "I don't know whether to guess where George and the Roxtons have gone or to chase after Ned and Vee. Those creeps said they'd try to ambush the Malones, so maybe we're needed there first. But, if I can find George and Johnny, they can help me better against Zoth!"

"What were they looking for in the way of medicine plants?" asked the jungle queen. "That might tell us where they went. If the demons guess where that is, they will try to find Challenger first, for he alone has the secrets they need for their mayhem. And, you need George. You will not think well if you are worried about him."

Finn realized with a start that Sa'eera understood her relationship with Challenger better than she'd realized. She would indeed be frazzled if she was beside herself with anguish about the man who was her whole family, however close the others were, and they were all very dear friends. Veronica was almost her sister, probably closer to her than many REAL sisters were. Even Marguerite, despite her basic reserve and sarcasm, was now dear to Finn, and the two had shared much together.

Finn thought, recalled that George wanted stomach balm and antibiotics, and decided on the only nearby place that offered both. She told Sa'eera, and they agreed to go there first, using the trail that the group would probably employ to come home if they had finished gathering herbs.

Sa'eera and Finn had been reading Veronica's and Marguerite's Tarzan books, and debated whether to try to swing on vines to shorten their trip. Sa'eera climbed a tree and grasped a vine, only to have it break as she tried to swing on it. Finn scrambled to ease her fall. The girls looked at one another and Finn said, "Maybe we should just try to get there fast on foot." Sa'eera, now sheepish, nodded, and they ran after their goal.

Fortunately,the demons had stopped ahead to set an ambush, and had no idea that two very desirable hostages were passing within a few hundred yards of them, en route to warn others whom they sought.

"Listen!" demanded Roxton, holding up a hand to stop his companions' progress. "Hear that? Something is coming this way, fast! I think more than one, maybe people. Get under cover until we see what's up." And the three moved off the trail, behind trees and under a big fern, in Marguerite's case.

The running stopped, and became the sounds of a cautious walk. Roxton rolled the safety catch of his Mauser-actioned Westley Richards .318 rifle to the "Off" position and prepared for whatever might appear.

Marguerite was ahead of Roxton and could see around the bend in the trail better. She heard the rustle of leaves as whatever was approaching trod quietly, slower now. She pushed the safety of her .303 rifle to "Off" and raised the weapon. The sounds weren't loud enough to be a tyrannosaur, but two species of raptors, one exceeding ten feet, could walk quietly. And if these intruders were human, who knew who they might be? Her finger took up the slack in the trigger, and she reminded herself not to fire until certain of the need.

"Look!", said a feminine voice, in English. "I told you they'd come this way. Those are George's and John's boots, with the heel here from Marguerite's. I remember the scar on the heel, and the earth is soft enough to show the toe, too. That's got to be her, the smaller tracks. They're the only people who'd wear European boots up here!"

Amused, Marguerite said aloud, "Well, even blondes can get something right occasionally. What brings you girls up here? And have you been firing any guns this morning?"

Finn jumped, and stopped her hand from drawing Marguerite's spare .38. "Marguerite! Where are you? We need you and George and Johhny, big-time! We haven't been shooting, but I know who has, and it's bad news, on a massive scale."

Challenger heard her and stepped out, slinging his rifle on his shoulder now that the source of the noise was known and determined to be friendly.

Finn ran to him and kissed his cheek, hugging his neck. "Oh, Lover! I'm so grateful that we found you. Boy, have we got a story for you!"

The Roxtons joined them as they moved to a small clearing off the jungle path, and the blondes told the tale of Finn's ordeal that morning and what their peril was.

All looked at one another, shaken by this news. Sa'eera asked a few questions, but was soon convinced that the supernatural danger was as real as Finn had told her, for she was half Indian and raised in a superstitious society, on this strange Plateau, where the unusual was sometimes not to be scoffed at as myth or legend.

"We must find the Malones," decided Challenger. "They will be in great danger if they are unaware that these demons seek them, and we cannot allow them to be taken prisoner, to be used against us. Or, worse...And Sa'eera is too important to risk. She must be taken back to Jacoba. Both needs mean that we must go to the Zanga kraal straightaway. With luck, we will find Ned and Veronica on the way. Darling, how many of these demons did you say are with Zoth, and are you sure that you tied this Salamine woman well enough that she cannot free herself and menace us from behind, or warn her kind?"

"She'll stay tied. I think I did as good a job on her as they did on me, and I'd still be sitting there in my panties for them to leer at if Sa'eera hadn't turned up and found my knife. Let's see: counting Salamine, there are six. But they want to exchange Ned and Vee and the Roxtons for more of them, waiting now in the void. We can't let that happen!" She was intense, her desperation evident.

"Well, thanks too much, Sweetie!" chimed in Marguerite. "We certainly don't want to go to the void, either! But, what about you and George and Sa'eera? Now that Salamine has seen her, Sa'eera would make a good hostage to keep Jacoba's legions at bay, but did they actually say that you and George aren't headed for the Black Hole of the Plateau? Why? Does he want to exact revenge on you for thwarting his last attempt to take over here?"

Finn explained that she was to be used to force Challenger to do Zoth's will, and said that if she was captured again, he must refuse to cooperate. "I'm not worth the world, George. Don't let these bastards use me to make you do the unthinkable. I couldn't live with myself if you did."

Challenger pulled her to him, kissed her mouth, and stood with his arm around her waist "Zoth certainly found my one weak spot! I agree in principle that neither of us must allow the other to be used to coerce the result that this fiend wants. If they take you, I will stall, pretending to need more time. We may be able to save you. I swear that I will not give him what he wants, but at the same time, I know in my heart that I cannot allow him to harm you and our child that may already be in your womb. Let us take great care not to fall into their hands. Then, the issue will not arise."

"What's this about your womb?" exclaimed Marguerite. "Are you preggers, Nicole? How far along, and why haven't you told me? And, George, what do you mean that she's your only weak spot? Roxton and I would look out for you two. We're all one another's weak spots. I never thought that I'd meet people who'd matter so much to me as you do. And, I'm not going into any more damned voids, anyway. My life before Roxton here was already too much of a void, and I remember the last time we were in there. It shocked me out of a year's growth, I'm sure. It even scared John. Ask Mr. He-Man here! He admitted it to me!"

"None of us is going into The Void," said Roxton. "We'll die here first. What I saw in the shadows there, gnawing and grasping at me, was beyond description. It was worse than being around Marguerite when she's in a foul mood! I'll not go there again, and none of the rest of you is. I'll protect you with all my ability, and we'll see these flithy demons off for good this time. The alternative is simply unthinkable."

Marguerite, for once without a sarcastic rejoinder, looked into his eyes and nodded, an anxious look on her face. She took his hand, and reached for Finn's hand with her other.

Finn squeezed back, taking George's hand with hers, and smiled at Sa'eera. "That's it, then. We won't surrender, no matter which hostages they have, if any. This is a battle for all mankind, and we simply can't afford to lose. Let's start by finding Vee and Ned. Sa'eera, when is Jacoba expecting you back? He may send warriors if you're late, and we can use reinforcements."

"I was not to return until tomorrow, after lunch, unless we sent a drum signal to the contrary. Husband didn't want to risk me travelling in the dark. He will send no men unless we can contact him. But the Malones and the village lie on the same path. That is where we must travel, and that is where the fiends will wait for us. Marguerite, be silent and think. What do your instincts say, Sorceress? Xma"Klee has great faith in your visions, and he is a mighty shaman. What say you?"

The others were somewhat uncomfortable with this, but they knew that Marguerite was indeed somewhat clairvoyant, and their eyes went to her.

She gestured in protest. "Why are you all looking at me?! Do you think that I can save the world, that I know what they plan?"

Challenger said, "Marguerite, you clearly have some cognitive powers or instincts that are above what normal people possess. Will you try? Anything at all that you can sense, we need to know."

"Well, if I must," Marguerite grudgingly conceded. "Let me stand here with my eyes shut and think for a moment. John, will you brew some tea? We're English. We should have tea before making important decisions, and I'm all in, anyway. It will help refresh me, and maybe arouse my alleged superior cognitive powers that George says make me abnormal."

"Marguerite, I didn't mean that you are abnormal, just that you..." began Challenger, but he left the sentence incomplete when he saw Roxton shaking his head. John was right. What Marguerite needed now was silence and tranquility.

He shrugged off his pack and they got out the tea "billy" and lit a small fire, Challenger being glad for the forthcoming refreshment. Tea would indeed calm them, and let their heads clear. He just hoped that the time used would not imperil Ned and Veronica any more than was already the case.

The water began to boil and they sat quietly talking, off the trail, lest any danger approach. Marguerite Krux, Marguerite Roxton in all but name, sat a little apart, looking at nothing, although she faced a circle of trees, seeming to look through the canopy, into the blue sky. And her spirit began to speak to her...

Xma'Klee sat in the small medicine hut, psychedelic herbs burning in a clay dish in front of him. He shook his big gourd, and cast the bones that told fortune. Out came crocodile and caiman teeth, the claws and beaks of a hycinth macaw and a harpy eagle, and the claws and canine teeth of a big jaguar. And there was the skull of a small monkey.

He chanted the sacred songs handed down to him by his predeccesor, and inhaled the smoke and waited for the visions to come.

In time, immobile, he saw in his mind the image of Marguerite sitting near her friends in a jungle clearing, trying to imagine something. Her closed eyes and concentration made it clear that she, too, sought visions in a trance-like state, and Xma'Klee looked at the faces of her friends, which he saw with a shocking clarity that civilized Westerners could not conceive.

He rocked back and forth, muttering his chants, seeking inspiration. Vague images of evil beings came to him, although he was not sure who they were.

Finally, he rose, and went out of the hut, extinguishing the fire in the dish. He inhaled deeply, returning his mind to reality. His senior wife and his apprentice sorcerer came to him with water and towels and bathed the sweat from his limbs and gave him fruit juice and water to drink.

When his mind had cleared, he took the apprentice and went straight to Jacoba and conferred with the chief. That worthy listened and granted him twenty warriors, some with Mauser rifles, to see whether his vision had any validity.

"If what you saw is true, you must see that Sa'eera returns from the Treehouse immediately," he commanded, "I will not have her afoot and exposed if such evil forces are among us. That girl is far too daring, but I have to indulge her ocassionally, as it makes her more interesting to know. And those white people have their uses. Challenger and his woman have healed us, and their guns have protected us from other enemies. Go. Find them. See what they say of this vision. If the Sorceress is also troubled, report that to me at once. Ma'Greet is in touch with great powers, and I respect what she sees."

Xma'Klee nodded, got his bow and a quiver of arrows, belted on his machete, and donned his medicine bag and a carved wooden canteen and pouch with emergency rations, and led his warriors out the village gate.

CHAPTER EIGHT

As he sipped his tea, John Roxton kept a wary eye on Marguerite. He hoped that she wasn't straining her faculties. He knew that such efforts often left her emotionally drained, and some of what she saw was frightening to hear, although what Finn had already seen was among the most terrifying situations that he could imagine.

Finn squeezed his thigh and grinned. "It will be fine, Johnny," she told him. "Marguerite knows her limits. And we need to know what she senses. It may save lives, maybe our own."

"Am I that transparent when I worry?" smiled Roxton. "I thought that I was hiding my concern better."

Finn shook her head. "I know you too well, John. You're my hunting buddy, and I have feminine instincts, anyway. But hang in here, and we'll get this problem solved."

He nodded, squeezing her hand back, but giving Challenger a hesitant look.

Suddenly, Marguerite screamed and shuddered.

As she rose, unsteady, Roxton rushed to her and held her. He led her over to the others, sitting next to her, an arm around her, holding out a cup of tea.

"I'll be all right," she muttered. "What I saw scared me, but I also sensed that Xma'Klee was looking right at me, at us, the way his face came to me in that slave cell where Burton had Finn and I, by gum, SAW him, in a haze of smoke. I think he was in his medicine hut, looking for me. How strange is that!?" (From, "A Night on the Plateau.")

"Not very, if you know the Great Shaman, who is my uncle," reminded Sa'eera. "He is a powerful medicine man, and he sees many things. If he saw me here, maybe he will tell Husband, and warriors will come to help. But they will probably take me home, too, and I won't get to see the big fight." She pouted.

"That may be the least of your problems if those demons find us first," mused Challenger. "You stay close to me and Finn, young lady. This is no time for you to be looking for adventures. Adventure aplenty will soon find us, I daresay."

CHAPTER NINE

Veronica sat on the stone bank of the deep pool where she and Ned Malone had been sporting in the water for the past hour. Now, she luxuriated in the sun, which warmed her back as Ned sat behind her, drying her hair with a towel brought from the Treehouse. He had already dried their bodies, which were cooled by a slight breeze, although the sun was warm, just past midday.

She leaned her head back as he rubbed her shoulders and neck, and she purred in pleasure, her hair now as dry as he could get it. The warm afternoon sun would finish the job within minutes, and she felt indolent and content.

They talked of the day, their friends, and whether to ask Assai to join them on the return trip to the Treehouse. Veronica wanted to spend some added time with King Jacoba's daughter, her oldest friend.

"Besides, Sa'eera will be there," she noted, "and I promised her to teach them how to cook oppossum the way that Xma'Klee likes it so much. It can't hurt to stay in good with the chief shaman. And if they teach his wives how to do that, he will be grateful to us, and Jacoba will like it too, I think, so his daughter and youngest wife will score points with him, a doubly good deal. Gad, I'm talking like Finn."

"She does have a unique way with words, being from the future and being a smartass to boot, sometimes. But I have to admit, I am flattered that she wants me to teach her creative writing. She has a flair for it, too. She's already pretty good. Says she pays attention to how the authors whose works we have here used words, and that I helped her think of a few good tricks to liven up her prose. I'm glad; she used to be kind of condescending to me."

"Oh, Ned. She just thought that you were a little naive is all," remonstrated his woman. "She came from a hard background, and is her own worst critic, even now. But she's mellowed a lot. And she's a loyal, capable friend. She really seems like my real sister. I guess. I wish I knew what having one was like, and Finn is as close as I'll ever come. Hey, do you hear something back on the trail? We'd better get dressed." She passed him his clothes and donned her own.

They were none too soon, for no more than had she pulled on her top and fastened her loincloth than a Zanga warrior stepped from the jungle and looked at the white couple, startled. He motioned behind him, and Xma'Klee and a dozen more warriors came up and greeted the Malones.

"I thought that perhaps I might find you here," explained the witch doctor. "Queen Sa'eera and my wives like to bathe here when we pass this way. It is a pleasant place. Veronica, have you seen Ma'Greet, or for that matter, Sa'eera? I have had a troubling vision and I sense that all is not well." He gazed into her eyes, seeking an answer, and she realized that he was indeed concerned about something.

"No, Ned and I were just about to finish our walk to your village. Finn and Sa'eera are probably at the Treehouse, and George and the Roxtons went looking for medicinal herbs this morning. George was planning to get enough for himself and some for you. He mentioned that. Why? What's wrong?" She was disturbed now, also, knowing the medicine man's keen powers of perception.

He shook his head. "I cannot define my feelings," he admitted, "but I saw in my mind that Ma'Greet was sitting in a trance, trying to devine how to defeat some new enemy, and I have come to see her and determine what she fears. The feeling was very tangible, after I saw her mentally this morning, earlier, vexed at the door to her room, well before the sun rose. I sense that something is awry. Has she said anything to you about uneasiness? "

The Malones looked at one another, shrugged, then shook their heads.

"Well, we'd better get underway if we're to reach the royal kraal soon," Ned said. "Veronica wants to see Assai, and do some shopping."

Xma'klee shook his head. "No, Ned Malone. I think that it is best that you join us until I find Ma'Greet and see what disturbs her soul. I have a feeling of great unease."

"Now, just a goldarned minute here, " exclaimed Ned, but his woman put her hand on his arm and shushed him. "Great Shaman, is this really so disturbing? Are our friends in danger?" She knew enough of this man's extrasensory powers that she, too, was now concerned.

The shaman nodded, hesitantly. "I know no details, but there is something amiss in the state of the Plateau. Something sinister. I have told Jacoba to be wary, and been sent to seek counsel with Ma'Greet and to ensure that Sa'eera is safe. There is a disurbance in the life force, in the tapping of all things that drives the world. I sense that it is not of this place. This is not war with the Jivaro or the Xingu, or yet a dangerous animal come to stalk us. This is sinister, different, what your people call, 'supernatural' ".

Veronica was now alarmed, herself. "Ned, we're going with Xma'Klee. We need to get to the bottom of this, and if we join him, we all have more protection from whatever this is."

"What it is, is probably nothing," Ned huffed. "Jungle jive ju-ju." He hoped that Xma'klee spoke so little English that he would not follow his meaning, but saw that the shaman had heard and grasped his tone, maybe every word. "Still, Honey, if it will make you feel better, I guess that we can..."

His voice was cut off by the sound of a gunshot from nearby, and they all looked at one another, concern on their faces. Veronica passed Ned his pistol belt and they gathered their things, now certain that their parties had better join one another.

The group moved cautiously down the trail, toward the Treehouse. They had gone only a short distance when a warior sent ahead as a scout came rushing back, supporting a companion.

They helped the injured man lie down, and the two of them explained that Lord Roxton had shot at them, missing. But a fragment of the tree trunk against which the injured man had been leaning had split off so violently from the impact of the heavy .416 Rigby bullet that he had been half stunned, and had a bad cut from the wood chunk or a bullet splinter.

The Zanga grumbled and one seized Veronica by the arm. "Stop that!" commanded Xma'Klee. "Veronica, do you or your man know anything of this? Why would Lord Roxton suddenly try to kill one of us?"

"We should bind these white people and take them before Jacoba for judgement," insisted one warrior.

"Hold your tongue, fool!" snapped the shaman. "Do you think that if the whites wished to make war on us that Veronica, whom you have known all of your life, and her companion here, would have been swimming in that pool, on the way to our village? I know Roxton well, and he is a courageous man, and fair. He would not shoot anyone without cause. What were you two doing when he fired at you?"

"Just walking from the jungle," explained the injured man, as Xma'Klee dressed his head wound. "We waved, and he swung up his rifle and shot at us. Actually, his female, Ma'Greet, caused it. She pointed at us and he and their shaman, Challenger, raised their rifles. Challenger did not shoot, because we jumped back under cover when we saw Roxton fire. We peeked out and saw those people fleeing. We were out of bow range and did not strike back." He winced as the shaman washed out the wound, which had bits of wood and bullet fragments in it.

Veronica and Ned stared at one another and told Xma'Klee that this was incomprehensible. "John Roxton and Challenger would never do that. It is totally out of character for them," insisted Ned Malone. "Maybe they thought that Marguerite was pointing out a deer or a pig?"

"No, they saw us, and the woman reacted like we were enemies and they shot. We were in full view and had waved."

When the injured man felt well enough to walk, his wound bandaged, the Zanga set off to examine the tracks.

They soon found where the whites had stood, and the boot tracks were unmistakable. But a man named Na'reet also noticed the tracks of two other men in the bushes behind where Marguerite had been standing. The men who had come under fire had not seen anyone there because of the jungle hiding them. They had left footprints that were of Indian sandals, with a wavy ropy, effect in the native rubber soles.

"Hau!" said Na'reet. "These are the moccasins of the Wariru people. They know better than to be on our hunting grounds."

"We don't even know any Wariru," pointed out Veronica, "and I see no reason why any would be with our friends. Something is very wrong here."

"Hau!" shouted a man who had shinnied up a tree to get a better view. "I see them! They are indeed with two big Wariru men, and they are headed for the bridge over the river near the shale cliffs."

Ned had someone hoist him into a tree, and gingerly climbed up high enough to spot the fleeing party. He got out his Bausch & Lomb 7X35 binocuar and studied them.

"Honey," he called down. "Those look like our friends, but they don't move like them, and I've never seen those big Indian guys before. One looked back and I could see his face pretty well. I've never seen such an ugly, mean mug. And that guy that Marguerite is with almost let her fall on that shale slope. He didn't pay any attention at all to her when she slipped. John would never ignore Marguerite that way, knowing that she might fall."

As he watched, a shot rang out and another, the bullets barely missing the whites on the river path. Ned swung his gaze sharply to the right, and saw...John Roxton and George Challenger shooting at themselves! And Finn and Sa'eera were with them! What the hell?

CHAPTER NINE

Ned called down what he saw, and Xma'Klee led the way to a nearby high rock outcropping, which he scaled with Malone. Veronica also came, and they shared the binocular in studying the scene that had so stunned Ned.

The two groups fighting had lost track of one another, but those on the rocks could see both. Xma'Klee needed some help to find the people in the field of view, not being used to binoculars, then he exclaimed, "Waugh! Those are the people whom I saw in my vision. Their faces are the same. I am amazed. What wonderful things!" He looked at the B&L binocular with awe.

Veronica looked, too, and readily confirmed that one group was her friends and included Finn and Sa'eera. The others were strangers, for she had been away from the Treehouse when they had last come, although Finn had told her of them later. Still, the story was so bizarre, even for the Plateau, that she didn't connect these people with those from the Void, and just said that she had never seen them, but that they seemed to have stolen clothing and guns from the Treehouse.

Now, Zoth halted his group and motioned for Sjok to come forward. When he had, Zoth placed his hand on Sjok's shoulder and told him that he must return to the Treehouse and get Salamine and Finn, who he thought was still a prisoner there.

"Bring the human female here, with Salamine. Be sure to leash her carefully and be sure that she is well bound. She is fierce, and she will be desperate to escape. She might even kill herself if she sees a chance to fall off a cliff or step on a venomous snake, to avoid being used as the hostage that we need her to be. With her, we will have some control over her scientist lover and his companions, for they are weak and sentimental."

He pointed to a tall tree growing at an odd angle out of a sloping hillside above the jungle. "Meet the rest of us there, as soon as you can. We will stay hidden until we think you may be there. Tell Salamine to quit trying on female clothing and dress sensibly. We must move quickly to establish our dominion over these people, and the little blonde slut is the easiest means of gaining the upper hand."

Sjok replied that he understood, and set off toward the Treehouse at a powerful run, his muscles feeling good, powerful, in this world that he would help to rule and destroy, save for that which he chose to keep for his use. Zoth had promised him what he wished, and he was already thinking of the delights for one such as himself, given unlimited power.

Veronica had the binocular as Sjok left his group and set off to fulfill Zoth's command. She remarked that an especially large, ugly man was moving toward the Treehouse, and passed the glass to Ned.

They looked back at the other demons as they went into some long grass and were lost from view. But they could still see their own friends, and Ned fired a shot from his .45 automatic pistol to draw their attention. When they looked around, he waved his handkerchief, until they saw him and Veronica and Xma'Klee waving their arms.

Roxton and Finn waved back, and pointed to the other party, for the benefit of their companions.

"Oh, no," muttered Sa'eera. "Uncle has seen me. He will surely insist on 'rescuing' me, and I shall miss all the fun! Do we really have to join them? Is it not dangerous to travel in that direction? Maybe our foes have gone that way!"

Roxton laughed. "Maybe so. We don't know which way they went. But we have to join our friends and get Zanga help. The village needs to be warned about the demons, and you must be taken where it is safe, Sa'eera. If those creatures catch you, you would make a great hostage. Your husband would be very upset with us if that happens."

"So, are we going to Veronica and Ned, or what?" asked Marguerite. "We bloody well DON'T know where the enemy is now! We could be walking right into a trap!" She was clearly vexed.

"Darling, what sort of powers have these creatures actually got?" asked Challenger. "Did they say much about that aspect of themselves on their last visitation?"

Finn shook her head. "I only heard some of what they said, while they were taking me to the Void. I pumped that guy Rixel for what I could, but we didn't have long to talk. I do know that if they're here for 48 hours, they acquire their full powers and become almost impossible to destroy. I think maybe they can be burned, but I only got part of that story. I know they can throw things much heavier than a human can, and they are maybe 30 times as strong as even a powerful man. And I've heard that some can breathe fire and extend their limbs several times their ordinary length, to grab things with their hands. I just don't know much more. But I think that to do what all Zoth wants, he needs to have your specialized knowledge, Genius. Or, something similar. He knows how to do some of the damage he wants, but your knowledge of bombs and biological agents would be priceless to him. We can't be caught. We just can't: the world depends on what we do here today and tomrrow before they become too strong to kill easily."

"Oh." she continued. "One said that they only have seven lives. If they are killed seven times in this dimension, they can never return to the Void, and remain permanently dead. That'd suit me." She made a face that said what she felt about Zoth and his kind. "I know that Zoth is on his seventh life here. It will give me immense pleasure to see that his time ends with this visit."

"Well, we had better find Ned and Veronica and the Zanga, I suppose, " declared Challenger. "We must join them and spread the word. I'm sorry, Sa'eera. The risk is too great not to join your uncle." He smiled, patting her shoulder, knowing how much the young queen wanted to share the adventure, and being so inexperienced, had no idea of the true risk that she was courting.

Finn smiled and told her that they would plan a special adventure soon, just the two of them, and she would find a way to make it worthwhile.

"Can I shoot a gun?" Sa'eera asked, hopefully.

"Sure," said Finn. "What your people don't know won't hurt us." She grinned, her impish, typical mien when amused and about to try something that intrigued her. Challenger saw, and his heart leaped at that look, it was so typically "her", his love.

"I'll lead off, then," said Roxton. "Darling, you follow me a few steps back, far enough that a shot aimed at one of us won't hit the other." Marguerite nodded, and Roxton took out his compass and laid a course to the rocks where they had seen their friends.

"Sa'eera, stick with George and me, " ordered Finn. "Stay between us and we'll protect you. If we get separated from the Roxtons, we all know where that outcropping is. We'll just head for it. Okay, George?"

Challenger nodded, reloaded his double- barelled rifle and they moved off.

Far to their right, Zoth and Una had found a concealed spot atop a wooded hill, and they got out the binocular that they had stolen. Una used it after he tired, and she found the explorers in it as they crossed a clearing in the jungle a mile away...

"Zoth, don't hate me for bearing bad news, but I see those people and they have two blonde girls with them. One looks very like Finn, and the other is white, but dressed like an Indian. I think she may be that Sa'eera, whose picture was in the Treehouse, Finn's friend and the Zanga chief's youngest wife."

"How can Finn be with them?" scoffed Zoth. "It must be that Veronica, who paints their portraits, the jungle girl who owns their house. We must catch them and secure Sa'eera. It would be a great coup." His eyes glowed and his lips contracted in a rictus of power and pleasure. "With her, we have the means of controlling her husband to some degree."

He led his group at an angle that would let them cross a ravine on a rope bridge and gain much ground on the explorers. They were soon within rifle range, and he climbed a tree and saw the others as they reached the Zanga party. He saw with a shock (through his binocular) that Veronica was there, and Finn, too! What the devil! And that third blonde must be Sa'eera! How was this possible?! Clearly, Finn had somehow overcome Salamine and escaped and now her friends would know all about his crew, a major disaster!

Una saw, too, and raised her stolen .275 Rigby. She sighted carefully at Roxton, and let fly. The range was some 400 yards, and she thought she might kill the hunter, reducing the enemy force by slaying their best tracker and marksman.

Roxton heard the snap as the bullet passed and looked up, dumbfouded, startled. But the bullet that missed him by a foot found a Zanga man, smacking into his chest and throwing him backward. He staggered, then dropped. Marguerite crawled over to him and felt for a pulse. After a moment, she shrugged and shook her head: no. Dead.

Xma'Klee looked up and there was a terrible resolve on his features. He turned his head and called to his men, "Paint your faces for war! Today, our spears will drink the blood of our enemies!"

CHAPTER TEN

Meanwhile, Sjok had reached the Treehouse and called up to Salamine. He heard her reply, but she would not come out onto the balcony, and it was with some irritation that he stepped into the elevator and rode it up, having carefully observed earlier how it was operated. He had not been able to understand her.

Once off the elevator, he heard Salamine much better, but what she said was unpleasant to hear. He soon found her and cut her loose, using the knife that had come with his Indian outfit. He still wore this garb , being too large to fit into even Challenger's clothes. (Grendel had donned a set of those, with Roxton's wardrobe having equipped Zoth.)

Sjok did not particularly like the arrogant, vain Salamine, and he took a certain delight in asking innocently, "Why are you naked, Salamine? Couldn't you find anything that you liked in those womens' rooms?" He chuckled, in spite of the glare with which she expressed her reaction to his quip.

"That little bitch Finn has escaped with the aid of some blonde girl named Sa'eera, who says that she is an Indian queen, the wife of the Zanga chief. She is young, but she has pluck, and she can use a sling with precision. I am fortunate that I wasn't killed when she hit me with it. I will find clothes in that Marguerite woman's room, and when we recapture Finn, I want you to use her publicly, before I whip her for her insolence. That girl is far too smug, and she has a gun now, the one I had. We must find her before she reaches Sa'eera's village or her friends from this place. If they know that we are here, our task will be far more difficult. Her friends have guns, too, and they will know of us from Zoth's prior visit. Stop staring at my breasts and get a drink or whatever you need to do while I find some clothes." And Salamine flounced off to Marguerite's room, where she soon found a white blouse and a long khaki skirt and a set of brown boots that fit her. First, she slipped on bikini panties of a smooth material that felt good on her skin, with lace trim. She thought they were tan, but Marguerite would have called them cafe-au-lait. She also found a matching camisole. At least, this human woman had refined taste in clothes, Salamine rejoiced. She took sapphire earrings in gold mounts, too, and a complimentary necklace. Apparently, this Krux person had a lot of money as well as taste, for her things were expensive...

Sjok had the key to the room where they had locked the weapons that they had not taken with them, and Salamine selected a 9mm Luger pistol and Finn's beloved 6.5mm Mannlicher-Schoenauer rifle. "This is one of that little blonde wench's guns," she observed. "I may just kill her with it. And I want her to know what I used."

Sjok shook his head. "Salamine, you are independent and ambitious, but you had better serve Zoth for now. He forbade killing the girl or the others without his order. She will have her uses, then I will take pleasure from her, and you may eventually do as you wish, I suppose. But she may be the key to forcing her scientist to give up his secrets. We need her alive. Possibly, Zoth will allow us men to take pleasure from her if Challenger stalls. That would be something to look forward to, and you can watch. That would grieve Finn considerably, I daresay." He chuckled, a great rumbling sound in his deep chest.

Salamine brightened. "Yes, I will suggest that to Zoth. First, we must catch Finn and this Sa'eera girl. They probably went towrd her village. Let us see if they left a trail. Even Finn did not know where her lover and the others went, so they are more likely to go to the Zanga chief and the couple from this Treehouse, who also went there. Ned Malone and Veronica, I think their names are. Finn also called them, "the Malones". Apparently, there are three committed couples here, and this Zanga queen was just a visitor, a friend of Finn's. Now, let us move swiftly. I do not want to have to tell Zoth that they have escaped before we again have Finn and that Sa'eera girl in custody."

And so they departed the Treehouse, travelling as quickly as they dared, once they found the path to the Zanga kraal. Salamine was not pleased when Sjok told her that the whites from the Treehouse had already fired on them and must know that they were enemies, but he had not seen Finn and Sa'eera before leaving, so he did not know that they were already with their friends. That was just as well, for had Salamine heard that Finn was with her companions, she might have been tempted to borrow not only Marguerite's clothes, but one of her favorite utterances: "Can this day possibly get any better?!"

There was much that she did not know about Marguerite Krux, and it was well for her, for had she known, Salamine would have been even more worried...

As Sjok and Salamine tracked Finn and Sa'eera, their companions ahead saw to their horror a line of Zanga warriors come out of the forest in a skirmish line. Several had rifles and began firing at them, as did the whites among them. Then, using his stolen binocular, Zoth saw Finn and Sa'eera briefly as they made their way down a slope and, hand-in-hand, jumped over a small creek and went into cover further down the slope. And right behind them were that scientist, Challenger, and his companions, the Roxton couple!

Zoth swore a mighty oath, furious that Finn was free and had undoubtedly told her friends about his appearance. That was why he had been fired on so soon!

But if Finn was miraculously free, who was the jungle-clad blonde girl with her, and where were Salamine and Sjok?! Salamine would surely have been there when Finn was freed, and Sjok might not have arrived before Finn was gone from the Treehouse.

"Back to the rope bridge!", he shouted, and his team fled toward the safety of that frail device that would at least get them across the gorge. Then, if they blew up the bridge or cut the ropes, their pursuers would have to go around a much longer route, and they could disappear into the countryside long before Lord Roxton and his savage Zanga spearmen could begin to track them. Yes, that was the route to temporary salvation...

Over the bridge they went, the howling Zanga running to prevent their escape. Roxton shouted a warning, but two more Zanga had fallen dead from Zoth's and Grendel's rifles before the Zanga learned caution.

Once he, Una, and Grendel were over the bridge, Zoth and Grendel drew their knives and began cutting at the support ropes. The knives they had stolen were sharp, kept honed by Roxton and Finn, and the ropes parted easily enough, given their thickness and the tough fibers from which they were made. But the Zanga were close, and they might not have enough time to finish severing the ropes before they came under a barrage of arrows and blowgun darts.

Zoth ordered the others to withdraw behind a large boulder, and pulled the pins on two grenades, setting them at the end of the bridge before he rolled down a slope to avoid the blast tbey would create. (He had taken the grenades from the armory in the Treehouse, the explorers having acquired them from the dead slavers in, "A Night in the Lost World", which see on this board.)

Roxton saw through his binocular what Zoth was doing, and yelled for his friends to stop. They took cover just as the grenades exploded: WhumpBANG! And the ends of the bridge were blasted into the sky, with a melange of dirt, rock, and whatever other debris was impacted by the force of the explosions. The bridge flew high, then flopped uselessly down, held only at the end nearest Roxton's party.

They expressed their anger vocally, the Zanga being especially loud. But Zoth and Una heard Finn above the others, a brief instant in which her soprano voice carried. "Zoth! You BASTARD! Una! Grendel! I'm free again, and you creeps WILL die when I find you! This isn't the end! I'll hunt you until I find you and you had better hope that you're back in the Void before I do, or your sorry asses are MINE!" She was clearly furious, frustrated in her revenge and dedication to slaying the demons before they could ruin her world and terrify her friends.

Zoth rose from the hollow in which he had sheltered and ran to the others. "That girl is certainly determined and furious,"observed Una. "Zoth, we may have to slay her if possible, now that we have lost her as a hostage. Who is the second blonde girl?"

"I don't know," he admitted. "But we will find out, and Finn is due a lesson in how angry I can become when pressed. She has become my nemesis, but I will dispose of her, if need be. She seems to lead a charmed life. Let us flee into cover and decide our next step before she and those others discover how to get over here." And his group went back toward the Treehouse, to check on Salamine and Sjok before hiding, biding their time until their full powers came to them late the next day.

Finn collapsed on a big rock, sitting sobbing as Challenger walked over and held her to him. "It's all right, Darling, we will find and slay these demons. It is not your fault that they evaded us on this occasion. Had it not been for you and Sa'eera, we should be unaware that they were here and working their mischief."

"George," she wailed, "He killed my FAMILY! Because of that freak, I'm an ORPHAN! I HATE him! Why can't I ever manage to kill that creep?!"

"In time, you will," said Marguerite, who knelt by her friend and held her hand. "I sense this, Finn. This will be the final time that you need be concerned about Zoth. I've talked with Xma'Klee, and we agree there is a sense between us that this will end in our favor. But you have to take it easy, sweetheart. What's this I hear about you maybe being pregnant? Don't lose the baby because you overexert over that filth Zoth. We will get all of them, I feel sure. But pace yourself. Now, do you and George most want a boy or a girl?" She stroked her shaking companion's hair and arm, calming the disappointed, furious girl.

Finn pulled herself together. "A boy first, and he'll be as great a man as his father, an icon, a genius. If he has a little sister later, that would be cool. But first, I want to give George an heir. Some of it is maternal pride, and pride in being the Genius's woman, and some is wanting the world to have someone to follow in my man's footsteps. Humanity deserves someone of that stature. Because I'm George's woman, it's almost my duty to see that we have a boy who can fill his dad's huge boots." She smiled wanly. "I'll do my best, Marguerite. By the way, how do you feel about being a godmother? Just a plain godmother, not a fairy godmother, like in those kids' books of Vee's that I had to read when I was just learning, because they were easy." She smiled more warmly, although not the impish fullness of her grin when she was less stressed and was deeply amused.

"I think I'd rather like being a fairy godmother, really," said Marguerite Krux. "But the ones in the book paintings are all old, so perhaps I'll forego being able to wave a wand and produce a pumpkin that turns into a coach with however many footmen. Are you serious? I can be your child's godmother? What about John? Is he to be a godfather? Isn't that what the Italian mobsters in New York call their gang bosses? John will love that image." And she laughed.

"Certainly, you two can be godparents," said Challenger. "And the Malones, for that matter. I'll see how all that works. Maybe there can be two sets of godparents. Otherwise, the other couple will be honored in some other way if they have no objection. But I rather hope that Nicole is right about having a son first. He can protect his sister when she comes, and boys need more time to grow up, anyway. It also pleases my male vanity to have a son first, I suppose. But son or daughter, the child will be prized and I will be the best father that I am capable of being. He or she will deserve no less, as will Finn, who is going to be put on her pedestal again as soon as we get back to the Treehouse, with all of these foul demons slain." He leaned over and kissed his love, who took his arm and smiled up at him.

"George, I've had a tantrum. I'm sorry if I've embarrassed you. But I hate that man Zoth so much that I lost control, when I need it most. I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have you to love and to hold and to make babies with. That's something those creeps will never take from me. From us!" And her face showed a steel determination.

"Finn, honey, you get this out of your system however you need to. Those jerks can't mess with my 'little sister' and get away with it," smiled Veronica Layton, nee Malone. She bent and kissed Finn, who jerked her friend's hair in response, playfully, smiling gamely up at her.

"Hey, Vee. When I have the kid and he's old enough, can I read him those fairly tales in your old books?"

"Finn, I'd be honored if you read him those books. Most are classic childrens' stories that he should learn, and my parents would be proud if my best friend's child was read to from them, like I was."

She noticed the expression on Marguerite's face, as if she had been slapped, and took her by the arm as she turned away. "Marguerite, don't sulk. You're my other best friend. And when you and John have children, they can use those books, too. It just looks as if Finn and George will need to use them first. Maybe if you ask them, they'll tell you and John how to get pregnant." And she snickered.

Roxton rolled his eyes. "I think that Marguerite and I may wait awhile, Veronica. But we know how to have children. We just want to practice more to be sure before we try for pregnancy. And we think we may want to try for marriage first, assuming that we can ever get to a vicar."

"John, really," snorted the brunette beauty. "'Practice more'! Hush; you're embarrassing me!" And she did blush.

Xma'Klee had been listening to this, carefuly observing Finn, whom he knew to be a strong, courageous woman, who had twice saved his own life. Her outburst about Zoth concerned him, and he rummaged in his mind, thinking if he had any herbs with him that might give her peace. Clearly, these demons had affected her greatly. But the news of her pregnancy was good.

"You wear the fertility emblem that I gave you," he observed. "It is good. Did I not say that the gods would favor your belly if you wore it and faced the full moon as I said ?" He seemed rather smug, thought Ned Malone, who was taking in all of this pregnancy news with surprise and mild jealousy, having wanted him and Veronica to be the first parents among their number.

"Now, see here, Xma'Klee, I had something to do with this. It wasn't all your amulet, although it perhaps helped," observed Challenger.

"Wait a minute," said a thoughtful Finn. "How did you guys know about this?" She looked at Veronica as if daring her to admit that she had let the word slip.

Challenger cleared his throat. "Ah, actually, Darling, I am afraid that I bragged to the Roxtons this morning before you and Sa'eera arrived with news of Zoth. I suppose we really should have announced it together, to everyone at once, but I was overcome with joy and not a little vanity, and I let it slip. I hope that you won't mind?"

Finn held his hand, squeezing it fondly. "I guess I should be upset, Genius, but I'm more thrilled that you're so proud. Great Shaman, thank you for this enchanted amulet. George and I are grateful that it has helped us to conceive." She beamed at Xma'Klee, careful to include him in the congratulations. "But I'm not totally sure that I AM pregnant. We need a little longer to be certain."

Xma'Klee nodded. "When I return to my home, I will seek a vision and send a drum message to the Treehouse if I can devine whether you are with child. If not now, I sense that you soon will be. You have a particular glow about you that makes me think that you have indeed conceived, though." He nodded sagely.

Ned pulled his woman aside and whispered into her ear," Did we know about this?"

Veronica smiled. "Yes, Ned, we knew. Finn thought that ONLY I knew, but George shot off his mouth out of male vanity, so now we all know."

Malone nodded. Then he said, "Well, baby talk aside, I guess we'd better go demon hunting. Those jerks seemed headed toward the Treehouse, where Finn left their pal. If they get her free, that's one more we'll have to deal with."

"It's okay, Ned, I've pulled myself together. I'll behave now." Finn offered her hand to Challenger, who lifted her and held her briefly, kissing her neck and lips, hugging her to express his support and love. She blushed and kissed him back, as the whites applauded, making Finn's face turn even more crimson in embarrassment. But she looked happy now and smiled again. Demons there were, but friends, too, and her man. The balance was in favor of the good, she decided. She leaned against George and felt all warm, and better inside.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

One of the Indians led the way toward the Treehouse, circumventing the gorge, for the bridge blown up was the only one for some miles.
Nevertheless, it took over an hour to get back on track and close on the Treehouse, and Zoth and his minions had made good use of the time.

They had found Salamine, who told her bitter tale, with Sjok standing behind her, so that she wouldn't see him smirk in places as her account unfolded.

"This Finn and that Sa'eera girl are formidable," observed Una. "Zoth, may we slay them if opportunity affords? I acknowledge that Finn would be the key to Challenger's cooperation, but she seems very elusive and dangerous. Would her death cause the sentimental Challenger to be unable to recall his formulas and plans, out of grief, if she perishes? Humans are very fragile, emotionally..."

Zoth considered. "We must take Finn again if we can, for what you say about her genius lover may be true. But if she persists in outwitting us, she is better off dead. I can probably lay waste to the Earth even without Challenger, but it will take longer, and I want him able to function and to have the compulsion to serve me if possible. Finn is that compulsion, or perhaps, his other friends.
Maybe this Marguerite woman...But Finn is clearly the prime choice, if available, and I owe her some humiliation in return for the vexation that she has caused me. I want her alive, but we will see what happens. "

"I vote to kill her," said a grumpy Grendel. "Sjok and I still hurt from her blows. "

Zoth wanted no rebellion, so he put his answer in terms that the selfish demon could comprehend. "Grendel, it is my wish to have Finn ravished, to intimidate Challenger and spur his submission. Would you not like to ravish Finn?" He leered, cherishing the image of the daring blonde girl at his mercy.

"Oh, please! " ejaculated Una. "Must you men always think in terms of lust, even when your goal is retribution? Give Finn to me and Salamine, and we will have her beg Challenger to serve you, that her pain may cease. "

"That would waste a fine source of satisfaction, and being taken by us would humiliate her, which you and Salamine wish, would it not? We wish her unmarked. Do not deface her, in your jealousy." Sjok was looking forward to enjoying Finn and the other Treehouse women.

"Enough!," commanded Zoth. If we get her back, we will decide later how best to utilize her. Now, we must flee and wait until our full powers arrive. I feel stronger already. You others?"

Grendel nodded. "I feel some 10% better than when I arrived, I think. Observe!" And he wrenched a small branch off a tree. "Tomorrow by this time, I can do that without any effort at all. Now, I strain, but manage. I look forward to being invincible by these vermin. Soon, they shall know fear greater than they have ever dreamed of."

Zoth had been taking a bearing from his stolen compass. Now, he led the way toward a sandstone hill that looked to afford good cover, with ample jungle around it to conceal them.

CHAPTER TWELVE

The explorers and their Indian allies scoured the jungle, concentrating on paths, for in some places the jungle was so thick that neither human or demon would seek to travel there.

Finally, Roxton and Ta'Mauro, a great hunter and tracker, found the demons' trail, and they counted their number by the boot tracks. They were all there, moving southwesterly. Roxton scanned the horizon with his binocular and noticed the tall sandstone outcropping. The Zanga and Challenger agreed that this was probably Zoth's goal, and they moved off in that direction. Zoth had not been as clever as he had thought in selecting a refuge. He had failed to credit the humans with enough intelligence, and Roxton was a skilled hunter, with that certain instinct for where his prey might be.

They had barely gone a mile when a rumbling came from ahead. The grass was violently agitated, and roars pierced the still afternoon air. A dinosaur stampede!

They all got off the trail, finding shelter where they could, behind trees, rocks, in gullies.

Then, the animals were in sight! A herd of stegosaurs, harried by several allosaurs, intent on making a kill. The stampede shook the ground, the cries of the animals striking fear into the hiding humans. One Allosaurus paused, sniffing the air, and moved toward a concealed Zanga man. Then, seeing his kin rush by after a stegosaur, he turned and followed the hunt.

The melee vanished over a hill, then the anguished cries of the hunted reached them as the stegosaurs were trapped in a dead end and the fighting began. Soon, the stegosaurs again broke and ran back through the humans, now short two of their number, who had become prey to the agile carnosaurs.

During the confusion in this second rush of the dinosaurs, Sa'eera saw her opportunity. She seized Finn by the left hand, and shouted, "Come on! This is our chance!" And she pulled the bewildered Finn after her as she ran.

Finn, thinking that Sa'eera was leading them to safety, followed. When things had settled, she saw no one else among their number, and was afraid to shout, lest a still hungry Allosaurus hear her and come for a meal. Indeed, she soon saw one stalking past, evidently having been excluded from the feast that the others enjoyed.

"Sa'eera, what the hell are we doing?", she whispered urgently into her friend's ear. "Where are are the others? I can't see George!"

"Don't worry," said Sa'eera. "They can't see us, either. Uncle will think we got lost in that stampede, and we can go get Zoth and have adventures without the others getting in the way and keeping me out of the fun!" Her eyes were shining in anticipation of the great adventure to come.

Finn stood speechless. Then, she saw that the Allosaurus was returning, sniffing the air currents. She dropped behind the branches of a fallen tree, pulling Sa'eera down with her.

"You dope!", she scolded. "Sa'eera, we can't beat those fiends on our own! All I have is Marguerite's spare .38 and it probably won't even penetrate the hide on this allosaur, let alone get a bullet in deep enough to kill it. Your sling is useless, too. We need to find the others and get their help. The demons have us outnumbered and outgunned, and they're all stronger than we are." She was furious.

"Didn't you defeat them all on your own, the last time they came?" Sa'eera was smug. "Now, you have me to help. Why are you worried?"

"Because I'm not as dumb a blonde as I joke that I am, silly! And George and the others will be worried sick about us. Wait till that dinosaur wanders off, if it doesn't eat us, and we need to locate the others. Look: what do you think Jacoba will do if he finds out what you did, getting us off on our own? I bet he'd be pretty mad."

Sa'eera paled. "Husband will be very upset. He will probably whip me and make me sleep in another hut by myself for days, to chastise me. He must not know that I used the sling,or that I want to get the evil ones on our own. You will keep my secrets, will you not, Finn? We are friends, after all!" And she began to worry.

Finn was moved by her plight, and hugged her. "Of course, I'll cover for you, dummy! But we can't let your uncle or the others know that you led us out here. We'll just say that we were scared and ran from the stampede. But we do need to get back. Hush! That allosaur is coming this way."

And the girls shrank down under the tree, as low and as quiet as they couild get. The predator stalked back and forth, but the wind blew from him to the humans, and he couldn't get their scent. That of other humans and the stegosaurs soon blew away in the gentle breeze, and the animal moved off downwind, seeking new prey.

When they felt they could move, Finn and Sa'eera rose and went toward the last place where they had seen their companions.

Challenger and Xma'Klee counted noses as the dust settled, and soon realized that they were missing the two young women.

Challenger was deeply distressed, and Roxton and Marguerite tried to console him. "George, they can't have gone far, and they're too smart to have been caught by those carnosaurs. We'll find them." Roxton sounded sincere and certain.

"We had better," spoke the shaman, "or Jacoba will be furious. He is quite fond of Sa'eera. She is too brash for a Zanga woman at times, but he secretly cherishes her spirit and she is the apple of his eye. She makes his heart sing in a way that none of his other wives quite does, even the Great Wife, whom he loves dearly." A thought struck him. "Oh, George Challenger. I am worried about Sa'eera, but I know that you must be anguished over Finn. I know the place she has in your heart. I will send a group of men in a wide line to search for them. Hopefully, they will both be well, and just lost." He looked very concerned, though, for a stampede is a dangerous event, and who knew? Both girls might well have been trampled, or eaten by a carnosaur.

From a hill some two miles ahead, Zoth saw the stampede through his binocular, and rejoiced. "Those savages and the white explorers have been dealt a severe blow! They won't follow us for awhile. Rixel, go back and see how close they have gotten to us. Some may be ahead of the others. Avoid being seen. Don't shoot unless you have to. I especially want Finn and Challenger alive, but I want to capture the others and send them to the Void to recover our friends there. We will wait until their Indians go home, then strike, and seize the whites."

"I'm hungry," complained Sjok. "What have we to eat?"

They rummaged in their packs and produced sandwiches that Una and Salamine had made in the Treehouse, and ate.

Rixel went off after the expedition, munching his sandwich as he walked. He carried Finn's Mannlicher-Schoenauer rifle and a coil of rope as well as Roxton's .45 Colt automatic and a Bowie knife, and he had one of the stolen binoculars. He was well equipped, and eager to revenge himself for Finn's having suborned him on his last trip here. Soon, he would have his way with that girl, and rejoice in the acts that he would perpetrate in this land as Zoth overcame all opposition. He would not be weak again. This time, he would prove himself a valuable follower of the next ruler of this planet!

In the thick jungle and brush, Finn and Sa'eera just missed encountering the searchers, and soon became very worried. "Look," said Finn. "We can just move off after the demons. We know they were headed for that reddish outcropping. We should find our friends on the way. Keep your ears open, Sa'eera. And stay close to me. We need each other. You may just be about to find more adventure than we can handle."

Sa'eera, having thought about her rash act, was now contrite. "Finn, Nicole, I'm sorry. I just thought it was our chance to see some excitement. Jacoba keeps me so sheltered! I know he means well, but I want to have fun! Maybe I'm the way I am because I'm half white. But I want more from life than the average Zanga woman does. I'm proud to be in the harem of our chief, and I take pleasure in serving him, but I want to have a life outside that, too! Please don't tell what I did, or I'll be barred from seeing you for weeks, maybe months! Okay?" She was clearly anxious.

"Look," said Finn. "What you did was dumb, but I love you almost like you were my sister, like I do Vee. We'll get out of this. I hope...Get some rocks together as we walk, for your sling. You may need them. And let's just whisper from now on, until we know for sure where we are in relation to the others and the bad guys."

So, they went forward, gathering suitable stones for the sling, unaware that Rixel was fast approaching.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Rixel strode down the path, confident and aggressive and eager to confront the humans. He made little noise, because the path was hard packed earth and no jungle was in the trail, where he would have to move it aside or cut a way. Thus, he was almost silent, although in his arrogance, he didn't take much precaution to move quietly.

There was a stream gurgling nearby and the noise of the water covered Rixel's approach as Finn and Sa'eera crossed the log bridge over the stream and went down the path. They saw Rixel just as he saw them. Both stopped in shock, then Finn dived off the trail, dragging the young Zanga queen with her, fumbling for the gun on her belt.

Rixel was frozen with shock, seeing his quarry so suddenly before him, but he recovered, unslinging the Mannlicher that he had appropriated from Salamine, and yelling to Finn to surrender.

She shouted back, "Rixel, you jerk! The last time you were here, you were the only one of your bunch that was worth sparing. I was sorry for you a little when you got shot by your own people. If we spare you, will you go back into the Void and not come out again to do mischief? I'm trying to give you a break here. The first thing I want is to get my rifle back. Give me that, and we can negotiate." Her mind raced. What if Rixel accepted her offer? Dare she trust him?

"Finn, you little bitch! You got me killed the last time, and Zoth berated me later in the Void. I was disgraced because you subverted me. Zoth is king and will rule all Earth. Surrender with that other blonde slut and we'll let you live and treat you well if you get Challenger to help Zoth and keep us happy. If you're a good slave, we'll keep Salamine away from you. She's mad as hell at you for what you did to her." He wondered how to slip around behind the girls and cover them with his rifle so that they'd have to give up. Finn probably wouldn't shoot him, anyway. She was just a girl with a big mouth on her...

Finn whispered to Sa'eera, who moved off to the left, and threw a stone from her sling over Rixel's head and into the brush behind him. Startled, he rose and looked back, and Finn held the Webley steady in both hands, the hammer cocked for a single-action shot, for best acuracy. She put a bullet almost directly into Rixel's solar plexus at a range of about 50 feet.

He dropped with a thud, and the girls rushed toward him. He scrabbled around trying to lift the fallen rifle but Sa'eera hit him with a well aimed stone and his head dropped.

Finn walked over to him and said, "Too bad, bastard. I tried to give you a break. I'd have kept my word." She felt sad, for of all the demons, Rixel alone had shown her compassion on the former visit. Still, if he served Zoth and regretted his former assistance to her, he was certainly one of them, and had to die.

She reached for her rifle, picked it up, and blew off some dust and checked it, ejecting the cartridges from the rotary magazine and counting them, then reloading. She caressed the stock, looking for dents or dings, and was pleased to see that Rixel hadn't damaged it. Finn was proud of her guns, and glad to have them to replace her puny crossbow. She took care of everything she owned, for until coming to this era, it was rare for her to have much, and she cherished what she possessed.

Sa'eera glanced at Rixel and saw the big man move and start to rise. The stone to his head had stunned him, and he hadn't died yet from the .38 bullet.

"Finn!", she cried, "He's still alive!" She reached for another stone, fumbling, afraid.

"I can't see any necessity for that, " Finn said flatly. She swung up the Mannlicher and sighted briefly on Rixel's head and blew his brains all over the big rock just behind him. One less demon...

Sa'eera flinched from the muzzle blast in the confined clearing and screamed as she saw the effect of a rifle bullet on a man's head at close range.

"I think we can assume that he's dead now," Finn said drolly.

"How can you do that so coldly?", asked her friend. "That was awful!" .

Finn looked cooly at Sa'eera and said, "He and those of his kind orchestrated the destruction of our whole world in my time. I told you: and they will do it now if they live. They killed my parents, and I won't have them kill us and George and the others who are my new family. I probably carry George's child, and WILL NOT let them take him or her from me and his father. I couldn't NOT kill him. But it didn't feel as good as I'd always thought it would. I've become civilized, I guess." She blushed. "Do you know what your uncle used to call me?"

Sa'eera nodded. "Of course: 'Woman who kills.' Isn't that exciting? It's a name fit for a warrior. No girl among us has ever been so called."

Finn said that she knew this, but that she killed when she must, and that having learned to love again and been tutored by her new friends about morality, felt revulsion in doing what she must, but that there was no alternative. "But I'm pleased to see that I didn't revel in this, which I was afraid that I might. When I kill Zoth, I may feel exaltation, though. Mostly, I think I'll just feel a great sense of vindication and relief. Well, let's see what we can salvage from the body before it vanishes and the Indian he replaced returns. That will creep you out if it happens like last time, so be ready."

She and Sa'eera turned over the remains of Rixel, and Finn recovered the gunbelt with Roxton's Colt .45 automatic and a nice Bowie knife by Wostenholm of Sheffield. The belt held both the holster and two spare magazines of ammunition, the ammo in a in a nice leather pouch.

Finn handed Sa'eera her gunbelt with Marguerite's Webley, and finding Roxton's belt much too large for her own slim waist, adjusted it so that the belt hung around her, between her breasts, placing the.45 below her left shoulder, rather like a shoulder holster.

She drew the Colt, cocked it,and thumbed the safety up into the "safe" position and holstered the gun. She heard Sa'eera scream and turned just as Rixel's body shook and shrank away. There was a burst of golden light, and in Rixel's place, an Indian appeared, clearly baffled by the transition. He shook his head, breathed deeply and saw Sa'eera.

"Ayyyy! Zanga! ", he exclaimed, and reached for his knife.

"Wait!" shouted Finn and Sa'eera, together.

"I am Queen Sa'eera of the Zanga, and we are not your enemy today. You have been enchanted by a great evil, which we will explain, and we will help to recover your companions who were taken as you were, to be substituted for demons. This white girl will tell you more, through me, as she does not speak a language that you will know. But, be at peace. We know that you are not at fault in being on Zanga lands."

So, the girls told the warrior what had transpired, and he looked at them incredulously. "Do you expect me to believe this, Zanga woman?"

"You will soon see with your own eyes what happens, and you will be amazed," promised Finn. "Now, either join us in rescuing your friends, or I will shoot you dead with this thunderstick. I don't have time to play games."

The man started to reply, but paused to stare as the explorers, Xma'Klee and about twenty Zanga came upon them, having followed the sound of the shots.

Xma'Klee heard them out, and he also promised the other Indian safe passage and temporary alliance. He knelt by where Rixel had died and noted the singed effect on the grass. Finn told him about the golden flash, and he nodded, thinking of just what they had gotten involved in.

"There is great danger remaining. Sa'eera, you must return to your royal husband and tell him what has happened, and to send more warriors. I will give you an escort."

But the young queen demurred, pointing out that they didn't know where the other demons were, so it was dangerous for her to leave this group.

Xma'Klee grudgingly accepted this, but ordered her to stay near him and not to become lost again.

"Yes, Uncle," she agreed. "But I want Finn and Prof. Challenger near us."

George and Finn agreed, and they gave the new Indian some dried meat and water. He joined them, eyes wide as he stared at these strange white people and their firearms and their beautiful women. And, to be accepted by the Zanga, instead of being killed! He shook his head in wonder as he walked with them, his bow now in hand, his quiver of arrows on his back, machete at his side. Truly, a great adventure, but who in his tribe would believe it?

Roxton found the trail down which Rixel had passed, and he and Ned Malone took the lead, rifles ready. And so they advanced, Finn picking up a coil of rope that Rixel had dropped. That might come in handy, she mused, especially if they had to descend a steep wall.

It being unseemly for Sa'eera to be armed, she yielded the spare .38 Webley to Veronica, who belted it on, but muttered that she probably couldn't hit the broad side of the proverbial barn with a revolver.

"Just wear it for me until we get home, Sweetie," said Marguerite, "and I'll make you a nice cup of tea. How's that?"

"Okay," Veronica conceded. "As long as you don't make any smart-ass jokes about me being a beast of burden."

"I always thought that Ned was your only burden," quipped Marguerite, to Malone's dismay.

"If any of the archers runs out of arrows, Marguerite, we can always hurl a few of your verbal barbs at the demons," countered Ned.

Everyone chuckled, although the whites had to explain the teasing to the Indians, save for Sa'eera, who was amused at her Treehouse friends' ability to joke under stress and great danger. It was one of the things she liked about them. All we need now is a classic "Finnism", she reflected, and decided to listen for her friend to voice a sarcastic, hilarious remark. It was good to have such companions, and she was cheered as they resumed pursuit of the enemy.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Less than a mile ahead, Zoth and his unholy companions sat, waiting for Rixel's return.

"I hope that he makes haste," complained Sjok. "Rixel is careless, and unless he is more cautious than usual, the humans will see him first, and that girl has a gun now, as do her friends. Someone should have gone with Rixel, or instead of him."

"Do you question my judgement?!" demanded Zoth. "I chose that fool Rixel for this because he is the one whom we can most afford to lose, and he failed me on our last excursion. I think he will manage, but if he is intercepted, we will hear shooting, and know where the humans are."

"Unless," Salamine commented, "those Zanga Indians just kill him with an arrow or a dart from a blowgun."

Zoth glared. "Most probably, the whites will shoot him. Some of the Indians have rifles, too, it seems. But let us hope that he is careful and returns soon wih news of the enemy. We will then know which course is best to take."

"The best course to take for me now is to eat another of those sandwiches. They will spoil in this heat before long, anyway." This from Sjok.

"I will join you in that," said Salamine. "I have another sandwich left." She produced it and opened her canteen.

Una lifted a critical eyebrow. "Don't ruin your figure, Salamine. Overeating will do that."

Salamine snorted. "Una, I have the metabolism to eat what I wish, even as a human. Ask the men here." She smirked, aware that both Grendel and Sjok were eying her appreciatively.

Una knelt by Zoth and fed him grapes from her pack. He chewed reflectively, thinking. He must soon have a plan to get them through at least until darkness. That would slow or stop the pursuit, and he knew that Sjok, at least, could see in darkness as well as in daylight, that being a talent that none of the other demons possessed. If only he could again seize Finn, that would open many doors. Or that blonde Indian girl...

Una rested her chin on his knee. "Zoth, what think you? What shall we do next?"

"I am deciding," he replied. "in the meantime, peel an orange and feed it to me. Then, you and I will go a short distance from these others, where you will undress and pleasure me physically. That should prove an interesting diversion." He leaned down and whispered in her ear. "And gratification of my lust is not all that I seek. We can speak privately there. There are things that I do not wish to say before Salamine and Sjok."

Una glowed at the knowledge that Zoth would soon entrust her with his innermost thoughts, and she was glad that he realized the risks in confiding too much in the dangerous Salamine and the strongest of the male demons. She also welcomed the news that he would soon fill her within, and felt her loins writhe under Marguerite's stolen skirt. She felt moist already and licked her lips.

"Yes, Great Zoth. I will please you however you say. It honors me to be the vessel of your pleasure."

"Look at those two," muttered Grendel as the leader and his female left. "They are as weak as humans in their zeal to be alone."

"Fool!," snapped Salamine. "Do you not grasp that they may also seek privacy to conspire between themselves and perhaps abandon us?"

"I think not," decided Sjok. "They need us to achieve his goals. Bide your time, Salamine, and when victory is at hand, I may wish to join you and rule this world ourselves. You DO think of replacing Zoth if opportunity comes, I believe?" He looked smugly at her.

"Perhaps. Let us see what happens," she conceded. "We two would be the best rulers of this planet, Sjok. It will require our ruthlessness, and you are a suitable match for my needs. I will welcome you if circumstance provides us the opportunity to reign supreme. If Zoth falls, Grendel may have Una, if I rule. Would you like that, Grendel? You seem to look at her when Zoth isn't noticing."

"With Zoth gone, Una will need a strong demon," he allowed. "And it may as well be me. She serves well the male who wins her affection and povides her with what she desires. Yes, I would keep Una, if she could manage not to be too jealous of the human females whom I will acquire."

And so, the demons revealed that all was not tranquil in their union, and loyalty to Zoth not as strong as he wished. Still, for now, they would obey him, for he might just lead them to victory. Even though she aspired to depose him someday, Salamine knew she needed Zoth for now.

Back along the trail, Roxton and two Zanga with rifles took the lead, and the pursurers moved along the path. They were determined to find and kill all of the demons.

Finn walked with Challenger and Sa'eera. She, most of all, knew how important their mission was. After a time, Challenger told her to shift her rifle to her offside hand, and took the hand next to his in his own. He squeezed her hand and the couple looked at one another and drew strength from the look that passed between them.

Xma'Klee saw, and turned to Marguerite Krux, walking on his right. She, too, had seen the Challengers hold hands and exchange that look.

She said to the Great Shaman, "I think we will triumph this day. I hope that our casualties may be small, but these demons are dangerous and I fear that we will not slay them without loss."

"Sorceress," he responded., "there is always risk in war. But there is sometimes greater risk in NOT seeking your enemies. Stay near me when Lord Roxton is up front. I will protect you. You are my friend, and I value your arcane counsel. In fact, my wives wish to visit you soon." And he told her how his women longed to see the Treehouse and view the way the whites made clothing and served food, etc.

Marguerite said that she was sure that all her friends would be honored by the visit, and they continued down the trail, talking softly to dispel tension, for all knew that soon, they would face the test of battle with supernatural beings, and none knew just which powers these demons might possess.

Sjok was bored and angry. He took hold of a small tree and with some effort, wrenched it off and threw it into the ferns beside the jungle clearing where they waited,.

Salamine saw and decided to cater to his vanity. She might need his strength later... "That was very impressive, Sjok. Were the roots the hardest thing to break?"

"Yes," he beamed. "But by this time tomorrow, I shall be able to uproot larger trees. My powers grow slightly by the hour. What is keeping Zoth and Una? We need to get underway before too long."

"Sjok, think," she responded. "What would be keeping YOU if Una fawned over you the way she does over our leader? If you are restless, go and see what has become of that idiot Rixel. In fact, I will join you. Grendel, watch here and await us. Tell Zoth we won't be long." She rose and picked up a spare rifle of Challenger's.

"Well, yes, MA'AM!" said Grendel sarcastically. "What makes you think that I am yours to command?"

She strolled over and kissed his cheek. "Please, mighty Grendel? We need to know about Rixel, and you are less restless than Sjok. We will soon return. I will make you a meal tonight if you wait for Zoth. Would that not be nice? Besides, Zoth and Una like you better than they do Sjok and me. They will be less angry if they find you waiting here, if Zoth thinks we should not have gone."

Grendel conceded that this was so, and agreed to wait.

As soon as they were out of sight of the rudimentary camp, Salamine shook with fury. "That Grendel! I can be temperamental, too! Observe!"

She faced a tree and extended her right hand toward it. "Tree, tremble, for I am angry! Shed your leaves and quake before me!" A violet beam shot from her fingertips toward the tree, which did quake slightly, and a few leaves fell.

She turned scarlet with rage. "By tomorrow, this tree will face my full powers and will do as I say."

She calmed herself, Sjok watching, saying nothing that might upset Salamine further. He knew her moods...

"How far do you think Rixel will have gone?" she demanded when her anger had subsided.

Sjok shrugged. "Perhaps a mile or two. We can cover the distance easily, but we should meet him returning. Still, it is something to do, and I was bored. Una may take an hour to satisfy Zoth. Why wait in camp?"

"If she is wise, she will take as long as she dares," observed Salamine. "Zoth is male, and she knows how to use your sex's vanity and sense of romance to keep his favor. She will entertain him well, and she revels in that. She actually is besotted with him. Let us depart." And she led the way down the jungle trail.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

As the explorers moved forward, they spread out, in hopes of finding sign of the demons' passage.

Finn, Challenger, and Sa'eera were together when Finn saw a tree that would support her weight and afford a good view of the land below. She handed her rifle and Roxton's .45 to George and tossed the rope that she had taken from Rixel over a branch to support her. She scrambled up the trunk, then carefully, she climbed higher.

Soon, she had as good a view of the jungle below as she could hope for, for the land was heavily forested, save for the trails made by animals in their passage to feed and to watering places.

Finn took out her binocular, also salvaged from Rixel's body, and swept the horizon, then began scanning the clearing within her vision. She had just put the 8x30B Zeiss instrument back into its leather case and was about to climb down when she saw foliage moving not far away. She decided to wait a bit longer and see what this was. Probably just a deer or a hunting raptor. In that latter case, she was glad to be up a tree! If it turned toward her friends, she would call to Challenger to be ready to shoot. Otherwise, she wished to make no noise, as she had no idea how close an enemy might be.

The ferns that obscured her view were thrust aside and Sjok strode into view. He favored his right heel and removed his moccasin briefly to shake out a thorn or small, sharp pebble.

Finn drew a sharp breath. She was astounded to realize that in a moment, Sjok would pass directly beneath her. And she had left Roxton's pistol below, lest the gunbelt, worn as it was, might catch in the tree and snag enough to make her fall. The only weapon she had on her was her trusty Swiss Army knife, the model that Victorinox called the Camper model. Normally used as a tool, it was hardly ideal to take on a strong man, let alone a demon! If she called out to George to come with his guns, Sjok would hear and surprise would be lost. Moreover, the demon was armed with the weapons that he had acquired from the Indian who had replaced him in the Void, and these included a bow and a quiver of arrows. If he took cover, Sjok might kill her and her man instead of falling victim to them! He might harm Sa'eera, and this would enrage Jacoba, always a somewhat volatile chief. No, if she could, Finn must deal with Sjok on her own. But how?

Then, she realized the value of the rope! She pulled it carefully up after her and made a modified, hasty, hangman's noose. If she could drop this over Sjok's neck as he passed, then jump off the limb she was on, with the rope passing over that branch, her weight should hoist Sjok off his feet slightly and the impact might even break his neck. Worth a try...

Finn readied herself, setting the noose to be wide enough to drop over the large demon's head and a portion of his shoulders. She needed to at least jerk him off his feet. Then, she could scream for George to come and kill him. Maybe she could somehow get on top of him and stab him in the carotid artery with the main blade of her knife.

Sjok felt the noose drop over him and reached to brush it off, thinking that it was some jungle vine that he had stepped into. But it jerked tight as Finn pulled hard and then, she stepped off the branch and Sjok's head was jolted violently as her 117 pounds took full effect as she hung suspended for a moment before dropping to the ground. She called to Challenger and rushed to Sjok as the demon dropped, the rope no longer having any means of suspending him for more than those few seconds that her wieght was on it.

Sa'eera saw what was happening and called to Finn to stand clear. She cast a stone at the demon as he fumbled with the rope. He was clearly impeded, some nerve damage being obvious, although his neck was not quite broken.

Finn saw Sa'eera use the sling and saw the stone collide with Sjkok's temple, and the big creature stumbled and collapsed. Finn took out the Victorinox knife and opened the larger blade and ran to Sjok.

She was about to cut his throat when she heard John Roxton call out, "Don't do it, Finn. You won't like what it will do to you, inside. Killing a man with a knife in battle is one thing. Slitting throats is another. I've had to do it, and you can ask Marguerite if I don't still have nightmares about it."

Johnny!" she shouted in return, surprised that he had been so close. "Then, get over here and shoot the SOB before he gets up. I don't think he's dead!"

Roxton walked over and drew one of the nickle-plated Webley MK VI .455 revolvers from his shoulder rig. He hated what he was about to do, but Finn was right: this demon had to die, and it was actually an act of mercy, for Roxton has seen the damage to his nerves as he struggled until Sa'eera's sling had found its mark. Probably, his neck had been damaged to the point that irrepairable harm was done, unless a skilled surgeon might save Sjok from what the rope had done to him. And no one wanted to summon a surgeon, even had that been possible. This demon must die, or they all and their entire world might perish!

As Roxton cocked the hammer of his .455, Xma'Klee stepped out of the jungle and bade him wait. "We do not need the sound of a shot, Lord Roxton. The other foe must be near." He motioned to a man alongside him, and this warrior drew a deep breath, lifted his blowgun, and puffed a poisoned dart into Sjok's heart.

At first, the stunned, half-dead Sjok barely jerked as the dart struck. Then, a few seconds later, he began to shake as the poison caused bubbles to form in his blood, and it was soon over. One less demon...

All were somewhat shocked by what had happened, and Challenger had just connected the dots and realized what Finn had done. He passed her the belt with the Colt .45 automatic and Bowie knife, but pulled her to him and hugged her before she donned the weapons.

"My, God, Darling, what a risk you took! Whatever possessed you to do a thing like that?!" He was white and quivering a little, for he was reacting to having almost lost his woman.

Finn explained her limited options, and he concurred that she had had little choice, but told her again how grateful he was that she had survived and suffered no injuries.

"The baby?" he asked. "Did jumping off that limb shock your system much?"

"I'm fine, Genius," she told him and kissed him. "I'm barely pregnant, if I am at all, and I don't think the baby would be at much risk. But I forgot about that, and I shouldn't have. I won't again. From now on, I have to remember that I'm acting for two people, not just myself." She brushed his hair out of his face and kissed his forehead. "George, I was just scared to death. I should have worn the gunbelt, after all. I can't wait to kill Una and get my own .38 back."

Finn rubbed noses with her man, and he couldn't resist a smile. That was something she sometimes did to make him laugh as well as to express her affection. "Eskimos haven't got anything on us, Lover," she told him. The two embraced again before the curious scientist walked over and looked down on the dead demon. Finn had to explain to Sa'eera about Eskimos rubbing noses in affection. She had never heard of Eskimos, let alone their customs. She had no time to explain that Eskimos really preferred to be called Innuit. Political Correctness was waylaid by the issue of Sjok's impending transformation!

Finn reached out and pulled George and Xma'Klee back. "Watch it, guys! This body is about to convert itself into an Indian, I bet. There will be a ..."

That was as far as she got before the dead Sjok sparkled briefly before vanishing in a golden glow that lasted several seconds. They smelled charred flesh and burned grass as they recognized the form of an Indian rising from where Sjok had lain.

"Someone bring that other chap up here, now!" called Roxton. "His friend will need to see him and hear what he has to say about what just happened."

The stunned Indian stared at them, then leapt to his feet and tried to run. Two Zanga warriors stopped him and Xma'Klee began to calm him, telling him what had transpired, and that the Zanga meant him no harm.

The frightened Indian drew his knife and slashed at them, and they backed away, motioning for him to be calm and to hear them speak. He looked increduously at Finn and Challenger, then at Roxton, taking in that they were pale and wore strange dress and had strange weapons, if that was what he saw in their hands.

The first strange Indian came forward now, speaking quietly to his companion and assuring him that these people meant no harm, telling him how they had been enchanted and that all would be well.

As the group tried to help the new Indian adjust to what had happened and offered him water, there was a minor commotion in the ranks of the Zanga at the rear of their band. Then, Roxton saw Marguerite emerge from the jungle, her revolver drawn and pointed at a woman dressed in her clothes, giving her a push forward.

Finn stared as Salamine was brought forward, her hands raised, clearly Marguerite's prisoner!

She gave Salamine a dirty look and demanded, "How did you get untied, bitch? I thought I'd done a good job on you!"

"Sjok found me and freed me," Salamine admitted. "We found Zoth and were with him when he decided to linger privately with Una, and Sjok and I came to look for another of our group. I don't suppose that you've seen Rixel? With any luck, he is now back in our camp."

"Rixel is dead," Roxton told her. "He ran afoul of Finn here, and he had coming what she gave him. She offered him a chance to go back into this Void that you came from, but he tried to kill her. He wasn't the first to find that Finn is hard to kill."

Salamine glanced at Finn's Mannlicher. "I see. I recall that very rifle. I wanted to use it on you, Finn. Kill you with your own gun. I should never have let that fool Rixel take it."

"I think you'd better put your hands behind you, Sweetie, and we'll get you tied before you're tempted to do anything that might force us to shoot you," Marguerite told Salamine.

The redhaired demon turned and glared at Marguerite, but didn't resist as Xma'Klee directed a man to bind her.

"You left your cute little Indian maiden outfit back in the Treehouse, I hope," said Marguerite. "I want those clothes of mine back as soon as we can arrange for you to return them and put on enough to be decent. I don't suppose that you'd like to tell us where this Zoth fiend and his devoted demoness are?"

Salamine smiled sarcastically and said, "No. Zoth and Una have great powers, and they may yet triumph. And mighty Grendel is with them They are but three, but you are outnumbered, for they are demons and you are all petty humans."

Xma'Klee stepped up to her and said, "Demoness. I am Xma'Klee, Paramount Shaman of All the Zanga. I am a powerful medicine man, and I tell you truly, you underestimate me and my white friends from that Treehouse. Twice now, you have sought to harm Finn, who is my friend, and her companions. You bring harm this time for my people, also. Keep a civil tongue in your head. You are in peril. You will speak when told to, and you will say what is required of you, or you will wish that you had. You may find that we are not as weak as you think, and it is you who are our prisoner, not the opposite."

"That may change," Salamine smirked. "Savage, why don't you ask Finn how easily we took her earlier today? Have you seen the little blonde slut with her clothes off? She appeals to men, I notice. Finn, I still have plans for you. Start thinking how you can please Grendel. Maybe we will let you live, if this bearded man here does as we wish. You had better tremble, Savage, and you, Professor Challenger and you, John Roxton, and you too, woman. What is your mortal name? You are the female of this man Roxton, are you not?"

Marguerite regarded Salamine through narrowed eyes. "I am Lord Roxton's 'female', if that is how you choose to describe me. I prefer to think of myself as the future Lady Roxton, but why quibble over trivial matters? The point is, that little mortal me caught the evil demoness, meaning you, witch. And Finn is like my sister, or maybe my first cousin. I'm quite fond of her. She's told us about you, and I suggest that you consider your situation with care. I came within a fraction of an inch of putting a bullet in you instead of taking you captive. What Xma'Klee will have done to you if you don't answer our questions isn't best thought of in civilized company."

Salamine opened her mouth to protest, but Challenger cut her off with a premptory gesture. "We will find your kind, whether you speak or not, Salamine, for I know your name. I may not rely on Xma'Klee to make you speak. I have a powerful formula in my lab that will do this. What happens to you after will depend on your conduct and whether you will give your word to return to your own world or not. We are civilized and may grant you safe passage, but you must never come here again."

"Genius, you're being naive," said Finn. "Did I or did I not explain just what kind of creep this woman and her friends are? Usually, I yield to you when there's a question of whether to kill someone. This time, she has to go. You couldn't trust her to keep her word, if you got a promise from her in the first place."

"We're wasting time," observed Roxton. "Let's see if we can find their trail. If we can't, and darkness is coming, we will take Salamine here back to the Treehouse and let George use his truth serum on her. I believe in that stuff; I saw how it worked on that Indian who was with the Golden Rattlesnake's band." (See, "The Golden Rattlesnake" on this board. Rated Mature, as with my other Fics here, so far.)

All agreed that Roxton's proposal was sound, and they gagged Salamine with cloth cut from a towel carried by an Indian and leashed her by the waist and set out after her fellow demons.

Challenger struggled with his conscience, for he was loath to kill Salamine, yet he knew with the keen scientific mind that was his ultimate weapon that Finn was right. These demons must not escape. After a time, Veronica and Finn walked with him and told him that either the Zanga could kill Salamine, or the Treehouse women would.

"That will take the heat off of you guys," noted Finn. "I know that neither you nor Johnny, let alone Ned, wants to kill a woman. So, let us women do it."

"Is that what you want to do?" he responded. "Can you do that, in cold blood, Finn? You, Veronica?"

Veronica's face was pale and she was clearly struggling with her decision. "We'll get it done, George. We have no choice. But it won't leave me very happy."

Finn reached over and squeezed his hand. "Maybe something will turn up to let us off the hook," she offered, knowing that this was unlikely.

Marguerite walked over and reminded them that they had better first slay the remaining demons. "Then, " she said, "if that smartmouthed vixen keeps running her mouth, I'll kill her myself. I'll teach her to steal my clothes and threaten my life! The witch even stole some of my jewelry!"

The thought of an irate Marguerite trading barbs with Salamine amused them and they smiled briefly before trudging on their way, troubled by what was to come.

Zoth and Una returned to find Grendel lounging in camp, pulling the wings off of a colorful butterfly. He had already caught a small lizard and dismembered it, bit by bit, enjoying its agony as it died. He was not a nice person, and pain pleased him, as long as it was not his own.

"Where are the others?" demanded a suspicious Zoth.

"No worries", replied Grendel. "Salamine and Sjok just went to find Rixel, who should have returned by now. They were bored." He shrugged.

"Idiots!," exclaimed Zoth. "Now, we are even more separated. I wish to leave now, and they are gone! When did they depart?"

"Maybe an hour ago, just after you and Una went to tarry in the jungle," answered an amused Grendel. "They thought that you two would be a while, so they found something to do. They should be back soon, with Rixel, whether they found the enemy, or not."

"Rixel should have been back by now, regardless of whether they found him ," observed Una. She drew Finn's Smith & Wesson .38 and opened the cylinder, checking the cartridges. "We may be in trouble before long. The humans may have captured or killed all three."

"It is unlikely, " said Grendel. "Rixel is a little slow -witted at times, but he is a Demon, and the other two are mighty creatures."

Zoth fumed. "If they are not here in fifteen minutes, we must leave without them. They know our destination. They can follow us. We must be among those rocks before dark, in case the humans find us."

"Sit, Zoth, and I will massage your neck. You are becoming stressed, and that will do you no good." Una looked into her leader's eyes, then quickly cast her glance down, in submission and admiration of his return gaze. It amused her to play the shy maiden, attentive to Zoth's moods. And she really did stand in awe of him and of what he would create on this world. She fully meant to be his partner and companion, and was thrilled that he found her attractive and pleasant to be with.

Zoth sat on a log and murmured in pleasure as Una began her ministrations. That woman had her place, he decided, and felt smug at her worship of him. If only Salamine was as tractable. What might she be plotting with Sjok? Both were independent spirits...

Grendel dropped the dying butterfly and looked for another toy. He saw a mouse creeping through the long grass and decided that he might be able to catch it. He could extend his arm some ten inches when he stretched it, beyond its actual length, and that might help. By tomorrow, he could reach out five feet beyond the ability of a man with arms his length. He longed to feel the stirring of his full powers.

He slipped toward the mouse, his eyes fixed on the poor creature that was about to become his victim. He stepped over a log, paying no attention to what might be on the other side.

He heard the snarl of its tail buttons buzzing as a tropical rattlesnake flexed its tail in warning, then, the long fangs slammed into his thigh, above the boot top. The pain was awful, even for a demon, for the venom had the quality of beginning to digest food for the snake.

Grendel yelped in pain and shock, for he knew that these serpents were very dangerous. He shook the snake off, and without thinking, drew a .44 Special Smith & Wesson looted from the Treehouse gun room. His shots sounded even as Zoth rose to insist on silence, lest the humans learn their whereabouts.

The mortally injured snake thrashed around and Grendel drew his machete and repeatedly chopped at its writhing body. The heavy lead bullets had blown it several feet away, helped, perhaps by its own muscle contractions on receiving the two projectiles.

Grendel staggered to the log on which Zoth and Una had been sitting and Una cut open his trouser leg and they examined the bite.

Zoth saw at once that there was swelling and saw the double fang holes in his fellow demon's leg. Una shrank back in horror, for she knew what was probably going to happen if the bite had been a strong one. Sometimes, snakes injected little or no venom, but this bite looked bad. A full envenomation from a tropical rattlesnake was legendary in this region, and the demons had studied the area and its inhabitants, human and animal.

Soon, Grendel sat on the ground, holding his leg, his back against the log. He sweated profusely, and his neck was beginning to loll. Indians told stories about the strike of a snake like this breaking a man's neck, but really, the neurotoxic venom affected the neck muscles and made it impossible to hold the head erect.

Grendel's lips were going blue and his gaze blurred. The fangs had struck an artery, and the venom was speeding through his system and the snake that had been stalking the same mouse as Grendel had had injected almost a "feeding response" bite, pumping in the yellow fluid that it used to slay prey and to defend itself. Grendel could hardly breathe and he looked in agony at Zoth. "Do something!", he managed.

"Very well", said Zoth, who was furious that his plans were going awry. Two shots had just been fired. What matter would one more be?

Zoth took the .44 from Grendel's holster and put the muzzle to the dying demon's head. Una saw, and turned her head as the shot sounded.

Zoth took the gunbelt from the dead Grendel and salvaged his pack, then led Una toward the red sandstone rocks. She followed, silent, wondering for the first time if they might fail again in this world. The whole landscape here defied them, and the Plateau was full of dangers.

As they disappeared into the jungle, the body of Grendel flashed gold and an Indian sat up, startled, looking about him in terror. How had he come to be in this strange place, and where were his friends?!

The pursuing explorers heard the two shots, and turned in the direction from which they came.

Roxton and Malone maintained the lead, with a skirmish line of Zanga warriors, some with Brazilian Mauser Model 1912 7mm rifles, alongside them. (These arms were made for the Brazilian government by Mauser Werke in Germany, which supplied many Central and South American countries' armies before World War I. With the Treaty of Versailles limiting German firearms production, that requirement would soon be met by firms in Belgium and Czechoslavakia, making essentially the same rifle, to similar high quality standards. Not until the 1930's would Mauser again become a powerful factor in foreign arms sales.) This wide line swept the terrain for some 100 yards when the ground allowed. When the foliage was too dense, they pulled in, with less space between each man.

Marguerite saw the close spacing at one point and hoped that if the demons opened fire, Roxton would blend in with the line and not stand out as a target. She winced internally as she thought of just how much this handsome man had come to mean to her, and she was half thrilled and half embarrassed to realize how much she wanted to be held in his arms at this moment. She felt her face flushing and mentally ordered her body to stop responding to her thinking of her man. It was to no avail.

Finn saw, and walked over. "Hey, Marguerite, is everything all right? You look a litle flushed. Have you got water in your canteen?"

Marguerite decided to bluff, concealing her female weakness. "Finn, it's not a 'canteen'. A 'canteen' is a bloody cafe sort of place. This thing hanging on my shoulder is a 'water bottle'. I'll teach you to speak English yet. If you're going to marry Challenger, you'll need that knowledge." She forced a smile, trying to appear jaunty and joking.

Veronica heard and teased, "Well, Ned and my father called those containers 'canteens'. Are you saying that the men in my life don't know what they're drinking from on the trail?"

"No, I'm saying that the men who spawned you and who screw you can't speak the King's English. They were/are American. What can one expect?" She tried a smirky smile, turning so that Veronica would see.

"Now, just a minute, Marguerite," the blonde beauty exclaimed. "We're talking here about my father and my mate! Maybe their dialect or whatever is different than yours, but I won't have you insulting them!"

"Vee, cool it," said Finn, softly. "Marguerite is under stress and she's trying to keep the lid on. Let's all be nice to one another. Marguerite, what's really the matter? Are you worried about Johnny?" Finn looked into her friend's eyes, searching for the real cause of her unease.

Marguerite flushed brighter red and cast her eyes down. That damned Finn! She had gotten to know the young blonde so well that secrets sometimes were hard to keep from her, or at least, the knowledge that she was worried.

"Yes, Finn, I am worried about 'Johnny", or rather I am concerned about Lord Roxton." She wiped a tear from her right eye, and stiffened as Finn walked over and embraced her.

"It's all going to be okay, Marguerite. I'm worried about George, too. I know how you feel. It's unfair how much we have to worry about our men when we love so intensely. But what if we didn't have them? I'd rather worry than do without the Genius." She forced a smile, and Marguerite smiled back, in spite of herself.

Salamine saw, and made a sound behind her gag that expressed her contempt. Veronica, who had her leash in hand, jerked it savagely. "Hey, demon bitch! You probably CAN'T love like we can. Don't get smart with us, or I'll make you wish that you had never THOUGHT of coming here to ruin our lives!" Veronica was also tense, knowing that Ned Malone would be in line of fire if the enemy shot at them.

"Damn it, I'm going up there with John, " muttered Marguerite. "I hate this staying back here 'with the 'women and children'. I'm not a child, and I won't be treated as one! My place is with Roxton!"

"Marguerite, wait!" Finn pleaded. "Johnny has enough on his mind, and so do George and Ned. They're men; they can't help wanting to keep us back where it's safe. I owe George my loyalty and he said to stay here so that he can worry about the demons and not his woman and the kid, if I really do have one in me. John feels the same about you. Don't embarrass him and stall the hunt for those bastards by going up there and making a scene. Salamine will just sneer at us if we can't even behave because we're worried. Look: we'll soon have those creeps or we'll go home for the night. It's getting dark. Stay with us and let the men play hero. They have to, or they erode inside. We may be equal as hell, but we're different, and our place is back here, at least, for now. Let the men concentrate on the jungle, not on us. Okay? Please?"

Marguerite looked at Finn with new respect. She had gotten to know her young friend quite well over the past two years, but still was surprised to find how mature Finn could be at times. She was often teasing, capable of pranks worthy of a teenager, especially if she could enlist Veronica's collusion, but when the chips were down, Finn was wise and effective. She was also very deeply in love with the scientist whose bed she shared, and was determined to make Challenger proud of her conduct. Could Marguerite do any less? John would be glad to have her with him, but he would look bad in the other mens' eyes, especially those of the Zanga, who did not take their women with them in war parties or to hunt.

Veronica touched her shoulder. "Marguerite, I'm sorry that I snapped at you. But some things don't bear joking about, at least not too derisively. We're all worried. Take a drink and breathe deeply. This is all going to end well. I wouldn't let Ned go up there, if I didn't think he'd be okay." She smiled at the brunette, offering sympathy and understanding, but also hoping that the Englishwoman would decide to do the right thing, and that, for now, was to let their men alone to deal with the enemy and the jungle.

"Oh, all right, but drat men, anyway. Thinking that they have to protect us when it just makes us worry that we can't see what's happening!" She wiped her eyes, squared her hat on her head and slogged along with the others.

Finn squeezed her shoulder and went back to walk beside Sa'eera, who had taken all of this in with wide eyes.

Salamine squinted in laughter, and Finn decided to think of some way to punish the demoness, for this, as well as for the humiliation that she had undergone earlier. Then, she thought of how her man would lecture her for mistreating a captive, even Salamine, and flushed as she realized how much she had changed since falling in love with George Challenger. Marguerite was right: they were being treated as inferiors in a way. But she knew that the men would be incapable of seeing their view, and it would just trouble everyone if they made a fuss of it. And George needed to have his mind clear of stress at times like this. But Finn would be very glad when they went home for the night, and she could cuddle with the Genius and rejoice that they were safe again, and together.

There was a muffled cry from ahead, and someone came and got the two Indians who had been exchanged for the demons' presence earlier. They went forward and soon returned with another Indian of their tribe, talking to him, reassuring him that all was well and that these strangers would recover their spouses, too.

Finn's heart went out to them. The Treehouse women weren't the only ones who were having a troubled day.

Zoth and Una soon realized that they needed to get off the trail and wait under cover until they could see their companions.

They waited half an hour, then admitted that something was badly wrong. Either the others were seriously lost, or the humans had gotten them.

"We must seek shelter for the night," Una pointed out. "The sun is lowering in the western sky, and I can hear predators calling as they prepare to begin their evening hunt. We do not wish to fall victim to jaguars or pumas or these awful dinosaurs."

Zoth concurred. "Let us find better cover and some shelter. The humans probably know that we were headed for those red rocks, if they have questioned our brethern. They may be prisoners. If so, they will probably break free when their full Powers come to them tomorrow."

Then, they saw the skirmish line, and watched through binoculars as the humans pushed forward to the place where Grendel had died.

The humans stopped there, probably examining the dead snake and the ground, guessing what had happened. The recovered Indian could have told them little, but that man Roxton and the Zanga would study the ground and discern what had taken place.

Una saw Finn and raised her rifle, the .44 Winchester M-92 that was one of Finn's favorites.

"No, stay!" commanded Zoth. "You will not hit her easily at this range, and her loss might so dismay her lover that he couldn't give me information that I need from him. We will handle this differently."

He studied the humans more carefully, then swore an oath. "That stupid, ambitious Salamine! She has been taken by them! I do not see our others, but there are non-Zanga Indians with them, so our kind must have fallen! We will stay away from them until tomorrow, then we will deal with them as I see fit. But I need time to plan. And I want Salamine to have her full strength by the time we act. She should be able to break free of her bonds by noon tomorrow, perhaps sooner."

Una nodded, hoping that Zoth knew what he was doing. She was having more serious misgivings all the time. What a fool Salamine was! How dare she allow the puny creatures of this place to capture her!

The shadows lengthened, and dusk grew closer. When it arrived in this tropical setting, darkness would fall swiftly, and the night would belong to those animals better adapted to it than people. Challenger, Xma'Klee, and Roxton conferred. They decided to end the quest until tomorrow, when they could better see what they were doing. They knew where to resume the search, and thought that Zoth and Una would take cover overnight in the red rocks thay had sought.

Challenger sat, and Finn stood behind him, rubbing his tired shoulders. Marguerite and Veronica saw, and looked at one another and grinned.

"It's okay, girls," Finn said smugly. "When we get home, the Genius will rub my back, too, and you can just be jealous, for he works wonders with that. I'll be purring like a kitten when he's done with me."

Marguerite looked mischievously at her and said in Portuguese, which only she and Finn of their number spoke, "And you'll be as wet as a fish inside, too, Sweetie. I know what it does to you when the right man rubs your back, and you have got it SO BAD for George..."

She was stilled by Roxton holding up a hand for silence. "Look," he commanded. "Those other two have gone this way, and those tracks are fresh. Let's see if we can catch up to them before it gets dark."

"Really, John." protested Challenger. "It is growing dark now, and I am tired. We can't afford to spend what little daylight is left blundering after those demons when we need it to see how to get home."

Veronica took out Salamine's gag and gave her water and they all drank and sat down where they could, as the men debated whether to pursue the demons.

Nearby, a Tyrannosaurus rex stalked quietly, sampling the air currents. He shifted his head this way and then that, sniffing the gentle breeze blowing to him from the east...where the humans huddled in conference.

A low rumble emanated from his tooth-studded jaws, and he salivated as he recognized the scent of humans. These would be easy meat.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Veronica wandered over to Ned Malone and kissed him. They talked, and she told Ned about Marguerite's earlier barb, about the correct name for a canteen.

Ned got a mischievous gleam in his eye, and his woman demanded, "Ned? What are you going to do? I don't want any trouble with her. I just thought you might be amused by what she said."

"Oh", said Ned, "She was right, Baby. I AM the man screwing you. But that crack about your dad bothers me, too. Watch. Better yet, listen. You'll catch on."

He strolled back to his pack, knelt by it, and began rummaging through it, as if looking for something. He began to sing, "America", a few feet from where the British brunette sat. She could not fail to hear him, and although the words were different, the tune of this song was that of, "God Save the King". This had previously irritated Marguerite, who had been known to comment caustically on the matter. Ned watched her from the corner of his eye, awaiting her reaction.

As she heard the words, Marguerite turned to say something irascible and patronizing, then, she recalled that Ned and Veronica had just been talking, and suspected that part of what they had shared had to do with her comment about canteens and water bottles. She smiled instead, and said, "Touche, Ned. You got to me, alright? I'm sorry that I said what I did about Veronica's father and mate. Now, will you please sing something else? What about, 'Coming Through the Rye?' Maybe Roxton will hear and think of this long jungle grass, and we'll be homeward bound soon. It IS getting on toward dusk." She looked anxiously at the sky.

As she looked upward, a Zanga scout returned, in a state of high excitement. He babbled the word that Marguerite knew meant, "Tyrannosaur" in his tongue. She repeated that in English, and rose, reaching for her rifle. Not that a .303 was ideal for hunting dinosaurs, but she might get a lucky shot into its brain. Better yet, John had his .318, possibly able to make even a heart shot on the big predator's body. Challenger's .450 No. 2 Nitro Express caliber Holland & Holland double-barrelled rifle or Ned's similar rifle could do that. Everyone stirred, grabbing for their weapons. Veronica ran over and pulled Salamine erect, admonishing her not to abuse the privilege of having remained ungagged. Of course, if the demoness made noise, the dinosaur might eat her, too, so this warning was probably superfluous...

Those who had binoculars raised them and looked in the direction that the scout pointed. They saw nothing at first, then, as Finn and Marguerite were about to lower their instruments, Herr Zeiss's crisp lenses and prisms showed Zoth and Una fleeing from a copse of trees, pursued by the T-rex!

"Get to cover, Zoth!", cried Una. "I will distract this huge lizard, that you may escape. It is your life that is essential."

"No, Una! Stand your ground. The humans will have seen us by now. Shoot it!" And he turned and fired into the T-rex, striking it in the chest.

The bullet from his stolen .416 Rigby struck a rib at an angle and glanced off, but enraged the already hungry tyrannosaur. It roared, the sound of enraged thunder, and strode faster toward him. T-rex couldn't really sprint, but his rapid walk was faster than most men could run. Zoth had little chance.

Una fired, three times, the softer lead bullets from the .44/40 Winchester M-92 not making entry through the thick hide, save for one that lodged in his mouth after penetrating a cheek. T-rex screamed and turned toward her.

Zoth saw his chance and ran, leaving Una to the beast. With luck, he would reach a fissure that he had just seen and in it, he might evade both T-rex and those cursed humans.

He was not to be successful. His movement stimulated the predator reflex in the big carnivore, and T-rex chased him for a hundred yards, ignoring two more shots from the frustrated, desperate Una.

The dinosaur caught up to Zoth a dozen paces from the fissure and leaning forward, took the demon into his mouth and tossed his head sharply up, snapping down on him with those awful teeth, long, serrated, and deadly.

Zoth managed one terrified, awful scream, then he was still forever as his spine and other bones popped with a terrible finality. The cracking sound carried to the humans, and they all shrank back and felt something primeval and frightening stir within them.

T-rex threw Zoth's body forcefully into a big tree, the sound of his striking the huge trunk making more broken bone noises. Then, he strode over and snapped off the demon's head. Zoth was dead.

Una screamed, a wail of horrid proportions, exuding all the anguish she felt and her desperation at being left alone in a world of which she was the only free represenative of her kind.

Finn saw Zoth's head loll on the ground, her Zeiss binocular revealing the open, lifeless eyes, and she, too, screamed, turning into Challenger and hugging him in her rage and anguish. "That damned dinosaur killed the son of a bitch! Damn it, he was MINE to kill!" And Finn burst into tears, deprived of the vengence that had long been her primary purpose, after her love for George Challenger and the new life that they had agreed to create within her. She had feared at times that this desire for revenge might even eclipse all else for her, if the moment came to choose. Finn was genetically Anglo, but she was Brazilian, and she had much of the Latin craving for revenge.

Veronica sensed what Finn must feel, and she reached out and began stroking her best friend's shoulder, murmuring quiet words of comfort. Challenger held her close, Finn sobbing into his chest. His heart went out to her, also, for he knew the singlemindedness with which Finn had viewed this mission that all but consumed her when she dwelled on it. She had whispered to him in the darkness and solitude of their room some of the horrors that Zoth's acts had forced on her and on all mankind in her day, and he understood her obesssion.

Salamine stood with mouth agape. She had never expected Zoth to fall until her own scheming, at the right time, allowed for that. She was stunned, then it struck her that she and Una were now alone of their kind in this place, and that she was at the mercy of these humans. Salamine fell to her knees, jerking the leash attached to her waist from Ned Malone's hand. She bent over and cried into the red Amazonian earth, her spirit now as crushed by Zoth's death as was Finn's.

Roxton, although shocked by what had happened, was the first to recover his wits. The hunter yelled across to Una to lie low in the grass, her arms and legs spread flat on the ground in surrender. When the dinosaur had been shot by him or had left, the humans would take her captive, sparing her the fate that Zoth had encountered.

Una heard, and was speechless at what had happened. For a moment, she considered Roxton's offer of her surrender, then she remembered the cold, determined look that she had seen in Finn's eyes as they had left the blonde beauty bound nearly naked in a chair at the Treehouse that morning. Finn might yet kill her, and Una knew how effective she could be in her hatred of Zoth and his minions. It was better to die fighting, or to kill that damned beast that had slain her lover. It must not go unpunished for slaying this mighty demon who had owned the heart of Una!

Half mad with anger and the pain of her loss, Una walked toward the T-rex, the stolen Winchester .44 raised. She took no particularly good aim, and indeed didn't know the vital organs of this mighty beast. The softnosed lead bullets at some 1300 feet per second didn't have the smash to penetrate much beyond the reptile's tough olive skin, pebbled with bits of dermal denticles that served as a form of armor.

The tyrannosaur turned to her, roaring in rage as the bullets caused him pain without getting in deeply enough to reach his vitals.

Una stumbled toward the animal, wishing that this was tomorrow afternoon, when she could launch a purple bolt of lightning at him.
But it was today, and her powers had just begun to arrive. She would have been killed, had she not stepped into a crevice and tumbled down several feet. It was too narrow a trench for the dinosaur to reach her,and the demoness gasped in relief as he tried to seize her in his terrible jaws. But his face would fit only part of the way into the narrow fissure.

The Tyrannosarus was nothing if not a skilled predator, and better able to think well than many might suppose. He realized that if he was to reach his prey, he would need to reach into the trench lengthwise.

Adroitly changing his stance to straddle the crevice, T-rex was about to reach in and snap up the demoness when he felt a heavy, deep blow behind his foreleg on the side facing the humans. Shock and great pain overrode his desire to kill Una, and he spun toward the sound of the shot that had struck him.

Roxton shoved home the bolt of his Westley Richards rifle, loading a second .318 cartridge into the chamber. Fnnn's Mannlicher-Schoenauer now spoke also, and the long 160 grain bullet slipped past two ribs and entered the dinosaur's heart.

"Why are you shooting?" demanded Veronica. "Just let the T-rex kill her! She deserves it, and it'll save us the trouble!"

"Vee, that witch is wearing my .38! I'm not letting some damned dinosaur eat my favorite gun!" Finn sent a second 6.5mm bullet downrange into the chest of the T-rex, hearing Roxton's rifle fire again, also. She was using full metal jacketed bullets, what the British called, "solids". Men like a famed Scot named Walter .D .M. Bell had killed elephants with these bullets. To be sure, Bell knew elephant anatomy like a surgeon, and he placed his little bullets in the brains of those huge pachyderms with great precision. He had killed even more of them with a .275 Rigby like that owned by Marguerite. (See, "The Wanderings of an Elephant Hunter", by W.D.M. "Karamoja" Bell. Safari Press often has current reprints.)

"We must also keep the beast from consuming her for another cause," declared Challenger. "If she is eaten, or if Zoth's body is, we may never recover the Indians whose bodies these rascals replaced! We have a moral compulsion to help their brethern recover their companions. It is a human duty!" And he raised his Holland & Holland .450 to fire.

Struck several times with full metal jacketed bullets designed to penetrate even such large animals as elephant and rhino, the T-rex was mortally wounded. Roaring in pain and indignation, he charged the humans, 150 yards away.

Challenger and Roxton let him get to within 75 yards, then fired just below those fearsome jaws, hoping that a bullet would pierce his neck and smash the spinal column. One did. Roxton swore later that it was one of his "solid" bullets, but no matter: whether it was from the .318 or the heavier .450 H&H, a bullet did sever the spinal cord, and the mighty theropod stumbled and crashed to the ground with a loud thud that shook the earth.

Roxton ran over to the animal, shoving fresh cartridges into the magazine of his rifle. Challenger followed, having reloaded his double rife. Finn came next, frantically stuffing new ammunition into the rotary magazine of her elegant little Austrian hunting rifle.

"John, you fool!," screamed Miss Krux. "That beast may not be dead yet!" Marguerite's voice was shrill with her panic.

"Never fear, Marguerite," the hunter shouted back. "We just need to get in a brain shot to make sure of him!" He walked carefully behind the dinosaur, which was feebly jerking, probably muscle spasms of the dying beast, to the extent that the severed spine would allow.

"John, I'll take care of this. You have already expended too much ammunition for one day, " declared Challenger. "Besides, as a scientist, I know precisely where the brain lies from this angle." He lifted the H&H .450 and slammed two of the 480 grain full jacketed bullets into the brain, and the T-rex lay still. Its jaws gaped open in death, exposing the huge lethal teeth that had slain Zoth and nearly taken other human lives this day.

Challenger opened his rifle and slid two more long brass-cased cartridges into the chambers, then as he closed the breech, he looked to his left and saw Finn.

"What are you doing here?!, " he exclaimed, with a mixture of surprise and anger. "Finn, this is dangerous!"

Finn looked him in the eye and said, "George, my place is with you. We belong to each other, and this is where you went. Before you get all uppity and rag on me for following you, keep in mind that you are my man and the probable father of our child. I wasn't about to let you get killed by a T-rex if I could help it, and we still need to get this bitch out of the ditch and that may take some doing!" She looked firm, and Challenger knew both frustration and pride in her.

"She's right, George. The woman, er, demoness, is still down there. Hey, Una! Want to come out peacefully and be led back to that Void tomorrow, or die here and now?" Roxton half hoped that Una would fight.

"If she's scratched my Smith & Wesson or my Winchester, she dies now!", snarled Finn, who loved her guns and was smarting from the indignity that the demons had imposed on her earlier that day.

Una laughed, if a bit sadly. "Professor Challenger, if you will rein in your angry blonde slut, I will emerge and give myself up. But I want your word and that of Lord Roxton as English gentlemen that you will not allow me to be harmed. Your Brazilian bimbo will kill me if she can. I have seen it in her eyes, and I recall her perserverence from my last visit!"

Roxton was puzzled. "How do you know that Finn is Brazilian? " he demanded. "She speaks English like an American, and has no ethnic Latin blood."

"We studied your papers earlier today," admitted Una. "I read how Challenger rescued her from the next century in one of that man Malone's diaries. She was born on this Plateau. And she does have the Latin thirst for revenge. I fear her!"

"You will be safe if you give me your word of honor to surrender and to let us conduct you to the Void and recover the persons whose bodies you have replaced, tomorrow. " Challenger spoke stiffly, but saw this act of mercy as being his moral duty, although he fully understood Finn's wish to slay this creature from another, nasty, dimension.

"Genius, she will... " Finn began.

"Not now, Finn. I have given my word, Darling, and we have a duty to recover those Indian girls for their men. As much as she has angered me, if Una will surrender, she may live, unless she again enters our world. If she does, I will join you in killing her. Did you fully register that, Una?"

"Yes, Professor," said Una, meekly. "Don't shoot. I will reach up and lay Finn's precious rifle on the edge of the crevice. Then, one of you gentlemen must assist me to get out."

Finn's face was screwed into a rictus of rage and anguish. Veronica came up, leading Salamine by the leash on her waist. She reached out to her best friend and kissed her cheek and rubbed her tense shoulder. "Calm down, Nicole," she whispered. "This isn't over yet. Play it cool, and we'll see what happens. I don't trust Una. Be calm, but be watchful. You may get your chance to kill her yet."

So mad that she was almost grinding her teeth, Finn managed to nod, and put her arm around Veronica. "Thanks, Sis. I'll hope she does give me half a chance to violate the truce that my softhearted lover just made with her. These creeps can't be trusted an inch!"

"Come along, Una," spoke Roxton. He handed his rifle to Marguerite and drew a nickel-plated .455 Webley revolver with ivory handle from his shoulder holster, the better to cover Una at close quarters. "Let's see that rifle, careful now. I may shoot you myself, if you even look like you're being tricky. Finn is my close friend and hunting partner, and I know her well. She will abide by the truce that her man has made, out of love and her duty to him. But be cautious. I'm only agreeing to this because Challenger did, and he's our leader. I might just help Finn shoot you if I see half an excuse."

"I will give you no excuse, Lord Roxton. And watch your own woman. I sense that she is not far behind Finn in her willingness to slay me." She reached up with one hand and laid the M-92 Winchester on the edge of the crevice.

Finn applied the safety catch on her Mannlicher, hung it over her shoulder by the leather sling, and reached for her .44 carbine, looking it over, blowing dust from it and examining it critically for scratches or dents.

"Put your hands on the edge of the trench, Una. We'll pull you out, " said Roxton. "When you get up here, the hands go on your head while we disarm you and search you. Any funny business and Finn and I will both plug you in a heartbeat."

"All right, Lord Roxton," Una replied. "Finn will be pleased that I have not scuffed her revolver. Or, even its nice leather holster and belt or the wicked knife on that belt." She laughed. "It is a pretty gun. I was looking forward to shooting her with it." She raised her hands and placed them on the edge of the crevice.

Xma'Klee gestured, and two burly Zanga warriors each took an arm and boosted Una from the fissure. She looked cooly at Finn, and smiled, but placed her hands on her head as ordered. Finn glared back, the muzzle of her Winchester covering Una. Both knew that Finn was longing for an excuse to pull the trigger.

"Finn, dear, the carbine is empty," Una said sweetly. "I shot it dry, firing at that dinosaur." She laughed.

"My Webley is loaded, Una," warned Roxton. "Don't try anything. The Zanga would love to fill your body full of arrows, too. The girl with Finn is one of their queens, and you made a bad enemy there. Marguerite, hand your rifle to someone and search this witch."

"Why don't you search me, Roxton?" queried Una. "I have no objection to a man doing that, and your woman is angry at me. I fear that she will push me back into the crevice."

Marguerite snorted. "More likely, you just think that an honorable man will be less thorough than I will." She gave her .303 and Roxton's .318 rifles to Xma'Klee to hold, then unbuckled Finn's black leather gunbelt from Una's waist and passed it to the eager owner. She took off Una's hat - her own, really- and ran her hands through Una's brown locks, then, with a wicked grin, lifted her khaki skirt above her waist and looked to see any visible weapons. She deliberately held the skirt up and asked if anyone saw anything dangerous. The men blushed and tried to ignore the double meaning...

Una seethed internally, wishing that she had retained the jodhpur trousers that she had worn earlier that day. But they were hot, and she had changed into the skirt after pleasuring Zoth. In the skirt, the breeeze, when available, had been able to circulate air up her legs.

Challenger cleared his throat self- conciously, noting that all the men were staring at Una's excellent legs. Una, far from being humilated as Marguerite had expected, just looked back and fixed her eyes on Roxton's and ran her tongue along her lips. She was frightened, but in control of herself, and determined to make this a more unpleasant experience for Marguerite than for herself. Both could play womens' games with embarrasment of a rival, and Una felt that she would win this one. The realization tempered her anger at this deliberate humiliation by the human woman.

"Marguerite, I think we all can see that Una has nothing but knickers under that skirt," spoke Challenger. "Perhaps we should finish searching her and get underway."

Marguerite was frustrated by Una's lack of embarrassment and the way that the demoness was looking at her own man, and dropped the skirt. "I want this and my other clothes back when we reach the Treehouse, witch", she snarled. "You can wear your Indian outfit until you go back where you belong."

Then, "Boys, turn your backs while I check under her blouse. I wouldn't want you fellows getting excited and having a heart attack."

She turned Una and pulled the tail of her blouse free of the skirt. Blushing, the white men turned, Roxton first glancing to see that Finn had drawn her .38 and was covering Una. This time, she had checked that it was loaded. She had already examined her Bowie knife with a sharp six-inch blade and dark rosewood handle with nickle silver guard and butt cap. The knife had been a Christmas gift from Roxton, who had made it with a high degree of craftsmanship, worthy of the best London and Birmingham cutlers. Finn was very proud of it, and relied on it as a key item of survival equipment in the jungle. She felt much relieved to have her undamaged weapons back, but was still incensed that Zoth's demise had not been at her hand. She saw that Una was watchimg her warily, still not sure that Finn might not shoot her, despite Challenger's promise. Finn felt slightly better for making the demoness uneasy. She wanted to insult the witch, to taunt her. But to avoid dishonoring George Challenger, she held her tongue.

Marguerite ran her hands skillfully over Una's upper body, sliding them over her pert breasts and looking for anything concealed in her camisole, for Una wore no bra. She was surprised to find Una's nipples erect, and flushed, remembering the look that Una had given Roxton. But she realized that fright had probably caused the reaction as much or more than her legs being revealed to the men.

Finished, she pulled Una's hands behind her and asked for something to tie her. Someone offered a length of rope and Una's wrists were soon bound. She noted that Marguerite had been effective at that. Being restrained by a woman had not given her any latitude that she would have hoped for, having been tied by one of her own sex. If anything, Marguerite might have made the knots a little tighter than the men would have. So much for sisterhood, thought Una...

Una was soon leashed and the party began their return to the Treehouse, stopping first to look down at the remains of Zoth.

Salamine laughed. "Fools. Zoth's head is separated from his body. The physical connection is disturbed. If you will feed Una and me well tonight, I will tell you how to restore his chemistry enough for the Indian to replace him in this dimension."

"Very well," said Challenger. "But no funny business, or I will give you to Finn."

Salamine said, "Just shove the head back into contact with the rest of him. Simple, but the union must be made, that the molecules may unite. I need not touch him. You need fear no deceit."

"If that restores Zoth instead of the Indian," warned Finn. "All bets are off, and the three of you will die at once. Understand?" She had reloaded her Winchester and pointed it now at Salamine.

Salamine shrugged, and Una repeated that there was no trickery. She stared sadly down at the remains of he whom she had once loved.

Roxton and a Zanga man manuevered the head onto the body and stepped back, Roxton first removing a gunbelt with a Luger from Zoth's body. The belt also carried one of his favorite Bowie knives, he noted. And he recovered Zoth's hat, which belonged to Challenger, as did a gold Heuer watch and a good pocketknife.

He saw Marguerite frantically tugging off Zoth's boots. Challenger recognized them as his, and quickly joined her.

As they tugged the boots free and rose, the chemical reaction began and the body glowed golden, sparks flying off. The Zanga men mostly screamed and ran, as did one of the Indians whose bodies had been stolen by the demons. Everyone else stood frightened, their weapons ready.

But their fears were groundless. Zoth vanished, and in his place lay an astonished Indian. His brother ran over and began speaking to the man, who was on the verge of going into shock. They made him comfortable and gave him water and some food, when he could manage it. Malone produced a dark blue cotton blanket to warm him.

It had now grown dark, and Xma'Klee directed several men to cut wood for torches. When they had returned and the torches were lit, he advised his white friends that he and the Zanga, less Queen Sa'eera, if she wished to sleep in the Treehouse, would camp below. He ordered five men to hunt and to bring the meat to the Treehouse. At this time, it would be easy to ambush game on the trails leading to water, and these men were skilled hunters.

When all was ready, the party set out, torches lighting the night, lest anyone stumble or be bitten by a snake. Salamine and Una were made to march next to Malone and Veronica, with Roxton and Marguerite just behind. They were surrounded by Zanga warriors. Una thought, and decided to bide her time. But she had no intention of returning to the Void. She and Salamine could raise hell in this world on their own...

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Finally, the exhausted travelers reached the Treehouse. The Zanga camped below, well clear of the protective electric fence, and Xma'Klee came up briefly for a cup of coffee, which he had learned to like.

Sa'eera asked to use her guest suite, and of course, everyone agreed. The young, half-white queen was a popular person in the Treehouse. She was Finn's special friend, but all liked her.

Before anyone showered or put away their things, Una and Salamine were made to stand in the middle of the living room. Marguerite told the men to turn their backs, but to have their handguns ready if needed. Then, she and Finn drew their revolvers and covered Una as Veronica untied her. The demoness was made to strip and to don the Indian girl's clothes in which she had arrived. She was not allowed to don the sarong, lest it impair her sitting on the floor or let her hide anything. She was then tied again, hand and foot, and made to sit while Salamine received the same treatment.

"Wish you boys could see this," drawled Marguerite. "Demonesses they may be, but you fellows would be impressed by the way they look without clothes. I must say, they would be formidable seductresses, if that was their intention. They look absolutely human, and beautiful."

"Given your wardrobe, slut, I could entice any man I chose," affirmed Salamine. "I could take this Roxton from you, given time."

"I would not even need much time," bragged Una. "I know how to please men beyond what you mortal girls even dream of. But thank you for the compliment, Marguerite. That is your name?"

"That is her name, and you could not take me from her, " declared Roxton. He was flattered by the attitude of the otherworldly women, but firm in his love for his woman of this dimension.

"Why, thank you, John," said a surprised and very pleased Marguerite. "It's nice to hear that. Later tonight, I'll make it worth your while to have stuck with me." She laughed.

"Ahem." interrupted Challenger. "I think we all here are secure in our relationships. A swarm of heavenly houris could not divert my interest from Finn, who taught me what it is to love fully and unselfishly. But I think we need to finish securing the prisoners and prepare dinner. It has been a long day, and I am thirsty and famished, and Xma'Klee wants his coffee."

"What's a houri?", asked Finn. "Is it good?"

Marguerite laughed again. "Finn, an houri is one of those beautiful virgins allotted to Muslim men who enter their concept of Paradise. Yes, they would presumably tempt most men, I should think. George must be very loyal to you to have said that." She grinned.

"Big deal," Finn muttered. "What good is a virgin? If I couldn't outperform one, I'd be a pretty lousy lay. But George has a point. I don't call him 'Genius' for nothing. We need to finish up here. Stop playing with that loincloth and get it on, Salamine. We don't have all night. You want to eat, too, I guess?"

Salamine nodded, finished dressing, and turned for Veronica to bind her. She found herself as well secured as when tied by Marguerite. Still, she felt sure that by tomorrow, she could break these ropes, and when she did, these humans wouldn't be making wisecracks about her looks or her ability to arouse men. She envisioned herself plucking off Roxton's head and handing it to Marguerite to see her face before she slew the brunette beauty, too. The thought cheered her, though she would mourn for Zoth for centuries. As for Finn...she wanted to think for a time just what to do to the young blonde who had twice wrecked the demons' plans. Una lacked Zoth's talents with science and would need neither Challenger or his woman. She would enjoy tormenting both before they were allowed to die, horribly.

At last, all had cleaned up and put their weapons and clothing back as they had been before the demons had invaded the Treehouse that morning. Before he went down in the elevator to join his men, Xma'Klee came to look at the demon women. He bent and stared each in the face. Then, he made mysterious motions in the air before each of them, and departed.

"What was that savage doing, waving his hands at us?" demanded Salamine. "Does the simple fool think he can frighten us, demonesses? You, Marguerite. You are a sorceress of sorts, I gather. What did his gestures mean?"

Marguerite hugged her arms to her sides and shivered. "He just condemned you to death in the spirit world. I saw him do that once to a Zanga enemy before a battle between tribes. I wouldn't sneer at him, Salamine. He has great powers. I take him seriously. You had better, too."

The prisoners were fed one at a time, after the others had eaten. Then they were made to sit by a column supporting the roof and their ankles were fastened to it. Finn went upstairs and returned with two pair of handcuffs, one borrowed from Marguerite, who had blushed furiously when Finn had whispered to her, asking for the loan of them.

The demonesses were untied and Finn cuffed their wrists behind them. Then, made to sit back-to-back, their elbows were tied together, so that one girl was bound to the other. Locked in the cuffs, there was no risk that they might free one another.

Ned looked curiously at the handcuffs. "Where did those bracelets come from?" he asked.

"None of your flaming business, Mr. Malone," erupted Marguerite. "Especially as you're a reporter There are things that a girl doesn't want reported about her love life!" She went scarlet as Ned looked at Finn's smirking face and put two and two together. "Oh, you girls wear these sometimes? With Roxton and Challenger?" And he blushed as much as had Marguerite.

"What?" demanded Veronica, who had yet to learn all that her friends got up to with their men behind closed doors. Finn took her aside and whispered about playing slave girl and master, as Challenger and Roxton talked to each other, out of earshot of what was transpiring in the next room. Veronica looked puzzled and said that she'd have to ask more later, but that it did seem wise to lock the steel cuffs on the demons in case they might break or slip their ropes.

"We can get our cuffs back and just tie them again before they enter the Void, " Finn noted. "But I don't trust rope to hold them for too long after they get stronger tomorrow. I saw something in Una's eyes. She plans to try something, trust me. George was crazy to not let me kill her." She was serious, and Malone realized just how much Finn wanted the demons dead. He shivered a little. They must be very potent to concern Finn that much and to be hated by her so intensely. He would be glad when this Void thing was done and all was again normal in the Treehouse. Or, as normal as it got in this strange land...

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

The couples discussed the demonesses and decided to share watches, each couple taking a three hour vigil to keep an eye on their prisoners. The men offered to do this by themselves, gallantly letting their women sleep, but Veronica said that she was uneasy leaving the men alone with the captives.

"We don't know what charms they may use, and Ned and you other guys are suckers for a pretty face. They may pull something that will let them get an edge on you. Women can watch other women and not be taken in by the stuff they may try. I'm waiting up when Ned pulls his watch. Girls?"

Finn and Marguerite were amused and smiled at the mens' self concious expressions, but they agreed with Veronica. The Treehouse crew would watch the demonesses in pairs! Marguerite warned the captives that if they became verbally abusive or tried to flirt excessively with the men or taunted the women, that she would gag them. Salamine said nothing, but smiled and looked at Marguerite, then gave Roxton a salacious look. She moved her shoulders back and squirmed so that her breasts strained against their brief native halter top. Marguerite flushed, and reminded Salamine that she could apply a blindfold to prevent visual insolence, too! Roxton grinned back at Salamine, but took care that Marguerite not see his face when he did. He was confident that Salamine could not seduce him, but was amused by her confidence, and admired her pluck. Challenger noticed and hid a smile of his own.

After breakfast the next morning, the explorers gathered their packs and weapons, and the prisoners' ankles and elbows were untied. When they were able to walk freely, each was leashed by the waist and taken to the elevator. One demoness went down at a time, escorted by two Treehouse members.

When all were on the ground, the party passed through the electrical fence and set out for The Cave of the Void.

The Zanga sent scouts ahead, and surrounded the whites and their demon prisoners. Veronica and Ned took turns holding Salamine's leash, and Roxton and Marguerite shared the task of leading Una. Finn had declined to hold the leash of either. She was somewhat subdued, partly being tired from having pulled the last watch with Challenger, partly from emotional stress over the whole demon appearance issue and the recollection of what had happened to her the previous day.

Neither demoness was as sarcastic as some had expected, and Marguerite also held her tongue, lest she start anything that might cause trouble.

The trip was fairly long and they paused occasionally to rest. They had lunch, the Zanga mainly relying on dried meat and some fruit picked nearby. The whites had packed lunches and allowed each captive to eat separately. Finn passed a canteen to Una, making a note to clean this receptacle especially well when they returned.

As Una returned the canteen, Finn saw a glint of something sinister in her eyes, and reminded herself to be vigilant until the "women" had been forced to march into the light within the tunnel and were replaced by the missing Indian girls. She said nothing to anyone save Challenger. They all knew how she felt, and she didn't want to be chided for being excessively cautious. But she noticed Roxton watching her, and he soon sauntered over.

"Never fear, Nicole, we'll watch Una and her friend. This day will soon go better. You'll see." He smiled, and Finn smiled back, nodded, and joined Challenger and Sa'eera in eating.

At lunch, they were within a mile or so of the cave and had had no trouble from the evil ones. Instead of handcuffing Una again, Finn asked Roxton to tie her wrists instead, and Finn closed her cuffs and put them in her pack. Others watched, and Finn and Challenger blushed a bit, as did the Roxtons, for Marguerite had furnished the second set of steel bracelets, worn by Salamine. The girls' little secret was out: they had saved the cuffs used on them when Avery Burton and his slavers had held them for several days over a year before. (See, "A Night in the Lost World"" for that tale.) Finn knew deep within that Burton had touched and awakened a kinky streak in her. She sometimes acted this out with the man whom she actually loved, and Challenger, embarrassed at first, humored her, aware that when she played slave girl, she became especially wanton in her lovemaking.

Marguerite was less intrigued by the darker side that thrilled Finn on such occasions, using her handcuffs as more of a lark to add variety in the bedroom. She enjoyed wearing the bracelets at times, but certainly wished that her keeping them hadn't become public knowledge. Ned and Veronica would be puzzled, and goodness knew what the Zanga thought! With luck, they would just assume that the whites kept such things for occasions like this. Except for Sa'eera, who was clearly intrigued, and would no doubt worm the secret from Finn when time allowed...

Marguerite noticed the way that Finn stood next to Challenger now, her arm around his waist, leaning next to his ear as they talked. Their closeness and intimate little gestures got Finn some ribbing from the other girls, but Marguerite was once jealous of the obvious delight that Finn took in her love of this brilliant man. Now, she had given her own heart fully to John Roxton, and it freed her more than she had dreamed it might! Finn boasted that her love for Challenger was the affair of the ages, but Marguerite felt secure in the knowledge that she and John also had an uncomon bond, too seldom achieved by lovers.

She colored as she thought of John and of what he did to her, physically and emotionally. How fortunate she was to have him, in spite of all odds! He made her feel more complete than she had ever dreamed she might.

The brunette beauty was jarred from her reverie by Xma'Klee ordering everyone to clean up and get underway.

Marguerite had Salamine stand and unlocked her cuffs and blushing, put them in her pack. She felt Ned Malone's amused gaze on her and scowled as she took a length of cotton rope and bound Salamine's wrists. Salamine realized the cause of her embarrassment, and looked at her with barely suppressed laughter. Marguerite jerked her leash and announced that they were ready to depart.

Several hundred yards on, they left the forest and entered a long open glade, with grass low in places, waist high in others.
Two gray brocket deer that had been feeding in the shadows of the meadow saw, and bolted back into cover.

There were flowers, and Ned Malone stopped to pick a small bouquet for Veronica. She tied one in her hair and carried the others, kissing Ned for his thoughtfulness.

The tranquil lovliness of the scene and the fact that all had gone well lulled the explorers and the Zanga somewhat, and Una decided that this was as good a time as any to escape and wreak destruction as she fled. Her strength was coming to her now, if not complete, and she was superhuman in her muscles and her powers.

She strained against the rope on her wrists, and it snapped. She immediately turned to Finn and Challenger, determined to kill one or both. Finn had twice ruined demonic chances in this dimension, and the scientist was their leader and the creative genius of his kind. Both were suitable targets for her wrath and vengence. She flung out an arm and her fingetips projected a flame that would incinerate any human it struck.

Finn looked and saw the bolt of purple lightning as it left Una's hand, headed straight for her. "Genius, look out!" she cried, pushing Challenger out of harm's way!

The lightning barely missed Finn and Challenger, leaving a burned smell in the air. They rolled on the ground to evade a second bolt, Finn desperately cocking her Winchester. Ned saw and fired his rifle into Una's back. Then, as she fell, he put another .450 bullet into her brain as Veronica loosed an arrow into her.

Una shuddered and lay still. But Salamine seized the moment and snapped her own bonds. She picked up a Zanga warrior and threw him into two others, and tripped Ned Malone and gave him a heavy blow to his head as he tried to rise. Then, she ran for a copse of trees to the left.

She had some 75 yards to cover and she ran faster than a human could, although her full powers were not yet fully within her.

It was to no avail. Even as Marguerite Krux ran to a position from which she could take a clear shot, Una encountered a different threat, which proved fatal.

A Pteranodon had been cruising overhead, looking for prey. It had refrained from attacking the group of humans, but a single, running person was too tempting. The huge pterodactyl, one of an especially large subspecies that had evolved on the Plateau, swooped down and seized Salamine in its claws. Whipping its wings faster, the prehistoric beast strained skyward.

Finn cried out and ran to a place from which she could get an unobstructed shot at the animal. Marguerite was already in a safe position to shoot without hitting anyone, and she let fly with a bullet from her .275 Rigby, which she was carrying that day in lieu of her .303 Lee-Enfield sporting rifle..

The 175 grain softpoint bullet went through a wing, just outside the body, and the pterodactyl shattered the jungle air with a horrid scream. A shot from Roxton's .318 went home and the climbing beast was visibly jolted as the bullet just missed its heart. The bullet did cut the main artery to that heart. The huge flying reptile was effectively dead.

Reeling from the blow, the stricken aerial predator dropped the screaming, flailing Salamine as it passed over a piece of rocky ground at the base of a cliff. Boulders and smaller rocks strewed the surface, and the already wounded Salamine was broken greviously as she landed in that awful place, having fallen from over a hundred feet high.

The humans watched the pterodactyl glide on, flapping furiously, but clearly dying. When it had passed over the top of the cliff, they ran to Salamine.

The demoness was not yet dead, and she recognized the humans, calling out epithets in the foulest language that had ever assaulted Challenger's ears. Salamine struggled to raise her right hand, and purple lightning lanced out a foot or so as she strove to slay Veronica, who was closest to her. The blonde lovely scowled, nocked an arrow, and prepared to end Salamine's life.

"Wait, Honey," spoke Malone. "Let Finn finish her off. She deserves it." He was sensititive to Finn's ordeal in the future, having heard the basics, sans the intimate details that Finn had spoken only to Challenger, and less comprehensively, to Veronica, her virtual sister.

Veronica nodded, and Finn walked over, drawing her Smith & Wesson .38. She handed her Winchester to Ned.

"See this, Salamine?," she asked. "It's the gun that Una stole from me and wanted to use on me. Instead, I'll use it to put you out of your misery and get back that poor Indian girl whose presence in this world you hijacked. Any last words?"

Salamine glared, and muttered a curse. Finn saw that she was trying to lift her arm again, and purple light flared around her fingers. Finn leaned over and put a bullet between Salamine's eyes. The demoness jerked once, then lay still.

Finn holstered her gun, then knelt by the body and leaning on her recovered Winchester, began to weep. Veronica stroked her hair, murmuring quietly to her. Challenger walked over, handed his rifle to Malone to hold for him, and raised Finn gently to her feet. She buried her head into his shoulder, and stood shaking as she wept.

"We must move, Darling," Challenger said, and pulled Finn some distance away as the body of the dead demoness began to glow. Finn realized what was happening, and turned to see the evil entity vanish and the form of a frightened Indian maiden appear in her stead.

The other Indians from the foreign tribe came up now, leading a second girl, who had replaced the dead Una. She was shaking, although held by her husband.

The girl who had just returned from the Void screamed, staring at the assembly of Zanga and the strange white people, one of whom was female and also obviously weeping, held by a tall older man with a copper beard.

Challenger led Finn aside and helped her to sit, the Winchester leaned against a log by her side. He sat with her, and Veronica came over and talked quietly to her best friend, consoling her.

In time, Finn reached out and took Veronica's hand and squeezed it. "Vee, please give me a few moments with George, and I'll be ready to leave. Go see if we can do anything for those Indians. Okay? But thanks for coming over and saying what you did." She smiled wanly, and Veronica smiled back, squeezed her hand again, and went to join Ned as he nursed his head. Una had struck him a fairly forceful blow, and he was slightly dizzy.

Finn cried some more, held close by Challenger. Then, she wiped her eyes, and he helped her to rise and pick up her rifle. They joined the others, Roxton coming over and squeezing Finn's shoulder.

"This is ended, Nicole," said Challenger. "You have avenged what happened to your society and to your family and to yourself. I hope the death of the last of these evil demons will sooth your troubled soul."

Finn replied, "Genius, a DINOSAUR got Zoth, not me! But I helped to hunt that bastard, and that was some satisfaction. And I finished off Salamine, who did some rough stuff to me and was one of his minions. That's some vindication. I think that when I put this behind me, I can live without the hate and stress that wanting to kill Zoth bred in me. I already feel better inside, just knowing that these creeps are dead and we got back the Indians they replaced. That's like giving life to someone who was drowning. I feel good about that." She glanced at the group of Indians holding one another and talking quietly as they relived their ordeal and reunited.

She looked at her Winchester, and reminded that she had fired several shots at the pterodactyl, reloaded it, then reloaded the fired cartridge in her .38. "I'm going to keep this fired case," she declared, holding up the empty brass cartridge that had slain Salamine. "It'll give me some closure when I hold it and think of how she looked as I pulled the trigger. I know that's sick, but I hated these demons like you can't believe! I think I'll heal in time, but I want this for a souvenir of today." She put the fired case in her belt pouch, with the loaded rounds. "Lets' go over by that tree and I want you to hold me for awhile. I need that right now."

Challenger nodded and took her hand and led her aside, and they sat beneath the tree, leaning into one another, whispering endearments and reliving the past two days.

The others saw to the Indians, assuring them that the Zanga meant them no harm, and would send them home from this point, with food and water for their journey. "You will have great tales to tell your people," noted Xma'Klee. "If any doubt you, let them come under a flag of truce and parley with me. I am Xma'Klee, and I am Paramount Shaman of All the Zanga. I will tell them that what you say is so, and that these things did happen, however strange. Go in peace, but do not return to that cave, which is taboo to us." (He had planned to halt his own men and Sa'eera some distance from the Cave of the Void, letting his white friends escort the demonesses from that point.)

In time, Finn and Challenger rose, and Marguerite and John and the Malones came to stand by them, sharing their sympathy and love. Marguerite reached out and caressed Finn's arm, looking into her friend's eyes. "All right, Nicole?" she asked, and Finn knew that the other woman really cared how she had fared. She felt a suffusion of warmth surge through her, and hugged the British brunette and thanked her for caring.

Then, the Treehouse crew and their Zanga friends set out for home.

Two days later, all had settled down at the Treehouse, but issues remained. Challenger asked Veronica to help him prepare a picnic lunch and took Finn with him to a wooded slope above the Treehouse, where they could enjoy solace and talk. They had urgent business to discuss.

Both avoided a crucial issue as they ate and chatted about their lives and companions. Challenger cast a covetous eye on a pickle in Finn's lunch and inquired whether she wanted it.

She laughed, "Yes, actually, I do, George. Pregnancy does it to me, maybe. But I had Vee pack a couple of others, because I knew that you'd ask. Johnny does that to me when we hunt sometimes, too. Men!" She passed him a dill pickle and they relaxed, yet both felt an underlying stress.

"I suppose that I had better just come out with it and ask," said Challenger after a moment. "Now that Zoth is dead, do you want to return to your own time? Frankly, I cannot guarantee that I can prepare such a cave again just the same, or recall the exact coordinates that I used, which were meant to get the Roxtons and me to London, not to New Amazonia. But I am honor bound to restore you to your family and your century if I can. Do you want to try, knowing that there is a grave risk that all may not go well?"

"I've thought about this a lot, Genius, ever since we finished off those demonesses. And I've reached a decision. The risk in returning me to what we HOPE will be a restored New Amazonia and to my family is too great. I can't ask you to try. And after deep thought, I don't want to go, even if we can manage it. Maybe to visit and introduce you to my family, but who knows what they'll be like, or if they'll even know me? And what could you do in that time, if you stayed with me? I fit better into your time than you would in mine. George, my family is here." She jabbed a thumb at Challenger and patted her womb. "I love you so much that I can't even dream of giving you up, and we haven't even seen our child yet. I know now that I AM pregnant; the symptoms are just too persistant and I still haven't had my period. I think, Lover, that we are with child." She laughed. "And I like it! So, it looks as if you're stuck with me, Genius. I'm yours as long as you'll have me. I'll stand by you, whatever we have to endure with Jessie. We've discussed that. If we do get off this Plateau, I want to be your woman, whatever society thinks. But can your career stand it? Maybe we should ask Ned about emigrating to America. He certainly thinks highly of his country." She smiled, amused at Ned's patriotism and the way they teased him about it.

"No, Darling, we should go home to Britain, and see what happens. I think we shall weather the storm, and only if we cannot cope should we consider going to another country. I feel sure that my inventions wil sell, and we have the gold and jewels from Xochilenque. (See the Fic, "The Crystal Skull".) We shall be well off; if I am fired from the University, we won't starve, by any means. But I dread telling Jessie, who has done no wrong, that I want to have a different wife. I will offer her support and any other aid that I can, of course, if she will accept. But divorce is preferable to living a lie, and trying to hide a relationship with the woman whom I cherish beyond what I ever thought I could feel for another human." He leaned over and kissed his companion.

She kissed him back. "Oh, George! I love you so much that I can't begin to express it, even after you taught me all of those big words!" Finn giggled and offered him another pickle. "Want it? A symbol of my love!" And she giggled again as the two hugged and he gently touched her stomach, low.

She held his hand there and said, "Before too much longer, I won't be able to wear my gunbelt. We'll have to think of something else. Maybe Johnny will make me a shoulder holster like he wears sometimes. "

They talked more as they finished lunch, then strolled back to the Treehouse, rifles slung on their shoulders to let them hold hands as they walked.

That night, after they told the others at dinner that they would not be trying to send Finn back to her own day, each of the Treehouse family came over and embraced them, saying how glad they were that she would stay with them. "We love you, Sis!" teased Veronica, and they all did, and Finn knew it. She felt rosy and wonderful.

Later, in the privacy of their room, Finn and Challenger lay in one another's arms after an exhausting session of lovemaking. Finn had taunted him, "You'd better fuck my brains out while you can, Genius, before my tummy gets too big for you to want me!"

George laughed and told her that he would want her as far as safety allowed. "You'll not be getting any respite from me for some months yet, Darling. I feel quite sure that you will remain desirable even to the point when it becomes medically unsafe to have my way with you."

"Really, Genius?" She was pleased. "I figured that in three or four months, you'd tell me that you wished I'd have the danged kid so that I'd get back in shape and be fit for you to lust after again. Hey: even after I get to the point that we can't go all the way, we can still fool around. And being pregnant will at least give me bigger boobs. Maybe they'll last after I have the child. You've been totally cool about my being a little small topside, but I know you probably won't mind me having bigger ones. And I won't have to feel so jealous of what Vee has for Ned to play with." She snickered. "He'd be so grossed out if he knew that I'd said that...George, we need to discuss baby names."

In time, they fell asleep, clinging to one another, her head on his shoulder as slumber claimed them for the night.

Finn slept better than she had in months, the too vivid dreams of New Amazonia and what had happened there no longer at the forefront of her conciousness. Zoth was dead, and her nightmares would lessen, if never completely leave her. And she had found love and family in a new century for her. Life was good, and would get better, she mused, just before shutting her eyes.

Epilogue:

When it was time, Finn's baby arrived, with the mother attended by two Zanga midwives sent by Xma'Klee, and her friends Sa'eera and Veronica at her side with the anxious father holding her hand as she struggled to give birth.

When the explorers did eventually find a way off the Plateau (which is another story that we may visit someday), they found in Rio de Janeiro that Jessie Challenger had died of influenza in London in the winter of 1921. They were free to marry, but George Challenger could not help but feel a sense of loss and guilt on hearing of his first wife's death. His friends helped him through this, and he married Finn in the British Embassy.

Two-year-old Arthur John George Challenger sat on Ned Malone's lap in the audience as a vicar pronounced Nicole Elizabeth Finnegan and George Edward Challenger man and wife. The reverend had made his feelings known that children should not witness their parents exchanging their marital vows, and that wedding should precede bedding! Nonetheless, he had consented to marry the couple.

Lord John Roxton, the XVIIIth Earl of Avebury, had been best man, with Veronica Malone and Marguerite Krux filling the role of bridesmaids. Ned and Veronica had married in Manaus after they had travelled downriver to that city, and had tarried there for a few days as Marguerite arranged to sell some of their loot from Xochilenque, after which they had bought new clothes to replace those that had become worn on tbe Plateau.

Finn wore a simple, if elegant, floral summer frock, and all swore that no bride had ever looked lovlier. "Although I intend to when I get Roxton to the altar", explained Marguerite Krux smugly. She and John had decided to marry formally in Avebury Cathedral, with Finn and George Challenger in attendance. The Malones would return to the Plateau, but would see their friends occasionally over the years as the Challengers and the Roxtons returned to the scene of their meeting. (However, the Roxtons decided to marry initially in the embassy to enable them to travel as husband and wife on the voyage home.)

The first child of George and Finn Challenger proved a prodigy, as was his famous father. By World War Two, he was a fighter pilot, serving in the RAF as German bombers sought to bring his homeland to its knees. His other wartime adventures can be read in the Fic, "Thunderbolt Over Burma", where one can also meet his sister, Caroline Challenger. (See the Mature-rated Fiction on this board.) And you can read about both the Challenger siblings and the Roxton children in, "Of Families, Shopping, and Shikar" on this board.

On his father's death in 1948, Arthur became the Second Baron Challenger, the father having been created as First Baron Challenger in 1936. By the 1950's, Sir Arthur Challenger, KCMG, DSO, DFC and Bar, MBE, Order of the Star of India, etc., etc. had become Air Chief Marshal of the Royal Air Force, and was air commander of NATO forces for several years. He retired to run the family businesses, and to visit his sister and her American husband in Texas, where his mother had settled after her beloved spouse's death. Sir Arthur and his wife, Astrid, continued to live in the family manor in Kent, and had several children of their own. But that is another tale.

In all, he did well for a child born on a jungle plateau. But he was a Challenger and born to excel, as his parents often told anyone with the patience to listen...

The End