Bo turned in the blonde's arms and stared. "Egypt? I thought you only needed two hours? And I don't have a passport." She was panicking a bit.
Lauren chuckled softly. She really was becoming fond of seeing Bo flustered. "Relax, you don't need a passport and we will be using a travel fae, so we will be there in the blink of an eye."
Bo still eyed her suspiciously. "A travel fae? Are you making that up?"
Shaking her head, Lauren laughed openly at Bo. "No, there is a species of fae called Insallateeumnirgerous who possess the ability to transport themselves anywhere in the world instantly. The stronger ones can also transport someone who is touching them. And since no one can pronounce their real name, everyone just calls them travel fae. They are rare, but we have 3 who work for the Dark and one specifically dedicated to me for when I need her."
"Fascinating," was all Bo could say. The fae world still amazed her.
Their attention was redirected when there was a quiet knock on the door followed by Vex and two women. Moving back into the apartment, Bo followed Lauren who went to greet everyone. The two women appeared older, maybe 60 years old, and very petite. They had light grey hair and slightly Scandinavian features and were both dressed in dark slacks with flowy blue blouses. Lauren turned and indicated to Bo, "Igrette and Eskala, this is Bo Dennis, she will be accompanying me today. Bo, this is Igrette and Eskala, the two travel fae who will be bringing us to our destination." Bo smiled at both women, "nice to meet both of you."
Turning to Vex, Lauren asked if everything was ready. Vex nodded, "Kevin and Roger are in place waiting."
"Great, then if you are ready Igrette and Eskala, let's go,"
The woman closest to Lauren nodded and moved to place her hand on her shoulder, as the other one did the same to Bo. Seeing Bo a little unsure, she tried to set her at ease. "Relax Bo, close your eyes and open them when I tell you. You won't feel anything, I promise." Bo still looked nervous, but did what Lauren asked and closed her eyes.
About ten seconds later she heard Lauren tell her to open them, and she almost couldn't believe her eyes. She hadn't felt anything, yet she was no longer in Lauren's apartment, but rather some very large, very dark and very old room. Igrette and Eskala were walking away to a small alcove and Bo turned to see Lauren watching her with curiosity. "Where are we?" she asked.
Lauren smiled and walked over to take her hand. "We are in the Temple of Sekhmet in what used to be known as Taremu, an ancient city of Egypt."
Bo nodded and looked around, fascinated by the sheer size of the room they were in. She felt Lauren tugging her hand so she followed her around to the edge of the room where she could see dozens of statues erected in alcoves along the outer wall. All of the statues reflected the same figure – a woman's body and the head of a lioness – but some were standing and some were sitting. Bo wanted to reach out and touch them, but she wasn't sure of the etiquette for visiting an ancient temple, so she tucked her free hand into her chest and let Lauren pull her along with the other one. Lauren was moving slowly so she had a chance to take in the room they were in. It was dark at the end they were in, lit only by some torches hanging on the wall like sconces. The other end of the room was bathed in light however, due to a very large skylight and Bo assumed this was where Lauren was leading her to.
Aside from her fear of touching, Bo was also afraid to speak. That was proving a more difficult urge to control though, and was making her a bit fidgety. Sensing this, Lauren stopped and turned to her, her eyes warm and content, tiny gold flecks glistening within them from the flames on the wall. "You can touch and speak Bo. In the ancient world, most temples were social centers and always very loud and busy. It is unusual for a temple like this to be so quiet."
"Where are all the people? Do tourists not come here?"
Lauren chuckled, tugging on Bo's hand to move her forward again. "This temple is actually 75 feet underground. It was buried about 600 years ago and is only accessible via travel fae or a secret entrance inside a cave about a quarter mile away, an entrance that is protected at all times by Dark fae guards."
"So how did you find it if it was buried?"
"By luck and by accident. Once I realized the type of fae I was, I did what I do best and dove into researching everything I could about Sekhmet. Evony was very supportive and gave me access to everything the Dark had, but it wasn't very much. I had read about this temple on a few history sites so I decided to come out here and see if I could find it hoping it would give me some insight into my new powers. Bruce and I came out here and all we found was sand. We had been walking for hours, I was dejected and exhausted when a sand storm hit. We ducked into a nearby cave for shelter, and just happened to stumble upon the entrance. I don't believe in fate, but I can't explain how lucky that was for us."
"Unfortunately, the temple was in pretty bad shape and there wasn't anything to help me get a better understanding of myself. But I did notice I felt stronger and healthier when was here, like I was recharging my batteries. I asked Evony and she agreed to clean out and restore the temple, so long as it remained hidden from humans."
As they got closer to the head of the room, Bo noticed that there was what appeared to be an altar bathed in the light from the skylight above. Curious about that, she asked about it.
"Sekhmet was the daughter of Ra, the Sun God. Most of the time, I can get by with soaking up the rays to recharge myself, so to speak – one reason I love the balcony on my apartment. But when I expend a lot of energy like I did with the lycanthropes and when it has been cloudy for so long, I need to come here and get a stronger power up. The temple itself gives me a lot of power, but when combined with the sun, it's the most potent."
"So you feed on the sun and the temple?"
"Sekhmet was a goddess, and was worshipped. People came here and prayed to her, sacrificed animals to her, made their life about pleasing her," Lauren shrugged. "As far as I can tell, I feed off of all that residual energy that is still contained within this temple to her."
Bo nodded and became very quiet as she processed these new facts.
Lauren watched her, her insecurities starting to cause worry that Bo's silence wasn't a good sign. "You are very quiet Bo, is everything okay?" she finally asked.
"Yeah, just processing….it's funny, I had worked myself up that you had a crazy way of feeding – maybe not puppies but something, I don't know, more scary or badass. I was just expecting badass."
Lauren stopped and looked quietly at Bo for a few moments, her heart plunging in disappointment. Here it was, the time when Bo realized Lauren wasn't what she wanted and walked away.
"Bo, I am the furthest thing from badass. If that is what you want, then I am probably not the right girl for you. At my core I am a shy, awkward, nerdy doctor. The whole bitchy Morrigan persona is just a façade to keep myself alive. That isn't who I am," Lauren said quietly, dreading Bo's reaction. Of course the beautiful succubus wanted some kickass girlfriend. Lauren was foolish to think she would be happy with an awkward geek like herself.
Bo looked up and saw the heartbreak in Lauren's eyes. That wasn't what she was trying to say and she cursed herself for not being better able to articulate her feelings. "No, hey hey," she said gently, cupping Lauren's chin so she could look her in the eyes. "I don't want badass; I didn't mean it like that. I was just stupid and nervous and working myself up in case it was something else. Lauren, I know we just met and I don't know you that well yet, but I love who you are when you are comfortable being yourself. Not who you are when you have your Morrigan mask on, but who you are when we are alone together. Your geek speak is honestly a huge turn-on and I find your awkwardness adorable. I don't want you to change one bit."
Lauren's smile practically lit up the whole temple and Bo felt her stomach flip with joy at it. At some point they were both going to get over their awkwardness and insecurities and they were going to be magnificent. She couldn't wait.
Grabbing Bo's hand once again, she tugged her forward to continue their journey to the altar. "Come on Bo, let's get to the altar so I can finish and we can go home." Bo smiled and let herself be dragged along, her heart doing flips of joy at Lauren's use of the word 'home'.
Watching Lauren as they moved closer to the altar, Bo noticed her aura start to shift. With each step they took, it shimmered and grew brighter, the colors shifting between warm yellow and vibrant orange. Normally Lauren's aura was a soft red, something that brought Bo comfort when she was enveloped within it. When she was aroused, she glowed like the sun, lighting Bo on fire with desire for her.
Now her aura was like flames – the yellow and oranges mixing together like ethereal fire, and Bo felt her succubus stirring in reaction. It was mesmerizing watching the colors play against each other, standing out against the dark grey backdrop of the temple itself.
Bo couldn't help her eyes shifting to their iridescent blue, and Lauren immediately noticed the change, stopping about two feet from the altar, just at the very edge of light pouring in. She stared at Bo who was staring back, her succubus now at the surface and roaring at her to take Lauren, whose aura was off the charts. She clenched her fists together so tightly her nails dug into her palms, but it was the only way should could even remotely keep herself in check.
Lauren felt her arousal soar as she continued to watch Bo's glowing eyes. She felt the power of Sekhmet coursing through her and wanted nothing more than to rip Bo's clothes off and claim her. She could see Bo holding herself back and she didn't want that, but she needed a few more minutes in the temple to finish her feeding. Plus, she wanted Bo to see her in regular fae form, the last bit of herself she needed to share.
Her eyes still on Bo, she took one step away and into the light. As soon as the sunlight hit her, her whole body came alive with the power of the ancient gods. She knew that every bruise, ache, injury and blemish she had would be healed. She also knew that her features had shifted, and she now resembled the statues built to Sekhmet that adorned the entire temple. Her hair remained unchanged, but her face was now that of a lion, covered in a soft golden fur, mouth full of dangerous incisors and her eyes dark and feral.
She turned those eyes towards Bo who was staring back at her with an intensity that made her clench her legs together. God the things that woman did to her, even with just a look. "This is me Bo, my fae form. Is this something you can accept and be with?"
Bo closed the distance between them, being careful not to touch Lauren, knowing if she did she wouldn't be able to hold her succubus back. Standing in the light with Lauren, being so close though, she could still feel the power radiating off of her, swirling in her aura. It wasn't the same as other fae she had encountered though. Other fae she could feel strength or anger or evil in their auras – Lauren's was different. There was definitely strength there, but it was deeper and more relaxing than with other fae – Bo felt protected and safe within it, as if she knew nothing could harm her when she was near it.
"Lauren," she husked out, her arousal evident in her voice. "You are beautiful. I want you in all your forms." And she did. Lauren was the most beautiful woman she had ever met, even now with her golden hair framing her feline features.
Bo was pretty sure Lauren's aura inched up a few more notches before she stepped out of the sunlight and called out to one of the travel fae. As soon as she was out of the light, her features returned to normal, but her aura remained off the charts. Bo was pretty sure she had drawn blood in her palms trying to restrain herself from pouncing on Lauren.
As the women approached, she didn't even look at Bo, giving the order immediately. "Take us home."