Andre - Page 164

You walk for a short distance through the bowels of Hell before coming to a large iron door. The slave leading you stops and raises a hand, gesturing toward the towering wall of dark metal before you. A small golden ring hangs from the door just above your head, as though it is a door handle made for someone much taller than you.

"This must be where the skeleton lives," you tell you the slave, looking for some hint of an answer. The stitched creature doesn't respond. Holding the golden axe in your left hand, you reach up and grab the ring. The door swings open on noisy hinges that creak in protest with every inch they give.

Finally, the door opens enough for you to fit through. The room beyond is unlike anything you could ever imagine.

Thick pillows are strewn about the lavish chamber next to huge plates of exotic looking foods. Art pieces hang from the walls under the warm glow of mood lighting. Despite your failing grade in art history your freshman year at Coventry Hills, you recognize most of the works. Starry Night, Mona Lisa, The Persistence of Memory, A Sunday Afternoon on the Isle of La Grande Jatte, and dozens more you can't name line the walls. Above all of them, hung on the far wall, is a painting you instantly recognize. The Apotheosis of War by Vasily Vereschagin.

You gaze up at the painting that dominates the entire chamber. A mountain of skulls against a desert background gazes back at you. Crows fly about the macabre scene, lazily pulling strips of flesh from the pile of remains.

You rip your eyes from the painting and finally investigate the rest of the room. What... you mutter under your breath. Maybe you didn't notice it before, but dozens of other people are in the room with you. Reclining on the plush cushions scattered around the room are women of all types. A woman with soft blue eyes and skin like fresh snow brushes up against your arm. She is sitting on a cushion to your right with her legs folded behind her, exposing her bare back and thighs. Her long auburn hair cascades around her gentle face and she purrs, beckoning you with a hand.

Everywhere you look, naked women look back at you with lustful eyes. Despite their wildly varying skin tones, hair colors, and other attributes, they are all undeniably beautiful. In fact, each women that holds your gaze for more than a moment appears to be the most beautiful creature you have ever seen - until your eyes drift to the next, equally stunning body. Every one of them holds out a hand and motions for you to join them on one of the soft cushions.

You mind swims in a haze of mixed emotions. You could stay here a long time. A long time....

What do you do?

To close your eyes and run for the exit at the far end of the chamber, turn to page 187.

To search for the most beautiful woman in the room, turn to page 193.

To accept the hand of the pale woman beside you and lie down on her cushion, turn to page 134.