Harrison tried to call out, but his weak cries were drowned out by Number 66's loud sighs and moans. Anyone listening at the door would have heard only a woman in the throes of passion-an unexceptional sound for this type of establishment.

Harrison pleaded.

"Shh," Number 66 said. "You're about to be given a gift of ecstasy few experience."

Her body throbbed and sucked around his cock and he felt a powerful erotic charge building inside him. It felt like the force was coming from the whole of her body and he felt as though the whole of his insides were gripped by the suction.

"Yes, I can feel it," she said.

Little shivers across her buttocks and abdomen were the only outward sign of the steadily building force tugging at Harrison through his cock.

"You're right at the edge."

Harrison was bubbling up. It felt like his little man hadn't seen use in weeks, months, years even. All that pent up frustration was going to be released in one overpowering explosion.

"Yes, a little more."

She closed her eyes in concentration. Her fleshy vagina contracted around his cock and sucked on it with steady pulses that travelled up into his body. No use. He couldn't hold on any longer.

"And..."

Number 66 gave a loud sigh of satisfaction as Harrison's resistance broke and he came. His cry of release tailed off into a whimper. The pleasure he felt was a lie. The ejaculation was wrong-too thick, too strong, too much. He felt weird inside too. Number 66's moved against him. Her whole body worked as a pump as she sucked on him, slurped him up like- schlur schlur -spaghetti.

Her breasts were expanding. Her butt was expanding. Her whole body was swelling. Like a leech. Like she was filling up. Like she was filling up with him. And his body was lying to him, telling him this was the greatest sexual release ever even as she emptied him out. And then he was no longer caring as the sensation of bliss overwhelmed all his other thoughts.

Harrison's vision grew dark and his last sigh of pleasure degenerated into a rattle.

Number 66's body kept working, kept sucking. The only sounds were her little satisfied moans as she sucked and sucked until her victim was completely hollowed out.

She lay there for a while, face flushed and panting in pleasure. Then she stood up, walked over to the back wall and rang a little bell.

Two young men entered. They put their hands together and bowed to her as if praying to a deity. They picked up the hollowed-out corpse and carried it away.

Corpulent from her feed, she climbed into the large bath in the corner of the room. Here she would lie dormant. It would be sixty-six days before she needed to feed again.

Rogue vs. Succubus Lamia Most people feared the dark. Not Nai Giccam. The dark was his friend. Shadows were his cloak, his shield. Fools placed their faith in metal. They covered themselves in heavy plates, carried big slow blades, hid behind bigger shields. Metal could be broken, could be pierced, had weaknesses-chinks-a smart foe could find and exploit. Nai preferred shadows. Arrows could not a hit a target that couldn't be seen. Blades could not cut a target that wasn't there. And lawgivers could not dispense justice on a man that didn't exist.

That latter one was especially useful considering Nai's chosen line of work.

Nai was a thief. He was more than that. He was the greatest thief in all of Vitalia.

Oh, the tavern bards might sing songs about the legendary Velkani the Veiled. Nai listened to them with a wry smile. He knew the real truth. A man who could steal the items Velkani had stolen was a great thief. A man who could steal the items Velkani had stolen and remain so secretive even the bards didn't know their name was greater still.

Tonight Nai was going to steal a treasure even the great Velkani had baulked at plundering. Tonight Nai was going to steal the Heart of Aphrossi.

He stood on a high rooftop overlooking the bustling city of Bollinbrocco. A full moon, bloated and silver, floated in the night sky above him. Below him people scurried through the shadowy streets. They held up lamps as shields, terrified of what lay beyond their little circles of light. Up here in the darkness Nai was lord of all he surveyed.

He thought of his erstwhile companions. Peakjohn would have drunk himself into a stupor by now. Seferia, their pretty but hopelessly naive mage, would no doubt be trying out her limited charms on Talbott. The poor wench was too innocent to realise their lean ranger preferred to share his pleasures with members of the same sex. Nai knew the stoic woodsman was attracted to him and was content to let the other man think the possibility was open even though Nai's sexual proclivities did not run that way. Talbott was handy with a bow and possessed strong wilderness survival skills. If things went wrong and tough choices needed to be made, Nai was confident Talbott would make the right choice.

A while back, while questing in the untamed Vildnja lands, the group had sworn an oath of fellowship. That oath included the equal sharing of all treasures their adventuring discovered.

All oaths were negotiable as far as Nai was concerned. It irked him to split a prize four ways when only one did the work. What the others didn't know wouldn't hurt them.

Nai didn't need them here. The city was his wilderness and here he had all the survival skills he needed. His only companions on the rooftops were bats and gargoyles.

Nai looked at his target-the Temple of Aphrossi, Goddess of Love. Even at this late hour the temple was doing brisk business, and business it was. The temple maidens of Aphrossi were renowned for their enthusiastic devotion to their calling. The temple of Aphrossi was more than a place of worship; it was also the largest whorehouse in Bollinbrocco. It was no surprise that the worship of Aphrossi was the second wealthiest religion after the worship of Midazzi, the chosen god of the moneylenders.

He scanned the rounded domes and curtained alcoves that comprised the upper floors of the temple. Outwardly it seemed as though that wealth had been frittered away on fripperies of opulence and decadent finery. He saw no defences, magical or otherwise. The only guards he saw were a pair of giant, bald eunuchs standing either side of the main entrance.

Unfortunately for Aphrossi, Nai had no intention of entering through the front door. He took aim with a specialised crossbow and fired an equally specialised bolt across the gulf that separated his vantage point from the pleasure temple. The bolt trailed a strong cord of black silk. After checking the bolt was firmly lodged in the masonry of the other side, Nai secured his end and then crossed the gap between buildings hand-over-hand like a monkey. He landed silently on the roof of his target and looked around.

The building might look as soft and as inviting as a fat merchant's pleasure barge looked to a pirate, but that didn't mean it was without defences. Even the most uncouth bandits knew not to molest the sacred temple maidens of Aphrossi. That reputation must have been earned at some point.

Nai was more than a mere bandit. That was why his employer had hired him.

"I want you to steal the Heart of Aphrossi," the elegant veiled figure lounging on a luxurious divan asked Nai.

Her name was Madam Esqetti and she was rumoured to be the most powerful individual in Bollinbrocco's infamous pleasure district. So powerful that even the notoriously corrupt ruler of Bollinbrocco, Lord Vingsloteni, reputedly stayed out of her affairs. This was the first time Nai had met her. Her face was obscured by a black veil and she wore an elaborate-and expensive-gown of overlapping velvets. Nai could ascertain nothing about her age or beauty. His first impression yielded no impressions. That meant he'd assume the rumours were true and treat her as someone not to be trifled with.

Two bare-breasted beauties had greeted him at the entrance to Madam Esqetti's legendary bordello and led him up to this opulent room on the top floor. Curtains of exotic fabrics, held in place with chains of precious metal, decorated the walls. Rare furs and plush cushions were positioned around the room. The bare-breasted beauties had left him alone with the infamous Madam, at which point she'd made her request.

"Okay," he answered.

Madam Esqetti laughed. "Most thieves would baulk at such a task."

Nai gave her a rakish smile.

"I'm not most thieves. I'm the best thief."

"They said you weren't short of confidence," Madam Esqetti said. "I hope your abilities match your bravado. Weakling failures are of no use to me."

She produced a roll of parchment and unfurled it on top of a small table. Nai guessed it was plans to the Temple of Aphrossi. He listened as she gave him information on guard numbers, patrols and other defensive measures he'd need to overcome. Nai was impressed with her thoroughness. He listened to her proposed plans, stopping her occasionally to interject his own suggestions.

"Aren't you going to ask me why I want the Heart of Aphrossi and what I intend to do with it?" Madam Esqetti asked him once they'd gone through the plan.

"No. I'm interested in only the gold you'll give me for bringing you the Heart of Aphrossi."

"You're not curious at all?"

"Not at all."

"How very professional."

"There is one additional thing I require for this task..." Nai said.

Below the curved lip of the roof, gauzy silk curtains billowed in the night breeze and Nai heard sighs and soft laughter as the temple maidens demonstrated their devotion to Aphrossi. Nai could gain egress through one of these bedrooms, but his employer had advised against it. The top floors of the temple were the preserve of Aphrossi's finest and most highly-trained temple maidens-women of incomparable beauty drawn from all across the world and tutored exclusively in the arts of giving pleasure. Only the wealthiest of donors were allowed access. Security was enforced by gigantic implacable eunuchs from the island of Chuunse to ensure the curious and undesirable were kept out. Maybe Nai would return here afterwards with the coin obtained from this job. Lucanni, the God of Rogues and Thieves, would smile at the irony.

Madam Esqetti recommended he traverse the lower west dome until it joined with the high wall that ringed the pleasure gardens. The lower levels were open to anyone willing to donate to the Goddess. The security was more concerned with policing rowdy revellers with too much wine in their bellies. Far easier for Nai to pass through undetected.

The gilded lower west dome was polished and treacherous. A lesser thief might have lost their footing and plunged to their death below. Nai was not a lesser thief; he was the finest thief in all Vitalia.

He waited for the full moon to hide behind some clouds and then scampered across the top of the wall like a rat until he reached the south-west corner. According to his employer the plants were thickest here and would hide his entrance.

Nai dropped a rope and shimmied down the inside wall. He landed and crouched in the dense undergrowth. A strong blend of natural perfumes rose up around him. There were rumours the Daughters of Aphrossi selected plants based on their aphrodisiac properties and had spent generations cultivating them to increase their potency. Nai's manhood stirred beneath his robes and he ignored it.

For a moment he thought he'd been spotted. This section of the garden, while quiet, was not completely empty. A young couple sat on a bench in the middle of an intimate clearing. Nai drew his dagger. Then he put it away. The two lovebirds were too lost in each other to be aware of his presence. He left them behind and slipped along the inside of the wall.

Ahead was a collection of wooden frames surrounded in both billowing silk and steam. Hot springs welled up within the temple grounds to form a series of pools. Each pool was partitioned off with curtains of silk. Through one Nai saw a fat merchant lounging against the side of a pool while two nubile temple maidens-one fair-skinned, the other darkest ebony-soaped and ran their hands over his shiny pink skin. The air was thick with steam and the sweet scent of the gemelflower blossom.

Nai's erection had become a nuisance encumbrance. After this business was over he would get it attended to in one of Madam Esqetti's pleasure houses. He was regretting not doing it beforehand. The thick soup of arousing odours had put fur on the inside of his skull. He was so distracted he nearly blundered right into the path of a thick-muscled Bruynvaldian barbarian with a buxom temple maiden on each arm.

Nai slipped into the shadows and stayed there until the monstrous barbarian had made his way over to one of the pools. Nai waited until both the way and his head was clear, and then entered the temple building proper through a decorative archway.

Inside wasn't much better. The perfume was stronger here and joined with aphrodisiac incense that wrapped his head in a thick fug. Rooms were hidden away behind heavy crimson curtains. Nai heard the low moans and sighs of lovemaking emanating from within.

Nai slipped deeper into the temple, following the route he'd memorised earlier that day. His destination was the great hall at the centre of the temple. This was where the more pious went to pray to the Goddess. Not all visitors to Aphrossi's temple were interested in the delectable attractions of Aphrossi's temple maidens. Some came to ask the Goddess's blessing on their relationships-to rekindle failing marriages, to bless lovers in first throes of love, or even to ask for unrequited love to be reciprocated. On special nights the great hall became host to orgies in the name of Aphrossi as her temple maidens went out amongst the faithful.

The public gained access to the great hall through two massive wooden doors in the south wall. From Madam Esqetti's briefing he knew there was always a pair of guards stationed before the entrance to the hall. If Nai wanted to enter or exit that way he'd have to go past them.

That wasn't the only route into the great hall. Nai entered through one of the smaller entrances used by the temple maidens when they went out amongst the faithful on the special nights. He didn't need to worry about being stopped and challenged. The temple was doing brisk business tonight and the temple maidens were otherwise engaged.

Neither did he have to worry about the guards. They were forbidden from entering the great hall. There was still the possibility of a lost soul begging Aphrossi for favours, even at this hour. Nai peered out from behind the curtain screening the passageway and entered the hall when he was certain there was no-one inside.

The great hall was hexagonal in shape. From four sides of the hexagon the floor sloped down to a flat area in the centre. The roof was a high dome. Soft light reflected off the mirrored surface. Benches covered in fine cushions formed rows looking down on the central area. Lush furs were scattered across the floor. The priests of Aphrossi evidently did not believe that opulence or luxury was a sin. No wonder the worship of Aphrossi was the second wealthiest in all of Vitalia.

At the corner of the other two sides of the great hall an elaborate statue was raised up on a stage. The statue was a phantasmagorical sculpture of lamias, naiads and other otherworldly avatars of supernatural pleasures entwined around each other in sensual ecstasy. Each figure had been sculpted from either black or white stone. Assembling the whole statue must have taken a large degree of artistry.

Nai's only interest was in what he'd come for. The Heart of Aphrossi was a pinkish-red gem slightly larger than his fist. The gemstone had been cut in the shape of a heart. It was held aloft by a pair of exquisitely carved women who would have been otherwise gorgeous had they not also possessed the long serpentine tails of lamia.

Nai went into a hidden pouch on the inside of his robes and took out a facsimile of the Heart of Aphrossi. This was the additional thing he'd requested from Madam Esqetti. In his experience it was far easier to get away from the scene of a crime if the victims were unaware they'd been robbed. He wondered if the monks of the Menosh Monastery still believed they possessed the Casket of Conshosh even though he'd switched it with a cunning imitation made by a master forger over a year and a half ago.

This job would not be as easy. In the low intimate lights of Madam Esqetti's chamber the fake gemstone had looked impressive. Here, with the real Heart of Aphrossi in front of him, he could see the fake was a pale imitation of the original. That was unfortunate. He doubted the deception would go uncovered for long. He would have to leave the city on receiving Madam Esqetti's payment.

He studied the statue. The sculpture was merely art as far as he could ascertain. He saw no traps. Carefully, he prised the Heart of Aphrossi out of its setting and replaced it with the fake gemstone.

The Heart of Aphrossi felt strange to the touch. Not like a hard gemstone at all. It felt strangely like flesh-warm and soft. Pastel lights pulsed within the stone and Nai felt his sex twitch with the same frequency. It was said the Heart of Aphrossi possessed the mystical property to increase the ardour of all around it. He wondered if that was why Madam Esqetti, as empress to an empire of bordellos and other houses of pleasure, desired it. Not that Nai cared. What his clients did with the trinkets he stole for them was none of his concern. His part was ended the moment the client handed over the gold.

He placed the Heart of Aphrossi in the same hidden pouch he'd carried its fake. A quick glance to check he'd been unobserved and then he headed back to the same curtained-off alcove he'd entered the hall through. The ease of the job so far had surprised him, especially considering Aphrossi's fearsome reputation for dealing with those who mishandled her temple maidens. It reminded Nai of a fat merchant down in Oak Bay. Through carefully planted rumours and falsehoods of alliances with demons the merchant had instilled such fear in the local rogues that none dared target him. Unfortunately the stories of the man's fabulous wealth had also turned out to be carefully planted rumours and falsehoods, as Nai had found out. A clever and admirable man, fat Yanbr of Oak Bay. While what he did was not magic as such, Yanbr had mastered his art surely as any wizard secluded away in their tower of books.

Nai was just stepping through the curtain when he thought he saw a flicker of movement behind him. Nothing. A shadow or just a trick of his imagination.

Unsettled, he entered the passageway and from there made his stealthy way back to the gardens. It should be easy from this point. The garden was open and there were plenty of dark spots for him to hide in. Instead he felt the prickle of hairs rising on the back of his neck. That only happened whenever he suspected someone was watching or following him. Nai paid attention to these feelings. They'd saved his skin on many an occasion.

He wondered this time if it might be a false alarm. The people he saw were too engaged in their own carnal activities to notice Nai slipping by them in the shadows. He returned to the far corner of the garden and saw the couple on the bench were still lost in each other's arms.

His rope was where he'd left it. Hidden in darkness, he started the climb back to the top of the walled garden. The hairs on the back of his neck continued to stand up. Halfway up the wall he looked down and saw a minor commotion. The bushes were in motion as if someone or something was moving through them.

Or it could just be wind.

He climbed faster regardless.

On top of the wall he checked out the narrow alley on the other side. It wasn't well-travelled, especially at this time of night, but there was always the possibility of someone walking by. He secured one end of the rope and lowered the other to the alley floor below. He was about to start his descent when once again movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention. A shadow was moving up the inside wall.

It could be a cloud passing in front of the moon.

Nai abseiled down the wall fast enough to jar his knees when he reached the alley floor below. He shook the rope free and coiled it up at his waist. He left the alley and walked out amongst the throngs walking the more populous thoroughfares.

He should have felt elated. He'd carried out another legendary heist the bards would sing about without ever knowing who was responsible.

He glanced backwards. A serpentine shadow slithered down the wall of Aphrossi's pleasure garden and merged with the shadows of the alley.

Nai turned around and walked faster. His original plan was to go directly to the pleasure quarters and hand the Heart of Aphrossi over to Madam Esqetti. That was on the other side of the city. He changed direction and headed for the much closer Unicorn's Mark, the inn where he and his companions were staying while in the city.

His unseen pursuer changed direction to follow him.

He didn't know what was on his tail. So far he'd only got an impression of shadows within shadows tracking him through the same pools of darkness he used for his own camouflage. His pursuer was not human and likely supernatural in nature.

Nai cursed his ill fortune. Traps and guards were both perils he was equipped to handle. No wonder the temple of Aphrossi had been so light on either. There were unneeded if the priests of Aphrossi could call upon sorcery to defend their treasures.

Nai knew of curses and sorcery. His strategy for dealing with them was to enlist the help of others with the knowledge to fight them. That meant asking the help of Seferia. Their pretty little mage was hopelessly naive in most worldly matters. However, when it came to the arcane, her knowledge was considerable.

A faint whiff of fragrant perfume, the scent reminding Nai of the night-blooming lilies of Lake Abylessi, was all the warning he received before the shadows in front of him coalesced and reared up with the intent to grab him. It was all the warning he needed. Nai's reflexes were beyond compare. He was already dodging to the left even as the darkness lunged forwards. His dagger was in his hand and slicing through...

Shadow.

His blade cut into nothing.

Damn. Magic. Supernatural. Earthly blades would not work here, as he'd feared.

A tail lashed out, knocking Nai back against a wall.

So it could be solid when it needed to, he thought wryly.

He felt something loop around his ankle. He pulled free before the something could pull tight like a snare. He'd been expecting the apparition's touch to be chill. Instead it had been warm and pleasant. Part of him was curious to feel it again. He shoved that urge aside as an indulgence he could not risk.

The thing was darkness within darkness. He couldn't see if clearly. He got the impression of a large and buxom female with the lower half of a serpent. It looked like one of the sculptures of exotic lamia from the statue housing the Heart of Aphrossi had come to life. If he was able to look into the great hall of the temple of Aphrossi right now, would he see that one of the exquisitely-sculpted figures from the statue was missing? This was the guardian of the Heart of Aphrossi, and it had found him.

Nai had no way of dealing with it either.

He dodged away and slipped down the Street of Sighs. He needed to get to the Unicorn's Mark and Seferia. It galled him to need her help. The number of times he'd seen the clumsy girl about to blunder into tripwires or onto pressure stones. A few times he'd been tempted to let her step on them just to see what nasty trap she'd trigger. Now he needed her to save his life. Lucanni must be laughing down at him.

Also it would raise some awkward questions and likely result him in having to share his treasure four ways. It was unavoidable. Nai was a pragmatist. A prize split four ways was better than one lost.

"There is no need to run, little thief," the guardian lamia said.