Sometimes, I remembered when I was human.

It usually happened late at night when I was alone and about to fall asleep. Vague memories, of working in an office, shopping for groceries, walking on the beach, would give me a brief glimpse of what I had once been. Of course, that was hundreds of years ago, before humanity had created its vast empire among the stars. As they had colonized new worlds, they had needed the Guardians to protect them against otherworldly and malicious threats.

I was a Guardian. I was also the last one.

We had been, for the most part, volunteers who agreed to have our bodies modified at the nano-level so that we could face every challenge that the universe could throw at us. We were nearly invulnerable, never aging, with the ability to change our physical form at will. And oh, what forms we had. I could no longer recall what I had looked like before, but now I was perfect in every way, my body forever young and nubile. I could also change myself as my tastes changed – fiery red hair one day, flawless mocha skin the next.

And perhaps most amazing of all was my ability to manipulate my size. I could be the height of a normal human woman or the size of a mountain. With this power, I could defend the colonists of Ersa. And I did, for more than three hundred years.

My old name, like my old body, was long forgotten. I was now Bellona, after the Roman goddess of war. The only Guardian who had not fallen to the Scourge, a nano-weapon that had mysteriously destroyed all of the others. The bioengineers who had transformed me said that I must be unique, that there must be something about my physiology that had allowed me to survive. But that was well over a century ago, the last time that Ersa had heard from Earth.

For now, I was content to be here, with my memories.

***

The twin suns of Ersa, one the size of Earth’s sun and the other a tiny dwarf, reflected off of the pool as I laid beside it, wearing a halter top and a short skirt, so that the suns warmed my legs. The clothes weren’t clothes, really, but an extension of my form-manipulation. This was my private palace which overlooked the capital city of New Chengdu. I was afforded many luxuries, a perk of being the protector of an entire world. I was reaching for my iced coffee when Adam approached me.

Officially, Adam was my personal assistant, the person who took care of such mundane matters as bills. He was actually a lot more than that, a lover from time-to-time and my current best friend. I usually located someone like him every generation so that the loneliness wouldn’t get too overwhelming.

He stopped, smiling, and tilted his head. He had the cutest dimples when he smiled like that.

“You’re looking…tall…today,” he said. He was right, of course. I had chosen a height of fifteen feet today, big enough to be imposing but not enough to cause too much trouble.

“I needed to reach something up high and there was no one around,” I replied, winking at him.

“Right,” Adam said, laughing. I shifted position and sat up. I was still looking down on top of his blonde head.

“You’re also changed your hair,” he said.

“You like it?”

“The brunette bob’s pretty sexy, actually.”

I grinned and leaned forward, gently kissing him. I had to be careful not to knock him over. He reached up and touched one of my breasts, his hand tiny and delicate in comparison.

“You look absolutely gorgeous,” he said. “But you know that you have a meeting with the Council in half an hour.”

“Oh, right. That slipped my mind.” Actually, it hadn’t. Dealing with the Council, who were mostly members of the upper-crust, was exasperating. They were petty and, to be honest, stupid. It was unsettling that such a large colony was being run by people with such small brains.

Adam just smiled.

“I mean, really, what are we going to talk about? There hasn’t been an attack on this world in two hundred years. And that was just some space pirates. We haven’t even encountered another intelligent species,” I said.

“I think it’s more a formality than anything else.”

I huffed unhappily and drained my iced coffee in one gulp. Adam looked impressed, but it’s a simple trick to do if you’re fifteen feet tall.

“Tell you what. I’ll promise you an exciting night if you go,” he cajoled. “I even have a bottle of Olovian wine.”

“You know that alcohol doesn’t affect me.”

“I never said that it was for you,” Adam answered with a smirk.

***

I changed my appearance so that I was wearing my military outfit when I visited the Council, the standard silver and scarlet uniform that all of the Guardians had worn. My hair (platinum blonde this time) was pulled back into a tight ponytail. I also grew myself to a hundred feet because I wanted to symbolically and literally look down on the little jerks.

I left my palace with Adam trailing behind in a hover craft. My property was vast and inhabited only by the local (non sentient) wildlife, so I didn’t have to watch my step as I walked. I did crush a thousand year old Jaii tree by accident but the damn thing looked hideous anyway, all orange and turquoise bristles.

I was more careful when I reached the outskirts of New Chengdu. Already, crowds had formed along the street, waving and cheering as I passed. I took my time, watching where my feet landed. There was one time when I had walked this road and some child’s Anark, an alien cross between a dog and a howler monkey, had darted out unexpectedly and I squished it underfoot. Needless to say, it was much messier than the Jaii tree. Also, there had been crying children involved, which was extremely awkward.

“Bellona! Bellona!” The crowd was chanting, waving little the blue flag of Ersa. I had to admit, I liked their admiration as they stared up at me. There was also something else, something that I would never admit openly to anyone, not even to Adam. I saw the faintest hint of fear in their eyes and I savored it.

The Council building was ancient, one of the first structures built on the world. It was also built to accommodate a Guardian, so I was able to walk right inside without having to duck. I waited for Adam and then went in, past the little guards that stood eye-level with my ankles. My footsteps echoed loudly in the hallway (at one hundred feet tall, I’ve found it impossible to ever be quiet at all. Even little noises like joints creaking are thunderous when magnified to that scale).

The main chamber of the Council building was gigantic and spartan in its design, with almost no decorations except for a very old and very faded mural stretched across one wall. It was of the first ships that landed on this world. It was strange to think that I had been one of those vessels.

I bowed before the nine members of the Council who were seated upon a dais.

“Members of the Council,” I said formally.

“Guardian of Ersa,” they replied in unison.

“How may I be of assistance to you?” I asked. Oh, look at them. Like fat little rodents, leering up at me with contempt. I was the monster that they barely tolerated. I could easily grind them under one boot…I shook my head, feeling slightly nauseous.

“We have recently sentenced a citizen with treason,” the Speaker of the Council said, steepling his chubby fingers. “As you know, that carries with it the death penalty.”

Yes, I knew that. And I knew that it was my job as Guardian to carry-out the execution.

“When is the execution?” I asked.

“Tonight at sunset,” the Speaker said.

Well, it was very kind of them to give me a heads-up about that.

“I see,” I said lamely.

“You will be there, then?”

“Of course.” What else could I say?

***

The execution was held outside in a very open, very public area. With all of the spectators, it reminded me of a witch burning in Salem. I very much wished that this could at least be private. I had only killed a handful of people (not including the space pirates during the infamous raid two centuries ago, and they had that coming to them). Each execution had been…unpleasant. It made me briefly wish that I had died as a human hundreds of years ago.

The suns were setting when the prisoner was brought out, or rather, dragged out. I was surprised by how young he was. He couldn’t have been more than twenty-three. He gazed at the Council, then up at me. His face visibly paled so that his freckles stood out starkly against his skin.

“Corin Danord, the Council has found you guilty of selling secrets to the Free States of Nesoi,” the Speaker droned in his nasal voice. I think that Ersa was currently at war with the Free States, but I couldn’t remember. The colony seemed to be at war with a different enemy every thirty years or so.

“I did not!” Corin protested rather vehemently. The guards instinctively reached for their energy rifles.

The Speaker ignored him. “For this, you have been sentenced to death. May God have mercy on your soul.”

Ah, justice.

I knelt down in front of Corin and picked him up in one hand. Even through my gloves I could feel his frantic heartbeat. Normally, I would have made the death as swift and painless as possible by quickly snapping the person’s neck between my thumb and forefinger. But as I looked at the tiny man, his body small and soft and breakable in my hand, I felt something akin to what I felt earlier with the crowd.

He whimpered and wiggled in my hand. That triggered some deep, predatory response and I began to squeeze, harder and harder. At first, I encountered some resistance and then I felt his ribs shatter like dry twigs. Blood squirted from his mouth and I continued to squeeze until he vomited his pinkish-purple innards.

I gasped, repulsed by what I had done and by the fact that I was hideously aroused.

***

“I’ve been keeping this bottle around for a long time,” Adam said, brandishing his bottle of wine.

“Knowing you, it’s probably been two weeks,” I teased. He poured himself a glass and took a small sip. “What can I say? Everyone has their vices. I just happen to be an alcoholic.”

And I get turned on killing people, I thought. But of course I didn’t say that.

We were outside by the pool, the stars twinkling overhead. I wondered how far away Earth was. Sometimes, on nights like this, I would try to remember what it was like to live there.

“I should take take back. You, my dear, are perfect in every way,” Adam said, looking up at me. I hadn’t shrank back down but had decided to stay at my current size for awhile.

“Oh, Adam. You are so sweet,” I said, gently picking him up. He kissed me again, a soft tickling on my lower lip. “But I have some vices, though.” Like enjoying that man’s death. “Like enjoying sex with you far too much.”

With that, I pinched the front of his pants and pulled, exposing his erect cock. He cried out when I kissed it, the tip of my tongue caressing. He clung to my face, his little face contorted with pleasure. When he came, I tasted the smallest drop of cum.

“Jesus,” he panted as I removed him from my face. With Adam still in my hands, I rolled onto my back and splayed my legs, so that my sex was exposed. I put him on my lower abdomen, just above my belly button.

“Your turn,” I said. His feathery footsteps tickled my skin as he headed right toward my pubic mound, my clit already aching to be touched. I felt him crawling toward that very spot and cried out. I was so aroused that even his touch felt amazing. My clit had to be the size of a cantaloupe to him and I writhed as he vigorously rubbed at. I was almost certain that he may have even bitten down at one point. When I finally orgasmed, I arched my back in ecstasy, barely aware that Adam had fallen off me onto the stone patio below.

I sat up and saw him grinning at me from between my legs, his hair disheveled.

“See? I promised you a good night,” he said.

***

I shrank back down to the size of a normal person when Adam left. I swam for awhile in the pool, floating on my back as I gazed up at the night sky. Then I went back inside and collapsed into bed, exhausted. I had terrible nightmares that night, horrible images of people dying in my hands by the hundreds. In the dream, I licked their blood from my fingers…

I was awaken by the palace’s AI, which had sounded the emergency alarm. The alarm was used so infrequently that I didn’t recognize what it was at first. I envisioned one of my kimonos and concentrated, the emerald silk weaving around my body. I dialed up the Council, wondering why they had sounded the alarm. Perhaps it was some sort of technical malfunction. It wouldn’t be the first time that that had happened.

No one answered, which was odd. I was pondering this when I heard a thunderous barrage of noise, followed by a tremor that knocked me from my feet. I pulled myself up and ran to one of the balconies. I could make out the city in the distance, with its skyscrapers that glittered like spun glass. And towering hundreds of feet above them was a gigantic figure, surrounded by pillars of smoke.

It was another Guardian.

I watched, dumbfounded, as the Guardian strode across the city. It was difficult to see much from here, but I could tell that his intentions were not benevolent. As if on cue, he pushed one of the skyscrapers over, causing a domino effect. A whole line of buildings crashed into one another.

Fuck that. This was my city and my world. I didn’t care if he was a Guardian. I was going to break both his knees.

I gracefully dove off the balcony, growing as I fell. By the time I hit the ground, I was fifty feet high, then one hundred, then one fifty. I sprinted toward New Chengdu, my uniform covering my body in silver and scarlet. By the time I made it to the city, I was easily three hundred feet tall.

There were fleeing people everyone. It was like walking into a kitchen seething with cockroaches. Except that these cockroaches were intelligent beings that I had to try really, really hard not to step on.

“Get out of the way!” I screamed at the people. They only continued to stampede over each other. I tentatively raised one foot, trying to find a place to put it down again. That was proving to be extremely challenging.

“It’s much easier if you just step on them,” someone said to my right. I turned, narrowing my eyes. It was the Guardian, watching me with an amused expression. He was wearing the same uniform, except his was black and a deep crimson, the same color as his eyes. He was breathtakingly handsome, as though some god had descended from Mount Olympus to visit Ersa. But all Guardians were inhumanly beautiful and his attractiveness didn’t stop me from seething with rage.

“Who are you? Why are you here?” I demanded.

The Guardian grinned, flashing white teeth. “Here’s a deal. I’ll answer both your questions if you do something for me.”

I stared at him. “What?”

“Push that building over on that crowd over there. Their screams are getting irritating.”

“You sick bastard,” I hissed, forgetting my reluctance to move and striding toward him. I must have killed several people underfoot because he shrugged and said, “Stepping on them works as well.”

I swung my fist at him, barely missing his smirking face as he pulled back. Damn, he was fast. I lashed out again, this time clipping his ear. The grin vanished, replaced by something cold and malignant. My leg came up, hooking around the back of his calf and tripping him up. His body flattened several small buildings, but I was past caring. I straddled his torso and pummeled his face, again and again.

It took me a moment to realize that the Guardian was growing again. He bucked hard, sending me flying. I hit a skyscraper and rolled to a stop near the park. I was climbing to my feet when he was suddenly at my back, his arm wrapped tightly around my throat. I pried at his arm, trying to free myself even as I realized that he was crushing the breath out of me. I tried to grow, but I couldn’t concentrate on that and trying to breathe at the same time. My vision tunneled as I fought to breathe, clawing at the arm. As I started to pass out, he whispered in my ear, “I’ll answer your first question for free. My name’s Set.”

***

When I regained consciousness, I saw the Guardian (Set, I guess he was) seated cross-legged near me. My throat ached but I could already feel the bruises healing.

“Ah, you’re awake,” he said.

“Why are you doing this?” I whispered in a hoarse voice.

“I said one free question.”

I was rubbing at my neck with one hand when he reached down into the corral that his crossed-legs formed. His black-gloved hand opened to reveal several members of the Council. Still alive, luckily, but clearly petrified. Set saw my expression and smiled mischievously.

“Oh, c’mon. They’re asshole politicians. Don’t tell me that you don’t want to kill a few of them,” he said. “Here. I’ll start.” He picked up one of them, a balding middle-aged man, and then crushed him between his fingers. For some reason, I thought of Corin and gagged.

“You really are a wet blanket,” he said, rubbing his bloody fingers together.

“You’re a Guardian! You’re supposed to protect people, not kill them!”

“Oh, right. I completely forgot about that.” He trapped another Council member against his palm, pressing down until the little victim exploded.”You know what? I did the whole protecting people thing until I realized several things. One, I was a god. Two, it’s fun to kill people. I am a complete and irredeemable psychopath and I am okay with that.” Set poked at one of the remaining Council members, a tall, willowy woman. “This one’s kind of hot in a cougar sort of way. I may keep her around for later.”

“You motherfucker, I’ll kill you!”

Set’s red eyes gleamed slyly. “Then why haven’t you tried again instead of watching me crush these people?”

I said nothing.

“You can call me all the names that you’d like, but I know that you’ve seen tiny people and secretly thought about how much power you have over them. You are a force of nature, completely unstoppable. Their deaths are just a trifle.” Set tilted his hand and we both watched the remaining Council members fall to their deaths between his legs. He stood up, brushing off his pants.

“Adieu, my dear. I hope you think about our conversation,” he said, shrinking back down. I leaned forward, trying to follow him, but he was gone.

***

The New Chengdu police conducted a man-hunt but couldn’t find him anywhere. It was as if he truly had disappeared. I looked up everything in my records for a Guardian named Set but couldn’t find anything. Of course, he could have easily changed his name just as easily as he changed his looks.

I couldn’t sleep. Sometimes, I would see him watching me, mocking me. He was correct – I could have tried to stop him from killing the Council. But I didn’t. It was as if he knew what I actually was. Perhaps he wasn’t the only psychopath around.

I received a message from Adam asking me to meet him at the Red Sun Resort, an upscale spa that catered to the fabulously wealthy. I was still on the look-out for Set but I decided that seeing Adam for a few hours wouldn’t hurt anything. Perhaps it would even ease my mind enough that I could sleep again.

I headed up to the Red Sun Resort a few hours later, traveling by hovercraft. I found myself reluctant to grow, as if doing so may make me more like Set. At least when I was normal-sized, I didn’t need to worry about any sort of temptation.

When I arrived at the resort, I immediately noticed how quiet it was. True, it was in the forest, away from the main cities. But a resort like this was usually bustling with people who came to enjoy the hot springs or a nice massage. As I was stepping out of the hovercraft, I almost fell into a huge hole several feet deep in the ground. I backed up, surprised at a random gaping hole in the ground. What, were they installing a pool or something?

Except a pool wouldn’t have the remains of crushed corpses in it.

Just as I realized that I was looking at an immense footprint, I heard the familiar voice behind me.

“Hello again,” Set said, who was at the moment a good two hundred feet tall.

“You!”

“Yes, me.”

A thought occurred to me and my blood suddenly turned to ice.

“Where’s Adam?” I demanded.

Set just looked down at me and tilted his head slightly. “Did you change your hair color? You look good as a redhead.”

“I said, where is my boyfriend!”

“You mean that little waste of flesh? He’s fine. Now, I can’t say the same for most of the tourists and staff. I got really bored waiting for you.”

“Why are you doing this?”

“We’ve already had this discussion, and I’m still not going to tell you. At least, not until we get to know each other better.” There was something akin to lust in his eyes as he studied me. “I will say that you’re quite beautiful. I’ve only been with one other Guardian and she was so boring.” He started to say something else and then apparently thought better of it.

“I want to see Adam,” I said.

Set rolled his eyes. “Oh, all right.” He bent down and lowered his hand.

“I’m perfectly capable of walking,” I snarled.

“I insist.” The tone said it all: do this or you won’t see Adam alive again. I hesitantly approached his open palm, marveling at its sheer size. I was used to being the giant-sized one. The role reversal was intimidating. Cautiously, I stepped into his hand. It was warm with his body heat, his heartbeat pulsating beneath my feet.

He raised me up without warning and I experienced a terrible case of vertigo. I looked up into the titanic crimson eyes.

“I wasn’t kidding about the beautiful part,” he said softly, with the closest thing resembling gentleness in his voice.

It was too bad that he was an evil sadist or I may have been smitten.

“Adam, remember?”

“Yes, yes,” he said, annoyed. I nearly tumbled off when he started walking. He wasn’t considerate of anything below his knees, of course, and I saw him nonchalantly flatten several hovercraft and some of the resort’s smaller buildings. I hoped there wasn’t anyone in them.

Red Sun’s main attraction was a serious of hot springs similar to those on Earth. It was at one of these springs that we stopped, Set kneeling to put me down. I immediately grew myself to his height.

“Now, where’s Adam?” I asked.

Set reached down into a cluster of trees and produced what appeared to be a gargantuan net bag full of squirming people.

“Let him go,” I ordered, trying to keep my voice from trembling with rage and fear.

“Not yet. I still want to see you kill someone. Last time we met was very disappointing.”

“Like hell I will!”

“Here’s the situation. You can try to kick my ass again, but I’m not telling you where he is. For all you know, he could be buried somewhere slowly suffocating. You get to choose between his life or that of these unfortunate folks in this bag,” Set said, reaching into the bag and taking out a shrieking man. “Here, kill this one. I don’t care how. I just want to watch.” He dumped the man into my hand.

I looked down, unsure. There had to be a way to save Adam without doing this. Unlike Set, I was not a monster.

The insect-sized man was pleading desperately for me to help him. Against the field of my palm, he really was quite helpless. Despite myself, I could feel my lower belly tighten with dark desire.

I brought my other hand up, hovering it over the man. He realized what I was going to do and howled in fright. The sound was abruptly cut short when I brought my hands together in a bone-breaking clap. Blood ran out between my palms.

Set laughed with delight. “Now tell me that didn’t feel great!” When I didn’t protest, he selected another victim, a pretty young woman with raven hair. I expected him to give her to me as well, but he popped her into his mouth and leaned close to my face. I could see the faint throb of one of his cheeks as she most likely fought inside him. He grasped either side of my face and pressed his lips against mine, his mouth forcing mine open. With his tongue, he shoved the woman into my mouth.

I could feel her desperate writhing as his tongue batted her around inside my mouth, Set’s lips and mine still sealed in a kiss. Her screams were oddly muffled, reverberating up through my skull. Set’s hands moved from my face, down my back as he pulled me closer against his body. I could feel his erection pressing insistently against me. I instinctively pushed back against his hips with my own, grinding up against him.

Set’s tongue thrust the woman back further and further back into my mouth, until she was against the back of my throat. When I swallowed, it was more reflex than anything else. I felt her squirming all the way into my stomach. I pulled away from Set, gasping.

“I know you enjoyed that. You’re practically dripping,” Set said and, as if to demonstrate the point, he slipped one hand between my legs and delicately ran one finger over the fabric covering my swollen labia. Unfortunately, he was right.

“Ever fuck a Guardian before?” He asked. I protested weakly as he guided me down, so that I was lying near the hot springs, the faint smell of sulphur lingering in the air. Already, as if on its own volition, my clothing was receding, revealing pale skin. Set spread my legs (or maybe I did, I wasn’t thinking clearly by then) and I felt a delightful wiggling in my pussy. At first, I thought that he was doing something magical with his hands. Then I realized that he was actually pushing people up into me.

“No,” I said feebly.

“Yes,” he said inserting another handful inside. It was only when I was almost bursting with tiny people that he mounted me, nudging his rock hard cock against my opening. When he thrust hard, I cried out in pleasure and horror. There was an appalling crunch as he rammed again and again, his mouth stretched into a cruel smile. I could have pushed him off. In fact, I should have. But I would be lying if I didn’t say that it was one of the best things that I every felt.

He came with a snarl, his cock twitching spasmodically deep inside me. My own orgasm came a second later, every nerve in my body bursting with pleasure. Set withdrew himself, blood and semen trickling out from between my legs. A few bodies, looking more like mashed meat than people anymore, also washed out.

I started to shriek when I saw that one of them was Adam.

Set looked down at the corpse. “Whoops, I forgot he was in that bag. Sorry about that.”

I tackled him to the ground, tears blurring my vision. I hit him once, in his pompous mouth, then I realized that I was shrinking down against my will. I was suddenly stranded on the vast plain of Set’s muscular chest as he looked down at me.

“Tell you what. You’ve been such a good sport, I’ll answer another one of your questions,” he said. I tried to grow but couldn’t. I stared up at him, befuddled.

” ‘Why are you here?’ For you, of course. I thought I had killed all of the Guardians a long time ago.”

Despite the heat from the springs, I shivered. “Wha-what are you saying?”

“I’m the Scourge,” he said.

I couldn’t speak at first; when I finally did, I chose my words carefully.

“The Scourge was a weapon, not a person,” I said.

“Since when can’t a person be a weapon? I would argue that I’ve done things to cities that a bomb couldn’t do. I was supposed to be the fail-safe just in case some of the Guardian went nutty, something that could neutralize them. Of course, they never designed a fail-safe for the fail-safe,” Set said.

“And you killed them? Why?”

“Why do I kill anyone? Because I can. Besides, they always got upset whenever I wanted to fuck with one of their precious worlds.”

I tried to process all of this. I had always thought that I had survived because I was immune, because I was unique. It turned out that the Scourge just hadn’t gotten to me yet. My mouth was painfully dry. “And now you’re going to kill me, too.”

“Nah, I’m having too much fun to do that. Outwardly, you act like you have a stick up your ass. Inwardly, I know that you enjoy death and destruction as much as I do. Besides, you’re the only other Guardian left. And since I destroyed Earth, all of the bioengineers are gone. I don’t think they’ll be making any more of us.”

My shoulders sagged in defeat. He poked me with one tree-sized finger, right in the solar plexus. I bent over double, unable to breathe for several seconds.

“Don’t be all mopey. We’ll have a grand time, especially since you’re single again,” he said.

If looks could kill, Set would be back in Hell where he belonged.

“I’ll even take you to another world where you won’t feel so bad about the collateral damage. I know how you feel about this sad little dump of a planet,” he said.

Which is exactly what he did.

****

Ironically, it was to the Free States of Nesoi, Ersa’s current enemy, that Set took me to. I didn’t ask where he got the ship. I figured he would launch into unnecessary narration again. I was finding that he really liked talking about himself.

I was still holding out on being able to kill him somehow. Now that I knew what he was, I realized that stopping him would be very, very difficult. The little that I knew of the Scourge was that it played havoc with the nanos, keeping us from using our powers and even, in some cases, reverting us back to humans. I couldn’t stop him with force, that much was obvious.

The Free States of Nesoi was a world covered almost entirely water with large islands liberally sprinkled across it. We landed on one of the most populous islands, which was home to the nation state of Libera. When we got out of the ship, Set looked around and whistled. “Now, this is a nice world. I could see myself living here for as a few years…if we don’t destroy it first.”

Set was right. It was a gorgeous place, the climate sunny and temperate. The low buildings were constructed mostly of limestone so that they appeared white and dazzling in the sunlight. We started toward one of the outdoor marketplaces, past brightly-painted wooden boats that bobbed at the pier.

Set said something in the native tongue to one of the vendors, a wizened old woman with a face like a wrinkled apple. She laughed and produced a Blood Rose, an oversized flower that grew locally. It sort of resembled a human heart. I didn’t want to take the ghastly thing but she insisted.

“Your boyfriend is so nice. You are a very lucky woman,” she said in a heavily accented voice.

“Nice?” I choked out.

Set spoke to the vendor again, who happily blushed. I held the rose distastefully as we headed away. I looked down at it, the petals fleshy and red.

“Do you remember your name?” I wasn’t even aware that I was asking the question before it spilled out of my mouth. Set stopped and for the first time looked unsure of himself.

“What?”

“Your real name,” I said. This was clearly bothering him and I found myself enjoying being on the offensive for once.

“No.” But he did, I could see that. “What the hell does it matter anyway? I’m Set now. Red God, Devourer of Worlds and all that.”

And the Scourge, don’t forget that.

“I wish I could remember mine,” I said. Set just snorted contemptuously.

We passed by some people stringing multicolored lights over a doorway. As i glanced around, I saw decorations everywhere.

“It’s the festival of some local saint,” Set explained when he noticed me looking around. “They have one almost every weekend.”

I started toward what looked like a hotel, the outside gaudy with golden tinsel. It looked like it was going to be a big party tonight.

“Where are you going?” He demanded, grabbing one of my hands. I yanked it free.

“I’m going to check-in. I’m exhausted. I’ve been through a lot these past few days.” I honestly didn’t care if he protested or not. Luckily, he didn’t. I went straight to the room, slammed the door in his face, and then wept on the bed.

***

I must have fallen asleep because when I woke up it was sunset, the last orange rays highlighting Set in the wooden chair across from the bed. I sat up, seriously creeped out.

“How long have you been watching me?” I demanded.

“Long enough. You know, you would look hot in a corset,” he said and I yelped as my clothes changed against my will.

“Stop that!”

“You’re no fun. Speaking of which, they have some sort of party going on outside. I think we should crash it.”

“Absolutely not!”

“Or I could go downstairs and kidnap the woman at the front desk. That would also work.”

I sighed.

***

It was a gigantic party, a Mardi-Gras level affair. There were street musicians, people selling everything from noise-makers to alcohol, and costumes. A tall woman in sequins and peacock feathers pranced past me, winking at Set. He winked back.

I was dressed in a strapless black dress. Set had conceded to that at least, although the thigh boots were his idea. I found a seat away from most of the noise and nursed a glass of rum even though I couldn’t actually get drunk. Set, on the other hand, was playing the part of the ladies’ man, surrounded by giggling girls who couldn’t have been more than twenty. I wondered what they would think if they knew what he was.

I was also approached, but this guy was clearly intoxicated, his Roman toga stained with God-knew-what.

“Hey, honey. You want to head someplace private?” His speech was so slurred that it was almost incomprehensible. And he was clearly looking at my cleavage.

“Go away,” I said flatly.

“Aw, don’t be a bitch,” he said. Maybe it was because I had been having a very bad week but I rose up, my body expanding rapidly until I stood forty feet tall. The drunk gaped at me, swaying slightly. He wasn’t the only one staring. Most of the music and conversation had stopped, leaving a pregnant silence.

I sneered down at the drunk, my hands balled at my sides. Fucking little asshole, I would show him how much of a bitch I could be. I raised one booted foot high above him, most likely exposing my panties to the crowd as well. I didn’t care.

The man tipped over, too stupidly drunk to realize the danger that he was in. I brought my foot down hard, grinding with my high heel. The tiny body pulped and squished nicely. My action drove the crowd into a frenzy, people running for their lives. Pathetic, ungrateful little insects. Hundreds of years stuck in their thrall, protecting them and for what?

Nothing, nothing, nothing! I stomped through the crowd, leaving behind footprints of dead and crippled people. I kicked a stand selling roasted nuts, spraying wood everywhere. I saw the woman in the ridiculous peacock outfit and punted her too, her little body exploding against the toe of my boot.

I sensed a presence behind me and turned my head. It was Set, standing a head taller than me. His arousal was quite noticeable. He pushed me up against one of the taller buildings, an eighty foot clock tower. His mouth was suddenly against mine, his hands caressing my breasts.

I didn’t even realizing that we were growing until I became too heavy for the clock tower. My butt toppled it over, right onto people trying to escape. I lost my balance and also fell over, stands and people crunching beneath me. I sat up as Set squatted down before and pulled up my dress. I loathed him and desired him at the same time.

“I hate you,” I growled from between gritted teeth.

“I love you too,” he said shoving his index and middle finger inside of me. I moaned and opened my legs wider for him. He snatched up some of the costumed people below and mashed a few of them against my breasts. The others he fed between my nether lips. His head dipped down between my legs and I felt his warm tongue, first on my inner thighs and then against my clit. My flowing juices flushed out some of the people and he gobbled those up like dates, swallowing them whole.

I cried out his name, I’m ashamed to say, as I came with a violent intensity.

We grew again.

Whether it was Set manipulating me or my own doing, it didn’t matter. We were soon six or seven hundred feet tall, two murderous titans caught up in a frenzied passion. The old limestone buildings crumbled underneath us like spun sugar confectionaries. I ended up atop Set, my pussy aching to be filled. He obliged, thrusting his penis deep into me as I dug ten-foot furrows into the ground with my fingers. I saw people still cowering around us, but they no longer mattered. The memory of Adam didn’t matter. The last vestiges of my humanity didn’t matter.

I howled with rapture.

We grew and grew until the city was little more than a white carpet, the people and vehicles no longer visible to the naked eye. Our height could no longer be measured in feet but in miles. I held my breasts in either hand, stroking the nipples as Set thrust, his eyes wild and inhuman. I imagined that our movement was probably toppling buildings, even causing earthquakes that ripped the ground apart.

I didn’t care.

Then Set came, pumping millions of gallons of semen deep into me, his curled fingers biting into my thighs. I leaned down so that I could whisper into his ear. “You were right.”

***

We slept in a yin-yang pattern, the largest things on the planet. I awoke to a caress on my cheek. Set leaned over me, his expression unreadable.

“I’m going to give you a choice. I can revert you back to a human. And since I’m feeling especially generous, I’ll even let you go. Or we can be the intergalactic version of Bonnie and Clyde and terrorize a few solar systems,” he said.

Allison. That had been my name. Oh, God.

I took a deep breath and told him my decision.