Heavenly Bodies

********************

"I should never have chosen to take this tour in mid-July ... Christ, the sun is killing me!"

So spoke Albert Hastings, as he leaned dangerously far over the railing that bordered the edge of the sailing vessel on which he was suffering, the H.M.S. Pinniped. He wiped the back of his dark neck with his neck with a handkerchief he had wetted down in his cabin, and tugged the soaked cloth of his white T-shirt out from his body. It provided little relief from the constantly-beating star overhead. He wished he'd had the good sense to at least bring some bottles of water.

The captain would like to remind all passengers that jumping into the river is strictly prohibited. The Nile is well known for possessing a high population of crocodiles, and we can't allow anybody to put themselves in danger. Thank you, and do enjoy your upcoming weeks with us.

Albert groaned as the loudspeaker droned aboard the double-decker ship, turning his attention back down to the brown-tinged waters. He looked back towards the north, where he could still make out the large cruise ship, the Egyptian Oasis, parked right by Cairo. He had always wanted to see Egypt as a kid -- to stand under its vast pyramids and try to climb to the top; to look out over miles and miles of sand dunes in the sunset. But to be honest, he'd never counted on how HOT it would get. He'd managed to pack only light clothing, and only light-colored ones at that, but he still felt the intolerable heat soaking into him.

He scratched through his thick black hair, wiping off some of the sweat before it could fall onto his face. He felt eyes upon himself and turned to see an elderly couple, watching him from the deck chairs they occupied.

"Can we interest you in some water, sir?" the lady offered, holding a bottle of Evian out to Albert.

"Oh, no thank you, ma'am, I wouldn't want to impose," he replied, and she nodded with a sweet smile, her wavery voice saying, "Well, if you ever need some, there's a fresh supply right downstairs, in the lunch hall."

He smiled and turned back around, quickly dissolving into a smirk. A fresh supply, yes, from those fresh-mouthed racists. He could swear they were jacking up the price solely because of his skin color. In the place where his ancestors came from, too! That was American influence for you, and he would be damned if he ever had to pay 8 American dollars for one 20-ounce bottle of water. The cross-ship intercom beeped again, and he turned to listen to the new announcement.

We will be arriving on shore shortly, to let our passengers walk around and take photos if you like. However, remember that the pyramids of Giza are still quite far down, so please conserve your film. Where we are stopping is the area once known as Ombos in the Old Kingdom, most well known for the great ...

Albert tuned out the rest of the announcement, only caring about getting off of this ship for a while. At least he would be able to stretch his legs a little.

********************

*SNAP!* went Albert's camera on its tripod, the African-American walking back from his pose in front of a fallen pillar to retrieve it. He at least owed himself the benefit of one picture from each place the boat was going to stop on its trip down the Nile.

He looked around the various ruins that dotted the sandy landscape. Thick brown stones that had toppled from their perches on high ledges, various pillars that were smaller than his photo backdrop and still erected into the dunes ... it reeked of history, but what kind of history it was, Albert was unable to say.

He stretched his arms up over his head, stifling a yawn; the heat was making him fairly drowsy, even at only two in the afternoon. He was a handsome man, albeit he had the beginnings of love-handles, and his stomach was known to spill an inch over the waistline of his trousers when he made use of a belt -- something that didn't happen very often in his job as the owner of a news stand in downtown Baltimore. No wife or kids to worry about ... he was a free spirit, taking life as he went along and making use of whatever came his way, and even with this attitude, he felt it was time for a break. A transatlantic getaway seemed like just the ticket.

Until he had seen the bills, at any rate. He'd given the nice clerk his credit card number over the telephone, but he'd completely forgotten that sales had been few and far between these last few months. With the infamous September attacks still fresh in the collective memory, no one was willing to own up to and read about the news. Albert groaned as he thought about his financial dilemma, wiping his hand over his cheekbones. There was no way he could go back home and pay off this cruise, and then manage to have money left over to settle his taxes. No way at all ...

But that would be then, he thought in self-delusion. This is now, and he will make the best of his trip.

********************

Two shadowy figures observed the dark-skinned human as he stretched and shuffled his way through the sand-engulfed ruins.

"Ptus grek-su mun raah dun?" queried the one on the right, reaching a scale-encased hand into the swirling smoke of their viewing portal and gesturing to the figure of Albert in its diamond-clear center.

The other stroked his fingers along the chin of his canine muzzle, humming thoughtfully, eyes narrowing as he looked over the human's body. "Hmmmm ... thu-shet gom, yt rospa yon kital fres. Daum, hyan yt fla kanra cu flonarii."

The pair chuckled softly to themselves, their tail swaying in perfect symmetry as they dispelled the whirlpool-like portal, turning and walking into the darkness to carry out their plans. He would make a fine choice, this human male, and they would all be ... very satisfied ...

********************

"No how did that get there?"

Albert stared down by his tennis shoes, at the golden medallion laying there in the sand. He picked it up and examined it -- it was an ankh, traditionally well known for being the Egyptian symbol for immortality. It seemed very cool to the touch.

As if it had only been there in the last few minutes.

The man's dark skin slickened with sweat from the noonday sun, and he wiped the water off agitatedly as he considered the object, its smooth chain dangling from his palm. What a hell of a souvenier to bring home, he thought to himself. I can probably auction it on the Internet for thousands. But I bet it would look great on me in the meantime.

He held the chain in both hands, the ankh jerking in mid-air as he slipped it over his head. It glided over his white T-shirt, gleaming in the sun's rays proudly. He marveled at how clean and pure it looked. It had to be at least fourteen karats. But then he felt more bitter. There was no way he would be allowed to have it if the ship's crew saw him carrying it; they'd probably hand it over to some museum.

IF they saw it, of course, and he chuckled as he lifted the ankh up, then let the medal down through the collar of the shirt, laying against his bare skin. It quickly warmed to his own body heat, becoming comfortable ... but unknown to Albert, the ankh started to glow a dim yellow as it lay against his chest. However, the dark man was more than easily able to see what effects that glowing had.

In the distance, the boat started to disappear! In a fit of panic, he sped and dashed over the sand dunes, towards the translucent ship. "Wait! What's going on?!?" he shrieked, "Where're you going???"

But it was too late. The boat, and even the river itself, were replaced in his vision by endless desert. Piles and stretches of golden sand as far as his eyes could see. He ran to where he knew the vessel had physically existed, but there was nothing but thin air around him. He started to sob into his hands, terrified that he might be going crazy. Maybe, he was still in his cabin ... yes, that's it ... he's laying in his bed, and having a terrible nightmare. And that incredible heat wasn't the sun, it was his blankets, pulled up too far, smothering him ...

That was his last conscious thought before Alfred Hastings passed out, his body collapsed onto the whirling sands ... and the ankh silently did its work ... leaving the ground as bare as before he came. Nothing made a sound as voices could be heard calling in the distance.

"Albert! Mr. Hastings, where have you gotten to? ..."

********************

The faint flickering of fire stirred him from his slumber. He held his forehead in his hand, groaning, even as he marvelled at how cool he felt under his sheets. He must have gotten sunstroke back there, and been hauled back to the ship like a blubbering baby. But he could have sworn that no fire of any kind was allowed on the ship, so why is that torch lit over there? And where did those golden statues come from?

Albert snapped fully awake as he realized what he was just thinking, staring around him with widened eyes. He couldn't even feel the rocking of the boat, and nothing on the ship had looked this ornate -- a hallway lined with golden jackals leading from where he lay, on what felt like a bench, only with a cat's head at one end and the tail at the other. He rose to his feet tenatively, his bare soles making contact with the black marble-patterned floor. He started to slide out all the way from his blue sheets, only to see that he was as nude as his feet were. He yelped in surprise, then again as he was answered! He pulled the sheets around himself protectively.

"Mmmmm, yues harra."

He couldn't see who was addressing him, nor did he think he really wanted to with how deep and rolling the voice was ... almost seductive. "Uhh, hello? Who's there?" he asked dumbly, even though he assumed he'd never understand the reply.

"Ah, so you speak English. My apologies, I had hoped to communicate on a more intimate level." How wrong he was about the language barrier.

"Intimate level? Listen, buddy, I don't know who you were hoping to find, but I don't---Holy shit!!" Albert jumped back a mile, slamming his knees into the bench he had just occupied, falling in a heap with his covering as his speaker stepped out from behind a golden jackal.

Who he was looking at now could only be described as the living incarnation of Anubis, the jackal-god of embalming in Egyptian mythology! Only instead of just his head being that of a jackal, his entire body, gird only in his headdress and a loincloth along with some jewelry about his neck and hands, was of a uniform black coloring. His muzzle turned up in a smile to Albert. "You know of me, then. I suppose that introductions will be of little consequence, seeing as I know who you are ... Albert Hastings."

Albert covered his head, a weak attempt to safeguard himself from whatever mind-reading ability the jackal-morph must possess. "What?? How do you know my name? Where the hell am I?"

Anubis clicked his tongue, lifting a single clawed finger up and moving it disapprovingly at the human. "Please, no need for such vulgarity here, you are our guest. We have only good intentions for your stay. I do believe you can answer your own question ..." -- he gestured to Albert's arms tightly around his skull -- "... and to address the second, I invite you to please look from the arched window towards your rear."

The human came out of his huddling, seeing how he had not been approached in any dangerous way and feeling rather silly, even if he was horrified to see such a creature as Anubis existed. He stood back up cautiously, keeping his sheet wrapped around his waist as he shuffled backwards towards the window, which dazzled him as it revealed its sunny landscape before his startled eyes. A rich oasis spread out past the ornate walls of the room, palm trees sprouting up from the fertile soil which bordered the splashing river that ran from left to right from his point of view. And people! Men, women and children gathered to feast and play, clad in stainless white robes and loincloths, all framed in the background by great golden pyramids that rose up from the ground towards the sky, coming to perfect points. It was an image that would rival the work of any painter. Albert gasped in astonishment as he turned back. The jackal-god crossed his arms behind him, strolling to the man's side, easily standing a full head over him. "You should feel honored, Albert. What you see before you is the Old Kingdom's paradise, that which they strove to achieve as their eternal reward for death from a life without sin or regret." Anubis stepped to Albert's other side, who shivered at how close he felt the canine standing. "Here they can live with the gods whom they worshipped, and each other. Everything they could ever want is here for them, all for the taking. Doors of possibility stretched as far as the imagination can fathom, and we have freely given them all the keys. They are content."

Albert looked tenatively up at Anubis, his lower jaw trembling as he gulped a lump in his throat. "Sounds like a ... very nice arrangement. But what do I have to do with ...?"

"I'll field that one." Albert screamed in surprise as another form approached him, and he literally jumped against Anubis, whose arms closed around him to calm him down with the jackal's muzzle shaking with his pleasant laughter. Gasping for breath, Albert looked over the new arrival, a heavy-set, green crocodilian, clad in a similar headdress as Anubis wore. And that was it. Lighter green bellyscales covered his meaty torso, the croc-morph clicking his teeth thoughtfully in his long slim snout, and between his legs was a very thick, very male erection. The human groaned and tried to avoid looking, but it seemed to release some sort of scent that made him desirous of it, breaking apart his inhibitions and morals. The sensual swaying of the scaled smooth scrotum beneath the dark green shaft, which stood out prominently from the lighter green in his crotch, only made the effect more intense, and Albert's own arousal throbbed against the bedsheets he still held.

Anubis smiled. "Sebek, my consort in this realm. He was revered to the populace of the area where your sailing vessel had released you. But that was many centuries ago, and those who love him now dwell here." Sebek smiled and bowed somewhat to the human, his raspy voice hissing, "Pleasure to meetcha."

Albert just stared dumbfounded at how ... modern the crocodile god sounded. 'Meetcha'? 'FIELD that one'?

Sebek answered his thoughts verbally. "Anubis may believe in 'protocol' and things like that, but the Egyptians gave me a better deal on what to be worshipped for. I think being thought of as a fertile god ..." -- he touched his turgid shaft, giving it an idle stroking -- "... allows me a little more leniency with how I talk." He grinned impishly, if a crocodile can possibly grin any other way, and Anubis' tail beat against Sebek's legs as he said, "Now-now, Albert is our guest. We should try and project a positive image for him, hmm?"

Albert's thoughts got turned back towards his 'guest' status. "You never -did- tell me why I'm here. I mean, you all seem to have a nice lifestyle going here. It's hard not to like heaven."

Anubis sighed. "This is the human race's Elysium, not ours. Being deities made in the human image, we carry with us all of their urges, their sorrows, and their rage. And yet, we are also called upon to relieve these problems." Sebek nodded in agreement, and the jackal continued. "You might say ... that when we are resolving the human dilemma, we are simultaneously ignoring our own." Anubis' claws on Albert's body started to stroke over his skin softly, the human shuddering but not discouraging it at all ... it felt really nice, as if it was soaking his weariness and uncertainty away with waves of warm water.

Sebek drew nearer, his scaled frame as warm as any mammal body, and Albert found himself embraced between the two gods, twin pairs of hands running over his body, petting him. To his credit, the croc kept the mood going as he spoke, "We also know of your problems. Money ... rejection ..." The reptile's snout shifted closer to his ear, hissing lowly, "Sexual confusion ..." He placed a small kiss there as he drew back up, "You won't have to worry about anything again ... if you stay here with us, and enjoy all the pleasures we have to offer you."

Anubis' nose nuzzled against Albert's face, who found himself hugging back tightly to the canine as he lost himself into the smothering embrace the gods had him in, the sheet falling around his ankles. "You are but an ordinary man, who possesses the powers of decision and choice," Anubis growled softly to him, his seductive tone returning. "What we ask is for your eternal companionship, to please us and be pleased by us ..." Both immortals were already well aware of what Albert's initial reply would be through their telepathic abilities, but they knew they had to let the human answer them aloud. What one thinks and what one does can often be very different things.

Albert's voice was nearly a whisper as he gave them their answer, and they nodded solemnly, Anubis' arms dipping down and lifting the man up, cradled in his arms, with Sebek right by his side, as they carried the man down a long hallway, the flames flickering out behind them, leaving their path in darkness, as Albert was carried towards the dazzling light ahead ...

********************

Eyes adjusting to the gloom of the room, the man's lungs let out a healthy groan as Anubis nibbled his front teeth over the rim of his neck, as the crocodile god loosening the jackal's loincloth and freeing the thick furry pouch of his sheath to the open air. "You're a very handsome human ..." he crooned, his padded palm cupping over Albert's cheek. "But perhaps you might enjoy looking like one of us? Human emotion in a primal animal body?"

Albert smiled as he didn't even have to think about it, eyes narrow and blissful. "I've always loved lions ..." he murmured, shivering as Sebek's talons started to stroke over the cleft of his rump, teasing him.

Sebek grinned lewdly at Anubis. "A lion, hmm ... I think that sort of animal will need both our powers ..." He moved over to sit on a nearby bed, tan silken sheets covering its surface, his legs spread as they bent over its edge, his constant erection still standing proudly from his groin. Anubis smiled back, turning his muzzle so he was nose-to-nose with Albert. "You don't have to worry about any pain with us ... Such sensory material was removed from your brain and nerves on your passage here. You could walk freely into a fire and emerge unscathed, if you chose to ... so no worrying yourself about what might happen," he said, kissing the human's nose as he carried him to Sebek, holding his hands up under Albert's armpits.

Albert looked uncertainly down at the croc's dark green cock, looking like it was aimed right at his rump. "You're ..." He swallowed another lump, "It won't hurt at all?"

Anubis smiled serenely, the jackal god lowering Albert down until the dome of Sebek's cockhead touched to his pucker. "Not in the least," he whispered, and his velvet hands started to impale the dark man on the reptilian's erection.

He was right. All he felt was the warmth of Sebek's shaft as it entered into his rump; his hole still clenched tightly around it to protect his virgin passage, but it was as if his nerves had been switched off, leaving only a tingling pleasure in his rigid loins as he was steadily pushed down into the crocodile's lap, his back to the green scaled chest as Sebek lovingly embraced him, crooning and kissing his earlobe again. "Well done ... you feel so wonderful around me," he hissed as his hips wriggled under Albert, making his cock throb in the man's tunnel. "But watch what else is in store for you ..."

Anubis' hand was playing over his furred sheath, and from the fleshy roll emerged a regal black cock, as dark as the fur covering his body but only bare hardening flesh to behold. As he aroused himself, he lightly set his hands on Albert's shoulders as he joined the pair, facing them as his knees straddled both hips, his groin well situated against the human's chin. "Don't be afraid ..." he said soothingly as his fingers ran through the man's hair, the scent of the jackal god's genitals intoxicating him. "Open your mouth to receive your reward ..."

Compliance came swiftly, as Albert's lips parted, and the head of Anubis' cock found its way inside as the man engulfed the ebony length. Anubis groaned, his palm petting and holding the back of his head as it touched to the back of his throat, his lips pursed right by the rim of the canine sheath as his scrotum swayed against his chin, both his orifices well filled with the gods' divine shafts. Sebek licked the human's cheek as he whispered to him, "Now, drink his offering ... don't worry about breathing, or feeling full ... you will need every drop to complete the transformation ..."

Albert couldn't even nod in agreement before his mouth was splashed with a rush of salty cream, struggling to swallow it down before another hot gush replaced it, also washing down his throat. At the same time, Sebek's cock within his rump started to throb and quiver as it poured his seed into his bowels, coating the inner muscle walls with whiteness. His whole dark body started to ring and tingle, as the magic embued into their loins went to work, but Albert ignored it, concentrating on only swallowing down all of Anubis' seed, arms wrapped tightly around the jackal's waist and rump lustfully. Slowly, tawny fur started to emerge from the human's arms, which expanded with the rest of his muscles to make room for the musculature starting to fill them. His hair turned a dusty brown and grew out in his head, forming into the kingly mane he would soon have, and his nose and jaws pushed out against the jackal's crotch into a feline muzzle, sharp fangs now situated in his maw as he continued to drink Anubis' pleasure. The raging shaft spearing from his groin changed colors and elongated, a deep red color as a sheath formed around its base, and his balls swelled larger along with his now fur-covered sac, filling more of the space between his legs. Above his rumpcleft, a tail sprung forth, a thick tuft of brown hair capping its tip as it grew out and settled over Sebek's hip, whose cock still pumped into his rectum, the space there seeming endless in capacity. Sharp white claws replaced his finger- and toenails, and the surface of his tongue grew rough, an attractive lion-morph now sitting in the crocodile's lap, eagerly sucking on the jackal's cock.

It seemed like forever before Anubis' shaft ceased its twitching, his claws combing through Albert's mane as he gulped the last shot. "Mmmm ... you look so wonderful now ..."

Albert's feline eyes openedly slowly, his mouth falling from the jackal's shaft which pulled back into its sheath, and he looked down at himself, his fingers touching to his red cock. "Wow ..." he said in simple awe, blinking as he admired his own body.

Sebek smiled at Anubis as his hand stroked the leonine's belly, "You do good work. We should have thought of this sooner." He lifted Albert carefully off of his lap and seating him to his side, his tailhole swiftly clenching to keep all the deposited spunk inside. "This is going to be a lot of fun ..."

"Agreed," Anubis growled, sitting down on Albert's other side, both gods nuzzling and murring to their new companion. Albert joined in, each of his broad arms giving them a squeeze, a purr rolling in his throat.

"So ... what happens now?"

Anubis and Sebek exchanged a lewd smile, their claws stroking through Albert's fur. "I think ... what we need to do now ... is see what such a mighty organ is capable of," Anubis said, his hand slowly pushing Albert down to lay fully on the bed. "Sebek may do the honors ..."

And as the jackal god moved his head down to kiss Albert deeply, hugged close to his side, and the crocodile god lay in the opposite direction as he guided the lion's shaft into his snout, all went dark in Albert's brain, knowing nothing but pleasure ... as that would be the only thing he would know for the days, centuries, and eons to come, holding and making steadfast love with the deities he now worshipped intimately. His pain was over ... but the question is ... who might Sebek and Anubis find, one day, to join in their amorous games?

Maybe ... you?

THE END!