Poltergeist

 The room was full of stillness. No light penetrated the darkness. Golden sunlight filtered in from the window, revealing the heavy cloth that had been placed over furniture. Stale air smelled of forgotten memories as I walked inside, letting my fingers trail over a heavy drape cloth. Despite the absence of humans, not a speck of dust could be found. 

Every room of the manor had been hastily abandoned. Frightening tails had echoed throughout the town, creating a miasma of haunted rumor that kept travelers far from its doors. The gardens had become wild, growing through the cracked windows and sliding into the once splendid rooms. Yet this room remained untouched, even with the open window that no breeze dared come through.

I dropped my bag to the ground and pulled the drop cloth off an old dresser. The discarded fabric was neatly folded and set into the hall. Hours ticked by as a vanity and a bed and a chest were revealed. One by one I set up the candles, illuminating the room in a warm glow as dusk began to settle. Various instruments were placed between the candles, ready for use.

As night settled into the sky I lay the fresh blankets on the now cleaned bed. It creaked beneath my weight as I sat, fingers brushing over the quilted fabric. Not a sound had come from the house during the day. Now night waited outside the window, and eager anticipation had begun to rise within.

I inhaled and pulled the covers and peeled the night shift off of my body, naked skin glowing in the amber light of flame. As midnight neared, I closed my eyes within the bed, unslept in for generations, and let sleep take me. 

A thunderous sound pulled me from my sleep. The candles had burned down, leaving a faint glow to the room as my eyes searched the darkness. On the ground, one of the stone instruments I had brought rolled to the side, hitting the leg of the dresser. I pursed my lips and stood, feeling a wall of iced air wash over me. 

My breath crystallized in the air as I stepped towards the toy that lay abandoned after falling. Around me the candles flickered, threatening to extinguish. I groped for the shift and pulled it over my skin to guard against the sudden frigid air as I picked the device up and set it back where I had left it. 

It began to glow, a low red light that emanated from its depths, illuminating the black garnet. I looked around for the danger it warned of. Not a sound stirred in the room other than breathing that had begun to increase. “Hello?” I called into the dark. 

In the hall, echoing great footsteps thundered down the hall towards my room. The door was closed, a barrier between myself and the world outside. I turned to walk towards it, only to stop when I heard the footsteps near and end outside the fragile door. 

The knob began to turn, creaking loudly. My breath caught in my throat as I watched it wrench one way then another before stopping. The door shook as something pounded against it and despite myself, I gasped. 

Slowly I stepped forward, swallowing back my newfound fear as I reached for the doorknob and twisted. With sudden speed I pulled the door open, only to find nothing waiting for me. The hallway stood empty, icy air the only thing that greeted me. 

A bang from behind me made me jump. I turned, seeing the glowing red instrument now humming. It spun on the ground before shooting to beneath the bed with a sharp thud.

Every candle flickered and went out, plunging me into darkness. A red glow emanated from beneath the bed, barely illuminating the room. I folded my arms, staring at the bed. Growling breathing whispered beneath it, causing the instrument to pulse with each breath.

A shaky breath escaped my lips as I  pulled in a breath and took a slow step towards the bed. Its breathing grew louder and the air colder. A shiver moved up my spine as I took one more step.

“I won’t hurt you,” I finally managed to say. 

A dark chuckle whispered through the air before stillness took the night again. The breathing was gone. I took one more step until I was near the edge of the bed. Slowly I started to kneel,  my hands resting on the frame. 

The door slammed behind me, clicking as it locked. My head turned, seeing the figure of something within the darkness by the door, its shadowy form lingering. An impossibly long arm of darkness raised as it stared at me, reaching forward. 

I raised a hand to meet it only to feel something icy brush against my knee. My eyes looked down to the glowing instrument that rested beside me. I glanced back up, thee shadow gone. My heart pounded in my chest, thudding in my veins as I slowly looked back down to the instrument that warned of danger.

It glowed brightly, only to start pulsing again when ragged thick breathing escaped from beneath the bed, brushing against my knee with wet air. Every muscle in my body was tight.  

Slowly I leaned down, hands resting on the floor, to look beneath the bed. The breathing stopped and nothing awaited me. Beneath the bed laid various odds and ends, bird bones and stones and dead plants. Faintly I could see the outline of a summoning circle, the sacrifice in the middle an old necklace.

I sighed as fingers ran up my neck and into my hair, attached to someone invisible. “I’m here to help you,” I said softly. “To free you.”  The fingers tightened and pulled upwards, bringing my head back.  

I looked up into darkness, seeing nothing that had hold of me. “Just tell me what you want. I’ll  help you.” 

That angered chuckle whispered beside my face. Claws on wood carved a single letter, then another and another, on the wall beside us. YOU.

I shuddered and nodded. “You can have me. I’m happy to be yours.” 

Another chuckle before I was lifted with an invisible power and thrown onto the bed that creaked heavily. Nails dug into my shoulder and pulled back, shredding the thin shift and leaving long bloody claw marks on my bed. I cried out, fingers digging into the bed as the pain and pleasure of it blossomed on my skin.

Icy breath blew over the back of my neck before teeth sunk into my other shoulder. I reached behind me to feel the spirit and hit cold air but nothing more. Pressure held onto my wrist, leaving instant bruises as it pushed my arm back down to the bed beside my head. Nails raked over my hip, pushing the shift upwards to expose my flesh.

I whimpered and shivered as cold energy pushed against my skin, pulling my legs apart. The entity grabbed my other wrist and pushed it into the bed, holding me down as its presence explored the exposed flesh. 

Fingers gripped the flesh, pulling it apart, leaving bruises in its every touch. I couldn’t help but moan, a shudder going through my body.  The poltergeist gripped my hair, snarling into my ear as it pulled my head back to caress and scratch my throat, letting droplets of blood slide down my chest to the quilt below. 

Cold pressure slid inside me, filling me in a way nothing else had. There was no waiting, no hesitation, no exploring. Just a painful and delightful hard thrust that expanded me around something invisible. A low groan escaped my lips, my body twitching and pushing against the spirit’s force. 

It didn’t thrust or pull back, but pulsed within, expanding me each time it did. I whimpered, moaning and writhing as the essence pushed further in, filling even deeper and expanding, my stomach distending as it entered.

“Yes,” I finally whimpered. It pulsed faster with my begging, teeth once against sinking into my back, breaking the skin with its force. “More,” I begged it. “Please. Don’t stop.” 

My body was flipped, face up as the shadowed being loomed over top of me. New bite marks showed on my breast, the nipple pert and flattened by its force. I cried out in pain as nails raked over my other breast, leaving long claw marks in its wake. 

“You,” it managed to breathe while pushing more of its essence within me. I opened my mouth to reply when it slipped inside my mouth, cutting off my breath and causing a cold pain within.

I nodded, knowing it would feel more than it would hear. Its power pushed outward and into me before suddenly being a part of me. 

I shivered, suddenly cold and hidden within myself. My hands lifted from my side, sliding up my own body of their own volition. Fingers pinched my nipples, making us moan. Then one hand slid down my stomach to the sensitive wet flesh waiting. They played with the delicate nub of flesh, rubbing vigorously as my body shivered and moaned in response.

The hand stopped before I stood, walking without my command to the mirror. Candles around us burst to life, showing my bleeding and naked form before the mirror. A smirk showed on my lips as I looked at myself through a body’s eyes I couldn’t control. 

My lips opened, tongue playing over my lips. Those hands that were mine but weren’t went back to my breasts, playing roughly with the nipples before slapping each hard, leaving bright red marks. I whimpered and groaned at my touch.

We looked around, glancing over the various instruments I had brought before leaning down to pick up the stone that glowed red. It was long, almost baton-like, and smooth. A wicked grin spread over my lips as I slid back into the bed on my knees. With a single powerful move, I ripped a hole into the mattress and rested the stone instrument within.

Fingers played over that sweet little bit of flesh that made me tremble before fingers slipped inside, an amused laugh followed as my hand pulled back, fingers playing with the slickness. “Well well,” the entity said through my lips. “I did excite you, didn’t I?” 

I couldn’t answer, but they felt my hunger and smirked. My body moved to rest just above the stone before moving down hard and fast. The stone slid inside, cold and humming from the magic within. We moaned, hands playing with our nipples again, as we rode the stone, slamming ourselves down on it over and over again.

Moans filled the air as the candlelight grew bright. Our shared body whimpered and groaned, bucking against the stone. Fingers slid back down, playing with our body, rubbing in vigorous patterns before we cried out, shuddering atop the stone and letting pleasure rip through our body. 

My scream was swallowed by the creature who both laughed and moaned. We fell onto the bed, the stone glistening with our wetness beside us. Slowly I shifted, reaching beneath the bed to grab the necklace. 

The entity slid the necklace onto our body, the cold metal sending a shiver through the body. My fingers traced one of the scratches, a smirk on our lips. “I hope these scar you, girl. I hope you don’t forget me. Or what I’ve let you feel.”

Fingers started to probe again, slipping inside of me. I whimpered, shivering and bucking my hips against my fingers. The cold entity within slipped out in one of my moans, sliding back inside of my entrance and expanding. 

I cried out, grabbing the bed as it pulsed heavily, using its power to hold me down. My body couldn’t move, only feel its claws and teeth as marks began to appear everywhere across my body as it tormented me while filling me.

Sensation overwhelmed me, sending me over a new edge with one final scream of pleasure. Around me the power suddenly burst outward, breaking the mirror and extinguishing every light. It pooled above my head, shadows, and ice, before slamming down atop me and into the necklace between my breasts.

The door creaked open on its own, leaving me a panting heap off bloody flesh and panting lips. I whimpered, sore in every possible way before I closed my eyes and let sleep creep into my body. 

Dawn broke and birds chirped outside. The sweet warm wind of spring blew over my naked body. I awoke, wincing at the light and then at the pain that ignited when I moved. My fingers touched the intricate necklace that hummed against my flesh before I stood and bore witness to the destruction around me.

I grimaced as I knelt beside the bed, looking beneath it. The summoning was gone, leaving behind nothing but bones, an empty room, and my satiated body.

Horsemen of the Apocalypse

 The land wilted before them. People fled, scattering to the winds, only to gather in small groups, whispering of their desolation. To speak too loud, they said, invoked them. Yet they had no names. No true way to be summoned, for they were mindless forces of chaos driven into naught but destruction. Those few souls who saw them perished, or became hollow versions of themselves.

The others drew blades and let loose the blood of their kin, manifesting heated battles that determined nothing save who could endure the longest. The victor wore the skulls of their enemies and drank the tears of those who wept for them. 

So it was everywhere they went. I followed, never more than a week behind, watching the carnage. Yet as I watched them, they did nothing. Sword, bow, and scales sat emblematic, held aloft, and never used. They rode their beasts, never speaking, never acting. The world fell open before them without so much as a whimper.

It was morning when I finally dared approach where they rested, dawn barely cracking the sky. The stars still shone, hope yet alive. Their horses watched me with a strangely keen curiosity, braving my unknown scent to nudge a black muzzle against me or push my shoulder. My fingers stroked their necks and cheeks, smelling their immortal scents of war and chaos.

Around a fire, they lounged, unsleeping creatures, the sounds of screams and battles causing constant noise pollution that followed wherever they roamed. I had learned to stop wincing at the noise months ago. 

They didn’t eat or drink. Yet they sat, conversing quietly, watching the flames dance eagerly around them, the chaos they brought seemingly inspiring its heat to spread. I watched from the darkness near their mounts, wondering what the bringings of the apocalypse could even have to say to one another.

It was the closest I had dared to come. Assassins, the last hopes of humanity, had come and gone. Their ambushes easily seen and destroyed. They killed themselves, so heavily influenced they were by the immortals’ presence. Yet even this close, I could only barely feel the tug of their power. 

Finally, I pulled in a deep breath, fed the green horse one of the few ripe fruits left on earth, and stepped out from the darkness. The four men went silent, their haunted eyes falling upon me in an instant. 

The man clad in white didn’t move, yet his brother in ruby stood in a second, approaching me with weapon raised, fire whispering over his skin and hair. I tilted my head and looked up at him as he approached. The two others stood, arms folded, studying me in the low light. A smirk touched the man in white’s lips.

“Good morning,” I finally said, the heat from War’s blade whispering against my throat as he loomed.

Finally, Conquest laughed. “She’s another who’s lost herself. Let her go and wander.” 

I laughed. “Hardly. I came to meet you. To discuss… well, what you might be missing.”

The horsemen exchanged a look. 

“I’m not here with anything other than myself and an invitation. That is why you did not feel my approach. I do not come to kill, consume, harm, or follow.” 

Finally, Conquest stood and closed the distance between us. His strong hand rose then rested on my shoulder. Power pushed into my body, raising the heat of entitlement and hunger within. I shuddered and looked up at him, flushing deeply. War’s palm pressed against my back, igniting the urge to own with the impulse to harm.

“If that’s what you want,” I whispered, reaching behind me to touch War’s hip, before digging my fingers and pulling him up against me. “We can play that game.”

His body froze for just a moment, as the men looked at each other.

I leaned forward, resting my other hand against Conquest’s chest, fingers playing over the exposed flesh his clothing offered. “So let me conquer you. Let me battle you, War. And you,” I said, glancing at Famine, “Let us consume one another.”

“And for me?” Death asked, a curious look in his devilish eyes. 

I smirked. “Death is transition. But it is an ending to a new beginning. Ride me till I break and become born anew.” 

He chuckled, pointing a finger at me as though I were a trap.

“Is this what you are? Eager for this destruction.”

I shook my head. “No. I want to show you what can be wrought of who you are if you dared be intentional, dared to wield it rather than let it happen to you. To see what it means when given to desire, or love.”

War leaned down, his breath hot on my shoulder. “You came here to offer us love?” There were surprise and amusement in his voice.

“Tell me when has another seen you for who you are and not run or murdered or died for it? Who else hasn’t flinched? Or assumed you were nothing but a curse to this world?”

A pause hung in the air. 

Famine was the first to approach, thin fingers moving through my hair before he caressed my bottom lip with his thumb. Hunger and need filled my body. I quivered as he smiled.

“Show me then,” he said. “Show me your hunger.” 

My body was wedged between the three of them, but I moved forward, letting War’s fiery blade hiss on my skin as my lips pressed against Famine’s. His eyes widened in surprise before he opened to me, moaning into my mouth as my hands roamed his body, caressing and exploring. 

His own hands stayed at his side, unsure of where they should be. I pulled back, placing kisses and licks along his jawline. “More?” I asked him, my lips trailing down to his collar bone, teeth nipping. 

“Show me more,” he murmured, finally raising a hand to my hair, resting there, caressing the silken strands. “Please,” he dared murmur before his brethren. 

My hand slipped beneath his closed, nails raking over his stomach before sliding downwards, fingers beginning to caress his now hardened length. A guttural cry escaped Famine, and I felt the hunger rise with his length. 

I lowered myself to my knees before him, tugging his leggings down and pulling him into my mouth in an instant. The gentle hand in my hair suddenly gripped firmly as he gasped. “Oh, fuck.” 

His hips began thrusting, small at first, more instinct that choice, as my mouth worked him, moving up and down on his length. Behind me, I felt the eager eyes of the apocalypse. War grunted, sheathing the heated blade. Conquest watched, approaching to touch Famine’s back, guiding his hips, infusing his brother with his own powers.

Famine’s fingers tightened as he began to thrust anew. Bare moments passed before he cried out, holding my head down as hot seed filled my mouth. As he finished, I stood, capturing his mouth in my own, filled with his release. He lapped at the droplets, pulling them into his mouth from mine. War joined us, tasting his brother’s thick heat as our mouths kissed and played. 

Rough battle-worn fingers ran over my hips, over the material of my skirt, and pulled upward. I turned my head to look at him, grabbing his shirt to kiss him harder, my face covered in his brother. Teeth clashed as I bit his bottom lip, hard enough to draw blood. His fingers grabbed my hair, tilting my head back in a powerful grip.

With a flick of his wrist, I was thrown to the ground. It took him mere moments to straddle me, hands gripping my wrists as his kiss met my lips once more. I arched against him, moaning into his mouth before his hand slid down to push the rough fingers inside of me. A cry escaped my lips before I wrapped my legs around his hips and twisted, rolling us so I was atop him. 

“You’re mine, War,” I whispered to him. My hand pushed against his throat as I bit his lip again, tasting his blood while my other hand freed his length. My body lowered onto him, thrusting him deep within me. His body shuddered before he began to thrust up into me, bouncing me atop him with inhuman strength. 

We moaned in unison, my nails digging into his skin, leaving long claw marks where blood seeped out. His hand made a sharp noise as he slapped one of my breasts then the other before pinching each nipple hard. 

My hips rocked atop him, each of us crying out into the early morning air. Death’s cold hands slid up my back, lifting my top off of my body to expose the skin beneath. His dead lips pressed against my ear as his hands rested on my shoulder, pushing me down atop his brother with intense strength. “Now I shall remake you.”

One hand pushed me down so my face rested against War’s barrel chest, his fingers entwining my hair as he continued to thrust, claiming my body as his own. A cold tongue ran down my spine, leaving chills as it went. It wandered lower and lower until it began to press and lap at the puckered entrance yet untouched. 

Death probed within me, eliciting new moans from my body as Famine returned, lowering himself to his knees beside his brother. His hand caressed my shoulder, seeking that hunger for seed within me and igniting it. I shifted, pulling him into my mouth once more, lapping at his still dripping length. War lifted his head, joining my pursuit as a Famine caressed his brother’s chest, tweaking an already pert nipple.

The hungering tongue in my rear disappeared, replaced by the cold eternity of rock hard excitement. “Tell me,” Death whispered behind me. 

I cried out, mouth swallowing Famine before I whimpered. “Be within me, Death. Let us unmake and remake each other, the cycle, unending.” 

War’s fire stirred within me and as Death gently pushed forward I bucked back against him, pushing him deeper in an instant. He hissed in glee. His power shivered into my core, igniting the truth of life, the willingness to experience everything for fear of missing out. I moaned, feeling the two of them moving within me, at first out of sync then matching in speed and ferocity. 

Famine returned to my mouth, my head held by War. The three of us groaned in unison, the battle between each of their powers raging in my body. Heat and cold spread within, ecstasy overriding everything. My body tensed, clenching around each length within me, only to release and do it again, the brothers pushing me to an edge and over it with ease.

My eyes opened to watch Conquest, a knowing smile on his lips, his the first power that touched me, leading me to a moment where their doubt had been shattered. He stood, stroking himself, watching me take what I had come here for. Slowly he approached us, stopping us all before release would take us.

His fingers played over each brother before he lifted me, my arms around his neck as he held my legs aloft, sliding himself within me. His lips found my own, capturing my taste and my body in one movement. 

Behind me, Death returned, keeping me pinned between the two of them as War and Famine watched, keeping themselves ready and eager. I kissed Conquest, whimpering as he hammered into my body. “Take me,” I whispered against him. “Conquer me. Make me want you always.” 

He groaned, pushing his power hard and fast into all of us and outward. Slowly, screams of pain turned to something else, something hungry and tantalizing, screams of pleasure. I cried out with them as he grunted and released within me, filling me with seed and power. Slowly he pulled from me, dripping with our fluids.

War gripped my thighs, leaving bruises before he followed his brother’s example and pushed deep within me, expanding me to take his length once more. “You’re mine,” he grunted with each thrust. “Mine.”

My nails dug into the back of his neck before he screamed in his need, stilling his hips to let the sensation of me overwhelm and spill himself within, mixing his release with Conquest’s, only to slip outside of me. I whimpered as my legs, weakened, touched the ground. Death stayed behind me, gently guiding me to all fours, only to pull himself from within me.

He slid under me, mouth lapping at the sensitive nub of flesh slathered in fluids. Famine knelt behind me and pushed within, letting himself invade where his brothers had sewn their seed. My moans intensified with the need for more from them, bucking my hips wildly back against him.

He grabbed my hair and shoulder, pulling me hard onto his length with deep, intense thrusts that made wet slapping sounds from all the fluids that coated me. Famine shuddered, whispering his need into the air before his hands gripped my hips and held me back against him, going still as he twitched within me and spilled. 

Panting, Famine laid back, and I laid on the ground, whimpering. Cold lips found mine, tender, and tasting, as Death held me in his arms. “You’re nearly there,” he whispered. I ran a hand along his back and gripped his shoulder, holding myself to him.

“Take me there,” I replied, kissing him softly.

“Are you sure? You seem… overwhelmed.”

“I want you,” I murmured. “Please.”

He smiled and gently pushed forward, easily moving within as his brothers prepared the path for him. Death moved slowly and tenderly, kissing me with each thrust as we moved to a new edge, passion, and sweetness moving between us. 

Finally, he made a soft sound of pleasure, a grunt within my ear, as we held each other through our release. My body quivered beneath him, shaking from the ecstasy he gave me, leaving me a  mess of perfectly met desire. 

He kissed my lips then slowly slid out of me, fluid sliding out of me slowly. I shuddered with contentment and looked to the four naked, sweaty men that laid about me, listening to the sounds of earth lost in lust rather than despair. 

“You’re very clever,” Conquest murmured. He pulled me against his chest. The brothers moved around us, a mess of sweat and fluid and lust as they curled around our bodies.

“Hm. And yet I have delivered everything I promised.” I tilted my head to look up at him.

He kissed my forehead. 

War looked to me from his position of resting his head on my stomach. “Stay with us?”

I smiled. “I will. But the apocalypse ends.”

Famine chuckled, fingers idly playing over my calf, stirring the hunger in me once more.

Death kissed my thigh. “And we have thus been reborn.”

Hag

Fog hung in the air as I approached the bog. Bones hung from trees, arranged in curious shapes, talismans warning people to stay far, far away. Silence hung in the air, not even a frog could be heard, as the world around her home knew to not dare disturb her. The stench of the swamp consumed everything around me as I walked through the shin-high water, splashing as I went, grimacing at every loud noise. 

“Hello?” I let the words roll out of me as I took another step, slipping on the slick mud beneath the water’s surface. My hands steadied myself on one of the leafless stress, just as wet with moss. Bones rattled above my head as the tree trembled from my weight, the clacking noise disrupting the silence.

I glanced around, expecting to see something materialize from the mist. Nothing appeared. Bubbles erupted on the surface of the bog, releasing gas into the air that smelled of death. I coughed and righted myself before taking another step forward. 

Smoke began to blend with the mist, filling the air with the oddly comforting scent of a hearth. I shifted, stepping towards the smell, only to find a footing on solid land. A large, flat rock, as though in a garden path, followed by another leading into the mist, sat along a narrow strip of solid ground. 

The hut came into view as I shivered from the dampness. All around it herbs hung and bone arrangements. A crow perched thoughtfully on the windowsill, eyeing me as I took one small step closer.

“Lost, my dear?” 

Her voice was aged and silken, husky with a sense of slyness. It was the voice of knowing. And it came from behind me.

“Not really,” I replied and turned to look at her. She stood between me and the way out, keeping me close to her hut. I glanced over her sloped back, teal-tinted skin, and wise eyes before smiling slightly. “I was hoping to find you.”

She released a sharp sound of laughter. “Young things like you always are. WHat’s the matter? Prince problems? Stepmother? Dead father? I’m not a wish granter. I cannot get you to the ball.”

I blinked and laughed softly. “No, I came to see you.”

“What about?” she replied quickly. She stepped closer to me, fingers playing idly in dirt near her growing herbs, suddenly bored with me.

“Because I’d like to know you.”

“Bah,” she said and laughed softly, turning suddenly to face me. She was spry and knew it would surprise me. “What do you want to know? How I murdered the king? Gave the new queen her poison tongue? Hm?”

“If you want to tell me that, of course. Maybe your name, though?”

The hag turned to finally look at me. “I knew it. You’re after my power.” She grinned and grabbed my wrist, strength in her old hand. The swamp around us shivered as the vines came alive, slithering onto the ground towards me. 

“No, not your true name. Just…” I paused as one wrapped around my ankle but didn’t fight it. “Just what I ought to call you. What you want to be called.” 

She stared at me, eyes searching within my own for the lie. “Tell me your name.”

I did and saw the surprise on her face when I gave her my true name. My hand touched her own, fingers brushing over her wrinkled skin. “I’m not here to hurt you. Unless you want me to,” I smirked.

“Annie,” she finally said. 

“It’s good to meet you.” 

She stepped forward before releasing my arm and letting me step backward if I wanted. I stood firm, making her raise an eyebrow. “What do you want, then?”

“You value honesty, so I’ll tell you: I want you. I want you to know that you’re desirable. And beautiful. And wanted.”

The hag laughed and pushed aside the rag over her door frame, walking inside. The crow cawed, breaking the silence before she called to me from within. “You’re very foolish if you think that will trick me, little one.”

“Is it so hard to believe?” I asked from outside. The vine stayed around my ankle, idly caressing my flesh. “You’re clever, disarming, powerful, compassionate…”

“Compassionate! Ha! Clearly, you don’t know me at all.”

“I know how many powerless girls appear to you in desperation and you help, despite your mistrust of the world. You protect them, in your own way.”

Her visage appeared at her door, aged hand holding up the cloth. “So you want me, eh? Want to know me? Be with me? Prove it then.”

I nodded. “What would you have me do?”

“Kneel.”

I knelt on the ground, letting the vine slither up my thigh. The hag approached, weathered hand touching my cheek, nails black with dirt and refuse, tilting my face upward so I looked at her. 

“Good girl,” she whispered. “Now,” she murmured, fingers pulling up the dirty garb she wore. The pale teal skin beneath was bloated from living in the bog, unnatural creature that she was. Tangled hair awaited at her entrance, with the scent of swamp and earth. “Kiss me.”

My hands moved over her thighs, nails lightly raking before I leaned forward, pushing my tongue into the matted hair to taste her earthiness. My tongue dove deep, playing with the sensitive nub of flesh that waited, sucking into my mouth and swirling my tongue about.

The hag grabbed my hair, pulling my head between her thighs, joyous moans suddenly escaping from her lips. Her hips bucked against me as I lapped at her, sucking and teasing despite her movements. “Good girl,” she whispered again, holding my hair tighter. 

I slipped my hand upward, sliding two fingers into her tight depths. She cried out, shuddering, rocking her hips into my fingers. The hag shuddered, whimpering as her body quaked and pleasure overtook her. 

The fingers in my hair tightened momentarily as my tongue and lips refused to relent, moving faster and deeper while my fingers slid in and out of her, covered in her juices and the scent of decay. Grit and dirt rolled in my mouth, yet the bitter and swampy flavor of her washed them away as she released.

Slowly she released my hair and stumbled back, learning against her little magical hut. I set my bag down, pulling a single long carved stone piece from it and several leather straps. Her intense eyes watched me as I mounted it on myself in silence.

As I approached she held up her hands. “It’s fine. You’ve proven your point. What do you want?” she panted.

“May I kiss you?” 

Annie blinked then took my mouth in her own, teasing her tongue between my lips as she tasted her own juices. I let my lips trail down her neck, too the swell of her breast, and pulled at her nipple with my teeth through the cloth of her shift. 

“I want to fuck you, on your bed, kissing you. May I?” I whispered into her breasts and found her mouth with my own again. There was a half nod and moan of excitement as an answer.

We stumbled into her hut, knocking over something that broke and sent the crow flying away. She giggled, grabbing my shirt to pull me with her onto the old wooden frame. I lifted her up onto the bed, my lips rarely leaving hers before I spit into my hand, covering the length with it.

“Do you want this?” I asked her in a whisper. My tongue trailed over the edge of her lips.

“I do. Give it to me.” She grabbed my hips and pulled me forward with her uncovered legs. “Fuck me,” she commanded.

I smiled at her and climbed between her legs, kissing her softly as I positioned myself and rocked my hips forward. 

The hag cried out, a gasping whimper and animalistic moan combined. “Yes,” she whimpered, her legs pulling me deeper into her. I rocked my body, thrusting in and out of her. Her dirty nails dug into my back through my shirt, ripping the fabric and leaving claw marks along my skin. Old teeth bit at my lip and neck, leaving soft marks in their wake.

Our bodies moved together, hers beneath me as I pounded into her, holding her to me with my arms. Lips locked together as the pressure built and her sounds became more frantic and desperate. Finally, her body tensed, clinging to me as she rode the waves of her ecstasy, her hips slowing until they stilled. 

I stopped my thrusting, placing a soft kiss on her forehead, and then moved to pull the straps off of myself, letting the tool drop heavily to the ground by her bed. Quietly she laid beside me, panting, her eyes happily glazed. 

My fingers slid between her slick thighs, feeling the creaminess of her wetness before flicking over the sensitive skin above her opening. Her whole body shuddered, but she giggled and grabbed my hand. “A moment,” she murmured. 

“As you wish,” I whispered and pulled her small frame against me. She sighed, a sound of contentment.

“You can have it all,” she finally mumbled. “The magic, the swamp, the poison… whatever you want, if you stay.”

“Hmm. I’m quite happy with what you’ve given me of you,” I replied softly. “But I’m happy to stay.” My lips found hers and she kissed me softly in return.

“It’s Annis,” she replied before she closed her eyes and allowed herself to sleep.

 

Sphinx

I sat on the edge of the stone temple, watching those avoiding the once busy road as they picked their way through the underbrush to get to the city, cutting a wide path around the centrally located temple. A low rumble emanated from within the temple, a leonine sound I had been waiting to hear. 

She stalked between the columns, body moving with predatory grace. Wings sprung from her back, the tips dragging delicately on the ground as large padded feet came to a standstill when her eyes landed upon me. A long tufted tail flicked behind her as she paused, taking in everything around me, as though I were a trap.

“Are you lost?” she asked, voice deep and enchanting.

I shook my head and slowly shifted so my back rested against a column and I faced her. 

She walked until we were a few feet apart before she sat on her haunches and looked at me, curiosity, and confusion in her sharp eyes. They wandered over my eyes to my body, to the shift I wore that was easily transparent. Finally, she looked at my face and tilted her head. “Are you going to enter the city?”

“No, not at all.” 

Dissatisfaction flickered over her features. She let a pause follow, a silence I was meant to fill. 

“Are you visiting the city?” I asked pointedly.

The Sphinx chuckled despite herself, a sharp snort before regaining her regal composure. “No, pilgrim. I guard it.”

“From what?”

“Those who would travel there.”

“You know that they just use a different road now.” Her eyes narrowed and her claws flexed. I raised a brow. “Touchy subject?”

“If there is another road, why come this way?”

“Why, to see you, of course. I saw the other road and thought you might be lonely.” I watched as she smirked. “And I dearly love a good riddle.”

Ears twitched and perked. “Oh. Really? You don’t seem dressed for riddles.” The woman moved, standing again, and walked by me, languid body brushing against my shoulder as she walked by, casually walking over the bones of previous victims.

“What do I seem dressed for, lady?” I didn’t follow her but turned my head as she leaped onto an altar above me, her eyes always watching me.

“More physical activities, I think.”

“Are you not physical, then?”

Her head tilted and she blinked slowly, considering. “At times. If the mood strikes.”

“And how does one strike your mood?”

She grinned, sharp feline teeth showing. “With riddles.”

I nodded, considering. “Well played. Tell me your game so that I may consider it.”

“Tell me why you came.”

“Well, I haven’t just yet.” She flushed and smiled. I had never seen a sphinx be shy. “But I came to see you.”

“Why?” The tail flicked lazily in the heat as she looked away, watching her deserted road. 

“I thought you might be lonely.” 

The Sphinx didn’t look at me but I saw the tightening of her jaw and the flick of her tail at the honesty in my voice. “If you answer the riddle correctly, you may go into the city.”

“But what if I seek only your company?”

She sighed. “Then if you answer the riddle we shall, as you say, perhaps try a physical pursuit.” 

I smirked. “Kind but I would not win your affection, lady. I would only want it if it were given freely.”

Fierce eyes settled on mine. “Then what is it you want?”

“To entertain you, I suppose. You want the riddle, and so I want to play. What will happen should I lose?”

Her grin appeared and she licked her lips. “I am to devour you.” 

My hand touched my neck in mock surprise before slowly moving down my body, over my hardened nipple, sliding beneath the sheer fabric to the soft wetness between my thighs. “It has been some time since I have been devoured.”

The sphinx shifted, eyes suddenly large, as a hunter watches the hunted. “That isn’t what that means, pilgrim.”

“Language is ever-evolving and open to interpretation. Tell me, do you want to devour me?”

Her eyes looked to where my hand was softly touching. “It has been long since I tasted a woman.”

“Then you wish I would lose?” I moved my hand away and stood, resting my hands beside her paws and looking up at her. “So that you can eat me?”

She didn’t turn away this time but brought her face close enough to mine that I could feel her breath. “Yes.”

“Then ask me your riddle, lady. I am eager to delight you, devouring or no.”

“But your winning has not been decided, pilgrim.” 

I tilted my head. “If I win, then you are free from here. If you wish it, and only if you wish it. You are not to kill yourself, nor another, but to go free and live how and where you will.”

The sphinx pulled her face away from mine. “You know my kind well.” 

“You are not the first I have met.”

She turned to look at me, eyes narrowed. “Where is my sister you met now?”

“He roams his home freely. It was… quite the ordeal to free him. He too had an appetite for devouring.”

“How… fascinating.”

“He told me of you. And all your… hungers.” I walked around the altar until I was behind her. One hand slowly touched her back, trailing through the rough fur to her tail. Her skin twitched beneath my fingertips, making the flesh jump.

“And you came regardless.”

“I heard of all the men you’ve eaten. Sounded contrary to your needs.” My hand slipped between her back legs, fingers softly stroking the flesh of her opening. She groaned a half roaring sound that startled the birds from the pillars.

“Please,” she whispered, rolling to her side to open her legs. 

“Ask me your riddle,” I whispered to her.

The sphinx opened her eyes wide, tilting her head to look down at me, another moan whispering from her. I stopped my hand and she flicked her tail, snorting as she righted herself. “Very well, pilgrim. What is born screaming but dies in silence?”

I smirked. “Democracy?”

She snorted and shifted, jumping atop me so that I fell beneath her weight, wings alighting to soften her landing. I giggled up at her toothy grin. A clawed paw dragged down my body, leaving fine lines of red blood as she shredded the sheer fabric.

“No,” she finally purred, a rumbling moving through her body as she nuzzled between my thighs, human and cat tongue lapping against me, smooth and yet rough. My fingers dug into the luxurious hair on her head, moaning as I pressed up against her.

“It’s true, though. Democracy is born…” her tongue dove deeper, sending shivers down my spine. Teeth teasingly raked over the sensitive nub of flesh. “...from rebellion, often from war.” 

I cried out, hips bucking up against her. One great paw pushed on my pelvis, holding me to the stone beneath. Her mouth devoured mee, hungrily teasing, and tasting, tongue swirling eagerly. “And almost always... dies from…” 

A scream came out of my body as I shuddered and twitched beneath her, pressure ripping through my body. I gasped, panting from the sensations. Her body shifted, bringing her face to mine where I kissed the taste of myself off of her lips. 

“Dies from?”

I blinked at her, confused, before laughing. “Apathy.”

She grinned instead of smirking. “Clever girl. I suppose that devouring was ill-gotten.”

“You could always ask another riddle,” I murmured, catching her lip in my teeth before releasing her. “But I plan to have my mouth too full to answer.” I shifted, turning myself so that my mouth was below her center, her mouth once more about the meeting of my thighs. 

“Lower yourself,” I whispered, reaching up to guide her down. Fur and wetness greeted my lips as I lapped at her, tasting her wild flavor. I turned my head, letting my mouth explore her more, tongue playing with her own sensitive skin. “Is this what you want, lady? Is this what you choose?” 

She bucked against my mouth, body shuddering. “Yes. Please. Yes. I want this.”

I smiled at her newfound freedom before letting my restraint go, shoving my tongue within her and teasing her relentlessly, consuming the sphinx and her lust. 

The leonine woman roared and moaned as feline claws dug into the cement. Her mouth lowered once more, feasting on my wetness. Our moans combined, animalistic and divine, as the sphinx forgot her riddles, lost within the secrets of flesh and want.

On the Sphinx's road, the first traveler in a century walked into the city.