Draugr

A cold winter wind bit my skin through the heavy cloak as snow swirled through the air, igniting cool skin to a fiery heat as it melted. Hail slammed against the stone and my body as I leaned against the heavy rock, panting against the storm. Low amber light was barely visible through the wet snow, and nearby cattle huddled together, waiting to be welcomed into the barn.

Farmers took to their meager livestock, grimacing at the shift in weather. The cattle lowered, heads rolling from side to side as they fought against their owner’s good intentions. A scream rang out from a man whose hand was missing a finger from a wily horse who kicked nearby. 

I grimaced, lips pursed as I watched the humans argue, decrying each other’s animals or skills. The sting of blades ringing caught my ears against the howling wind. Two women stood, teeth and swords bared, blades grinding against the others. The townsfolk jeered and cheered them on.

My brows furrowed as I leaned against the rock harder, pulling my cloak around me so that snow settled on it, hoping the villagers wouldn’t hear me. The anger that bubbled inside them spilled over and chaos broke out, bloodthirst erupting as dogs attacked the humans, cattle gored the donkeys, and children screamed in their homes.

“You!” An angered voice pierced the wind as grey eyes locked with mine, boring into my mind. I shuddered and pushed off from the rocks, slipping away and deeper into the storm.

“Where are you?”

It echoed in the storm, caught on the wind, and rang around me. The cold snuck into my bones as I crunched through the snow, hand pushing on the rock to guide me through the white haze. Shouts followed me, chasing me through the storm until my hand hit empty space. 

“Over here!” 

They wandered into the storm, their hunger for blood turned away from each other and focused on me. The crack in the rock promised darkness. I slid against it, moving through the wet cold stone to the emptiness on the other side. My ears rang in the sudden silence, eyes momentarily useless in the dark. 

I leaned against the stone wall, listening for the crunch of boots. My breath held as footsteps moved closer to the crack. Moments passed as their shadow darkened the little light that filtered into the cave. 

Finally, they stepped away, moving further East along the mountain. I breathed a sigh of relief and slid down to sit on the rocky floor, letting my muscles relax. Slowly I pushed the hood back, water and snow slipping into my hair as it melted. I shivered, listening to the darkness, peering at the few shapes I could see from the minimal light.

Runes were gouged into the stone, barely visible from where I sat. I sighed, feeling the fear of the villagers beginning to fade and my pulse returning to normal as I winced at the carvings, trying to understand the runic language. 

Frenzied bloodthirst was a rare manifestation, and while I had heard of its impact, this was the first time I had seen its effect in the flesh. If I didn’t hurry, there wouldn’t be a village when I returned. 

I pulled the bag from my side and retrieved the old lamp that had somehow survived my journeys. With a flick of the wrist, a spark ignited, catching the wick and summoning a flame. 

“Ugh,” I grumbled, flicking slime away from my hand that I had missed when cleaning the lamp. It had been weeks since I had since the mucus’ owner, yet its presence still manifested, the ooze never drying.  

Slowly I gazed around, rising with the lantern in hand to gaze at the cave. The firelight cast shadows, creating a beautiful contrast against the stone walls where the runes were carved. A well-worn floor greeted me, promising that this was no cave. 

My feet wandered forward, guiding me to the first passage where stairs led me downward. As I followed them down, a soft breeze touched my skin, smelling of stone and dampness, and just a hint of death. I walked carefully, silently, refusing to let my steps echo. 

As I turned the corner, a long corridor of carved out hollows waited, each holding an aged corpse. Shields, weapons, and armor adorned each. The runes above the bodies promised a truth I couldn’t understand, but I suspected they were warriors, bodies of the great dead, awaiting an afterlife.

The musty smell intensified as I walked through the burial mount, long forgotten in the cave. I moved carefully, ensuring I touched nothing. On the wall, elaborate tapestries hung, while beneath each body buckets and goods were laid, each delicately decorated. Refined weapons and shields sat, neatly arranged between the hollows.

They were provisioned for a war.

I grimaced, wondering what battle the dead would fight when a haunting groan echoed through the cairn. I turned, looking to the only passage that led deeper, darkness awaiting down the passage. With a deep breath, I pressed forward, leaving the remains of the dead behind.

The chamber opened wide before me as I walked downward. Piles of weapons, fine tapestries of bloody exploits, and refined armor lined the chamber. In the middle sat a single dias where I assumed once a great warrior had been laid to rest.

I cast my eyes about the space, noticing a moment too late the glowing eyes in the shadows just beyond my lantern’s light. A gasp slipped from my lips and I stepped backward, heel knocking against a sword. It clattered to the ground and the eyes turned towards me, narrowing in the faint darkness.

“Thief!” it hissed. The creature stepped forward, clad in the armor of its people, sturdy frame with blue-grey skin stretched overtop. Teeth bared, human and hungry, as it lurched forward, clawed hand holding its great ax. 

I stepped to the side, careful not to touch the treasures that lined the place. “No,” I said softly,  shaking my head. “I seek shelter from the storm.”

Ice blue power shone in its eyes. Although its lips were pulled back, taut against the teeth, it somehow still grinned. A cold wind pushed against me from its direction, tinged with the lust of battle. I shivered and set the lantern down behind a shield, its light dimming in the chamber.

“You are a warrior?” I took one step forward, eyeing the ax in its hand. The armor hung off its body, once likely a man in the peak of life, broad and fierce. 

He tilted forward, faster than I had expected, near enough to strike me if he wished. “Thief,” he growled, withered hand that was impossibly powerful grabbed my throat and lifted. 

Panic rose through me as I grabbed his hand, shocked at the strength the creature had. Cold, dead skin touched my own, pushing the frenzied power into my mind. I whimpered, dangling from his hand as he stared up at me. 

“Thief,” he snarled again. “Coward.” The words were spat out, his tongue working in his mouth without wetness. He turned, throwing me with ease. II slammed against the dias and felt the wind leave my lungs. 

I crumpled to the ground, gasping for breath as he walked closer, ax resting before my eyes as I tried to sit up, my chest aflame. I shook my head, hand raised to dare try to communicate he was wrong. 

The creature laughed and kicked my hand away, smirking as he leaned down to grab my long hair in its loose braid. I looked around wildly, searching for anything I could find to defend myself. It had been years since anything had surprised me with its need for violence. My fingers grasped an old sword and rose it.

Steel clanged as the ax hit the sword, bouncing off and knocking me to the ground. I shifted, gasping as I pulled air into my chest, scrambling backward as the creature wandered around me, tapping the sword with the ax to provoke. 

“Thief!” he bellowed. 

I shrugged. He hadn’t given me much of an option. With a gasp I stood, finding I could breathe if only barely, as he neared again. I raised the blade in one hand, balancing with the other, and stepped to the side, finding my footing. “I  don’t want to fight you. Or anything you own,” I said softly, though his power continued to try to creep within, urging me to want blood to be spilled.

My feet guided me to the opposite side of the altar, keeping its stone length between us. He watched, amused more than irritated. The draugr raised his ax at me, an eager threat I refused to meet. 

The runes on the altar were different, familiar. I stole glances at it, stepping away from his swipes as we circled where his body was meant to lay. The letters were slow for my mind to read, so long had it been since runes had been learned. 

He swung again, meeting my sword with the edge of the ax. I turned, pushing the ax aside and hitting his face with the pommel. He staggered back, hand holding his face where no blood spilled. 

I stepped back, clearing space between us so I could catch the runes on his altar once more. “Air-” I muttered, glancing at him then back down to the words. Cold icy wind blew against me, knocking me back into the wall as the draugr charged at me. I shuddered and looked at the creature as he grabbed me once more by the throat and squeezed. 

The sword slid into his side with strange ease, the thin flesh barely giving resistance. Yet his hand didn’t release. He grinned, putting his dead hand over my own and pulling the blade outward. Not a wound remained where it had been.

“Stupid thief,” he growled and turned, walking me to his altar and slamming me on top. The ax raised as his hand released me so he could strike my head from my body.

I turned my head, looking up at him, as I grabbed his hand as any friend would have. “Aric!” I called out, voice raspy from his crushing grip.

The draugr paused, eyes blazing with their intensity. 

“Aric,” I said his name again, with more force than I could muster.

“No,” he hissed, stepping backward. The ax clattered to the ground. 

I sat up, holding my throat as he crumpled, falling to his knees. I coughed, trying to regain my voice as the creature hissed and held his head. Slowly, his eyes looked back at me. 

“Astrid?” I recognized it was a name but didn’t reply. He stood, a hand reaching out to my face. I flinched, leaning back from him. “Astrid, please.”

My eyes looked up to the undead face as he caressed my cheek, thumb caressing my lip. 

“Yet you live,” he rasped. Fingers entwined in my hair, caressing rather than pulling. I shivered at the sudden tenderness.

“You could too, Aric. One last time. If you wish.”

He stepped closer and wrapped his fingers around the back of my neck, pulling me forward against his chest. Silence sat between us as he held me there,  fingers stroking my skin softly. 

I pulled back after a moment, his hands still touching my shoulder. “Why this anger? Why so much blood?”

The draugr paused, ghostly eyes peering into mine before he touched my cheek. “Batte keeps me alive.”

“Yet the others wait for the fight. Why stay you here?”

He hissed and looked at the great ax on the ground. “To live. To have you at my side once again.”

I stood, nearly pressed against him. “What would give you the taste of life so that you may find peace, Aric? That you may rest until your true  battle?”

“You,” he said in a grumbling voice. “With me. Would you stay? Rest with me?”

A cold wind caused me to shiver and I remembered the storm and the ravaging villagers outside. “I cannot. But you must rest, Aric. Return to your slumber.”

The draugr bent his head, strange undead lips meeting my own in a kiss that was all teeth and no saliva. I leaned into him as his hands pulled my body against him, the cold suddenly becoming warm beneath my touch.

Fingers slid along his armor to his neck as I pulled him in. He hissed against me, tongue teasing the skin of my neck that he had nearly broken. I moaned, feeling his fingers grope my breasts through the heavy wools I wore. 

I tugged on him and turned, pinning him against the altar before stepping back. With captive eyes I removed the layers of my clothes, nipples hard from the frozen air as he watched, life stirring in his death. 

A pile of clothes sat at my feet before I approached him again, pushing him back onto the dias. He shifted, laying down upon it, a raspy groan escaping his thin lips as I ran my hands over his arms and hips, then down his legs, gently caressing as I moved until he laid fully upon the altar as he had been laid to rest decades ago.

My fingers slid beneath the armor, pushing leather aside to stroke the quickly hardening length of his hunger. The draugr twitched, fingers grasping the edge of the dias as I stroked, eyes watching his intense pleasure at my touch. “Astrid,” he groaned another woman’s name.

I climbed atop the dias with him, straddling his body. Haunted blue eyes stared up at me as his hands wandered up my stomach to my breasts, caressing and teasing. I shifted, aligning myself with his pelvis before I lowered down, guiding him into me with my hand.

He cried out, hands moving to grip my hips, bony fingers digging into the flesh. I moaned and began to rock atop him, slow rhythmical movements that brought hissing groans from his lips. He dug his fingers deeper, pulling me to go faster atop his length.

I followed his guidance, moving up and down him as my speed gathered. My body bounced atop his, our eyes never looking away from each other as I moaned and panted, pleasure swelling within me as he slid deep inside, filling me with each movement I made. Our hips met and his dry length became covered in my excitement.

The draugr’s power swirled around us, filling the room with flickering light and snow as the wind picked up. Gooseflesh rose on my arms as I rode the warrior, slamming my pelvis down onto him, matching his rasps with my own higher pitched moans of delight.

He gasped, hands stilling as I felt him twitch deep within me, releasing nothing but his own pleasure as climax gripped us both. I shuddered atop him as his hands fell away from my hips, resting limply at his side. 

The blue lights went out in his eyes, leaving behind the hollow sockets as I caught my breath atop him. He slid out of me, body still and unmoving as I leaned down, lying atop his empty husk in the cold quiet of the cairn.

Lou Carcolh

 I stared at the mouth of the cave as the sun warmed my back. Long, strange tendrils grew out of the cavern, running along the ground into the nearby fields. Any who had lived by had fled, leaving abandoned houses along the farmland horizon. There were no signs of people, no well-used roads or signs. Everything was grown over, with the strange tendril growths lining the trees and ground.

Nothing stirred nearby. No birds landed in the trees, nor creatures wandered the woods. An eerie silence sat over the pastoral landscape. I had been warned of the creature and its voracious appetite. Of cattle and children who had gone missing, devoured by a cave’s hunger.

My eyes wandered over the tendrils, a strange sheen on them that coated the ground nearby. Squatting, I touched the slime, grimacing as it stuck to my fingers, stringy tendrils clung as I pulled away. I brought it to my nose, inhaling the smell as I watched the sticky growth, wondering if it could feel my curiosity. 

It smelled earthy and damp, as I imagined the cavern would. I picked up a dead branch, breaking off a stick, before carefully poking one of the tendrils. It lifted, wrapping around the stick. The thick viscous fluid covered the branch, making it stick to the tendril before it slid back into the cavern.

My lips pursed as I watched the stick disappear into the darkness. I pulled in a deep breath and stepped around the tendrils as I walked into the cavern. It was strangely quiet within. I blinked as my eyes adjusted to the dark, looking around the rough stone within.

Pools of water cast light throughout the cave, bouncing off of the walls. Small creatures stirred in the water, causing ripples on the surface. Their alien bodies were strange, glowing and shimmering with each movement. As I walked by, they blinked out, disappearing into the depths.

I followed the tendrils that lead deeper into the cave until the darkness was too deep. The lantern flickered to life, casting shadows behind rocks. The water nearby looked black and inky as I walked by, moving deeper into the cavern. 

A splash made me turn. One of the great tendrils pulled out of the water, curled around one of the small luminous creatures. It flopped in the tendril, stuck to its sticky surface as it slid deeper. I followed, mildly fascinated as the creature struggled for its life.

It was pulled into a great cavern where the stone sloped downwards into the dark. The flopping stopped and silence filled the air once more as the tentacle slipped downward and vanished. Below me, something lurked. I shifted, kneeling down to encourage the light to pierce the shadows.

The light reflected off of strange, translucent skin and an opaque shimmering shell. I leaned forward, resting a hand on the ground. Slime coated my fingers. I looked down to see the tendril rise, caressing my hand before encircling it and pulling. 

Its immense strength caught me off guard as it tugged, pulling me over the edge. I slid on the flat smooth stone, the lantern tumbling after me. In the bouncing light, its immensity couldn’t be understood. Even as I plummeted down and landed against something soft and slimy, my eyes couldn’t understand what I was seeing.

The lantern landed against it, illuminating the great coiled shell and massive head. The creature’s eye stocks were turned towards me as great tentacles fell from its mouth, trailing on the ground towards me. 

I was covered in slime, making it almost impossible to stand as my hands lost their grip on the ground. One tentacle caressed my shoulder, soaking my clothes, and moved up my neck to my hair. Another pushed along my back, winding its way through my shirt and gathering until the material strained and began to tear.

Slime dripped down on me from a tentacle that caressed my hair and cheek, leaving trails of the clear fluid behind with each touch. It slid down my neck, bumping into its other length, before sliding down my shirt and suddenly ripping forward. 

I gasped, body slowly being exposed to the cold of the cave, coated in the great snail’s liquid. A shiver ran down my spine as the tentacle curled around my breast, squeezing. Its slippery surface slid off, then drifted further downward to glide under the fabric of my pants. The fabric swelled and slowly tore open as the tentacle filled it, caressing my leg as it stole downward.

It pushed against my body, pulling me against the massive body so that I was surrounded by its slick spongy body. My mouth opened, sucking in a breath as its tentacles pushed me deeper into its flesh. Further down it moved me, its strange body contracting and releasing to push me further down.

My hands became entangled with the tentacles that came from the snail’s mouth, keeping me helpless against its length. Half of my body was beneath it, surrounded by the snail’s flesh while being sucked inside. The sound of sticky movement filled the air, long strings of its mucus clinging to every part of me.

Pain ripped through my side as something sharp pierced me, digging deep into the muscle. Blood trickled out as my body shuddered, something strange invading it. Warmth filled me, followed by an elated sense of love. The warmth turned to heat as my body seemed to vibrate, every sensation new and heightened. 

Wetness coated my thighs as my nipples ached for touching. I whimpered, stuck against the creature as my hips began to move, begging to ride something. Everywhere it touched me was cool and slick, its movements massaging my body that elicited a series of intense moans.  

I cried out, frustration building inside of me as a need to be filled took over. “Please,” I panted, whimpering as I moved yet stayed in place. Its tentacles caressed my face and played over the sensitive skin of my breasts and body, gentle and teasing. Each touch made me bite my lip or whimper, driving me over an edge I didn’t know I was close to.

“Please,” I whimpered again, wishing its tentacles would plunge within me, invade every opening I had and fill me. Yet instead it rubbed against me, driving my skin wild with the need to have it inside me. The pain I had felt from whatever had stung me was gone, replaced with a profound desire.

My body shuddered as a long, thick piece of flesh pushed against my inner thigh, wiggling its way upward in slow, floppy motions. I gasped as it caressed the opening between my thighs, sending jolts of sensation through me at its thoughtless movements. Teeth bit my bottom lip, holding back a cry of want.

Its phallus pushed upwards and prodded into me, letting just the tip explore my entrance. I bit harder, drawing blood on my lip before I cried out, grinding my hips backward in a desperate attempt to have the snail deeper within me. Tears slid down my cheeks from need and frustration as my body throbbed with desire.

The snail slid further in, coating me with slime as it went deeper, inching forward in painfully slow movements. With each passing moment, it gradually plunged further, exploring my depths at its own terribly slow place. I finally screamed my frustration, filling the cave with the sound of my need.

“Please, please… more… please.” I heard myself begging the creature, its passive expression barely visible in the light of the lantern as its shell reflected the amber light. With a final movement, it slid fully inside me, expanding to fill me entirely. It pulsed, wiggling within the walls of my entrance, squishy and slimy.

Guttural sounds of pleasure echoed around us as I moved my hips, siding up and down the strangely soft length. It plopped in and out of me as I rode it, my mind and body driven by the need to have its seed deep within me. With every rock of my hips, I cried out, sliding against the snail’s slick, suctioning surface. 

Slime oozed off of both of us as I rocked, body shuddering and whimpering as wave after wave of pleasure ripped through me. Everything ached, pressure erupting inside of me as my pace grew wild and erratic, the snail’s length sliding in and out of me as it began to throb rapidly.

I shifted down, burying it deep inside of myself as I cried out, the release ripping through me with such intensity my mind blanked and the world went dark. I panted, letting the creature’s suction hold me against its body as the throbbing crescendoed and its slimy seed poured inside of me. 

Its length was pushed out, seed spilling everywhere, dripping out of me, and mixing with the mucus that covered us both. I moaned, desperate to taste and show my appreciation to my lover, yet stuck within its slime I could do nothing but whimper and strain against the tentacles and body.

The strange tentacles pulled on my arms as its suction released. I fell to the ground, naked and covered in its slime. In my side, a great bone dart was lodged. I grimaced, pulling the dart out.  It was the length of my arm and had nearly gone through me. Yet the pleasure waves I was riding hid any pain I could feel.

My eyes looked up to the beast as it slid away, pulling its tendrils from the cave as it went, shelled body disappearing into the darkness of the cavern. I whimpered, wanting it to return, but stayed on the ground, body shuddering from the experience of its hunger, covered in its release that stirred within me.

Redcap

 Water dripped, echoing about the empty castle as I  stepped inside. Highland wind blew through the overgrown greenery, swirling clouds of dust in tiny squalls. I glanced around the abandoned castle, its inner walls still sturdy despite its crumbling exterior. One large door stood between me and its inner sanctum, locked tight for centuries.

The main hall was empty, save wild vines and bits of broken wall. Not a stick of furniture could be found. No decor or tapestries remain. Thieves had picked the place clean, yet all had refused to open the forbidden door. Not a single scratch mark was on the door. No one had attempted to pick the lock, pry open the hinges, and certainly, no one had dared to simply unlock the door.

On the wall, hanging under a great warning chiseled in stone,  hung the great iron key. Various charms were carved into the wall around it, promising revenge against any who freed the old lord. Long was the memory of the highlanders. 

I plucked the key from the wall and walked to the door, sliding it inside without pausing. It clicked, softly and simply, as I turned it. The old lock snapped open and dust trickled down from the door’s top as I tugged at it.

The old hinges wheezed, groaning under the movement they had not felt in years. As I pulled it open, the castle seemed to tense, uncertain of what still lived within her. Beyond the door, the castle waited, filled with dust that made me cough as I walked inside. 

Elaborate tables with fancy place settings and long since disintegrated remains of tapestries decorated the dining hall. A great silver-plated throne sat at the head, a long since dried skeleton sitting in its seat. Before the bones sat a simple goblet, no doubt filled once with wine. 

I tilted my head as I approached, glancing for signs of what had killed the man whose bare skull still bore a crown.  Bones sat on the plate, some small bid. The wine had long dried up. The skeleton had partially collapsed, yet I could find the small bone the king had choked on.

“All alone and your goblin didn’t save you, hm?” I pulled the bone out and set it on the plate. 

“I wasn’t ordered to.”

The voice was deep and graveled, with an accent that whispered of a fae language. I turned to look at the old man, his glowering eyes staring at me from across the room. He was short, goblin teeth glinting in the remaining sunlight that filtered in, a long pike resting in his hands. On his head sat a red cap, nearly dried by age and time. It had been a while since he had gotten the fresh blood he needed.

I shifted my body to face him. They said if you ran, he’d get you. And the door to his freedom stood wide open now. My brows rose. “Do you think that’s because he was choking?”

The toothy grin that met my words was haunting. Long, metal talons sat on his fingers, clicking against the wood of his armament. “Who knows. So long ago now…” he trailed off as he took a simple step forward.

My hands pressed into the king’s table and I lifted myself to sit on the edge,  showing the goblin I wasn’t planning on running. His grin faltered, then suddenly returned as he stepped forward again. His wrinkled skin and toothy grin brought a small smile to my lips as I kept my eyes on his movement.

“Your hat, Robin, is looking very brown.” 

 The redcap stopped his movement. “What do you know about it? You’re but a child. Do the stories still carry?”

My smile didn’t falter. “Of the magic king, betrayer that he was, and his bound redcap? Indeed. So much so that I am the first, it seems, to open the door.”

He glanced back towards the door, a hint of hope returning to his face. “And yet you are not afraid?”

“I came to offer what you need willingly.” I raised a brow as his eyes narrowed at my response. “I have enough for your hat and am happy to give it. And to leave the door open. You’re free, Robin. There isn’t a human for miles. You can live and hunt here.”

The goblin took a step closer, and then another, until he stood before me, eyes looking up. His gaze trailed over my body before settling on my eyes. “But it’s more fun if they scream,” he teased. 

I smirked. “I have no doubt you can make me scream, Robin.”

His eyes widened before he grinned. I stood, tilting my head to look down at him before I walked away, heading towards the passage he had come out of. “I hear you live in a dungeon,” I murmured before I stepped around the corner to the stairway leading down.

My boots made soft noises. Fire flickered to life behind me as the redcap suddenly appeared, still a creature of magic. He stepped around me to lead me downward, assuming that I couldn’t see without his fire.

The dungeon was bare, no cages. Just a pile of bones in the corner where Robin had made his home. I raised a brow at the chains and steel racks that were scattered about the giant space. 

He lumbered away, igniting a fire in the pit that illuminated his home. Slowly the goblin turned as I looked at the illuminated torturee devices, a knowing smile on my lips. I raised a hand to untie the cloak and let it fall before I began to unfasten my breeches.

“No no, no need. I can do that,” he said in a low voice. I moved my hands away, letting them fall to my side. 

He approached, hands gliding over my clothes without touching, outlining my body. His mouth stayed open, pink tongue showing, as he imagined my body beneath the clothes. “Why?” he asked as his hands returned to his side. 

The real question beneath it was is this a trick? 

I smiled and knelt beside the goblin. “Because you need to see that people are willing to please you. To meet your needs. And I want to be that person, Robin. I want to bleed for you.”

His wicked grin grew wide as he caressed my cheek. “You’re one of those that likes pain, aren’t you.” It was a statement, not a question. Fingers closed around the back of my neck as he pulled me forward and with surprising strength, threw me over a raised block of wood on the ground, facing the fire.

I pushed up on the ground but felt his strong hands grab my wrist and pull, closing a metal manacle around it. Within moments he had caught my other hand and secured it, so that I was face down, head off the block, my knees touching the ground. Metal clicked as he pulled my leg to the side and secured one ankle and then another

“Pretty woman,” he cooed at me as he walked around my body, never touching, simply watching. I didn’t struggle but tested each manacle. They were strong. Aged iron still held despite the test of time.

Iron claws raked against my back, gently teasing the cloth. I shivered and made a soft gasp. I could feel his grin as he slipped his claws against my neck and under the cloth of my shirt. The fabric tore from his talons, splitting down the middle and revealing my skin to the cool dungeon air.

The claws slipped under the edge of the breeches, shredding them as he went until my body was revealed, sitting in a puddle of my clothes. Those dangerous nails played over my thigh and back, slid over my hips to play at my fold. He chuckled, feeling how wet I was, and how eager I had been for him.

Another shudder ran through me as the goblin moved to stand before me and placed an old stone bowl beneath my throat. I lifted my head to gaze up at him. I barely glanced at his eyes before he pushed his erect length into my mouth, filling me and causing me to gag. I whimpered, but his fingers held my head steady as he thrust forward, stopping me from questioning him.

A muffled cry came out of my mouth as a cold chain whipped against my back, bruising and stinging at the same time. My body jerked, as though it could run away despite the manacles. Another clang echoed as he struck me again, hitting my backside. Pain blossomed in my body as I choked on his erection.

Nails dug into my scalp as he pushed my face against his groin, ensuring I took every inch of him as the chain kept hitting me. A sound of delight, somewhere between a growl and a groan, came out of him every time I jumped from the pain. 

Finally, he pulled my head back, drool dangling from his tip to my lips. “Ask no questions,” he said in a dark command. “Unless you would break. Can’t have that, now can we?”

The redcap stroked my hair gently before his nails pierced my scalp, sending fire through my skull. I whimpered as blood began to trickle from each hole, sliding down my cheeks to drip off of my chin and into his bowl.

“Good girl,” he whispered, leaning down to lap the blood off of my cheek. “We’ll start here. Keep your blood pumping though,” he murmured and rose my head to his hardened length. With a tug that hurt every cut he had made, he pulled me back onto him, shoving himself as far as back as he could. 

His hips thrust, pounding into my mouth as I sucked in desperate breaths between each grinding jab forward. Saliva spilled down my chin, mixing with the rivulets of blood that fell into the bowl below. Robin held me firm, each penetration driving the pain and feel of the blood away from my mind.

Suddenly he pulled back. I gasped for breath and coughed. “It’s been so long, girl. Your mouth is just so good.” He chuckled in his aged voice and stepped away from my head, letting me hold it up myself. 

I could hear the chain he pulled as he leaned down, pushing my hair away from my neck to close a thin collar around it. The chain attached, holding my head up so the cuts drained into the bowl. 

The blood had slowed. He stroked my back as he examined the blood in the bowl. “Not bad. But it will take more. My hat is so very dry.” His fingers twitched and cuts formed on my cheeks and jaw, leaching out blood little by little. 

Nails shivered along the bruises he had left before sliding down between my thighs. Carefully they slid in, then out. I heard him sucking his nails, tasting me as he chuckled again. 

Pain shot through me as his nails cut on either of my thighs, not so deep to get arteries, but deep enough hot blood slid down them, dripping into the bowl he placed below. I struggled, flinching away as his nails kept cutting, lining my inner thighs with deep claw marks.

A small tongue poked against my rear entrance as his claws slid upward, cutting the skin of my backside. I whimpered, then moaned, as his tongue lapped and then poked inward, invading. Heat spread through me while he sliced and licked, teasing my entrance before a larger pressure formed there.

“Be still,” he grumbled as I pushed back against him, hips and thighs covered in blood. With one great thrust, he pushed himself deep into me, invading my rear without hesitation. I cried out in pleasure and pain, shuddering as he claimed what he wanted. 

His hips thrust, pushing hard and fast into me as my body struggled to adjust. Shivers ran through me as he gained speed, moving faster and harder than any creature could as he filled me. My cries filled the dungeon, bouncing off the walls around us while he mounted me.

New pain erupted as his nails dug deep into my back, shredding the skin without hesitation. Blood slid down my sides, coating the wood I lay upon. A rough fabric was rubbed over the wound, lapping up the blood at my thighs and over my back as he kept moving forward, growing harder with each thrust.

I cried out, pleasure and pain forming pressure within me until it exploded outward and I trembled, gasping against the waves of ecstasy. My body bucked against him, shuddering and then sagging as he kept thrusting within me.

“Good girl,” he snarled. “That’s a good... girl…” He grunted the phrase between each thrust until his words became sounds and a violent snarl joined my frantic moans. Nails dug deep into my back,  holding me steady as he exploded inside of me, twitching and spurting.

A raggedy breath followed as he slowly pumped his hips, leisurely working himself as he softened inside of me. The rough material was pushed over my back, then finally removed. “You’ve been such a… good girl…” he murmured and pulled himself from me. I felt the heat of his seed leek down my skin and mingle with the blood.

With a chuckle, he released my ankles and then wrists before coming to my face. The chain released my neck as he tossed his now red hat into the bowl, sopping up the last of my blood.

I laid on his block, wrecked and bleeding and craving more. The goblin caressed my hair gently. “Thank you,” he whispered and kissed my forehead. “I woulda perished soon without you.” 

He showed me his freshly bloodied hat. I nodded. “I know.”

Rusalka

 

CW: this story contains a brief attack by a man on a woman, with sexual assault intentions (but not achieved) The willow tree swayed in the moonlight, whiplike branches dancing in the murky water of the river. A bright full moon hung low in the sky, casting the land in a baleful blue. Each ripple on the water was touched with silver from the moon’s glow, enchanting the world with each movement. Reeds wrestled with the breeze, creating the soft sounds of night that blended with the willow’s melodic drifting as I approached.

Not a footstep could be found on the shore on either side. Nor animal track. This part of the river seemed bereft of life. No frog croaked, nor cricket sang. Nothing made nose save the greenery which danced in the low wind. The water chuckled, making soft noises as it moved in its bed, creating peaceful tranquility in the night.

I gazed at the river and its great willow, looking for the tiniest of movements. The way one learned to see bugs or rabbits, seeking out minimal movements that gave the entire creature away. Yet nothing stirred in the water, nor on the leaves of the willow. I braved a few cautious steps forward before finding the glimmer of green strands between the branches.

The hair blended perfectly with the willow’s weeping leaves, the same pale green nearly white. The tips of the hair bled into the water, moving softly with the current. My eyes slowly pulled upward, following the long strands towards the top of the tree, obscured perfectly by the willow itself. I pursed my lips, taking a few wandering steps to try to catch a glimpse of what lied within.

As I stepped, a soft giggle caught the air. I stopped and stared at the swaying branches, suddenly unable to see the long hair. 

“Hello?” I asked, turning my head to gaze downriver in the reeds. They shivered as though something lived within them, taunting me. “I won’t hurt you,” I offered, a phrase I said often that was always somehow amusing to those I spoke to.

“I didn’t think you would.” The voice was soft and feminine, with a hint of amusement that reminded me of the veiled threats of the fae. “Come closer,” she murmured, yet refused to reveal herself.

“They say you drown those that find you.” I stepped to the edge of the water, watching the tree for hints of the speaker. 

“Do you believe them?” she asked, voice lilting in curiosity. 

I turned my head as the reeds rustled again. “Perhaps. Why do you haunt them?”

The still night revealed her low growl. It held all the promises of danger that quickened my heart. The moon slid behind the clouds, darkening the world around me. Water splashed as something dropped from the old willow, sliding beneath the surface of the water.

I fought the urge to step back from the water’s edge. I barely saw the willow branches part. The moon came out, filtering the water with its brilliance. Long pale green hair floated in its depths, spreading out from the willow’s skirt, and attaching to the barely visible head of a woman.

Her eyes were pale white, no pupils to be seen. An unearthly green replaced rosy skin, with dark green lips hidden beneath the water’s surface. Yet I could see the wicked grin there, tempting me forward. Slowly she moved forward, hands winding through the river’s depths, bright glimpses of pale flesh in the gloom.

Slowly she raised up, enough that I saw the slope of her breasts, wicked smile never leaving her lips. “You like what you see, yes?” Her inhuman beauty caught my eye, bringing a flush to my cheeks.  

“You are very beautiful.” My eyes wandered her heart-shaped face, lush lips, and soulless eyes. “Let me guess. You want me to come into the water with you?” I couldn’t help but sigh.

A sweet pout showed on her lips as she glanced down. Long fingered hands moved up her body, caressing her own breasts before slithering back into the water. “So you think you know me so well. You ask why I haunt them…”

The sound of water dripping resounded around us. My eyes glanced down the river to all the green-skinned women standing in her depths, beautiful boodies hidden within the river. Their hair was the same pale green, eyes just as empty, faces just as beautiful.

Her broad nose flared when I didn’t stumble forward but instead looked at the one who had been speaking. “You got me. I thought there was only one of you.” Quietly I sat on the edge of the river. The closeness made the women move forward in barely hidden excitement. “But why are you all here?”

The women glanced between each other, saying nothing but showing everything. My lips pursed as I watched them silently confer with their eyes. Finally, one turned to me. “We cannot trust you.” Her eyes stared with a hardness that sent a chill up my spine.

“If I show you trust will you honor it?”

Another nodded. “Yes.” 

Their eyes watched me as I leaned back, unlacing and pulling off the boots. Bare feet touched the edge of the water as I pulled the breeches, coat, and shirt off, leaving a discarded pile by the river’s edge. 

The water was cold, sending chills up my body as I waded in. The women surrounded me, keeping out of my reach but swarming around like a school of fish would. I turned, watching them nearly touch me out of curiosity before slinking back. 

“Why did you drown them?” I asked, turning my head to look at the first that had been in the willow. She slipped backward, moving beneath the willow and disappearing behind the curtain of dangling branches. 

I followed, ignoring her games. My fingers parted the willow, revealing the rusalka as she lounged against the trunk. Her naked body was stunning, as was the intelligence in her eyes and the knowing smile on her lips. She knew she was beautiful. All of them did, and her openness brought a smirk to my lips. Most creatures were shy. She was coy.

Cold fingers caressed my hips as the rusalki followed me, moving forward with purpose as their kin watched me approach. I paused in the middle of the circle, glancing at the women around me as their hands caressed and touch, daring only to feel my back and hips, my legs and arms. Yet now and then a soft touch would caress my thighs or graze a breast.

“Why do you think we drowned them?” the woman on the tree asked, feet dangling playfully in the water. “Why would you have drowned them?” Her long green hair clung to her curves and floated on the water’s surface.

“I would drown a man who attacked me, hurt me, assaulted me…” I let my sentence wander off as her expression hardened. Slowly I closed the distance between the two of us until I could look up at her face from inches away. “These were men who wronged you?”

“Every one of them,” hissed one voice.

“Has hurt a sister.”

“Betrayed her.”

“Brutalized her.”

“Abandoned her.”

“Silenced her.”

“Killed her.”

I grimaced and looked back to the woman before me after glancing from face to face as they whispered. “Then you look for vengeance.”

“We bring the spring green. We bless their fields. We give them wet earth to plow,” she said in a low sensual voice as her hand slid between her open thighs, playing with herself.

My eyes watched her as hands slid up my body to cup my breasts, while other fingers played teasingly with my nipples. I bit my lip, barely catching a low moan before it escaped. She smirked, then caressed my face with her wet hand.

“What did you do to the last man that betrayed you?”

I gasped as a tongue lapped at my slit, exploring the cold sensitive skin between my thighs. My body leaned forward, hands touching the willow behind her, bringing my face near to hers. Another mouth kissed the skin of my back and trailed backward, nipping and sucking as it went until their tongue dove into my rear entrance, dancing a path of pleasure.

Her smirk deepened as she caressed my cheeks, brushing hair from my face. The smile gave way as her tongue licked the edge of my lips, teasing me until I opened to her. Our mouths met, tongues playing and tasting. Moans escaped me, spilling into her waiting lips as we kissed.

Fingers pushed inside of me, exploring slowly. The women worked their hands back and forth, pushing deeper as I shuddered above them, barely able to stand. The rusalka broke our kiss and stood, pushing me back by the shoulders.

I stumbled, tripping over her sisters as they surrounded me and fell into the depths of the water. Cold surrounded me, sending a shock through my body. Yet the rusalki didn’t wait, taking advantage of the momentary lack of movement. 

Mouths closed over every part of me, nipping and suckling at nipples, between my thighs, behind me, at my wrists, and my stomach. Long fingered hands closed over my throat, holding me beneath the river’s surface as I bucked and shuddered, body fighting the pleasure yet wanting more as wave after wave of it rushed over me. 

My lungs burned and I tried to pull forward to get out of the water. I twisted against their rubbery skin, fighting futility. A moan vibrated in the water as fingers pushed deep inside of me, thrust hard and curling upwards to reach a sensitive spot that sent me wild.

The hands at my throat pulled up, bringing my head out of the water. I gasped, air filling my lungs as her hands stroked my throat. “What would you do, my love? If he betrayed you? If he killed you so he could bed another?”

I opened my mouth to answer, only to be thrust into the water once more. River water filled my mouth, pushing out air as it went. I cried out, bubbles floating to the surface as she held me there, the pleasure her sisters gave filling the silence. 

Long fingers played over my stomach and hips, caressing softly and sending a ticklish jolt through me. I tried to pull away, but the rusalki held me firm. The fingers continued, scratching lightly as I twisted and thrashed, trying to hold my breath rather than laugh. 

Just as I was about to cry out, to suck in water, she brought me up again. I spit out the water, coughing as I pulled in blessed air once more. Yet their tickling fingers never stopped and I whimpered, sounds of frustration and delight escaping me at the same time. The fingers within me pushed harder and faster, bringing me closer to my body releasing. 

Tears slid down my cheeks as I tried to get away from the tickling fingers, body twitching with every touch. The rusalka that held my neck smirked at me. “Of course you would drown him,” she purred, leaning down to lick my lips. 

“Please,” I half laughed before she pushed me back into the water. The tickling continued, sending waves of panic and fear as I failed to escape. Each tongue exploring me moved faster, sending new waves of delight through my body. I shuddered and bucked, whimpering in the water’s gloom, before crying out as an explosion erupted through me.

My body convulsed and I gasped, sucking in water. Pleasure filled me, consuming my mind as every part of me hummed and vibrated. My lungs burned with the water, and a strange floating feeling began to take over my body as a strange sound barked through the river’s waters.

The surface broke and I coughed, body no longer fighting against the women. Their hands stroked, gentle and caring, as my mind began to return. I blinked, looking around me until my eyes settled on the woman I was leaning against, her hands gently caressing my hair. 

“Destroy him for us,” she whispered in my ear, tongue flicking my earlobe. “And we will murder no more.”

I shivered as I slid into the river, my mind still foggy. The willow branches played with my floating body, caressing my skin as I moved from beneath its shade into the river. Silence hung in the air and nothing touched me save the water.

Splaashing broke me frrom my glow. Broad hands gripped my shoulders, pulling me out of the water to the land. I squinted in the dark, eyes falling on his features. “Are you alright?” he asked gruffly. His hands rested on my shoulders.

His eyes wandered my naked body. Behind him, a dozen pale eyes watched. One of his hands touched my face, then slid down, pushing my hair back from my chest. “Best be careful. All sorts of creatures out here could hurt a pretty girl like you.”

I swallowed, suddenly aware of my nakedness. My hand groped for my clothes as he peered into my eyes. “You seem dazed…” The eyes watched mine only for a  moment before his hand slid down my body, roughly caressing a breast before sliding between my thighs, parting my legs. 

“It’s you, isn’t it?” I asked, pushing into the dirt to move away from him. 

His hand closed on my shoulder, pushing me into the muddy bank. “Shh,” he murmured. “Don’t worry. It won’t hurt…”

I whimpered and turned, pushing up on the bank. My hand caught on the slick mud and I slid down to lie beneath him, my feet in the water. “You killed them, didn’t you?”

Pain flourished in my cheek as he struck me. “Shut up. Just be fucking quiet.”

My hand pushed on his shoulder, shoving him away from me and I slid into the water, running towards the other side. He ran after me, storming into the river, hand catching my hair and pulling.

Once more I was beneath the water, struggling to breathe as he held me. My nails dug into his hand, clawing to be free.

Then suddenly, he let go. I kicked to the surface, gasping for air and turning to look. He stood, transfixed, looking at the green women as they caressed him. Panic only settled into his eyes when one grabbed his cloak from behind and pulled him down into the water.

Bubbles broke on the surface as the water settled. White eyes looked up at me from below, a knowing smile, then faded into the night.