Furies

 

The cave looked like any other cave. Its mouth was wide and uninviting, with soft sand and dust that lead further in. Not a footprint could be found. Nothing came in or out of the cave. No birds sang in the olive trees. No eagles soared overhead. The cave lived with an eerie silence that haunted the expanse of rocks and woods around it. 

I stood thirty feet away, a strange apprehension resting in my stomach. In the distance, I could hear the barking laughter of ravens, a teasing reminder of what lurked within the cave. The road to the cave was oddly well kept. People were afraid to forget what lived here. Afraid to offend what dwelled within.

In the bag at my feet, heavy chains sat. I had been told the gods had forged them and that they could hold anything. As I stared at the cave doubt coiled around my spine and despite the midday sun, I shivered. With a deep breath, I bent and picked up the heavy bag, pulling it onto my shoulders. 

My feet moved slowly, pulling me forward until I stood at the cave’s gaping maw. Its silence created its own ethereal noise, as though a deep and high-pitched tone moved together to drown out any ambient sounds. Despite the things I had seen or felt, I swallowed. 

Every step into the cave weighed on me. My mind wanddeereed, retrieving memooris ceenturies old. Moments of failure, of judgment, pain, and anguish. I felt a grimace settle on my lips at the reminder of a murdered friend, destroyed by three men who saw them as a monster. My skin grew chilled as my mind flitted to when I had made the wrong choice and the creature I was with recoiled, suddenly terrified.

Quiet guilt settled into my bones. II didn’t see where I was going anymore, my mind was so enthralled with the heaviest moments I carried from the past. My feet moved of their own accord, guiding me through the pitch darkness as my eyes saw only the past. Memories felt as real as the living moment.

I gasped and fell to my knees as hot blood touched my hands, a Hunter’s eyes looking into mine as the knife I held hit home. Fear crept into her face as I held her, pulling her against my chest and immediately putting pressure on the wound despite my wounded shoulder. Her breathing slowed as I stroked her hair. We both said nothing as she let go of life.

In the dark, I saw nothing. There was no blood on my hands and Naz wasn’t in my lap. I looked around, that thrumming note vibrating into my bones. Despite the depth, it was warm. A moist air clung to my skin, making me slick and wet. Fingertips brushed the wall as I walked deeper, guiding myself through with a simple touch.

The memories stalled but the weight of them was heavier than the bindings I carried on my back. Breathing became harder in the thick heat of the air. Light flickered ahead, shimmering in the waves of heat. Sweat touched my brow as I followed it promise of vision, finally pulling from the darkness.

Rumbling sounds of pain echoed around me as I stepped into a chamber of heat and pain. People stood, bound in ancient chains, boodies bruised and bloody. Beneath the floor lava rested, great cracks allowing its brilliance to illuminate the room. Strange cthonic birds rested in the crags a hundred feet above, beady eyes watching me as I walked forward.

The people moaned as I walked past them, their eyes pained and yet accepting. I paused, staring at a man whose body was marked in cuts, patterns taken from his flesh. Our eyes met and he grinned, blood on his teeth from his dripping nose.

“What’re you staring at, sweetheart?” He winked, blue eyes alive but sunken. Long, ragged hair framed his pale face.

I tilted my head and gazed at him, watching him dangle from the thick chain that magically erupted from the ceiling. “Someone condemned,” I replied evenly.

“You here to free me?”

“Not at all.” I shook my head.

“Then what the fuck are you doing here? Get off watching people suffer?”

My eyes looked at his face, cut from someone striking him. “What did you do?”

“Nothing,” he snarked. “They’re just mad bitches.”

“Naturally. Do you want to leave?”

“Of course I do.” He didn’t have the strength to pull himself up to emphasize the point.

“Then what did you do?”

A long pause passed between us. “I am a king.”

I tried not to smirk. “That would do it.”

“Shut up,” he spat, the intensity of his blue eyes increasing. “I… I worked our farmers and slaves. To the bone. Sold their crops. Made good coin.”

My brow raised and I folded my arms.

“Fine! I let them starve. I sold the crops. All of it. Killed those who tried to keep any.”

“And you think you ought to be rescued?”

The king sighed and looked up to the birds. They were barely visible in the low light. “No,” he finally said. “Though it pains me to say.”

We looked at each other a minute before I gave a brief nod. “May your suffering bring growth.”

He laughed, a barking noise that the birds joined in with. I turned from him, looking at the tunnel at the back of the cave. The chains on my back now seemed impossibly simple despite their divine creation. I grimaced and continued, walking to the tunnel past the dozens of people bound in the room of torture.

Their moans followed as I walked into the dark, the heat receding slightly. I sucked in a breath of cool air and wiped the sweat from my forehead, visions of the king’s people dancing in my head. The tunnel curved upward, pulling me away from the tortured souls so that silence began to reign once more.

The long tunnel led steadily forward, returning to the darkness. Yet the memories of pain it had pulled to my mind before were gone, replaced instead with moments of profound complicity. Moments when I had passed judgment, had determined right from wrong in the actions of another, and had felt at peace with those decisions.

I recalled the greedy king in his chains. I wouldn’t have disposed of him, unlike his people had. I wouldn’t have endeavored to end his reign, had I lived there. I had passed through many lands where unjust rulers sat growing more corrupt and instead I had chosen a small good, to help a monster rather than the land. To stop a creature’s suffering so that they may live.

Never had I interfered on behalf of mortals. Humanity’s cruelty left me and mine on the margins of their society. Each interaction with them risked death or worse. And still, I felt the pang of guilt of not doing more, of not being braver than to face those they hurt the most and offer love. 

Voices pulled me out of my reverie of doubt. Heat had returned, with the orangey glow of fire seeping into the tunnel from its exit. I glanced from the ground to where Ii was headed, pausing to listen to the conversation.

Their voices were ancient and filled with anger. They echoed and growled, speaking in a language that existed for eons. I grimaced, ding my best to recall its words and know their tongue, mind pushing aside the weight the cavern had offered me with its prying fingers.

“They are yet to be judged.”

“You do it, then. Since you are keen.”

“Why?”

“Why not? You just said they needed judgment.”

“Ah yes. But by whose decision?”

“Pah! You know whose. Whose decision? What question is this?”

“They could rot to death. Is that not judgment enough?”

“Do you not wish to show them your fury?”

A sigh followed. “I grow weary of it.”

“As do I.”

“And yet these chains do bind.”

I stepped forward, walking quietly to the edge of the cavern’s opening. The cracked floor emanated with orange and yellow lava, illuminating the room the creatures stood in. Their forms were twisted and strange, serpentine hair and dog-like faces with startling red eyes. Large wings sprouted from their backs, soft and leather as a bat’s. They lounged on the rocks, speaking to each other from resting places. 

Great broken chains laid on the floor, torn asunder after time had worn them down. The weight on my back felt suddenly heavier than it had the entire journey. 

“Chains that are broken,” one purred.

“Chains that were made by gods.”

“Yet how could they ever hope to hold us?”

“When you are older than the gods themselves,” I replied, stepping from the darkness. In the heat and dirt, I knew I was a mess and yet they all paused, staring at me in curiosity and anger. II paused and let the heavy bag fall from my back. 

“Who are you? To have come so far and yet not be broken by your own life?” One rose, eyes watching me, angular features beautiful and alarming. 

“I’ve come to bind you if you wish it.”

They looked at each other and stood in a fluid motion. I refused to flinch as they approached.

“Why would we ever wish that?”

“Then it won’t be done,” I replied and shrugged. “This is your fate. You get to decide.”

They nearly recoiled in surprise. “You aren’t going to bind us?”

“Do you really think I could?” I asked and showed my empty hands. One took hold of a hand, glancing at my palm as though something invisible lived there.

“This isn’t a trick?”

“It isn’t,” the one holding my hand said. “Touch her, Alecto.” 

Their hands were on me, touching my hands, my face, my throat... anywhere flesh was easily available. I stood, sucking in a breath, as the memories of what I was guilty of filled me. A hundred moments flashed in my mind as hands caressed me, prying minds peering into the soul of who I was.

“And here we thought you were a hero of the gods,” Megaera murmured. “But you’re so much more than that.”

“And yet…” Tisiphone whispered to her sisters. 

“Not worthy of punishment.”

I opened my eyes as the memories stopped, the anxiety I had been carrying causing me to exhale, not realizing I had been holding my breath. “Thank you,” I finally said, looking to Alecto who still held my hand.

“Why do you bring us chains then?”

A grimace touched my lips. “Because the unjust will have no repercussions without you.”

Tisiphone scoffed, her red eyes narrowing. “And why must that be our duty?”

I sighed and gestured in futility. “Because mortals cannot hold each other accountable. So they exploit and murder, hunt monsters, kill what they see as different. Who will stop them? They won’t stop themselves.”

Silence stretched between us as they looked at me and then at each other. “I’m sorry. It isn’t fair. It will neer be fair that this is asked of you. But if you take these chains, then you will get to decide who you hunt and judge. This will be your choice, not one forced upon you. You can also just leave.”

I leaned down, pulling the heavy chains out. “Choose the chains and I will take care of you as I bind you.”

Alecto tilted her head as her eyes wandered me, a playful smirk on her lips. “I’ve seen your life, Guardian. I know what that means.”

The furies exchanged looks, ranging from curious to amused to aroused. Tisiphone took the chains from my hands. “I will submit. On our terms. To judge humanity for their sins. And I accept your offer, Guardian.”

“As a condition,” Megaera purred, taking a step to tug on the chains in my hands. “I want you, Guardian, to punish us.”

I raised a brow. “For what?”

The furies moved closer until they nearly pressed against me. Visions flooded me of their rage, their hate, the way they punished others for their own enjoyment, for their own pleasure. I shivered at the arousal of it and bit my lip. “If you want that,” I said, raising the chains, “then let me bind you and I will punish you.”

Alecto grinned and moved to where her original chain sat, dragging mine with her. I approached her, picking up the chains and attaching the manacles to her wrists, ankles, and finally her neck. My fingers caressed her neck briefly, drawing a purr from her lips. “Do you know why you’re in trouble?” I asked.

She arched her back and I slid my hand down her spine before striking her rounded behind. A sharp sound fille the cavern and was followed with a moan. “I asked you a question.”

Another slap hit her skin, leaving a reddish mark on her skin. This time she whimpered. 

I walked away from her and approached Megaera. “And you? Do you know why you’re being punished?” 

She offered her wrists to me and I bound them. Magic pulsed in the air with the action, raising the heat. I knelt, binding her ankles before standing. Herr serpents watched my every movement, gazing at me as I slid the collar around her neck. The fury smirked and tilted her head, raising a brow. 

I yanked on the chain, bringing her to her knees. “Cat got your tongue?”

The immortal grinned and then winced as I struck her face. “You should know better. This is a time for confession.” 

Her hands moved to touch her cheek and I pulled, keeping her hands away. “No. Let it sting.”

Tisiphone shivered as I approached her. “We are being punished for being cruel beyond measure,” she answered. 

II smiled and kissed her forehead. “Good girl.”

She smiled, small and sweet, as I chained her. The three furies looked at me with their fiery eyes. I grabbed an old length of chain from the floor, running it over my hands before winding it around my fist.

“I’m going to hurt you. Each time I strike you, you will say a reason you are being punished. When you say nothing more, your punishment will be over and I will stop.”

My steps carried me around to behind them. Their wings were spread, giving me a view of their backs and legs. I watched them, each waiting in quiet anticipation. Tisiphone kept turning her head, trying to see.

I waited for a painfully long time until they fidgeted, trying to see what was taking me so long. Soon as Alecto turned, I moved my hand and struck the chain against her shoulder. She cried out at the pain of the god’s chain, it’s magic leaving a bruise instantly.

“Forcing a man to eat his own children,” she whimpered. I heard her moan after, shifting in her chains. 

My hand touched her inner thigh and slid up, teasing the flesh. “Barbaric.” 

I moved, striking Megaera’s hip. She jumped, twitching in her chains. A low wanton moan escaped her. “Mmm… eating a woman’s toes as she watched.” Her sharp teeth glinted in the light. 

I reached around, pinching a nipple hard enough she gasped and whimpered. Then I pulled, twisting, until she snarled, wings moving to try to push me away. I grabbed the snakes in her hair, holding her until she cried out and went still. My fingers released her flesh and her hair. 

“I’m sorry,” she whimpered. “I was cruel.”

My lips touched her shoulder. “Good girl.”

Tisiphone smiled at me and kept her eyes down, soo eager to please. I caressed her cheek and stepped back, whipping the chains over her breasts. They jumped and shuddered. “Devoured a child.” I hit again. “Forced a mother to sacrifice her son.” And again, leaving long red marks across her skin. “Brought famine on a village to punish a king.”

She sucked in a breath and then whimpered, teeth-gritting as I hit her a fourth and a fifth time. Her answers fell from her lips between cries and moans. Tears slid down her cheeks as I struck her a sixth time, and then a seventh. 

I rotated around her, listening to the crimes of dire punishment she had given out with glee. When I stopped she shuddered and sagged in the chains, body trembling. I ran my hand over her breasts, feeling the burning skin and soothing it softly. She hissed, flinching. 

“Do you want a kiss?” I asked her, raising a brow.

She nodded. 

“Good. Then apologize for your crimes thus far.”

The red eyes looked at mine, long and hard. “I am sorry. For the cruelties, I have begotten.”

I bent my hair, meeting her immortal lips with my own, kissing her softly and sweetly. She pushed forward, pressing against me with eagerness. I broke the kiss faster than she wanted and returned to Alecto.

The chain rattled as it struck her inner thighs. She whimpered a crime and then cried out as I barely gave her time before hitting her other thigh. Another answer was gasped between hard breaths. I struck her hip and over her backside, up her back until we were twenty crimes in and she was holding the chains to keep herself up.

On the twenty-first she said nothing. I tilted my head, gently touching the serpent hair. “Is that all, Alecto?”

The fury gazed up at me and then nodded. 

I smiled. “You’ve done so well. What can I give you?”

She stood, trembling. “Touch me. No mortal ever has.”

I slid my fingers between her legs and rubbed, circling her flesh and making her writhe on my hand. She cried out in her ancient language, body rocking and trembling before she quaked, suddenly sagging in the chains again.

My hand rose to her mouth. Her pink tongue licked my fingers, tasting herself. “Apologize for your crimes.”

She licked her lips. “Forgive my crimes against my calling.”

I stroked her cheek. “You’re forgiven.”

Finally, I approached Megaera, whose challenging gaze rested on mine. No words moved between us as we watched each other, daring the other to push a boundary. The chain dangled at my side. 

I moved closer to her, using my empty hand to caress her thighs, and slid up her stomach to her breasts then to her chest and shoulder. Nails dug into her skin, leaving long trails down the flesh everywhere I touch. 

Megaera whimpered and twitched, trying to get away from my hand. I walked around her, scratching down her back, drawing bright red lines as I went. Her skin shivered, feeling everything as I slapped over the scratches, turning everything into a beautiful hue of crimson. 

With each slap, she murmured her crimes, ranging from the foulest of choices to simple acts of anger. She gasped as I slapped the mound of flesh between her thighs, over and over again as she writhed and twitched, barely managing to get her words out from need. 

The chain finally struck her over the sensitive area, bringing a scream of delight to her lips. She shuddered, muttering incoherent words of actions. I hit her again, listening to her whimpering cries of made-up confessions I knew weren’t true.

But as she wished, I hit her again. Time slowed as I watched her moan and writhe at each strike. Tears dripped onto her breasts as she gasped out incoherent words, inviting ever more pain. I stopped, panting myself, before wrapping the chain around her throat and pulling.

“Do you want to confess more?” I whispered into her ear.

She leaned against me. “Yes. Just one more.”

I pulled the chain, tightening it around her throat as it rested above the collar. She gaasped, shudderinig aagaainst me. I touched my lips to her ear, tongue teasing her skin as her breathing stopped. 

Time passed, ticking by so slowly as she moaned against the chain, body trembling with eagerness. With a knowing smile, I whispered the word she wanted so badly. “Confess.”

The fury’s body responded and she roared heer ecstasy into the cavern. Her body shuddered violently, leaving her a quivering mess of nerves as I released the chain. She hung in her chains, gasping.

The chain dropped from my hand, hitting the floor of the cave. 

“You are the Erinyes. Furies. Judges of humanity. I absolve you of your crime and charge you with your new duty.”

The chains vanished, leaving behind only the manacles that bound them. The furies fell to the ground, whimpering softly as I approached. We laid together, stroking each other softly. I kissed their foreheads, stroked their hair, and murmured soft words of kindness.

Alecto lifted her head, glowing, with an electric smile on her lips. “Thank you, Guardian. We are reborn.”

They lifted their wings and rose, power infusing their bodies as the crimson light rekindled in their eyes. The women looked to each other, grins on their lips, before they flew forward, alighting from the cave to leave the past behind.

Automatons

 

The old stone home was extravagance from a bygone era. History clung to the columns, hung from every window, and wrapped itself as a blanket around the doors. There was script carved into the steps that led to the stone doors, with carved imagery of bodies looking to one another on each of its intricately carved surfaces. 

Five thousand years and not a soul haad walked where I walked now. My fingertips brushed over the face of a man said to be dead five thousand years. Yet stories of his fame, of his abilities, still haunted the world. The dread he caused made this place forbidden, sacrificed to fear and whispered terror. 

I starred up at the doors, grimacing at their weight before I tried to pull it open. The stone handles were oddly warm beneath my touch but refused to budge. I pushed inward to no avail, and let go. Stepping back, I looked at the walls again, high and massive. They were deliberately impenetrable.

Intricate carvings of wind and celestial stories hugged the doorframe, providing beauty to the onlooker as they dreamt of entering the forbidden city. An intricate metal bell hung beside the door. I raised a brow at how obvious it was once I had bothered to look. There were few places that awarded awareness of the invader. 

“What’s the worse that could happen?” I said mockingly to myself and reached up, ringing the heavy metal bell. 

A series of clicks and grinding gears resounded. The palace groaned, awakening from its ancient slumber. Lights flickered to life in the hallways. Closed windows opened, brilliant fabric catching in the breeze. Joyful music began to play and the smell of hearth fires and cooking food, mixed with incense and tea, touched the air, all in a matter of moments.

As the bell finished ringing, the doors swung open, the hands of steel men with great spears in tow keeping them ajar. I glanced at their intricately carved armor and metallic faces, smooth and expressionless. They stood, silent guardians, before I stepped into the doorway and strode down the hall. 

Beautiful bas relief sculpts lined the hall, telling stories from everywhere that came before. History that no one remembered. Stories of kings and wizards, warriors and witches, intermingled with some myths I had heard of eons ago. 

My steps were slow as I took in the world around me. Everywhere the palace was alive and humming. Dancers moved, throwing silk and fans into the air. Mechanical flowers blossomed as I walked into the foyer, puffing sweet perfumes into the air. A servant offered to take my cloak and bag with a gesture. Small mechanical creatures rolled by, cleaning dust off the floor while larger ones began to unveil the gold, red, and azure paints behind the layers of dust on the wall.

Mouth ajar in wonder, I stepped further inside to a great square pond where fish swirled in the water. The fact that they were machines was barely noticeable. Steam-powered frogs leaped from metal lily pads. Stones rose to meet my feet as I walked across the water, watching the living mechanical world around me unfurl.

A great table was set out laden with food and sweets. I paused, all too aware that in any fairy tale this is where I would end up bound to some immortal creature. Around me servants walked, bringing dishes from a kitchen I couldn’t see. Two place settings waited, one at the head of the table, another to its right. 

I touched the stone chair only to be immediately supplanted by a servant pulling it back. I looked at her face and saw the finely crafted metal, jade eyes watching me. My hand moved out in modern greeting. 

She stared at it then looked down. “Your seat, my lady.”

“Hi. It’s good to meet you. Who are you?”

She starred, caught between looking at the chair where I should sit and at my chin. 

“She can’t answer you,” an older voice whispered out of the darkness, behind a beautifully carved door that was opened by another automaton. “None of them can.”

I turned, looking at him. His strong nose and rich lips were exactly as the carved image had been. He was here, a god, given the power of the creator. “Can’t or won’t?” I asked, brows raised.

He smirked. I felt the hair on the back neck stand on end. “Won’t,” he said. Then shrugged. “Perhaps can’t. Sit. Eat.” They were commands.

I glanced at the metal girl and sat down. With impressive strength, she pushed me in. The table was too full. There was so much food for creatures I assume didn’t eat. Their creator watched me and then sat down. His creations poured his drink, put a cloth on his lap, and began to put food on his plate.

“Welcome,” he said, ignoring the look of disturbance on my face. “Welcome to my home. Where nothing is impossible and everything possible.” He made a grand sweeping gesture. The music swelled and tiny fireflies floated in the air, matching the music.

“You control them all?” I gently raised my hand so that one of the small bugs could land on me. It blinked, staring up at me before he flicked a hand and it returned to its dancing lights.

“I created them all.” 

“And keep them all. Here. Locked away.” I turned and looked out the window of his palace as the curtains were pulled and pinned back. We sat overlooking his expanse. A giant walled-in place where massive fields and production buildings sat, smoke rising from them. Yet there were no houses. An army’s worth of soldiers stood perfectly still outside the palace, waiting to be unleashed.

He watched my face as cold realization dawned over me. “People are unreliable. It is safest for them here.”

I turned back to him, looking at his features closely. “How long has he been gone?”

The simulation turned his head and stared at me. “Whatever do you mean?”

“No human could be alive this long and not use that army to conquer. Your creator must be dead.” 

We stared at each other before I stood, pushing away from the table, and turned to where he had walked out of, opening the door. Mechanical life whirled around me. Servants bowed their heads, cleaning creatures scuttled out of the way. 

With frightening ease, he caught up to me, then moved in front as I headed to a stairwell leading upward. “What are you doing?” he asked with false charm.

“Looking for your master.”

He grinned, shiny stone teeth almost human. “I am he.”

I smiled. “Then take me to where you rest.” 

His smile didn’t falter but he didn’t respond to my words as his mind turned over the thought. I ducked around him and moved up the stairs. As I climbed to the top, the sky opened around me. The topmost room was all open, where the stone carving of the creator stood, surveying his home. 

A woman turned, onyx eyes watching me. She tilted her head and approached. “You can’t be here.”

I stepped around the statue, eyeing the intricately carved glyphs I couldn’t read. “What do they say?”

She paused as the man joined us. They both stood, tentative and nervous. I turned my head and looked at them. “What do they say?”

“They are the rules of our existence.”

“Stay.”

“Never harm.”

“Serve.”

“Endure.”

“Protect the legacy.”

“Right,” I said, holding my hand up to stop them. “What happens if these laws are destroyed?”

They glanced at each other. “Anarchy.” It was said in unison.

I grimaced. They meant free will. 

“Do you enjoy your life?” I asked. I walked to them both and offered my hands. She took it, without hesitating. He stood, a pillar of strength. “Is this what you want to do forever? Live by the rules of a man long since dead, and so vain he built a statue of himself and another version of himself to keep you here? Contained?”

Her metal fingers were cool in my hand. As any human would, she squeezed my hand. “No,” she finally said. 

“What do you want?” I asked her.

She looked at me then at her companion. “To feel. To experience things. You’re the first human to ever touch me.”

His expression remained but his gaze softened as he looked to her and gently raised a hand t touch her metal face. “We are forbidden,” he said softly. “From touch.”

She leaned into his hand. “Unless commanded.”

“Please, touch each other. Touch me. If that’s what you want, then, please. Do what you want to.”

Hesitancy showed as she looked to him and then me. Her dainty feminine form took a step toward me then paused a few inches from my face. “Can I kiss you?” she asked. She smelled of jasmine and wildflowers and a strange oil.

“Yes,” I murmured. 

Our lips met. She was cold metal and tasted of it, with hints of dust and heer own unique blend of mechanical lubricants. Her mouth opened, imitating humans, as her tongue gently touched mine. It was cold and solid, but despite its strength, it was tentative. 

I touched her cheek and slid my hand down to her neck, pulling her against me in eagerness. 

His voice whispered softly behind me. “May I join you?”

I nodded through the kiss and felt strong steel fingers gently pulling the neck of my shirt so he could kiss the shoulder blade, tongue playing on the exposed skin. I moaned against him, leaning back as his mouth moved to my throat.

Hands explored my body, gently undressing me between kisses and touches. The sun beamed in around us, glinting off of their forms. His hands moved around my body, cupping my breasts with incredible gentleness and strength. The fingers closed, pinching my nipples hard. I whimpered and shivered.

Her mouth slid down from my lips to lap at my throat as she lowered her body. The robotic mouth closed around one nipple, sucking on it with immense forth and pulling a cry of delight from my lips. She moved to the other, working her thick tongue as though she had always known the art of touch.

His fingers moved into my hair as he pushed against me. My eyes widened in surprise as I felt his hardness. “I didn’t know if-”

“We are capable,” he whispered.

“But unallowed,” she said, lifting her head to look up at me.

Her cool fingers spread the skin between my legs. She brought her eager tongue to the sensitive nub f flesh, lapping at it tentatively. Small electrical shocks moved between us, making me twitch and writhe against her. 

He moved his hand between us, sliding a single finger inside of me. “You’re wet,” he replied, as though an observation and not a comment of lust.

I nodded. “It’s arousal.”

He paused, mind sorting the information. “Why?”

My mouth opened only to cry out as her tongue moved inhumanly fast, mouth sucking upon the nub of flesh more than any human could. “Because,” I whimpered. “It helps… lubricate… when….” I bit my bottom lip.

“May I take advantage of this natural lubrication then?” he asked, curiosity in his eyes.

I laughed and bucked my hips against her before nodding. “Yes. Please, yes.”

He moved, aligning himself against my hips. Cold metal pressed between my thighs then shifted upward, playfully pushing in. A gasp of surprise escaped his lips as he slid in, impressive size filling me with ease. 

“You’re warm,” he murmured, surprise in his tone. “It feels… nice.”

“Good,” I whispered.

Her mouth continued to lap at me, sending my body into overwhelming sensations. I shuddered and moaned against her, whimpering as the pressure built within me. 

“Now what?” he asked, wiggling his hips slightly.

“In and out,” I said. “Pull back… then push in.”

A hand settled on my hip as he pulled back, completely out of me. Then pushed in, hard and fast, stretching me quickly. I shuddered, nodding slightly. I reached around, touching his hip to guide him with each thrust. 

My hands pulled on her shoulders, guiding her upwards to my waiting mouth. Her taste was mixed with that of mine, our tongues dancing together. 

“Can you feel pleasure?” I asked her.

“I think so,” she replied. 

I turned her, kissing her shoulder. My hands slid up her stomach to her breasts, playing over the metallic flesh before sliding down to her mound. Fingers explored, touching her and caressing the imitated anatomy.

The robotic woman shivered against me. “It’s good,” she whispered, hips bucking slightly. “Warm, soft. But like… pressure inside. A tightening.”

I slid my fingers deeper and she gasped. Her body shivered and she leaned back against me as he thrust within me. I slowly released my hand from his hip to hold her as I slid in and out of her with my fingers. 

He made soft noises, somewhere between grunts and sighs. The pressure in me built until I cried out, erupting within me and sending rolling waves of ecstasy through me. His arm caught me as I swayed, moaning as he pushed in again. 

With a hand, I urged him to stop and slowly pulled myself from between them. They glanced at me as I turned. “Would you like to touch each other?”

If robots could flush, they would have. Slowly he nodded and she smiled. “As we were?” I asked.

They nodded again. “Here,” I said to him, nodding to the ground. “Lie down.”

He moved to the stone floor, laying against it, his length erect and waiting. I took her hand and guided her down. “Can you release lubricant with your mouth?”

She nodded. “And other places. As you do.” 

I  blinked, wondering why he had designed her as such, butt shook my head and nodded. “Then lower down atop him, slowly, and release your inner lubrication.”

Oil dripped from her onto him. He raised his head to watch as the robot slowly moved down atop him. I helped guide her hips. They both shuddered and moaned as he slid inside. 

“Now, rock. Like this.” I knelt beside her, acting as though I were on him, ridding him into the night.

She imitated my movements. His hands touched her hips, rocking her atop him. They moved together, creating their own rhythm and harmony. Her hands rested on his chest, nails scratching as he arched his hips, pushing up into her. Slowly their sounds and movements gained momentum until those below stared upward, listening to the music of their lust.

With final cries of pleasure, they shuddered together. Their eyes stared into one another, inhuman and beautiful. Her hips still moved, slowly, as he caressed her thighs in soft wonder. Finally, she leaned down and brought her lips to his. A soft grinding noise came from their embrace.

Eventually, they looked back at me as I quietly dressed. They stood, lacking the grace of humans. 

“What now?” he asked, tilting his head.

I nodded to the statue. “It sounds like it’s time to break shit.”

They both smiled and looked at one another. “I think so too,” she replied.

I watched as they gathered hammers, chisels, and picks before mounting the stairs to the top. As I exited the forbidden city, I heard the sound of stone crumbling beneath the weight of metal clubbing. The doors didn’t shut behind me, but the metal sentinels nodded, watching me leave them to their revolution.  

Frankenstein's Monster

Lightning flashed in the sky as a storm began to cover the stars. The moon gave a final withering glow before she vanished behind a veil of chaos. I was left standing in the darkness, watching the sky ignite and cast the abandoned manor in silhouettes. There were no lights on, save a flickering amber hue in the very top window, whose glass was broken from years of neglect.

The great wooden door was broken off of its hinges and laid on the ground outside. I stepped around broken glass and the remnants of rage that littered the entrance. It had once been a lovely estate. Now it sat alone, cold and empty, with the memories of terrorized screams bouncing around its halls. 

I turned, looking in both directions, caught in moments no longer happening. A cry of victory, a lover’s quarrel, a disregarded promise, a woman’s death. Letters sat on the table near the door, forgotten and collecting dust. I glanced through them, noting names of import whose truths had been whispered in my ear by a dozen or so witnesses to their calamity.

Heavy keys sat in my pocket, granted to me by a housekeeper too afraid to enter. My fingers touched them absentmindedly, knowing they had been useless for the front door. Lightning cracked outside, casting an eerie glow in the house. I took my first true steps inward and walked towards the staircase, knowing the one I sought was likely there, n the womb of his creation.

The stairs were wide, carpeted, and dusty. Yet the banister was clean. Finger marks disturbed the dust and had wiped it off, trailing upwards towards higher floors. I glanced up, listening to the rain thunder against the windows as the wind battered the manor. Doors and windows already broken swung and clattered, filling the home with various sounds as the storm played the building as an instrument.

Howling wind hungered, spilling from a broken wide window at the top of the stairs where rain soaked the carpet. I walked upwards, stepping into the puddle, and stopping to peer outward at the once well-kept estate. Now trees grew wild and shrubs expanded in every direction instead of being neat and orderly. Owls hid in the branches, taking shelter from the storm.

Stil upward I climbed, moving past each floor without exploring. Although the home shuddered from the might of the storm, I knew intrinsically that whoo I sought would lay high above, trying to understand something impossible. My lips pursed as I thought off his plight, of the stories that had been told, and of the names that had been uttered.

As I reached the top floor, lightning flashed, and cascading light moved down the hallway to a door at the end. I knew in a heartbeat that would be where he hid. Along the hallway, doors lay open, yet nothing was destroyed here. The windows shivered against the wind but remained whole. The carpet was dry. Compared with the smell of mold and mildew blow, the top floor felt pristine.

I moved slowly, glancing into each room to see what remained. One was a study, with more books than I had seen in a lifetime. Each tome was meticulously cared for. On a desk sat a journal with extensive notes and scribblings, words I could read but whose meaning I could not gleam. Some were perfectly clear, yet others seemed frayed with instability.

The pages were gently flipped as I read the odd note, beginning to gather the truth of the writing. It was a grand experiment, an attempt to be a god and create life without the seed of life, without the womb. I shifted, grimacing at the notion of what it would take to make a new human without human reproduction, and who would that create.

Yet the notes detailed expectations and beyond. It explained the horrific outcome, the terror and fear its creator had lived in. I winced at the words on the page, on the warnings of a monster unlike any other. The pages were worn, as though read over a hundred times, yet carefully handled.

Beside the notebook a book sat open, speaking of philosophy and what it meant to be alive. A book of wistful answers seeking questions we all asked and yet all knew no truth could be divined while alive. I closed it, lifting it into my arm and placing it on the shelf where it had come from. 

I closed the door quietly behind me and continued. The next room was a master bedroom. The bed was in disarray, clothes thrown on the ground, as though someone had left in a rush. I grimaced and walked inside, taking moments to right the bedsheets and make them, then picked up the discarded clothes, all rumpled and some torn, and placed them in a folded pile near the dresser. 

The faint scent of earth and lightning hung in the air. Someone had been sleeping here, yet it seemed they had laid on the floor, ignoring the bed that sat and waited for occupancy. I picked the pillow up from the ground and placed it onto the bed, looking with a strange sadness at the life someone had found wanting.

I lit the lantern that arrested on the nightstand and then sat on the edge of the bed, listening to the rain hit the window. Now and then lightning flashed and illuminated the room, revealing ghosts of the past that faded as the light did. A haunting sadness clung to everything, raising the hair on the back of my neck and gooseflesh on my arms. 

A slow sigh escaped me as truth settled into my bones. I pulled a few logs from the fire, added kindling, and then lit the flames. The small fire erupted as though summoned, dancing near me, drawn to my spark. Warmth flooded the room, driving out the cold and the memories with it.

Dirt lay scattered on the ground by where the creature had been sleeping. I grimaced and checked the basin. Water still rested within. A cloth sat nearby, unused. I gathered the basin and poured the water into the pot by the fire, putting it near the edge to heat it. My bag was set on the ground by the bed before I took a deep breath and walked from the room.

The door waited, final and imposing. It was made of oak and looked heavy. Light filtered through the keyhole from within. I paused and pulled the heavy keys from my pocket. Nothing but the storm could be heard beyond its solid surface. 

I slid the key inside and twisted. It gave an audible click. A frown touched my lips and  I paused, waiting to see if whatever was inside threw the door open. Yet nothing happened. Slowly I turned the handle and pushed it open.

With a great creak, the wooden door revealed the room to me. It was once white, with stone flooring, and a great slab table in the middle. Around its edges, desks and unknown properties sat, lining shelves with books, elixirs, and skeletal creatures. On one desk near the center, a pile of notebooks and written letters sat, rummaged through, and exposed. 

At the zenith of the room, a contraption awaited the roof to be opened and for its great metal arm to be exposed to the storm. Through the glass the night sky flickered, reveling in the storm’s might. Rain battered the window, echoing throughout the chamber. 

A single lantern sat on the desk, casting warm shadows about the space as I looked at its secrets. The experimenting table was empty and cold, old bloody sheets crumbled around its base. Several smaller tables sat nearby, instruments and glass vials resting on them. Here and there a page of notes was abandoned, often stained.

Yet the room was empty. Not a soul could be seen as I took several steps inside, removing the key from the door to take with me. My boots made soft noises that were muffled by the storm’s anger, preventing me from hearing any further movement within.

I stopped as I reached the table, resting fingertips on its icy surface. My eyes scoured the darkness, anywhere shadows hugged bookshelves or cabinets.  Within its shadows, nothing stirred. My brows knit together as I glanced around, wondering if my instinct had been wrong.

Slowly I turned, hands drifting off of the table and falling to my side as I faced the door. He stood, tall and broad, dressed in clothes that didn’t quite fit him. Penetrating eyes stared into me as he loomed, blocking the doorway entirely from view. In the low light, his skin was ashen grey, almost deceased and yet alive looking.

A grim look of pain and determination was painted across his face as he watched me, glancing over my body before coming back to my face as though my clothing would reveal some truth to him. I raised a brow and gestured with empty hands. 

“I’ve been looking for you.”

“Why?” he countered, his hulking figure not approaching nor moving further away. He was close enough I could smell the decay on him and the hints of aftershave he had applied in an attempt to smell other than he was. If he reached out his hand he could easily touch me.

I didn’t back up, though I was keenly aware of the table behind me. “I heard what happened.”

His expression of quiet outrage flinched. “What do you mean?”

It was fishing for details. I paused and took a step towards him. Surprise showed in his eyes before a hint of fear replaced it. “I know how you came to be, and what happened to you on your journey. I also was told what happened to your creator.”

His lip curled. “Would that he was here to meet you for your visit.”

“I’m not here to see him.”

Brows lifted. The skin moved slowly, clinging to a body made of dead people. I took another step forward so that I stood before him. “Why are you here then?”

He was surprisingly eloquent. I had heard he was nothing more than a rambling creature. Yet, here again, was proof that fear told stories before truth did. “Like I said. I heard what happened. I thought you might need a friend.”

“Friend.” He scoffed at the word, tossing it out of his mouth so it landed angrily in the air.

“Everyone needs someone,” I said softly and offered my hand to him. 

Dark eyes stared down at it, his ghostly visage illuminated in the lightning as it flashed. “You aren’t afraid of me? Of what I am?”

“Should I be?” I didn’t move my hand away.

“I am a monster.” He turned away, revealing his back to me. 

I tilted my head, saddened by his pain. “You don’t look like a monster to me. The people who did this to you, who abandoned you and made you suffer? They’re monsters.”

The great shoulders sagged as though the breath went out of the body. I touched his shoulder lightly, barely a caress.

“You cannot believe that,” he said huskily. 

My hand slid down the shoulder to his arm and gently took his hand in mind. “I promise I do. I’m sorry those who should have loved you didn’t.”

His head tilted, eyes looking down to my hand in his. I felt suddenly small, a feeling I wasn’t used to. 

Slowly he turned to look at me. “I needed to understand. He created me.” His other hand gestured to the room. “But no answers lie here save vanity and pride.”

“We can’t put our healing at the feet of those who hurt us. Even if they created us.”

His eyes slowly looked to mine, searching for answers in them I knew he couldn’t find. “I don’t want to be alone,” he finally murmured, softly, as though he were admitting defeat.

I touched his cheek, thumb caressing the strange living dead skin. “You aren’t.”

There was no hesitation as he leaned into my hand, a kind touch he had never before felt. I moved my hand upward, touching his dark hair and running my fingers through it. The eyes slid open and looked down at me, unspoken words showing in his glance.

“Come with me,” I said and lowered my hand. I stepped away, gently tugging on his hand to bring him with me. “There aren’t answers here.”

With a slight nod, he followed me, lumbering behind me as I pulled him into the hall. He ducked beneath the door frame and followed me as I led him into the bedroom. A grimace showed on his face as he hung his head in shame, eyes looking to the place on the floor where he slept.

“Hey,” I murmured, touching his face gently. “There is nothing here wrong. The way you are, entirely, is beautiful.”

The eyes slowly lifted to mine. He tried to believe me, or at least wanted to.

I put my hands on his chest and gently pushed my fingers beneath the oversized jacket he kept on his body. “Can I undress you?”

Surprise showed in his eyes before he nodded, moving his hands to help. 

“That’s okay. Let me.” I gently took the jacket from him, then his shirt. With slow and soft touches I knelt before him, pulling off shoes and pants and undergarments until he was naked before me. Stitches lined various parts of the grey flesh, bits of bodies sewn together. Hands didn’t match and neither did feet.

I caressed his arms and drifted my hands back to his. “Come. Sit.” 

We moved to the bed where he sat. I pulled the water from the edge of the fire and opened the lit, checking the temperature before dipping the cloth inside. He sat, breathing softly, as I washed his feet and legs, taking my time to be gentle with each part of his body stitched together. 

I knocked the dirt from wounds and cleaned toenails and fingernails. My fingers gently massaged, careful to not pull on the skin as I wiped his body down, pulling away the old stretch of death. His eyes slid closed as the heat touched him, letting him drift away into a world of gentle caresses. 

As I slid the warm cloth over his inner thigh he groaned and grabbed my hand in his. “You don’t have to.”

My eyes flicked up to him. “I would like to if you want me to.”

“No one has ever touched me. Not like this.”

My palm touched his face. “You’re beautiful. Thank you for letting me.”

He rose a tentative hand to my face, not yet touching the skin. “Can I?”

I nodded and gently guided his hands to my face. Fingers brushed my cheek and slid down to caress my neck before going back to my face. I leaned closer to him, standing between his legs as he explored the curves of my features. The digits slowly moved to my hair, touching the strands neatly resting in a braid.

“Can I release your hair?”

A smile touched my lips and I nodded. He used two hands, tenderly unwinding the thread and letting the long strands fall against my back. Fingers brushed through it. Absent-mindedly he brought it to his face, smelling the scent that was uniquely mine.

“Can I finish bathing you?” I asked softly. 

His eyes slid open, glancing up at mine in new awareness. The hand dropped, letting my hair fall. If he could have flushed he would have. He swallowed loud enough to hear before a slight nod was given. “Yes.”

I knelt, pulling the cloth from the warm water and wringing it out. My hands gently guided the cloth over his thighs and his groin, exploring his length and below. Soft groans escaped him as he released a shuddering breath. Blood pooled, expanding him in my hands.

Quietly I cleaned him, then I slid the cloth back into the basin and looked up at him. His hands gripped the edge of the bed, holding as though he would fall over. Our eyes met and I smiled, softly. 

“Can I see you?” he asked.

I tilted my head. “You are.”

His lips twitched into a shy smile. “I mean, as you see me.” There was a pause before he finally looked back to mine. “Naked.”

I smiled and stood. “Do you want to undress me?”

The eyes widened with a new surprise. His body twitched in eaagernesss. He rose, hands touched the buttons of my shirt that he unfastened, slowly, as though eating a delicious meal. Fingers caressed and brushed my skin, running over every tattoo and scar with profound affection. There was strength that was subdued in every gentle touch. 

He removed the layers slowly, unfolding me before him until I stood as naked. Dark eyes watched my face before searching over my body. One hand touched my shoulder, afraid to stray any further down.

“Can I kiss you?” I asked him, looking up to him as he looked at me.

“Please,” he breathed. 

Our lips met, soft and curious. He hesitated, holding still as he learned a new skill in a heartbeat. Then he came to life, lips exploring my own. Strong arms wrapped around me, pulling me up and against him. He inhaled sharply as our skin met, a groan escaping. Naturally, he moved backward, sitting on the edge of the bed with me pressed against him.

I lifted my legs, straddling his lap as our kiss deepened. His cool hands wandered over my back, exploring and caressing every inch of my skin. Tender kisses moved along my jawline to my throat, pulling sweet whimpers from my lips. I ran my fingers through his hair, kissing his shoulder and neck in return until our lips hungered for each other once more and returned to embracing.

The kiss lingered. He leaned back, laying down on the bed. My hair poooled aaruond us, ttonggues daancing and tasting eaach other. His hands touched my legs and slid upwards, cupping my hips and running over my back, tracing the outline of my spine and sliding over my arms until his fingers curled with mine.

I felt him hard beneath me but lost myself in his kiss. Hunger stirred beneath but its tenderness pulled me in. Long moments passed as our mouths explored each other, until we gently parted, panting for air. 

Eyes peered into mine as he searched for something without words. I leaned down, kissing him once more as he unknotted our fingers and wrapped me in his arms. With a small effort, he rolled us, keeping me beneath him as our embrace lingered.

I lifted my legs, wrapping them around his hips as though I had always done so. Our kiss broke as I felt the tip of him press against my opening, yet not sliding within. He looked into my eyes, wonder and lust in equal measures. “May I?” he barely managed to breathe.

I nodded, my legs moving to pull him in. He shivered and slowly pressed forward, pushing within my depths inch by inch. A moaning release escaped his lips that I caught in my own, meeting his cry with a kiss. Our tongues met once more as moans collided, filling the fire-lit room with delight.

His hips paused, letting him fill me before slowly pulling back. I moaned as he slid inward again, a slow rhythm beginning to emerge as we rocked together on the bed. Our lips never left each other. Hands found one another, fingers entwining. We held to each other as our bodies moved, pressure forming between us as breathing turned to panting and whimpers to cries of ecstasy.

With increasing thrusts, I shuddered beneath him, moaning into his mouth in pure delight. He moved faster, coming to a natural climax as we quivered and I cried out, the pressure building within erupting outward and filling me. My back arched as my fingers tightened around his, pulling him with me.

My lover cried out, a half groan half snarl, lips parting from mine as his face buried in my hair. Hips still as I felt the release pump inside of me, twitching out of me. A soft moan fell from my lips as I unlaced our fingers and ran my hands over his back, holding him to me. 

He panted beside me, still resting within. I turned my head, kissing his forehead as I listened to his breathing, as human as any born man. 

“Stay with me, please?” he murmured, looking into my eyes as he caressed my hair. 

I brushed my knuckles against his face. “I won’t leave. I promise.”

For the first time, I saw him smile. He raised his head to gently catch my lips with his own, pulling me back into our tender embrace.