Fiction: Kiss of the Gypsies, two Date Friday, April 26, 2024 - 04:02 PM PST Topic Entertainment A low rumble shifted through the earth far below. The trembling became violent. I thought "earthquake" and tried to flee upwards as darkness swallowed my vision. I was dreaming of blood. Swimming in it. No, drowning in it. The bodies were everywhere. Faces screaming in the dark. A scream of horror rose in my throat. I woke, heart thundering, eyes staring up into the dimness of a room and knew it was not my own. "Rest, Ashley." A dark haired woman bent over me. I did not know her. I think she licked a long wet line down my neck and chest, taking one of my nipples into her mouth, as I drifted into sleep again. I dreamed of my sister Shay. She had come to Chad on a photography assignment two months ago. This place was a wasteland. What the hell had she been filming? She disappeared last week along with the seven other members of her group. When I received word of her disappearance, I hopped on the first flight out of Albuquerque. What I had seen at their final campsite was beyond words. The blood had literally saturated the ground. Then nothingness swallowed the memories as I slept. "Assshleeey, wake up," a female voice taunted. I didn't want to move. I was half awake, half asleep, nestled into a bed of silk. So comfortable. So safe. A cool hand was resting on my thigh. What? My breath quickened. The voice was real. I wasn't alone and from the feel of things, I wasn't clothed under the blankets. My eyes shot open. The room was lit softly with the glow of candles. The ceiling and walls were stone, no windows. I was lying on a small bed, the only furniture in the room. I stared straight up into the dark woman's face. She sat on the edge of the bed staring down at me. Her face was a small perfect oval with bone structure as flawless as a sculpture. Almond shaped eyes turned up at the outer corners. Long dark lashes and black flame for eyes. Full pouty lips were dyed a dark crimson. Her flawless skin seemed to glow a ghostly white against the sharp contrast of her raven hair. I had an irrational urge to kiss her as I stared at her mouth. She was young, maybe twenty. I drew a shaky breath and sat up, hugging the blankets to my chest. "What has happened? Who are you?" She was silent for a moment then asked in a strangely exotic voice, "Do you not know?" "No." My mind was foggy, not quite awake yet. "How long have I been asleep?" I asked, puzzled. "Long enough. Look at your arms," she said. I raised my arms and saw that they were covered in pink scar tissue. "Shit." It was all coming back to me now. Faya-Largeau. I felt the tears begin to fill my eyes. I wanted to turn so she wouldn't see them. I whispered, "My sister is dead. Mutilated. There were so many bodies, so much blood." I felt the tears stinging my eyes. "How do you know my name?" "You need to take more care next time you call upon something you do not understand." "Huh?" I looked directly at her and shook my head. She shrugged and sighed, "I'm sorry." She leaned into me, her hands moved up over my back. Fingers dancing through my hair. I sucked air through my teeth, "What do you want?" I couldn't relax, it was too awkward being this close to her. She looked at me with something very close to pity in her eyes. "I'm only concerned for you," she said. I bit my lower lip, searching her face. I turned from her and let out a bitter laugh. "No. You want something." She sighed as if I was stupid. "Mecaalos has spared your life a second time. You will have to give him tribute. I have taken care of you and healed your wounds. I deserve tribute as well." I gazed back up at her and slowly shook my head. "I don't understand." She parted her lips, showing fang. Ah, she was vampire. Why hadn't I recognized that? "Mecaalos, forbid me to taste you until you gained consciousness. Do I now have your permission?" I swallowed hard and whispered, "Yes." She lowered her lips to mine, lingering, barely touching. Hot energy poured from her mouth into mine. She kissed me so hard that it bruised my mouth and brought blood. My body tightened under her spell. I gasped. I opened to her. Her tongue hot and quick, darted inside my mouth, tasting me, teasing me. I kissed her back, running my tongue over her fangs. "Why, -" I started to ask. "Hush," she commanded. Her lips were making me dizzy. I flattened my palms into her chest, feeling her breasts small and firm underneath the leather she wore. I buried my face in her long hair. She ran her tongue down my neck, trailing the sharp points of her incisors. "Who are you?" I asked my voice breathy. "Saraphina," she whispered as she sank her teeth none to delicately into my throat. I blinked the haziness away as she finished drinking. She shuddered and removed her mouth from my neck. "Thank you, Ashley," she said as she ran her tongue over her swollen lips, licking every last drop of my blood from them. I took a shallow breath, "Where am I? How did Mecaalos save me? What about the Lore? I know He is powerful, but..." "Hush, child. Save your questions," she interrupted, her mouth forming into a wicked smile at the corners. "He has brought you into the Darkness." "What? How?" My heart thundering in my throat. I was starting to feel ill. The Darkness of Beasts is one of the underworlds. Humans can not exist here. "It is impossible, only the dead can transverse all worlds. How?" She winked, "You shall see." With that she stood up, smoothed her hands down the front of her tight black leather dress, and walked out of the room. I was now left alone with only my thoughts. I shivered under the blanket still clutched to my chest. Something wasn't right. I slid my legs out from under the blankets and placed my feet on the icy stone floor. There was a rather large gap in my memories. I remembered finding the camp. Limbs, severed heads, intestines and other things had littered the ground. When I saw Shay, I knew it was her from the red copper hair clinging to the corpse, if you could call what was left of her a corpse. Out of horror and anger, I had shot my energy out around me like a net of protection. I had picked up on something. One word flashed through my mind: "Lore". Here is where I had a gap like a bullet hole. The next memory I had was wandering on foot, covered in blood, cuts and bruises over my entire body. Weapons gone, backpack of necessities lost, and an alien knowledge that on the third night, the Lore would rise and hunt. That was when the Sucushee had attacked me and I had used the bones to summon Mecaalos. Then nothingness and waking up in this room. I stood up, wrapping the blanket around me. I closed my eyes as a wave of nausea rocked me. All the women in my family have certain degrees of paranormal powers. I don't know what else to call them. My grandmother used to call them a "gypsy curse." She had taught me to use mine. I closed my eyes, drew a slow breath, and cast my energy out to feel what lay outside this room. Room after room, all empty. I couldn't locate Saraphina even though she had just left moments ago. I reached further. I was outside a large dark ruin of a castle. Dim light like twilight covered the land. I looked up into a black sun. The sky was a midnight blue, slivers of silver clouds floating overhead. This was daylight in the Darkness. Shit. "Ashley!" The deep growl brought me back to my self. I opened my eyes to see a dark man towering over me. He had to be at least seven feet tall. His skin was black as pitch, his eyes were burnt rubies. Face long and stern with a four small white tusks emerging from his temples. He was not handsome by any stretch of the imagination. The rest of his body hidden by a floor length velvet hooded cloak in black. "I am Voltaran. Mecaalos wishes you to wear these," he snickered as he dropped a pile of black and emerald clothes onto the bed. I leaned over and fished through the pile. It irritated me that he was just standing there watching me. "How about some privacy?" "You will need help with the corset and the dress," his voice no more than a low rumble. "I do not need help." "You have nothing I haven't touched already." "What's that supposed to mean?" "Only that I helped Saraphina with you while you were unconscious." "Define help." This was ridiculous. I didn't like what he was implying. His mouth widened into a nasty smile revealing rows of yellow teeth, "Mecaalos gave me certain liberties where you are concerned." "What the fuck are 'certain liberties'?" I didn't like this at all. He reached over grabbing my arms in his steely grip, long yellowed nails piercing my skin, my blanket falling to the floor. "Caleb, you may now enter," he barked to the doorway. I tried to pull out of his grasp as he chuckled. It sent a chill up my spine and I felt myself shiver. I didn't like this. A man entered through the doorway. He was only four inches taller than my 5'7. He looked totally helpless, like a lost puppy. He wore a leather collar and leather straps around his wrists and ankles. Long golden hair fell in soft glistening waves to his knees, covering his nakedness. His eyes exquisite, mirroring an ocean. Face masculine perfection with wide high cheekbones. And lips red like he'd been kissing something. "Cut the crap, dammit." I tried to struggle out of Voltaran's grasp. Caleb fell to his knees before me. "I have been ordered to help you dress, mistress. May I have your permission?" "Yeah, sure. Just get up off your knees." His face at the level of my naked thighs was making me nervous. Caleb stood. Voltaran released my arms and glided out of the room chuckling as he licked my blood from his nails. "Behave yourselves, kiddies." Realizing that I was still naked, I pulled a pair of black satin panties from the pile on the bed and put them on. Caleb bent over and picked up the black leather corset from the bed. "Where is Mecaalos anyway," I asked as he stepped behind me. I raised my arms so he could slide the corset into place. Great, it was an underbust, leaving my breasts fully exposed. Caleb's hands touching lightly, trailed down my back making me tremble. "He is waiting for you," he said as he began tightening the leather straps. "Do you know what he wants?" "No. Only that he ordered me to have you dressed and in his presence by the second hour." I gasped as he tightened the corset. He was pulling it too tight, too fast. "You know, Caleb, you're supposed to tighten it slowly." "Understood." A minute later he was finished and I could barely breathe. The corset felt like it had shrunk me down from my normal size 5 to at least a 1. Damn, it was fucking tight. He picked up the dress from the bed and slid it over my head. It was an emerald green lace Victorian. As the cloth slid over my exposed breasts, it caught on my nipples, hardening them. I let out a gasp. Caleb made a small noise as he finished fastening up the back of the dress. He then stepped in front of me as I carefully sat down on the bed. He kneeled before me and lifted the dress up to my thighs then picked up the black stockings. He placed each of my feet in a stocking and slowly pulled the silky material up to midthigh, his hands caressing my legs. His face was only inches away. My heart was racing and I was breathing too rapidly in the corset. What the hell was wrong with me? Why was I so horny? Was it because he was nude beneath all that long hair? I was going to pass out if I didn't control my breathing. "Stop it," my voice barely a whisper. "Stop what," he asked as he slid four inch heels onto my feet. He stood. I took a shaky breath and said, "I can't walk in these." He gripped my shoulders and pulled me to my feet. "You will have to learn then." Caleb pulled a brush off the bed and walked around behind me. He began brushing my long hair to a sheen. He stopped in midstroke and licked a long hot line at the back of my neck, biting gently before snapping a metal collar into place around my neck. I was speechless and breathing too fast. "What the fuck," I asked whirling in anger, my right fist smacking him in the jaw. He cringed and fell to his knees on the floor. "Please, mistress, don't be upset with me. I'm only doing what I have been ordered to do." I closed my eyes and told him to stand back up. I couldn't be angry with him, he was so helpless. He stood again and dropped the brush onto the bed and picked up a small tube of red lipstick. He stood in front of me as he applied the rouge to my lips. I looked up into his face, into his shimmering blue eyes. "Why do you do all this for Mecaalos?" "He is my master." "But why, I mean, why do you serve him?" "Because he is my master. There is no other reason. Now, let us go." With that, we walked arm and arm into the darkened hall. I was going to meet Mecaalos. And things were going to get a lot worse, I was sure of that... ******* Should I continue, or does my writing and story totally suck? This article comes from Shmeng http://www.shmeng.com/ The URL for this story is: http://www.shmeng.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=773