11 comments/ 12182 views/ 27 favorites The Medium Ch. 01 By: QuestionableReality Guten Tag! As a writer, the more erotic side of literature is more like learning a foreign language to me. I typically write tragic epics or poetry. Therefore, this is a bit of a new area for me. This piece has probably taken more than two months to develop the characters and plot line and another month to write, as Flaubert stated "I spent the morning putting in a comma and the afternoon removing it." I actually did have an editor go over this piece; however, my lovelies were speakers of British English and therefore a few spellings may be "off" to Americans. Another thing to note is often I may reference the works of Shakespeare, Flaubert, Alice Walker, and Jorge Luis Borges. Therefore, if you are confused please feel free to inquire in the comments which I will respond to when I get the opportunity. I will probably be rather strapped for time in the spring because of exams, but when comes summer there will definitely be more. If you have any suggestions for the story's grammar or plot then do feel free to comment them. Thank you for reading and I hope that my piece elicits Dopamine release. Danke, QR ________________ The humid air of Georgia condensed on my window. I eyed the thin line of magic that lingered constantly a foot away from my property line. It was a very small and insignificant vigil. A simple thing, an alert, for when someone enters the property. My body tensed and shivered, my fears was pungent, intensified by the lack of the lack of any protection around the house. The house was a beautiful whitewashed charming Victorian, a spectacular piece of history. I however, did not select it for its historic charm, but for more pragmatic reasons. Old houses tended to have older energies, while the aged wood already possessed a base of malleable magic. The only thing that prevented me from laying down proper protections was simply the due to the nature of my powers. My move, had unfortunately left my few belongings isolated, allowing the barren walls to heighten my loneliness. This unfortunately, was brushed aside by the whims of my stomach. It rumbled, protesting, in the strain of hunger. The car slid past the my decrepit wood mailbox as my search for food led me to a pleasant looking local restaurant. The soft pendant lights graced my eyes gently, I nodded to the server and raised a single finger. He nodded in reflection giving me a business like welcome, as he bade me to sit at a small table meant for two. My brown irises flickered instantly to the soup section, it was extensive! I found with growing excitement, though I noted the extensive list of "Meat Lover" dishes. At the time it did not quite conjure a Venn diagram in my mind. About half an hour later I left the restaurant, wandering over next door to a small privately owned library. The brass bell at the entrance tinkled as I entered, several people glanced at me, but others remained bowed, attentive only to their literature. I browsed with slight interest, slowly wandering the expanse of the store. I reveled in the comfortable atmosphere, until an intense sensation of pins and needles heatedly bloomed upon my skin. My body shivered a little in excitement, casually, my eyes glanced about. I usually had "hunches" about stuff. Normally they were just subtle warnings about small things, but this one couldn't have been insignificant. They focused upon a handsome man sitting at one of the bar stools along the cafe. His suit seemed almost out of place, a satin designer amidst a sea of jersey. His rugged features were highlighted by the sophisticated cut of suit in binary juxtaposition. A strong muscular fitness shone through as it hugged his body. His jawline as he talked to the Barista was hypnotically dabbled with a brown five o'clock shadow. A brass cuff link winked at at me under the bright modern lighting. I felt heat flash across my face as he caught me staring at him, our eyes locked; I looked away. A futile attempt to convince him that I was focused on a book about Nasreddin. I turned, taking the tome with me. Venturing, accompanied by the gentle creaking of wood, I sat at a small table on the opposite side of the narrow store. Two bookshelves served as shields between us. Still, despite knowing the opaque protection of wooden shelves my eyes constantly searched hungrily for his presence. Denying them the pleasure, I attempted to dedicate my attention to the book. They were rewarded when I glanced up again, to see his silent steps draw him closer to my table, as he bypassed the wooden barriers. His lope was graceful, notably soundless as it did not exact a creak of strain upon the ancient floorboards. Strangely I admired it, I enjoyed it, and I had the urge to walk with him. "May I sit?" He asked his throat a rumbling rich baritone. I hesitantly nodded, unsure of his purpose, but my inherent curiosity was nibbling at my innards. "You like Nasreddin?" He asked as if it was a fact. My eyes remained locked on his, unwilling to allow any assumption, I hesitantly replied, "Sorta." "What's your name? Are you new in town?" He gunned at an instant with surprising roughness. A thousand impertinent answers fluttered behind my lips, but the gaze of several other patrons fell upon me. I remained silent. "Ah, allow me to introduce myself, my name is Adalhard Richter." He said smoothly, even though a hit of German accent slipped at his last name, as he smiled despite my previous response. "That's nice." I murmured, wary and still unwilling to divulge. "It would be nice to know who I'm talking to." He stated kindly, somewhat saddened. If a large man could look somewhat akin to a puppy he was certainly capable of it. My guilty feelings got the better of me, "I'm Hua Lan." I almost whispered, instantly regretting the seemingly innocent statement. I chastised myself, I should have given a fake name! "Hua Lan, is that Chinese?" He questioned, though the corners of his eyes crinkled in delight. They multiplied as I nodded. "Is it alright to assume you are from China?" A mental sigh echoed throughout my head, "No, because I'm not." "Care to enlighten me?" He questioned in a lightly saccharin voice that dazed me for a second as I begun to crave his touch. Ironically when he did so I was floored. A spark of electricity or extremely strong static jolted as he placed his huge hand upon my forearm. I was floored as it rocked throughout my body. My breathing instantly became fervent pants, as heat and... Oh Stella, desire coursed through me! Much to his dismay I jerked my arm away from his. I wasn't about to stick around to figure out what that meant! "Look, I'm not available for a relationship at the moment, so I'd appreciate it if you would back off. I hardly even know you, so please don't be overly familiar with me." I bluntly stated, internally reigning in my total bitch voice and attitude. My eyes finally broke from his as shock and hurt slowly spread through his face. The other patrons gasped for some reason, as if they too were part of the conversation. I didn't care though. My eyes remained downcast. I dared not to take a second glance as I grabbed my purse and fled the shop. My silver Hyundai Sonata was my sanctuary granting cathedral. The engine purred to life as I drove quickly home. The only deterrent to my flight home was the sunset, cruelly blinding my vision with its penetrating rays, so I flipped down my visor. The mirror caught sight of a Black SUV several cars behind me. My face fell into a frown, I could've sworn it was behind me 2-3 stoplights ago. I briefly pondered the possibility they were following me. Lazily I turned my car off course, into a small residency area. Sure enough, the SUV continued to follow me. The probability of being followed was pretty much a certainty after I turned out of the second cul-de-sac. Unfortunately, all my efforts to throw them off had been failures. They certainly knew that I was trying to throw them off. My mind wondered if the driver was the ruggedly sexy man from the Library. Damn, what kind of romance novel is this to meet a man at a library! Either way I'm pretty sure most of the time they don't follow you home, isn't it more prevalent when the environment of the encounter is shady? Desperate times, call for desperate measures. I ran my fingers through my waist length black hair till I held a shorter piece. I whispered a spell as I continued to drive, begging it to make my car invisible. Glancing away from the road the hair quickly vanished as power hummed in the cabin of my car. I nearly floored the accelerator, keeping to desolate country roads till I reached my home. The gravel crushed merrily as I ran inside and locked the doors. Quickly I checked all the windows ensuring that the house was physically secure before checking the energies. Everything was fine. Just for the sake of security I checked every possible entrance twice. I had to give the renovators credit, though they had neglected the mailbox, the house locks were works of industrial art. Each door was triple bolted in a new steel door frame with new wall reinforcement. Not too shabby for a 100+ year old house, they must have pretty much gutted the entire house to reinforce the walls. If the man was only a human, then my alert charm would beat any alarm system, while the locks could at least hold him off. I relaxed glancing at a clock, 9:45 p.m. Damn, that car chase took up most of my night! I tripped up the stairs to my bedroom and shed my clothes leaving them to simply sit on the floor amongst moving debris and boxes set infinitely for tomorrow. I once again admired the work of the renovators even though I sure as hell paid a pretty penny for it. The center of the master bath was a huge modern art deco take on a clawed bath tub. My fingers grasped the remote as I set it to fill, clamoring in. I sat in the water allowing its philic nature towards me to lap at my skin and let it work out the tension of my limbs. The bath had proved to be extremely beneficial. It had melted years of stress right off my back. Perhaps with the sense of security from my locks, it had been too relaxing, carelessly I realized that I had left my only communication line, my cell phone, downstairs. Too lazy to unpack my "PJs" box I opted to only venture down in a pair of grey sateen panties. I roamed over the antique floor boards of the house, retrieving my cell phone and giving into my fattening temptations for a pre-bed snack. For the oddest reasons I always craved breakfast food for bedtime snacks. My body set about to making scrambled eggs. The quietness of the southern night unnerved me, so I turned on my small pocket radio to NPR and listened to Prokofiev's "Classical Symphony No. 1 Allegro". Whatever had given me the urge to cook naked only made me regret it when a bit of hot oil splattered upon my tummy, but was quickly forgotten as I heard a growl. Quickly I turned off the radio, the growling noise outside of my glass french doors stopped mili-seconds afterwards. My alert system wasn't tuned to pick up animals, because it would have been buzzing like crazy every time a squirrel jumped from tree to tree. I could hear faint panting sound outside. I swore, my first night in the house and two dogs are copulating on my back porch. I shoved my eggs into the fridge, the incident had ruined my appetite. I opted to quickly prepare for bed and was asleep before I was able to roll back my new comforter. Morning came quicker than usual, I dressed and ate cold eggs since I had neglected to buy a microwave. I peered outside of my kitchen's glass doors, with the knowledge that the animals wouldn't linger. However, I spied an odd whitish discoloration upon the wrought iron and glass patio set that the previous owners left. I neared the glass table slowly. Semen. Gooey half dried semen dripped from the glass table. The air hung heavy and thick with the pungent odor. If I knew nothing else it had to have been human. It smelled human, not to mention, the table would have never supported two dogs unless they were Pomeranians or Chiwawas, which could have never created the reverberating growling sounds. There was no way any quadrupedal animal could have gotten semen on the table. Nor would the small southern animals like raccoons, armadillos, and squirrels have even produced such volume. Hell! What animal could even masturbate? Only humans masturbate, was a human MASTURBATING to ME? The idea wasn't even grossly titillating, in fact it only gave me the urge to purchase drapes. Besides how did a human slip past the alert charm? There was only one possible explanation. Weres. I backtracked quickly into my house locking the doors immediately. I dashed to the table for my phone speed dialing Long Wei. "Hua Lan, this better be good, I'm seven hours behind you" he muttered groggily a third coherently. "Long Wei, I grant you permission to apparate here, please come help me!" "Hua Lan, what's wrong?" He questioned immediately awake and poised for action. "I think that there are Weres here." I whispered into the phone. I could feel a panic attack pending. My lungs could barely even manage to pant as anxiety overtook me. In an instant a loud crack and flash of light announced his presence. Immediately his strong arms pulled me close to his body. His height overshadowed my five foot three stature by five inches. I placed my arms around his waist, hugging his abdomen closer. His heart in my ear calmed me with its thudding. His hand deftly stroked my inky hair. We remained this way for a while until my breathing slowed. He looked me in the eye once I finally calmed down: "Little lunar witch, since you are in your waxing period... How about I cast those protections?" "Sometimes I envy you, being a sun witch, your magic is only handicapped during a solar eclipse." My fingers ran down his bare chest tracing the black magical inscription tattoos that were emblazoned upon his dark goldenrod colored chest. My own skin contrasted, largely pale it was more akin to a yellowish cream, nearly ivory. As my fingers reached his powerful hip, I realized that he was naked. I paused awkwardly, wishing I had remembered that he always slept naked. Pulling away I agreed, "Better get on those charms." Long Wei continued to hold my hand as he walked carefully through each room of my closet and bound protection charms to each room. As he started to unbolt my front door he turned and asked, "You live in a secluded part of town right?" He gestured with his hand to his genitals. "I'm not going to wipe the minds of a hundred people for flashing them." "We are on the outskirts of town, you should be okay for now at least, the mailman comes at four o'clock p.m." I giggled. He continued to undo the locks. When he opened the door to let me out he placed a chaste kiss upon my forehead. I did so in return, marking our exit in our culture. He took my hand outside, as we stood in the middle of the front lawn. He raised his other hand to extend to the sky fully ready to channel the morning sun's power. His tattoos glowed with heat as his magic spread to each expanse of the property layering itself a foot inside of my alert charm. Afterwards I led him around the house, allowing him to soak up as much of the suns power. Still even when all the protective charms were placed I still could not shake the tension in my gut. It felt like we were being watched. The moment Long Wei saw the semen, dried and crusted upon the table he inhaled deeply. He grasped my waist, "Mine." He half bellowed the statement. "You are mine, I am yours. Mine to care for and yours to keep." "I am yours, you are mine. Yours to keep, and mine to care for." I recited the old verses. In unison we replied the oath together, "Yin and Yang, opposites in harmony." At those words the energy shock wave pulsed through the the earth as our bond re-established itself. "How about we buy some drapes?" He told me with a satisfied smile at our re-bonding. "You might want to apparate back some clothes, or at least grab some from a subspace." I told him once again bringing his attention to his current state of dress. "Baby, you know you like it!" He stated striking a pose, but moving his hips suggestively in nudity allowing his privates to swing and stand proudly, "If you'd shed yours we could have a really wild sun dance!" I rolled my eyes, "Problems at hand first, before you start stirring the cauldron." "Literally or figuratively? I'd say I'm pretty good at the former with my rod." he stated wiggling his brows A loud crack and flash of light, Long Wei apparated, while I waited patiently. In the mean time I hurried and gathered my own things, about thirty seconds later he appeared clothed in a blue button down and beige sweater that showed off his muscular fitness, while his legs were swathed in an incredible pair of jeans. "So are we taking the old clunker?" He asked raising an slate eyebrow. "Hey! My car is not old!" "Are you kidding me that thing is from the nineties!" "Its two thousand and nine, not all of us are capitalist corp Casanovas!" "Hey, you work for a capitalist corp Casanova, a damn fine one at that! I'm pretty sure that I pay you plenty!" Long Wei's comical snarkiness proved to set the tone for that evening, even though I could not shake the prickle on the back of my neck his blatant sexual comedy was a superb diversion upon frazzled nerves. I smiled to myself as I watched him insist upon allowing him to place the new curtains upon the window rods. "Hua Lan?" Long Wei's voice broke me from my reverie as we prepared ourselves for bed. "Yes, Casanova?" I replied turning off my hair dryer. "How long have we been together?" he whispered seductively in my ear. "We've been together since I was born." I coaxed him to follow me as I crawled into bed. "How many years are you then my sweet orchid?" He inquired placing his hands on his hips in the threshold of the bathroom. "It's rather rude to ask a Lady Witch for her age, are you just saying you've forgotten my age?" I replied softly as he joined my opting to sit atop the bedcovers. "Last time I remember, you were merely a budding flower, not even near her witchlings rites" he replied, "perhaps it is time passing, but as a babe you still curled up to me like this." Mildly the words arose coyly from my lips, "Perhaps you've gone senile and become a pantaloon, my witchlings rites were only three months ago." "Bah, call me Grumio, even though I lack pants, while I bid for the fair white hand of my orchid-like Bianca", He said gesturing to his nude state of dress, "a quarter of a century is merely a moment in the eyes of century old sun witch." Mockingly I replied "Indeed, perhaps my pantaloon casanova needs his elderly muscles worked?" Long Wei grumbled, but replied with his trademark sexual humor, "Certainly, I've got one rod of century old muscle that could always use a little work." "Why you even bother to always offer that after all these years never ceases to amaze me." I stated slowly shaking my head musing. Turning over Long Wei replied slightly muffled by a pillow, "Who knew that after all these years that bud of flower would spread her petals in aphrodisiac arousal." He gestured a bit at my state of dress which involved only an ivory satin brassiere and matching panties. Distageling my legs from the silk sheet I crawled over and sat upon his hips hearing him groan and clasp my thighs as a few errant discs popped into place with a movement of my hands. His involuntary sounds of pleasure and a few expletives continued as I proceeded to press his spine and bunched muscles into relaxation. "Fuck!" he moaned half in pleasure and pain as I pressed a pressure point. "Look at the drapes", Long Wei commented, "If I didn't know any better then I'd say we were having sex." My eyes roamed from my work to see our projected shadows upon the brocade fabric. He murmured and squeezing my leg just above the knee, "You, my dear, prudishly tempt me." The Medium Ch. 01 "Hush you", I said feeling my face heat with embarrassment. Finally finished massaging his back, we were both covered with a thin sheen of sweat due to the warm southern evening. I rose to my knees from my straddling position allowing him to turn and pull me from my position atop his pelvis into his arms. "Thank you my sweet bud, you make me feel young again. You know, I'd never force you to have sex with me, I just have to keep my casanova reputation", he whispered softly into my ear, so quietly that I nearly missed it. I laid there, waiting while his breath evened out "I love you Long Wei, but not in that way." Half asleep his mouth merely burbled out, "I love you too... after nearly seventy-seven years, without witch bond... d'hate for you to feel, pressured." A few moment he surrendered to the clutches of deep sleep, while I followed. Somewhere deep inside the recesses of sleep, I watched as a wolf roamed in anguish; howling, verbalizing it's agony to the moon. ________ Thank you for reading! Please rate and comment! -QR The Medium Ch. 02 Guten Tag m'Lovelies, This chapter is short. Otherwise I would have taken twice as long to write the 4000 word chapter. After just writing a 15,000 word essay on music, I must confess that I'm rather tired. Therefore, at the moment it is around two-thousand, but I faced a narrative deadlock to either merge it with ch.3 or not. I'm still new to erotica. (Seriously, I'm tempted to put in an invocation of muse.) If you could tell me if you prefer more often updates of shorter chapters or less updates in longer chapters then that would be most fine of you. Please rate and comment, I'd be most delighted to see the latter! -QR ___________________ Selene stole silently into my sub consciousness and implanted the thoughts of another, leaving me to watch in ignorant fascination. The sound of agony echoed through, but by the sadistic decree of nature it was fragmented by woods. The howls were homely, but a sincere vocal representation, the madness of narcissistic romanticism. A wolf curled in self pity as it finished its howling. It allowed the tenebrous breeze to ruffle fur and hiss replies. A game of brinkmanship between sanity and madness flitted through closed lids as the wolf began to run towards the source of its dilemma. "Selenius, I'm up already!" I muttered aggrieved instantly forgetting my dream. Bedraggled, my fingers groped for the textiles that covered my body. My joints popped loudly, while strong arms proved resistance to be an unavailing effort in their clutches. "bat'roon—" Long Wei garbled in sleep distorted speech. Interruption arrived when his head wilted back into satin bed sheets. His arms retreated back to the warmth of expensive down and satin. Released, I shivered in my lingerie as Nyx spread her cool fingers across my abdomen. "Casanova, Selene is calling me." I whispered ejecting easily out of bed and blanching when cool wood leached warmth from my piggies. Awakening slightly he grumbled, "hym's?" "Yes, hymns." I could feel the familiar attraction of the moon, beckoning me to sit in its beholding. "Ai'ght," he said wincing and popping his back as the floorboards banished comforting warmth, " 'll observe." Torn between telling him to sleep and my phobia of the Were threat, my body functioned mutely. Opting for laziness and the tinge of shivers I neglected to rummage for a robe. Typically hymns to Selene were done with fewer coverings than my ivory undies. For me the darkened house proved easily navigable, but Long Wei's groggy limbs entangled themselves in the shadows. I pitied him. My hands proved to be his beacon until he settled himself on the porch leaning against a supporting beam half asleep. After a bit of light stretching, my mouth opened to satisfy the whims of my deity. A flurry of moonlighting words carried by over and under tones, the hymns of Selene reflected her religion, a sweet tonguing of sensual invitation for soft silver caresses of the light. Pleased, the goddess sent benevolent whispers of carnal pleasures as she caressed my skin. Those sweet whispers hid something, like the moon behind the earth. Speculation on what, left me staring at the sliver of waning moon, the moon that bound my powers. At least until I turned around. A dark furry ball of seething miasma, a meteorite flew. Its impact with Long Wei's barrier blared atomic as the shock-wave of force rippled through the area. Someone, I, was screaming. I watched utterly paralyzed as the massive wolf pounded the charms. Under the force of wolven fists the protective charms bent, they strained and groaned under wolven power into submission. The wolf howled galvanizing his fellows. However, Long Wei was not petrified, instantly awakened by adrenaline. He dragged me back into the house, bolting the door. He rushed about. Closing the metal shutters and locking doors, he barricaded the house. When he found no more fortifications to strengthen, he scooped my twitching form from the door mat and barreled to the kitchen. With my head in my hands in the throes of hysteria I could barely hear Long Wei talk. Exasperated and swearing in multiple languages I barely caught Long Wei say, "Fucking werewolves on steroids." Disoriented and sick to my stomach, anxiety clutched me like a serpent when I realized how these wolves out-sized any other with ease. However, Long Wei's response to my hysteria was pain. He slapped me. A loud crack rang in the contact his palm to my face. The force jerked my head to gape at the pale wall. At first, I choked and sputtered. However, the blow loosened the grip of anxiety as I gaped at him in shock. "I never raised a coward. Stop self destructing, we haven't lost yet." He stated flatly, though an angry tongue lurked hidden in his jaw. I sobered instantly, a reflex from hearing that tone of voice. "Barricade yourself in here," Long Wei commanded throwing off the rug that covered the root cellar entrance, "Booby trap it. I know you know how." He paused and swallowed. His fingers lifted my own from an inflamed cheek. Still in shock I muttered turning away from his hand, "You hit me." "I'm so sorry." Tears sprang from his eyes in regret, but were blinked back by feats of willpower. Finally sobering, Long Wei stated firmly, "Even though I could not protect you the first time, I'm going to go hold them off. That barrier won't hold under their persistence." I nodded feeling useless but drew upon his strength, "You have my magic, use it. And if need be, use this too." I grabbed the kitchen shears and forced them around as much of my hair as possible. With a grunt and a snip, I shoved the hair at him with trembling hands. "What a thoughtful gift, I'll treasure it." He stated, displaying a sliver of the humorous man I knew him to be. My sun kissed knight, my warrior. He left for battle, gripping the hair I combed daily in pride. Perhaps it would give him the edge against the shifters. My feet obeyed his words by trooping down the stairs. When the cellar door closed leaving me alone in the dusty light of naked bulbs fear bucked in my stomach. In remedy of this, I broke the anxiety by jabbing an old nail into my thigh. The act was a mere bloody simulation of a slap. The four inch nail, a source of tecnas remained lodged in my leg. It protruding as I sprang, or rather limped to action. My resolution was clear and booby traps were in order. The ground pulsed in shock-wave as the barrier took a barrage of hits. Briefly a new fear occurred: the vibrations would prematurely set off the drano bombs. I had discovered my recycling bag and some drano left by the previous homeowners and macgyvered them. By the time I had finished various plastic bottles were hanging from root cellar door. Uncharacteristically, I was optimistic that the opening of the door would set them off in wolven muzzles rather than my face. The ideal scenario results would douse invaders with corrosive chemicals that would stunt the famed healing abilities. Otherwise there was a more pyromaniacal spin with the blowtorch and plan B. With my eyes closed I could still hear Long Wei's battle cries, the hungry sounds of fire magic, and the roar of human nightmares. All of them caused the cellar lights to rattle against their metal chains. A loud tearing sound occurred, the ripping of the heavens. The barrier fell; I could feel it in the dusty cellar. Our protection turned to brittle glass exposing my home, my sanctuary. Another ominous sound, the ripping of plate metal forewarned my fate. Mirror to a horror movie I waited, listening to their toenails clack on the floorboards and their snuffing muzzles. I prayed that they would not discover the cellar, just find the end to a scent trail. My breathing quickened to hyperventilation as the wolves followed their noses to me. I silenced my panicked breathing by burying my face in a water soaked towel. Lady fortune rejected me. The cellar door was ripped open causing the drano bombs to rattle in cacophony. In thunderous din the beasts hissed and growled when they burst spraying chemicals on exposed eyes. I wished agony upon them. Without pause, I lit the blowtorch causing another explosion using the lingering hydrogen gas from the drano bombs and hobbled into the half bathroom. My leg ran heavy with blood by now with the trauma device still perpendicular to my femur. I violently slammed the door shut and gripped the dirty orange extension cord. With aching muscles, my fingers slammed the rusty prongs into the outlet, empowering the electronic fan. With a roar, ancient flour took to life spurred by the lit blowtorch. I could only imagine the expressions that graced their muzzles. The roar of fire and bestial surprise took thunderous din. Cruelty thy name is Hua Lan, I thought in grim satisfaction, fighting a two front war. Curled between the toilet and vanity in the throes of a breathing battle I sat. I was now waiting to be picked off. I remained seated in blasphemous prayer to the dear goddess of Kinetics rather than Selene the distracter. Good riddance, also crossed my mind as more airborne flour was ignited into an explosive, eliciting whimpers of agony from the invading beasts. Unfortunately, my pitiful concoctions did little damage for the beasts were undeterred. My closing of the decrepit phony wood proved foolish when the door flew from its home. Crashing into floor of the tiny room, the violent powdery downdraft cast my sweaty skin with flour and plaster, in addition to sending shoddily chopped hair into my eyes. Screwing my eyes shut, I rocked in a fetal position. Meanwhile, large claws clacked in foreboding intent as the creature overpowered my defenseless form. I am now a captive of wolves. The horrifying nostalgic thought occurred slowly as the gears in my mind shifted to produce sounds of terror. In the darkness beyond my eyelids a werewolf growled. Why he growled at a self destructing witch in her undies was beyond me. However, his vocal declaration of ownership proved a trigger. He howled as involuntary motion overtook my barely controlled body. In the grip of his padded fingers I convulsed. I lost the breathing battle. My heart contracted, sending pain at every neuron. The sound of creaking bones as the werewolf shifted to a human form was duly noted by my pain blasted brain. "Calm down," powdery rough fingers said as they stroked my twitching face. Wiping tears of affliction, "nothing will hurt you" they continued slowly. If I had the gal or bodily control, I would have laughed at the irony. However, the attack worsened till I was nearly foaming at the mouth. My own bloodied tongue tinged my taste buds, from tightened jaws. Until, a floury, calloused object invaded my mouth. Without sight, it took me awhile to figure out what was now between my jaws. A finger, his finger was thrust between my clenching teeth. The gritty taste stung my tongue as it lolled while my head thrashed. A rather weird attempt to gag the moans and throaty screams I emitted. It brought me no comfort when werewolf blood began to touch my tongue. Punishment for hurting him would be severe. When are captors ever lenient with punishment? I was too disoriented by anxiety to discern that somewhere along the line the werewolf had brought me outside. Left in the grass to spasm after a piece of leathery gag was forced into my mouth, replacing the finger. "Hua Lan!" Long Wei hollered my name over and over, adding to the cacophonous waves. "Witch! What have you done to my mate?" He boomed, my barely conscious mind recognized the baritone. "What have I done? Look at what you monsters have done!" A loud impact of flesh on flesh rang out. While Long Wei sputtered "Tell me what is wrong with my mate!" "It's your fault! Look at what you've done!" "Just tell me!" The monster uttered oddly displaying the hyphae of desperation. Long Wei fell silent for a moment in appraisal of the situation. Long Wei's sullen voice spoke carefully as he spat out a tooth. "It's a panic attack. She has panic attacks because you fucking weres always attack us." His voice was flat and venomous expressing his hatred and bile towards the heinous bastard. "Tell me how to calm her down." His voice was strained almost begging, as if he was sympathetic to my current condition. "Please—" the blasphemous beast added, as if the word was unfamiliar to his tongue. Fury flew from Long Wei's mouth as I heard him screech an interruption "That's the trick, you can't calm her down in that state!" The only reward for such statements was further blows; it didn't exactly require wits to understand the consequence. Hearing his torment only intensified my panic attack as I feared my own fate. That fear expressed itself further in erratic palpitations of my heart, an unbearable spark of pain. Through thrashing limbs and clenched teeth my lids pried open to see Long Wei's wounded profile for a split second. He lay ragged in the dirt, tied like a caterpillar with an expression of fright as he met my eyes. At that mere instant of time I knew what he felt: defeat, concession, and worry. Traitor. "She needs someone to sooth her," Long Wei began. He surrendered, to the monstrosity that held us captive. Even though, he knew I'd prefer death over captivity. Over the tumult in my mind I could hear Long Wei's trebling tenor instructing the disgusting thing. Ignorance was a blissful thing I thought bitterly. Never again. I'd rather die. I vowed. My heart pounded and didn't, appendages flew and fluttered weak against the chest that held me. My self destruction was nearly complete. The magic was energized and ready. While my physical hands flailed uncontrolled, my astral hands searched for my suicide line, a scintilla from long ago. I held the chord of magic in my hand ready to pull my own plug until I heard a heartbeat. It was too quick for my tastes. __________________ Thank you for reading. Please rate and comment. -QR