Once...

by James Herbert

  ‘Believe me, I was already.’

  ‘Which is why your mind and body needed to rest.’

  There was silence between them for awhile, Thom brooding, Jennet watching him with both interest and concern.

  ‘Eventually: Why didn’t you appear with the other faeries? I needed all the help I could get.’

  ‘I cannot use the Book for entry. I can only enter by physical means and that wasn’t possible last night. I would never have reached you in time.’

  He digested this for a moment.

  ‘I want you to tell me more about Bethan, Jennet. And my father. I want to – I need to – know more.’

  She rose to her bare feet, a graceful movement, almost as if gravity meant very little to her. The diaphanous dress she wore was caught by a slight breeze so that it ruffled around her slender legs; that same breeze disturbed her bright golden hair, a curled lock tickling her cheek, delicate, fingers brushing it away.

  ‘A little while longer, Thom. You’ve already had to learn so much.’

  Soon they had reached the lake and the sight of it took Thom by surprise, for they had journeyed through unfamiliar parts to reach a destination he knew – or thought he knew – so well. He first glimpsed it through the dense trees, burning white behind their silhouettes, and when he and Jennet finally broke free of the forest to stand on its irregular grassy shoreline, he saw a million tiny glitters like daylight stars around its edges. He could not remember the phenomenon from his childhood days.

  He knelt to examine the shiny speckles closest to him and reached for one particular object that shone diamondlike. It was a jagged and many-faceted stone, sharp to the touch and coloured silvery-white, with the palest of blues and pinks tincturing its angles.

  ‘Coral,’ Jennet answered to the question he was about to ask. ‘Four hundred million of your years ago this place was a great barrier reef. If you dig just below the soil you’ll also find seashells, and the bones of ancient sea creatures.’

  He shook his head again in wonder. ‘Why didn’t I see this before? I used to come here all the time when I was a boy.’

  ‘It’s only today that you’re beginning to see clearly again.’

  Thom dropped the piece of skeletal rock and gazed across the lake’s calm mirror surface. It was abruptly disturbed by a swooping heron, which dipped its beak into the water while still in flight to snatch an unwary fish. The big bird rose majestically, its body seeming too heavy for its wings, and the ripples its theft had caused spread outwards in ever-expanding waves towards the shoreline.

  But if Thom expected those gentle tidal waves to fade, he was wrong, for not only did the growing circles become heavier, but they were joined by others all over that part of the lake as though something below had also been disturbed.

  They first appeared singly, and then in groups of three or four, and they sang as they rose, beautiful siren songs that both enchanted and terrified Thom.

  NELL HAD led Katy up to Thom’s bedroom.

  The therapist had protested at first, but weakly, no commitment behind the protestation, for already they had kissed each other’s lips, already Nell’s fingers had lightly played around Katy’s erect nipples before moving sedately, smoothly on to the nape of her neck, then down along her spine, fingertips soft, without pressure, their unimposing touch sending shivers through the therapist’s body, resting at the elastic band of her tracksuit trousers so that she had wanted to implore Nell to move inside, to touch the dampness between her legs, but she had been too shy, too ashamed to voice her urges.

  The first kiss had not even been tentative. The grin on Nell’s face had frightened Katy, yet its scarlet slash was all the more alluring because of the fear, for it heightened the tension, the strangeness of the act exciting her senses almost to breaking point. What had happened to her? Katy wondered. Why was she feeling this way, all common sense abandoned, this sudden proclivity too intense, too fierce, to be denied? Her own lips had pushed hard against the other woman’s without hesitation, although certainly with trepidation, but even this emotion served to increase the arousal. And her mouth had opened willingly, inviting Nell’s intrusion, perhaps insisting upon it, and the tongue had entered with relish, meeting her own, tips curling against each other’s, their juices mingling.

  Even so, even though Katy had wanted this to happen, her hands never left her sides, did not reach around the dark-haired woman to pull her tight, for she was the lamb being led – not to slaughter but to ecstasy – and the guilt afterwards might be easier to bear if it remained so. It would be so much easier if she could cast the blame on another.

  But her body, her own ungovernable desire, had let her down, imposed its own will, for she had found herself pressing her groin into Nell’s, their hips touching as stomachs flattened, and they had both moved their bodies, squirming and thrusting, not wildly but insistently, moans rising from them both.

  It was when Nell had drawn herself away, although remaining close enough for her warm breath to burn Katy’s cheek, and said, ‘Come with me,’ that Katy had recalled the other time something like this had happened to her, although it had never been as exciting as this, and her part in it had been placid, almost docile.

  She had been seduced – molested might have been a more appropriate word – in the home of a senior physiotherapist when she, herself, had been a mere seventeen-year-old. The older woman had been teaching her the art of body massage, useful in treating certain patients’ ailments, and the session had gone further than anything Katy had expected. Only when it was over had she realized she had been duped, lured into loveplay (on the other woman’s part) by being aroused beyond control by oiled and scented hands roving over her body.

  She had fled the house in tears and never returned; neither had she ever seen the woman again, for she had promptly changed training schools. But still she had been left feeling abused and somehow unclean, even though such mores were considered unfashionable then as well as now. Why the guilt? What difference did it make to be made love to by either a man or woman? It was all experience. Yeah, right, Katy had said to herself. Tell that to my friends and parents.

  But what had also confused and hurt her was that afterwards – and Katy had not even returned the other woman’s touch – her seducer had proclaimed her a lesbian no matter how hard she tried to deny the fact. The older woman had said she had long suspected and this little episode had proved it. It was a cruel lie, of course, but Katy was too young and naive to know this, let alone understand her own sexual inclinations. She had soon begun dating boys and then men, and doubts about her sexuality came only on lonely nights when she had no other recourse but to pleasure herself, for that was when fantasy took over from reality.

  And now, those long-stifled feelings and sensations had been aroused again by this beautiful woman and, it seemed, Katy could not stop herself from accepting – welcoming – the advances. The guilt was still with her – more so than ever, in fact – but this sudden and overwhelming rush of desire could not be denied. And, as before, perhaps it was that same old guilt that quickened and intensified the lust.

  She lay on Thom’s bed with Nell kneeling over her, the gypsy-looking woman’s cotton skirt pulled high over her lightly-tanned thighs, breasts swelling against the low top of her white blouse. Nell’s scarlet smile held challenge, daring, and her dark eyes seemed to blaze with her own passion.

  ‘It’s all right, Katy,’ Nell soothed. ‘There’s nothing to fear. You want me as badly as I want you, so let it be.’

  Just as she had all those years ago in the home of her teacher-therapist, Katy wanted to protest, and she did, but exactly as before, her murmurs weak, without true conviction. She could not help herself, the lust within her was too demanding, too overbearing, too intoxicating. It was she who grasped Nell’s wrist and directed her hand to the tips of her breasts, guiding it from one to the other, then back again, this time pulling it tight so that fingers – delicious, wonderful fingers! – clamped around the so
ft mounds and pressed their hardened centres.

  Nell, of course, took full advantage, her lips descending to push against Katy’s, parting them so that her tongue could dash through and explore the other girl’s mouth again. Once more her tongue met and played with Katy’s, once more they both drank in each other’s juices.

  Katy’s head whirled, her thoughts as well as her senses spinning. Never, never, had she felt like this! Never had she been so aroused, nor did she care any more; she had to be touched, she had to be entered, and she had to find release before her impulses drove her mad.

  ‘Please . . .’ she managed to mumble between wild kisses. ‘Please . . .’

  And Nell understood. She knew what was wanted. And she knew what she, herself, wanted, for not only had the natural aphrodisiac worked well on her own body, but this girl’s primal need, her desperate yearning to be held, touched and brought to orgasm, had an aphrodisiacal effect all its own.

  Nell reached behind Katy’s head to slide off the rubber band that held the girl’s blonde hair in a ponytail, freeing the tresses so that they spread out on the pillow, the action a form of release for her prey, a release to abandonment. Katy tried to pull Nell down on top of her, but Nell resisted, remaining in control, roughly pushing the girl’s hands away, then pulling at the T-shirt Katy wore, tugging it loose from the grey tracksuit leggings and yanking it up over the naked breasts. Katy’s nipples were almost red in their engorgement and the skin between her breasts was flushed. She moaned ecstatically as Nell lowered her head and took one tip into her mouth, drawing it in, lathering it with her own drool, circling and pushing with her tongue, driving Katy to frenzy. Then the other breast, concentrating on it alone, making Katy so aware of her nipple’s reaction, its nerve-endings tingling almost as if invisibly sparking; back to the other nipple, her hand encircling the one her tongue had just left, kneading and rubbing, one moment gently, the next harshly, applying pressure so that Katy gasped with pleasurable pain. The valley between her breasts glistened with sweat and saliva and spittle escaped the corner of her mouth.

  ‘Please . . .’ she said again, not as a murmur but as an ardent imploration.

  And this time, Nell answered her. ‘Yes, oh yes . . .’ she said huskily ‘. . . yes, my pretty . . .’ and she almost laughed aloud at the witchhag utterance.

  She bent her head lower and drew her tongue slitheringly down to Katy’s navel, lingering in its well, circling, moistening, while Katy slid her hands between their bodies and into the top of Nell’s blouse, reaching for her breasts, touching the nipples, causing them to swell even more, pressing against the soft lush mounds until it was the other woman’s turn to moan with delight. Katy’s fingers stopped for a moment to crook around the blouse’s elasticated top; she tugged downwards so that Nell’s breasts, with their long points and dark rings, spilled free.

  ‘Aaah . . .’ sighed Nell.

  And then her hands were pushing at the waist of Katy’s leggings, forcing them down, over her legs, along her thighs, forcing them easily over dimpled knees, rising momentarily to drag them over ankles and feet, tossing them aside when she was done, then returning her attention to Katy’s quivering stomach, tongue once more taking up its eager and inciting task.

  Katy felt like screaming with the clandestine joy of it all, every muscle and tissue and nerve seemingly stretched almost beyond endurance. Her lips were drawn back tightly over her teeth and occasionally her tongue would snake out to moisten them. She moaned and at times groaned with the pleasure, both body and mind lost to the wondrous sensations. She groped beneath Nell’s shoulders, her arms stretched as far as they could reach, wanting to feel the other woman’s body, her breasts, longing to move on, to feel more intimate parts, but afraid Nell’s own tongue and hands would stop their work in order to relish the other’s caresses.

  She nearly cried out when Nell’s moist lips and tongue travelled even further, descending to the waistline of her white cotton panties. The tip of the tongue shifted backwards and forward along the elasticated line, tantalizing, teasing, forcing Katy to push against Nell’s shoulders to urge her on. Nell’s tongue slid between flesh and cotton and Katy did cry out, a small sound that was uncontrolled, pleading.

  Nell obliged, aware that the girl was nearing breaking point, that soon all restraint would be lost, the sensations would reach their peak; but Nell, herself, was not yet ready for that, her own yearnings also had to be fulfilled. She paused, but only to move up swiftly and kiss the girl full on the mouth, lowering the whole length of her body on to Katy’s so that they were locked in tight embrace.

  Katy allowed the harsh kisses – indeed, she returned them – but she wanted far more, she craved to be touched in her most sensitive place. Still, she pulled Nell close against herself, arms encircling her lower back, applying tension as she opened her legs, feeling Nell’s thigh sink between them, the pressure returned so that Katy squirmed and writhed beneath the other woman. Both used each other’s thigh to strain against, flesh filling cavity, juices in each now flowing freely.

  Just as Katy thought she could stand no more, that the pressure within would quickly find its inevitable release, Nell slid from her and lay by her side. But before she had time for disappointment, Nell was shoving at her panties, pushing then dragging them down until her legs were free of them. She felt Nell’s hand play along her leg, journeying upwards once again, past her knee, along her thigh, taking its time, allowing the expectation to build. She wanted to complain when fingertips bypassed her folded opening to play with her pubic hair, but knew it was part of the pleasure game, that the reward would come soon after. And she was right. Nell’s fingers slowly dipped into the vale of her thighs, then gently, softly into the wet entrance to her lower body, parting the silky lips easily, then sliding, gliding, into the slick passage beyond.

  Katy’s ecstatic moan was long and loud, and her hips moved rhythmically, twisting, turning, helping the intruding fingers find places of acute sensation. She felt Nell turn her wrist so the fingers faced upwards, then the longest one curling inwards so that it touched her vagina’s most sensitive spot, causing her to give out a small yelp of delight.

  With her other hand, Nell reached beneath the ruffled T-shirt and found a point between Katy’s shoulder and neck, applying mild yet nevertheless firm pressure to nerve endings there, making tantric connection between shoulder and genitals, her hand moving to the girl’s breast between strokes, then back again, seeing to the needs of each part.

  Katy’s back began to arch, her heels digging into the bedsheet, her mouth opening wide, her teeth parted. Different sensations inside her began to swell, reaching towards bursting point, unable to be contained for much longer. A noise, a scream, travelled from somewhere deep inside her throat, rising as it came, growing louder along the way.

  But Nell did not want the climax to come so soon, for she had other designs on this ripe pretty girl: she wanted to taste her.

  She withdrew her fingers, ignoring the groaned protest, and ducked her head low, stretching her body so that her legs were off the end of the bed, her head and shoulders lying between Katy’s spread thighs. She nuzzled the girl’s brown pubic hair, tongue flicking in and out, mouthing the hard mound, so that Katy’s desire rose again and her hands reached into Nell’s raven-black hair, guiding her head, urging it further down, deeper into the cleft. And Nell willingly obliged, her darting tongue finding the open lips, sliding in easily between them, finding the hard little point just inside at the top, flicking around it at first, making it rise even more, teasing again before enveloping its peak, smothering it with the soft moist blanket of her own muscled flesh, flicking, then licking, sucking then driving further inwards, tongue stretched as far as it could reach so that Katy cried out again and again and again, her canal becoming hollowed, ready to receive all that could be given, her cries transcending to one long sighing moan, her hands fierce against the back of Nell’s head.

  Nell knew the girl was now beyond her control,
that her climax was fast approaching and she quickly withdrew and threw her upper body towards Katy’s feet, pulling up her skirt and pushing one leg beneath the girl’s back.

  Katy was too far gone to feel dismayed, her orgasm beginning to come in wave upon wave, and when she felt the other’s vaginal lips against her own (for it was evident that Nell had been wearing nothing beneath her skirt) and Nell pulling down on her hips so that their secret lips sucked and crushed one another’s and their vulvas flared open so that fluids flowed and mingled, Katy felt every part of her body, inner and outer, stretching to its limit. Her scream was loud, the feel of their mutual movement almost unbearable in its heat, sensations filling her body and mind, and the sound of Nell’s own exhilaration, although more contained than hers, drove her to a new sublime delirium.

  She screamed and thrashed her face from side to side as their bodies heaved and rocked together, then pushed the back of her head into the pillow as her neck arched and her legs quivered. Nell’s ankle was hard between Katy’s shoulder blades as they writhed against each other, both women frenzied, now extending every muscle as orgasm took them, both screaming as they were scoured by a filling and blissful tension . . .

  Both shuddering and whimpering as the tides of passion came and went, each event softer, less intense, than the one before . . .

  SOME HAD dark hair, sleekly black yet not damp with lake water, while others were golden blonde like Jennet, sunlight framing their heads and playing on the edges of curls, thereby giving the deepest parts of their hair added darker texture. They rose to the surface, all facing in Thom and Jennet’s direction, some smiling as they sang, others unsure, their expressions sombre. Several appeared nervous of Thom as they hung back in the deeper places of the lake, pointing at him with slender arms and long fingers, whispering to companions; others came forward to the shallows, some completely naked with small pointed breasts like Jennet’s and hairless pubic mounds like a girl-child’s, some wearing long or short shifts of material so sheer they might just as well have worn nothing at all. One, with dark frizzed-out hair like wedges at the side of her sweet face, the top decorated with small water lilies, giggled and held hands to her cheeks, watching him with apparent delight as she drew closer to the shoreline.