Cognati: An Inferno World Novel

by Elizabeth Gray

  Anger swells up inside of me, blinding me. My hands find her throat. Will history always repeat itself? I choke her because of what she makes me do. What she makes me like. I’m so furious, her gurgles don’t stop me. I dig my fingernails into her flesh, wishing I could destroy her throat with just my fingers.

  I try.

  I try.

  Oh, how I try.

  The soft part of her throat at the base of her neck makes a slurping sound as I force my thumb through the flesh. I push and pull and grip. My hands tremble and I scream at her. My nuts tighten and then I’m coming. Like a good boy. I fill her ass up. Fatigue hits me and I fall against her.

  I’m so tired.

  “Here, cousin,” Kristopher says, dropping a rope into the hole. “Hold on.”

  I pull out of dirty Linda and stare down at her mutilated body. When I look up, my cousins are smiling at me. Beautiful angels those two. I pull my pants over my filthy dick and then take the offered rope. The twins use all their strength to pull me out. We all land in a heap. The three of us giggle at first and then we’re all full-bellied laughing. As kids do. We’re just kids sometimes, but mostly we’re two men and a woman. When it counts.

  “Back to bed, children,” Uncle Charles says from nearby.

  I cringe, waiting for his wrath. It never comes.

  “What happened to Linda?” he asks as I stand and approach him.

  “She fell.” I keep my eyes affixed on his face and my smile easy. So he won’t be able to tell that I’m lying.

  “Pity,” he utters. “It’s a deep hole. Dangerous to fall into.”

  He believes me.

  Kristopher winks because he knows we’ve tricked his father.

  “You should shower, son,” Uncle Charles tells me, kissing my forehead like a real father does his real son. “Tomorrow is a big day. We have quite the ceremony planned.”

  “Yes, sir,” I say.

  “Good boy.”

  The twins hold hands and Uncle Charles smiles at me.

  This is how a family is supposed to be.

  * * *

  Karen

  For my special day, I decide to braid my long hair into a fancy one, threaded with white ribbon. When Kristopher finally takes me to bed as his wife, he can undo the braid. Images of us alone in his bed, naked and moaning make me feel warm inside.

  He promised never to whip me.

  I promised to always be good.

  Still, I’ll want him to comfort me like a good husband comforts his wife. Like Pa comforted me last night after he fucked my anus. He was gentle as he tended to my sore bottom. Gave me a hot bath. Rubbed a cooling ointment on the sore flesh. Kissed me more times than I could count. It was confusing because I liked the way it felt, but I wished it were Kristopher instead.

  Someone knocks on my bedroom door and I squeak out in surprise.

  “I’m not decent,” I call out.

  “I’m your father,” Pa says gruffly as he enters the room. “I’ve seen you naked before.”

  He walks into the room, dressed nicely in one of his church suits. It makes me wonder how Kristopher will look in his. In his hands is a dress. He drapes it over the bed.

  “You shouldn’t sit in just your panties and bra, lovely. The window is open. What if someone were to walk by?” He comes to stand behind me where I’m sitting at my vanity. “They’d see what was only meant for your husband.”

  I want to argue that every man in this house has seen me, but choose to bite my tongue. Kristopher and I have a plan. It involves convincing Pa to let us marry. That means we must be on our best behavior.

  “Sorry, sir.”

  He massages my shoulders. “After today, it won’t matter. You’ll belong only to your husband.”

  I shiver when his thumbs tease my sensitive skin beneath my bra straps.

  “How’s your anus?”

  “Sore,” I admit.

  “And it will be for some time,” he says in a fatherly voice. “But you pleased me greatly. It’s the best gift you could have given me aside from your virginity.” His grin is wolfish. “But that is all for your husband.”

  “I was happy to give you that gift.” It’s not even a lie. I would do anything to get to keep Kristopher.

  His features darken in the mirror. “You were alone with those boys last night. How do I know you didn’t do something sinful?”

  I chew on my bottom lip. “I didn’t, Daddy. You could check to be sure.”

  “I want to believe you,” he murmurs, “but women lie so often and so easily, they believe it as truth. It’s a good father’s duty to keep his daughter on the straight and narrow.” He hauls me to my feet. “Take those off and lie back on the bed.”

  My heart rate quickens, but I obey. I shimmy out of my underwear and lie on the bed.

  “Put your feet on the mattress and spread so I can see. Do you remember the way Linda did it?”

  Heat flushes over my face. “I do.”

  “She got whipped for disobeying. You don’t want to get whipped on your wedding day, do you?”

  “No, sir.”

  Because I’m good and I need to be for Kristopher, I spread myself open for Pa. The air is cool against my sensitive flesh. He kneels in front of the bed. In his suit with his hair styled back, he’s truly quite handsome. Linda failed, but perhaps he’ll find another wife. One who will bring out the smiling affectionate side of my father.

  “Your anus is red and angry,” he says, pulling my cheeks apart. He chuckles. “I’ll need to remember to put more ointment on it later.”

  His hot breath tickles me and I fidget.

  “This is red too,” he murmurs, pinching the bud that brings so much pleasure.

  I moan, arching my back. Shame sears across my skin, painting me red.

  “Do you remember how your brother licked and sucked you here?” he asks, his tone all business.

  “Y-Yes, sir.”

  “It’s not always for pleasure, lovely. Sometimes, this part of you will get punished by your husband.”

  “Why?”

  “Because that is the way things are.”

  He pinches me there, making me cry out. Then, he rolls the bud between his finger and thumb, though that doesn’t feel punishing at all. He releases me to press a hot kiss there. His tongue flicks out, teasing me. My body trembles with need and I feel horrible. I’m to be Kristopher’s wife and here I am growing slick with desire for Pa. He sucks the bud into his mouth almost painfully. I whimper when he bites it hard enough I’m afraid he’ll draw blood. Just when I’m about to beg for mercy, he sucks on it again. Back and forth, he tortures me with a mix of pain and pleasure.

  “You’re so close, lovely,” he murmurs against my sensitive skin. “Allow the release to happen.”

  He nibbles on me again, just hard enough to make me see stars. I detonate with a scream. My entire body seizes up and then shakes wildly. The pleasure is intense and dizzying. I instantly crave more.

  “Good girl,” he praises. “You’ll make such a good little wife. Unlike your mother.”

  I sit up on my elbows to stare down at him. He peers at me with a devious glint in his hazel eyes.

  “Why don’t you ever tell us about her?” I ask.

  He spreads my cheeks again to inspect my anus. “What would you like to know?”

  My heart rate speeds up. “How you met. What she was like. Did she love us?”

  “I met her in the parking lot of her school. She was innocent and trusting. Your mother was a whore, though. I’m so sorry.”

  Shame fills me. “Oh.”

  “She claims she was raped and that’s how she got pregnant at fifteen, but everyone in town knew she wasn’t much different than girls like Maude.”

  Hate surges through me. Maude is the worst. My mother was like her? How horrible for Pa.

  “I told her that her dad sent me to pick her up. He didn’t. But I wanted to help her. Those were my children inside her. I felt it inside my heart. I just needed to
convince her.” He rubs at my tender hole he ravaged last night, making me squirm. “I took her home and married us right then. Before the babies came, so they’d be mine in the eyes of God.”

  “Did she love us?”

  “I think she did,” he admits. “When I stood with my two children, bloody and screaming in my arms, she reached out. Begged me to not take you two from her. It was what needed to happen, though.”

  “Did she die?”

  “Bled out on the basement floor. She’s buried under the swing.”

  “I had no idea, Pa.”

  “I never told you because I didn’t want you to miss her. I’m a selfish man. I wanted my children’s love all to myself.” He nuzzles his nose against my still throbbing nub. “When you two were toddlers, it was difficult to do all of the household duties while caring for you both, but I managed. I didn’t want us barely managing, though. I wanted our family to thrive, which is why I went to see my sister Linda when I felt she was old enough. Told her I needed help. She came right away.”

  I try to imagine Linda helpful. I can’t.

  “I loved how good she was with my children. Decided right then I would marry her. She begged and pleaded for me not to, but God had already shown me the path to her. I worked hard for years putting more babies in her to no avail.”

  “You did the right thing, Pa,” I assure him, touching his hair. “We needed a mother and Linda tried.”

  He smirks but doesn’t call me out on my lie. Linda didn’t try that hard.

  “I can’t bear the thought of you marrying your brother and leaving me all alone.” His hazel eyes become glassy with tears.

  “We could stay here,” I offer. “Live with you until you find a wife. I don’t know the first thing about caring for a baby, but you do.”

  “What a sweet girl you are,” he croons. “I’ll consider your offer. Now relax and let me check your hymen.”

  He slides a finger into my body that’s slick from my pleasure. His finger is gentle as he rubs at the tender barrier. He pulls his finger out and then his mouth is there, tongue pressing into me. It’s hot and wet and sends tendrils of desire curling through me. He slurps and sucks on the tender flesh.

  “It’s tempting not to take this as mine,” he murmurs, kissing me so many times I grow dizzy. “So tempting.”

  I squirm and tremble. The need to explode again intense. I want him to touch the good place again. Pa, always able to read my thoughts, smiles as he continues to tongue my hole. Then, he uses his thumb to rub my nub. It feels so good. So intense. So exhilarating. My thighs tighten around his head, making him growl. A finger pushes into my anus, making me cry out. It hurts so bad there, but it’s distracting with his tongue thrusting into my other hole. Fire burns through my anus as he adds another finger. I cry because it hurts, but I can’t help but dig my heels into his upper back so I can lift my hips to his hot mouth. He suckles on my hole and pinches my nub until I can’t take it anymore.

  A loud sob rips from me as white pleasure, not unlike the white room, blinds me. I thrash wildly, unable to control my own body. When I come down from the white high, he slips his fingers out of me and stands. His handsome mouth is slick from my juices and his hazel eyes flicker with intensity.

  “I need to go see Kristopher now,” he says in a guttural growl. “Put your wedding gown on, lovely. Leave your panties off so your husband can easily claim you after your vows.” He adjusts his hard dick in his slacks. “You should wear your hair down.”

  I close my legs and sit up, wincing when my bottom throbs. “I thought Kristopher would like it like this. To undo tonight in his bed.”

  Pa’s features grow stormy. “Do you defy me, child?”

  “What? No.”

  “Put the fucking dress on.” With those harshly delivered words, he stalks out of the room, slamming the door.

  I jolt, shivering, and rush over to the dress. It’s frilly and white and heavy, but I manage to get it pulled on and zipped up. Juices slick my thighs and I wonder if I’ll have time to wash myself before the wedding. I finger my hair, pondering Pa’s words. I’ll need to undo the fancy braid as he wishes. I freeze, admiring my reflection. Kristopher is going to love me in this dress. I imagine his dick growing hard the moment he sees me. Will he be gentle when he puts babies in me? I hope he puts his mouth on me again. Like how Pa did. That felt amazing.

  Pa returns ten minutes later and I smile at him.

  He’s not smiling.

  I realize I’ve disobeyed him.

  Oh no.

  My cheeks clench, already worrying over the sting of his belt. He makes no move to remove his belt. Instead, he holds up a pair of scissors.

  No.

  I shake my head, backing up. “N-No, Daddy, please.” He wouldn’t dare. He loves my long hair.

  His lip curls up and his face reddens with fury. I screech when he pounces on me. He tackles me to the bed, yanking roughly on my braid. I scratch at him, but he manages to pin my arms with his knees and sits heavily on my chest. He jerks the braid toward him and then uses the sharp sewing shears to hack through my braid. I sob when the ends of my hair fall on my chin, tickling me there.

  So short.

  He made me ugly.

  Kristopher will be so disappointed.

  Ragged, snotty sobs echo through the room. Defeated, I lie there, just hoping it’ll all be over soon. Eventually, he climbs off me, leaving with my braid. I curl up on the bed, crying. Ten minutes later, he returns and stretches out on the bed beside me. He strokes what’s left of my hair from my face and tells me I’m the most beautiful girl in the world.

  “I’ll always think you’re beautiful,” he tells me in a soft, soothing voice. “Even if you had no hair at all.”

  “B-But w-what about K-Kristopher?”

  “His opinion doesn’t matter. Only mine.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I’ve made my decision. I’m not giving you up, lovely. Not now. Not after everything.” He sucks on my neck and caresses my breast over my dress. “You just feel so right in my arms. I knew the moment I held you. Nothing’s changed.”

  “But Kristopher…” I choke on a sob. My heart feels torn in two. My twin is my other half. I need him to survive.

  “Kristopher is being dealt with. You focus on us now. You’ll be my wife by dinner and then I’ll fuck your virginity away.” He nips at my throat. “You’re still slick there. Needy. Your body told me everything I needed to know. It wants me.”

  I close my eyes, hating that I’ve betrayed my brother.

  “Come, lovely, let’s get on with it.”

  * * *

  Luke

  Uncle Charles returns to the living room, his hair messy and his clothes disheveled. I remain sitting on the couch like I was told. It took everything in me not to fight him when he dragged Kristopher to the basement.

  It didn’t feel right.

  He went back to speak with Karen. After lots of sounds that made my cock hard, he came back holding a braid of hair. Her cries were so fucking sad after that. He went back to the basement and then returned to her. Each time ignoring my presence. When her cries become quiet, he comes out to stand in front of me.

  “Luke.”

  “Uncle Charles.”

  “I’ve made my decision. Karen will be marrying me. I’ll perform the ceremony and you are our witness.”

  I gape at him, rising to my feet. “But Kristopher—”

  He backhands me, sending me hurtling into a table and knocking the lamp over. “You stole my other wife from me to satisfy your deviant ways. I had to replace her. Learn your place or I’ll destroy you, boy. I will hack away your limbs like my son did Maude.”

  A cold dread settles in my bones.

  He’s not family.

  He’s a monster.

  No wonder Mom never spoke of him. She didn’t want me to find him. Like my father. The men in my life are all disappointments. Not Kristopher. He’s like me. We’re mostly like brothers. I alwa
ys wanted a brother.

  Karen enters the room, her face devoid of emotion. Her skin is pale and splotched red from crying. Tears stain her cheeks. Plump lips are parted and trembling. What’s so devastating is her hair. She no longer has her long locks. The cut is blunt and uneven, curling up under her jawbone. It makes her seem younger. Like a little girl. The fatherly desires inside me crave to hold her close and protect her from him.

  She stands there, docile with her hands behind her back, wearing a rumpled white wedding gown. It’s crooked on her body, hanging slightly off one shoulder. I imagine before he went in there, she looked like an angel. He wrecked our angel.

  I crack my neck, eager to punch the evil smirk off his face. Instead, I remain still, pondering my next move. He picks up the Bible and flips open to a marked passage. His voice is gritty and eager as he reads through verses explaining the sanctity of marriage. He grabs one of her shoulders, hauling her closer to him. She has to crane her neck to look up at his towering frame. His smile is soft as he reads to her.

  “And what the Bible fails to mention is that a father can be the ultimate husband if he deems it necessary. It’s more than necessary now that my wife has been killed by a soulless sinner. My son betrayed me and will soon have to deal with those consequences. I’ll need to marry my sweet daughter and produce more children.”

  A snort escapes me.

  I can’t believe I never noticed the way he lies before. It’s not unlike a woman’s face, though he’s better at hiding it. He taught me what to look for. The twitch of his lips. Flickering of his eyes. Nervous movements.

  “Mom once told me her brother was impotent,” I sneer. “And at the time, I didn’t know what it meant. Just like I didn’t know a lot of things Mom taught me, but I looked it up. You can’t have children, Uncle Charles. Yet you punished your wife for her inability to get pregnant.”

  He scowls. “Shut your fucking mouth, son.”

  “I’m not your son,” I growl. “Do you plan on punishing Karen when she can’t get pregnant either? How do you think Karen will feel when you deny her the very thing she wants most?”