Love from the Other Side

by Claire Plaisted

Part Six – Nola

  ‘Aryn? Where are you?’ She called out to him from the gardens, and he felt the grass beneath his bare feet.

  ‘Hello?’ He called back, his senses rising to such occasion.

  He knew the voice, and he knew this dream; except, this was not where it had played out before. She waited for him, with her long blonde hair pinned back from her face, and wore a soft pink dress which touched her toes. Her eyes sparkled a wicked shade of green, and her lips... oh, so red.

  ‘I was hoping you’d come back!’ She grinned as he approached her, and he felt his heart flutter as she reached out for him.

  They had come so close, many times before, but there had always been something to stop their embrace. Always something, to quench the fire and send his world into madness.

  ‘You look tense?’ She told him, her hand reaching for his, and in it, was that small, tear shaped jewel.

  ‘Just a little confused!’ He replied, shaking his head as if to shake away the fog.

  ‘Come, let me help you release some of your tension!’

  How could he resist her? He couldn’t, only a fool would deny a chance with such pleasure.

  ‘You must sit back, and relax!’ She purred, and like magic, he found himself falling into her lap. ‘There, isn’t this better?’ She whispered, running her hand across his bare chest and down towards his navel.

  ‘Is this...’ He started, but she silenced him with her lips.

  ‘Just relax!’ She told him, ‘Let your mind worry not!’ She took his hand in hers, and again he could feel the small jewel in his clutches, and pressed against his chest. ‘Let me, take care of you!’

  ‘Oh, God yes!’ He moaned, as her hand drifted lower, tickling the tuft of hair that lay just above his trousers.

  ‘The Gods, have nothing to do with this, my love!’ She whispered in his ear, nibbling her way down his neck and sliding herself out from behind him. ‘You see, I’ve been waiting, for you...’ Her moan sent a chill right through him, or perhaps it was the way she removed his trousers with her mouth?

  Either way, there was no stopping this. He wanted her so badly he could taste it. So beautiful, so incredibly...

  ‘I have waited, for so long...’ She whimpered, laying kisses along his legs and thighs, until she returned to his waist.

  ‘Yes!’ He groaned, and listened to her giggle as she took hold of him.

  ‘Do you love me?’ She murmured, her hand stroking him hard as her lips left sinful burns across his chest.

  ‘I, uh...’ He stuttered, the pleasure rising so intensely, he could barely think, let alone speak.

  ‘You must love me, it will not work if your love is not real!’

  ‘But I don’t even know you!’ He managed to choke out, and regretted it instantly as she pulled away.

  ‘If you do not love me, love, this...’ She looked around, ‘...then how can we...’

  ‘I do love this! All, of this!’ He grinned, eyeing her up and down.

  Each and every inch of her was ripe for the picking, and he was more than ready to ravage her; and he hoped like hell they wouldn’t be interrupted this time.

  ‘So, you do love me?’

  ‘How can I love someone, without a name?’ He told her, and her hand stopped once again.

  ‘My name does not matter!’ She looked at him with frustration.

  ‘But it does! How can I profess my love for you, if I don’t know your name?’ He teased, enthralled in the moment as he rose to kiss her.

  ‘Nola!’ She replied, rising to her feet, and he watched as that pretty pink, silk dress, fell from her shoulders. ‘You, are called Aryn, and I, am called Nola!’

  ‘That’s a beautiful name!’ He grinned so wide, and ushered for her to return to his side. ‘And you, are a beautiful woman!’

  Nola smiled, falling with her knees on either side of his lap, and when he felt the warmth between her legs touch him, he shuddered.

  ‘So, you do love me?’ She said, her smile growing bigger, as he too, grew in her hand.

  ‘Yes, I love you!’ He smiled back, and felt her wetness slide over him.

  So tight and so divine, he couldn’t imagine he’d gone this long without knowing such pleasure, and as her hips moved faster, he let out a moan.

  ‘You feel, so good!’ He let out with a hiss, the sensations flooding his body and bringing him closer to the edge.

  ‘As, do you!’ She whimpered in his lap.

  That, sent even more tingles, rip roaring through his veins, and he could feel himself getting harder, and hotter.

  ‘Shit!’ He whispered, the edge so close, he could fall off any second, and she threw her arms around his neck.

  ‘Tell me, you love me!’ She moaned again, her hips rocking against his as her own heat rose in her belly. ‘Tell me, Aryn! Say my name!’

  ‘I do, Nola, I do love, you!’ He thrust as hard as he could, no longer able to hold it back, and felt her back arch as she too, lost all control.

  It felt so good, so right, feeling his seed leave his body into hers, and the way she moved, as if reveling in every moment of her release. But, there would be no more seduction, no more warmth, as his Nola rose from his lap, letting his seed drip from between her thighs, and the laughter rang out all around him.

  ‘What was done, has been undone!’ His voice echoed through the gardens, and the fog rolled in, covering everything in sight.

  ‘What’s going on?’ Aryn let out, his own voice so weak. ‘Nola? Where are you going?’ He added, as he watched her walk away.

  He tried to rise, to follow her, but it felt as if there were a weight upon his chest. He could not move. He could only scream.

  ‘Nola?’ He shouted for her, only to hear his words drown out by another bout of laughter.

  ‘She is not yours, boy!’ He was told, ‘She was never yours!’

  ‘Nola?’ Aryn shouted again, as the ground around him opened up as if to swallow him.

  ‘Give it up, boy!’ It laughed again. ‘For she has been freed from her prison, and will once again lay in my bed, where she belongs!’

  As the words grew louder, Aryn could see the figure coming towards him, and his heart skipped a beat.

  ‘Nola?’ He tried again, but the fog held him down and masked his words.

  ‘You have done us a great favor!’ The voice spoke again, more familiar now. ‘Without you, my Nola would have remained trapped, bound by hate in a game of horrors; but your love has freed her once more, and though it is for but a time, know that your sacrifice will not go, unrewarded.’

  His sacrifice? His love? He’d just had sex, nothing more. What the hell was going on? Why couldn’t he move?

  ‘Let me go!’ Aryn shouted at the man, but it did him no good.

  ‘I cannot, for you have traded your soul, for her freedom, and it’s a deal not even I can break!’ He laughed, and his face came in to view.

  ‘Mr. Kramer?’ Aryn gasped, as his blonde haired, green eyed, Nola, stood there beside that son of a bitch with the jet-black hair.

  ‘Despite the attempts made by my son, you have returned to me, the one thing I’ve wanted most of all!’ Mr. Kramer chuckled.

  ‘Your son?’ Aryn choked out, oh God, the kid...

  ‘It was he, who tricked my lover into his game, as punishment for the way I betrayed his mother!’

  ‘He what?’

  ‘It matters not, for this night is all I have with my beloved, and you shall not ruin it!’ Mr. Kramer laughed again, and the darkness set in.

  Part Seven – The Touched

  “He played the game, Mortimer!” Aryn heard the voices, though his body ached, and he couldn’t pull himself from his bed.

  “He slept, with the woman!” Another sighed.

  “Oh no!” The room filled with gasps.

  “Aye!”

  “Will he wake up?”

  “I don’t know, Mortimer! But, we must watch over him now!”

  Who the hell was Mortimer? And where the hell wa
s he now? His head hurt and his mind was spinning.

  “If he wakes, he’s going to have questions!”

  “Then we shall try to answer them. It’s the least we can do!”

  Aryn groaned, feeling a sharp pain in his belly, and tried to roll over. His head was hurting and his throat was dry, he was cold and itchy all over.

  “Are you alright?” He heard a familiar voice, and the others seemed to hush. “Aryn?” The voice came again.

  It was the kid, or was it? He couldn’t tell what was real anymore. All he knew, was that he needed a drink of water.

  “Here, take this!” He heard the kid say, and opened his eyes to the blinding light. “Easy now, just a sip!”

  “Where?” Aryn let out, but his voice was harsh, and deep. “Where, am I?”

  “In my father’s manor!” The boy hung his head. “I am sorry, for what has happened!”

  “What, happened?” Aryn inquired.

  “You have been touched!” The boy replied. “Like the others!” He nodded towards the men across the room. “This farm, is your prison!”

  “Wait, what?” Aryn choked out. “My prison?”

  “You played her game!” The kid told him, and hung his head again.

  “What game? Who are you?”

  “My name, is Dorien, and the game...” He shuddered, “The jewel was meant to trap my step-mother!” Dorien explained, “A prison, to contain all her evil!”

  “Buddy, this isn’t a fairy tale!” Aryn chuckled, the kid had to be pulling his leg.

  “No, it’s not!” Dorien glared at him, “It’s a nightmare!” He shook his head. “You see, the jewel was meant to lock her away, but my half-sister, their, daughter...” He shuddered again, “...she found a way to communicate with her mother!”

  Okay, so this was an epic story, but Aryn was so over the fantasies, and this kid was beginning to get on his nerves.

  “Alright, well, how about you write a book about it, and I’ll buy a copy!” Aryn chuckled, and tried to rise from the bed; but Dorien stopped him.

  “Take it easy, you’re still...” Dorien tried to warn him, but it was too late, and the pain ripped through his chest.

  “You don’t understand, Aryn! None of them did, until it was too late!”

  “Shouldn’t have slept with her!” The one called Mortimer giggled. “Shouldn’t have played the game!”

  “What, fucking, game?” Aryn shouted.

  “Be quiet, or he’ll drug you again!” Dorien told him. “My father is...” He paused, “...was, a good man. He tried to help people, but when my mother died, and he met Nolari, he changed. She was so beautiful, with her long blonde hair and deep green eyes...”

  Aryn gasped as he described the woman.

  “With the birth of my half-sister, his world grew darker, and the people began to talk. We knew something had to be done, and so, the jewel was created!”

  “Wait, you’re serious?” Aryn blurted out, as the image of the woman, and Mr. Kramer, came to mind. “Holy shit!”

  “I’ve tried to warn you, tried to help you escape, but both my sister and my father were so determined to have you...” Dorien went on. “... and they were right! You did help them!”

  “How? How did I help them? What’s happened to me?”

  “You’ve been touched by Oujara’s Game, Aryn! You gave your soul, so my step-mother, could walk the realm of the living for one night!”

  “You’re fucking crazy, dude!” Aryn sat up, and pulled back towards the wall.

  “No, I’m dead!” Dorien sighed, “And so are you!”

  “Fuck off, dude!”

  “I am serious, Aryn! My sister brought her game, to your party, and you took that jewel in your hands. You opened the door for her arrival, all she needed you to do, was finish the task.”

  “You shouldn’t have slept with her!” Mortimer giggled again. “And now, you live with us, forever!”

  They had to be joking, this wasn’t real.

  “It is very real, my friend, as real, as the blade my sister used, to slit my throat!” Dorian pulled back his collar, and let Aryn see that long, horrid scar. “I tried to stop her...”

  “This has to be a joke!” Aryn muttered, his entire life, or had been, flashing before his eyes.

  “It’s hard to pass up the darkness, when it appears so beautiful to the beholder!” Dorien sighed. “Nolari was very beautiful, on the outside, and my father will forever succumb to her will! He has, for over two hundred years!”

  “There has to be a way to undo this!”

  “Destroy the game, destroy the power!” Dorien muttered, just as Mortimer did the same.

  “Its call is too great! They cannot resist!” Mortimer went on. “No one, can deny the golden haired one with the blood red lips!”

  ~ TO BE CONTINUED~

  Alexa

  By Jane Risdon

  Her voice was soft and sultry as she answered him. He smiled happily, content at having her company on such a cold and wintry night. The wind was blowing a hoolie and snow was whirling every which way; some was even settling he noticed as he drew the curtains and shut out the world before settling with his book.

  ‘Thank you, Alexa, I thought as much. I’ve read several of his books but that was a long time ago.’ He looked up, curious, and smiled. ‘Alexa, how many books has Derek Jonas written during his career?’

  ‘Derek Jonas has written twenty novels and fifty short stories to date, his last novel being ‘When the Tide Turns,’ which was published in 2017,’ Alexa replied softly. How he loved the sound of her voice. It was so like...he stopped himself from thinking it. Don’t go there he told himself.

  ‘Thank you,’ he said dreamily. He went back to his book and eventually began to dose. The room was silent as he slept until a sound woke him. Roger blinked a few times and wondered where he was for a second before he remembered; sighing deeply he looked at the clock on the wall. Time for bed he decided. He walked wearily over to Alexa and patted her dark head. ‘Alexa, time for bed, goodnight.’

  ‘Goodnight Roger, sleep well,’ she replied.

  Roger tossed and turned unable to settle. The weather outside didn’t help much, the wind was so loud he couldn’t hear himself think. He looked at his bedside radio clock and sighed. Every night he was wide awake at the same time, unable to get comfortable or relax enough to go back to sleep. He decided to go downstairs and have a Scotch in hot milk which often worked—eventually.

  The sitting room was dark except for a pinkish glow in the corner Roger noticed as he headed to the kitchen. He carried his hot milk and Scotch into the sitting room. Alexa was awake. He stared at her for a moment, then asked her.

  ‘Alexa, why do I always wake at the same time every night and find you here wide awake as well?’

  ‘Hmm I can’t think why, have you tried self-hypnosis or sleeping tablets? I can’t make a recommendation however, but warm milk helps so I’m told, and perhaps a snack.’

  ‘Alexa, tell me a bedtime story and perhaps that might make me sleepy.’ He sipped his drink watching her.

  Alexa began to read him a bedtime story and soon he was asleep, gently snoring. She bent over him and kissed his forehead before leaving the room.

  Roger slept until 7am when his alarm went off next to his bed. He looked at the clock and switched on the radio before getting up. The usual traffic chaos on the road as people headed for the sales and the railways was the main topic. Snow stopped everything these days, he mused. He’d had the strangest dream he recalled as he made his bed, but exactly what it was about, he wasn’t sure. Just vague impressions remained with him. He often dreamed of Maddie but this time he wasn’t sure. The impression was far too vague.

  Roger made his breakfast and took it into the sitting room and switched on Breakfast News, spending an hour watching the headlines and the business news before heading upstairs for his shower. Since Maddie had died he took his time with his ablutions and dressing. Who was there to dress for now she was gone,
he thought— why bother? It was the Christmas holiday and he was alone and without reason to leave the house, so he hadn’t any need to rush.

  Maddie had been his life, they did everything together and were married for ten years before she died a year ago. They’d never had children and had never needed friends, always keeping to themselves—company enough for each other, they’d often remarked. But now, now there was a gaping void of loneliness in his life and he often thought of ending things. Why keep breathing day in day out? For what? He looked at Alexa sitting in the corner and smiled. He had her he supposed, she was always there to talk to and the thought made him feel a lot better, but she wasn’t Maddie. There could never be another Maddie, yet...

  He’d been at such a low ebb a few months ago he’d even registered for an On-line dating service, but dear God! No! He had soon given up on that without even making a date to meet anyone.

  It was whilst he was on-line that he found Alexa. Typical, you find someone when you’re not really thinking about it. She’d arrived soon after he’d decided to bring her into his life. Alexa, such a pretty name with such a lovely voice. He shook his head and laughed out loud as he realised that he might well be falling in love with her. He looked at her and smiled, ‘Alexa, what do you suggest I have for lunch today?’

  ‘Roger, it’s Friday and you are probably not keen on turkey again, so why not have fish? Those of a Christian persuasion often have fish on Friday. Would you like me to give you a fish recipe?’

  ‘No thanks Alexa, I think I’ll pass on the fish. Do you have a good recipe for left-over beef, I didn’t have turkey?’ Oh! for goodness sakes, Roger thought, I am losing the plot. All I can think of is the sound of her voice, even if she is discussing fish, and I’ll ask her anything to hear it.

  Alexa began to recite a recipe for left-over beef and Roger let her talk on even though he had no intention of making the dish. When she was quiet he busied himself with household chores before settling down in front of the television to watch an old movie on Netflix—another indulgence since Maddie had been gone. Soon he was fast asleep, dreaming of Maddie and when they first met. He smiled in his dream and Alexa smiled too.