Redemption: Darkness Falls

by Ivory Quinn

  “We’re going to one of the Master’s clubs.” Storm smiled at her. “It’s easy to feel lonely in this life and, in feeling lonely, your feelings of self-doubt are given room to grow. I want to show you that there are a lot of us out there so you feel less ostracised and less like a monster.”

  “So this is a fetish club?” Well now the outfit made sense. She was in a strapless brown leather mini dress and thigh high chocolate suede boots from the shopping trip she’d managed with Blue before her little incident. Chunky leather bangles neatly covered the bandages on her wrists, but she still felt a little conspicuous. It was hard not to when wearing half a cow.

  “It’s a very exclusive fetish club. This is for the real practitioners, not the ones that are into kink because they think it’s cool. Just about everyone you meet here will be on the straight and narrow.” She checked her watch. “There’s also a new show on there tonight that I really want to see and I have to make a report to the Master about it.”

  The car pulled to a halt before Noelle could ask what kind of show and Storm waited calmly for someone to open her door, before daintily swinging her legs out and straightening in a way that was so graceful it had to be practised. Noelle was a little less elegant getting out and Storm smiled at her.

  “This is daunting, I know. Put Noelle in the box and give me Red. Let your darkness breathe.”

  “Okay.” Taking a deep breath, Noelle tried to shake the tension out of her shoulders and let her demons from their internal cage. She could do this. She was out with the most powerful dominatrix in the city. The leather she was wearing supported her in all the right places. She was going to walk into that room and be amongst people just like her. She could definitely do this. Taking another deep breath, she nodded and smiled. Red was coming out to play.

  They strolled into the club together. From the outside, very little could be seen. There was a door, guarded by two bouncers who actually looked the real deal, rather than muscle-bound door furniture, but to either side there was just blank wall. There were no signs up anywhere and no music pouring out into the street. If you didn’t know the club was there, you would never stumble upon it. Red thought that was maybe the point, to try and deflect passersby.

  Storm led them up a narrow hallway and checked her purse at a small counter to the right. Red hadn’t brought anything with her, so she just waited quietly for the smaller woman to finish up. She noticed that they seemed to deal with Storm with an incredible amount of respect. None of the staff would meet her eyes, even the doormen. Having only ever seen the petite woman’s warm side, she thought she’d be in for a shock when she saw her in action. Clearly the diminutive dominatrix was a force to be reckoned with.

  They pushed through two sets of double doors and suddenly the music swarmed around them, the heavy, seductive beat pressing close to their bodies as though it were a tangible thing. The lighting was muted but Red still stared around her in shock as they stopped just inside the door to take it all in. The club was opulent to the point of obscenity, but that wasn’t what caught her gaze. Everywhere she looked there were semi-naked people in the most eye-watering contraptions, engaged in what could only be ‘play’. Men and women on leashes, on their knees beneath tables, acting as foot stools...it was mind boggling.

  “You look like you’re at the zoo.” Storm remarked drily and Red flinched.

  “I feel like I’m at the zoo.” She replied honestly, her heart sinking. These were not her people. Nothing in here felt like she wanted to be a part of it.

  “I know it looks a little extreme at first, but don’t forget this is a wide spectrum of kinks.” Storm leaned in close to be heard over the music. “Not all of them will apply to you. I saw in your file that humiliation isn’t your thing, so you just have to learn to look past it.”

  “It’s a little difficult when it’s right in your face.” Red winced as a man nearby grabbed a young woman by the hair and threw her to her knees, berating her loudly for some imagined slight.

  “It gets easier.” Storm shrugged. “Come, we’ll go and get a drink.”

  Silence had started to spread around them as people realised who had entered and they moved across the crowded room in a small bubble of space that opened up around them.

  “Mistress Storm in the house!” The DJ crooned over the music and Storm blew him a kiss to the music booth, waving as they made their way to the bar.

  “What do you want to drink?” Storm asked and Red studied the drinks shelf behind the bar.

  “I should probably stick to soft drinks.” She replied after a moment. “I’m still on the pain meds.”

  “Good call.” Storm nodded sympathetically. “Juice or soda?”

  “Cranberry juice, I think.” She turned around to give the bartender her order and froze. “Sean?!” She gaped at her favourite barista and he, equally as shocked, gaped back.

  “Noelle?! What the hell are you doing here?”

  “Likewise?” They stared at each other, but he backed down first.

  “I work the bar here in the evenings.” He shrugged self-consciously, a blush creeping up his neck. “They pay really well and the tips are good. It pays the bills, you know? Why are you here?”

  Painfully aware that Storm was watching their conversation with keen interest, Noelle swallowed her shame. “I’m in training at the Manor.”

  He shook his head in disbelief, incredulity written in every line of his face. “Top or bottom?”

  “Top.”

  “I...wow...” He kept shaking his head. “I never would have guessed.”

  “Please don’t tell anyone.” She knew he wouldn’t, but she had to be sure.

  “I’ll keep your secret on one condition.” He set his jaw. “Have coffee with me tomorrow. I finish at three, so you can come then and we can talk.”

  A little taken aback, she glanced at Storm. The Mistress shrugged, unsure whether Cal would allow Noelle out unsupervised. “I’ll try.” She conceded eventually. “My doc might not allow me out on day release.” She held up her wrists mutely, certain he would have seen the news.

  “Here.” He grabbed a napkin from behind the bar and scrawled a mobile number on it. “Text me if you’re not coming and I’ll run straight to the papers.” He winked mockingly and she knew he was joking. Feeling more normal than she had in days, she accepted the napkin, carefully folding it and tucking it into the top of her dress.

  “I will.” She smiled. They ordered their drinks and turned to find a table, only to almost crash into Thomas. He immediately went down to his knees, a look of adoration on his face.

  “Mistress Red.” He acknowledged. For a moment she didn’t know what to do and then a feeling of tenderness suffused her.

  “Thomas.” She stroked his hair. “Have you recovered from your session?”

  “Yes, Mistress.” He leaned into her hand, accepting her petting. “Well...almost.”

  “That’s good.”

  “Mistress, I...” He swallowed. “Forgive me if I speak out of turn, Mistress, but are you well?” He risked a glance at her face. “I was worried.”

  “I’m fine.” She brushed a few locks of hair from his forehead. “You don’t have to worry about me.”

  “That makes me glad, Mistress.” A hand curled around her ankle. “You look very beautiful tonight. May I serve you in any way?”

  “Thank you, but no.” As though of their own accord, her fingers had wandered down to play with the shell of his ear and he shivered with delight. “I’m just here with Mistress Storm to watch the show.” She looked around and, although they were gathering a curious audience, she couldn’t see anyone that looked like a companion for Thomas. “Are you here alone, Thomas?”

  “Yes, Mistress.”

  She sighed inwardly, knowing she was being too soft but unable to help it. “Then you may sit with us. Go and fetch your drink.” He made to crawl away and she swallowed a curse. “On your feet, Thomas. I will never make you crawl outside of a play room.”
/>   “Thank you, Mistress.” He scurried away and Storm nodded approvingly.

  “You handled that well.” She remarked, gesturing to a table that had now cleared. “It’s possible to have a very loving relationship with your subs. It’s good that you can feel that connection. Some people find it hard to adjust.”

  They sat and Red sighed. “It’s hard not to treat him like a pet. It’s almost as though he craves physical affection and, whilst I don’t have a problem actually doing it, I do feel a little bit like I’m reducing him to an animal.”

  “We’re all animals.” Storm seemed amused as she surveyed their vantage point of the stage. “We all crave touch and affection. It’s a societal convention to restrict it.”

  She’d known something like that was coming and, worse, she couldn’t argue with it. The most soothing feeling in the world as a child had been her mother rubbing her back as she drifted off to sleep. It wasn’t that much of a stretch to realise that, in this world where conventions had been cast off and more primal urges embraced, the need to convey affection by touch was more pronounced.

  Thomas skidded to a halt beside the table, after a breathless rush across the club. They were seated in a semi-circular booth with a small low table at the centre. There was plenty of room to move around it and, after a few uncomfortable moments perched on the plush seating, Thomas slid onto the floor and relaxed at Red’s feet, curling a hand around her ankle in a way that now seemed familiar. She was going to ask him to sit on the seat, but Storm shook her head, warning her not to. He was clearly happier where he was and she didn’t want to make it seem like she was punishing him. Shrugging, she relaxed and stroked his hair until he rested his head against her knee like a faithful hound.

  Several people came by their table to speak to Storm and Red mostly tuned out. As she sipped her juice and contemplated Thomas’ position, she realised it was strangely liberating to break her chains and fly free. Even a year ago, if anyone had told her she’d be treating a near stranger like a pet, or even having sex with them on the first day of meeting, she’d have scoffed in their face or slapped them. Now that she was here and relearning all of her boundaries, she was realising that societal correctness may have served good purposes, but was also responsible for putting up a lot of barriers. Here and now, she was connected to the people around her in a way that she could never even have imagined before. Her mind still screamed at her that it was wrong, but her heart was soothed.

  Closing her eyes, she tipped her head back in the seat and absorbed the feeling. She felt so grounded. For the first time in months, she was finally starting to understand who she was and where she fit into her life. All of the hurt from before, yeah, she’d allowed it to happen to her, but she wasn’t that person any more. She was Red. She had the power to choose her destiny.

  “Are you okay?” Storm looked concerned when Red opened her eyes and she smiled.

  “I was just having a revelation about life.”

  “And you couldn’t do that with your eyes open?” Concern morphed into amusement as Storm relaxed.

  “It was a life-changing revelation.” Red shrugged. “I wanted to preserve it, you know?”

  Storm was about to respond when the lights dimmed even lower and the curtains over the stage swept back to reveal an eerie scene. Ropes were dangling in clusters from the ceiling, backlit in grey light that made it look like a forest. Dry ice rolling across the floor made it seem misty and the music dulled to a quiet atmospheric rumble.

  For a moment nothing happened and then a dancer appeared, weaving her way between the ropes en pointe. Her lithe body was outlined in shimmering white silk that was so sheer it was almost translucent in the backlighting. The effect was sensual and beautiful. She swayed and whirled from side of the stage to the other, pirouetting and stretching into perfect arabesques. Red was so absorbed in watching her that she didn’t notice the others on the stage at first. It wasn’t until the dancer soared across the stage in a graceful stag leap, landing in the arms of a muscular male, that Red even realised they were there.

  The male turned the dancer in his arms, setting her gently to the floor. She executed a graceful lean back over his arm and rose to full height once more. That was when it became clear he’d wrapped a rope around her tiny waist. She moved to dance away, but she was caught in the rope and she swayed back in towards him.

  The other men, three of them, closed in on the hapless dancer and looped coil upon coil of rope around her delicate body. Red watched, enraptured, as they swiftly formed a pattern of diamonds around her body, binding her arms behind her back. When she was firmly tied, they started drawing in the ropes from the ceiling, lifting and suspending her above the stage as though poised mid-flight. The dancer tossed her head and bowed her body in stylised distress, turning again and again in their arms until she was finally secure.

  The men fell away, vanishing into the sides, except for one who remained to watch. The dancer cried out, her body undulating as far as the ropes would allow, in time with the music. The tune rose into a crescendo, powerful waves of sound that rolled across the spellbound audience. It rose and rose until there was a crash of drums and the dancer fell still. In the silence the rest of the lights dimmed and a single spotlight illuminated her from above.

  The lone male still on stage moved closer, his athletic body twisting and turning around the still woman hanging from the ceiling. He too leaped and whirled in balletic grace, all the while brushing close to the hanging figure. When she did not move, he finally drew to a stop before her and reached for the ropes. Loosening some and not others, he was able to lower her feet to the floor. He knelt at her feet, reaching his arms around her waist, and then the stage exploded in colour. Huge wings of white silk shot out from her back, fanning out into a broad wing span that was painted a riot of colours by the lights. It was breathtakingly beautiful and Red felt her eyes prickling with emotion as she finally understood what the dancers were conveying. Grant me your submission and I shall change you from a caterpillar to a butterfly.

  The remaining suspension ropes fell away and the dancer moved once more, her body enclosed in ropes, but her feet free to carry her wherever she chose. Her wings fluttered in the rainbow of lights. This time, when she soared towards the man, he boosted her up with a hand on her hip and held her aloft as she flew. It was achingly beautiful and the moment just hung there until the lights went out, plunging the stage into pitch darkness.

  For a few seconds the audience just sat in silence, a silence so absolute a pin could have been heard dropping, and then Red rose to her feet along with everyone else in the club to give the performers a standing ovation. It had been a spectacular show.

  Storm was smiling when Red turned to her and nodded. “The Master will love this.” She grinned, calling over the applause in response to Red’s questioning glance. “They were really good.”

  “Do they do others?” It had been barely an hour, but Red would readily have watched the whole thing over again.

  “They’re here for ten days and I think they’re doing a different show every night.” Storm winked. “We can come back and see them again.”

  “I’d like that.” They turned back to the stage as the performers appeared to take their bow, clapping and whistling just as loudly as everyone else.

  They stayed for a couple more drinks after the show was finished, mostly just chatting to other people, and then Storm gave Red a critical look. “You’re looking pale. It’s time to go home.” Her tone didn’t leave any room for argument, so Red just nodded. She was tired, it was true.

  Thomas kissed her hand as she rose to her feet and she smiled down at him. “See you soon, Thomas.” She ruffled his hair.

  “If it pleases you, Mistress.” He reluctantly released her and they headed towards the outside and fresh air.

  “Thanks for this.” Red smiled at Storm as they waited for the car to come around. “I’ve had a good night.”

  “You’re welcome.” Storm bumped her
shoulder. “Here’s to many more!”

  Chapter nineteen

  The following afternoon, Cal was more than happy to let her out for coffee. She was still too weak to take part in a scene with either of the house doms and he’d not taken her in for counselling that morning. He was now giving her ‘days of reflection’ in between counselling days so she could think on what they had covered. She’d spent the morning sat in the garden, contemplating both her future and her past. She didn’t know what to expect of her meeting with Sean, but he’d been a constant in her life for years. His smiling face had greeted her cheerfully every lunch time during her teaching career, but something had changed in the days before Gabriel had died. He had been there for her at one of the hardest times of her life and yet she hadn’t seen him since.

  She was surprised to find herself feeling nervous as she approached the familiar facade of the coffee shop where it had all begun. As she had all those months before, just after she had left Gabriel, she stopped and stared at the sign, unsure if she really wanted to go in. There was a sharp rapping sound and she lowered her gaze to see Sean sitting in one of the window seats, gesturing at her to come in. Embarrassed to be caught wavering, she gave him a sheepish smile and stepped through the door.

  “I wasn’t sure if you’d come, but I still made your favourite.” He greeted her warmly, pushing a large mug across the table to her as he rose to his feet.

  “Thanks.” She kissed his cheek and sat down opposite him, finally relaxing. His dark hair was mussed from a day at work and his cheek was rough with stubble, but his smile was still bright and he smelled of coffee and spice. “Can’t believe it’s been so long since I’ve been here.”

  “More than six months.” He agreed quietly. “I missed you.”

  She blushed. “It’s been a difficult time. At first I couldn’t go out because the media hounded me everywhere I went. Then I just didn’t want to go out any more. I kind of forgot the normal parts of my life.”