He did this over and over again, until I lost count, toying with my body as he did so. His mouth sucked on my neck, a second tentacle slid into my ass next to the first. He milked my cock, stopping just before I could come, and manipulated his suckers so that they tugged at my nipples in mimicry of being suckled. The sensations were overwhelming and I quickly found myself adrift, incognizant of anything other than pleasure and the need to breathe or to hold my breath. That is, until he pulled out from my ass and while I sucked in a lungful of air, pushed that massive dick inside me. All the air I’d taken in whooshed out as `I yelled. I got a mouthful of water for my trouble. Luckily, he didn’t take us down deep, popping back up almost immediately. He left us there, heads above water, as he thrust in and out of me with wild abandon. He hammered hard, hitting my prostate so hard I knew it would be bruised. I didn’t care, as it added a tinge of pain that was sweet. My cock erupted, jetting ropes of cum into the frothy sea. He kept pistoning as I came, his movements now erratic. Then I felt it, an electric shock zinging through my ass as he filled me with liquid heat. I screamed then, and the world went black.
When I came to, I was back in the shed. The trapdoor was shut and the blanket was draped over me. He was nowhere to be seen. Someone had come and unlocked the door, as it was ajar. I got up, keeping the itchy blanket around me to preserve some sense of modesty.
Unnnnntillllll next timmmmmme.
I jumped, hearing the Old One’s voice in my head.
Mmmmy nnnnnammme is Arrakusss.
So, this is what happens when one joins the upper echelons of the Family and bond with an Old One, I thought as I stumbled out in the sunlight, grateful to see that it must still be morning. Only the bookstore was open, and thankfully, no one save the proprietor was inside. He took one look at me, reached below the counter, and handed me the bag of spare clothes that I’d given Father. Then he pointed to a door.
“You can change in there.”
I staggered there and was pleased to see a washcloth, hand soap, and towel had been added to my bag. I used them to clean up, washing the salt from my skin, then redressed. My ass was sore, my muscles were protesting, and my throat felt raw and parched. I wanted a large drink of water and bed, in that order. First, though, I had to do the walk of shame back to my room. As for class that day, they could suck it. I wasn’t going anywhere, except maybe that tutoring session with Shannon.
11
When I finally woke up, I reached for my phone. It had been turned off, presumably by Father. When I switched it back on, I was treated to a cacophony of pings as my notifications blew up. I put it on mute, noting I had less than an hour before my tutoring session to go. I went into the small bathroom to shower. I could read the messages after when they stopped coming in. I was still numb with exhaustion and despite having slept for so long, still felt tired and lethargic. My muscles still ached too, especially around my ribs where dark marks sowed where he’d held me fast. I’d probably strained my chest muscles during my efforts to hold my breath, then gulp in air, then hold, over and over.
Stepping under the warm spray, I added some of my citrus body wash to the plastic net body scrubber I kept hanging on the wall. I stared at the plastic suckered hook as I rubbed it against my skin. I began scrubbing harder, my skin stinging as the plastic fibers abraded my skin from the force I was using. I scoured my entire body, my arms, my legs, my cock and scrotum, my asshole. I stopped, bracing my hand against the shower wall, a sob escaping from my throat. I’d thought I was fine, that I’d long ago made peace with what I had become. I was coping with Michael’s loss in a sensible manner, too, or so I had convinced myself. And last night, I had talked myself into believing I was fine and dandy trading the use of my body for more prestige within the Family and high society. I wasn’t, though; I wasn’t okay with any of it. My shoulders shook and my legs trembled as I let out decades of pain. I heard a beast howling in agony somewhere. I understood how it felt; my tears coursing faster in sympathy to the pain that mirrored my own. When my legs gave out, I crouched down in the shower, turning off the water on my way down.
“Hey, man, it’s okay,” I heard as the shower cubicle door opened. Arms draped a warm towel over me; then a hand encouraged me to stand up. I turned tear blurred eyes to look upon the face of the one showing me such kindness. It was Rusty. He glanced over his shoulder as I clamped my mouth shut, suddenly acutely aware that the beast howling was me. “Look in his drawers for some undies and a t-shirt. “
“Okay,” came Henry’s voice.
I sniffled. “Sorry,” I croaked.
“Nah. Don’t say anything. When you didn’t return, I told Henry it must have been bad. Shit man, are those sucker marks?” His wide-eyed gaze stared at my torso, where Arrakus had left vivid rings on my abdomen and around my nipples. I nodded. “Shit, I thought that Cthulu shit was just a story to scare us younger Legacies.”
If he only knew the half of it.
His throat bobbed and he glanced away. “Did, did they…ummm…”
“I said yes. This is buyer’s remorse,” I told him honestly.
“Did they explain everything to you beforehand?” he asked. “I mean, they tell us we’ll get Made, and we know how we feed after,” he said, holding his hands up meaningfully to indicate how a lich sucks the life from their prey. “But not the mechanics of it.”
“This was something else. I was already Made. Had to…” I cleared my throat and glanced away, ashamed to admit I’d basically whored myself out so the Old One could talk to me telepathically. “Had to bond with him,” I explained, emphasizing so he knew precisely which him I was talking about.
Youuuuu cannn tttallllk tooooo mmmmeeee asssss wellll.
I startled. Shit. That was going to take some getting used to.
Gooooooo onnnnn. Telllll himmmm.
Tell him? About the mind link?
Yesssss.
“Found some. I’ve laid them out on the bed. Holy shit, what did they do to you?” Henry stopped in the doorway and stared.
A laugh rumbled through my mind, dark and ominous.
Tellllll thhhhhemmm bothhhhh.
It wasn’t a taunt. It was an order. So this was how information was passed so discretely among the upper levels.
“So, um, yeah. I had to, ah, bond, and then afterward, Arrakus and I could talk to each other in my head.”
“Arrakus?” Henry asked.
“I think he means the Old One,” Rusty asked, looking apprehensive.
“Can he hear us, too?”
“Yeah, he seems to hear and see what I do. I only hear what he wants to say to me, though, and he told me to tell you about it.”
“No, no, no! This can’t be happening!” Henry cried, fisting his hair. “I did not just come to the notice of one of the most powerful beings in the world, maybe the known universe. I want to be a normal Made member. Work in middle management for one of our companies, have a nice Made wife who loves me and me, her, and make little Legacies to help share the burden of our existence.”
Arrakus chuckled again.
“What?” he cried, taking note of the change of expression on my face. “What is it now?”
“He’s laughing at you,” I said. “I think he thinks you’re funny.”
“I gotta go,” Henry said. “I’m freaking out.” He turned and ran off, slamming my front door behind him.
“Let’s go get you dressed and in bed,” Rusty said. “I’ll bring you some food from the diner.”
“I can’t. I have a tutoring session with Shannon,” I protested.
“I’ll text him and tell him you’re not feeling well.”
“Okay.” The bed did sound good.
He helped me sit on my bed and get on some underwear. I couldn’t bear to lift my arms for the t-shirt, so he tossed it onto my desk chair. I managed to get under the covers again by myself. Rusty disappeared back into the bathroom, emerging with a cup of water and two white caplets. “Paracetamol. I’d give you ibuprofen, but it
’ll make the bruising worse. Once they’re green, you can have some.”
I nodded, grateful for his kindness. I took the two pills and sipped at the water.
“Drink it all. It’ll help get it into your bloodstream faster,” Rusty said.
I was thirsty anyway. I’d been holding myself back so as not to appear greedy. Now I chugged the rest down.
“Okay, you nap now, and I’ll wake you up when I get back with your dinner. I’m going to text Shannon and then track down Henry, then go have my own dinner first. You’ll be okay, won’t you?”
Sleep was already tugging at me. “Yeah,” I yawned. Thankfully, I was right, I slept without nightmares, probably because I was living one.
12
“Are you alright?” Shannon asked me, two days later. I’d taken two days off, claiming illness.
I nodded. “Yeah, “I said. I reached for my pencil that had fallen off of the desk. Pain shot through my abused ribs. “Shit!” I hissed.
“You don’t seem okay,” he said, narrowing his eyes at me. “Did Roy do something to you? “
Roy was gone, but not before he’d made quite a scene outside of Henry’s door, it seemed. While I was at my meeting with Arrakus, Roy was screaming, shouting, and pounding on Henry’s door, threatening him with violence. Apparently, he only stopped once the deputy dean arrived with campus security.
“Nah. Roy spent the night before he left locked in his room. I was in bed, sick.”
“You’re acting as if you’ve broken a rib or something.”
He wasn’t going to let it go.
“I fell in the shower,” I told him. “Well, actually, while I was getting out. Hit the edge of the sink vanity.”
“Oh my God! You could have hit your head or something. You should never shower by yourself if you’re that unwell. Promise me that next time, you’ll wait until someone can help you if you need it.”
Yeah, no.
“I wasn’t that sick. I didn’t get dizzy or anything. Just clumsy. I tripped over the edge of the bath mat. And I didn’t fall to the ground. I just bashed against the sink, as I said. It’s just a bad bruise.” That much was true. It was a bad bruise, it just wasn’t from that, and it went all the way around my ribcage.
He looked unconvinced. “I hope you got them looked at. Instead of just being bruised, they could be broken.”
“If they still hurt tomorrow, I’ll go see the nurse.,” I promised him.
I wouldn’t. I did have to do something about it, though. I just didn’t like what I would have to do. I hated feeding as it was, but it was a necessity. I generally preferred to allow wounds to heal at a normal pace and feed a few days earlier than I would have. I’d underestimated the physical toll of my recent assignation, though. My muscles still burned, my ass ached, and I am pretty sure at least one rib was cracked. I’d have to ask for a feeding pass earlier than planned. Made students were given one every five weeks. That wasn’t a very long time away for me, but in my current state, it was too far.
I felt a stirring in my mind at the thought of feeding.
Yesssss. Ffffeeeed.
Then a feeling of curiosity washed over me, though it felt somewhat removed as it was not mine.
No! I thought at him. He’s my friend, Shannon. Not Family and not food. I let him feel the fierce sense of protection I felt over Shannon, hoping he’d respect that.
Beeeelovvved.
I didn’t respond to that. After the events that had happened since I got here, my old life seemed very far away. Even Michael now felt like something that had happened to someone else, my memories of us now were like something I’d seen. I was detached from them, the same way I felt watching others with their partners, for example, Gregory with Gwen. I felt a sweetness from the thought of the connection between them, but nothing else. It was a curse as much as a blessing, for while I wasn’t pining over Michael’s loss any longer, it seemed that Arrakus saw all too clearly what I’d been denying to myself. I’d moved on from crush at first sight to being in love with Shannon. If it kept him safe, that was fine, even though it made me vulnerable. He was leverage now, should the Family wish to use it.
Nooooo.
An aching sadness welling up from a dark pit of loneliness swept through me. It was so vivid that I gasped again.
“You sure you don’t need to go for an X-ray?”
“Yeah. Just a nasty twinge. I forgot to take anything for it.”
“I have some ibuprofen in my bag,” he offered.
My bruise was still purple with a tiny bit of yellowing, so that wasn’t the best option. But I was going to arrange to go feed, so that didn’t matter. Why put up with pain in the meantime just because it’d add to the bleeding a bit around the site?
“Thanks.”
“I don’t have anything to drink on me, though,” Shannon said, picking up his bag and rummaging for the pill bottle.
“It’s alright. I can swallow them on their own.”
He made a face at that. “Yuck, I can’t.” He pulled out a small bottle. “Always feels like they’re stuck in my throat when I do that.” He opened the lid and carefully shook out two caplets into my waiting palm.”
“Thanks,” I said, popping them into my mouth.
“Yeah, well, I’d feel better if you at least went to to the campus clinic and saw a nurse.” He replaced the lid and put the bottle away. “I don’t think either of us will get much done here today. You’re in too much pain and I’m too worried about you. Let’s call it quits and go find the guys. Maybe we can watch a movie or something. Henry’s got his own internet, so he’s got Netflix.”
He was right. The medicine would do its work and take the edge off within the next fifteen to twenty minutes, but the discomfort was enough that I wouldn’t remember anything we’d gone over today. The thought of him sitting close to me, near enough to touch, while we watched a movie was also appealing.
“Okay,” I agreed.
He flashed me a relieved grin, quickly shoving my books into his back before I could change my mind. “Got your stuff, just put away your pencil.”
I shook my head at his antics but slipped my pencil into my bag. He stood up, grabbing my bag before shouldering his own. “I’ve got them. No sense straining yourself. You’ll only make it worse.”
My pride burned a bit at that, but it was such a sweet gesture that I let it go. We entered the hallway, making sure to turn the light off behind us.
“Mr. Montgomery, if I could have a word.”
Startled, we turned around. Professor Lambert stood several feet away, looking at me expectantly. He smiled as if understanding our apprehension.
“I just want to talk to you about the upcoming test.” His eyes flicked towards Shannon, then back to me. Yeah, this wasn’t just about that.
Ffffeeeeed.
I turned back to face Shannon, reaching into my pants pocket. Pulling out some change, I said. “You were right. I can feel them in my throat. Can you grab me a soda? Sprite or something, don’t really care.” I knew there was a vending machine in a small break room nearby, placed there so students could take a break from studying and grab a snack. “Get something for you, too.” I fished out some more change. “And for the guys, for watching the movie.”
He took the money and smiled. “Can do. Sprites all around! I’ll text them while I wait, too.” He hurried off to leave me to chat with the professor in private.
Once he was gone, Lambert spoke again. “The open book test is next week on Wednesday. I’ll book the room you seem to use all the time for your open book.” He sniffed. “And our mutual friend tells me you need to go for a meal.”
So Arrakus had talked to him, too. Hooray! We all had monsters whispering sweet nothings into our brains.
A look of regret washed over his face. “That was an oversight on our part. We should have anticipated how vigorous he’d be, given how he’s been in the past and left you something.”
Someone, he meant.
“This i
s a pass to allow you out after curfew, in case you get stopped. Be back at the shack at eight-thirty. We’ll have something for you then; you can get back to your room without it only looking like you came back late from curfew if a student sees you.”
I took the slip of paper from him. That didn’t leave me much time to watch a film and hang out with my friends. I didn’t dare turn it down, though, not after Arrakus and the professor set this up. I wondered who the poor soul was they’d bring me. I hoped it wasn’t a student. Well, maybe if it was Roy. Him, I’d happily eat and not in a nice way.
“I’ll be there,” I promised.
“Good, because you are looking rather peaky, I must say. Another day and you’d look like death warmed over.” He laughed humorously. “As apt as that might be, we don’t want to do that.”
“No, sir,” I agreed.
He rubbed his hands together. “Right. We’ll see you then. You go on and enjoy the rest of your evening.”
He spun on his heel and walked away, presumably to get on with whatever they were doing to bring me a meal. It stood to reason that they had a system, beyond just handing out passes for students and faculty to go hunt. While the school was located in a greater coastal urban area, there were enough Made here for it to raise suspicions if we all fed every six weeks plus anytime one of us was injured. Not to mention Arrakus’ meals, which by all accounts had raised some recent flags. I guessed I was about to find out later tonight. The thought did not fill me with joy, but then, I’d never been one to enjoy the hunt. I fed because I had to and up until now, only as often as I had to, so I didn’t attract attention for looking seriously unhealthy as well as old. There was looking seriously ill so people glanced away and then there was oh my god is that zombie. I’d always kept to the first one.
Urban Decay: Darkly Mine Season One Page 6