Enthralled: Book 1: The Crystal Heart

by Prax Venter

  Mark still had a few questions. "Mother. Thank you for turning things around after realizing we didn't come here to cause any trouble. I would really appreciate any help you could give us. You seem to know us now and what we are here to do. Can you help us find the pieces of the Crystal Heart?

  "Yes and no, young one. I can help you build a device that will point you to the closest one. All of the shards are locked from my sight by the horrendous tears in the world. There are thousands of those, large and small, and the shards could lie hidden inside any one of them."

  "I see. And how do we build this device you mentioned?" Mark asked.

  The wooden woman turned her head back to Ahnix. "A much more interesting topic of conversation is the artifact you are holding, my dear shadow cat."

  Ahnix reached into her top with two fingers and plucked out the obsidian key they had found in the silver chest at the lighthouse.

  The wooden woman followed it with her carved eyes. "May I?"

  Ahnix considered the request for a moment, then held out the mysterious key to her. Mother held it up to the light, and a smile grew on her wooden face.

  "Hmm. This is better than I hoped. This artifact has never been activated, but it has been dormant for a long time." She handed it back to Ahnix. "What you have there is more than just a key. It opens a very special door- a door that will take you to a dimension outside this one."

  Mother turned to face Mark. "If you can enter this place and subdue that which has been waiting at its center you can turn this powerful artifact to serve you. To find the objects I need to help in your quest you must travel to the ends of this world and return. Then you will need to go even further to find the scattered shards. If you can command this key, you just might be able to complete your task within your lifetime, for it will allow you to travel vast distances in only a few steps."

  Mark felt like he still had a long journey ahead of him, but he was at least getting a solid idea of where to begin. If what the forest lady was saying was true, the first step would definitely be trying to get this key to work.

  "That sounds great and all, but where is the 'very special door' that this key unlocks?" Ahnix asked, skeptical of the creature that attacked them only moments ago.

  "It's the key and also the door. Just hand it to the first, handsome Collector you find, and he can channel power into it. Be warned, once you enter, you either return to this dimension with the artifact under your control, or you don't return."

  Mark didn't like what he was hearing. "What can we expect to find in this dimension?"

  "I can only assume what lies inside, but this artifact has had a long time to wait for someone to activate it. It was created by unholy spellbinders, and for it to be as powerful as it is, the key had to be imbued with a mind or a soul, maybe many, and probably unwillingly. The artifact has had a long time to wait and prepare for someone to enter. There is a good chance it has not been idle and has expanded the folds of reality inside, hiding. You might be in there a while... or not. I do not extend into this dimension so I cannot truly see inside."

  Mark and his Enthralled looked at each other. Before doing anything, he wanted to get their opinions.

  "Ahnix, what do you think?"

  The cat-girl handed Mark the key. "A powerful object like this could be very useful."

  Mark took the key and nodded. Then he looked at Vale.

  The naga studied the black key in Mark's hand, worry furrowing her brow.

  "If we go into wherever this is and we're stuck there for a long time, we might want to prepare first. Food, water, torches. We really don't know what to expect, master."

  "Smart girl," the wooden lady said. "I can help you with that. Our goals align, Mark. I want to see you heal this world, maybe more than most. Vale, hold out both of your hands, I want to give you a gift."

  The giant naga did what she was asked. She put her shield on her back and brought her large hands together in front of her. The wooden woman walked closer, made a fist, and held it over Vale's hands, then loosened her fist a little.

  A torrent of black beans spilled downward, making Vale cup her hands, so none spilled out.

  "These look like beans, but they are better. One should keep you nourished for a full day."

  "Magic beans..." Vale said as she watched in awe as her hands filled with them. After the forest spirit had given them what looked like a month's worth of rations, she pulled her fist away, and then she extended three, long wooden fingers.

  Right before their eyes, a glowing blue mushroom sprouted from each of her fingertips. Once they had reached the right size, Mother plucked one and tucked it behind Mark's ear.

  She plucked a second and, to everyone's astonishment, stretched the height of her legs, growing to reach Vale's long ears and tucked one in for her. With one left, she shrunk herself down again and tucked the final bio-luminescent mushroom into Ahnix's leather tube top.

  "There- Food and light to last you for longer than you'll probably need. Fill up your skins from my clear pond that you tainted with your arrival, and that should do it."

  Mark looked at his girls with their new glowing mushroom accessories and shrugged.

  What else were they going to do? He pulled off his burlap satchel he had found in the desert and opened it for Vale to pour the pile of beans into, her massive cleavage drawing his eye.

  He was sitting on a full load of essence, and he was starting to feel the urge to transfer it to his girls as soon as possible. He shook it off and pulled his eyes off his wonderfully-endowed snake-woman. Now was not the time.

  Mark took out the waterskins from his satchel and put them in Vale's empty hands to fill with water.

  While she was doing that, he held up the obsidian key and looked at its intricate and ornate craftsmanship.

  It looked more like a delicate sculpture than something you'd jam in a metal keyhole and twist. He decided to hold it out in front of him like he was putting it into an imaginary lock- it seemed like the right thing to do. Then, he focused on pouring some of his power into the key, like he was enhancing it.

  He could feel it heat up slightly in his hands. He focused on that heat and tried to turn up that dial. Black tendrils began to writhe out from the key, and Mark started to wonder if this was really a good idea. He hoped this 'Mother' creature wasn't fucking with them.

  The smoky tendrils grew thicker, more solid, and before long a black painted wooden door was standing right in front of him. He looked down and saw that the door had formed around the key, and it was already inserted in the keyhole below a brass doorknob.

  He gave the key a gentle twist and felt, more than heard, the loud click as it echoed through the tall trees. Mark had the sensation that he just opened something that was really far away, even though the door was right in his face.

  He pulled the key out and twisted the doorknob. The door opened inward and inside was darkness.

  Looking down, he could see that the doorframe served as the boundary line to this other dimension. There were wooden floorboards just inside the door illuminated by the sunlight spilling through the trees above.

  The forest spirit stepped around the edge of the door so she could look inside as well.

  "There it is, Mark. I wish you luck in gaining control of this artifact. The world is depending on you."

  He looked over his shoulder at the carved woman, sighed and nodded. Then he looked at his girls standing next to him then handed the key back to Ahnix.

  "Keep it safe for me?" he said.

  She nodded and slipped the key back under her tight, leather armor. Ready for whatever lay beyond, Mark stepped through the door and into darkness.

  Once he was inside, his eyes adjusted to the low light and took in the large room on the other side of the doorway.

  There were a set of double doors ahead and a door in the wall to his left and right. Red, carpeted stairs ran along each of the walls and curved up to a second floor that continued on into darkness. Hanging from t
he ceiling in the center of the room was a huge, crystal chandelier.

  It looked like he was standing in a foyer to an enormous house. Everywhere he looked was wood paneling, rich tapestries and silver candlesticks illuminated by the sunlight spilling in from the open doorway behind him.

  Everything was old, decayed and covered in dust. It didn't feel like another dimension, it felt like an abandoned house.

  Ahnix stepped up next to him, and Vale ducked to get inside after her. As soon as the tip of the naga's tail passed the threshold of the doorframe, the portal slammed closed, and they were left standing in an ancient and decaying mansion.

  Feeling a slight sense of disappointment at not seeing some nightmarish landscape, Mark walked around Ahnix and Vale, back to the black door. He turned the knob and pulled it open, preparing to tell the forest lady the artifact was a dud and only went to someone’s old house.

  But when he saw the dark and mostly empty room on the other side, he didn't know what to think. That surely wasn't there a moment ago.

  Vale slid up behind him and bent down to look through the door that, only seconds ago, led to a verdant, redwood forest.

  "Hmm, that's interesting. I wonder where we are?" the naga said, from over his shoulder.

  Ahnix also stepped up and looked over his other shoulder into the dead end room. The weak light from their glowing mushrooms spilled into the room, and he saw four walls, a chair, a dresser and a broken bed frame.

  Ahnix turned to Mark. "This might just be the home of the one who made the key."

  "Looks like it's been abandoned. Maybe if we can find a window or something we can get a better idea of how to get out." Mark closed the door and turned around. "Remember to stick together."

  He led them to the double door at the back of the foyer. He put his ear to one the doors but heard nothing, so he pulled it open by one of the silver handles. Beyond the doors, the glowing mushrooms lit up a short hallway. There was another door at each, end and two more on each side spaced evenly apart.

  Mark turned to his Enthralled standing close behind him and whispered, "Let's be very quiet and check these rooms, one at a time. Just stay behind me and be ready for... anything. Ahnix, keep your perfect ears open for the slightest of noise."

  The cat-girl nodded.

  Mark moved to the first door on his right and put his ear on it. The door was made from wood and slightly warped like it had been rained on. He didn't hear anything, so he pulled it open to find another room, but this one had upturned barrels and empty crates. He assumed it had been used for storage, but it looked like it was ransacked and held only dust.

  The other three rooms in the hallway weren’t interesting either; two more bedrooms and a room that only had four chairs along the back wall.

  They moved to a door at one end of the hallway and pushed it open. On the other side was yet another hallway with four more doors, two to the left and two to the right. In the center was a table and a large ruined tapestry hanging on the wall. Mark moved closer, so his glowing mushroom bathed the tapestry with more light.

  The cloth was torn and gray, although the faint gold trim on the edges hinted at a time when it wasn’t worn-down and faded.

  Ahnix entered the hallway followed by Vale, who had to duck again to get her oversized body through the doorway. They had four doors to choose from, and Mark made the call that they were just going to keep going the same direction, thinking that eventually they would find an outside wall with a door or a window in it.

  He picked the leftmost door, approached it and listened. Nothing. He pushed it open and saw a much larger room. The glow from his mushroom didn’t quite reach the back, but it looked like this was a dining room. In the middle was a long table with a white cloth haphazardly draped across it. Two candlesticks were sitting on top of the table and a few wooden chairs around the sides. Mark moved inside, followed by his Enthralled, and their combined light was able to reach all four corners of the room. On the right wall was a fireplace and Mark saw that bits of string strewn across its mantle. In the back wall was another door, and Mark moved around the table to quietly open it.

  Through this door was yet another hallway.

  This time, Mark led them straight through and skipped opening the doors on either side, going straight for the door at the end.

  Beyond this door was a voluminous ballroom. The floor was black and white tile arranged in a checkerboard pattern, and the ceiling was so high that the light from their faintly glowing mushrooms barely reached it.

  Hanging from the ceiling were massive crystal chandeliers that must have been stunning when they were all lit. As they walked across the spacious room, Mark jumped when he saw a shadow at the edge of the light that looked like a beast, crouched and ready to pounce on them. But it was only one of the chandeliers that had fallen into a twisted heap on the floor. Mark avoided walking under the hanging clusters of crystal as he led his girls across the dusty dance floor.

  After a few minutes, they reached the other side and found another wooden door in the wall.

  Mark put an ear to it and still heard only silence. He pushed it open and faced another long hallway that continued past his dim light and into darkness.

  "Damn it, how big is this house?" he asked quietly, looking at Ahnix and Vale behind him. They didn't have an answer so remained silent.

  Mark sighed and walked into the hallway.

  The house continued on like this for a long time. Door after door and room after room, they moved forward in more or less the same direction, never seeing a window or an exit. The rooms never seemed to repeat, and just when he thought they hit a dead end, a little backtracking would reveal a way through a sparse bedroom or a bare kitchen to continue forward. As they moved ever deeper into the house, they discovered that some of the rooms were less decayed than others, as if they had existed for less time. Some rooms contained nothing but dust that made Mark's nose itch, and others were completely clean and finely furnished.

  They had also passed a few flights of stairs that led into darkness above and below, but he decided it was best to just continue as long as they could in one direction. It felt right. Like they were going deeper and deeper.

  They had no real sense of time, but it seemed like several hours had passed.

  At first, it was fascinating, and Mark tried to imagine the size of the house they were in, but the novelty slowly turned into claustrophobia.

  He started pushing the pace faster and faster, and they found themselves in a room with painting easels and ripped canvases.

  Earlier, they had passed through several different sewing rooms, a sculpting room with unfinished carved heads, and one music room with a rotting piano, but this was the first painting studio.

  He quickly moved through the room and pushed open the door at the far end, having given up listening first long ago. He walked through the door and saw rows of empty bookshelves lit up by his glowing mushroom. There was at least one more floor of bookshelves above as the ceiling opened with a railing along its edge. Ahnix followed him in and Vale behind her, ducking with a sigh.

  Mark could tell the large naga was getting tired of ducking under every single door. She was strong, but those huge tits must be really putting a strain on her back.

  They wandered into the enormous library, devoid of a single book, moving among the tall bookshelves.

  Finally having enough, Mark turned to face his girls. "Okay, so, infinite house dimension?"

  Ahnix ran a finger in the dust gathered on one of the bookless bookshelves. "Fascinating, that it just goes on forever. Strange, that it's so... empty."

  Vale wasn't as amused. "I really want to get out of here. This place seems big, but it feels small and oppressive. I miss the sky." The tall naga stretched her arms up towards the darkness above them. He was standing right in front of her, and the tops of her dark areolas squeezed out of her armor as she stretched out her back muscles.

  Mark guessed that it was probably after sunset. Th
ey had a long day, and it was probably a good idea to find a place stop and rest. He was slightly worried that they would spend the rest of their lives wandering around the halls of this infinite, decrepit mansion, but if that was true, he had plenty of time to worry about it later. Besides, now that Vale's massive breasts were on his mind again, it was hard to ignore the full load of essence he had packed inside him.

  "Okay ladies. Let's look for a little while longer and find a nice space to settle down in and maybe take a rest. Sound like a plan?"

  They both nodded, Vale much more eagerly, and they searched the edges of the empty library for another door. After discovering a few long, dark hallways, they luckily found a large bedroom with a door in and another door out. It was mostly dust free, and the large, four post bed seemed whole.

  It was a pretty good place to stop, but Mark was hoping for a dead end room to hole up in.

  They hadn’t heard or seen anything else in here with them, but they all agreed that didn't mean there wasn't. Besides, the tree lady had told him there was something at the center of this place that he needed to defeat in order to gain control of the artifact and get out.

  He pushed open the door on the other side of the bedroom and was delighted to find a second bedroom that was in even better shape than the first, and it was a dead end room.

  Mark was walking back into the first bedroom when he saw Vale duck under the doorframe and straighten with a wince. He realized then that he really hadn't spent any alone time with her yet. Each time he had transferred essence into her Ahnix was involved. She was looking pretty beat down, and he felt the need to give her his undivided attention for once. They needed a good bonding session.

  His mind made up, he approached Ahnix who was testing out the bed and sat next to her.

  "Hey, do you mind if I go with Vale into the other room and take care of her, one on one? She looks like she could use a tender touch. Afterword, it would be your turn, of course." He smiled at her and put his hand on her firm, furry thigh.

  Ahnix looked over at him and then at Vale over by the door, wearily rubbing the back of her neck.