Ishtar Bound

by Natalie Gibson

  The driver perked up at that, “You promised to turn me if I got you a witch. Don't think I am going to let you forget your promise to me.”

  “I have lived for millennia, human. Do not think to command one such as I, as you would a woman. If I turn you so close to the full moon, they will feel it and come for us both. The only time safe from their detection is on the new moon.”

  She felt a tremendous pain in her head when they struck her with something heavy and metal. Turns be damned, she blacked out, but not before she felt teeth tearing at the skin of her wrist.

  Chapter 6

  Marcie was gone. The police had nothing to go on. No suspects, no clues, save the one nipple ring they had found on the road.

  Tank was beside himself. He couldn't think straight and he had never felt this sick in all his life. He wanted to kill whoever took her, and would if he got the chance. His anger and size made him a suspect of the police, but they were obviously useless. The blinding rage in his brain had cleared for a moment long enough to think: the Daughters. They had limitless money and resources and Marcie had been one of them. They would find her even if the police could not.

  He knew they were witches, and he begged them to use their magic to find Marcie. They had taken the ring (how they got the police to release it to them from the evidence room, he'd never know) and several women had gone into a sealed room while he paced the great hall filled with erotic statues.

  When they came out, a giant man entered the room by a different door and stood next to Tank. The oldest of the women looked weak and pale, and she was escorted by a balding man that reminded Tank of his high school drama teacher.

  The tall woman Tank knew to be their leader crossed over to him and placed her hand on his shoulder, forcing him to stop moving. She assured him, “Marcie's alive. She knows that we're coming for her; she'll fight to stay alive. Quarters have been set up for you both to stay here while she heals.”

  He didn't want to stay here and Marcie had chosen to live on the outside with him. She liked it better that way. He wanted to take her to the hospital and then home. Tank started to argue, but couldn't seem to work up the courage to disagree with this powerful woman.

  “I knew you'd want to do something, not just wait around. This man knows were she is and will take you to her. I want you to know that you saved her by coming to us. She'll be here within the hour and she'll have you to thank for it. You did well, Theodore.”

  ***

  She had seen them. There was no way they were going to let her live. She felt weak from the blood loss and repeated blows to the face and head. They had taken off the bag so they could see the damage they were doing. Her vision had gone hours ago. Her eyes were swollen shut and she was glad of it. She tried to hold onto Nathalia's words of salvation, but it was nearly impossible.

  Both of her captors were wholly evil, but the driver was just a man. A stocky man in his late 30's she would guess. Stupid but strong, he probably played college football. He did all of the punching and kicking and choking, but it was the other man that was truly horrifying.

  He looked like a man, though he was very large, larger than Teddy even. This was no man, but some kind of monster. He was swollen, puffy and his skin was reddish and covered in coarse dark hair. His face had a slight muzzle look to it, with his mouth and nose protruding out. His eyes were so scary, Marcie was glad she couldn't be forced to look at them anymore. No white, no black, nothing but a blood red orb, his eyes were the most disturbing of all, and he loved to see her shake when he stared at her.

  This one was the one with all of the ideas, all the plans for making her cry and bleed. He wanted to watch the violence, only taking part in the most delicate atrocities. Over the last few hours, she had answered every one of their questions about the sisterhood, if only for the pain free seconds it had bought her.

  The monsters bites covered every part of her body. There were some places, where he had taken chunks of her flesh, that were carefully bandaged by the other man, after the monster bled on them. He did not want her to die until he was ready and was convinced his blood would prolong it.

  She'd wanted to give up, surrender to the blackness, but Nathalia's voice had broken through the haze of violence. Marcie, stay alive. We're coming for you. Tank's coming for you. Don't give up. She had thrown up, as she always had when the Abbess' spoke inside her head. She could never hide the suffering it caused her, like some of the other girls.

  Her kidnappers had not suspected that her vomiting was linked to anything other than their inhuman cruelty. They'd seen it as a sign that they were winning. The driver was gone now. Dead, betrayed, eaten alive right in front of her. It was just the monster and her, alone in the abandoned warehouse.

  He was constantly touching her and she hated it, but did not fight. She didn't have the strength to do anything but breathe. He was stronger now, but seemed less bent on hurting her. He said it was her tears and blood, the violence to a zonah, whatever that was, that brought him back to life. Now that she had fulfilled that first purpose, she was to provide him with his eternal bride.

  She felt it as soon as Tank walked in. The monster could feel something too, because he whispered to her, kissed her gently on the neck, got up slowly and pulled away from her. She wanted to cry out, to warn Teddy about the monster, but she couldn't move. Her breath sounded weird to her, but she kept the air coming in and going out.

  “So, human, you come to save her? It is too late. Look there at your bride...she belongs to death now. If only you had gotten here sooner you could have watched.” It taunted Tank.

  She heard, what she could not see, blow after blow hitting bloated flesh. Tank was pummeling the monster relentlessly. The monster was laughing the whole time, obviously not putting up a fight at all. She could hear bones breaking and blood splattering. Tank was killing it, and she was glad she lived long enough to know it was dying.

  Then something changed. There were more people here. Someone touched her head gently. “She lives and so does the baby.”

  “Tank, stop. This one only grows stronger with your violence and hatred. Your wife and child live. Go to them and let us bring justice to our brother.”

  The monster was whimpering, spitting and cursing, not at Tank or because of the beating he had taken (he had seemed to enjoy that), but at the other people, specifically the one who threatened him with justice and called him brother. Some she could understand and some was in a language she had never heard before. She knew he was begging for his life and she wished she could laugh. She heard him scream as the other men who had come with Teddy to save her, began to sing.

  Their voices were beautiful, so filled with gentle strength and impossible to count. There was nothing like them in this world. Each word was like a symphony that made her teeth hurt. She didn't understand what was happening, but she felt Teddy kneel beside her. “Is she really still alive? How?”

  Marcie knew she must really look bad. She could not even find the strength to lift her head from the floor. She was so cold, but could not shiver.

  “She is alive because the sacrilegious one needs her to supply him with a paramour of sex and violence. She has experienced things no human should endure. We will heal her but first hold her close and turn to look upon the creature. Watching us administer justice will help your mind ameliorate even if you cannot remember it.”

  She felt a rush of wind, a burst of sunlight and smelled the fire. She knew the monster was gone.

  ***

  The giant who had brought Marcie in was gone and replaced by another of the largest men Tank had ever seen. And that was really saying something, since Tank was no small man himself and worked out with some pros. Tank didn't like the way the man kept touching the unconscious Marcie and had asked if there was a woman who could do the healing, since when she woke up Marcie would probably be pretty wary of men and strangers.

  “No, your wife is with child and the Panacea here would kill the baby with her very presence. I c
an save them both if you and she can tolerate my company.”

  Tank sat stunned and the 'dr.' kept working. 'Your wife is with child'. The words were stuck on replay in his mind. He couldn't believe it; he was going to be a dad. That is, if she made it. No he couldn't think that way. She was here; she was breathing. No matter how dead she looked, he had to believe they were both going to make it.

  “You saved me, Teddy.”

  Tank jumped at his wife’s first words. He fought the urge to gather her up in his arms. He squeezed her hand instead.

  “No, not me. I wanted to; I tried, but it was one of the bodyguards of the Daughters that found you.” His voice cracked a little as he kissed her forehead. “I love you, Marcie.”

  Why didn't he remember saving her? She had taken some blows to the head, but she remembered what happened. Someone was healing her; she could feel it. They had started back at the warehouse. What had he said, 'She's alive and so is the baby'?

  “The baby?” she wondered aloud. She hadn't seen any children there and she was glad she hadn't witnessed violence against a baby. There was only so much the mind could handle.

  Teddy put his hand on her abdomen gently, “The doctor says she's fine. It's a girl, did you know?”

  What? He was talking about a baby inside her? She didn't even know she was pregnant. She couldn't be more than a few weeks along; she hadn't even missed a period yet. A pregnant woman can't be healed, it would...

  “Oh, my god! Get her away from me! Don't let her kill our baby!”

  The doctor jumped in, “Rest easy, Marcie. Your Panacea is not here. The council of elders asked me to heal you since you are with child. May I have your permission to continue?”

  There it was again. That voice was so unearthly. “Yes, of course. I'm sorry I panicked. Go ahead. I assumed that you were Camilla. I can't see anything. I didn't know that men were allowed to study the sacred Mes.”

  She paused. She needed to ask some things, but did not want to upset Teddy. “Teddy, can you step out in the hall for a sec? I need to talk to the doctor alone.”

  She could tell he did not like the idea. “I'll be fine and it'll only take a second.”

  He kissed her forehead again. She only started talking once she heard the door close behind him. “How did you know I was pregnant? Most healers would only sense that something was there that didn't belong. How can you heal me and not kill my baby?”

  He did not say a word nor make a move to answer her.

  “You have to teach Camilla; she'd give anything to be around expectant mothers or even to have a child herself.”

  That made him respond, “I cannot”.

  “Have you met Camilla? She's the most beautiful and wonderful person. Can you imagine what it's like to be banished from the creation of human life?”

  He sighed and sat in the chair that Tank had vacated. “I have never had the pleasure of meeting your Panacea, but I am certain she is all those things. I know what being barren means and how it weighs on the mind, but I cannot teach other healers. Daughters earn ability through knowledge. Mine is a birthright, not earned and it cannot be taught. I alone have this natural endowment.”

  Marcie might not be a Primo with access to the greater mysteries, but even she knew that wasn't the way magic worked. Yes, you had to be born with some natural ability, not everyone could learn every skill, but all magic must be learned and studied. She let it go. She did not have the energy to argue. “Why doesn't Tank remember what really happened?”

  “We have replaced his memory of it.”

  “Will you replace mine?”

  “We can only block your memory, not replace it. You are woman and our abilities do not have the same power over you. Women have the most developed brains and once something is there, it will always be there. We will make it so that you cannot recall what happened to you and blame it on head trauma. We plan to help you forget as soon as your body is healed enough for that procedure.”

  “Will you tell me what happened then, before you block my memories? What was that monster?

  “I only tell you as much as I have because of our plans. Your kidnapper is gone, justice served. We allowed your man to have his vengeance, as was his right, before we dispatched with the monster, but we cannot allow either of you to remember the Akhkharu. That knowledge endangers us all.”

  ***

  Aaron and Maeve had taken their time with the meal. She'd even drank the glass of wine that Aaron had ordered for her. It was her birthday after all. The waitress had given it away after seeing today’s date on her driver’s license. Maeve had laughed at being carded on her 27th birthday. Aaron loved her laugh, so boisterous and carefree.

  Now as they walked out of the restaurant, they heard the owner lock the door behind them. The breeze caught them both a little off guard and he zipped up his jacket as she tied her knee length gray sweater around her waist with its belt. “The cold air always makes me horny”

  He put his arm around her shoulders as they walked through the almost empty parking lot toward his car. He had parked as close as he could, but when they arrived the only spot was across the lot under a tree in a planting island. Now he was glad for it, because it was going to give them the minor privacy he wanted.

  “I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that.”

  “Why? If it's the truth, you can say it. I personally prefer the warmth if I'm gonna get naked, but to each his own.”

  Maeve felt like she should tell him another truth, and as they reached the car, she did, “Aaron, I want you. Badly. It's all I can think about when we're together. How it would feel to be under your weight, our bodies pressed together, gasping for air as our sweat mingles...”

  She turned in his arms and kissed him. It was pure fire, impossible to ignore or quench. He kissed her back, hard, nipping her bottom lip with his teeth like he knew she loved. She wanted to be kissed like he was going to devour her, and he gave her just that.

  She was lost for a moment in that kiss. How did he do that? He always knew how she wanted to be kissed. Tenderly, roughly, wildly, gently; he always got it right. If she didn't know better, she would have sworn that was his ability. Sexual empathy, as if there was such a thing. He'd make such a great lover and that plagued her every thought.

  She tried to pull away, but he wouldn't allow it. He slid one hand around her tiny waist and the other he tangled into her hair at the nape of her thin neck. He palmed the back of her head and held her powerless against his hungry kiss. The kiss only ended when he decided.

  “What was I saying?”

  “That you wanted me.” He grinned.

  “Aaron, it's been a long time since I've had sex with someone when it wasn't...” She didn't want to say 'work related' because it made it sound like prostitution. She decided to go a different way. “I'm not sure I can climax without casting the matchmaking spells. It's become part of the sexual experience for me and I just don't know that I can separate the two. Kisses like that just convince me that it would be impossible to sleep with you and not orgasm, so I'm at a loss.”

  Aaron spun them around, and backed her up against the tree. He slid his hand around over her shoulder and down her chest, reaching inside her v neck sweater. His other hand traced the curve of her hip, the line of her buttocks and around the bottom hem of her skirt.

  “Didn't you hear what I just said?”

  “Yes, I did, and it sounded to me like we just need to practice.”

  He slid his hand between her legs, hiking her skirt up slightly. When her legs automatically clenched together at the touch of cold air, he roughly parted them with his foot. He pressed his knee against the tree trunk behind her, using it to hold her legs apart, open for his exploration. He found her silky panties and fingered the lacy edge lightly.

  “What are you doing?”

  “I'm gonna to make you cum. You're going to enjoy it and so am I.”

  She had placed her hands over his, pushing them down and away somewhat. He was not going to
be stopped. His voice was low and gruff, “Put your arms up over your head.” She shivered and it wasn't from the cold. The look in his eye was a little scary, hungry and determined.

  She did what he said and instantly the temperature between them went up a few degrees. Doing what he told her to felt hot. He could tell she liked it, so he told her, “Don't move and don't try to get away.”

  His voice was rough, but he winked at her as he tugged open the right side of her sweater. His hand found the generous mound of her breast and squeezed. She let out a small moan and pressed herself into his hand. He started to lightly thumb back and forth across the crotch of her panties, already moist with her excitement.

  It felt so good to be spiraling out of control, totally open and exposed to his desires. Having her hands over her head and her legs forced apart was invigorating. She was completely his for the taking.

  Aaron, tiring of the material between them, pried her panties to the side with his thumb, and slipped the tip of his index finger into her warm wet folds.

  She wanted more of him inside her and tried to lower herself onto his hand. She couldn't help herself.

  “I said don't move.” He pressed himself on her even harder, sandwiching her against the hard tree. “We're doing this at my speed and my whim. You just concentrate on not casting any spells.”

  He pushed his finger deep inside her, and back out again, picking up the pace slowly. He pressed his thumb against her most sensitive pearl and then began to rub. He thumb and finger matching pace perfectly.

  She felt the warm tingle start to spread across her body and limbs. She knew the white power was coming. Her mind snapped back into focus and the spell was forming in her mind.

  Aaron's eyes were on her and he knew it was happening. He didn't change his rhythm, but kept her just on this side of orgasm. “Maeve, come back to me. Concentrate on something else.”