by Sue Lyndon
“She killed my wife with an impure fertility potion, casting her soul into the rebirth cycle so that she is forever lost to me,” a deep masculine voice thundered from the shadows somewhere behind her.
Rhiannon’s blood ran cold and her guts turned to water. “Who’s there?” She turned around and edged closer to the fire.
“I am Edwin of Strellia,” said the voice.
“Show yourself.” Rhiannon gasped when a large Crigon stepped out of the shadows. He was tan and well-muscled, soft leather clothing covered his chest and legs, but he wasn’t wearing a cloak to shield himself from the elements. He didn’t appear to be shivering though, and she wondered how long he had been lurking in the shadows since entering the cabin.
A shudder rippled through her. How long had he been watching her sleep? She noticed the sword at his hip and suspected she would soon meet her end.
He took a few more steps in her direction, and she tensed and wished there was somewhere to run. The wind howled outside, reminding her that she was trapped in this cabin with a Crigon who towered over her by at least an arms’ length. She had heard his kind was massive but had never seen a Crigon in person before.
She clutched the blanket around her and wished she had a weapon. She hadn’t thought to search for a knife in the kitchen before falling asleep, not thinking the roaming Crigon who sought vengeance against her family would be able to find her on the Cold Top. Beneath her fear, frustration over her hopeless situation rose up.
“So, it’s your fault that I’m here, exiled to the Cold Top until the end of my days.” Rhiannon was afraid, but she was equally as angry.
“Your grandmother’s sins against me will be repaid,” he said and stepped closer.
“You’re here to kill me then? Why did you not kill my grandmother?” As soon as she said it, Rhiannon began to wonder if perhaps the Crigon had killed her grandmother. The old woman had been sick for some time, but maybe he’d been the cause of her illness.
“Your fool of a grandmother escaped my clutches and managed to block my dream spirits all these years. Upon her death my dream spirits came to me, and I sought out the inner lands of Zertrin and came across traveling men in the surrounding forests. They provided me with your location.”
Rhiannon knelt on the floor, her back to the fire and the blanket still upon her shoulders. She should be upset that her father’s men had all but handed her over to this roaming Crigon, but she no longer cared how Edwin of Strellia had come upon her location.
This was the end.
“So, kill me already.” She met his eyes, trying to look brave. She wouldn’t die cowering and begging for her life.
“You misunderstand my purpose for seeking you out. I cannot return to Strellia without the wife and child that Stretta requires for reentry once a Crigon goes roaming on the earth. There is no place for me amongst the paired immortals without a woman and our child.”
Rhiannon regarded the Crigon who was now standing above her. She was tired and cold and had nothing to live for, and now he dared refuse to kill her? If killing oneself wasn’t a path to the Caves of Terr, she might have already entertained the thought of ending herself. Oh, how she hated him.
“I know nothing of Strellia. I know nothing of Stretta, save she is the wicked sister goddess of Retta.”
“Speak of Stretta in such a foolish manner again, and you’ll feel the sting of my belt.”
Rhiannon shuddered and dropped her gaze. “I am the granddaughter of your wife’s murderer. What is it you require from me, if not retribution by death?”
“As I’ve said, I cannot return to Strellia unpaired and childless.” He looked down at Rhiannon. “The days of mortal men offering prayers to Stretta are gone. I can roam the lands of mortal Earth until the Caves of Terr spark consuming fires, or I can have vengeance by another manner and find my way home to Strellia both at once.”
Rhiannon went cold. Surely this Crigon did not mean to take her as a wife? Humans and Crigons most certainly did not mate. Since the great war of their ancestors, they did not even touch one another. He was standing close above her now, and if he so much as trailed his finger along her arm, then she would be damned to the Caves of Terr where tormented souls spread through the mist in search of mortal vessels to corrupt. She wouldn’t wish such a fate upon her worst enemy.
“Please,” said Rhiannon. “Behead me with your sword. Do not touch me otherwise, for while I loved my grandmother, I do not wish to join in her damnation.”
Edwin the Crigon crouched before Rhiannon. Too petrified to move, she simply stared into his twinkling blue eyes. He no longer looked as forbidding as he had looming in the shadows, but she still feared him. He had the power to destroy her very soul.
“It doesn’t matter that I touch you, little human.” he said. “You won’t be going to the Caves of Terr. You will carry my child and enter Strellia, offering prayers to Stretta all the while.”
“No! Get back!” Before Rhiannon managed to escape, Edwin reached a thick arm toward her face. A single finger brushed her cheek for a moment, and his brows narrowed as a smirk lifted his lips.
The Crigon had touched her! Not only that, but he found humor in her horror. She hated him all the more.
All hopes of joining her lines of family in the Land of After were forever gone. Her future held two ugly possibilities—the Caves of Terr or Strellia, the afterlife of the Crigons. But unless she escaped Edwin, she would be bound for Strellia without a doubt. She wondered if the Caves of Terr was the better option.
“I do not age. You, however, grow older by the day. Speak a meaningful prayer to Stretta and I will have you as my wife.” Edwin stood and reached a hand toward Rhiannon.
“No, I will not be your wife.” The spot on her cheek where he’d touched her seemed to burn.
Edwin straightened. “How old are you?”
Rhiannon tightened her mouth and stared at the floor. She knew he was wondering about her ability to bear a child. Was she old enough and how many fertile years were left?
She gasped as his large, callused hands pulled her up. She peered into his face, terrifyingly mesmerized. All his features were large and dark, skin and hair like that of the night, and devastatingly handsome. His eyes were alive like the blue diamonds of the Old Hills, scrutinizing her as harshly as she examined him. She gasped again when he groped her breasts with both of his hands, and hot tears prompted by fear and embarrassment flooded down her cheeks.
“Well,” said Edwin. “You seem of age. But one can never truly tell. How many years have you lived?”
“Nineteen,” she whispered, not wishing to be examined any further. To her relief, the Crigon released his hold entirely. She remained standing, looking at the floor and willing herself to stop crying.
“Nineteen is perfect. Now say prayers to Stretta.”
“I will resist even a forced prayer to Stretta until my womb shrivels like a drying fruit. I love the goddess Retta in Ettonelli where my lines of family roam.” She sniffled. “Thanks to you, I’ll never see them again.”
Edwin’s jaw tightened, but he spoke politely after reining his flicker of anger under control. “Stretta and Retta are not the rivals that you have come to believe. There are windows between these immortal worlds. Though their children fought a mighty war over a hundred years ago, there is nothing but peace between Stretta and Retta, and all those Crigons and humans in the afterlife know this peace as well.”
“Blasphemy! You lie!” Rhiannon abruptly slapped Edwin across the face. Her eyes widened as she retracted her stinging hand. She inched back from Edwin’s angry glare, fearing retribution. What had she done?
His eyes flashed. “I will remain with you until you realize that there is no true separation between Ettonelli and Strellia and you offer prayers to Stretta as you do to Retta. But I will not allow misbehavior on your part to go unpunished.”
Edwin advanced toward Rhiannon with a piercing gaze, his muscles tensed and gleaming in the firelight.
“Wait!” cried Rhiannon. “Get back!” She slinked away from the fireplace and from Edwin, but he lunged forward and grabbed her arm in one swift move. Rhiannon’s heart lept and she felt small in his grip. The Crigon was massive, his hot breath fanning her face from above. He could crush her with his hands if he wished.
“You will be my wife when you come to your mortal senses. Though I have not bedded you yet, Rhiannon, I will punish you as a man would punish his wife.”
She stood in his grip, panting as she recalled what she knew of husbands and wives. Most women in the Land of Zertrin were married at the age of twenty; the men were usually a little older.
Once, she had witnessed a husband and wife quarreling in the woods near the village. When the woman tried to walk away, the man had forced her over his knee upon a tree stump and administered a heavy spanking.
Rhiannon shivered in Edwin’s grasp. They were but strangers. Surely he would not be so familiar with her as to mete out physical discipline.
“Please.” She trembled, her hands shaking at her sides. “I don’t even know you.”
For the first time since he’d emerged from the shadows, Edwin’s eyes gleamed with a hint of compassion. Hope flickered inside her chest. Maybe he would let her off with a warning.
“We will know each other soon enough, but I’m afraid I cannot even be persuaded to take it easy on you this first time,” Edwin said, still with that glimmer of warmth in his eyes. “You will treat me with respect, or you will suffer the consequences under my hand.”
Rhiannon panicked. She hadn’t been spanked in years. She pushed at Edwin and desperately attempted to escape his firm hands, but it was no use. He easily pulled her protesting form toward the center of the cabin. He then paused and glanced around as if he searched for something specific.
“You will stand right here while I get a chair,” Edwin whispered into her ear. “If you move your feet a smidge, you will feel my belt upon your bottom instead of my hand.”
Rhiannon gulped, but said nothing. She believed him. She also knew there was nowhere to run anyway. It was dark and cold outside and the cabin was but one room. Her insides churned as Edwin dragged a tall chair from the shadows, but she fought the urge to run. This spanking was sure to be painful, given the size and strength of this Crigon, and she feared the sting of his belt even more.
When the screech of the chair being pulled across the floor ended, Rhiannon met Edwin’s gaze but didn’t speak. Only pride kept her from breaking her silence to beg him to be gentle. Edwin moved to her side and looked down at her with resolve. “Remove your dress. It will offer you little protection from the sting of my hand anyway.”
She stepped back and shook her head.
“Remove your dress at once, or I will remove it for you.”
Not wanting to test him, Rhiannon slipped the dress from her shoulders. It pooled around her feet just as it had on the hilltop when she’d offered prayers to Retta on her family’s behalf not too long ago.
She stood in front of Edwin, completely naked and trembling in terrible anticipation.
“Smart girl,” Edwin commented. “It’s good to see that you can listen to a man’s orders.”
She fought the urge to slap his face again. No one in the village would’ve ever dared speaking to her in such a manner, not when she was the granddaughter of the magical village healer and daughter of their army’s commander. She fought the urge to scream and to run as he descended to the tall chair, pulling her naked form down and across his huge legs.
Edwin’s warm hand rested upon her upturned bottom and he wrapped one leg around her struggling legs. With his other hand, he grasped her wrists together against her back, holding her effectively in place. “Now,” Edwin began, “This is what happens when a wife disrespects her husband.”
She felt his hand leave her bottom, and a split second later felt the sting of the first slap. She gasped and attempted to twist from his grasp, but he only smacked her again. Over and over his hand came down upon her bare, upturned bottom. Edwin punished her with vigor, alternating cheeks and even slapping the tops of her thighs. The sting was unbearable and took her breath away. Rhiannon writhed on his lap, trying to escape the torment even as he held her tighter.
“Please,” she finally begged. “Please, that’s enough.” Pain blazed across her backside, but still the slaps rained down in steady succession. She grew hopeful for a moment when Edwin paused, but to her dismay he pushed her further over his lap and forced her legs apart. Never in her life had she felt more terrified and vulnerable, her thighs open to his gaze.
The next few blows were concentrated on the sensitive area where her thighs and bottom met, and she bit her lip and tried to bear the pain. Tears streamed down her cheeks and she sobbed harder, no longer trying to be brave.
“Now”—smack—“are you going”—smack—“to respectfully listen”—smack—“to what I have to say?” Smack!
“Yes!” Rhiannon yelped. She desperately wished to be upright with her thighs closed. Her face heated with the shameful knowledge that he could see her intimate parts.
Edwin delivered several more hearty slaps, one after the other, across the tops of her thighs, alternating his hands as he further punished her smooth flesh. Rhiannon whimpered and gave up her struggling to lay limp across his lap, surrendering to the chastisement. She had been foolish to slap him and sorely regretted it.
“Now, I am going to tell you about Ettonelli and Strellia, Retta and Stretta. You will sit quietly and listen. Do you understand?” asked Edwin.
“Yes, I understand,” replied Rhiannon in a shaky whisper.
Chapter 2
Rhiannon eyed her dress on the floor, feeling her nakedness more than ever with her bottom stinging terribly. “You may get dressed,” Edwin said. She complied quickly, and stood before him trembling and whimpering softly. She ached to rub her bottom, but she feared another spanking if she did, so her hands remained fidgeting at her sides.
Edwin stood and led her to the bearskin bed in front of the fire. She eased down on her throbbing bottom and waited for him to speak. To her surprise, he placed a blanket over her shoulders before sitting beside her. His nearness caused her to feel momentarily lightheaded, and the heat coming off his body rivaled that of the fire. She resisted the urge to move closer and snuggle up next to him.
“Retta and Stretta being sisters at war is a myth that has long been perpetrated by those from the Land of Holon. There are actually windows connecting Ettonelli with Strellia. The mortals who walk the Land of Zertrin reside in Ettonelli after their deaths, but visits to Strellia are permitted and encouraged. The Crigon immortals who once walked the earth as mortals reside in Strellia, only to leave in pairs to roam mortal Earth during the fertility seasons. Crigon children can only be conceived in the mortal lands, but they are born in Strellia and grow up fast to the median age.” Edwin paused and looked at Rhiannon. Her eyes were swollen and she looked thoughtful.
“So, why are those loyal to Retta damned to the Caves of Terr after being touched by a Crigon?”
“That is another myth perpetuated by those from the Land of Holon.”
“Do the Caves of Terr not exist?” Rhiannon was trying desperately to wrap her mind around this new information. Despite the fact that this Crigon was a stranger, there was truth in his eyes and she believed him.
“Oh, the Caves of Terr exist. But only those mortals who have committed grave crimes, such as murder, are sent to the Caves of Terr.”
Rhiannon’s heart broke. “So, my grandmother? She murdered your wife, did she not? I suppose she has gone to the Caves of Terr.”
Edwin inched closer to Rhiannon and placed a firm hand on her tear stained cheek. “Yes, at this moment your grandmother resides in the Caves of Terr. But when I take you as my wife bearing my child back to Strellia, your grandmother’s debt to me will be repaid. When this happens, her spirit will soar from the Caves of Terr to Ettonelli where you may visit her yourself.”
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A single tear ran down Rhiannon’s cheek. This Crigon wasn’t a wicked beast after all. He could’ve taken a wife from the mortal lands and returned to Strellia decades ago, but by waiting for a female descendant of the woman who murdered his wife, Rhiannon’s grandmother would be spared from the Caves of Terr.
“Thank you,” she whispered. “I will go with you willingly.” And suddenly Rhiannon felt very shy. Edwin would be her husband, Edwin the handsome Crigon who had just administered a painful spanking to her moments ago. She squirmed in her seat, trying not to wince from the soreness.
“I’m pleased to hear you say that, little human,” Edwin said with a smile. “We must remain on the Cold Top until the melting begins. There is a secret passage on the other side of the mountain leading to the lands nearest Strellia. We will travel there once the melting has begun and you are with child.”
Rhiannon nodded and bowed her head nervously. Then curiosity got the best of her. “Why wait all these years to locate a descendant of my grandmother? Why not take any woman from the Land of Zertrin and return to Strellia sooner?”
Edwin scooted closer, his thigh resting a mere inch from hers. “I could not take just any woman from the Land of Zertrin in good conscience. Most woman are betrothed at a young age and as you already know, all from your land fear Crigons and would not be willing. Years ago, I would have taken your grandmother, but since she evaded me for so long, you are the next logical choice.”
What a set of circumstances, Rhiannon thought. “I understand.”
“The Cold Top is a hard place to survive, and you must listen to me at all times. If you disobey me in anything, I will not hesitate to punish you. Understood?”
“Yes, Edwin,” Rhiannon mumbled, bowing her head even further and hoping she would be able to avoid another spanking.