On the 17th day of their journey, Vanessa woke up in the morning to find the boat docked on the bank of the river. She wondered what was happening and was told that John had taken his colleagues ashore to explore the area. Archaeological proof suggested that this point used to be the point of origin of a very old civilization of the Amazon basin, which was now extinct. Vanessa felt disappointed that John had not taken her along and nor had he mentioned anything about it. She was determined to have a look at the locality herself and moreover she felt she needed some exercise, having been cramped up in the boat with movement limited to walking up and down the deck of the boat.
Chochmo, the cook, was horrified when she told her of her plan and warned her, “Madam, the jungle has many dangers, some you see, some you don’t see. It is not wise to go alone.”
But Vanessa was determined “Oh, I won’t venture very far. I will be within shouting distance, I promise, and if I sense any danger I will shout for help. You will hear me won’t you?”
Chochmo didn’t sound too convinced or very pleased so she gave Vanessa her very own traditional dagger to take along “This will keep you safe, use it only as a last resort!”
Vanessa thanked Chochmo for her kindness and went ashore. As a precaution she had worn a full sleeved shirt and full pants with boots. She took a heavy stick along just in case she needed to clear her path. But she found the path cleared already as she walked into the jungle “It must be the path John has taken” she thought. She followed the path up to a point from where the path had divided into two narrow ways. Both seemed to be treaded upon with one that seemed to have been less used. She was not sure what prompted her, but against her better judgment Vanessa took the path that was less walked upon. It was as if the path was calling out to her and she had to answer the call.
Vanessa was glad that she was wearing boots. The path had low bushes on its edges that could have scratched her otherwise. As she walked along, the jungle became a little thicker than how it was when she started, and the light that filtered in through the trees was becoming much more obstructed. The part that seemed strangest to Vanessa though was how the jungle that surrounded her was completely quiet. When she had started walking, there were birds and occasional monkeys that she could see and hear, but here nothing called and nothing moved, not even the leaves of the trees. Vanessa suddenly realized that she had walked a long time and must have left the river well behind her. She stopped and looked behind and could still see the path that she had taken. She wondered if it was probably a good idea at this point if she turned around and went back to the boat, but there was a stronger pull from ahead of her and she decided to follow that. After walking a good distance, Vanessa thought she saw a kind of clearing ahead of her. She went up close to the clearing and moved some of the bushes out of her way to see some old ruins. The place seemed to not have been accessed for some time and the growth of the bushes there were quite dense. Vanessa had to use her dagger to cut through the vegetation and when she finally emerged on the other side she saw that the ruins looked like an ancient temple or a worship place of some kind.
Vanessa felt thrilled, “John would be so excited to see this” she thought.
“Did John know at all about these ruins? It would be good if he was here, he could at least fill me with all the details!” she thought. Wasting no more time Vanessa walked up to the ruin. The structure was made of huge blocks of stone and the whole body of the structure was covered with vines and ivy. The growth was so thick that Vanessa could not see anything beyond the vines, so she took her dagger and started cutting them off. The place seemed to have been abandoned for a long time and the vines had grown strong. It took Vanessa close to an hour to clear up the vines at least partially.
When she finally cleared some of the vines away she knew her hard work was worth it; the sight that lay in front of her gave her goose bumps. The temple had a main entrance which went in quite deep and on both sides of the entrance stood two huge statues of two beasts, or were they human? The creatures were at least seven feet tall and very muscular and though they resembled a human being slightly, their physical features were like wolves. The upper part of the torso was human in form, but the lower part of the body was wolf like, complete with a long tail. Apart from a small loin cloth, they were not wearing anything at all. The expressions on their faces were fearsome, with eyes that looked angry and the mouth open to show two ferocious fangs. Everything about the two statues was similar except the weapons they were carrying. One of them carried a spear by which it covered half the entrance to the temple and the other one carried a sickle which was held in a way to create a cross with the spear thereby closing the way to the entrance. Even though it was possible to duck beneath and enter the temple, Vanessa wondered why the obstruction was made in the first place.
Vanessa wondered if it would be right for her to enter the temple, or should she go back and get John to accompany her. Anyway, she didn’t have a light with her and it might be unsafe to enter a temple that hasn’t been used for so long and could be home to poisonous snakes. But something inside her was not ready to listen to reason, so she ducked down under the spear sickle and went near the entrance. All of a sudden, she heard something click somewhere, as if it was some kind of a lever. She turned around and saw that the weapons that were held across the way to the entrance had moved away. Vanessa’s heart started beating faster, what had she unlocked? She just didn’t have the courage to venture any further; somehow she felt as if there was something or someone that was watching her. The feeling came on suddenly and the realization that she was at least a few kilometers away from help scared her. She thought she saw something move in the bushes ahead of her, although she couldn’t see anything. And Vanessa didn’t lose a second, she started walking away from the temple back onto the path on which she came, as she walked she felt as if she was being followed. She started walking faster but her nerves gave in and she broke into a run. The path seemed endless and when at last Vanessa saw the boat docked on the river shore she breathed deeply with relief.
John and his colleagues had all returned from their trip a long time ago and were worried about Vanessa and were about to go out to search for her. John was extremely angry and upset with her irresponsible behavior. Vanessa apologized profusely and promised them she would never do something so risky again and the matter was laid to rest.
That night Vanessa went to bed quite early, John and his colleagues were going to work all night on the top deck, so Vanessa took a book to bed. The movement of the boat on the gentle waters lulled Vanessa, and she was soon in a state where she was half awake and half asleep. The generous light from the full moon streamed into the room and the intermittent hoots from owls and the sound of fluttering wings of some bird caught off-guard were the only sounds in the night. Suddenly Vanessa felt her room being invaded by the sweetest, most intoxicating smell ever. She didn’t know what it was, whether it was from a flower, and if it was, it was completely unknown to her. But the smell was a weird mix of gentleness and raw power and Vanessa felt herself being completely overtaken by it. She felt powerless, as if all her faculties were taken over, she was completely and helplessly in its grip. Everything seemed dreamlike to Vanessa, nothing was real except the smell. She felt that she was no longer in her cabin on the boat, but was in some other place, dark and cold. Then shattering this serenity and piercing the darkness came the most evil sounds that Vanessa had ever heard. At first, in her drowsy state, Vanessa could not make out what the sounds belonged to, but slowly she understood they were the sounds of howling wolves.
Vanessa had lost touch with time and place, she felt as if she was in the jungle, as if she was lying on the ground on a bed of vegetation. She could not make out where exactly, but the place seemed familiar somehow. In her drowsy state, Vanessa felt the sound of the howling wolves was coming nearer with each passing moment. But Vanessa didn’t have the mental will or the physical ability to get up; it was as if some kind of a power was pinn
ing her down to the ground.
Suddenly Vanessa felt that she was no longer alone in that place, that there were some other things near her but she could not clearly say what. She struggled to open her eyes but when she finally did she saw the most amazing thing: the two half men half wolf guards that she had seen that morning were standing right in front of her. They didn’t have the weapons they had carried, they had the same ferocious look on their face and they were looking down on her.
Vanessa realized suddenly that she was not wearing anything, her heavy breasts were laid bare and they were hanging to the sides. She also realized that she was lying down holding her legs apart showing her pussy to the beasts. She felt arousal starting to pulsate through her. She was wet with anticipation and she found herself fingering her slickened folds. The beasts slowly took a step towards her as they shifted into human form, and Vanessa looked up to see that they had both opened their loin cloths to reveal two of the most enormous cocks she had ever seen. They were throbbing with anticipation and had pre-cum dripping out of their tips. Vanessa could not control her urge anymore, she got up on her knees and took one of the cocks in her mouth and held the other one in her hand fingering the tip with her thumb. It tasted like heaven in her mouth and the cock almost didn’t fit in due to its massive size. She could hear the beast-man grunting and she was contented that she was being able to please it. After sucking on it for some time she moved onto the other beast-man who had waited patiently all this while, but before she could take the other cock in her mouth, the he took her by the hair and shoved the thick cock inside. He was forceful and with his movement and Vanessa’s entire body shook including her heavy breasts. Suddenly she realized that the other one was sitting down behind her and reached around to massage her breasts. He took her left breast and pulled it to the side as he plunged his head down to suck eagerly on her rock hard nipple. He sucked so hard that Vanessa almost cried out in pain but waves of pleasure overcame her as she moaned loudly onto the huge dick in her mouth. The beast cock in her mouth grew even harder and she heard a loud grunt as the being in front of her came into her mouth. Vanessa had never felt so dirty in all her life. She wanted to jam both of the cocks inside her pussy right then and there. But before she knew it the two men shifted back into beast form and then slowly moved away, merging in the darkness. Vanessa was left sitting there with a throbbing pussy and an unfulfilled desire, a desire so strong that she felt she would burst.
Vanessa suddenly woke up in her bed in a cold sweat. She looked around and saw that she was in her cabin on the boat. “Was that a dream?” she thought, it was so vivid and the feelings so intense that it was hard to believe it was a dream, but there she was in her bed in her cabin and she could also hear John’s voice up on the deck. Vanessa didn’t think much of it and went back to sleep.
The rest of the night was quite uneventful and the next morning when Vanessa woke up she wondered what the dream was all about. As she went to take her shower, she noticed something though. She noticed that her left breast hurt slightly and the area around her nipple seemed to be bruised as if it had been sucked on hard.
Vanessa didn’t know whom to speak to about this. John would definitely not believe it or understand it either. In fact he might even get angry if Vanessa mentioned about the events of the day before, as it is he was very upset at Vanessa’s disappearance. So Vanessa thought of talking to Chochmo. She felt Chochmo would be able to enlighten her about the temple and maybe she would be able to give an explanation for her dream as well.
Vanessa went to the kitchen and saw Chochmo preparing their meal; she went up to her and leaned against the counter beside her.
“Here Chochmo, here’s your dagger. It was very helpful, thank you”
“Did you have to use dagger?” asked Chochmo.
“I wouldn’t have been able to walk through the jungle without it,” Vanessa smiled at her.
Vanessa paused for a few minutes and then she said “Chochmo, do you know of any abandoned temples in and around this place?”
Chochmo laughed “Madam this whole place is full of abandoned temples. Here belong to very old civilization, you know? In very old times, people live here, they have town, there are so many stories about these people. They were very brave people and fought many wars.”
“So what happened to them?” asked Vanessa
“The people had curse upon them,” said Chochmo, very seriously.
Vanessa laughed, “Really? What curse?”
“Oh it’s bad to talk about it, Madam, it was evil that lived here, you must not ask Chochmo to tell you that!” said Chochmo, now really worried.
“Come on, Chochmo; don’t tell me you believe all that?”
“Madam it is the truth, it is not up to me to believe or not!” Chochmo sounded a little offended
“Okay, Chochmo, I believe you,” said Vanessa laughing
Vanessa thought about whether she should ask Chochmo about the temple, “Chochmo had a habit of running away with her imagination,” she thought and she didn’t want to get thinking unnecessarily about something that didn’t warrant so much attention. But Chochmo was also the only person who could understand and speak in English on the boat and the only person who had extensive knowledge about the area, partly because she was from that locality and partly because she was quite advanced in her age and hence knew a lot more of the past than the younger generation. Vanessa made up her mind to ask Chochmo about the temple.
“Chochmo, yesterday I visited a temple,” said Vanessa quite nonchalantly
“Which temple you visit, madam?”
“I wouldn’t know the name, but it was deep in the jungle,” said Vanessa
“It was very wrong of you to go so deep in the jungle all alone.”
“I know, I realize it now, but the temple that I saw was very beautiful and very mysterious too.”
“How did the temple look?”
“Well from the outside it was nothing but ruins. However there was this entrance which led deep inside. But what had struck me were two statues that stood outside the temple. They stood as if they guarded its entrance.”
“What statues did you see madam?”
“Well the statue looked like it was that of some kind of beast which was half man and half wolf.”
Vanessa was startled by the sound of something heavy falling on the floor. She looked down to see it was the bowl of beans that Chochmo was carrying. She looked at her, Chochmo looked petrified!
“Tell me, madam, did these beasts hold weapons in their hands?”
“Yes, in fact they did,” said Vanessa. “One of them held a spear…”
Before Vanessa could complete her sentence, Chochmo completed it for her “The other held a sickle?” Chochmo was almost shivering with fear. Vanessa went over to hold her, “Chochmo, get a hold of yourself. What is wrong?”
“Please tell me madam that you did not enter that temple?” Chochmo had a pleading look in her eyes.
Vanessa hesitated for a few minutes then she said “Yes, I did, Chochmo, but I didn’t go inside. I just crossed the threshold and a very funny thing happened when I did.”
“The weapons moved away?” asked Chochmo
“Yes, in fact they did.” Vanessa was truly surprised now.
Chochmo had a very serious look on her face now and it scared Vanessa, she started thinking about whether she had done the right thing by telling it to her. Chochmo moved close to Vanessa now and almost whispered to her “Madam, you have unleashed a curse most powerful upon you and the beasts will hound you for the rest of your life.”
“What do you mean?” asked Vanessa, she was feeling a little apprehensive now.
“Madam you have desecrated the ancient temple of aphrodisia and you have awakened the guard of the deity. Females who have reached sexual maturity are not allowed to enter that temple and if by chance they do, legend says that then they call upon themselves the curse of the beast. The beast hounds them for the rest of their lives tormenti
ng them.”
“Tormenting them, how?”
“As they please,” was all that Chochmo said and no amount of asking, pleading or cajoling by Vanessa would make her utter another word. Only when Vanessa was about to leave the kitchen, Chochmo said, “Madam you better be ready and you better be careful; they are going to come for you.”
As Vanessa left the dank kitchen and came under the open skies on the upper deck with sun shining down upon them with all its ferocity she smiled to herself “Chochmo and her legends!”. Though in the kitchen the legend seemed possible, out on the deck Vanessa almost laughed at her imbecility of taking Chochmo seriously.
*****
The sunny weather however didn’t last long that day and soon the famed heavy rainfall of the Amazon started. Though it was a welcome relief from the humid weather, Vanessa didn’t like the fact that they had to be cooped inside. The boat chugged along slowly and Vanessa spent her day sitting out in the hammock. After lunch as the rain showed some hope of slowing down, their boat came upon a small canoe on the river being rowed by two young men. They waved their boat down and asked if they could ride with them to the next village. Their boat had developed a small hole and they were not being able to repair it, and they promised in return that they would do all the heavy work on the boat. Though John was initially doubtful, the captain of the boat convinced him that two extra helping hands would certainly be a bonus. Moreover these young men looked quite muscular and able and the captain could use them in the engine room.
ROMANCE: His Reluctant Heart (Historical Western Victorian Romance) (Historical Mail Order Bride Romance Fantasy Short Stories) Page 47