Another soft knock on the door. “We’re at five.”
“Thank you, five,” I acknowledged. I wasn’t going anywhere. I took a deep breath, and I began to whisper vocal warm-ups to the mirror.
“Red leather, yellow leather,” I said. “Red leather, yellow leather.” I repeated it faster and faster until I tripped over the words.
“The lips, the teeth, the tip of the tongue,” I muttered. “The lips, the teeth, the tip of the tongue.”
“Unique New York,” I said.
I repeated them again and again until they sounded like the chants my aunts had whispered over me when I was still at home.
Tears filled my eyes. My aunts. Their magic. “Mother Innarra,” I whispered.
I took a deep breath. My voice got louder. “Mother Innarra, Serpent of the Sky, I offer myself into your protection. Coil your servant Teagan in your body, keep me safe from the schemes of the Evil Ones.”
It was quiet in the dressing room. I waited, hoping for something to happen, for some magic to save me.
But there was only another knock on the door. “Places.”
“Thank you,” I said. I opened the door. I walked down the dark corridor of backstage to the place where I stood and waited for my first cue.
I could hear the audience in the theater, tittering and talking. Anticipation was thick in the air.
I waited for the lights to go down, to take the stage, to escape.
* * *
The dungeon was made of cold stone. Like something medieval, it had chains coming out of the walls, and I had been chained there by the same robed people who had whisked me out of the dressing room minutes after the play was over. I could still hear the applause thundering in my ears.
Maybe it was the after-performance high that was making things easier to take. I felt I should be panicked and screaming, but instead, I’d been almost numb, not fighting as they took me through the tunnels and brought me here.
But then moonlight streamed through a rectangular window above, and I could see the other side of the dungeon.
Carter was there.
His hands were chained above his head. His clothes were tattered. He hung his head, defeated.
I watched him, tears forming.
This was really happening.
We’d failed.
“Teagan?”
Carter looked up. He hadn’t spoken. The voice was hoarse and female. I could see her on the other side of the dungeon.
“Reba,” I said. “Are you okay?”
“Does it look like I’m okay?” She was chained up in the same way that Carter was. “I’m sorry I didn’t make it to your aunts.”
“It’s okay,” I said. “You tried.”
It was quiet.
Carter gazed at me. I looked back at him. I wished we could touch.
“They didn’t hurt you?” I finally said. “They told me if I didn’t do what they said, they’d hurt you. So I cooperated. Did they hurt you anyway?”
“You should have gone when you had the chance,” he said.
Reba’s tone was dry. “Oh, you two are adorable.”
At a time like this, she was going to be sarcastic?
“Seriously,” she said. “You two are staring at each other like you’re Romeo and Juliet or something. I think someone should remind you that you’re his student, and he’s your professor, and you guys have a shallow relationship based solely on sex.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about, Reba,” I said.
“I know that in these rituals, the man chosen to do it always falls for the girl. Harper told me. It’s like part of the process. You, on the other hand, are supposed to be afraid of him. I don’t get why you’re all lovey dovey. He totally manipulated you so that he could rape you and steal your power. He’s a jerk.”
“She’s right, you know,” said Carter. “I don’t deserve you.”
“It doesn’t matter,” I said. “We don’t have much time left, anyway. They’ll come for us at midnight.” It was part of the process for the man performing the ritual to fall in love with the girl he was supposed to rape? What kind of weird, fucked-up ritual was this?
“I’m not going to do it,” said Carter. “I won’t take you. I won’t hurt you. I promise.”
At that moment, we heard the creaking of the dungeon door opening. Someone shrouded in a robe made his way over to Carter. The robed man held a glass of water in one hand, and a pill capsule in the other.
He forced the pill between Carter’s lips.
Carter tried to spit it out, but the man pinched his nose and tilted his head back.
He poured water down Carter’s throat, and stroked his neck until he swallowed.
“What was that?” Carter sputtered.
“Just something to make sure you can... perform.” He gestured meaningfully to Carter’s crotch.
“Viagra.”
“Something like that.” The robed man smirked and left the dungeon.
Carter rested his head against the stone wall, squeezing his eyes shut.
We listened as the latches were fastened on the door.
He opened his eyes. “You shouldn’t have come back.”
I gulped. There was no way to stop this, was there?
“Wouldn’t have mattered,” said Reba. “They got me back. They would have gotten both of us back. Harper only did it this way so that he could make sure Teagan was more cooperative. And he really wanted his play.”
“I think Harper is a little bit insane,” I muttered.
“Yeah,” said Reba. “I probably shouldn’t throw stones, huh? I have lousy taste in men too.”
“Carter is not lousy taste.”
“You don’t have to defend me, Teagan,” he said.
“Yes, I do,” I said. “You’re a good man.”
“Right, because I showed so much self-restraint when it came to my attraction to you? Or because I ran off to New York City while they were capturing you and holding you prisoner?”
“Because you changed your mind. Because you rescued me.”
“I didn’t do a very good job of that,” he said.
“You did. I’m the one who came back.” I bit my lip. “How’s your ankle, anyway?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. I haven’t been trying to move very much.”
“If you really wanted to stick it to them,” said Reba, “you should kill yourselves. Like Romeo and Juliet. They couldn’t do the ritual then.”
I glared at her. “You’re very helpful, Reba. Thanks.”
She sagged against her chains. “I’m sorry. It’s just that I’m afraid. I don’t know what they’re going to do to me. I don’t know why they have me here.”
“I won’t do it, Teagan,” said Carter. “They can’t force me to do it.”
I chewed on my lip. “Can’t they?”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Carter
They came for us at midnight, and they took me away from her. She’d been so beautiful, even with the remnants of stage makeup clinging to her face. I’d failed her. I’d wanted to save her from all of this, but in the end, here we were.
They stripped me out of my clothes and hosed me down. They put me in one of those robes. Then they chained my hands together and led me out of the dungeons into the dark woods. The sky was bright black, dotted with brilliant stars. The trees were tall and solemn, standing over me, passing judgment. I’d failed her.
They pushed me forward. My feet crunched against the dead leaves on the ground.
I knew where we were heading. We always went here for the initiation ceremonies. This time, however, things would be more complicated than they usually were. The altar was further into the woods than the amphitheater and the tree. It was a raised dais made of stone. Slithering snakes were carved onto its surface. Behind it, there was a wooden carving that jutted out of the ground—splayed out tendrils that could have depicted the branches of a tree. Or forked lightning. Or numerous, twisting serpents. Or the rays
of the sun. It flickered in the torch light, glaring down at the altar.
When we arrived there, the initiates were already there, all on their knees, ringing the altar. I watched as the other members of Scales and Fangs anointed their foreheads and lifted their hoods, whispering, “Be one of us.”
I remembered the night that I had been initiated into this society. I remembered the lust for power that had driven me to this moment.
And then Teagan was next to me. She was robed as well, also being prodded by members of the society. Her hands were chained as well. She looked at me from beneath her hood. She looked terrified.
I struggled. I wrenched myself away from the men who held me. I brought up my chained arms, ready to bash their heads.
But my bad ankle gave out on me, and I lost my balance.
I cried out—more in frustration and rage than in pain.
They hauled me to my feet.
Adelaide stood in front of the altar. “I see you’ve both arrived.”
“Fuck you, Adelaide,” I said.
She laughed. I could only see her lips from beneath her cowl. They’d been painted crimson.
“Bring them forth,” she said, and her voice had taken on the ringing quality it did when she presided over these sorts of functions.
Teagan and I were pushed from behind. We staggered forward.
They threw us to our knees in front of Adelaide.
There were chains coiled around the foot of the altar. They unwound them and attached them to our hands. Now Teagan and I were both chained to the altar.
She raised her arms wide above her head. “Gods of the sky, the serpent’s servants summon you!”
Around us the initiates got to their feet. They folded into the ring of the other members of Scales and Fangs. And they echoed Adelaide’s words. “Gods of the sky, the serpent’s servants summon you!”
Abruptly, clouds rolled over the night sky, obscuring the stars.
Adelaide threw her head back, her hood falling off. She appeared to be drinking something in, something from the sky. When she looked back at us again, her eyes had rolled back in her head, and we could only see the whites of her eyes. She began to speak, but her voice was different. It was deeper and more masculine, as if Adelaide had been possessed. “We come before you to take you into our bodies and our souls. We come to witness the joining of the goddess to humanity. The power will be given. If the power is not given, the power will be stolen, and we will flourish. Servants of thunder, servants of the sky, the great serpent grows close. The power will be given. If the power is not given, the power will be stolen. And we will flourish.”
“The power will be stolen,” intoned the voices all around us, their voices eerie. “And we will flourish.”
Adelaide placed her hand on my head. “The receptacle of power kneels before me.”
“The power will be stolen, and we will flourish,” answered the gathered members.
“Prepare him for his task. Make him ready,” she said.
“The power will be stolen, and we will flourish.”
Above us the sky grew more cloudy and dark. The fire in the torches seemed to grow brighter.
And I got an erection.
I winced. It was that fucking pill they’d given me. That was all.
Adelaide moved to Teagan. She placed her hand on Teagan’s head. “The priestess of Innarra kneels before me.”
The voices around us grew louder. “The power will be stolen, and we will flourish.”
“Fill her with the power of the goddess,” said Adelaide.
Thunder rustled in the distance.
They were screaming.“The power will be stolen, and we will flourish.”
Suddenly, Teagan and Adelaide both began to shake, both convulsing rapidly.
Adelaide wrenched her hand away from Teagan’s head. The shaking stopped.
“Strip her,” said Adelaide.
Two members came forward. They pulled Teagan’s robe away from her body.
“No,” I said.
She cowered, trying to cover herself. I pulled her to me, covering her body with my robe. But I wasn’t wearing anything under my robe, and my rigid cock brushed against her bare skin.
She leapt away from me, as if I’d burned her.
Adelaide pointed, and the robed figures of Scales and Fangs began to file away from the altar. Only Adelaide and two others stayed behind.
The two others had a prisoner. Reba. She was gagged and tied.
Adelaide looked at me. Her eyes were back to normal now. So was her voice. “You’ve been prepared. Both of you. The ritual should proceed naturally. But if it doesn’t, you could consider Reba here our insurance policy.”
“Adelaide, please,” I said. “Let that girl go. She’s got nothing to do with—”
“I’ll know when it’s been consummated,” she said. “I’ll feel it. If I haven’t felt it in an hour, then I’ll start cutting pieces off of Reba here. Got it?”
I shut my eyes.
“Good,” said Adelaide. She turned. The others turned with her. They walked away from the altar, leaving Teagan and I alone in the flickering firelight.
* * *
Teagan
He was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen, and I didn’t think I’d ever wanted him more than I did at that exact moment. I watched the figures disappear into the darkness, and I didn’t feel ashamed of my nakedness. Instead, it seemed right and perfect. Obviously, I was supposed to be naked. How else would we make love?
I reached for him.
He came to me.
I ran fingers over his firm jaw, pulling his lips down to mine.
He met them hungrily.
I pushed aside the folds of his robe, pressed my body against his. He was naked too. His skin was warm satin. His hardness pressed into the softness of my stomach. I wanted to take him inside me.
He broke away. “What are you doing to me, Teagan?”
We couldn’t do that. If I gave into this, then I would lose my power and my mind. I gasped. This was too terrible. How could I resist this when I wanted it so badly? What had they done to me? “Sorry. It’s just that you look so good to me right now.”
He brushed my hair back from my face. “You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”
I wanted to cry. “Those bastards. They made it so hard.”
“It’s just the pill,” he said. “I don’t really want you like this. Not chained up in the woods like we’re animals.”
“I meant they made it difficult,” I said.
“Oh,” he said.
“Not that you aren’t... you know, really... hard.”
He flinched.
“Maybe we should... walk away from each other.”
“Good idea.”
We both stalked to opposite sides of the altar. The chains held us so that we couldn’t get very far away. I peered out into the darkness. “If we don’t look at each other, maybe we can hold out.” I wrapped my arms around my chest, covering my breasts.
“Yeah,” he said.
We were quiet.
“Are you cold?” he said. “I could give you my robe.”
“I’m not cold,” I said. “It would be better if we didn’t get close again.”
“Good point,” he said.
The sky was dark above us. The clouds were churning, like another storm was rolling in. I thought of the other storms in the past few months. The one the night I’d run to Carter’s porch. The way he’d kissed me there, pressed against that pillar, feeling his lips on mine for the first time. And the second storm, the night we’d made love. I remembered the tenderness in his voice when he’d spoken to me. I remembered the way it had felt when he moved in me. He fit me so perfectly, and—
“Kissing isn’t doing it, you know,” I said. “Maybe we could kiss.”
“We’d be playing with fire,” he said.
I turned around.
He’d been staring at my bare back, my naked ass.
I dropped my arms, revealing my breasts to him.
He groaned.
I took a step towards him.
“Don’t.” His voice was labored.
I took another step.
And then we were on each other again. He lifted me, setting me up on the altar, his lips finding mine. I wrapped my legs around him, pressing my body against him.
He flinched back, keeping his shaft away from me.
I touched it. Stroked it.
He sighed. “You shouldn’t.”
I ran my other hand over his shoulder. “I know. I don’t know if I can stop.”
He lowered his mouth to my breast, seeking out my nipple.
I moaned as he began to suckle it. As his hand cupped my other breast, his thumb rubbing against that nipple. Pleasure rippled through my body.
“No.” He pulled away from me. “I can’t do this, Teagan. If we do this, you’ll be gone. And I don’t want to even imagine life without you.”
“I know,” I said. “I don’t want to give your stupid society their power. But they’ve done something to me, Carter. And I can’t fight it. I’ve never been able to fight it. I’ve dreamed about you, about this moment, here, on this dais.” Because this was my dream. This was the place. He was even dressed properly. “And ever since I got here, I haven’t been able to stay away from you.”
“I know,” he said. “I know.” He kissed me again.
His tongue was bliss. I clung to him, my body eagerly pushing at him.
This was what had happened to my mother, I supposed.
I thought of her, of the way she’d said goodbye to me, her admonishment to use birth control. Had she known this was going to happen to me?
Carter kissed a fiery trail of kisses down my neck and chest, his mouth finding my breasts again.
I moaned, throwing my head back, writhing under his lips.
But there was something else she’d said. Something—
I bolted up straight, pushing Carter off me. “Holy shit.”
He’d landed on his bad ankle. He winced.
“My mother told me that what is given is always more powerful than what is stolen.”
“What?” He was confused. He limped back to the altar.
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