The room was large, with a high ceiling and open beams. The man known as the Artist stood next to a large window, silhouetted against it. He was dressed simply, wearing black trousers and a black shirt. Two large theatrical spotlights were hung in the ceiling beams casting a harsh white light into the room.
The double doors at the end of the room opened. Three figures entered the room. A woman in the centre, whose name was Ellie, looked nervously at the scene as she entered the room. Her eyes darted about the room as she approached the Artist. She was naked and barefoot, save for a length of fabric which covered her throat and then fell across her shoulders, falling down her back to the floor. The two streams of fabric trailed behind her as she walked.
On either side of her two women walked. They had been with her for several hours now, bathing her, fixing her hair, shaving her and painting her nails. Their hands had massaged her body, relaxing her, preparing her for the evening ahead.
The three women moved slowly across the room until they were within an arm's length of the Artist. The two female servants bowed their heads in respect. Ellie held her head high, looking the Artist in the eye. He smiled as their eyes met. He turned his gaze and nodded at the attendants who then withdrew, closing the double doors behind themselves, leaving Ellie and the Artist in the bright light.
The Artist walked around Ellie, looking her up and down. She felt her breathing steady as he moved about, but she still felt very nervous. As he moved behind here she looked at the equipment that was in the room.
A small table, covered with a cloth stood at one side. On the floor in front of her lay a St. Andrew's cross, held slightly off the floor by a set of low trestles. The X shaped cross cast a black shadow beneath it and looked very sinister indeed. She had seen it in the daylight, as the Artist had been building it, but this was the first time she had observed it in the studio. The wooden cross gleamed in the light, its heavily varnished surface seeming to glow.
The Artist took Ellie b the hand and led her to the cross. She sat on the centre of the X and he helped her to lie down on the cross, facing the ceiling. The cross had been built to her exact body shape and as she spread her arms and legs they fell upon the broad wooden arms of the cross.
The Artist began to lash Ellie to the cross, using lengths of braided cotton sash cord. He looped the half inch rope around her limbs, eight turns in all for each lashing, with the lashing secured top and bottom. The cross had been notched in the area of Ellie's wrists and calves and the rope held snugly, with no fear of slipping. Her feet rested comfortably against the footrests, but she could hear her own breath in the quiet of the room as the Artist tied her down, and she could feel herself beginning to sweat. Three turns of the rope around her waist completed the lashing and Ellie could feel herself held snugly against the wooden cross.
Across the top of the cross was an iron rod that served two purposes. First it braced the cross, providing extra support. It also provided the base for a bar of steel that had been bent into a triangular shape. At the top of the triangle was a steel loop about 3" in diameter.
A heavy block and tackle hung from the ceiling. The Artist took the lower wooden pulley block, which was equipped with a hook and put it through the loop at the top of the cross. He pulled on the heavy rope, taking up the slack, and tying it off. He looked down at Ellie's face as he double checked all the rigging. She looked back, waiting. Satisfied everything was in order he untied the haul-up rope.
Lifting his mighty arms above his head he pulled down on the haul up rope and the cross began to lift from the floor. The rigging had been counterweighted, so that even with Ellie's weight added to it the cross moved upwards easily. Ellie felt herself being lifted to an upright position and then she was lifted completely clear of the floor. With the base of the cross about two feet off the floor the Artist stopped pulling and tied the rope off securely.
Ellie was lashed to the now vertical cross, which rotated slowly in the bright light. The high ceiling allowed plenty of clearance for the rigging and Ellie did not pitch forward. Despite her bonds she felt like she was flying as she watched the walls slowly spin around her. The long piece of fabric she wore over her shoulders hung down over the cross, its whiteness contrasting with the dark gleaming wood of the cross.
She sensed a movement next to her. The Artist removed the cloth that covered the small table. A small wooden box, about a foot square and three inches high lay there. He opened it. Ellie was watching him from the corner of her eye as the cross turned slowly on its single heavy rope. The box contained a quantity of small metallic objects, which glinted in the light cast by the spotlights.
The man in black held up one of them. A small u-shaped piece of metal about two inches long, with a screwbolt that stretched across the end. The metal was true iron and had been polished so that it glowed with a silver black colour. These were the Artist's body clamps. A set of twenty...
In addition to the clamps were over fifty heavier pieces. Also iron they had a hook which was designed to fit through the bottom of the u-shaped clamp. The hook divided into a loop, which allowed any number of them to be chained together. Each hook weighed three ounces.
Ellie bit her lip, know what was to come. She closed her eyes and felt the presence of the Artist next to her. His fingers ran over her naked body and she felt a thrill wash through her. How she loved his touch! His fingers stopped and held steady on her left ear.
The first clamp was applied to Ellie's ear lobe and he set the screw snugly. Ellie felt the screw bite into her earlobe, feeling like an oversized ear-ring. She waited as his fingers traced lightly over her body, seeking the next location.
He touched the tip of her nose. Reaching over to the box he took another clamp and applied it to her right nostril. Ellie felt the clamp as it bit into the flesh of her nose, and she could see the glint of the metal just under her eye. The Artist leaned into her and gently kissed her neck.
He touched her arm next, the fingers sliding along her bicep. She felt him pinch the skin and a moment later the clamp bit into the flesh of her arm.. He placed four clamps on her left arm from the shoulder to the elbow.