Ch. 02 - The Club
Sylla drove past the mostly empty lot twice before finally pulling in and parking. The address was correct, but there was nothing here. She climbed out of her Mustang and looked around, wondering at the purpose of Samael's deceit. The parking lot was the overflow for an unpopular movie theater with not a single distinguishing feature except a solitary blue door in the center of a white wall behind the cinema. Curious, Sylla approached the door. There was no door handle, but the number 13169 was stenciled neatly above the frame. Feeling slightly foolish, she knocked on the door, but it was so thick it produced almost no sound. She looked around for a buzzer and discovered a small rectangular slit where a door bell would normally be located.
A knot of excitement formed in the pit of her stomach as she dug through her purse until she found the device Samael had given her. There was something strange and mysterious about the entire scenario. For the first time in her life, Sylla felt as though she were embarking on some real adventure. She slipped the key into the slot and was rewarded by a subdued click. The door swung open revealing a dimly lit stairway descending into the unknown. Classical music drifted out to her from deeper within. Sylla took a deep, steadying breath and stepped inside.
At the bottom of the stairs stood a petite Asian girl wearing a highly revealing cocktail waitress uniform. The plunging neckline only barely contained the young woman's large, round breasts. The skirt was so short as to reveal her entire ass should she bend over even slightly. Sylla looked with mild disdain from the girl's obviously artificially-enhanced tits to her face, judging the girl's age to be barely 21. She was cute, but Sylla felt disappointed. She had expected much more from the woman Samael considered her better.
"Are you...Annie?" Sylla asked, a chill in her voice.
The girl bowed her head slightly, her eyes never rising to meet Sylla's. "No, Mistress Sylla. I'm Anika," she answered submissively. "Mistress Annie is expecting you. I will take you to her directly, unless you desire anything else first."
Sylla wondered if this was some sort of S&M club with all the 'Mistress Sylla' and 'Mistress Annie' nonsense. Sylla didn't mind a little S&M, but in general, she didn't have any real use for sex toys, bondage, or feigned domination. There was nothing any device could do that she couldn't do better herself. And she never had any problem dominating her lovers. Sylla decided to test the waters. "Yes, Anika. I desire you to eat my pussy."
Anika dropped instantly to her knees, replying, "As you wish, Mistress Sylla."
Sylla laughed and waved the young girl back. "Maybe later, Anika. How about you just show me to your
Mistress
Annie?"
Anika rose smoothly, as though nothing out of the ordinary had transpired. "Yes, Mistress Sylla. Please follow me."
Sylla followed the girl down a short corridor which emptied into a lounge of sorts. A number of empty couches filled the room, separated by thin partitions, lending each some small amount of privacy. A pair of women sat close together on one of the couches, speaking to each other in low tones over glasses of wine and paying no attention to Sylla and Anika's passing. The entire far end of the room was a long, well-stocked bar. A lone, female bartender watched Sylla walk by while extracting the cork from a bottle of wine. She was tall and thin, with strawberry blonde hair pulled straight back into a long ponytail. She wore a sleeveless tuxedo shirt open at the neck. Sylla's hopes sank a bit lower. An all-female S&M club was even less interesting to her.
Beyond the couches, a spiral staircase descended into darkness. Sylla followed Anika down the stairs, admiring the young woman's figure despite herself. She was certain that Anika's uniform did not include panties and briefly considered taking advantage of the girl in the middle of the stairway, just to confirm her theory. But she was too interested in meeting 'Mistress' Annie to delay any further.
At the base of the stairs, Anika led Sylla down a long hallway lined with paintings on the left side. Opposite the paintings were a series of closed doors. Anika came to a stop at the third door, knocked quietly, and then slid the door open.
The room was small, but not confining. A deeply cushioned sofa sat in the center of the room. Tasteful art hung on the walls. But Sylla's attention was focused solely upon the woman walking towards her, smiling. Annie was not at all what Sylla had expected. She was young, not much older than Anika, by Sylla's estimation. She was shorter than Sylla by several inches with short, spiky blonde hair. She was barefoot and dressed very casually in a tight T-shirt and jeans. She wore thin gold loops through her left nostril and eyebrow. Her arms were covered in intricate tattoos, which continued past the collar of her T-shirt up the sides of her neck.
Annie hugged Sylla and gave her a peck on the cheek, which Sylla accepted stiffly. "I'm so glad you came," Annie burst out, pulling Sylla by the hand to the couch. "Bring us some wine, Anika. And then give us some privacy. We have a lot to discuss." Annie sank into the couch and lounged comfortably. Sylla sat next to her, facing her warily. Annie had a classic girl-next-door face, complete with dimples, blue eyes, and an innocent smile.
"I know you have a lot of questions," Annie prompted. "Where would you like to start?"
Annie's friendliness seemed genuine, but Sylla could not forget the insult she had suffered from Samael.
Could this bit of fluff actually be better than me?
Sylla wondered.
Impossible!
"What is this place?" Sylla asked, choosing a safe and obvious question.
"This is The Club," Annie answered simply, somehow implying the gravity inherent in the name. When Sylla didn't respond, Annie continued. "There are thirty-three Members. You'll make thirty-four when you accept the invitation."
"I didn't receive an invitation to join any club."
"This isn't just
any
club. And you received the invitation when Samael gave you the key. He was your test. And you passed." Annie favored Sylla with a mischievous smile. "I wish I could have seen it. Samael was very upset at having been defeated by you," she confided.
"And what do you do in this club?" Sylla asked.
Annie grinned. "We do lots of things. But what you'll be most interested in are the competitions. They determine your ranking."
"My ranking?"
Annie nodded. "You start out at the bottom. When you defeat someone, you take their rank and they move down one slot. You're thirty-fourth. Assuming you join."
"And how do I join?"
"By accepting my challenge." Annie bit her lower lip as her eyes strayed down Sylla's body.
Sylla leaned back and considered. A club dedicated to sex as a competition was far more enticing. "And when I defeat you, what will my rank be?"
Annie threw her head back and laughed. "Sorry, beautiful. You're not defeating me. But I'm ranked thirty-third currently."
Now it was Sylla's turn to laugh. "So you're dead last. No wonder you're recruiting."
Annie shrugged. "One of the membership requirements is to make or accept a challenge at least once every two months. You can have more, if you like, but that's the minimum. Depending on your rank, you have to accept a challenge from someone lower than you every so often before you can challenge someone above you again, but you don't need to worry about that for a while," Annie explained. "As for me, I'm not ashamed of my loses. I've been defeated by three of the most incredibly sexually talented women you will ever meet. And tonight, I will get my first victory."
"Wait, are all the club members women?" Sylla demanded. "This is just a bunch of lesbians?"
Annie frowned. "I would think that someone of your abilities would understand that women with this much sexual power cannot be labeled as simply gay or straight."
When Sylla reluctantly nodded, Annie continued. "Yes, all the Members are women, but there are plenty of men to entertain you between challenges. You won't be disappointed. We have divided them into five tiers, based upon their abilities," Annie leveled an even look at Sylla. "Samael is in the lowest tier."
Sylla sat up a little straighter. "Seriously?"
Annie's easy smile returned. "Seriously," she assured Sylla. "But you'll have to crack the top twenty-five to enjoy the next tier. Of course, there's nothing stopping you from taking two or three of the Rulers at once to amuse yourself. I highly recommend it."
Sylla raised a skeptical eyebrow. "What is a Ruler?"
"Oh! The men named themselves after orders of angels from mythology," Annie counted them off on her fingers as she listed them. "Thrones, Dominions, Virtues, Powers, and Rulers. Most even took the names of angels, like Samael. They refer to us as devils sometimes. Angels and devils," Annie giggled.
"I see," Sylla mused, wondering how quickly she could climb the ranks to get after the higher tiered 'angels.' "How do you keep track of all this?"
"We have a web site with all the rankings, competitions, Gatherings, and a message board. I actually took over maintaining the site when I joined. All of the competitions are recorded and can be viewed by any Member. Except for competitions between Members ranked in the top ten. Their matches can only be viewed by other top ten Members. If there is a dispute about who won a match, it's decided by a random group of three top ten Members. But that rarely happens."
Sylla looked Annie in the eye. "So, this room has a camera in it?"
Annie nodded in affirmation. "Don't worry, you'll get used to the idea of having an audience."
Sylla laughed. "Oh, some of my best performances have been in front of an audience."
Annie reached out and brushed aside a lock of Sylla's hair, trailing her finger down Sylla's neck. "Well, we'll have to see about that."
