Eyholder Demoness

Charity was sitting in her office at work when her boss, Perit, and her lawyer, Metolius walked into her office.

"How are you doing, Charity?" Perit asked.

"Good... What are you guys doing? You are making me nervous," Charity replied.

"Where is Hope?" Metolius asked.

"Uh... she's at home... at my home, that is," Charity replied.

"You just leave her there by herself?" Metolius asked.

"Yeah... she doesn't really like to go out... She doesn't like to wear clothes... Clothes snag on some of her... uh... decorations..." Charity folded her arms across her chest. "What do you all want? You look like you must want something."

"We were..." Perit started, "Metolius and I were talking with Detective Tumalo and we have, sort of, come to the conclusion that it might be best if Hope moves back into the asylum."

"What? No!" Charity said angrily. "You can't lock her up in that place. She doesn't belong there. She's doing great where she is right now. She's safe and she's learning English and I'm learning about her."

"Well..." Perit said, "here's how it was explained to us..." She looked at Metolius for a second.

"Oh!" Metolius said. "Yes... With Tam's assault case and the Ash Adams abduction, the best possible source of information... the best link... is Hope. Tumalo says that the Feds want to take over the questioning... the investigation... with Hope."

"What about me? That's what I'm working on!" Charity said. "I'm the only one that she has opened up to. She trusts me."

"Ok," Perit said, holding her hands up. "We agree, but it seems that Tumalo thinks that Hope needs to be... uh... in a more stable environment."

"What?!"

"And with Blue being missing and all the troubles with that, Tumalo thinks it's best to take custody of Hope, so you can, you know, focus on dealing with that."

"What Perit is trying to say," Metolius jumped in, "is that Tumalo thinks that the two of you together is a bad thing. Both of you are now 'persons of interest'."

"Grrr..." Charity said, turning red. "What a lo... a pile of fucking..."

"We have come to you," Perit explained, pointing between Metolius and herself, "hoping that she, uh Hope, would come in voluntarily. Otherwise, Tumalo is considering getting a court order. It could be ugly... for you..."

"Come on, Perit! You know me! You know this is bad for Hope!"

"Under normal circumstances, it would not be what I would recommend, but... You have less than a week before they show up at your house with a team. So coming in voluntarily is the best thing for Hope, right now..."

<>--+-

Charity sat in her kitchen, despondent. She didn't know how she was going to tell Hope that she would be taken back to the asylum.

For her part, Hope seemed preoccupied by the spice cabinet. She was systematically opening each bottle and smelling the contents. She had a habit of talking quietly to herself when she was concentrating on something. The pops and clicks of her language added a rhythm to the soft melody of her voice. Charity found it relaxing to listen to - in a way, it was hypnotizing.

Charity snapped out of her trance to find Hope gently pulling at her arm. Hope was pointing out the window.

"Moo," Hope said.

Charity looked out and saw a gibbous moon beyond the tips of the fir trees. "Oh... Moonnnn," Charity said, emphasizing the 'n' sound. "Otherwise you sound like a cow. Moooonnnn."

"Moo - nuh," Hope responded, still pulling at Charity's arm. "Thorhina(click)."

"Ok, Ok! You want me to get up," Charity said. She realized that Hope had a liquid measuring cup and a rubber spatula. She had been using the base of the spatula as a pestle and mashed some spices into a thick green paste. Apparently, she was still hunting for something more.

Hope pulled Charity by her hand to the back door of the house. The backyard was fairly private. No neighbor would likely see a naked, decorated woman in the small clearing back there. Charity opened the door to the chilly night air. Hope pulled Charity out the door.

Hope pointed at the ground, "Sih!" And she pressed on Charity's shoulders.

Charity sat down on a soft bed of fallen evergreen needles. Hope pushed the measuring cup into Charity's hands, then began moving around the yard touching trees and occasionally bending to pick at things on the ground. Eventually she returned with a collection of fir, some moss, a handful of mushy peat. She sat down next to Charity and dumped everything into the measuring cup. She snatched the spatula up and began mixing and grinding everything together.

Charity sat, shivering a little in the cold, but mostly just amused. "I hope that you don't plan on eating that."

Hope grabbed Charity's hand and pulled her forefinger up to her lips.

"Ow!!" Charity said. Hope had impaled Charity's finger on one of the spikes in her lips. A small drop of blood beaded on the skin and Hope shook Charity's finger until it dripped down into the cup.

Hope mixed the cup some more as Charity sucked on her wounded finger. After a minute, Hope carried the cup into the center of the clearing where the light of the moon shone down through the Douglas firs. She set it on the ground and then returned to Charity, pulling her to her feet.

Hope tugged at Charity's sleeve and then made a motion that seemed to clearly indicate she wanted Charity to take it off.

"It's cold out here," Charity said, but Hope was insistent. Charity's sweatshirt fell to the ground and Hope began to point to Charity's bra. Charity held her upper body and gave an exaggerated shiver. "It's cold out here!"

Hope let out an impatient sigh and pointed between herself and Charity. "Thith-uhth. Moo. Moo-nuh." She made a circling motion and pointed to where the measuring cup sat. Then she set out moving around the clearing pounding her bare feet on the ground. The chains embedded in her flesh began rattling out a rhythm as Hope twisted and turned a couple of circles. All the lapis gems bounced around sparkling blue in the moonlight. It was an amazing site and Charity couldn't help but be mesmerized by Hope's beauty.

After a couple of turns around the clearing, Hope stopped in front of Charity and pointed to her bra again.

"Ok! Ok!" Charity said, unfastening the back. Hope was already gently tugging at Charity's pants by the time the bra hit the ground. A minute later, Charity was dancing around the clearing wearing only her chastity belt. Trying to follow Hope's steps, giggling and trying to move like Hope.

Hope started to sing a song in her language. The pops and clicks of the words helped Charity find the right rhythm to move her feet. After a few more passes around the clearing Hope stopped again. She pointed at Charity's mouth. "Mi-ah(tock)oo-nah! Mi-ah(tock)oo-nah!"

Charity tried to imitate Hope. She felt a little shy though. Hope rolled her blue eyes. "No!" She pointed to her ear and moved through the phrase more slowly emphasizing the notes for each syllable - making the (tock) sound distinct and loud. Charity picked it up again with a bit more enthusiasm. After all this time teaching Hope English there was something beautiful and fun to have Hope teach her something. "Mi-ah(tock)oo-nah! Mi-ah(tock)oo-nah," they sang together.

Hope stopped singing, but signaled for Charity to continue. After a couple more rounds, Hope started singing something different, but complementary creating a more complicated rhythm and a beautiful harmony. Hope took Charity's hands and they started dancing around through the moonlight again - Hope's chains ringing in time with their movements.

Charity let herself be swept along, directed by Hope. Emotion swelled in her chest. She was participating in some sort of ritual with Hope which was so beautiful and physical and exhilarating.

Charity had always thought that Hope was a victim of some deranged artist - tattooed and pierced non-consensually, like Tam had been. She thought that perhaps it had been something done to her recently. But, that could not be. The way Hope moved... The way the chains rang out precisely in the rhythm of their dance... The way the jewels sparkled all around Hope's body... She was not a victim of these modifications. These were her tools. Maybe she was some sort of shaman for her people. Maybe her decorations were a symbol of her status.

Charity realized that Hope had let go of her hands. She opened her eyes and saw Hope dancing around with her, singing. The entire clearing seemed to be awash in the blue glow. At one point Charity looked down at her own body. The chastity belt seemed to reflect the bluish glow. The upside down 'Y' design engraved on the faceplate even seemed to contribute its own gentle luminescence.

As Charity twisted and spun in the moonlight she thought she saw a brief flash behind her, then another. She turned and looked to the measuring cup set in the middle of the clearing. Another flash. A blue flame briefly burst from the mouth of the cup.

Charity's voice dropped off and she slowly stopped moving. She focused on the cup. It was just a plain measuring cup with a lump of detritus once again. Charity shook her head and looked up towards Hope. She was on the other side of the clearing. She had also stopped dancing and stood with her arms outstretched. The chains from her arms hung down and glowed blue in the moonlight - never more like wings than right now. Hope was looking up towards the moon. Her blue eyes seemed to glow. Blue light flashed all around her body.

The jewels hanging from her chin, the rings of metal embedded in her breasts, the chain hanging from her navel with its swinging thimble - all were glowing.

Charity walked across the clearing to where Hope stood. She placed one hand at Hope's waist and another on her cheek. She stared at Hope's lips, lit blue by the spikes growing from them. "How cruel is this world", Charity thought as she gazed at Hope's lips, so badly did she want to kiss them. Hope's lips bowed into a big smile and Charity turned her gaze to Hope's eyes. She pulled Hope's head towards her own and kissed her high on her cheek - a small chain bisecting her pursed lips.

"It's not fair," Charity said and she kissed the other side of Hope's face.

Suddenly, she felt dumb for having been swept up in so much emotion. She couldn't kiss Hope. She couldn't even properly hug Hope without being lacerated by spikes. "I'm sorry," Charity said.

Hope placed a hand over Charity's where it rested on her face. She reached out her other hand and gently placed it on Charity naked breast and they stood, looking at each other for a moment.

"We... uh... should go inside before we freeze out here..." Charity said at last. She turned and headed back through the back door, hand in hand.

They went to the kitchen and Charity started to make hot chocolate (which Hope seemed to love with a particular zeal). "What does it mean?" Charity asked, trying to break the silence, even though she knew the words made no sense to Hope. "Mi-ah(tock)oo-nah?" Charity said and shrugged her shoulders. "What is Mi-ah(tock)oo-nah?"

Hope pointed to her heart and then made a motion like an explosion with her hands and fingers.

"A heart attack? Spontaneous combustion?" Charity asked.

Hope stepped up to the refrigerator and pointed to a photo of Blue. Then she touched Charity's naked breast above her heart. "Mi-ah(tock)oo-nah," she said.

Hope looked down at the floor for a second, then looked up at Charity again. She touched her breast over her heart. She said some words quietly. Then she reached out and placed her hand over Charity's heart. She looked up into Charity's eyes. "Mi-ah(tock)oo-nah," she whispered.

Charity stared back into Hope's eyes for a moment, searching. "Me too," she whispered. "I think."

<>--+-

Later that night, they lay together in Charity's bed - Hope on her back, Charity propped up beside her. She was lightly drawing lines up and down Hope's torso. Touching places where it was safe to touch.

"I wish that I could touch you," Charity said. "I guess that we really are sisters though. Untouchable sisters. You are so beautiful. Your lips, your breasts. They way your body curves and swells. Your soft skin. So beautiful. So dangerous." She bent over and kissed a spot on Hope's abdomen forcing the woman to giggle softly.

Charity looked into Hope's eyes, smiling: "If I could touch you... Mi-ah(tock)oo-nah," Charity pointed at Hope's crotch and mimicked the hand explosion gesture that Hope had used earlier, causing Hope to laugh again.

A serious look came over Hope's face. She took Charity's hand in hers and singled out the forefinger that had been pricked earlier in the evening. With her other hand, Hope collected the chain that dangled from piercings around her navel. She found the thimble at the end of the chain and held the opening towards Charity's forefinger. She slowly pushed Charity's forefinger into the thimble. Then she pushed Charity's hand down toward her crotch. She pushed Charity's thimbled finger into the forest of spikes arrayed at the top of her vagina. She pressed down until it rested on her clitoris and she moaned quietly. She jiggled Charity's finger a little.

Charity smiled and took over control of the manipulation of the thimble as it manipulated Hope's clit, watching Hope's face for evidence of how well she liked each different move.

Hope sang again that night, but this time it was Charity who was leading, and the tune of ecstatic moans apparently was universal.

<>--+-

"There's something that I have to tell you," Blue said in the voice message that Charity received the next day. "I feel awful. I had no idea that something like this could happen. How could I have?

"But it has and I am to blame for all your suffering...

"We were having fun, weren't we? Tease and denial. You said that you enjoyed it. You said that the orgasms you had with me were the best that you ever had. You said that you liked playing with the chastity belt. You said you liked it when I wore this fucking collar with the key. You said it was like you had control over me too. We were sharing your erotic torture. And I enjoyed that too. We were made for each other.

"But, I lied about one thing... I didn't think it would matter... But, I lied... And I've been locked in this room forever and it feels like we may never see each other again... And this lie hangs, locked around my neck. Maybe if I ask forgiveness...

"I have to tell you this so that you understand why... why you must do as I have demanded...

"I told you that I had the chastity belt made for you. I actually have no idea who the manufacturer is, or where the belt was made, or how... I found it when I went on an expedition to Southern France before we were even dating. Not in a store or anything... I found it on the dig.

"We were looking through artifacts from the 1500s when I found the belt and the collar. There were two skeletons buried in a single unmarked grave. Two women had been buried together, face to face - one in the collar, the other in the belt.

"A number of tombs were found in the same area. Evidence suggests that all the bodies were those of accused witches, who tended to be buried alive.

"Well... I stole the belt and the collar... I never told anyone what I had found...

"I ran some experiments on the materials when I got back home... The belt and collar are even older than the 1500s. Older even than Christianity. The Egyptian pyramids were built about 4500 years ago, Stonehenge - about 5000 years. The belt and collar are older than both.

"...and there's more...unfortunately, it's even worse..."