Savannah's Sacrifice

Chase stared with growing unease at the narrow causeway that stretched out across the churning waters of the small bay. Lined on either side by a sloping buffer of massive rocks and broken stones, it connected the moors to the castle and appeared to be the only way in or out. The castle itself was a marvel of masonry, a part of the earth that clung to the cliff's where it had clearly been chiseled and birthed from the massive slabs of slate and gray. It jutted out high above the ocean below, and as the thick fog swirled and dispersed he could see the grand waterfall that spilled out just below the castle itself, as if the belly of the beast had lowered its fly to piss on the world.

A whisper of dreadful premonition teased at the corners of his mind.

Turn back, it whispered, run while you can.

"Maybe this isn't such a good idea," Crissy said quietly, echoing his thoughts

.

"Yeah, maybe you're right for once," he muttered in agreement.

In the penetrating darkness outside, a shrill, inhuman scream pierced the night and Crissy cried out in response.

"For God's sake, get us out of here!" she said as she felt tears threatening. She had never felt so afraid in her life, suddenly aware of the crippling blackness that seemed to reach out for them from the unearthly architecture that continued to rise up out of the earth like some great, angry God.

Another screeching cry ripped through the madness of the storm, closer this time, louder.

Bigger.

"Chase..." she urged as he struggled with the gear shift, her eyes struggling to see through the sheets of rain that poured down from the sky.

"Shut up!" he yelled back, sweat beading along his upper lip as he swore and tried again to put the car in gear.

And then it was upon them, whatever it was, crashing into the car with a solid hit that made Crissy scream and immediately scramble for the floorboard.

Another unholy shrill raged from outside and the car was struck again, this time lifting off its side and tipping dangerously before the car righted itself again. Without waiting for another attack, Chase gave up on finding reverse and slammed the gear into first. The car groaned and then responded as it shot out across the causeway, and Chase gripped the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white, all the while his heart racing, body shaking as he tried to shut out the muted sound of Crissy's 'oh shit oh shit oh shit!' from the floorboard where she cowered.

The car's wheels slipped and skidded along the slickened asphalt, several times coming dangerously close to the edge before he managed to get the vehicle under control once more. His nuts began to shrivel and he was sure he'd heard his asshole whistle out a protesting pucker when he struggled not to literally shit himself as fear threatened to momentarily cripple him. But then he noticed the monstrous cries starting to grow faint and lonely in the night as he put distance between them and the mainland, and he muttered a quiet thank you to no one in particular when he realized that whatever the hell that had been, it had chosen NOT to follow them across the causeway and towards that God Damned castle that now stared at him in triumph.

Of course, fuck it all, but he couldn't decide if that was a good thing, or a bad thing.

"Hey, you can get up now. Whatever that was, it's gone."

Crissy looked up at him, her thin, stringy hair damp and clinging to her skin from where she had been crying. Her face now look pinched and blotched as she swiped at her eyes with the back of her hand, and he realized for the first time just how unattractive she really was. With shaking legs she eased up into the seat, then slowly turned to look over her shoulder at the road as it slowly stretched out behind them.

"What do you think it was?" she asked, her voice small.

Chase shrugged, working to shake off his nerves as he laughed, but the sound of it came out high-pitched and squeaky.

"Maybe it was Nessie's cousin," he joked with a sneer, and she gave a half-hearted chuckle.

"Fog's rollin' in," she muttered quietly after a moment, her voice growing tight once more.

She watched wide eyed as thick, pulsing drops of moisture coalesced to form writhing fingers that appeared knotted and misshapen, and she felt her heart begin to race with fear once more. They crept slowly up over the road, lengthening tendrils that urged them forward as they licked along the underbelly of the car to cling like a jilted lover. Coming closer to the massive cliffs of what they could now see was an isolated island, thickly-canopied trees began to rise up out of the earth and line the road where the causeway ended and solid land took hold once more. They were ancient and massive, their great branches intertwined within one another as they reached across the paved roadway to connect, forming a tunnel of sorts that did little to keep the rain from it's continued assault against the thin roof of the car. She could feel the gradual incline of the road as they left the causeway completely, though the thick trunks and massive foliage did an excellent job of making it impossible to see just how the road wound and twisted up towards their waiting host.

From the backseat Savannah moaned once more, blissfully ignorant to the world around her for a time as she only teased with awareness before lapsing back into a fitful sleep. Crissy frowned down at her then turned back around to stare out ahead of them once more.

"She looks really bad, Chase. I think she's running a fever."

"You always worry too much Crissy." He was now hunched over the steering wheel, creeping along as the towering foliage continued to close in around them, making him feel as if they were being swallowed whole by some great, massive beast.

"Seriously, look at her -- she can't stop shivering and --"

"Shut up, you dumb cunt!" he screamed at her in frustration, and she clamped her mouth closed tight. She knew what he was capable of and -- despite her obvious inability to stop poking the bear -- she really did not cherish the idea of having the shit beat out of her again tonight.

She folded her arms over her flat chest and focused her attention outside instead, watching the macabre dance of limbs and branches as the storm tried desperately to separate the trees from the earth. But their roots ran deep, and the massive trunks simply turned defiantly into the lashing wind and stinging pellets of sea and ice, standing tirelessly strong as they encircled the outer perimeter of the Castle and it's grounds. Another lick of lightening against the sky and they came abruptly upon a tall, wrought iron gate, it's pointed spikes reaching up towards the night to reach elusively for the stars.

A massive crest rested securely within the center of the gate and each of them studied it in turn, unsure what to think. It was the body of a winged beast, clearly male as evidenced by the erect member that jutted out before it like a massive weapon. Muscles appeared to ripple along the painted surface of its skin, given life by the flashes of lightening that played with shadow and color. On its shoulders was a mortal head, the man's features indistinct but with eyes glowing red as they peered out of an ill-defined face. It was hauntingly sensual, foreboding and dark, and they both studied it transfixed, amazed at the way the creature seemed so real. So alive.

Was that what had come for them, Chase wondered, then smirked at the absurdity of such a thought.

"What is this place?" Crissy whispered, her voice raspy and dry. As if in response to her question, the gate began to moan and grind before slowly swinging inward on massive hinges. "Ok, on a scale of 1 to 10, I give this place a creep-out factor of about 96," she said, a slight shrill to her voice. "Let's just get the hell out of here."

"And go where?" Chase snapped, eyes wide as he stared at the yawning space before them. He could feel the pull of this place as well, something hidden and unknown that called to him like a siren's song to make his head feel thick and his body grow tight and hard with need. "If you want to go back out there with whatever the hell that fucking thing was, well you go right ahead. Me, I'm going to see about a nice dry bed to wait out this storm."

They stared at each other for a minute, eyes locked in a silent battle of wills, and when she remained in the car he snorted with contempt and began to slowly ease through the open gates and into the darkness beyond.

~~~~

Crissy hummed softly to herself as the tub continued to fill with hot water, resting her head along the curved lip of the smooth edge and allowing the joint she'd just smoked to help ease the remaining tension from her overly tight muscles.

Talk about a head fuck, she thought again. When they'd come through the main gates, it had been like driving into another world, ethereal and unstable as if the whole place might dissipate and fade with the slightest gust of reality. But then the castle was there, imposing and massive, its stone walls towering high overhead, its turrets disappearing into the clouds above. On closer inspection, It looked both old and new to her, and she was struck with the thought that it was meant to be quaintly ancient in a new sort of way. Surreal, she mused, as if they had stumbled onto some 1940's, Bella Lugosi movie set.

Thank God, she had thought at the time, when they had finally come to the front of the castle and discovered a large, covered drive that took them directly to the front door and blissfully away from the torrential downpour or rain. Well, front doors, she mentally corrected, two massive oak doors that had opened with a disturbing quietness as Chase had killed the engine. And then she had been there -- Elvyra, Crissy had joked with Chase in an attempt to ease both their nerves. Though in truth, while she had appeared ghostly and undead, she had also been hauntingly beautiful and Crissy had felt an odd pull inside of her at the sound of the woman's voice.

"Welcome to Yardly Manor," she had said with a slight bow as she ushered them inside. "I am Nexia. Please come out of the storm. It is a miracle you did not lose yourselves coming across the causeway on such a night." Her voice was placid and serene, and Crissy had been immediately captivated by the hypnotic quality of her words. She and Chase had come eagerly inside, dragging Savannah between them like a drunken companion.

"Does your friend require medical attention?" Nexia asked, frowning in concern.

"No, she's fine. Just tied one on is all," Chase quipped with a smile, his lie making him shift his weight nervously.

"Very well," Nexia said after a long pause. "Please, follow me."

Crissy had not been overly impressed as she and Chase had followed along; in truth, all around had carried with it that same, odd, flat feeling of nothingness. The entryway had been massive, with a floor of polished black marble and walls paneled in rich, dark wood, yet their voices made no echo within the cavernous front parlor. Several tapestries hung about, heavy fabrics with intricate scenes of foxhunts and rolling vineyards, and in the midst of it all a grand staircase that led up several feet before wrapping around the curved column of one grand corner turret and disappearing completely. It was as if every King Arthur movie she'd watched as a kid had allowed their castles to blend and meld together into one complete masterpiece that was so authentic it left no doubt that it wasn't.

Still, the very realness of it was unsettling and she had been forced to wonder if -- again -- perhaps the storm and the beast might not have been the safer choice.

She had not had any time at all to mull this truth over before the entryway had erupted into a flurry of activity. As if from nowhere, 6 dwarves had appeared. No, dwarves had not been right, she thought -- more like -- small humans. Everything, from the top of their heads to the tips of their toes, had been in perfect proportion. None of them had stood over 3 feet tall, she was sure, and yet each had appeared as normal men and woman, perfectly scaled down models of full grown adults. They had quickly and efficiently separated them all -- two females coming to wrapped almost solicitously around Chase and begin moving him off down the hallway amid his half-hearted protests (always the horny little fucker, she'd thought at the time) and two males to do the same in turn to her. Two others, male or female she had not been sure, had taken Savannah from them and disappeared with their bizarre hostesses, again leaving Crissy with a cold sense of foreboding as she was tugged towards the massive stairway and up into the waiting rooms above.

The men had been in turn gentle and yet oddly anxious as they had chatted softly along the way. One walked before her with a lighted torch and one behind, and she could feel his eyes upon her in a way that made her feel exposed and uncertain. They were each handsome men despite their smallish size, with smooth, bronzed skin, hairless except for the sleek, black hair that fell in tapered layers along their face and shoulders before coming to meet in a small knot at their neck. From there it trailed down their backs in a silken, braided rope of remaining strands that teased and swayed along the powerful curve of their waists, accentuating powerful muscles that seemed to ripple and swell with the building power of the storm outside.

They wore only simple leather loincloths of richly tanned suede and leather, and she found this both odd and arousing, a look that for her was reminiscent of Conan's wardrobe, complete with soft leather boots that covered their feet and wound smooth and tight up around strong, powerful calves. Watching the one walk before her and captivated by the intensely handsome beauty of him from behind, she was struck with the irony of how he must feel the same raw attraction from her that she felt wash around her from his friend behind.

"Is this some sort of hotel?" Crissy asked, feeling the need to fill the quietness around her with sound if only to break her somewhat hypnotic trance as she allowed them to lead her God only knew where.

The one in front turned back to smile at her, piercing blue eyes dancing with hidden secrets as full, sensual lips curved into a teasing smile.

"I suppose you could call it such," he said after a moment. His voice was rich and deep, a honeyed baritone of erotic sounds that made her stomach clench and her center grow wet. He held her eyes a moment longer then turned and resumed his climb once more.

"Well, you must serve a very odd clientele to attract them to the edge of nowhere like this," she quipped. He only shrugged, and she was hit with the compelling need to run her fingers along the masculine curve of his shoulder. What the hell?? she chided herself, shaking her head as if to free it from the clutches of some unknown narcotic.

"Odd is a relative term, don't you think?" the one questioned from behind, his voice equally smooth and enticing.

"I suppose," she echoed uncertainly.

They paused for a moment and she realized they had come to another massive oak door, this one standing well over 6 feet tall itself. At the top was a crescent shaped opening covered with metal bars and she was struck with how it looked more like a prison cell door than a bedroom door. She was about to protest when the door was pushed in and she was ushered into a room that was anything BUT the dark, dank dirtiness of what she had been certain was about to become her prison. The floors were covered by a deep, plush carpet of the most sinfully rich, red color she'd ever seen, and all about was handsomely upholstered furniture that boasted golden inlays of intricate patterns within massive mahogany frames, all covered with thick, plush cushions. Cleary this was the sitting room, the furniture lazily arranged around a massive stone hearth where a fire currently blazed and licked against the centuries-old polished stone, and lending warmth and comfort to the room.

"Just beyond is the bedroom and a private bath," said number one, as she'd come to think of him since they'd offered no names. He turned to nod at number two, who immediately disappeared into the bedroom doorway beyond. "A hot bath will be drawn, and you'll find clean towels and linens. We'll return shortly with warmed wine and cheese to ease your hunger until dinner is served, along with dry clothes for you to wear while your things are washed and dried." These were more orders than offers of hospitality even though spoken in gentle tones that bordered on seduction, but she was too tired to care, and nodded gratefully.

"Thank you," she said, and he bowed slightly once more before number two joined him and they both left quietly through the large door, closing it firmly behind them. After waiting several moments she went to try the door, certain she'd find herself locked within, but it opened easily albeit heavy because of its size, and again queerly quiet, making no sound of protest when its massive hinges turned. With a nervous laugh she had closed the door, and without another thought went straight for the bathroom, barely pausing to appreciate the bedroom and its equally opulent furnishings before peeling away her clothes and sliding into the large, oddly modern spa tub.

By the time she reached forward to turn off the water, the deep tub was completely full and the room filled with steam. She laid back and allowed her body to float gently, feeling her small breasts bob and push her tiny nipples above the surface of the water. What a magnificent place, she mused, a hideaway for the rich that she and Chase had stumbled upon, and she giggled at the thought of having at least one night out of her miserable life where she would at last get a taste of the lifestyle she had always felt she deserved.

She wasn't certain how long she'd soaked like that, and she was startled to find herself coming awake when she hadn't realized she'd fallen asleep. But something here was different, and it took her a moment to realize that this was the same bath and yet it wasn't, as if the edges of substance were wavering slightly to give a watercolor quality to everything around her. Dreamlike, she thought, and as the quiet sounds of lyrical music began to entice from the bedroom she actually smiled, certain now this had to be a dream.

And then they were both there, her escorts from earlier, and she was struck with how odd it was to find that she felt no shame as she allowed them to help her from the tub and then wrap thick, warmed towels around her. She felt herself begin to shiver as they started to slowly pat her dry, smoothing the velvety softness of the towels along her skin with maddening slowness as they worked. Neither of them spoke, but their hands worked in unison as they stroked and then began to probe her more private areas, easing her legs apart and again patting her dry as if doing this were the most natural thing in the world and she should feel no need to turn away.

She felt number two press against her for a moment from behind, and then she was urged back towards the bedroom once more.

"May we touch you?" Number one asked, and even though she knew she should say no, how could she, when she could feel the heat of their eyes upon her and know the fullness of their desire. No man -- certainly not Chase -- had ever looked at her in that way and she could no more refuse them than she could stop breathing.

"Yes," she whispered, and in a rush they were upon her so that she cried out with shock as they carried her quickly towards the bed.

She fell back into the softness and immediately succumbed to hungry, seeking lips that began to nibble and suck along her neck and shoulders. She gasped aloud when two sets of mouths moved over her small, rounded mounds to seek out their own puckered nipple, teeth scraping and lips tugging as each of the men suckled, squeezed and moaned against her skin. Her eyelids grew heavy and drooped over her eyes of their own accord, and she could do little more than lie back and allow these two oddly smallish men to lick, nibble, suck and tease to their hearts contents. Their hands felt peculiar in their size as they caressed and aroused with strength and confidence. Between her legs they sought and probed, gently spreading her swollen folds and sliding what felt like a symphony of fingers within, stroking and filling, meeting and working together to massage her g-spot and stroke her eager clit.