An Offering Of The Flesh

Bodies entwined... skin sliding against skin... slick with sweat... legs tangling together... hands exploring... lips tasting... moans of pleasure... a whispered voice...

"... Madison... " The room was in near darkness, only the glow from the hearth cast shadows on the wall. Through the sheer drapes of the bed she could see two bodies, locked together in passionate embrace, their movements sensual and rhythmic.

"... Madison... "

The voice called to her, drawing her as surely as the shadowy silhouettes. The woman's cries of passion grew louder, the other voice rising in an almost animalistic growl. Madison crept closer to the bed trying to see through the drapes. She couldn't tell where one body ended and another began, which limb belonged to whom. She could feel the primal heat radiating off their bodies, it washed over her making her own body burn. She reached for the sheers slowly drawing them back so she could see better.

A woman lay on the bed, her breasts bare in the fire's glow, her head thrown back, her eyes shut. Cries of ecstasy came from her open mouth. A figure lay between her thighs, face obscured from view by a thick curtain of hair. The woman's hands were buried in the tangled mass, her hips bucking against the hidden lips and tongue that were bringing her such pleasure. Madison felt herself drawn to the couple, she wanted to feel the woman's breasts in her hands. As she stretched out her hand a deep growl reached her ears. She glanced down into eyes of molten gold, lips curled in a feral grin and a pink tongue slipped out to lick a full bottom lip. Madison recoiled in horror. The face she now gazed into was her own!

Madison sat up in bed gasping for breath.

"... Madison... "

The whispered voice seemed to echo in the room. Madison shook her head and lay back down, pulling the quilt tight around her trembling body. It was the same dream she had had for the past three nights that she had stayed in this house! She had never before dreamed anything like it, had never even considered making love to a woman. It was very unsettling! She closed her eyes and tried to will herself back to sleep, but her body was wide awake.

There was an ache and a warmth between her legs she'd never felt before. Tentatively she reached down and touched the sensible white cotton briefs covering her mound and found them soaking wet. Her light touch set off a need to rub harder, as if only that would make this feeling go away. She closed her eyes, enjoying this forbidden delight. Images from the dream swam through her head. The woman's breasts, nipples so hard, her body contorting, her skin covered in a fine sheen of sweat, the moans... the cries... the voice...

"... Madison... "

Madison froze. It had to be her imagination. The voice sounded so real. Not in her head now, but right there in the room with her.

"Madison... please... help me!"

There was no mistaking it this time. Someone had actually called to her. Madison sat up and looked warily around the room. Being in a strange room, she had left the light on in the closet so that it shone faintly under the door as a sort of guide. But it wasn't bright enough to show her if there was actually someone here. Moving cautiously she reached out and snapped on the lamp. The bedroom was empty.

This was ridiculous! She shouldn't even be here, it went way beyond her job description as Executive Assistant. But she had a difficult time saying no to her boss. Erika Baptist was so imposing, so confident, everything that Madison longed to be herself. When Erika wanted something she did whatever it took to have it. Madison had become uncomfortably aware that one thing Erika wanted was her. Erika always made comments that just bordered on sexual innuendo, she watched Madison in an almost predatory manner. Madison may be naïve, but she wasn't blind. There had been plenty of men who had tried to entice her to bed, one or two who had succeeded, but never a woman. This was the best job she had ever had though, and she didn't want to leave it. So she pretended not to notice, and she tried never to be alone with Erika for too long. Yet here she was, sleeping alone in a house owned by Erika. Having strange dreams and hearing things!

This house was big and drafty and dark, which was probably why Erika wanted to host the company Halloween party here. She had told Madison that the family had owned the house for generations, but no one had lived in it for several years. Cleaners had been hired and had worked on the house for the last week. The decorators had arrived today and the caterers would arrive around noon tomorrow to set up the buffet and the bar.

Erika had put Madison in charge of the operation, which was why she was sleeping here.

Erika had taken great pleasure in telling Madison some story about a great-aunt who had reportedly made a deal with the devil and gone mad. She had been shut away in an upper room to avoid scandal to the family. Her ghost was said to roam the halls still seeking some sort of escape. Erika had winked at Madison and said in a confidential whisper, "She wasn't crazy, she just liked pussy!" Madison had felt herself redden from the roots of her hair down. She hurried out of the room with Erika's chuckle in her ears.

Madison opened the bedroom door and peeked out into the hall. What if there really was someone in the house? This was what happened in all the horror movies. The stupid bimbo with big fake boobs went to investigate a strange sound and got murdered by some crazed lunatic in a hockey mask! But only in the movies, just in the movies. The moaning sound of the wind gave Madison goose-bumps all over her body. She sighed and stepped out into the hall. She'd never get back to sleep if she didn't at least go check the locks on the doors.

At the bend of the hall Madison paused. The moaning wind sound came from the stairs that led up to the third floor. That's where the servant's rooms used to be, nothing but storage and attic space and a few cramped bedrooms. This wing wasn't even going to be open during the party. There was already a rope across the stairs blocking them off. Madison peered up the dark stairwell.

"... Madison... "

The voice was louder this time. Madison was sure that someone actually had to be calling her.

"This isn't funny!" She called up the stairs.

"... Madison... please... help me... "

"I'm going back to bed. Play your little game if you want, just let me sleep!" Madison turned back to the bedroom crossing her arms over her chest. A blast of cold air gusted down from the upper floor and whipped her hair around her face.

"Madison!"

The force of the voice in her mind and in her ears sent Madison reeling against the stair railing.

"What do you want from me?!" Madison yelled up the stairwell.

"Release me... "

Madison began to climb the stairs. Maybe there really was someone there. Maybe one of the cleaners had gotten locked in an upstairs room. She began to rationalize to herself, finding any explanation. She took the stairs slowly listening and watching for signs of anyone hovering around the top. On the landing she looked left and right, unsure which way to go.

"Where are you?" She called. There was a faint whoosh of air, like a long slow breath being drawn. Madison turned to the left following the sound up another short flight of stairs to what looked to be little more than an access hall. There were two doors facing each other at the end. The breathing sound seemed louder there. Madison placed her hand on the knob of one door and turned. It was locked. She turned and grasped the other knob. The breathing sound stopped.

The knob turned easily in her hand, the door silently swinging open on darkness. Madison felt along the inside wall for a light switch, finally brushing one with her fingertips. The single bare bulb that hung from the ceiling tried valiantly to brighten the room, but seemed to only accentuate the darkness. Madison peered into the room. No one was there. The room was full of dusty boxes and covered shapes that must be furniture.

Shaking her head at her own foolishness she started to back out of the room. The swish of fabric sliding and falling to the floor made her pause. Standing against a wall in one corner was a tall mirror that the dust cover had slipped from. Madison felt herself drawn to it, her bare feet making no sound on the dusty floor. She stopped in front of the mirror and looked at her reflection silently. The voice she had heard suddenly seemed unimportant, as if it truly had only been a dream. She turned and looked at herself in profile, smoothing the fabric of her nightshirt snug over her breasts. They were nice, not too big not too small. They were high and firm with dark pink nipples that just begged to be sucked and bitten. He hands moved down over her flat stomach and the curve of her hips, bunching up her nightshirt to show her thighs. She imagined the hands of a lover pushing her shirt up higher, uncovering her body with tantalizing slowness.

Madison dropped her nightshirt on the dusty floor. Her hands slipped up over her stomach to cup her breasts then back down to hook into her plain white cotton panties pushing them down over her hips. She didn't think about how strange her behavior was, only how good it felt. Her hands went up to her head and deftly unbound the think braid she kept her hair confined in. The dark brown tresses swirled around her shoulders as she shook her head. She stood before the mirror, for once unselfconscious in her nakedness. Madison paused for a moment, looking into the reflection, there was something not quite right about it. Something about her eyes. Leaning forward she looked closer, laying her hands on the cool glass.

The warmth of Madison's breath caused a cloud to form on the mirror obscuring the reflection of her face. She brushed her hand across the smooth surface to clear it, peering close. The eyes that looked back at her were no longer her own. They seemed to glow a molten gold. The face looking back at her with a knowing smile was similar to her own, but it was not her. The features were stronger, an intriguing cross between masculine and feminine, handsomely beautiful. The hands that in the reflection pressed against hers had slightly longer fingers, and the glass now seemed non existent, she could feel the warmth of skin on skin. Fascinated Madison looked down the length of the reflected image. The woman in the mirror was dressed in the fashion of a young gentleman of the early 1900's, a waistcoat and long tailed jacket with a tall hat perched on her head.

"... Madison... "

The lips moved with the sound of the voice in her ears and mind.

"... Free me... "

"Who are you?" Madison whispered.

"... They wouldn't let me out... "

The woman said in a quiet, deep voice.

"... They kept me here... locked me away like a dirty secret... oh let me out Madison... you can set me free... "

"How?" Madison asked. There was a thumping and bumping sound behind her and Madison looked over her shoulder, not taking her hands from the ones in the mirror. A trunk was vibrating slightly, moving toward her as if being pulled by an invisible force. The latch popped loose and the lid swung slowly open.

"... Look inside... "

Madison moved reluctantly away from the mirror toward the trunk and bent to see inside not thinking about the view she was presenting to the figure in the mirror. She heard the woman in the mirror draw in a deep breath.

"... mmmm... It has been so long since I have seen anything so lovely... "

Madison looked over her shoulder at the mirror and grinned, but she didn't stand up. Somewhere in the back of her mind a small voice demanded to know what she was doing, this was not how she behaved. Madison stifled it, not caring. She spread her legs slightly and turned back to the trunk. Inside were what seemed to be clothing, she pulled out the items one by one and laid them across the lid of the trunk. There was a pair of trousers, a white shirt, waistcoat, top coat, men's undergarments, and finally a tall hat. Madison looked back at the woman in the mirror who nodded encouragingly for her to continue. The last item in the trunk was a large leather bound ledger. Madison opened it enough to see that it was full of handwritten pages.

"... It was all they would let me have... "

The voice seemed to be fading. Madison went to the mirror and was surprised to see her own reflection superimposed over the image of the strange woman.

"... Read it... "

The image faded completely leaving Madison staring only at the reflection of her own naked body. Suddenly feeling self-conscious she snatched up her night shirt and jerked it over her head. She looked around the room wondering now if she had actually seen and heard what she thought she had or if she had dreamed it all. Maybe it was just an effect of being in this house. That and Erika's story about her ancestress. Madison started to put the clothes back into the trunk feeling foolish.

"... please help me Madison... "

Madison jumped, the voice was real. It had all been real. She took the book with her back to the bedroom and sat on the bed for a while merely staring at it. Should she read the book? It belonged to Erika's family she had no right to pry. On the other hand, she had in a way been invited to read the journal by what appeared to be the author. The clock on the night table read 2:30 am. She would be busy today overseeing the final preparations for that night's party, but there was no way she would be sleeping any longer tonight. She picked up the book and opened to the first page.

Hours later, when the sun had risen and the decorators had arrived, Madison finally closed the book. Her emotions were in a jumble of confusion. She had just read the account of a woman locked away by her own family because of their fear and prejudice. Monique Baptist had lived a dual life. By day she was the picture of feminine decorum. The pampered daughter of a wealthy family she had been indulged and given freedom unheard of in her day. Yet it was not enough. At night she had dressed as a man and gone to the pubs and taverns, and in so doing had come to realize her attraction to other women. She began to visit certain houses of ill repute becoming adept at hiding her secret while still enjoying the pleasure of loving the beautiful women working there. All secrets eventually come out and when Monique's did her family had covered it up and locked her away in an attic apartment of the mansion to avoid scandal. All she had were her journal and what pursuits were deemed of good standard for a lady, needlepoint and sewing. She had used her journal to reminisce about her times of freedom, going into great detail about her encounters. The last entries were about her desperate plan to escape, how she had enlisted the aid of one of the maids who had been rumored to be privy to the dark arts. Folded into the last written page was an incantation that was supposed to make it possible for Monique to walk out of her prison unseen and be free. There were no entries beyond that point. No indication if she had been able to escape or if she had lived out her remaining days a prisoner.

Madison went through the motions of overseeing party preparations. She made emergency phone calls, fielded crises from the caterers, and made sure that everything was finished on time. All the while however she was wondering what had happened to Monique, felt her body burning from the explicit descriptions of making love to woman after woman. She was still unsure what she would be able to do to help the phantom in the mirror. If only there were some way to find out what had happened to Monique.

Everything was finally in place. The band was set up and tuning their instruments, the food was sending delicious smells through the rooms. Two hours before the party was supposed to start Erika's costume was delivered. Madison had it carried it up to the master suit which had been made ready for Erika's use. The delivery person laid all of the accessories out on the bed and hung the dress from a hook on the closet door. Madison had to admit that it was beautiful. She looked back at it from the bedroom door suddenly struck by a coincidence. The full skirted ball gown was from the same era as the clothes she had found in the attic. Lost in thought Madison didn't hear the footsteps coming up behind her. When hands closed on her waist and a firm body pressed against her back she jumped and nearly screamed.

"Wanna help me get dressed?" Erika whispered in Madison's ear. Madison squirmed out of Erika's grasp and backed away in the only direction available, into the bedroom. Erika followed her and shut the door, flipping the lock. Madison watched her warily. Erika walked over and ran her hands over the satin and lace of the gown. "Do you like my dress?"

"It's very nice." Madison said quietly. "Where did you rent it from?"

"I didn't rent it. It is an authentic period ball gown." Erika looked at Madison over her shoulder. "It belonged to my great aunt. The crazy one."

Madison moved near the bed picking up a pair of fine silk stockings and running them through her hands.

"I thought you said she wasn't crazy, she just liked pussy." Erika gaped at Madison and then burst into deep laughter. Madison heard that same shocked little voice in the back of her mind telling her that good girls didn't say words like that. Part of her was getting rather sick of hearing it so often.

"That's one word I never expected to hear from your lips." Erika said, looking at Madison speculatively. "I wonder what other surprises are lurking beneath that prim and proper exterior."

"Whatever happened to this relative of yours?" Madison asked trying to sound nonchalant. "What did you say her name was?"

"Her name was Monique." Erika said settling herself into a large chair and watching Madison closely. "The family locked her away for several years, because they didn't want the scandal to come out. Some say she died up there and was buried secretly. Others claim that a servant helped her escape and she lived out her life under a different name. Myself, I prefer the one about the deal with the devil."

"What kind of deal?"

"The story goes that she summoned a demon who gave her a way to escape and also get revenge on her family for what they had done. But, in making the deal she lost some vital part of her and went quite insane." Erika's voice was low and distant. Madison looked over at her and saw a blank glazed expression on Erika's face. "However it came about no one is sure. The facts are that right about that time several tragedies befell the family, accidents, illness, suicide. One by one they died over the space of a year. The estate was inherited by my great-grandmother, and through her it has come to me. No one has lived here since then though, too many ghosts."

"And no one ever saw Monique again?" Madison's voice seemed to draw Erika out of her thoughts.

"So the story goes!" She said brightly. Erika stood and started to remove her clothes. "Now, unless you intend to help me dress you should go."

Madison watched Erika unbutton her blouse and slip it from her shoulders. Erika raised an eyebrow in surprise, but kept undressing. Her slacks soon joined her blouse on the floor and she stood in her bra and underwear facing Madison. When Erika reached behind her to unfasten her bra Madison's bravado left her and she scurried for the door. The sound of Erika's laughter echoed in her ears. Someday she'd like to wipe that smirk off Erika's face. She wouldn't run away like a frightened rabbit, she'd stand her ground and she'd... what? What would she do? Madison sighed, she didn't know what she'd do, maybe that was the problem. Every time Erika made these thinly veiled advances Madison panicked.