The Bookshelf, Volume 1: Bondage. James Bondage.
I set a copy of Ian Fleming's original
Casino Royale
on The Bookshelf, my hands trembling...
This inheritance: it may be the most dangerous remnant of the Lost Age still left outside of the control of the secret societies
, my grandfather had written.
You must keep it hidden from everyone.
I watched, wide-eyed, as the book began to move by itself -- to open. Not to reveal printed pages, but to reveal a light that made my brain swim...
The rules are as simple as they are unbreakable: any story, in any medium, placed on this shelf with no others present, will call forth a place. Not the place
in
the story, but the world
of
the story -- a world where the conventions of the narrative are as immutable as gravity or the passing of time.
I straightened my immaculate (I hoped) 1950's cocktail dress, gripped my champagne flute with enough force that I was afraid it might crack in my hands, and I forced myself to step forward...
Have caution, my dear, for while you cannot be
killed
-- or rather, if you lose consciousness, including 'death,' you will simply awaken next to the bookshelf -- you
can
suffer a great many fates, some potentially that will make you
wish
for your not-a-real-death. Take care with your decisions, and don't attempt to work at cross ends to the story.
The world around me turned a color I had never seen before and couldn't describe to you if I tried...and suddenly, I landed on my back on a plush, burgundy carpet.
―
"Miss? Miss, are you all right?" I opened my eyes and winced against the bright lights from above. A shadow hung over me, shaped mostly like a man's head. A smooth, well-manicured hand reached down and caressed my forehead with cool fingers.
"I...I must have fainted," I began, not entirely sure how this was supposed to work.
"You must have. Perhaps you could use a chair? And a drink?" The man leaning over me offered me his hand, and just
slightly
over-playing it, I wobbled slightly as I stood up.
"Please and thank you," I did my best to offer a bit of what I assumed was vaguely-British politeness as a chair nudged gently against my calves. I sat, looking around as my champagne flute came back to my hand. I'm not sure where it went, or who returned it, but I sipped regardless, and enjoyed the aroma of a very flowery red wine.
I was in a casino, all right. All around me, rich burgundy curtains, tabletops, and tapestries highlighted every surface that wasn't polished the rich brown of mahogany. Dozens of immaculately-dressed men and women were throwing dice, flipping cards, and making wagers.
Straight out of the book! My heart began to beat in my ears as I realized that my grandfather wasn't just bullshitting me after all. If I could come here and get all of the thrills of gambling, nobility, and the occasional flirty super-spy, what other adventures lie in store for me?
But I didn't want to get too far down that road just yet -- I had
here
and
now
to explore and enjoy. Looking toward the gentleman who had helped me to my feet, I realized I was looking at a slightly older man, but definitely a Sean-Connery-as-James-Bond sort of 'older man.' Even sitting there smiling at me with the most banal expression he could muster, he looked like a panther.
A panther that was licking his lips.
That's when I realized
why
-- apparently my awkward landing on the casino floor (I was going to have to figure that whole 'first step' thing out next time) had left my dress a bit askew, and I was in serious danger of having a Janet Jackson moment in front of a roomful of very rich, very elite people from all over what I'm sure was a very rich, very elite fictional world.
"You seem a bit stunned," he said, his black hair gleaming under the bright lights as he leaned toward me just slightly. "Did you hit your head?"
I realized I must have gone at least a minute without saying anything, and I felt suddenly off-guard. I reached up and touched my head gently...and then realized that my move offered this stranger
exactly
the view down the front of my dress that he was leaning forward to obtain. I was getting played!
Well, enough of that. I stood up abruptly, re-aligning my dress, and slammed the contents of my champagne flute in the least ladylike manner I could manage. Finally, I looked Mister Cocky in the eye and said "Not yet."
What?!?
Some small voice in the back of my brain shouted.
You're in a fucking James Bond book, and
that's
the level of dialogue you can manage? You
suck!
I shut out that voice, smiled my best 'don't follow me' smile at Cocky, and turned to make my way deeper into the casino.
―
Nursing a balance between injured pride at starting my career as a wanna-be Bond Girl with a spill and growing pride at resisting the obvious ploys of Cocky, I started looking around for someone who would offer me their dice to blow on. I'd always wanted to play Lady Luck, and this was the right place for it.
I found a beautiful boy to lend my luck to -- and over the next couple of hours, a few more. The champagne, as much as it might have been fictional, was doing a great job of keeping me on a wonderful buzz. It made the men --
every single one
of which was devastatingly handsome in a different way -- extremely fun to be around, whether I was cheering on their hot streak or reassuring them that their luck would change. Every single one of them hit on me, and every single one of them seemed baffled when I didn't respond almost immediately with an invitation to go off and find a room, but I suppose that was just the genre.
Finally, as the clock struck midnight, I realized I had to get home -- and at almost the same moment, I also realized that I was
far
too drunk. So much so that the world was starting to move on its own, spinning at odd angles around my head. I realized that the sensation was kind of like what it felt like to step through into this story in the first place, and I thought maybe I was just stepping back out...until I fell down. Again. And hit the soft, burgundy carpet. Again.
―
When I came to, I knew immediately that something was very,
very
wrong. Someone had stuffed my panties into my mouth, but that wasn't quite as alarming as the simple fact that I was on my elbows and knees, with something wrapped from my neck around the backs of both knees. It kept me from straightening my legs -- and some sort of bar between my knees kept me from putting them together. Which means I couldn't roll over. That was very wrong. Or it could have been the fact that I was naked.
Or it could have been the fact that there were several dozen low, male voices chuckling from all around me.
No. No, it was
definitely
the fact that there was a smooth, cool fingertip gently tracing its way along my pussy lips. I was naked, and I knew all at once that it was something far more devious than alcohol that had been in that last sip.
"MPH! MRRMPHRRPH MMMPH!" I shouted into my panties.
"You cold-blooded, cock-teasing