by Eric Vall
“D-Don’t do that,” I warned.
“Why not?” The blonde tilted her head. “She doesn’t seem to mind, look at her, Charles. She’s so pretty, and she’s going to make an even prettier little sister. Oh, I can’t wait to create her, and show her the world… and show her what it’s like to love and be loved by the most brilliant scientist in the world.”
Heat flashed across my cheeks, and then reached the tips of my ears as I ducked my head low. The cat-girl always seemed to find a way to embarrass me, not that it bothered me, I just wasn’t used to being spoken to in such a way.
“It’s not that she doesn’t seem to mind,” I coughed. “She’s still a wild animal, Valerie. Even if she’s drugged, she could still hurt you.”
“I was a wild animal once, too, Charles,” Valerie snickered over her shoulder. “Right? I was wild and free to roam wherever I wanted. I just happened to find my way into your lab, and I’m so glad I did.”
“My dear,” I snorted, covered my eyes with a hand, and shook my head. “There’s an ocean’s difference between a stray cat and a wild bear. Just… please stop petting her, it’s making me anxious.”
“But she likes it!” the cat-girl whimpered. “Look into her eyes and tell me she doesn’t like it.”
“Valerie,” I breathed. “She’s heavily drugged. If she weren’t, she would have torn your hand off as soon as you reached into the cage.”
“No, that’s not true.” The feline-woman grinned, petted the bear’s softer fur at her cheeks, and then leaned even closer. “We have an understanding now, she likes me, and I like her. Why don’t you try, Charles?”
“N-No, thank you,” I stuttered, moved a little closer and began unlocking the wheels attached to the bottom of the cage. “We need to get her into the wagon and back to my laboratory as soon as possible.”
“Oh!” Valerie cried, tucked her legs, rolled once, and then hopped to her feet. “I’ll go get the horses and the wagon. You need the wooden struts and the pulleys to get her in, right?”
“Yes,” I confirmed, came around the cage, pushed against it, strained for a moment, and then finally got it rolling. “If you could set those up for me, it would be fantastic.”
“Aye, aye!” the cat-girl giggled, raced forward, threw herself forward, and then cartwheeled hand over hand. “I’m on it.”
Before long, Valerie returned with the horses and wagon in tow. The feline-woman pulled back the reigns, stopped the horses, and then front-flipped out of the seat. She landed perfectly with her hands pressed to her hips, and her tail swayed underneath the black cloak. She giggled softly to herself, came around the wagon, placed the wooden struts into position at the back, and then grabbed the fabric length of the pulleys’ attached to the cart.
Valerie skipped forward, helped me tie off the fabric straps to each side of the cage, and then raced back to the cart. “Ready?”
“Let’s do this,” I smirked, placed both hands into position onto the bars of the cage and pushed with all of my might.
I groaned with strain, pushed even harder, and the cage began rolling again. Valerie reeled in the straps with the pulleys, and slowly but surely, the cage moved forward toward the wooden struts. The hardest part of this would be getting the pen from the ground onto the back of the wagon, but with my help and the pulleys, I was sure we could do it.
“Hang in there, girl!” Valerie waved. “You’ll be on the wagon in a little bit, and then we can take you to your new home! You’ll get to meet A.B., see the lab, oh, oh, and just wait until you see Charles’ machine! It’s magnificent.”
“I love the enthusiasm, Val,” I grunted. “But if you could reel in the pulleys a little faster, that’d be great. She’s not getting any lighter over here.”
“Sorry!” Valerie cried.
I huffed for air and sweat trickled down the side of my face, but I couldn’t stop now. If I did let go, the slack in the pulley would slide the cage backward, and I would be squashed like a discarded tomato in the street.
“Just… a… little… farther!” I roared.
“So close!” Valerie cheered. “We’re almost there, then we’re home free! Do you hear that, girl? We’ll be home in no time!”
My entire face felt hot as I gritted my teeth and strained against the cage, but we were almost there, only a few more pushes, and the pen would be inside. Valerie cranked wildly at the pulleys as she shouted encouragements at both me and the sleeping beast, not that the bear needed it.
“We can do it! You got this! Charles, I’m gonna give you a big kiss after this!” The cat-girl pumped a free hand wildly and grinned. “There we go, one last big push, my love! One last biiiiig push!”
I threw back my head as obscenities poured from my lips, it felt like hours as all of the muscles in my body constricted but finally, the cage bumped forward, slid into the wagon and stopped at the edge.
“There!” I fell forward with a loud gasp of breath, caught myself on the wagon’s tailgate, and hung there for a moment as I panted.
“You did it, Charles!” Valerie shouted. “You did it! I’m so proud of you, big, strong, sexy man!”
“Thanks,” I forced out.
The cat-girl let go of the pulley, raced over, dropped to the ground, and wrapped her arms around my neck. She looked so beautiful as her oceanic eyes widened with wonder and sparkled in the moonlight, and I dipped my face closer to hers. Our lips came together heatedly, my arms wrapped around her, and the cat-girl melted into the frenzied kiss.
I’d never been touched this way. Yes, I’d had encounters with aristocrats before, but they hadn’t loved or cared for me. Valerie’s touch was different, it was electric as she traced invisible shapes into the back of my neck. I hardened immediately in my pants and no longer felt the need to hide it as I pressed it against her thigh.
“Charles!” Valerie threw back her head, closed her eyes, and gasped.
My member throbbed angrily against the fabric of my trousers, and I moved my eyes over her gorgeous form hungrily. I ran my fingers through her thick, silky mane and relished the sensation of the length slipping through my loose grip. I wanted to have her right here in the middle of the forest, but I knew I shouldn’t, not yet at least. I slowly pulled my hands away from her trim waist, sat back, and gave the cat-girl a sheepish smile.
“What?” Valerie breathed. “What’s wrong? Why’d you stop?”
“I want to, Valerie, I do,” I stated, glanced toward the bear and then back to the feline-woman. “But not here, it’s not right. I want… I want it to be perfect the first time it happens. I want it to be in our bed, and I want to take my time. Do you understand?”
“Of course, I do, Charles!” Valerie purred, leaned forward and nuzzled her head into my chest. “I just want to be with you so bad, like a man and woman are supposed to be… like a husband and wife! You get to be the husband, I get to be the wife, and then you put your pen--”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” I chuckled. “Where did you learn all that from?”
“I feel like I knew what I wanted deep down all along…” the cat-girl shrugged. “Plus, A.B. taught me some stuff, brought me ‘up to speed on the birds and the bees’ as he called it. Though I sure hope there aren’t any birds or bees involved, birds are delicious, but bees sting, and that’s no fun.”
“How can A.B. bring you ‘up to speed’ when he doesn’t even have a-- You know what, never mind,” I laughed. “Let’s get the bear home, and then we can start work on the second experiment.”
“Okay!” Valerie jumped to her feet, offered me a hand, and then pulled me up beside her. “Oh, Charles, I’m so excited! I can’t wait to see her, I bet she’ll be so, so pretty!”
“Yeah…” I glanced at the sleeping bear out of the corner of my eye. “I bet she will.”
Valerie and I clambered up into the driver’s seat of the wagon, grabbed the reins, and urged our horses forward. Our trek was slower this time with the added weight of the bear, but with two horses, we were able
to push on ahead quickly.
I wasn’t sure what time it was, we’d left the manor at exactly twelve with the moon high in the sky, but it’d been a few hours. If I had to guess, I would’ve said it was around three, but there was no way to be sure unless I checked my pocket watch in the dark.
The forest was filled with the scent of dew, stars sparkled above, and a soft, warm breeze brushed past us as we rode through the spaces in between the trees. I couldn’t wait to return home, though I still wasn’t sure how we were going to get the wild bear inside, but we’d figure it out when we got there.
I breathed a heavy, satisfied sigh, and Valerie glanced at me out of the corner of her eyes as a small smile spread over her plump lips. The cat-girl fell sideways, connected with my shoulder, and nuzzled into it with a low purr. I wrapped an arm around her, pulled her close, and felt my heart squeeze with joy. I’d never felt this happy in my entire life, not once, and it was all because of the feline-woman sitting next to me.
I couldn’t wait to see what the future held for both of us.
“Well, well, well,” a low voice grumbled from the left of us. “What do we have here, Alchemist?”
Shit.
Shit, shit, shit.
Chapter Ten
“He asked you a question, Alchemist.” A second voice hissed.
Our horses neighed loudly, drew back, and lifted on their hindlegs as two men on horses blocked our path. Though I didn’t know their names, I recognized them immediately as the two men that’d been with the warden earlier. Their faces were deadpan as their eyes swiveled between me, Valerie, and then the bear behind us.
“We should’ve listened to the warden,” the younger man spat. “Filthy alchemists can’t be trusted.”
My eyes swiveled between the two men, sized them up, and calculated a plan in my head. No matter what I came up with, each one ended up with me in the stocks or worse, executed. Even if we managed to escape with our lives, the Duchess and her men would be on my doorstep within minutes.
I had no other choice than to fight.
I kept my eyes glued to the horsemen as I reached down behind me, grasped the heavy metal of the pulley, and held it tightly in my closed fist. The fabric of the strap brushed softly against the seat of the wagon, but I managed to hide it in the folds of my thick cloak.
“Alright, Rayburn,” the older man boomed. “Get down from the wagon, real slow. You too, woman.”
“You have no right to do this,” Valerie shouted. “I’m a woman, I’m a higher being than you.”
“That may be true,” the younger, blond man snorted. “But you’re still breaking the law regardless of your gender. Shut your trap and get down from the wagon slowly.”
“Charles,” the cat-girl whispered. “What do we do?”
I turned my back to the two men, climbed down the side of the cart, and lifted my face toward Valerie.
“Just do as they say for now,” I whispered as softly as I could. “But when I give the signal, follow my lead.”
“Chaaarles,” the feline-woman whined. “What does that mean?”
I shook my head, glanced over my shoulder at the two men, nodded to them, and then dropped to the leaf-covered ground. Then I tucked the heavy pulley into the fabric of my sleeve, stepped forward, and then waited for further instruction.
“Come around the horses now,” the older, dark-haired man commanded. “Raise your hands over your heads and stand absolutely still. If you fight against us, it’ll only make it worse for you in the long run, understand?”
“I demand--” Valerie opened her mouth to speak, but the older man cut her off.
“No backtalk,” he snapped. “We won’t hear your demands, you’re a prisoner until brought forward in front of the Duchess. We’ll see what she has to say on this matter. You understand what this means, Alchemist? You’re dead, I can’t say much about your lady-friend, but she might not see the light of day after the Duchess is finished with her.”
Valerie stood directly beside me with her hands raised over her heads. Her too-long sleeves fell down around her shoulders and exposed her smooth, pale skin in the moonlight. The cat-girl shook with fear from the lackey’s words, and her wide eyes raced around the tree-line, but she stood in place as instructed.
The older man shifted, slid from his saddle, reached behind him into his belt, and pulled out two pairs of shackles. The dull iron was covered with a thick layer of rust that flaked off as the lackey tossed them menacingly from hand to hand.
“We tried to give you the benefit of the doubt, Alchemist,” the younger male tutted, gripped the horn of his saddle and leaned lazily back. “But I guess what the Duchess says is true, ‘no man, nor beast can be trusted.’ You know what happens to poachers, right?”
“You know how much the Duchess loves the animals that flock to her manor, don’t you?” the older man snorted, stepped closer, and came within reach.
“I’m sure you’ve heard the rumors,” the blond grinned. “They’re all true, as part of the warden’s men, we personally get to see what happens to those that trespass on the duchy and kill animals for sport.”
“Come on, Rayburn,” the darker-haired man prompted. “Let’s hear it, tell us the rumors you’ve heard.”
“The Duchess had the poachers strapped down and then tortured,” I stated.
“There’s more to it,” the younger man guffawed. “Just because you’re in the presence of a lady doesn’t mean you get to spare the details. You and I know that some of the fairer folk like hearing all the gory bits, go on, Alchemist.”
I glanced out of the corner of my eyes, cleared my throat, shifted my feet, tightened my grip on the pulley, and then spoke.
“The poachers are taken in by the Duchess,” I started. “They’re strapped down, fully conscious, and then skinned. Like the animals they caught would’ve been if the warden hadn’t gotten to them first.”
“Have you heard about the… room?” The older lackey paused, grinned evilly, and held both shackles in one hand. “Everyone’s heard about the room.”
“It’s rumored that the Duchess has a room hidden inside of her basement,” I forced out. “Where she keeps the skins, she hangs them on the walls, some across the floor like fur-rugs. No one knows if it’s true, but it’s just a story passed down from the elite.”
“When you first see them, the installments are grotesque and horrifying,” the younger man breathed. “But as the Duchess once explained to all of us, sometimes, you have to do something grotesque and horrifying to protect the things you love.”
“Installments,” I whispered.
The word reverberated in my head for a moment. Edony had used that word once before in my presence, and yes, she’d used it to describe A.B. I knew Edony, not well, but could she really do something this inhumane? I’d seen her reaction when I’d told her the last prisoner burned to a crisp in the machine, she’d wanted to look, desperately even… Could she really have done what they said?
“After your second or third visit, you can start to understand what she means,” the darker-haired man exhaled. “They’re beautiful, in a way. Each one is framed, hung on the wall, and given a nameplate with the date they were caught and executed. It’s like… an art gallery, I wish she would open it up for the general public, then everyone else would understand.”
“That’s disgusting,” Valerie snarled. “How could another person do that to someone else? I understand that it’s illegal, but the judgment seems too harsh.”
“Are you going against the rule of the Duchess?” the younger man snapped. “Do you want to find out what living in a cell for the rest of your life feels like? We can put in a word with Edony, she can make that happen with a snap of her fingers.”
“Enough with the chatter, Fredrick, let’s get these poachers in before the warden comes back,” the older-man scoffed, grabbed one set of shackles, and moved toward the cat-girl.
“You’re right, Adgar,” the blond smirked. “I can’t wait to see
the Duchess’ face when we bring them in, make them kneel at her feet and grovel for forgiveness. I think that’s my favorite part.”
The older man, Adgar, stepped swiftly, held the open shackles in his palm, and grabbed for Valerie’s arm. The cat-girl drew back her lips in disgust, hissed, and ripped her arm out of reach.
“You little--”
“Valerie!” I roared. “Now!”
The cat-girl lifted both hands over her head, bent backward in one swift movement, grounded her feet, and flipped away. The feline-woman landed low to the ground with her head tucked close to her body, slowly raised her face and snarled with exposed teeth.
“What the hell?” Fredrick shouted, flipped in his saddle, and jumped from the horse’s back. “You think you can fight both of us? You and a woman?”
“Watch out for the girl, Fredrick, she might use her powers on you,” Adgar growled. “Just give up, maybe then the Duchess will have mercy on you since you’re such ‘close friends,’ Alchemist.”
“Stop calling me an alchemist!” I shouted. “I’m a goddamn doctor and scientist!”
My hand holding the pulley whipped out, raised over my head as I gritted my teeth, and then slammed down.
I saw it all in slow motion: The shift of Adgar’s sage green eyes as they followed the arc in the darkness, how the sides of his mouth went slack as his jaw dropped open, and finally, the fear deep in the lines of his face. The metal of the pulley connected with Adgar’s forehead, split the wrinkled flesh, and then bit deeper underneath. The crack of the bone was so loud it made my ears ring, but I pulled back anyway, raised my arm, and slammed the metal contraption down again. This time, the bone did more than crack, I felt it splinter and then split as his skull finally gave out.
Adgar’s eyes widened, choked off gasps exploded from his lips, and he tumbled forward onto his knees. The older man wobbled for a second, groaned wetly in the back of his throat, and then tipped forward like a falling tree. Blood poured from his head wound, and for a second, his left leg thumped against the leaves but then stopped as his entire body laid still.
