by Eric Vall
They wore pristine black suits and shiny dress shoes but kept their eyes straightforward on the walls as I passed.
“Good evening, gentlemen,” I grinned, tugged at my collar to reveal the purple bruises Valerie gave me the night before. “Have a wonderful night, don’t work too hard. Also, don’t tell anyone I was here.”
“We already heard from Augustus,” one of the taller men boomed. “We have no idea who you are anyways… Have a good evening, sir.”
One of the guards gripped the handle and ripped the door open for me. I glanced at him with a wide, fake smile, but his face showed no expression at all. I hopped down the stairs two at a time, peeked over my shoulder, but the guards were gone from the glass panes.
I sighed, squared my shoulders, and then broke out into a run toward Valerie and the waiting wagon. I didn’t pause or hesitate as I launched myself up into the driver’s seat, snatched the reins from her, and whacked them across the horses’ backs. The beasts broke out into a run, their feet pounding against the gravel of the drive and blasted through the open gate in front of us.
“Whoa!” the feline-woman giggled, grabbed onto my arm, and snuggled into me. “Hold your horses!”
“No time,” I barked over the clatter of the wagon wheels. “We have to get home before she wakes up!”
“How long do you think it’ll take?” the feline-woman crooked her head. “The bear was still sleeping when we left earlier today.”
“I’m not entirely sure,” I admitted. “The tranquilizer didn’t start working until… after I knocked her out.”
“You did?” Valerie gasped. “That’s so brave of you… so brave and courageous and seeeexy.”
“I had to do it,” I gulped. “She was going to kill me with her powers, I had no other choice.”
“No, no, no.” The feline-woman shook her head. “I think it’s brave, courageous, and sexy, you can’t change my mind.”
Evening had already fallen hard on Edenhart, and the lamps that lined all of the streets burned in our path. A few aristocrats trundled down the streets with their consorts in tow, but again, from their strange, stumbling gait, I could tell they’d been out drinking for some time. Most of the women in our city seemed to forget themselves once they got some hard liquor into their systems. A few times I’d ventured into the taverns, drunken aristocrats had thrown themselves at me with loud flirtations.
I spied my manor high on the hill in the distance, and the sight of it calmed me a bit with its bouncing lanterns lighting the way up the drive. We’d be there soon, we’d get Delphine into one of the cells, I’d fix the parts of the machine that needed it, and then we’d finally have all the components for our second experiment.
“I’m so excited, Charles!” Valerie leaned in close and whispered. “Within a few hours, I’ll have a little sister! And you’ll have a new wife! Oh, I can’t wait to see how much she’ll love you because I know, for a fact, she’ll love you just as much as I do!”
Heat bloomed across my face, and I instinctively ducked my head away from her. Even though we spent so much time together, I didn’t think I’d ever get used to the way she spoke to me. Valerie poured out all of her love for me through her words and actions. No other woman had done that before, and it made me wonder, would the second monster-girl do the same? The same outpouring of love and adoration from two women? I wasn’t sure if I could handle it.
Our horses made good time through the city streets, and before long, we bumped along the incline toward my manor. I attempted to calm my racing heart, but I simply couldn’t, I was too excited to repeat the experiment.
Once we pulled into the drive, I yanked back on the reins, and the horses slowed to a stop next to the stairs into my basement. I hopped from the driver’s seat, offered my hands to Valerie, and then helped her down. The feline-woman leaped into my arms, and unlike all the times before, I managed to stay steady. I held her tightly to my chest and breathed in her sweet, natural scent.
“I love you so, so, so much, Charles,” the cat-girl purred, wrapped her arms around my neck, and leaned her head back. “I’m very proud of you, more than you will ever know. All of these aristocrats, these women, throw obstacles in your way, and you clamber over them with dignity and grace for the sake of science and love. I really respect that.”
“Thank you, Valerie,” I breathed. “You don’t understand how much that means to me. No one has understood me quite as you do.”
Our lips found each other's in the dark, and her sweet, floral taste filled my mouth and danced across my tongue. My arms wrapped around her tighter, and Valerie deepened the kiss as she pressed her entire body against mine. My member immediately sprung to life, and I groaned against her lips as she pressed into it purposefully with her thigh.
“No, no,” I chuckled, pulled away, and held her at arm’s length. “We can’t do that right now, Val, we have to get Delphine into the house and then into compartment B. If anything, we’ll have to do that when all of this is finished.”
“Oh, phooey,” the feline-woman grumbled. “Fine, Charles, what do you need to be done? How are we going to get Delphine down into the basement?”
“Well… I planned just to throw her down the stairs,” I snorted. “But thinking back on that, it’s probably not the best idea. She’ll definitely wake up if we toss her down a flight of stairs, and we certainly can’t have that, can we?”
“No, we can’t, but we could do something similar?” the cat-girl offered.
“And what is that?” I tilted my head.
“We could slide her down,” Valerie explained. “I can go in front, and you can go in back while holding the rope. We can take it slow, and she probably won’t wake up, but not only that, she’s bundled so tightly that even if she did, she couldn’t escape.”
I thought for a moment, cupped my chin, and then nodded in agreement.
“You’re right,” I smiled. “That’s a good idea, let’s do that. Now we just have to get her out of the back of the wagon and onto the ground. It doesn’t sound too difficult, but she’s a lot heavier than she looks.”
“Well, I’ve never seen her in person but from the shape of the bundle.” Valerie glanced at the crème fabric with a grimace. “She looks to be pretty big, about half the size of the bear.”
“I know, getting her across a room was so tiring.” I hung my head back and sighed. “But it had to be done, we need her for the experiment. Let’s get started, shall we?”
“If you knocked her out and gave her a dose of tranquilizer, then a small drop from the wagon bed to the ground wouldn’t be… that bad?” Valerie offered with a crooked smile.
“I mean, it wouldn’t hurt to try,” I scoffed. “I have half a bottle of tranquilizer left, so if she does wake up, I can always dose her again, and as you said, she’s tied up pretty tightly. She can’t run away even if she tried.”
Valerie giggled, grabbed the sides of the wagon, lifted her body up, and then curled her legs underneath her. The feline-woman perched on the edge for a moment, and then hopped behind the large tarp-wrapped person. The cat-girl wriggled down at the end, braced her legs against the driver’s seat, and then pushed with all of her might.
“You weren’t kidding,” Valerie grunted. “She’s so heavy.”
“I told you,” I snickered, came around the wagon, and pulled at the fabric in fistfuls. “If we both do it, it’ll be easier.”
We strained for a moment, but then Delphine’s limp body rolled with our combined effort. I hastily stepped out of the way as the bundle rolled forward from our momentum and then tumbled to the ground with a muffled thump. I reached into my bag, held the canister of tranquilizer in my palm, and then waited, but no movement came from Delphine’s body.
“Thank the gods,” I grunted, slumped against the wagon’s side, and slipped the canister back into place. “I don’t think I have enough energy to deal with her awake again.”
“Was it that bad?” Valerie whispered, came to the side of the wagon
’s bed, and rubbed my shoulder.
“Yes…” I nodded and stared down at the tops of my shoes. “The more time I spend with you, Valerie, the harder it is to listen to the aristocrats speak about my whole gender. It’s disgusting… I’m so tired of it, you’ve spoiled me with your sweet words and actions.”
“I haven’t spoiled you,” the feline-woman simpered, rubbed against my cheek, and then pressed a soft kiss to it. “I’m merely treating you the way you deserve.”
“Thank you,” I murmured, and then sighed. “Let’s get her inside, the more time we take, the more of a chance we have of her waking up.”
“Alright, let’s get to it.” Valerie nodded, hopped from the back of the wagon, and grabbed the fabric of the tarp.
I moved to the other side, wrapped the rope all the way up to my shoulder, and then held the fabric tightly in my hands. It was so much easier maneuvering Delphine’s body with the feline-woman’s help, and before long, we stood at the top of the stairs. Valerie’s glittering, oceanic eyes met mine once as she smiled and then turned her head toward the steep stairs. The feline-woman guided Delphine’s front half down while I held tightly to the rope and prevented the body from sliding down on its own.
It took a long time, and when we reached the bottom of the stairs, we were both red-faced and winded, but we’d done it. Valerie and I carried the body forward, and then rested it against the ground and breathed heavily. But before we could do anything else, an earsplitting roar made the both of us nearly jump out of our skins.
“Uh, yes, hello, welcome back,” A.B. squeaked. “The bear is awake, and I’ve nearly soiled my tank. Please give it some tranquilizer stuff, it’s terrifying, and it’s been like this almost the entire time you two have been gone.”
“Give us a minute, A.B.” I gestured toward the bundle on the floor. “I’ll give it a dose after we put Delphine in compartment B.”
“It’s okay, Hunny,” Valerie called, raced over toward the cell, and pressed herself against the bars. “You’ll be alright, Charles and I are back. There’s no need to be scared anymore, pretty sure, you won’t even remember your past life. Sh, sh, sh, it’s okay, girl.”
Surprisingly, Valerie’s calming words worked on the beast, and the massive bear stopped snarling. It made a low groaning noise in the back of its throat, dropped the ground, and rested its head on its massive paws. The bear’s dark, round eyes followed after Valerie as she nodded once, turned, and then skipped back to me.
“Thanks, Val,” the brain sighed. “Finally, peace and quiet.”
“When did it wake up?” I asked, gripped the rope, and lifted my side of the body.
“Shortly after you left,” A.B. stated. “Just sat up and roared like it was being murdered.”
“Oh no, that makes me so sad,” Valerie pouted, grabbed her end and slid it toward the second, open cell on the right. “She must’ve been so scared here without us.”
“Uhhhh, I wouldn’t say that scared is the correct word,” A.B. tittered. “More like enraged?”
I lifted my side of the bundle, waddled until we were inside the second compartment, and then rested it against the metal floor. I gestured for Valerie to step out, bent down beside the fabric, uncinched the ropes, and let the fabric fall. Harsh lines crossed Delphine’s wrinkled face from where the fabric held her, and I hastily rolled her off of the tarp.
“Ew, cover that up, Charles!” the brain cried. “No one wants to see that nasty woman’s bare breasts!”
I chuckled, shook my head, tiptoed closer, and threw the cloak back over her nearly bare chest where a darkened, misshapen nipple poked out. I turned on my heels, grabbed the metal door, and slammed it shut. I stared in at Delphine’s body, glanced over at the relaxed bear at the other side of the room, and then breathed a relieved sigh.
“It’s nearly done,” I stated. “All I have to do is fix my machine, and we can continue in the name of science.”
I took a step away, but the sound of shuffling fabric, and scuttling feet made me freeze in my tracks. Then I glanced over my shoulder as a seething red face came into view through the small window and then screamed.
“Raybuuuuurn!” Delphine screamed. “What have you done to me? I’ll kill you for this, do you hear me, vermin-trash? I’ll slaughter you until there’s nothing left but bones and bits of bloody flesh!”
Chapter Fourteen
“I swear to the gods, Rayburn,” Delphine snarled through the glass. “I’ll fucking destroy you.”
“Oh… Oh, no,” I breathed, and tumbled a few steps away. “Delphine--”
“What are you doing?” the gray-haired woman barked, gazed around the containment room, and then her eyes snapped back. “Let me go this instant, Charles, I’ll ruin you. You signed a contract! You’re my consort, you’re mine! Why the hell am I in this cage? What are you planning to do with me? Keep me in here for the rest of my life? My guards will find my rooms empty and immediately suspect you!”
All the rage I’d built up inside finally boiled over, all of the injustice and sexism I’d encountered over my lifetime came to a head, and I stalked forward.
“Listen to me,” I growled. “Want to know something hilarious that you didn’t even notice, Delphine? When I signed ‘my’ contract, I didn’t sign it with my name. Your servants have been sworn to secrecy, so once they realize that something has run amok, they’ll go searching for ‘Charlton Mayfrome’ and then realize that man does not exist. Your manservants and guards don’t know who I am, have barely even heard the name Charles Rayburn, how will they be able to find me? They won’t. We have no connection to each other, none at all.”
“Y-You can’t do this,” Delphine sputtered. “I’m the second most important woman in this city! They’ll know I’ve gone missing!”
“That may be true, Delphine,” I chuckled, shook my head, and came closer to the compartment’s door. “But I’ll bring you back to my point; there’s no connection between the two of us. I left your house in full view of the guards and everything. They already know, from your decree, not to tell anyone that I was there. Even if my name does come up, as I said, my name isn’t in any of your consort records, so there will be no ties between us. I visited, we had consensual sex, I left and then… you disappeared off into the night when all of your servants were gone.”
“I’ll kill you, Rayburn!” Delphine shouted. “I can kill you now, even while I’m trapped in this cage! My powers can reach well beyond my body!”
“Even if you did harm me or take my life,” I shrugged. “There would be no one here to let you out of the compartment. Valerie certainly wouldn’t help you, and A.B. doesn’t have arms to let you out. So either way, you kill me, or you don’t, you’d still rot in the machine until you died of starvation or dehydration. It’s your choice, Delphine.”
“Y-You can’t do this…” the gray-haired woman cried.
“I have, and I’ll do it again,” I smirked. “You see, you may not know about the experiments I’ve been working on for the Duchess, but one of them worked. My machine finally worked instead of bringing death and destruction as it’s done before, and it created a half-human hybrid. It didn’t matter to me that the sex of the creature wasn’t what I intended, I’d finally created life where there was none. I made something so beautiful and too pure for this world, and I can do nothing but strive to replicate the experiment.”
“That’s me!” Valerie cried, stepped forward, and threw her hands into the air. “I’m the successful experiment! I’m so excited to meet you! Just wait, you’ll be my little sister in no time! I can’t wait to see what you look like after Charles is done with you! Before he experimented on me, I was nothing more than just a stray cat and a thief, but look at me now! I’m so much happier, and I finally have a man to love!”
Delphine’s face paled, her mouth hung slack, and she stared between Valerie and me for a second. She seemed more upset by the last bit of information than all of the rest, and I could understand slightly. Delphine grew
up in a society where men were hated and treated like slaves, but here, Valerie openly spouted about her love and adoration for me.
The gray-haired woman looked absolutely awestruck as her eyes finally settled on the feline-woman. The muddy color of them glittered for a second as she took in all of Valerie’s appearance.
“You’re… you’re part cat…” the stout woman breathed, held her cloak closer to her throat, and backed away. “A-And part human… how… is it because of the Alchemist? Did he conjure something like this? How did this happen?”
“In all honesty, it’s none of your business.” I shrugged, took a step closer, and smirked. “But since you won’t be alive for much longer, I’m sure that I could tell you a little. The Duchess came to me about a year ago, asking if I could create her some sort of ‘super-soldier,’ I never asked the reason why she wanted them, and I’m sure if I did, I wouldn’t be alive right now. I created the glorious machine behind me, and Edony provided me with prisoners from the local jail.”
“W-Why would she want these ‘super-soldiers?’” Delphine whispered, more to herself than me, and I simply shrugged.
“As I said before, I don’t know her reasoning behind wanting the ‘super-soldiers,’ she never told me, and I didn’t ask, end of story. The Duchess provided me with prisoners from the local jails, and I used them in my machine, most of them… no, all of them died. Horrible deaths, honestly, burnt to a crisp, electrocuted, all sorts of ways, I’d even seen a man turned entirely inside out, that one was a mess to clean up.”
“Is… is that what’s going to happen to me?” Delphine croaked.
“No, oh gods, no,” I chuckled. “I’m not sure how the process works, but I will place another being into compartment A, place a small amount of blood into compartment C, turn the machine on, and then, wait… Somehow your soul, essence, or something like that will be transferred into an entirely new being. Like Valerie, she came from a female prisoner sent to me by mistake and a stray cat that got into my laboratory. She was created entirely by accident, though I’m glad to have created her, she’s made my life so much better. Valerie has shown me a life where men and women love each other, openly and freely. No one is a servant in our relationship. We are equals.”
