by Ema Alves
The exchange of glances between them was compromising. Elektra was emotionally unstable. Desire consumed her soul, which wanted to know what love was, and so the simplest physical touch would fiercely destroy her spirit. She now seemed to have forgotten Offerus and it appeared that this gentleman was about to be the target of the aimless cupid’s arrow.
The count grabbed Elektra’s hand, helping her up to his car. The back of her sweet, delicate hands were now being touched by the man’s manly finger, who felt compelled to approach the girl he wanted so much to possess.
Meridian wondered if the idea of accepting that man’s invitation was actually good. The brief encounter with Offerus had been harmless because, since he was a high-level soul, he would supposedly accept Elektra’s dreadful secret as a gift. But this count was a common mortal being. He did not want to think about what could happen to his daughter if he discovered it. Probably, since he was an important man, he would easily propel the people to hunt and burn them at the stake, after publicly denouncing Elektra’s secret, which she did not know herself.
- I’m sorry, sir, but we cannot accept your noble hospitality. Our journey is long and... we will be here just for this night. Leaving in the middle of the night without showing our gratitude would be extremely rude.
- Such a nonsensical thing to say, there’s no inconvenience at all, my hospitality is pure and I expect no show of gratitude – Drakur said.
- Your words are extremely kind, but I would not be satisfied with myself without having the opportunity to show my thankfulness. Step down, Elektra – Meridian said, helping her out of the car.
- As you wish, good man, but let me assume the responsibility for your stay in town.
- Only if you agree to share supper with us! – Meridian said, not to sound unkind.
The count complacently accepted Meridian’s request and, with a simple gesture, he ordered his coachman to wait for him.
In an infatuated stance, he led them to the exquisite interior of the inn, which majestically matched its frontispiece.
With brief words, he ordered the best rooms to be cleaned to welcome those who were with him. Then walked to a large, neatly clean area.
- Get us a fine table so we can have supper - the count approached some servants who, familiar with that man, bowed to him and hurriedly tried to please his request.
- You seem to know this place very well – Meridian declared.
- You’re a wizard, you’re the one who should know who I am, Count Drakur is my name, the city’s governor – he briskly answered, condemning Meridian for not knowing who he was.
Although he presented a youthful appearance, the count was often consumed by outbursts of a narrow-minded vanity, typical of the most experienced men. The power he had gave him a sense of superiority that, like a powerful soporific, shattered his own caustic complexes. This made it easier for him whenever he needed to display daring attitudes towards those around, which he deemed only as servants, so that his most grandiose wishes could be rapidly fulfilled.
As they ate, the young count did not take his eyes off Elektra, something that made her quiver. Although he was a handsome man, his energy was not the purest. Nevertheless, the uncontrolled hormone fever clouded Elektra’s sixth sense. As a sorceress, she had spent several years training to master all aspects of the subtle energies that ruled the Universe, she knew that they existed and was perfectly acquainted with those, but that lack of control prevented her from paying attention, or even contemplate, her own intuition. Such was the power of body chemistry! “The world may be coming to an end, but, at the zenith of pleasure, the feeling is so euphoric that we do not even care about the very end of the world.”
In turn, Meridian was aware of the dangers. This man’s rotting vehemence did not manage to trick him. The secret was in great danger of being revealed this time, and he sensed himself as incapable of doing anything to prevent that from taking place. He was a wizard and therefore could not influence anyone else’s free will, keeping reality hidden from Elektra for all those years had been enough. “Sometimes, the best we want for someone may not be the best for that person.” Meridian pondered. – “We manipulate, we deter, we outline paths, we hide, we reveal what suits us to provide what we deem best for someone who, in turn, has their own way of being and, unintentionally, will be diverted by our mental concatenations. We think that we are acting with the best of intentions, but the truth is rather different, we have influenced that person’s destiny. Suffering is the reward, for the person who, closing their eyes to the inner-self, allowed themselves to be influenced, and also for us who, stuck in the circular movement of the wheel of life, will suffer for what we have caused. Because... one always gets a dose of one’s own medicine!” The magician’s thoughts showed that a cycle of the wheel of destiny was about to take place around him. If Elektra responded to the count’s advances, the secret would be revealed, unleashing its nefarious consequences. Meridian could pay off his own debt for not having prepared Elektra to what she was hiding. By having kept the secret concealed from his daughter, he manipulated his own fate and now would be the time to pay for it.
- Where are you going? – Drakur asked, still appreciating Elektra’s bosom, which, extremely tight, formed an appetizing effigy, exposed to the touch of a long mahogany hair that collapsed on the cleavage of her close-fitting dress.
- Far – Meridian said, not wanting to reveal much more.
- Your daughter...
- Yes.
- …she’s beautiful!
- The most beautiful of all – Meridian corrected him.
- Tempting as a fruit – the count said, avidly opening his eyes.
- She is promised to another man! - Meridian concluded, in an attempt to cut the conversation that had been stretched beyond the limits of admissibility. He would not allow anyone to talk like this about his daughter, let alone in front of him.
- What a lucky man!!! – The count mumbled, sticking a mouthful of steaming flesh into his mouth.
Elektra stoically watched the conversation. She felt uncomfortable. She wanted to take a bath, to feel the purifying strength of the crystal and fragile structure of water. She wanted to curb the fervor of burning passion brought about by the inquiring eyes of an ill-tempered and vile man, a wolf who delved into his prey’s stench before proceeding to eat it. She felt odd, a feeling that she had never experienced before. She knew she was in the presence of a man who did not portray any sense of trustworthiness, but was still captivating nonetheless. The appetite for danger, a passion for the unknown, a subtle pleasure in wanting to suffer under fierce hands, all these tormented her mind. She did not want to be loved, she just wanted to arduously and ferociously enjoy passion’s burning fever. To be taken to the apex of sexual pleasure and then to be abandoned, to suffer. What a stupid feeling that was, how different it is and how long is the journey between love and... the fleeting passion of the present moment.
She needed to leave. Those thoughts, instilled by a hormonal, prevented her from acting naturally. She blamed herself for having those deviant and abnormal fantasies. She blamed herself for succumbing to her instincts that were natural to every other human being. She blamed herself for being human. Simply human.
The solution was to run away, to go to her room, to move away from danger, to withdraw from pleasure.
- I’m leaving, my father. I’m ... I'm tired.
Meridian felt his daughter’s burning passion, realizing that she was not used to dealing with it. He felt that she was suppressing those feelings and so she wanted to escape.
As a consequence, he felt happier and more relieved. She had the strength to step away from that man and his appetites. Perhaps her secret would remain safe until the right time, when she finally encountered the one equal to her. The prince of Shekhinah.
Drakur stood up and said goodbye to the lady, morosely kissing her hand.
The burning increased, the heart was throbbing fast. Elektra had been caught in the w
eb of passion. She desperately attempted to take her hand off, and he, feeling that she was about to do it, pressed it harder without hurting, showing only his desire to have her. Then, he lifted his head and, looking at her sideways, smiled. She took her off brusquely and ran into to the bedroom.
The count sat at the table again and, startled, jumped back when he saw Meridian standing next to him, who almost doubled his size. Meridian intimidated him with his stare, a look typical of a mind that can see more than appearances. That man had not given up, he was a hunter and Elektra his prey.
Meridian said goodbye, the presence of Drakur was too disturbing.
- Good evening and thank you - he gently uttered as he walked away.
The man remained silent and allowed the wizard to go. It was time to take measures. That sorcerer gave him chills, but, after that moment together, he thought his apprehension was unfounded, they were good people, incapable of hurting a fly, unlike himself. He was more afraid of himself than of those from Heidegger.
There was nothing to lose, it was now or never, they would no longer be there by the morning and he had to possess that beautiful girl.
Suavely, he took the staircase that led to the dorms. Without making a single sound, he lightly knocked on the door of her room. Elektra, thinking that it was her father, opened it and was surprised by a man who, with a subtle smile, masked by an intentional finger, asked her to remain quiet. Elektra did not say a word. The man lowered his eyes to an uncovered breast, exposed to his chasing stare. The young sorcerer’s body was enveloped by a tiny piece of cloth that only her hand could prevent from falling down on the floor. Noticing the place to where he was looking, Elektra awkwardly attempted to cover it, exposing the other breast unintentionally. Then, still dazzled by the situation, she hid behind a screen in the back of the room. Drakur entered and closed the door without making the slightest noise.
- What do you want? - Elektra asked as she put the long green dress, one that she had prepared to wear the next day.
- Fear nothing, I just want to talk! - He sarcastically said, sitting down on the edge of the bed.
- Don’t you know that it’s bad manners to enter a lady’s room without her permission? – Elektra continued.
- But you left the door open, and that seems an invitation to me!
Elektra was speechless. On the one hand, she wanted him to leave, but the blistering sense of savoring the forbidden, of tasting danger, was something that tied a knot in her throat, she was left with no arguments to reply.
Intensely, she stepped out of the screen. The green of her eyes looked like hopeful flames, emphasized by the reflection of the beautiful velvet dress. The dazzled man looked at her, beauty had never found a more perfect shape than that. Blushing, she played with her bare feet, brushing one against the other, like a shy child.
- Did you dress like that for me, or are you dressed to leave?
- I cannot leave without telling my father – Elektra said, closing her eyes, chilled by the man’s touch, who stood up quickly and, hugging her from behind, kissed her bare neck, exposed to the touch of flaming lips consumed by a burning infatuation.
He fervently leaned against her. She, enjoying the warmth that trespassed her dress, which gave her a sensation of being filled up, made herself even more comfortable, while trying to fondle that shaft, a source of pleasure she had never experienced before. Her mind wondered. “Is this how I should behave?”. She was confused, what was the difference between a man and a woman? She knew they were manly, superior in size, perhaps to accommodate the fragile female body, that they had no breasts and that their bodies were covered by the most different kinds of hair, so they would have to be more active. Then, she let herself be carried away by those feelings, giving absolute control to the one who imprisoned her. Desire defeated logic. He put more pressure on her, making her lift her feet from the cold floor. Being supported only by the feeble toes, she lost her balance and, leaning forward, she found support for her hands on the bed sheets. She attempted to escape, to run away from that touch, but he grabbed her hip with one hand and, with the other, he moved upwards, lightly pinching one of her nipples. She turned her face to stare at him and he launched his mouth against her lover’s fleshy, half-open lips, who passionately surrendered herself to the soft invading tongue.
They were consumed with absolute pleasure. They no longer cared about anything else. Meridian could find them, the world could end, they would not care about that, at least until they reached the moment of utmost satisfaction. Both surrendered their souls to the incorporeal magic of the occasion. She had waited a long time for that odd ritual of unification. She wanted to feel the touch of a man, she did not know what sex was like, she had never seen a naked man before and her imagination kept playing tricks, therefore she wanted to know the difference. Her wish would soon be fulfilled and he relished in that. She heard him unbutton his shirt, she decided to turn to help him and pulled it off violently. Then he bent forward, untied his trousers, and dropped them to the floor. The eagerness to see what they were hiding made her feel even odder. Then, she closed her eyes, promising herself that she would only open them after feeling with her hands what the eyes could not transmit. The sweetness of touch.
She stood up slowly and touched him softly, felt those odd bags, which, reacting to the lascivious contact, quivered towards the strong shaft that protected them. She had discovered the difference. The difference between them. Thus, she was a woman and he was the man. She kept her eyes closed and allowed herself to be undressed. He dropped her dress to the waist and fondled her tits with a tongue that seemed rough now, which caused in her the desire to be possessed and to accommodate him. Little bites made her moan with pleasure.
With a sudden movement, he undressed her...
Madness. His eyes sparkling with rage. A vision of horror caught him off guard. A long-lasting chill, similar to a wolfing force, emerged from within his wounded core, devastatingly corroding his bowels, and lodging itself in his dumbfounded eyes, which, throbbing with blood, made him utter a shriek of terror. He reactively pulled his arm and slapped her violently. Elektra was projected to the bed and, due to the strength of the impact, wiggled and fell raucously on the floor, crying and scared for not understanding what had just happened. When she opened his eyes, she stared at him in fear, and, sobbing in a corner, begged him not to hurt her again.
He pulled his pants quickly and blessed himself.
- Get away from me, demonic creature... Lord, please help me... A wretched demon who almost made me fall into temptation.
In his rushed attempt to flee the scene, he stumbled and fell. He got up quickly, opened the door and saw Meridian hurrying towards his daughter’s room. The undressed count left the dorm, sneaking under the magician.
Meridian only wanted to see Elektra, to know if she was well. He blamed himself for what could have happened.
After entering the room, he saw his frightened, bare-naked daughter, convulsively weeping. Her secret had been discovered. For some, the beautiful divine perfection, for others, the paramount abnormality from the hell pit itself.
He embraced her, covering her with a bedsheet. Then he forced her to stand up and tried to comfort her. The common mortal being was not yet ready for the vision of what was perfect.
- He hit me, father – Elektra said through hurtful sobbing - why... why???
What explanation could he give to her daughter? She did not seem to understand what had happened, she still had to know what made her different from other humans. How special she was. But there was no time to lose with explanations, they had to run away. The fluid spirits that had always guided Meridian rang the alarm. There was no time, it was still nighttime and they had to reach the frontier of the kingdom as soon as possible.
- Get yourself dressed, c’mon – Meridian said, staring at the bedroom door.
Now that the blind passion had vanished, Elektra felt the alarm ringing as well. Every sorcerer was predisposed to hear wh
at no one else wanted to. A simple sensation. The soft touch of a spider’s cobweb where it cannot be seen. A sudden chill. A fleeting whisper that numbed the warmest blood. These were the subtle ways that their guides used to communicate their presence and intentions. All of Elektra’s senses had been blocked by the burning passion that put her in a frozen state for a couple of hours. She sensed Drakur’s danger, but wanted nevertheless to experience suffering. She wanted to be overwhelmed and possessed.
She felt ashamed, but there was no time for regrets. She just could not understand what was the reason behind his aggression, but she was a sorceress and, awake again, she had to focus on escaping, since the worst was yet to come.
The young count was still trying to wrap his mind around what he had seen. His heart was throbbing so rapidly that he felt it in his mouth, ready to burst itself open. Tears of anger ran down his face, in an attempt to wash away shame, fear and loathing, to no avail. The nauseating feeling of having kissed and tasted the sweet taste of evil. “How can I have felt lust for that being?”... “How can the devil assume such luring forms... it is to tempt us, of course!!!”... “But and the feeling of kindness? That beautiful creature exhaled a sweet scent of love which has corroded my spirit!! How can evil be able to convey such sensations???” – he asked himself, trying pointlessly to find an explanation, a reason to feel better about himself. A sense of dread triggered dizziness and a violent headache. Her scent, the sugary taste of her skin was still in his mouth. His stomach felt it, his esophagus started to expand and, leaning against the inn’s outer wall that led to the spot where his coachman was waiting for him, the count lowered his head and gushed the products of his stomach directly to the ground in an attempt to cleanse the disgusting sweet taste with the bitter and sour comforting palate of vomit. He still nurtured good feelings for that woman, even after he had seen with his own eyes the demon hiding in her. His conscience was still trying to find a way to excuse her for what she was. He still liked her, but that could not happen.
