Winter Spire: Sorceress of Lust

by Anya Merchant

“East,” he muttered. “I need to head… east.”

  He looked over his shoulder nervously. The caverns were out of view, but he didn’t know by how much. He couldn’t see anything other than the thick falling snow on all sides, and for a moment, he felt like a sailor far out at sea.

  Felix began walking eastward, his heart pounding in his chest. He clutched his camera underneath his jacket as though it were a bar of solid gold. His teeth chattered. He’d begun to sweat, either during his excursions with the woman or from his sprint away, and the cold punished him for it.

  He didn’t see his footprints from the trip out, and that worried him. He checked the compass again, tapping its face a few times to ensure that it was working properly. He took a deep breath, and then continued on at the briskest pace he dared.

  Slowly, Felix’s mind cleared enough for him to think about what he’d seen. The image of the woman of ice was fuzzy, as though it was a memory from years earlier instead of minutes. The experience of the cave’s almost intoxicating ambience was easier to remember. He’d felt drawn inside, calmed and warmed and caressed by the air itself. And the crystals…

  He’d forgotten to grab Stella her crystal. Felix frowned, a little disappointed in himself even though he knew that he was lucky to have escaped with his life. The ice woman had wanted something from him, and whether it’d been his seed or his soul, he knew instinctively that it would have meant the end for him.

  The spire slowly entered his view. It was a huge building relative to the flat surrounding area, and yet even it only became visible when he was well within a hundred feet. Snow and ice coated most of the outer walls and windows, and it blended in with the frozen land around it as though it were a natural feature.

  He made his way up the stairs to the front door and grabbed the handle. It was frozen shut, and it took a solid minute of pulling and tugging to loosen it enough to get it open. It pushed a quarter circle of snow back as swung open, and after Felix had slipped through it, a strong wind forcefully closed it behind him. He fell to his knees in the lobby and pulled off Dani’s pink gloves, rubbing his ears to warm them back up.

  “Welcome back.”

  Felix looked up. Mayor Senhaji was sitting on one of the chairs alongside the wall, his walking cane resting across his legs. He smiled slightly, laugh lines and wrinkles folding into existence on his face.

  “What did you see, son?” asked the mayor. Felix sighed and slowly shook his head.

  “I don’t think you’d believe me if I told you,” he said.

  The mayor pushed the walking stick against the ground, lifting himself to his feet. He made his way over to Felix, who also stood up, brushing more snow off his jacket and pants.

  “A lot’s happened in our town over the past year,” he said. “It’s taught me to have a much more open mind than I did when I was younger.”

  Felix met the old man’s eye. He could see the wisdom of age staring back at him, along with something else, something vaguely dangerous.

  “Look,” said Felix. “I’m not here to make any trouble. I’ll leave once the storm is over, I promise.”

  The mayor’s smile faded.

  “You didn’t answer my question,” he said.

  Felix shrugged. A sense of impending trouble hovered over his awareness, warning him that talking about what he’d seen, especially to the mayor or the sheriff, would end badly for him.

  “I didn’t see anything,” he said. The mayor stared at him for several long seconds and then nodded slowly.

  “Of course you didn’t,” said Mayor Senhaji.

  Felix started walking, and the mayor didn’t stop him. As he approached the stairs, the older man cleared his throat.

  “Tell Stella that I need to speak with her,” said the mayor. “If you would, please.”

  Felix nodded, and then pushed through the door.

  CHAPTER 7

  Felix felt the accumulated pains of his body as he made his way up the stairs. He pushed out into the hallway on the third floor and made his way to Stella’s apartment. He almost opened the door on impulse before thinking better of it, and softly knocking.

  The door opened, and Danica stood on the other side of it. She smiled at him and stepped back, gesturing for Felix to come in.

  “Hey,” she said. “Welcome back.”

  “Thanks.” He pulled off the gloves and offered them to her. “Here. I made good use of them, that’s for sure.”

  “They’re my spare set,” said Danica. “Why don’t you hold onto them for now?”

  There was a hint of something wicked in her smile, as though the act was, in her mind, somehow devious. Felix shrugged and tucked the gloves into his jacket, which he then unzipped and slipped out of.

  He pulled off his boots and snow pants, placing them next to the door, and then collapsed down onto the couch. It felt amazing, and for the first time since arriving in North Spire, he felt safe.

  “You look tired,” said Danica. “Do you want some milk? Maybe some tea?”

  “No,” he said. “Thanks, though. I just need a few minutes of rest.”

  Danica nodded, but made no move to leave the room. She bit her lower lip, the expression looking far more flirtatious on her than she’d probably intended. She wiggled slightly, and Felix could see that she was burning with curiosity.

  “So…” said Danica. “Was your adventure a success?”

  Felix shrugged, and then remembered his camera.

  “Danica,” he said.

  “Dani,” she corrected.

  “Dani… I saw something in the crystal caves. Something that didn’t make any sense. And I…”

  Felix trailed off. How could he tell her about what happened? How could he tell anyone? He remembered his camera, and reached for it on the ground. He turned on the screen and began scroll through the photos, skipping all of the ones he’d taken before entering the ice caves. He found the one he took outside, of the entrance and the swirling snow. He found a few he’d taken inside the caves and forgotten about. And then…

  “What’s wrong?” asked Dani. “Can I see?”

  Felix flinched back, tilting the camera to prevent her from getting even a glimpse of what was on the screen. The photo Felix had taken of the woman of ice, with her lips against his cock, was gone, or rather, transformed. There was no woman in it, and his erection poked out into the empty air of the crystal caverns.

  “No way…” Felix shook his head slowly. Had any of it really happened? What if the intoxicating feeling had just been some sort of natural gas leak, and his entire adventure, a hallucination?

  “Let me see!” Dani laughed and jumped onto the couch, falling on top of Felix as she tried to grab the camera out of his hands. Felix turned it off and held it out of her reach.

  “Hey!” he said, forcing himself to smile. “That’s no way to get what you want!”

  “Come on…” pleaded Dani. “I won’t tell anyone. Just let me have a look at your pictures.”

  She emphasized both syllables as she said the word pictures, drawing it out in a very girlish way. Felix slid his camera across the carpet into a spot where she couldn’t get at it, and then crossed his arms and looked at her. She was very attractive, and very young.

  “I’m in high school,” she said, as though reading his mind.

  “What?”

  “I just turned 18 last weekend,” said Dani. “But I’m still in high school.”

  The excitement that Felix had felt only a moment earlier was suddenly tinged with shame. Felix was passed being college aged, at least on the typical trajectory. And Dani was still living at home, still innocent, living in a sheltered, isolated community.

  “Okay,” said Felix. “You uh, should probably get off me.”

  “I just told you that I was 18,” said Dani, smiling.

  “Yeah. You did.”

  She shifted, leaning up and straddling him in the same way that the woman of ice had.

  “You’re going to be staying with me and my mo
m,” she said. “Probably for a while, you know.”

  “She said to the mayor that you two would be my host family,” said Felix. “I guess that means you’re my host sister?”

  Dani flushed red. She shifted again, the inside of her thigh rubbing against that hard on that Felix had been trying to angle away from her. She flushed further red, and Felix saw a hint of inexperience in her expression.

  The door behind them opened and Stella walked into the apartment. She froze when she saw Felix and Dani.

  “Oh,” said Dani. “Hey, mom.”

  “Head downstairs to the community room, Dani,” said Stella.

  “But-“

  “Now.” Stella’s voice was deadly serious. Dani climbed off Felix, meeting his eye apologetically for a moment, and then slipped out through the front door.

  “Stella…” said Felix. “She was just-“

  “I don’t care about that.” Stella slammed the door closed and made her way over to him. “You… did it get to you? I can sense its touch.”

  “Did what get to me?”

  “The Ice Dancer,” said Stella.

  CHAPTER 8

  Felix shifted into a sitting position on the couch. It took him a moment to gather his thoughts. All of it was real, and that sent a jolt of fear through his system. How close had he been to his own death?

  “Tell me everything, from the beginning,” said Stella. She walked over to couch and sat down next to Felix, turning so that she was facing him. She looked as though she was prepared for anything.

  “I made it to the crystal caves,” said Felix. “Thanks for lending me the compass, by the way.”

  He smiled at her. She didn’t smile back, and seemed to search his eyes for something as their gazes met.

  “The snow outside was moving in circles,” he said. “I took a picture of it, and headed inside.”

  “Did you see it before you entered the caves?” asked Stella.

  Felix shook his head.

  “No,” he said. “I went inside. I tried to grab you one of the crystals, but I couldn’t find one that was loose.”

  “Doesn’t matter,” she said. “Keep going.”

  “The air felt strange,” he said. “Almost… like a drug, I guess. It made it hard for me to think straight.”

  “That could have been the presence of the crystals, or the Ice Dancer, or both,” said Stella. “Ethereal auras tend to mesh with each other and strengthen at close distance.”

  “I went deeper inside,” said Felix. “And then… there she was.”

  He laced his fingers together and stared down at his feet. Stella continued watching him, her expression cautious, and her body tense.

  “And you turned and ran from her?” asked Stella.

  “No,” he said. “I… she came over to me. The ice broke off her. She was… beautiful.”

  Stella’s expression darkened.

  “But then,” she said, “you turned and ran out of the caves?”

  Felix shook his head slowly.

  “No,” he said. “I kissed her. I… did more than that.”

  The silence that fell over the room was almost painful. Felix wanted to tell her more, to explain how aroused he’d been in the moment, and how irresistible the Ice Dancer had seemed to him. But even just thinking about it was enough to get him hard, and to talk about it would have been torture.

  “Are you lying to me, Felix?” asked Stella.

  “I’m not!” he said. “And, right at the end, right I was about to…”

  He trailed off, blushing slightly as he remembered that moment, blissful and perfect.

  “A group of wolves showed up,” he said. “They attacked her, out of nowhere. It was as though they were trying to protect me from something.”

  Stella folded her arms. She looked away from Felix and looked up at the ceiling, as though deep in the midst of a hard decision.

  “The Ice Dancer is a mythical being,” said Stella. “Her magic is powerful, and based off the emotions of lust.”

  Felix frowned.

  “What are you saying?” he asked.

  “She turns men, sometimes women, too, into her thralls,” said Stella. “Once you’ve been with her, and given her the essence of your seed, she has complete control over you.”

  “Wait, what? But I didn’t…” Felix realized that he was almost shouting, and lowered his voice. “I didn’t finish inside her.”

  Stella searched his eyes again, as though she could read his emotions and honesty in them. A tense moment passed by. She slowly licked her lips and then stood from the couch, disappearing into her room. Felix didn’t dare to follow her.

  “What’s going on?” he called after her. “Stella!”

  She came out of her room after another minute, wearing a flowing black robe with gold trim around the sleeves and edges. It was more luxurious than any single article of clothing Felix had seen before, and it fit Stella perfectly.

  “Felix,” she said, her voice quiet, but firm. “Stand up.”

  He slowly rose to his feet, feeling his heart begin to pound faster in his chest. Stella was holding a staff in one hand of deep polished oak. It was as tall as she was, and when she leveled the tip of it at Felix, he flinched back.

  “What? Hey, hold on a second.” He shook his head and held up his hands. “Stella, I’m not anyone’s thrall, or whatever.”

  “Unfortunately, I can’t take you on your word, Felix,” she said. “Walk into the bathroom, and keep your hands where they are.”

  Felix didn’t move. Stella closed her eyes, and the tip of the staff began to glow with bright red light. He could feel the heat of it at a distance, and blinked several times in disbelief.

  “Okay,” he said. “Look, I don’t want any trouble. I’ll go.”

  Felix tried to look calmer than he actually felt as he walked into Stella’s bathroom. She came in after him, shutting the door. It wasn’t all that large of a bathroom, and all he could think about was the lack of anywhere for him to escape to, and how it was the one room in the apartment with a completely uncarpeted floor, and easily cleanable surfaces.

  “Alright,” said Stella. “Whenever you’re ready, go ahead.”

  “What?”

  “I need a sample, Felix.”

  He shook his head, mouth open in wordless confusion.

  “Of your sperm,” said Stella. “Obviously.”

  CHAPTER 9

  “What?” Felix slowly shook his head, unable to believe that he’d heard Stella correctly. She rolled her eyes and reached her staff out, letting the tip return to normal before poking him in the cheek.

  “Ow,” he said.

  “Quit wasting my time,” said Stella. “Drop your pants and get on with it.”

  Her expression was serious. If she was playing a joke on him, Felix had no way of knowing it. He ran his hand through his hair and crossed his arms, half convinced that the entire day had been one long, trippy dream.

  “You’re serious?” he asked.

  Stella sighed and smiled patiently at him.

  “Yes Felix, I’m very serious,” she said. “I need a sample of the essence that the Ice Dancer was trying to take from you. Your sperm, all body fluids and organs, contain magical essences in them. In this case, your seed holds lust essence”

  “Okay,” he said. “And you need it from me to see if I’ve become the Ice Dancer’s thrall?”

  “Not exactly,” she said. “It’s more of an insurance plan. If I have a sample of your lust essence, I can do a number of things to you, if it does turn out that you’ve been compromised.”

  “I haven’t been!” snapped Felix. “Look, this isn’t necessary. I’m still in control of myself. She didn’t get to me!”

  Stella rubbed her temples with her fingers and closed her eyes.

  “I don’t have time for this,” she said. “I want this over with before my daughter returns. Drop your pants and get the sample for me. I’m not going to ask you again.”

  Felix cons
idered his options. It didn’t take very long, because he didn’t really have any. IF he charged Stella and somehow managed to make it by her and out of the bathroom, he would still be in an unfamiliar town, without any friends, surrounded by hundreds of miles of snow, ice, and certain death.

  “Fine,” he said. “But can I at least have some privacy?”

  Stella smiled and shook her head.

  “I need to be sure that the sample isn’t tampered with,” she said. “It’s vital.”

  “You expect me to masturbate in front of you?” asked Felix. “Seriously? I’m not even-“

  Stella rolled her eyes, and her staff burst back into to color, this time glowing bright pink. She poked Felix with it before he had a chance to react, the tip coming into contact with crotch, and pushing against the fabric of his jeans. Felix gasped, feeling an intense warmth spread across his loins.

  “What… what did you just do?” He stared at Stella with wide eyes, feeling blood rush to his cock. It was an incredible sensation, a painful pleasure that he couldn’t ignore or do anything about.

  “I’m just helping you get started,” said Stella. “You’re going to want to take your pants off. Otherwise, things are going to start getting uncomfortable.”

  Felix groaned. His cock was harder than it had ever been in his life, and getting harder. It pushed outward, and as Stella had said, it was a very uncomfortable sensation within the confines of his jeans.

  He felt his cheeks reddening as he unzipped his jeans. His boxers were almost as bad, and after shooting Stella a glare, he reluctantly stripped them off, too. He was furious, both at her and his lack of control over the situation. And on top of that…

  “Wow,” he said, his eyes slowly running across Stella’s body. “You’re gorgeous. Oh my god, Stella.”

  She smiled at him.

  “If you behave, I can make this fun for you,” she said. “I’m not evil, Felix. I’m trying to help you and help the people in this community.”

  Her eyes flickered downward, locking onto Felix’s exposed hard on. HE couldn’t be sure, but it looked as though there was a hint of appreciation in her expression.