The Ruins (An Avernus Island Tale)

by Jennifer Kohout

  “Ravished,” Julia said and smiled.

  Asterion chuckled and guided her to the underwater bench that circled the tub. They sat, talking quietly and sharing a plate of food. There were sweet dates, creamy cheeses, and salty olives, all with crusty bread and rich wine. Julia wondered what made this possible–the food, the wine, all of it–but decided not to ask. In the end, she didn’t want to risk breaking whatever spell had been cast.

  Julia told him about her work and her father. Asterion understood the curse that was a disease that would rob a scholar of his mind. He talked of his mother, of the years spent trying to make up for the accident of his birth, and of the final curse that brought him to the labyrinth.

  By silent agreement, they avoided any mention of the coming morning.

  Asterion watched Julia sip her wine, catching her hand to stop her from wiping her mouth and replacing it with his lips. She immediately opened for him, and he tasted the food they had shared. His response was visceral, a tightening of his gut that had him moving between her legs and pressing closer.

  She stripped his control from him when she reached for him, tore at his good intentions. He felt a hard slap of lust when she lifted her legs, squeezed his hips with her knees. He wasn’t surprised to realize he wanted her again, his cock seeking out and finding the entrance to her body.

  The shock came when he realized that her pleasure was more important to him than his own.

  He dragged his mouth away from her lips to trace the edge of her jaw. Her head fell back and he took advantage, sucking the skin over her pulse between his teeth and biting. She hissed, arched, and her fingers dug into his arms where she grasped him.

  Asterion liked the way she clung to him.

  He released her neck, bent lower and took her nipple into his mouth. She still tasted sweet, her nipple ripe and plump between his lips. Urged on by her moans, he sucked harder, drew her deeper into his mouth, and bit down gently.

  Julia shuddered, the pain/pleasure a pulse that beat under skin. Instinct warned her to hold still, her tender flesh trapped between sharp teeth. But higher reasoning warred with her body’s desire to move, and she lifted her hips. She felt her nipple stretch, the bite of pain that increased the pleasure, and ground herself against Asterion.

  Asterion shuddered at the sensation of Julia rubbing herself up and down the length of his shaft. The water was hot, Julia hotter. He could feel her growing slick, her movements restless, and released her nipple. Raising his head, he watched her face as he lifted her hips, pierced her with his cock. Her pupils exploded, and her lids fluttered.

  “No,” Asterion objected. “No, kardia mou, stay with me.”

  Julia’s eyes snapped open, went to his face. His features were a harsh mask of desire, his eyes heated to a shade of blue that didn’t exist anywhere but in that moment. Her body already humming, she slid her arms around Asterion’s neck, used them to pull herself to him.

  Eyes locked, Asterion trusted Julia to hold on and bracing his hands on the edge of the tub started to thrust. He used short, shallow strokes that speared her body and rubbed the wide head of his cock over her tight bundle of nerves.

  Julia’s orgasm came hard and fast. Unable to stand his penetrating gaze, she buried her face against Asterion’s neck, clinging to him as pleasure gripped her core before spreading out to infuse her limbs.

  Her head resting on his shoulder, Asterion straightened to his full height. Julia shifted with the movement, sliding down and impaling herself fully on his cock.

  “Oh, God,” she groaned, her flesh rippling.

  “There are no gods here,” Asterion told her as he rose from the bath and carried her back to his bed. “And it will be my name you scream.”

  Asterion tossed Julia onto her back. The brief moment of separation was enough to show her that they were far from done.

  And then Asterion was there, covering her with his body.

  He skimmed his palms down her ribs to her waist and beyond. Grasping her hips, he lifted her, let her feel the rigid length of him as he dragged himself over her clit.

  He could feel the night drawing to a close, the light already changing from true black to the dark gray that came just before the dawn. He would have her again before she left, take her the way his beast desired, and burn the memory to his brain.

  It would be the thing to carry him through.

  Julia groaned. Asterion was hard, his cock sliding over too-sensitive flesh. She didn’t think she could take much more, her body aching in places she never knew existed. But then he was turning her, rolling her onto her stomach and guiding her up onto her knees.

  “Brace yourself,” he whispered, his breath hot against the back of her neck. Julia shivered. This was her favorite position, the way she always dreamed she would be taken.

  Asterion stroked his hands down the graceful curve of Julia’s back, traced her spine to where it dipped and then flared into the generous slope of her buttocks. She quivered beneath his touch.

  Her flesh was a feast for his senses. What he wouldn’t give for another night, for time enough to learn all her skin’s secrets. Would she laugh or moan at the feel of his lips pressed to the back of her knee? Would she shiver and beg for more or plead mercy as he pressed a finger to her back entrance?

  Asterion suspected she would do neither of those things, Julia the kind of lover who would never cease to surprise him.

  Pushing aside the impossibility of it all, Asterion slid his knees between her legs and spread her thighs wide.

  Julia groaned as cool air brushed against her heated flesh. She felt vulnerable, exposed. Alone. That is, until Asterion guided them together. His body parted her flesh, a slow steady slide that stretched her almost to the point of pain.

  When it was done, when he was buried balls deep, his pelvis cradling the curve of Julia’s ass, Asterion gave himself over to the need and fucked her. There was nothing slow or gentle about it. He wrapped his fingers around her hips and slammed into her. His thrusts were punishing, his pace almost brutal as he pounded the memory of himself into her flesh.

  Julia felt herself slipping and locked her arms, pushed back. She tried to meet his thrusts but found she couldn’t keep the rhythm. Asterion’s fingers dug into her hips, and she knew there would be bruises in the morning. But she didn’t care, that small gift of pain fed the pleasure as he pulled her into him, guided her up and down the length of his cock.

  Her head hung between her arms, and she could feel the steady swing of her breasts. Asterion changed the angle of his thrust and new nerves sparked to life. Pleasure zipped across her skin, and her nipples hardened and started to throb in time to his thrusts.

  She was so close.

  Julia reached for it. A sudden inhuman growl raised the hair on the back of her neck, and she felt the sharp prick of claws on her hips, but when she turned her head, glanced over her shoulder, it was Asterion that stared back at her.

  Asterion fought against the rising need to come and pulled harder on Julia’s hips. He wanted to feel her squeezing him, wanted to watch her come before he took his own release.

  Julia’s orgasm broke suddenly. Pleasure split her into, throwing her head back as she cried Asterion’s name. Almost immediately, his thrusts slowed, turned languid and shallow, allowing her to feel every exquisite ripple of her flesh as she squeezed the turgid length of his cock.

  Asterion stroked Julia slowly, waiting for her to come back down. His body was still hard, his cock aching inside the tight fist of her cunt. There was a fine sheen of sweat on her back that glistened in the gray light of the very early morning.

  He released her hip long enough to wrap his arm around her waist, lifting her and pressing her back to his chest.

  “One more, kardia mou,” he whispered as her head came to rest on his shoulder. Asterion buried his nose against her throat, inhaled her scent of ripe fruit and cream, and cupped her breast.

  Julia whimpered. Her body was pliant in Asterion’s hands, and
her mind followed the slow stroke of his fingers as he caressed the skin between her breasts. He pressed a hand to the gentle swell of her belly, pulled her more securely against him. He brushed a feather-light caress over her clit. His touch was light, softly stirring Julia to the edge of passion.

  And this time, when he nudged her over the edge into the abyss, Asterion went with her.

  Asterion made love to her again before the sun broke over the horizon. Lying together in the aftermath, he brushed the hair back from her face, enjoying the wild, untamed look of it.

  “You remind me of one of the sprites, kardia mou,” he whispered. Exhaustion threatened to pull him under, but Asterion wasn’t ready to sleep. To sleep was to wake, and when he woke it would mean saying good-bye.

  “What does that mean?” Julia asked quietly.

  “Kardia mou?” He felt her nod against his chest. “It means “my heart.””

  “That’s lovely,” Julia said softly, her own heart breaking a little as the sky continued to lighten.

  “Do not be sad,” Asterion said.

  “I could stay—”

  “No, kardia mou; it is almost time for you to go home.” It hurt him to say. He’d thought only to spend the night with a beautiful woman and break the centuries of loneliness, but Julia had given him so much more.

  “And you’re sure you can’t—”

  Asterion silenced her with a kiss, made it two when it looked like she might argue. “Sleep, kardia mou, when you wake, I will take you as far as I can go.”

  OUT OF THE LABYRINTH

  Julia fought consciousness knowing that it meant the end of the dream, but time wouldn’t wait, and she’d never been one to run from unpleasant truths.

  Opening her eyes, she stared up at the lovely mosaic that decorated the ceiling over the bed. She could almost image the image captured a moment from their night together, the lovers entwined in a passionate embrace. The pinnacle of ecstasy was caught in the way the woman’s head was thrown back, the man’s dark head buried against her throat.

  Had she and Asterion looked like that last night?

  Asterion.

  Julia bolted up, looked around.

  The room was empty, save herself, and the bed beside her was cold. How long had he been gone? Thinking to find him, Julia tossed back the sheet, and that’s when she saw it.

  No. Impossible.

  The denial was automatic, her mind still clinging to a reality that no longer existed.

  Reaching out with shaking hands, she cradled the statue, gently lifting it from the table beside the bed.

  Asterion.

  He’d been frozen in time, captured in a moment of anguish and defeat. She traced the familiar lines of his face, touched her fingertip to the scar over his heart that she never had the chance to ask him about.

  Slipping from the bed, taking the statue with her, Julia padded to her pack and dug out the statue of Theseus. The pieces came together easily, as if they were made for each other.

  Theseus’s blade pierced the skin over Asterion’s heart–the killing blow–only Asterion wasn’t dead. He was trapped, cursed by the gods to remain forever in this place.

  Julia found the statue no longer held the same appeal it once had. She looked for a lever, for a way to separate the pieces, but there was nothing. Having been brought together, Theseus and the minotaur would remain forever locked in battle.

  Setting the statue aside, Julia dressed quickly and went to find Asterion. She walked through every room, ending back at the courtyard, but Asterion was gone. Where was he? Had he found a way out?

  No. Julia answered her own question. She knew him well enough now to know that if the curse had been lifted Asterion would have woken her, taken her with him.

  Back in his bedroom, Julia had to admit that she could never be sure. Having stumbled into the labyrinth, a place, according to Asterion, no mortal was supposed to be able to find, she had no idea what would happen when she left. Perhaps the place would simply cease to exist and disappear back into legend.

  Gathering her things, Julia considered the statue. She would take it with her; she decided, but she wouldn’t be giving it to the museum.

  Asterion belonged to her now.

  He was a piece of her heart.

  Julia found the path out of the labyrinth. Was it only yesterday she had stood here with Asterion, prepared to leave without ever knowing him? It seemed so long ago.

  She hesitated at the entrance that would lead her home, turned back for one last look. She’d lingered, hoping Asterion would return to say good-bye, but eventually the day grew old, and it was time to go.

  The walk out of the labyrinth was uneventful. She’d been gone for over twenty-four hours, and everything and nothing had changed. The world continued to spin on, but Julia wasn’t the same woman she had been.

  Lost in thought, wondering what she would come back to, it took her a few feet to realize she no longer needed her flashlight to see. The air was fresh, and a cool breeze stirred the hair around her face.

  Julia exited the labyrinth and stepped into the forest. Looking around, she realized that the true path in and out was far from the city of ruins. She couldn’t see anything of the ruins she stumbled into yesterday, but she could hear the waves breaking on the beach, felt the breeze coming off the water, and headed in that direction.

  Sometime later, she stepped from the tree line and into the harsh light of the afternoon sun.

  People were scattered up and down the beach, but it was Brad that spotted her first. Yelling to the others, he started jogging toward her.

  Mel reached her first. “Ms. Davenport, you have no idea how happy I am to see you. Are you all right?”

  “I’m fine. I just…got a little lost,” Julia admitted. Mel searched her face, and Julia had the unpleasant sensation her hostess saw more than Julia wished to reveal.

  “I see.” Mel looked Julia up and down, taking in her dirty clothes and clean face. “You’re hurt.”

  Julia glanced down at her knee. The entire kneecap was covered in an ugly bruise, and the skin was still swollen. “I fell.”

  “We have a physician on staff,” Mel said. “I’ll have him look at it for you.”

  “Thank you,” Julia said.

  They were quickly joined by other employees, including Suri, all wanting to know what happened. Julia kept as close to the truth as possible, explaining that she had wandered into the forest in search of more ruins and had gotten lost.

  “Did you find anything?” Mel asked.

  Julia forced herself to look Mel in the eyes, and lied. “No. There’s nothing there.”

  EPILOGUE

  There was a box on her desk.

  It was Monday morning, and Julia was back at her workstation. On her way to the museum, she had stopped at her favorite espresso stand and treated herself to a grande mocha–with whipped cream.

  Ted wasn’t in yet–no surprise there–and she had the place to herself.

  Ignoring the box for now, Julia cleared away the last of the cataloging she had been assigned before her trip and carefully packed up her supplies. She had just tossed her empty cup in the recycle bin when Robert Prestwood walked in, Ted dogging his heels.

  “Welcome back, Julia,” Prestwood said. “I trust you enjoyed your sudden vacation?”

  Julia ignored the subtle reprimand. Sliding the box toward her, she opened the lid and started placing her things inside. “As a matter-of-fact, I did. It was quite an adventure.”

  Julia left Avernus Island without seeing the doctor and without telling Mel about the ruins. Something inside warned Julia that even if she were to retrace her steps, she wouldn’t find the city of ruins. That everything, including the labyrinth, would have disappeared.

  “I’m happy to hear that,” Prestwood said. “Of course, your timing was unfortunate.”

  “Oh?” Julia glanced from Prestwood to Ted–her coworker’s cheshire-cat smile was in full force today and there was an ugly glean in his
eyes.

  “While you were gone, I was forced to decide about the assistant curator’s position. Without you here to speak for yourself…well, you understand. I had no choice but to offer the position to Ted.”

  Not exactly a glowing recommendation, Julia thought, but she offered Ted a smile. “Congratulations, Ted. I’m sure you’ll make a marvelous addition to the museum’s administration,” she lied.

  Ted blinked at the unexpected comment, and his smiled dimmed.

  “Actually, this works out well.” Julia handed Prestwood the paper she drafted that morning.

  “What’s this?”

  “My resignation,” Julia said. “Effective immediately.”

  “You can’t be serious?” Prestwood sputtered. “I understand you’re disappointed, Julia, but perhaps you haven’t got your priorities in order. Now was certainly not a good time to take a vacation.”

  “You’re being petty,” Ted said.

  Julia ignored Ted. “My resignation has nothing to do with the promotion. I’ve had a better offer.”

  “What? Where?” Prestwood’s hound-dog face started to turn pink. He wasn’t completely blind to Ted’s faults, and Julia was an excellent employee. He did not want to lose her to a competing museum.

  “Apparently, Nakano was impressed with my knowledge when I negotiated for the loan of the Cyprus piece,” Julia said and had the satisfaction of seeing Ted flush. “He’s offered me a job as administrator of his entire collection.”

  Julia finished packing up the last of her belongs and closed the lid of the box. “You have my contact information,” she said and walked toward the door. “Any additional pieces will have to be negotiated through me.”

  Julia kicked the door closed behind her and dropped the box on the floor. There was very little inside that she would need in her new position, but she hadn’t wanted to leave anything of herself behind at the museum.