Dublin Nights Ch. 04

Thanks to Rex Brookdale for helping with editing this story.

Please note: English is my second language.

A word of warning: this story contains scenes of rape and graphic violence against women, and involves topics such as witchcraft and devil worship. --

***

Aoife and I looked at each other, then went back to watching the story unfold outside. A cab had rear-ended a very old pre-millennium SUV. People had started gathering while the cab driver slowly stepped out, feeling his neck, and started cursing, using a whole dictionary's worth of foul words. Aoife glanced at me, and then back outside. She shivered considerably, while I wasn't moved at all.

"Oh no...," she turned to me and pushed me away from the window.

"Master, bad things are going to happen. I need to hide you now."

She pulled me away from the window and grabbing my hand she guided me to the back of the room and moved aside a candle on a table. Suddenly the wall slowly opened and a downward staircase became visible, she pulled me and I followed her down. The basement looked ordinary to the naked eye, but the better my eyes adjusted, the more details came out.

"Where are you taking me?"

She pushed me towards a corner. I became aware that there was a large cage bolted to the floor. It had a strange lock on it. She opened the door, but I did not see anything inside. She gestured to me to step inside. She took out the key and gave it to me. As she closed the gate behind her she produced from her beautiful cleavage, a second key and closed the lock.

"This is the only safe place here. Please undress and stay put."

Her voice wavered with fright.

"What do you mean by safe?"

I scratched my head.

"Please, master. I beg you. Be quiet and ignore everything."

Her voice broke a little.

"Things are not always what they seem. Just ignore it all. I will come to you."

She almost cried speaking these words. She then spoke some Gaelic words and the lock glowed for a few seconds. She darted away from the cage and waved her hand, slowly speaking another incantation. She looked me in the eye for a long moment, and then went upstairs.

I heard the wall door close, and then there was only silence. Dimmed lights spread a yellowish glow throughout this basement. My eyes wandered around taking in the room. They focused on the door right next to the cage. It was made of pure metal it seemed. The walls were painted in some grey drab, and it looked like a concrete ceiling, held up by a big steel frame.

The cage I was in, had looked on the outside like it was made of wood. No strange feelings came to me when I had followed Aoife inside. Once inside however I noticed steel bars woven everywhere. There was wood placed on them to conceal the pattern, but the more I looked the more steel bars I saw. The explanation came to me: this was a Faraday cage. I nodded to myself, knowing now why I sensed almost nothing. It was absorbing my energy waves and there was nothing I could do about it. I was locked up.

After a few minutes wandering in circles, I just sat down and took a yoga pose and started relaxing all my muscles. Following my training with Uncle Sean, I let my mind wander off and float away. Somehow my thoughts kept bouncing against the cage walls. There seemed to be a magical thing about it. Was there a containment spell placed on this cage? Trying to find any weakness in the cage's armour, I gave up finally and slowly took in a deep breath. So much for going places I thought.

Opening my eyes after hearing a thud, faint screams reached my ears. Bad things were happening and I couldn't stop them. Outside the cage I noticed a cabinet or closet, with some small pear shaped objects lying around on it. Also some thin chains.

On my neck, several hairs were standing upright. My breath became laboured but I could not say exactly why. Looking further around the room, other embellishments became clear. There were rings hanging on the walls at odd intervals. In the center of the room was one big rectangular piece of furniture covered with black leather cushions. Above it hung a chandelier with a pentagram-shaped frame, with small candleholders.

Suddenly the wall-door opened and light shone down. I heard whimpering and soft squeals, something snapped and fell down. I found myself suddenly very angry, and fought to keep my emotions in check. It was hard, but I managed. The sound of a deep male voice, traveled down the steps.

"Bitch, you belong to me. Now kneel!"

"Master, so sorry to have you waiting for me."

This was a female voice, tinged with fright.

My skin itches everywhere. Following Aoife's orders, I quickly undressed, sitting down again. I stuffed my clothes away in one corner and moved another, as far away from the entrance as possible. Inside the dark painted cage, I hoped I would be obscured from view.

"Get down those stairs!" barked the male voice.

I now heard two distinctly-female voices whimper; soon they emerged in view. Aoife appeared, naked as the day she was born. She dropped to the floor the moment she left the last stair and crawled the final few feet. She threw a few glances towards me as if in warning. The second woman's clothes were torn, blood dribbled from the side of her head and she had a vacant look in her eyes. I recognised her when she faced the cage: it was Maeve.

"Now bitches, bend over that table, I am going to punish you!"

The man in the dark suit looked furious. He took his tie off, dropped it and shed his shirt and threw it onto the cushions. He went to the cabinet and opened it. My mouth fell agape looking at all of the different types of whips, flogs, and other paraphernalia. This must be some kind of SM-basement. Suddenly I realised what the rings on the walls were supposedly used for. Anger welled in me.

I noticed he was looking around for something: he moved his head back and forth a few times as if scanning for something in particular, then grabbed a long thin wooden cane. The next ten minutes were a scene of harsh screams, crying and the sound of the whip against the flesh of both women.

He spoke about obedience, and serving the master. He spoke of the pain they had inflicted on him by their betrayal. He suddenly lashed out with his fist and punched Maeve in the stomach. She doubled over and fell to the ground. He hit Maeve a couple of times extra hard, and she passed out.

When she didn't respond to his next outlash, he pulled her by her hair, threw her against the wall, and kicked her. My own stomach curled in pain. Then he kicked Aoife, who was kneeling on the ground, screaming foul language at her. My heart ripped seeing this piece of shit having his way. Quietly I stood up with the key in my hand to unlock the cage and go at him. I produced a small sound in doing that. That made Aoife turn her head towards the cage.

"Bitch, you are nothing but a piece of shit, a cunt, a whore, a degenerated piece of human!" The dark man shouted.

He heaved his arm and let the whip come down on her one last time. She let out a muffled scream, but looked at the cage.

Watching the eyes of Aoife who stared straight at me, enduring the pain that was inflicted for a few minutes, she gave the slightest shake of her head to make me stop. I felt some tears rolling down my cheek. I wanted to say something, but stayed in the dark corner of the cage. The moment I opened my mouth, Aoife started screaming.

"Master no more, please, master, we did everything you asked us to do."

"You filthy cunt, you piece of shit, how dare you address me!"

He went to the side of the room and lit a candle, he waited in the corner until the wax melted and dripped down. Then he leapt at her. He turned Aoife around, so she was lying on the cushion with her belly up. He dropped the hot wax down on her. Aoife screamed.

"Take this cunt!"

His face was still red in anger. I don't know if it was out of pain, or angst, or anguish. It tore at my heart seeing events unfold before me. Both my cheeks were wet with tears.

"Take this you ungrateful whore!", grumbling another curse, he continued, "You and your sister will come to my house Friday, prim and proper."

He sighed out of frustration.

"That black piece of shit that died on me yesterday, stank up the whole house."

He then listed a number of tasks that needed to be done.

"You will see to it, that it is cleaned!"

Lashing out with his hand, he caught her on the cheek. She had anticipated his strike, and moved her head with the blow, lessening its impact.

"You will deliver three new young nubile servants next week!"

As he started screaming these words, his neck almost grew an inch.

"Do you hear me?"

The whip came down again, causing Aoife to shudder and yelp in pain.

"Yes master, yes master, I will comply."

He was sweating profusely and it stank foully. I breathed out of my nostrils to keep the odour away, and closed my eyes to prevent seeing what was happening. I heard a zipper opening up. Soon after that came the sound of two bodies slapping against each other. I put my fingers in my ears to prevent hearing anything. This did not entirely help. Twice, a yelp or shriek of pain came through. I concentrated on breathing and relaxing, blocking all senses out.

A loud bang sounded, and I opened one eye. A small chain had hit the cage. He was wandering the room, but somehow never looked deeper into the cage, while twirling the chain in his hand. He wrapped it around Aoife's neck and pulled her with him to the wall. He chained her hands to the outlets. Then he whipped her again with a long leash, leaving red marks on her legs and arms. Now that the rage slowly had died down, he sat back on a leather cushion.

"You pieces of shit," he lamented, " are only good for fucking. You are my whores and do what I say."

Like some deranged creature moving towards his hideout, he screamed another feral growl, his feet punishing every step as he ascended the stairs. The fury inside me was roaring wild. At first I felt that if I didn't do something soon, I might explode within the next few minutes. But something told me to stay in place and let Aoife cry for another fifteen minutes until she gained some composure and was sobbing.

I watched her finally disentangle herself from the wall and stand up straight. She breathed out and went over to Maeve gently whispering, she caressed her hair. For a moment I thought her eyes were glowing yellow, but my eyes must have been influenced. Maeve gasped and took deep breaths as Aoife knelt and gently held on to her while she kept whispering. I sat mesmerized; Maeve slowly moved towards the cushions and lay flat on them. Aoife stretched out alongside and spooned her, keeping on whispering softly.

"Aoife."

My status was at end and I got dressed. I pointed to Maeve.

"I am coming out. She needs medical attention, and I am going to get it." "Don't leave her; stay with her," I commanded.

I opened the lock. At first it didn't want to open. Only on the third attempt did it click and spring free. Without any further delay I ran for the stairs and ascended. It was carnage that I walked into: furniture was broken, shreds of clothing everywhere ...and something lay on the ground, what looked like a dead body.

I gulped and walked over; a woman lay face down, bent over a broken chair. Her ass was fully exposed, and in addition to blood and numerous lacerations, there was semen.

Walking around her, I detected slight movement. I let out a sigh and felt a wash of relief come over me. I knelt beside her. She was hardly recognisable, her face swollen with bruises, which were turning dark colors. Her eyes were closed. Cold shivers ran down my neck. This was pure evil intent, and it awoke some primal darkness in me. I found my phone somehow.

"Hello, this is-" began the standard reply on the other end of the call.

I interrupted the voice desperately, "Shut up! This is Peter, something evil is here. I will text you the address. Uncle, I think I am in over my head."

The text sent, I cut off the signal, putting the phone back in my trousers. Then I walked out of the house to collect my thoughts. I started walking a bit dazed up and down the street. A neighbour across waved at me.

"Everything all right there?"

"No ma'am, no. Call an ambulance now!" I barked.

A faint trace of the foul odour reached my nostrils and my body moved in its direction. Smashed-up cars were still parked in front of the house. People had gathered, waiting to see what would happen next. One of the backdoors of the taxi was slightly ajar. The driver sat down on the kerb, still caressing his neck. A flashing blue light was coming nearer, making me move away from the sidewalk.

Suddenly I noticed something: again that foul smell, that stench of the man who had come to the house. Like a bloodhound I followed the traces of distinctive odour.

A couple of hours later I ended up standing in front of a large mansion. I didn't know exactly where I was in Dublin. Not too far away, the Wicklow Mountains were visible. There was a high gate surrounding the property, and I had circled it as far as possible, before ending almost up front on it again.

My stomach rumbled and I felt muscle aches asking for attention. I looked up the GPS coordinates and entered it in the memory. Walking back the way I had come, I started looking for a cab.

A Guarda patrol car was parked before the house when I returned. All windows were closed, the door locked when I tried it.

I noticed the time, and famished now, I whipped into the nearest fast-food joint. Six sandwiches and a hot coffee later, I felt normal again. As I wiped my mouth and contemplated a course of action, I suddenly felt a sensation, like a wave of relief passing over me. I looked up as a big guy, the size of a bear walked in.

He looked around for a moment, spotted me and came straight over. I hugged Uncle Sean. After another coffee, and me explaining the last three days to him , he just shrugged his shoulders, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Peter, what did you think when you screwed with those flight attendants?"

I smiled, reliving briefly that homebound flight.

"I didn't think. I just went with the flow."

"And did you learn anything?"

"No uncle, I just enjoyed the moment."

"You let your guard down, and didn't think about the consequences."

"Sorry uncle, but if you met the women, you might understand why."

"What do you mean? Are they that beautiful?"

"Not beautiful. I would say ethereal..."

"Say what, now?"

"Heaven had angels, right? And you trained me to fight in another realm. Prepare me for what was coming, right?"

"Uh huh, not following you actually," he frowned at me.

I noticed his eyelid drooped a little bit, with a more curious expression that I had ever seen before, pass across his face.

"The training in the woods, dancing around trees. Sitting on a tree trunk and meditating about the universe. I remember you told me stories, smoking that stuff you carry around. When you let me take a couple of whiffs, you showed me a different world. And then taking me to those secret bonfires. Meeting mystical people, and helping me find my purpose. Creating energy in me, and teaching me how to wield that energy. How to make it focused and how to release it, as if I was shooting a gun."

I sighed deeply. There were so many very fond memories of those times with Uncle. I was so young back then... I looked up to see him gazing very strangely back at me.

"Peter, dunno what you are talking about. Yes, walking in the woods, away from your parents, I was able to smoke some ganja, or weed. I had great trips out by the lake, you know. You always ate the brownies they made there. But... another realm? Faeries? Angels. What are you on about?"

I was having none of it.

"Don't Uncle, there is too much at stake here. Last night I was in a battle with a coven. Well, not the coven, a bunch of women, and a very dark... something."

Taking a deep breath and grabbing his hand, I stared deeply into his eyes.

"When you talked to me about Heritage, what did you mean? When I grabbed one of the birds, there were flames coming from my body. It burned off the black coating of the raven, and turned it into something like a...a hummingbird. It was unreal, like I was put through some test. And then the heat and pleasure..., - I lost control completely-... "

"How long?" he asked. "How long were you passed out?"

"About seven to eight hours, I guess."

"Motherfu..." he growled. His hand moved inside the chest pocket of his jacket and pulled out an old document. The page was yellowed, the edges burned. "Read this."

It was Gaelic and I had some difficulty as I translated it. It seemed to be a proclamation, some sort of treaty or spell about dividing the powers that be, to enable peace. There were regulations and guidelines for guarding and upholding the treaty. Even more confused than ever, I handed it back to him.

"Who am I, Uncle?"

"You. Are. Peter."

"No kidding. Just...?"

"You are the son, the descendant of two of the strongest Banshees there ever were."

Having pronounced this, he grinned at me. My skeptical expression must have made the moment even better for him.

"Banshees? Really, I am some sort of Irish leprechaun that guards the island?"

"Oh, youth," Uncle Sam quipped. "So much garbage in their heads. No, moron. You had very powerful and rich grandparents. Apparently powers skipped a generation, and weren't with your father. He lost all of his fortune on the stock market before the millennium, causing your mother a lot of trouble."

Uncle Sam sighed for a moment. That much I knew of my father; I should say, biological father. He had walked away from my mother and my siblings when I was only four years old.

"Peter, apparently that coven that you talked about, unleashed or unhinged some powers in you. That is excellent. However, there has never been 'training' in the woods as you put it. That has to be your imagination."

Uncle showed me his hands. There were old scars on them.

"I got burned once by a very bad person. Your mother took care of me as I couldn't use my hands for months. I repaid my debt to her by looking out for you and your siblings."

Memories flooded back. Running through the woods with other children. Fun stuff. Where did these come from? How much had transformed in me, last night? Warmth passed through me, and it felt like a burden had been lifted from my shoulders.

"You okay there?"

"Uncle, what happened to -" I started, but was interrupted by a plate full of food suddenly being put in front of me.

"Eat. You need it!" a strong female voice spoke.

I turned to view the woman who now stood besides the table. Her feminine traits seemed familiar; but I couldn't place her. She nodded to Uncle Sean. He smiled awkwardly.

"Sean, it's been a long time since I've seen you around here. This chap with you?"

Uncle smiled broadly, waves of warmth cascading around.

"Dear lord, Grainne Waterford," he grumbled and puckered his lips lightly.

"You cooked for him and not for me?"

"Master fought off four hundred years of evil that have been burning the shrouds of hate and dark smudges of six generations of women. We haven't seen such a one in a millennium. So yes, I cooked for him as he needs to be ready for what is coming."

She sighed deeply, then turned and left.

"Now I'm even more worried than before."

"What is happening?" I asked Uncle Sean.

"Oh boy, what did you do? Grainne and her family have never been so grateful to anyone that I know of," his smile broadened again.

A younger version of the woman who had brought the plate appeared with two large glasses. She offered one to Sean and almost ceremoniously handed me mine.