Hotel Carnalifornia Ch. 03 Pt. 02

Ankhta burst into sobs and leaned into Oliver.

He hesitated, then wrapped an arm around her. "What's wrong?"

"It's just so romantic, and I never thought I'd see love or romance in this place."

La Croix gently lifted Damia from the bed, carried her to the pentagram, and placed her on the floor.

"I don't want to do this." Lora sat cross-legged in the center of the pentagram, Nikolai floating in front of her.

He arched an eyebrow. "Yeah, well, you're not exactly my type, either."

"That's not what I meant," she huffed. "I don't want to kill anyone, and you're asking me to kill Damia and you."

Damia linked her fingers with Lora's. "I choose to think of it as asking you to set us free. We won't blame you for whatever happens."

What if it didn't work? Or if she could only free one of them? Lora blew out a breath and held up the book. "I'm not even sure how to say most of these incantations."

"We have time. You don't have to get everything right the first go around. In this place, we've got nothing but time."

Lora chanted the words to the first spell. Nikolai remained. "Did you feel anything?"

He shook his head. "You need to drain me."

Lelo crawled into the pentagram and pulled the book away from Lora. "In the movies you have to shout the words. Maybe you have to say them with more... Gusto."

"Gusto." Lora already felt ridiculous enough stumbling over the foreign words without adding in acting.

"It's true," Ankhta added. "You don't really sound like you want to be rid of him."

Oliver pointed at the ghost. "Plus, I think Nikolai is getting more solid."

Nikolai glanced down at himself. "It's this place. The magic will keep making me a poltergeist. That's why you'll have to drain all my energy away. So there's nothing left."

"And for that, there will have to be nakedness?"

Lelo flipped through the pages. "Maybe we should all chant the word, while you two get busy."

And what about Damia? If she wanted to go with Nikolai, did Lora have to send them away at the same time? "Maybe you can kiss him while he's, uh... doing uh, things to me... God, this is so awkward. You're sure this is the only way?"

"I don't want to live like this. Be here. I kept my side of the deal. Do it. Free me from this place."

Damia took Lora's hand. "Please. I know what we're asking is selfish and goes against what you are comfortable with, but please try."

"You didn't have to make out with me." Oliver pointed over his shoulder to where his misshapen hump used to be. "You just kissed my cheek."

Nikolai smirked. "It's definitely going to take more than that to get rid of me."

Lora flushed. "But they're all going to be here for the exorcism."

"You and Damia are the only ones who can see me. I'm fog to the rest of them. Don't think. Just feel."

He pulled her against him, wrapping his arms around her and holding her tightly against his body. Her body responded to his touch, and pressure built up in her core. Her clit pulsed, craving his attention, and when he ran his hands down her back and cupped her ass, she moaned. He cut her sound off by clamping his mouth on hers.

Nikolai kissed her urgently, one hand squeezing her thigh as the other cupped her neck to pull her closer. His spectral energy teased her senses, and the feel of his tongue tangling with hers was enough to wake her inner demon. Sliding a hand behind her back, Nikolai leaned into her, pushing her back. Straddling her, he roamed his hands across her chest, down lower... lower, until he reached the waistband of her pants.

Magic shimmered across her stomach in swirls of dark pink-purple that sparked against Nikolai's fingers when they slipped beneath her shirt and pressed his palms against her skin. He broke from her mouth to glide his lips along her jaw, nipping at her earlobe as he tugged her shirt upward, over her head and dropped it to the floor.

She wanted to protest, but her vision... changed. People were replaced by bright colors radiating from everyone in the room. She licked her lips, her eyes darting from aura to aura. They were so close and she was so hungry. They wouldn't miss just a little, would they?

Nikolai dipped his head and licked her nipple, sending a shock of electricity straight to her pussy. A groan vibrated in her throat, and she grinned wickedly as she lifted her head and trailed her hands down his stomach. The others might only see fog, but his ghost erection felt real -- thick and long in her palm. Her lips curved into a mischievous grin as she gave him a firm squeeze.

Nikolai flinched and groaned. "There's the succubus. Your eyes are mauve. Now. Send your magic into me now."

Lora shoved her uncertainty down and opened herself to her magic. It burst from her eagerly and latched onto the ghost. He gasped. "This is the weakest I've ever been. And you are at your strongest. Do it. Take all of me."

The demon was all in. She was going to sex him to death. Part of Lora was horrified, but the part of her in charge right now didn't care.

Nikolai slid his hands up her sides to tease her nipples. Where had her underwear gone? He might be blurry, but they were all getting a show from her. She tilted her head back, arcing into his touch.

He pushed inside of her, his erection big and hard as it filled her.

She moaned as he pumped into her, wrapping her legs around his waist, her hands running up and down his back. He moaned Damia's name and kissed her neck as he thrust into Lora. She had the distant idea that she should be insulted, but she wasn't in control of any of this. The demon inside her didn't care what name Nikolai called if she was feeding.

Lora matched him thrust for eager thrust. Her whole body was on fire, her demon going wild inside of her. As pleasure built in her, black magic surrounded her, lifting her from the floor. Not her physical self. Her magic had taken form. Her body remained in the pentagram. Without fear or hate guiding her emotions, Lora reached into herself and set her magic free.

As her power swelled, she studied Nikolai and Damia. His body moved against Lora's, but his attention was on Damia. He'd mentioned different kinds of energy. Sex, life, and magic. Damia had a faint green aura that the ghost lacked, where he had a black energy that she didn't. So maybe green meant life, and black was the color of the magic that made Nikolai a ghost? Her own energy was a deep purple-pink color.

She sent her magic to touch the black. It stung like touching icy water as her mauve tendrils slid over the darker energy.

Nikolai groaned.

Lust beat at her from the watchers, adding more energy to hers and expanding her field of vision. Trapped deep inside the black magic were streaks of pale green. Life magic?

Lora followed the black magic from Nikolai. It formed a sort of cord from him, or maybe a leash, some sort of tether, that led farther into the hotel. No wonder he couldn't leave. She followed the magic through the attic to where it curved and vanished into the floorboards. She paused. Maybe this wasn't a good idea.

Well, when she thought about it, had there been a good idea in the last few days? No.

Going with her instincts, Lora pushed her magic into the tether. Darkness swallowed her and her stomach had that odd floating sensation she got during turbulence or a roller coaster ride. A sensation of being swept along in a swift current added to vertigo. It dumped her into a nondescript hotel room, just like the others she'd seen. Bed. Dresser. Curtained window. Desk. On the desk, a key. The black magic led straight to it.

Instinct, and every horror movie she'd ever watched, told her not to touch that key.

Lora picked it up, prepared to be swept away again. She blinked as a second view overlaid the first. With this new sight, a body lay on the bed.

Nikolai. In perfect condition. His hair was shorter, his beard longer, but he'd not decayed.

He'd never mentioned his body was here. Or maybe he didn't know. As a ghost, it was possible he couldn't physically touch the key and find himself. Lora floated to the bed. What was she supposed to do now?

She'd broadened her horizons recently, but she drew a hard line at having sex with an actual corpse, no matter what the demon side wanted to do. Squeezing her eyes shut, she leaned down to press her lips to Nikolai's forehead.

Nothing.

The key?

She pressed it to his chest. White light burst from the point of connection, like an exploding sun.

Lora slammed back into her body. A hard body slammed into her. What the... Oh. Nikolai wasn't a ghost anymore. He had a hot red energy that sent a tantalizing buzz through her.

He was solid now. Everyone could see him. But they were so close. She was right on the edge of orgasm and figuring something out.

Stop thinking. Just feel.

Nikolai slammed into her, filling her up, and she felt the fire within spreading through her body, waves of pleasure crashing over her. She gasped, her nails scratching at his back as orgasm took her, sending her reeling over the edge. Her center clamped around his cock and her back arched as the pleasure consumed her.

"Girl," Lelo whispered loudly, "I don't think we need to chant anymore."

Damia moaned, and her lust fed into the mix. Apparently, Nikolai could multi-task well. Lora was tempted to open her eyes, but had to concentrate on what was happening. Beyond Nikolai, bright energy shimmered with mixed colors.

High on sex and lust, Lora gathered Nikolai's green energy and combined it with Damia's. The black magic filling the air pulled away from the life energy like it was repelled. She pushed the green energies against the black. It parted, flowing around the green bands into her, revealing traces of Damia's blue light and Nikolai's vibrant red.

There was something else she could feed on. These colors were their souls. She could take them.

The blue was so faint and fragile. It resembled tissue paper she could see through. Not much of a meal on that one.

Lora fought the demon's desires back. Devouring people's souls was a sure way to lose herself.

That must be how this place kept people in -- their energies melded with the black magic that made up this place. She had to pick it apart. Or somehow absorb enough of the blackness to thin it.

Lora used her pink-purple magic to slice at the tether, thinning the strands further. The dark energy drew back, then slammed into her, tearing a scream from her throat. It hurt. Sharp agony like she'd never felt before. Her inner demon fought to the front of their mind and swallowed the darkness.

Lora gathered the green-blue of Damia and the green-red of Nikolai and gently pushed them together. They went toward one another willingly, their brightness and power multiplying exponentially. The pale blue darkened and unfurled from the small, tissue paper tendril it had been to become a blue so vibrant it rivaled the intensity of Nikolai's red. The energies whirled around one another, leaving trails across the blackness like the most spectacular auroras Lora had ever seen.

There -- a hole in the blackness opened into a tunnel, and at the end... Light. Lora urged the dancing energies toward the light.

The darkness fought back, heavy and relentless. It forced the opening to shrink, threatening to collapse it completely.

More black magic poured into her as she fought to keep the way open.

The energies of Damia and Nikolai bobbled, like they were unsure where to go. Couldn't they see the way out? She couldn't hold the exit open much longer. They had to get out or all this was for nothing.

Nausea and pain filled her even as pleasure burst through her. Gathering deep reserves, she gave Nikolai and Damia's combined energies a frantic shove, sending them spiraling down the tunnel.

They finally got the hint, twined around one another, and soared toward the light. Nikolai's weight disappeared from on top of her.

A bright flash threw the darkness back even more, relieving Lora of her burden. Tears ran down her face in sheer relief.

In the light, bodies formed. Damia grew healthy. Nikolai solid. They joined hands, smiled at each other, then at Lora. She grinned back. Lifting their free hands, they waved at her, turned, and walked into the light.

Lora slumped into herself. Pain and sore muscles greeted her, and she resisted the urge to leave again. She took a deep breath, trying to work through the pain. The demon part of her basked in a pool of black. That would have to be dealt with, but Lora didn't have the strength or will for that battle now.

Nikolai and Damia were free.

The hotel shook in a sickening lurch. The others cried out and a series of thuds clapped like thunder.

"That's what I call being ghosted." Lora stopped fighting and let unconsciousness take her.

Lora hurt... everywhere. Even her magic ached. How was it possible for energy to be sore? It felt heavier and stretched. Like abused elastic that no longer wanted to retake its previous form.

True, she had freed Nikolai and Damia and absorbed a lot of positive energies, but she'd taken in a lot of black magic to do it. If she wasn't imagining things, her purple-pink shade of magic was darker now. She might be that much closer to becoming the demon Nikolai had warned her about.

Drifting closer to physical wakefulness, Lora inventoried her pain. Sore muscles. Scratchy throat. Dry eyes.

"Maybe she needs more sex." Lelo only sounded half kidding.

"Why are you looking at me?" Oliver protested. "I'm not having sex with her while she's passed out. And I'm not letting anyone else molest her while she's sleeping, either."

La Croix's smooth voice chuckled. "If I wanted her in this condition, you couldn't stop me. But you're right. She is precious and will come to no harm at my hands."

"I'm okay." Lora's words slurred, but the others stopped talking, and footsteps clattered toward her.

Lora opened her eyes. She lay on a bed in the attic, the others looming over her.

"Here. Drink some water." Ankhta held out a glass.

The cool liquid tasted delicious and her stomach rumbled.

La Croix held out a plate containing a sandwich. "You'll need to eat several meals to regain your strength."

"Thank you." Lora sat up and accepted the food. The attic had changed while she was unconscious. Furniture had been uncovered. Books sat on shelves. Paintings of landscapes hung on the walls. Beds had appeared. The space resembled a summer camp cabin dormitory. Serial killer not included, she hoped.

"Nikolai and Damia are gone?" Lora bit into a peanut butter sandwich made with slightly stale bread.

Ankhta nodded. "You did it. You set them free."

"What did you see happen?" Lora chewed, worked the mouthful down her throat, and swallowed more water while Ankhta and Lelo took turns talking.

"Girl, there was a lot of sex. First, it wasn't really like sex because Nikolai was all nebulous and ghostly. Then Nikolai wasn't a ghost anymore, and guuuurl --"

Ankhta flushed and elbowed Lelo. "You glowed a bright purple color. Lit up the whole attic."

"A portal thing opened with a bright light at the end. Nikolai and Damia weren't sure what to do. But they said you were pushing them that way, so they went."

"The light went out and the whole place shook."

"Then you passed out."

"They get to be together."

"Maybe there's a way out for everyone stuck here."

"Can you open another gateway?"

Lora waited a second for her mind to catch up with the barrage of information and questions. She shrugged. "Maybe? I saw weaknesses in the magic that keeps everyone here when I absorbed energy from Nikolai and Damia. I think it was more that than me that opened the portal. I feel kind of burned out. I'm not sure I can use my power now."

"Your magic will return." Oliver patted her hand. "You need to rest."

"You guys have been busy." Lora endeavored to swallow another bite. Someone had a really heavy hand with the peanut butter. Some milk would be perfect.

Lelo bounced on her feet. "We figure we can stay here and make this our base. We relocated some of those creepy skeletons so they're the first thing anyone sees, and blocked the entrances on the fifth floor. There's only one way into the attic."

They'd be safe here until the others figured out Nikolai was gone. Or maybe they knew already, thanks to the earthquake. She couldn't think about remaining safe while Eve was trapped somewhere. Hopefully, she'd found someone like Nikolai and was protected.

Lelo held up a piece of paper with itemized tasks, some crossed out. "Our next project is to get more food. All that's left is some stale bread and peanut butter. It won't last long with so many of us."

Lora hadn't thought about that. "Where does the food come from? Does someone bring it in from the outside? Can we communicate with them?"

Oliver shook his head. "The hotel kitchen is fully stocked. Whatever we use is replaced. The inventory remains the same no matter how much we eat. We're trapped here, but not meant to starve."

Lora slid her legs out of bed. "Let's head down to the kitchen and bring up as much food as we can. That's a good idea."

La Croix took her elbow to help her up. "I'll accompany you for protection."

"Me too." Oliver reached for a stun stick.

"You might not be safe, Oliver. They'll see you're not a hunchback anymore."

"I still want to search for my sister. I can't stay hidden forever."

She wobbled on her feet, and for one moment, she entertained the idea of taking energy from the others. They'd never notice. Shuddering, Lora fought back the urge. It would be too easy to keep taking and taking. "Going by Lelo's list, we have a lot to do. If it's all the same to you guys, I want to be back in the attic when it gets dark. Seems like everyone but us gets stronger at night."

"I agree." Lelo nodded. "Night time is not the right time around here."

They bundled bags, baskets, and sheets into the dumbwaiter and sent it to the kitchen on the ground floor.

"We can stick together and move faster if we take the stairs." The Baron led the way. Avoiding the main areas, they crept down an employee staircase without incident.

In the kitchen, the group came to a halt at the sight of a naked unconscious woman with long, tangled reddish-brown hair laying on the floor. Her face was red and swollen. Four cuts, two on each side of her abdomen, glistened red.

"Someone cut her and just abandoned her?" Ankhta was the first to react. "I wish I was surprised."

"Or maybe this is a trap. Maybe someone is watching." Lora wished she knew how to use her magic. If she could sense life energy, maybe she could detect others around them before an attack.

Oliver crouched near his next patient. "We have to take her upstairs with us. We can't treat her here."

Ankhta pulled off her sweatshirt and draped it over the girl. "I'll wait with her." She was clearly going to be the caretaker of the group.

"We need to be quick," La Croix said. "We can figure out what happened to her later."

"Take this." Lelo handed over a stun stick. "Use it if you need to. Don't hesitate."

Oliver pressed his fingers to the girl's neck. "Her pulse is steady. I'll wait here too. You three fill the bags and baskets and send them up in the dumbwaiter."

Lora had been in supermarkets smaller than the enormous pantry La Croix led them to. Shelves and aisles were filled with everything she could think of. At the back, two doors opened into a walk-in fridge and freezer. She and Lelo filled bags with soups, crackers, bread, canned fruits and vegetables, pasta and sauces. La Croix carried full bags and baskets to the dumbwaiter and returned with empty ones.

"There's a little kitchen in the staff quarters of the fifth floor." Lelo helped herself to frozen entrees. Lora went through the fridge and chose beverages. "It's going to get dark soon. We've got enough for at least a week. Let's go."