Owning a Maid Harem Ch. 42

Cali held up a red garter. "Nancy Heres is dead."

The words struck me. My aunt was dead.

"So is Velma White," Cali said and held up a gray garter. "Just now."

My dean? "Fuck, she's on a patrol with Lily, Ji-Woo, and..." I swallowed. "My daughter Rose."

"Go," Bella whimpered, clutching her arm.

I leaped over the staked Gizzamuluke. If Dean White just died, then other Imprisoned were free. I burst into the hallway and shouted, "Someone get in here and heal my wife! I need maids! The mansion is in danger! The Imprisoned are being freed!"

~~*~~

Maria Hayward

I burst into Lance's room and gasped at the Gizzamuluke staked to the ground. Bella was beyond, her face so pale. Blood soaked her thighs. The smell of crimson filled the air. I moved to her when I realized she... She was missing an arm.

I wanted to cry, but I had to help her. I unlaced my bodice and pulled out my breasts. I knelt beside her, ignoring the slathering pants of the Gizzamuluke. With three lances thrust through its body, it still salivated over us.

I offered my nipple to Bella. She latched on and suckled hard.

I groaned as my life-giving milk healed her. The creature smacked his lips and stared at us with hunger. I ignored the disgusting thing as Bella nursed. The blood from her arm slowed. Stopped. I watched her stump, hoping her new arm would regrow, but...

The skin spread over the stump. In moments, it looked like she had lost her arm years ago. She kept gulping down my milk, the color returning to her face. She retained her strength and the blood she lost. She replenished it all.

Then she ripped her mouth off my nipple and rose to her feet.

"What?" I gasped as she jumped over the Gizzamuluke.

"I have to protect my husband!" she cried and ran off one-armed.

~~*~~

Lance Hayward

I burst out of the safety into the darkness, a golden lance in hand. Before the Gizzamuluke's painting lay blood and scraps of lace. All that was left of Aunt Nancy. The pain tore at my heart, but I had maids in danger, including my own daughter.

Maids shouted behind me. I listened for noise as I reached the top of the stairs. Fire flashed down on the first floor. I raced down toward them, my lance throwing back the night. I flew down to the first floor as fast as I could.

At the base of the stairs, Dean White's body lay in a pool of blood, her throat torn out. The garter on her thigh was missing. Fire exploded from my right, illuminating a woman standing down the corridor. She glanced back at me. She had blood about her round mouth like a lamprey's. She wore a pink dress.

Lady Smiles.

She winked at me and ran down the corridor. She dodged a blast of fire from Ji-Woo. Lily stepped up and thrust out a shield of stone. Lady Smiles crashed into it. She bit into the shield, tearing through it. Leaning against the wall was Rose, clutching her side.

She bled.

"Master-Daddy," she whimpered.

I ran down the corridor and thrust my lance at Lady Smiles. She spun around and opened her mouth. She swallowed my lance. I gasped in horror. She had some endless void in her. I could see it in her. She crashed her teeth down on the golden lance and snapped it in half.

I snarled as pain ran up my arm.

I formed another lance as she faced me. Fire slammed down into her back. Her dress burst into flames. She lunged at me anyways, her mouth opening wide to swallow me. That disgusting void that lurked down her maw wanted to swallow me.

I slammed the butt of my lance into her face. She crashed into the wall and bounced down on the ground. I rammed my lance into her back, pinning her in place. My maids shouted. Screams echoed from above.

"There are more Imprisoned free," Cali said.

"Shit," I snarled.

"Rose!" Angela, my eldest daughter, cried. She ran up naked save for her bronze garter. She reached her sister and offered a nipple.

Rose latched on and breastfed from her sister. I heard shouts coming from the stairs down the hall. They led up to the second floor. I ran down it, shouts behind me. How many had the Seductress freed? Fury beat in my heart.

Two of my maids were dead. Aunt Nancy... Her naughty smile filled my mind. My hands clenched tight about my spear as I reached the second-floor stairs and ran up them too at a time. These damned monsters wouldn't allow me to have any joy.

Water splashed above. I reached the second floor. Yuki was standing in the dark, water slowing around her. She slapped it down into something that buzzed in the dark. The light from my lance banished back the dark.

She faced the Maggotborn, a misshapen fly. Its wings buzzed, its multifaceted eyes gleaming in the light. It spat out something green from its narrow mouth. Yuki slapped it down with her water. I raced to join her when a door opened behind me.

I spun around to see a dagger flashing out of the dark. It slammed into my leg. Pain burst. I gasped and my leg folded out from beneath me. I landed on my side to see a weeping hunchback stepping out. Fat tears spilled down his face.

I knew this creature. The Weeper. He had a statute. This man killed my great-grandfather. He advanced on me with a dagger in his hand. Pain burned in my leg. He threw another blade at me. I blocked it with my spear. As he rushed forward.

"I'm so sorry," he wept, but there was joy in his eyes. Glee.

"Hey!" roared behind him.

The Weeper turned around and gasped. He raised his dagger and blocked an attack. I used my lance to stand, the pain in my leg throbbing. He fought... Bella. She had blood on her thighs, but she looked mended. Only...

She had a stone right arm. A prosthetic she had fashioned from her own stump. She swung a sword held in that hand, attacking the Weeper. She traded blows as I limped up behind the attacker, the dagger twisting in the meat of my thigh.

The Weeper cursed and turned to attack me. Bella slammed her sword into its arm and cut off the stump. I buried my spear into its chest. I slammed the Weeper to the ground and pinned him there to the floor. He spasmed and formed a dagger in his left hand.

Bella lopped that off.

"You're okay?" I asked her, glancing at her arm. "I'm fine."

"Yuki!" Hannah shouted. My Stripper-Maid ran past us both and threw a ball of fire. It struck the Maggotborn. It screamed, this awful, grating sound, as it burned. It staggered back, wings crisping. "Master! Get him!"

I snarled and formed a new spear. Yuki jumped back as the burning Imprisoned tried to lunge at her. I threw my lance. It slammed into the thing's bulky, swollen head. Ichor spurted as it fell back on the ground, thrashing as the fire burned out, leaving it burned and wheezing.

I slammed another lance into his belly, pinning it to the ground.

"Fuck," I snarled, my leg throbbing in pain.

"Stop it, Seductress!" Asuka cried from farther down the hallway.

Wind swirled. A woman laughed.

I wrenched the dagger from my thigh, adrenaline screaming through my body. The pain vanished. I ran on my wounded leg. Black hair swirled before me. The Seductress stumbled back as the wind slammed into me.

"What are you doing?" demanded Felicity. She rushed forward and slammed a stone shield in the Seductress. The Demon-Maid stumbled back from another painting.

She snarled seized Felicity by the throat, lifting her off the ground. My Concubine-Maid kicked her legs, her green garter flashing. She gurgled, unable to breathe. Wind slammed into the seductress again, billowing her hair.

"STOP!" I roared.

The Seductress's hand released Felicity. She dropped to the ground in a heap, coughing. Wheezing. The Seductress turned around and faced me, a wild glee in her all-black eyes. Such delight shone in them. Her bodice was open, blood splattering her breasts.

"Master," she said with such a mocking tone.

"KNEEL!"

My voice shook the air. She gasped and dropped to her knees, looking astonished. She squirmed there, struggling to sand. I formed my lance and leveled it at her. My leg throbbed as I marched at her. A smile spread on her lips.

"Did you enjoy my wedding present, Master?" she purred. "What an exciting night! Mmm, Nancy found it—"

I rammed my spear through her throat, cutting off her words. she gurgled, pain bursting across her face. The spear burst out the back of her neck. It would have killed a human, severing the spinal cord. She just gripped it and stared at me. She opened her mouth, trying to speak.

"She cannot die," said Cali as she came up behind me.

"Serena, get over here and nurse your father," Bella said as she marched up. She put her stone hand over my bleeding leg. I grinned at her.

"She's bound to the Hay like I am for eternity, Master," Cali continued. "That doesn't mean her nature has changed."

The Seductress shook her head, such delight in her eyes.

"Are there any more Imprisoned loose?" I demanded. "Or have I impaled them all?"

"The maids are sweeping the manor," Cali said. "If they find any more, they'll engage them. I think this is all of them. The Gizzamuluke attacked right away. If it hadn't, she could have freed far, far more."

The Seductress winked at me.

"Seal them back up," I ordered Cali.

She nodded and headed back to the pair I left in the corridor, the Maggotborn and the Weeper. Cali didn't hold any more garters. So more of my maids had died. That was something. I stared down at the seductress as Serena came up to me.

"Master-Daddy, you're bleeding badly," she said. "You have to drink."

The Seductress mouthed at me, that insolence in her eyes. My blood boiled as I leaned down to nurse from my Daughter-Maid's breast. Anger burned in my heart. It beat with such violence. Aunt Nancy and Mrs. White were dead. My wife was maimed.

My poor Bella had lost her arm.

~~*~~

Bella Hayward

I stared down at the stone arm I had fashioned. It worked like my real arm. I could even feel with it, but... It was cold. Smooth. I touched it and felt no life in it. The gray was ugly, too. I would have to find a long glove to wear. One of those sleek ones from days gone by that went past the elbow.

Lance finished nursing from Serena. Magic flared behind me as Cali sealed the Maggotborn. My heart pounded fast. This night was awful. Aunt Nancy and Mrs. White are dead. I wanted to shake. It was supposed to be a magical night.

"Take her," growled Lance as he manacled the Seductress's hands behind her back. He shook with fury.

Serena and Yuki grabbed the Seductress and dragged her down the hallway. He followed after, his entire body shaking with rage. I wanted to hug him. To comfort him. He walked with his back straight as they reached the stairs leading to the third floor. They hauled the seductress up her, the spear shoved through her throat.

She smirked. The bitch was happy that she had caused so much chaos.

On the third floor, we found Ms. Docea with a clipboard. She was marching down the hallway with Esmerelda and Petra. They were surveying the Imprisoned. Seeing if we had them all contained. She paused and glanced at the Seductress.

The teacher's face tightened.

"You heard about Mrs. White?" asked Lance.

Ms. Docea nodded. "She was a good woman."

"I took her from her family. From her husband." Lance's head bowed. "I stole you all from your lives. None of you were supposed to..." He formed another lance and slammed it into the Seductress's belly. "None of you were supposed to die! To be betrayed!"

"We all die, Master Hayward," said Ms. Docea. "That is the end of all our journey. None of us know when it will come. So we must strive to make our lives meaningful, and protecting humanity from these entities is a great purpose."

Lance ripped the spear out of the Seductress's belly. She still smiled at him.

"I know," he growled. "The Gizzamuluke, Maggotborn, Weeper, and Lady Smiles were freed and have been re-captured."

"We shall survey the rest," said Ms. Docea. Her eyes flicked to the Seductress. "Chastise her, Master Hayward."

He ripped the Lance from the Seductress's throat. "I plan on it."

Yuki and Serena hauled her into the secure part of the house. I shivered. The Gizzamuluke could only pass that door if she opened it for the beast. She didn't just trick Aunt Nancy, she had let that creature attack me. He wanted to devour me and my baby.

Now he had a taste of me.

Lance pointed to the space before the TV. Yuki and Serena threw the Seductress there. Lance drew back his spear and used it as a club. He slammed it into her back. The Seductress's back arched. She gasped. The muscles in his arm rippled as he swung again.

And again.

The Seductress howled.

I marched past him, forming my stone sword. I went into Lance's bedroom, the scent of blood thick in the air. Mrs. Miles and Melissa stood over the Gizzamuluke. Three spears pinned the disgusting cat to the ground. He grinned at me.

"There's my tasty Bella," he growled. "You were delicious. I would have loved to rip out your belly and feast on the morsel inside."

I slammed my sword down in its mouth and left it pinned there. It bit its teeth down on the stone, trying to snap it. I stared at the creature. This thing had terrified me. Haunted me while Lance was gone. I stared down at it.

I wouldn't be afraid of it again. I glanced down at my real hand. My wedding ring sparkled there. At least it hadn't eaten this hand.

"Is Mistress Nancy really..." Melissa asked. The Sorority-Maid was a newcomer to the harem.

I nodded. "Someone else will wear the red garter."

The Gizzamuluke wheezed around the sword. The thing was laughing. Bella knew that this creature had consumed poor Aunt Nancy. I took Melissa's hand, using my real one, and squeezed. She glanced at me, tears in her eyes.

"Nancy Heres is waiting for us with the other Fallen Maids," I said. "We'll all be together in death. In our rest. When we're free of the pain and suffering of this world."

Melissa nodded.

Cali entered the room. She wore a fixed expression on her face. She thrust out her hand and snarled, "By the Ancient Oath, I bind thee, Gizzamuluke! With the salt that plants vitality in the earth! The rhythm of life that spreads the heat of passion! The breath of soul that speaks truths! And the saliva that spills like rain upon the world. I bind thee, Gizzamuluke!"

Cali's golden garter glowed like the spears. The chain that bound her flashed into appearance, the end fading into the mist. Her purple eyes glowed with her power. She was a creature like them. The First Imprisoned.

Did she hate us like all the others?

"I BIND THEE, GIZZAMULUKE!"

Shadows exploded from her back, forming wings. The golden light of the spears seized Gizzamuluke. They became chains that wrapped around his body and crushed him down. He was pulled flat until a painting lay on the ground. He was there, his eyes glowing green, smiling with all those teeth. He was ready to feast again.

"Is that all of them?" I asked.

"We'll see," Cali said and walked away.

I followed her out into the living room where Lance beat the Seductress. He roared in fury, sweat dripping down his brow. The Seductress howled in pain as the lance slammed across her back. Her breasts bounced, her uniform torn from the beating.

"You should have killed me!" the Seductress snarled. She twisted her head around him. "You are weak! I will never stop hurting you! I will be a plague on you and your family! I am the untrustworthy dagger! Wield me at your peril!"

He slammed the lance into her back. Golden light flared. The Seductress howled in agony.

Tears filled my eyes. Our beautiful night was ruined by this treacherous creature. Two more maids were killed. Two more wounds to my husband's soul. He bled. I glanced down at my stone arm. I shoved it behind my back.

~~*~~

Lance Hayward

I failed.

I slammed the rod into the Seductress's back.

I failed Aunt Nancy, Mrs. White, and Bella.

I struck the Seductress again. My arms ached. I sucked in breaths. Sweat poured down my body.

She stared at me through the pain. Such defiance. I could never break her. I could see it now. She would forever be a creature who sought to defy me. She would always be a monster that would try to hurt my maids. Oh, she was a weapon. She had to obey me when I was present, but she could not be trusted out of my sight. Not free.

"I had so much fun seducing her," cooed the Seductress. "Pretending to break. To submit to her. I flattered her ego. I gave her just what she craved. She couldn't help but flaunt my submission. To parade me through the dark unbound. To prove she had conquered me."

I struck the bitch again.

The Seductress laughed. "As if one of you grunting monkeys could ever conquer me."

"Who is in chains?" I demanded.

The Seductress smiled at me. She flicked her gaze to Cali. "Unlike the half-breed, my will can never be corrupted by a creature as banal and pathetic as you. Humans." She spat. "Your creator was so proud of you. He wanted us to bow to you. To kneel before you mud-monkeys. Why? You're weak. Fragile. Frail. You are so scared of death, that you sacrifice anything to stay alive a moment longer. Your loved ones. Children. Your ancestors worshiped me. I lied to them. Told them I would bless them if they cast their babes into the fires. They did."

Her laugh echoed through the room.

"Cali," I said, letting the lance vanish. I gagged her. "I want a room constructed. One to hold her when she is not needed. Wrought of the power of the Hay. Golden chains to bind her to the wall. She will only be let out to fight." I put my foot on the Seductress's back and shoved her face to the floor. "And you will fight. You have to obey me when you are in my presence. I own you. My son will own you. His grandson. You are chained to us. You will be our mad bitch that we loose on our enemies before we throw you back in the kennel."

Cali smiled. "I will see that it is done." She flicked her gaze around. "Serena, Yuki, drag her this way."

"Gladly," said Serena. My Daughter-Maid flashed me an angry look.

I sank onto the couch. Mother brought me a glass of water. She peered at me with red-rimmed eyes, her cheeks stained with tears. "You should sleep, Lance. Bella has found her bed."

"Check in on her," I told her. "I..." She lost her arm because of me. How could I ever make that up to her?

"Okay." Mom kissed me on the cheek.

I looked around at the other maids. "Go. I want to be alone."

"Yes, Master," they said.

I watched them go. Izzy and Deborah must be suffering so badly right now. So was Mom. I stared at the black screen of the TV. It was a mirror, reflecting my naked body. I was strong, but I felt like such a boy. A failure.

More of my maids had died.

The door opened. I glanced back to see Ms. Docea entering with Marsha and Petra. She handed Petra the clipboard and approached me. She sat on the edge of the couch beside me, naked. She had been sleeping or celebrating the nuptials.

"We have finished our survey," she said. "All the Imprisoned are accounted for. The ones who were freed and re-bound have been replaced. Maids are crawling through the manor. Izzy and Deborah are marching with fury. Maybe..."

I pulled Ms. Docea to me. She gasped as I drew her onto my lap. She straddled me, staring at me with her red hair swaying around her face. She slid her arms around my neck. My hands slid around her waist to cup her rump.

"We have to find a way to stop them from ever crossing over," I said. "To shove them all back on the other side. The Seductress, the Imprisoned."

"Cali?" whispered Ms. Docea. You don't trust her."

I hesitated. "She's one of them, isn't she? Well, half of one of them. I've seen it in her eyes. She doesn't care about helping humans. She just cares about fulfilling the terms of her contract with my ancestor. If the Seductress cannot change, can Cali ever stop needing to fulfill the contract? Will she ever let us stop this from happening?"