Sisterhood of the Brass Mask

Mirembe opened her mouth to cry out again. Suwarya stuffed the damp garment between her friend's lips. "Sorry. But we don't want the neighbors to gossip," she explained, as Mirembe whimpered around the gag. "After you're done, we have an errand to run. We need to visit a few friends."

*

Much later that night, Suwarya shuffled under the basket she'd balanced on her head, the one with all her belongings she'd jammed into it.

That dim-witted, thick-headed, tired old baboon! She couldn't believe it. Tiko had demanded to know where she'd been, and why she smelled "funny".

He hadn't even believed that she bathed at Mirembe's house because it was so hot -- and that part was entirely true! She teetered in the dark, with the weight on her head, unused to carrying so much.

She was almost at Nynah's compound. Just a little further. She'd had to cross the length of the Hazard alone at night. If she wasn't so angry, she might have been afraid for her life. But then, she was in Stone Guards' territory, and she knew Jabar. Who would give her trouble?

When she and Mirembe had left Nynah's a few hours earlier, everything had been working so well. They told the sisters about the demon, which appeared again. Cora -- who, truth be told, was kind of a slut -- was already making cow eyes at it. So they left it there, to make friends.

What a bizarre turn of events. All in a half of a day, she had encountered a weird creature, had the best sex of her life, and been thrown out by her husband.

Suwarya couldn't understand why people were so afraid of demons. This one didn't seem all that smart, and only wanted to rut. In fact, if she had been the scheming type, she would probably find some way to turn this whole adventure to her advantage. But all she wanted was to have a little fun.

She sighed. At least she had a place to sleep. And she'd have the demon around whenever she needed a good rutting.

Like now.

Suwarya reached the rugged entrance to Nynah's compound and banged on the gate. The basket nearly toppled again as she lost her footing in the mud. She could have sworn she heard faint moaning inside.

She knocked loudly, again. "Nynah!"

Footsteps sounded inside, and the gate swung open.

Nynah was a sllim woman with a brazen, turned-up nose. Her hair was a tangle of braids that hung partly across her face. She was sweaty, and wore nothing but a faded red kanga skirt that was hitched up high enough to cover her modest breasts.

"Suwarya!" the young widow said, brightly. "What are you doing back? Did you forget something?"

"Tiko kicked me out. Can I stay here tonight?" Suwarya was sure she heard a woman's cries now.

"Of course," Nynah said, ushering her in.

"What is going on in here?"

"By the seven fathers, this creature is amazing! It just keeps going!" Nynah led her past a couple of huts. There, on a mat, in the middle of the yard, were Cora and the demon coupling.

Cora, shorter than her sister and curvy, lay on her side facing Suwarya. The demon was stretched out behind her, holding up her thick leg and plowing her from behind. Cora's dark skin gleamed in the candlelight as the beast's massive cock stretched her cunt. The woman's eyes were closed, bare foot flexed in the air.

"But..." Suwarya stammered. "It's been hours. She's still at it?"

"This is her second turn," Nynah said, with a mischievous grin. "Afafa and I have each already had one."

The demon rasped behind the little round mask it wore, ramming its shaft into Cora's gaping channel, its heavy sac flopping up with each stroke. Cora's hand drifted to her pleasure nub. She rubbed the hood of it as the cock reamed her. Drool hung from the corner of her mouth.

Suwarya remembered how much that wonderful, thick piece of popo had filled her. Her cunt throbbed with emptiness.

She set down her basket. "Well, then... when is it my turn?"

*

"You can't be serious," Suwarya said. "You want to start a brothel?"

The women sat around the yard. Suwarya and Nynah chopped greens and eggplant for a stew that was brewing, while Cora braided Afafa's hair. Mirembe was in one of the huts, moaning and groaning with the demon. By the generous ancestors, that woman was loud! The grass walls of the hut actually trembled.

"A brothel for lonely women," said Afafa. The middle sister, though hugely pregnant, was lanky and thin, turning her long neck to allow Cora a better angle.

"We have to do something," Nynah said. "As long as we are getting plowed, no work is getting done. Sooner or later, someone will discover the creature. And what happens when Afafa's husband returns at the end of the season?"

"This is so wrong," Suwarya protested. "For one, no woman is going to pay to have sex with that thing."

The others all turned skeptical looks on Suwarya. Each of the four had rutted the demon twice in twenty-four hours. Suwarya came so much the last time, she had actually squirted her nectar all over the mats. The yard reeked of sex.

All she'd wanted was a frolic, a lover to have fun with. Then she had to share it with four other women. That was bad enough. Then she got kicked out of the house, and now they wanted to rent her new lover to the whole city!

"What I mean to say," Suwarya stammered, "is women don't have coin to pay. Especially not women in the Hazard."

"They can trade," Cora said. "They can pay in chickens, ugali dough, woven baskets, braided hair..."

"What if the demon leaves? It came to me from somewhere. What if it wants to go back?"

"We could tie it to the wall!" Afafa said.

Suwarya gasped. "You wouldn't!"

"We won't tie it to the wall. And we won't call it a brothel," Nynah snapped. "It will be our secret society. The men have their gangs, their mystic brotherhoods and guilds. We will have our... Sisterhood of the Brass Mask!"

"Our sex cult," Cora quipped.

"It's not a cult!"

"Did you know its seed tastes just like smoked dika nuts?" mused Afafa.

"You would know that, you ate so much."

"What if it runs away?" Suwarya cut in. "What kind of sisterhood will you have then?"

Nynah dumped a bowl of greens into the bubbling stew. "We make the most of the creature while we have it. If it leaves, we'll be better off than before it came," she said. "When the rains fall, spare the well."

Suwarya thought bitterly back to that proverb during the next hours. She had to make two trips to collect well water to scrub clothing and sleeping mats.

She'd never had to work this hard at home. Tiko had coin to pay a girl to clean and prepare meals.

She also missed the bed Tiko had constructed; a rough wooden frame topped by reed-stuffed linen. After three years of marriage, her back and neck had fallen in love with the bed, even if she didn't miss his presence in it.

That night, she spent the first hour trying to pile enough mats underneath her to be comfortable. When that failed, she lay on her back, spare clothing bundled beneath her head, and tried counting stars to put herself to sleep.

The three sisters slept in their own huts, leaving Suwarya to sleep outside in the yard. The demon had last been in Nynah's hut, but they had long since fallen quiet.

Suwarya began to drowse, only to startle awake when she felt something with many legs skitter over her calf. She brushed it off in disgust.

Maybe it had been a mistake to leave Tiko. She believed him when he said -- as he often did -- that he would do anything to please her. He was older, and preoccupied with his trade, but not unkind.

"You always want what you can't have, Suwa," her brother used to scold her.

But how did you know what you could have if you always settled for something less?

A brief, scrabbling sound came from the corner of the compound wall. Suwarya listened, heart thumping in her chest. She felt exposed. What if someone was trying to sneak in? The wall was low enough that she could reach the top. Anyone could climb over it.

After a few minutes, she mustered enough courage to go investigate. She wasn't going to be able to sleep anyway. She picked up a piece of kindling for a club, and quietly crept towards the corner of the yard, moving slowly over the uneven ground.

Stars lit the corner well enough to see that there was no one there. Suwarya set her ear near the wall to listen for noises on the other side. All she heard were distant shouts, the sounds of dogs barking, the hoot of an owl. The sounds of the city sleeping.

She spotted a ripple in the night air, just above the wall. Just like the day before, in the alley. And there was a smell like ash.

"Are you there, demon?" she whispered.

She gasped. As if someone had thrown paint over clear crystal, the beast appeared, crouching atop the wall, the mask staring down at her silently. Then the gaunt creature turned and sat again, looking out into the night.

Suwarya set down the wood. She placed her hands on top of the wall and struggled to hoist herself up. The demon cocked its head, watching her for a moment, before it reached down a clawed hand. It was surprisingly strong. Soon she was sitting beside it, bare feet dangling over the edge.

From here, she could see the enormous hill of Namu, crowned by Gold City, spires and domes of the Great Houses aglow with amber light. Stretched out before it was the Hazard, lit with hundreds of flames like the stars in the sky. Behind, to the south and west, was the vast darkness of the great savanna.

She turned to the creature. Suwarya couldn't see much of it in the night, but she wondered what it was thinking. Or if it was thinking. It had only been interested in sex before. But perhaps now it was sated, and it craved something else.

"Are you missing your home too? Where do you come from?"

The demon stared back at her.

"Zoo-ra," it rasped. It said more, garbled and unintelligible. Then she remembered that it spoke with a western accent.

"Tell me again," Suwarya said. "Slowly. Repeat what you said."

"Woman house. Orchid house. Find Zoo-ra."

"You come from a house? You're looking for a house?"

"Orchid house."

"What is zoo-ra?"

"Zoo-ra friend."

Suwarya waited for a bit longer, hoping that it would say more. But it didn't, turning back, shoulders slumped, to gaze into the night. She reached out to touch its arm, feeling tiny, smooth scales under her fingers. Then, gingerly, she laid a head on its slim shoulder.

"Well," she whispered. "I hope you find your friend, demon."

*

The gossip spread like wildfire. Women started coming the next day. They brought with them all manner of exchange. The first led a goat on a leash. Another brought a jar full of cowpeas. Another offered beaded jewelry. Yet another had a basket full of brightly dyed kanga skirts, probably stolen. Some of them even wore crude masks.

Every day, the compound resounded with the orgasmic cries of women who bought an hour in a hut with the randy demon. Nynah's compound filled with the spoils of the Sisterhood of the Brass Mask.

Suwarya's turns grew fewer and farther between.

Within a week, it had reached the point where she didn't even want to rut the demon anymore. She would awake at night to hear it, climbing the wall. Sometime Suwarya would perch there with it, and listen to it mutter about Zoo-ra. Clearly, it was homesick, as out of place as she was.

One day, she was returning to the compound with another heavy jug of water on her head, when she saw Nynah and Cora standing at the gate. They panted with excitement, Cora armed with a large pestle, Nynah with a boning knife.

"Two men came looking for their wives," the eldest sister said.

"We need you to talk to the Stone Guards," huffed Cora.

"What? Why me?"

"You know that one you've been rutting. This is Stone Guards' territory. You need to make a deal for us, for protection."

Suwarya set down her jug. "Don't you think this has gone too far? Someone is going to get hurt."

"That," Nynah said slowly, as if Suwarya were stupid, "is why we need the gang. For protection."

"By the ancestors, Suwa, do you want to be in the Sisterhood or not?"

Suwarya threw up her hands. She had to find a way out of this. "This is crazy. What am I supposed to bargain with?"

Nynah shrugged. She peered down the narrow pathway to see if anyone else was coming.

"Give them your goat," suggested Cora.

*

Eventually the rains would come, and Suwarya wouldn't have a dry place to sleep. She wasn't sure that Tiko would take her back. Even if he did, going back to him would feel like defeat. The truth is, she wasn't very good at being a faithful wife, and didn't want to start.

Mirembe didn't come around Nynah's compound anymore. She said she needed to tend to her family, and wanted nothing to do with the Sisterhood. She'd had her fun, and then decided to wipe her hands of the whole mess. As if she hadn't been involved from the beginning.

Suwarya needed to do something.

Since I don't know what is wise, I may as well do what is right.

She climbed up the potholed path, toward the large compound that Jabar's family owned. She wore her best tunic and skirt, hair braided and adorned with wooden beads, skin freshly washed and daubed with coconut oil. The young ruffian's grandfather ran a brewery, and -- according to gossip -- was one of the leaders of the Stone Guards.

In the labyrinth of the slum, the gang was all strapping young brutes. But above them, it was controlled by older, wiser men.

Suwarya would never forget that Jabar abandoned her in that alley. But if she played this the right way, he could help her.

Also, he still made her wet.

The goat bleated, following on a tether behind her.

"Yes, I know," she said. Concentrate on the task at hand.

The gate was open. Suwarya stepped aside for two stout porters, as they eased jugs of beer down the hill. Immense cisterns and vats filled the inner yard, attended by workers who stirred, poured and drained the fermenting millet. The place reeked of yeast, tinged by the crisp scents of waterberry and ginger.

Jabar gambled with a group of Stone Guards under a copse of evergreens. They crouched around a massive tree stump playing a game of chance called throwing the bones. Like the rest of them, Jabar was bare-chested. He wore a headdress, a tight cap with a tail that draped down his back and covered his braided locks.

As she approached, others pointed her out, and he turned his head.

"Suwa! Infernal hells! I've been looking everywhere for you."

He stood, stepping back from the stump, displaying the bull's horn tattoo on his well-defined chest. He gestured for her to join him, as the others continued to play.

"You've been looking for me?"

"Of course. I've been worried."

One of the Guards, a muscled, bald man, threw the painted animal teeth across the flat surface of the stump. The others groaned as several dots turned up when the pieces came to rest. He took a pile of copper bits the others had put in the pot.

"I can see how very worried you are."

She wondered how he would explain running away and leaving her. She guessed that he would just pretend it never happened.

"Oh, Suwa. Don't be cruel," Jabar said, looking her up and down with a smoldering glance. "In fact someone else has been looking for you. He's come and found me in the streets."

Suwarya swallowed. "Tiko?"

"The old fool thinks I have you. He said to tell you that he forgives you, and he just wants you back."

"Oh. What did you tell him?"

"What could I say?" Jabar shrugged. "I told him I'd never touched you, but would keep an eye open." Even as he lied, his arm snaked around her waist. His fingers slipped under her tunic, making her warm.

"Thank you," Suwarya said. "But that's not why I came."

"I know why you came," he murmured hungrily into her ear.

"Stop," she said. But of course she didn't mean it, and she shivered as his fingers wormed their way under the top of her skirt, caressing her tender flesh. "Nynah and her sisters, you know them."

"Yes. The nutty ones."

"Well, they have a new trade, and they want Stone Guards protection." Suwarya squirmed as his fingers continued to play with her, dancing over the sensitive area between her belly and her mound. It was hard to concentrate, but she didn't want him to stop. She loved these games they played.

"What business?"

"A women's secret society," Suwarya said. "In truth, it's a sex group. I want nothing to do with it."

Jabar's dipped his head, inhaling her fragrance. His lips were close enough to her neck that she could feel his hot breath. "That sounds like it would be just your thing, Suwa," he said it a low voice.

Suwarya shuddered. "They want to pay in kind. That's what the goat is for."

"That's out of Guards territory, I think," he said, raising his voice. "Jiro! Where Nynah and them live. Isn't that the new gang's territory? What's he go by? Dalef?"

"No," the bald man replied. "Dalef and his gang got snuffed a couple weeks back. I think it's Shadow Jackals' again. But it's hard to say because there isn't much trade over that way. She might be in neutral territory."

Jabar's hand pushed Suwarya's tunic up above her breasts and began to fondle the big, sensitive orbs of flesh. Several of the Guards were now watching her more than they were the game.

"The Guards won't officially do it," Jabar said to her. "But I might be able to get a few of my friends here to help, for the right... incentive."

"They're all watching," Suwarya whispered.

"That's what I mean. Let my boys here watch, and maybe touch a little. I'll take Jiro over and work something out with Nynah and them."

"I don't know..." she stammered, her eyes drifting shut as he tugged her halter down and tweaked her nipples.

"I think you know," he said, nibbling at her neck.

"Ooh... you swear you'll help them?"

She did trust Jabar. She'd known him for years, from when Tiko had done woodwork for the brewery.

Suwarya glanced around. The yard was full of people fermenting and boiling millet beer. All of them would be able to see her.

Why was she always doing foolish things for sex?

Jabar eased her forward. The group of Stone Guards parted as he bent her over the stump. Hands reached for her pendulous breasts, kneading the tender flesh, tugging at her nipples. Their earthy, sweaty scent overcame her. Jabar slowly pushed the hem of her skirt up her legs.

Suwarya planted her hands on the stump as the men groped her, rubbing her breasts, her sides, her neck. She whimpered as she felt Jabar's nose between the cheeks of her ass, his lips mouthing her already damp loincloth. She reveled in the depravity of it, men gathered so thick around her she doubted anyone could see her.

Jabar's fingers hooked the strings of her loincloth. She felt the thin garment steadily

wending its way down her legs. At the same time, someone pulled her tunic over her head.

Were they going to strip her naked right here? Was she going to let them? Her cunt throbbed, as she stepped out of the undergarment.

A flood of sensations overwhelmed her. The tugging on her stiff nipples, the hands running over her bare back, and the finger that dipped so easily into her dripping sex. Jiro dropped his trousers, brandishing a thick popo in front of her face. He grasped her head and smacked her face with the half-hard rod before she slid it into her mouth.

Jabar knew her body well. Before long, he was plumbing her, hooking his fingers inside her and massaging the bundle of nerves just under the roof of her sex. Suwarya bobbed on Jiro's cock as her nectar trickled down her thighs. Her knees buckled as she shuddered through an orgasm. If there weren't so many hands holding her, she would have crumpled to the ground right there.