The Golden Serpent Pt. 04: The Manor

"Are you sure these woods are quiet enough for this," asked Tara, her boots trudging through the leaves. "I've already seen two dog walkers."

"We'll have to go off-track, further into the woods," replied Dave. "We'll find somewhere quiet if we go deep enough."

"You'd better be right."

"Didn't think you'd be bothered about getting caught," said Dave. "If anything, I'd have thought you'd be into that."

"No," replied Tara. "I just don't want to get my kit off in front of a family picnic by accident. Let's not get done on public decency charges."

"Don't worry," he said. "I'll keep a lookout."

Dave was carrying his Nikon DLSR in his hand, and a backpack strapped to his back, dressed like a keen hiker out for a spot of nature photography. He wore his light North Face jacket over a pair of jeans and hiking boots.

Tara wasn't carrying anything except for the clothes she was wearing: A long, dark coat over her tight jeans. Her wavy, dark blonde hair went down just past her shoulders. Neither of them were dressed for anything more than a stroll in the countryside.

Dave led them off the track, into the woods, thick with ash trees.

"Dave," Tara asked, "What made you come up with this idea? Doesn't seem like you."

"Dunno," he said. "I had a dream this morning. It just gave me an idea."

"A dream?" Tara replied, frowning. It wasn't like Dave to give a shit about his dreams.

"Yeah," he replied. "An erotic dream."

"An erotic dream, eh? Tell me."

"We're walking through these exact woods. We're both naked. You look amazing. I'm just watching you, posing in front of me by the trees and it gave me some ideas."

"What kind of ideas?"

"For a photoshoot."

It was starting to make sense.

Dave had been getting more adventurous lately, since they started going to nudist beaches. It wasn't too far a stretch to think that his photography would also get more adventurous than the landscape shots he had been taking. He complained that his photography was getting boring. He would always say it was because his life was stagnant.

"What sort of shots are you looking for?"

"Well," he replied, "I've never worked with a model before. This will probably be amateurish stuff, just messing around. But it will give us something to build on."

Tara moved in front of him, stopping him.

"How's this for something to build on?"

With a grin, she opened her coat, revealing that she wasn't wearing anything under it. She jiggled her perky, D-cup tits at Dave. Her large, pink nipples danced in front him.

"Quick, take a shot!"

"You're not wearing anything under there!" exclaimed Dave. "No wonder you're on edge."

"Come on, take a shot before someone shows up."

Dave brought his camera up and took a picture, as Tara pulled the coat back over her shoulders, arching her back. He got down to a low vantage point. She kept still, allowing him to take a better underboob shot.

"Is this what you had in mind?" she asked.

"It's better," Dave replied. "You're pretty good at this modelling thing."

Tara abruptly covered herself back up after he took a few shots.

"Come on," she said, "Let's go somewhere more secluded."

They hiked deeper into the woods, clambering over rocks, before finding themselves in an area where there was no sign of humanity -- no signs, no rubbish, no roads. Just tall ash trees, clustered togther among denser foliage.

"What about here?" asked Tara.

"Yeah," he said, looking around. He paused, listening for noise. "This'll do. Get your kit off then."

Tara pulled her coat off, chucking it on the floor, her tits speckled with shadow from the waning sunlight through the trees.

She put her thumbs behind the waistband of her jeans, leaning back against a tree. Dave liked the way she stood there, looking at him, in that pose.

"So, how do you want me then?"

Dave immediately took a shot.

"That's good."

She started posing, angling her body to the side, squeezing her tits. Dave's erection started to press against the inside of his jeans.

"Show us a little bit more," he asked.

She turned around, facing a tree, arching her perfect back forward. From here Dave, could see the sides of her tits from behind her, and that was just as arousing as seeing them from the front.

She undid her jeans and pulled them down, bending over, her pale, round ass reflecting the sunlight.

She stood upright, placing her hands against the ash tree, above her head. Dave immediately started taking shots from the back, and from the side where he could see her tits sag down as she bent over, the curve of her perfect ass reflecting the last of the sunlight. Her jeans were still down around her ankles.

"Kick your jeans off," said Dave. "I want to take some low angle shots."

He put his hands on her jeans, allowing her to take her feet out of them. She was now completely naked, outdoors, the wind against her skin, feeling the breeze. She smiled.

A dog barked behind them.

Two black dogs stood about ten metres away from them. They barked some more.

Tara screamed and bolted off into the woods. Dave grabbed her jeans and boots and ran after her.

Dave saw Tara dive behind a large thick tree that he couldn't identify. He crouched beside her as she peered around it.

"Are they gone?" she asked.

"I can't see them."

"What the fuck are people doing, walking their dogs out here?"

"I couldn't see any people with them." said Dave.

"It's okay," he said. "I don't see anyone. They're gone."

He handed the jeans to her.

"Where's my coat?"

"Shit."

"You left my coat there?" Tara started to look pissed off.

"You just sprinted off, everything happened so fast."

"Fuck's sake. Now we'll have to go back and get it. Those fucking dogs better not be there."

"Come on, let's go back, we didn't go that far. They might have gone by now."

Dave led the way, Tara following, her arms folded over her tits, creating a cleavage that would have looked sexy on a less pissed off looking woman. Although it was still kind of sexy.

Dave stopped at the place where he thought they had run off from. But everywhere looked the same -- the trees gave the place a kind of uniformity. He looked around, and pretended not to be confused.

There was no coat, and no sign of any dogs.

"Must be further along," he said.

"I don't like this," said Tara, "I thought it was here."

"Keep walking," said Dave, looking at the ground, trying to notice disruptions in the leaves as if he were an expert tracker.

They kept walking. The sun rapidly dipped beneath the trees. Dave had given Tara his coat, leaving him in a black T-shirt.

"It's getting dark. Let's just head home," said Dave.

Tara was too tired to be angry.

"Fine."

Dave had already accepted that sex probably wasn't on the cards tonight. Before he had a chance to think any further on it, he was distracted by an orange glow in the distance, between the trees.

"Is that a fire?" Dave asked.

Tara followed Dave's line of sight.

"Probably a bunch of kids getting wasted in the woods," she responded.

"Yeah, probably," said Dave, not taking his eyes off the lights as they walked on.

But as they walked closer, Dave saw something he couldn't ignore. A woman in a white robe was kneeling before the fire. Around her, he noticed three other figures in the gloom.

"What is that?" he remarked, prompting Tara to stop and look.

Then another dog barked behind them. Tara bolted, screaming, right towards the light of the fire.

Naturally, Dave followed Tara, although he couldn't see any dogs. He was more concerned about Tara, and whatever it was she was running into.

They burst into the clearing. The woman in white was kneeling before the fire: quiet, heavy-lidded, as if in a trance. Her dark hair framed a face pale in the firelight. Dave couldn't place her age -- he guessed she was in her late thirties.

Three other women were present, stood around the kneeling woman on the ground.

Behind her was a blonde woman in latex. She looked a little older, forties, maybe pushing fifty. But her body belied her age - her slim waist and busty figure accentuated by the tight black latex, gleamed in the light. The first thing he noticed was how the zip on her latex bodysuit was down to her navel, exposing her large breasts almost to the nipple -- at least as far as he could tell.

Another woman, also dark-haired, with perfect pale skin, and piercing green eyes. She seemed to be around the same age as the woman in latex. She wore a red blouse open far enough down to reveal an impressive cleavage. It took Dave a while to notice the necklace around her neck, and her gold bracelets.

There was another woman, this one dressed more casually than the others in a dark, oversized dress shirt that went down to just above her knees, accuentuating her also generous figure. She looked to be of Japanese descent, her dark straight hair down to her shoulders. Her pale, delicate features reflected the fire light with a smiling calm. She stepped forward towards them.

"Ah!" she gasped. "You've come!"

"Sorry?" said Dave.

"So sorry," said a flustered Tara, "we didn't mean to disturb you. We got chased in here by dogs."

"Dogs?" said the woman, raising an eyebrow. She seemed posh. Dave could tell she wasn't from around here.

"Yes," replied Tara. "I got scared and ran in here. Look, really sorry, we'll be on our way."

"No, please, stay," she implored. "We're having a gathering. The more the merrier."

Tara looked at this gathering. She had no idea what was happening, but it looked like fun.

Dave also had no idea what to make of this, but any concerns he had disappeared when he noticed the green-eyed brunette unbuttoning her blouse, completely. He could now see that she wasn't wearing a bra under there, although she didn't take her top off completely as he expected.

"I'm Gabriella," said the posh lady. She gestured in turn to the blonde latex woman, and the woman in the red blouse. "This is Jane, and this is Juliette. They help me run a local theatre company."

Dave and Tara introduced themselved politely. Then the woman in the open red blouse reached forward touching Dave's arm, her blouse opening a little further. Her eyes and light touch seemed electric to him. She spoke with a sonorous voice, a french accent.

"Please," she smiled at him. "Stay."

As Dave was looking into the compelling eyes of the french woman, Tara was looking at the woman in white by the fire.

"Is she okay?" she asked.

"Kathy here is in a trance," Gabriella explained.

"Is she a medium or something?" asked Dave.

"Yes, you could say that. We are planning to draw out the spirits of this forest to gather here. We have questions for them."

"Spirits of the forest?" said Dave, frowning.

The french lady pulled her blouse open, revealing her huge tits in the firelight. They sagged a bit, but Dave was into that. Her nipples were large and pink, like Tara's, but spread out her larger breasts.

"Yes," said the french woman, "the spirits of the forest. Do you want to stay and help us?"

Dave's sudden sexual arousal, combined with the weirdness of this whole situation, almost rendered him speechless. Even without the blood rushing to his dick, he wouldn't have been able explain what was happening in front of him.

"What the hell kind of séance is this?" he asked, pretending to be unfazed.

"It will take more than a ouija board to entice the local spirits," said Jane. She had more a local, Devon accent.

"Is this theatre?" asked Dave. "Or is it a paranormal investigation?"

Dave started to wonder if there were hidden cameras watching them for some weird prank.

"A bit of both," said Jane. "We'll need to be a little theatrical to entice...whatever is out there to chat with us."

'The spirits like to experience the pleasures of earthly life,' Gabriella continued. "Do you fancy helping us to make that happen?"

Tara had a grin on her face. She glanced at the french lady's huge breasts, and felt her nipples harden against the polyester lining of Dave's jacket.

"Yeah, why not? We'll join you," Tara piped up. "Won't we, Dave?"

"What do you need from us?" asked Dave.

"That depends on what the spirits want," said Gabriella. "Now you're here, we can begin."

She pulled out a book, as Jane moved around behind Kathy, kneeling beside her. Juliette joined them, holding Kathy's hand.

"Please," Gabriella gestured to them, "sit by the fire."

Dave and Tara knelt by the fire, opposite Kathy.

Gabriella picked up a large, thick paperback from the group and opened it, reciting from it:

"I consecrate this ground for our protection, in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit..."

Dave was more confused than ever. Gabriella appeared to be delivering what sounded like a Church sermon, in front of an entranced medium, a latex-clad dominatrix, and a topless French woman. Tara didn't seem to be reacting, just watching this like it was a bizarre art-house film.

Dave started paying more attention to Kathy's heaving breasts, as she breathed faster and deeper beneath her robe.

"Kathy?" said Jane.

No response.

"Who is there?" asked Gabriella.

Kathy opened her eyes and looked at Gabriella, like she had never seen her before.

"What is your name?"

"Emily," Kathy managed, in a raspy breath.

"Emily?" asked Gabriella. '"Who are you? What are you doing here, Emily?"

There was a brief pause.

"I'm not sure any more," said Emily. "I used to to live in the town nearby. Now I'm...here."

Every word seemed strained, rasping.

"How did you end up here?"

"I don't know."

"How old are you, Emily?"

"I can't remember. But I'm definitely over eighteen years old."

"Good. Is there anyone else around here?"

"Yes. Many."

"She's right," said Juliette, staring into the darkness beyond them. "I see them, around us, watching."

Dave was still figuring them out. Kathy was clearly the trance medium, but Juliette seemed to be psychic was well. Did the other two women have psychic powers?

"Who are they?" Gabriella continued.

Kathy looked over at Juliette, glancing down at her breasts, wide-eyed. Juliette smiled back.

"Everyone who died here. We all end up in these woods."

"Everyone? Are you saying, everyone who dies in this area ends up here?"

"Yes. And not just them. There are others."

"Others? Tell me about these others."

Juliette stroked Kathy's back, as Emily gazed at everyone else around the campfire through Kathy's eyes.

'They may have been human once, but older. They existed before people lived here.'

"Ancient, primordial spirits," said Juliette. "Fairies, satyrs, dryads, elementals, there are many spirits like this."

"Difficult to tell the difference," said Emily. "Between my people and theirs. They may have been us, once."

"Well, Emily, today is your lucky day," said Gabriella. "You get to experience the pleasures of the flesh once more, through this vessel you are in right now. What would you like to experience, now, while you are in this body?"

Jane started to stroke Emily's arms. Juliette, being less subtle, took Emily's hands and placed them on her breasts, squeezing them.

Kathy gasped, yelped, and then fainted back into Jane who held her from behind.

"Fuck's sake Julie," sighed Gabriella, "That was too far. She probably hasn't seen anyone in a hundred years and you immediately shove your tits in her face."

Juliette shushed her.

"Quiet," said Juliette. "The spirits are still here. They haven't done with us. Be quiet."

There was a pause.

"Someone is coming," she continued.

Everyone watched as Kathy's eyes flicked open. Jane released her as she knelt upright.

"Kathy?" said Jane.

"No."

Everyone watched Kathy as she rose to her feet. Dave thought she looked eery, the hippyish white robe now resembled a shroud.

She seemed taller now. Gabriella looked her up and down.

"Who is this?"

"My name is Isabella." Kathy's voice sounded low, huskier now. "I have lived here for a long time. Much longer than you."

"Who are you, Isabella? Tell me about yourself."

"I am a shade of the dead now. But I still reside in my old home, at Courtenay Manor."

Gabriella made a mental note of the manor house.

"Isabella, what can you tell us about these woods? Why are all the local dead drawn to this place?"

"It's not just the dead. The living are drawn here too. They are summoned by the same dreams that drew us out into the woods, over two hundred years ago now."

"Dreams? What dreams?"

"Dreams of the dark Goddess, the dark spirit that lies beneath these woods. She appears like a woman, but monstrous. And she lures all of us, men and women, to the manor."

"The Courtenay Manor?"

"Yes. The Manor. Home of the Courtenay family."

"Were you a member of that family?"

"No. I was among the staff. The family abandoned the manor before it fell. Only the servants were left afterwards."

"How did the Manor fall?"

"The Courtenay's fled and left the house to rot. First it was the dreams, that summoned a few of us servants to the chapel at night, where we received instructions from the Virgin Mary. She led us into the woods, to perform acts that would have been unspeakable to our masters. The Blessed Virgin wanted us girls to encourage the men to leave their chambers with whorish behaviour. She wanted their seed as a sacrifice on their altar.

"Only it wasn't the Virgin Mary. It was someone, something, much older, using the Virgin as a mask. Who else would we take spiritual instruction from?

"Our congregation grew fast among the servants. We all had the dreams. When the young master of the house found out, he was lured to the chapel by one of our housemaids. The rest of the family found out too. We all lost our jobs. But we returned after they fled."

Gabriella listened to all this, frowning. This was the longest she had ever heard a spirit talk for, even through a medium as talented as Kathy. She had so many questions, but she wanted to focus on the most important one first.

"Where is this Manor?" Gabriella asked.

"You can't find it. It is invisible to all but those we choose. We guard it from outsiders, except for one outsider who comes and goes as he pleases."

Gabriella's eyes lit up.

"Tell me about this outsider."

"A sorceror, from the town to the south, I don't know what you call that place today. He was also summoned by the dreams, but he was strong enough to resist her power. He made a deal with the dark spirit, and now they work together for some mysterious purpose."

"A sorceror? Does this sorceror reside at the Manor?"

"He comes and goes. He is helping to restore the Manor to it's old glory. But he has business away in town."

"Can you help me get into this Manor? Will you show me where it is?"

"I can help you get there," replied Isabella, with a wide grin. "I can show you where it is, and how to get in. But there is something I want, first."

"Of course. What is it?"

Isabella looked down at Kathy's body, running her hands up and down her torso, cupping her breasts, squeezing them and sighing.

"I want to experience all the pleasures this body has to offer."

Isabella reached down and tore off the robe, revealing Kathy's naked body to all. A sheen of sweat covered her torso, reflecting the firelight off the curves of her breasts.

Dave, who had been sat there speechless the whole time, suddenly felt himself get rock hard. He didn't notice Tara, who had been sat there with her mouth open.

Isabella pointed at Dave and Tara, sat huddled in their hiking gear.

"And I want these two. That is my deal," said Isabella.

Jane quietly sighed with relief.

"You want...us?" Tara managed.

"How does that sound?" said Gabriella.

"I'm up for it," said Tara. Dave watched as Tara stood up, unzipping the North Face jacket and throwing it to the floor. Isabella's unholy spirit vision burned through Kathy's eyes as she looked upon Tara's breasts.