The Golden Serpent Pt. 06: An Initiation

Note: Sorry this was so slow to come out. Hopefully the next part will not take so long.

Jack had no idea how long he'd been lying on this bed for. His whole body felt like lead. He had been fading in and out of consciousness for what felt like a while. He was starting to become aware that he had lost all sense of time.

Sometimes he would open his eyes and see daylight streaming in through the window. Other times, it was night, and the room was lit by the candlebra in the corner. But always, he would open his eyes to see a gorgeous young woman stood at his bed. Sometimes it was Rose, sometimes Kelly, occasionally it was some other scantily clad woman.

He wondered if the daylight was part of an intense lucid dream -- one of those dreams where he thinks has has woken up, and goes about his day, only to wake up later in bed. Perhaps it was was morning, and the night-time visitations were the dream? Whoever was stood at his bed would soon make him forget his train of thought.

Either way, Jack was having a great time.

It wasn't just the prostitutes keeping him here. During that post-orgasm trance, he was seeing things, learning things. He was beginning to understand who this "Dark Goddess" was. It wasn't quite accurate, but he could see that it was the best term that Isabelle and her congregation had to describe whatever it was that lay deep beneath the Manor.

Jack would mainly sense this "Goddess" as a presence that arose from the earth, up into the woods, part of the land itself. He wasn't sure, but perhaps this spirit was the land itself?

Sometimes this Goddess would appear as a perversion of the Virgin Mary, using her appearance to manifest and communicate. And it would show him things. Ancient things: old, long forgotten rituals. The charms and spells of previous inhabitants, lost to time. Curious ways to speak with the dead, spirits and demons. The names of other spirits under her dominion.

She was teaching Jack magic.

In his trances he would rise up, out of the building, looking down over the whole area.

There was a chapel, behind which men were digging in the earth with shovels and picks. Many of them wore clothes that were innapropriate for such work, but they dug with a driven look in their eyes. He couldn't see into the tunnel, but he knew that they were digging towards something of vital importance.

There were other men on this floor of the building too. He couldn't tell how many, but they were like him -- strung out on beds, being serviced by a harem of prostitutes, moving between the rooms like bees in a hive.

There was something off about the prostitutes -- their personalities weren't really their own somehow.

While Jack was passed out from orgasmic ecstasy, after being wanked off by the gorgeous Kelly for what felt like the thirtieth time, he rose out of his body and found himself looking down over the whole forest.

Something was happening, just beyond the forest.

Jack sensed others whose attentions had been drawn in the same direction as his. The women in the Manor would stop and look out of the window, as if sensing the same thing he did. The whole forest seemed stop briefly, sensing a disturbance in the force. But only he could see them.

On a nearby hill stood two women: a dark-haired woman in a suit, her hair tied up in a bun. And a blonde woman, younger, slim and attractive, even underneath a dark zip-up hoodie and combat trousers.

The woman in the suit was tracing a labyrinthine design into the earth with a knife. This action alone seemed to cause the woods to stop and take notice.

"Isabelle," Gabriella called out towards the woods. "Remember our bargain. Show yourself."

Gabriella and Francesca stood, waiting for something to happen.

"Are you sure you got the right information?"

"Be patient," said Gabriella. "We wait here until we receive a sign."

"Fine by me. If Celia is okay paying me to do nothing, then I'm happy. I'm just glad for the fresh air."

A flight of birds burst out of the woods beneath them. Pigeons. They flew low over the two of them. Gabriella shielded her eyes and looked in their direction. She gasped.

"I see it! Over there. Look."

Francesca looked.

"Jesus!" she exclaimed. "Where did that come from?"

In the woods down below, a huge stone building could be seen, partially obscured among the trees.

"Is that the Manor?" asked Francesca.

"It must be," said Gabriella, staring down at it.

"So it looks like I do actually have something to do."

"That's right. Head over there, check the place out, see what you can find. Then report back. I'll stay up here, waiting for you."

Francesca took off her fur coat, handing it to Gabriella.

"Fine. Look after this for me will you?"

Francesca wore a dark, zip-up hoodie over a pair of brown combat trousers and goretex boots. Her dagger was sheafed in a special compartment of her trousers.

"Good luck," said Gabriella, reaching for a pair of binoculars out of her backpack and hunkered down to watch, as Francesca jogged towards the woods below.

Francesca moved carefully through the woods, heading in the direction of the Manor. Keeping her eyes focused firmly ahead of her, she couldn't see any human activity, only hearing birdsong.

Eventually the trees thinned out, and Francesca could see the building. It was definitely an old Manor house, and it had seen better days. The house seemed to have caved in on one side, exposing a huge hole in the roof. The windows were empty of glass, revealing only darkness within.

The woods seemed to be reclaiming the building. Vines grew up the walls, and covered what seemed to be some ancient statues dotted around the grounds.

Francesca wanted to get closer and look at the statues, but she kept to the trees. She hunkered down and moved around the perimeter, trying to find signs of life.

The back of the Manor were almost totally covered in vines, climbing into the glassless windows. But Francesca was more interested in the small tents in the distance. These tents were definitely still in use.

As she got closer, she noticed that there didn't seem to be anyone in the tents, but they were pitched to the rear of a smaller stone building situated near the Manor. This building seemed to be clear of vines and in better repair than the rest of the place.

But between the building and the tents seemed to be a small excavation site. Mounds of earth and tools were littered besides what seemed to be a huge hole in the ground.

A figure climbed out of the hole, holding a shovel. A man in a dishevelled suit was holding a shovel, his pale face covered in dirt. Francesca judged that there were stairs beneath. She watched him enter one of the tents.

As Francesca crept closer to the back of the building, hiding behind a corner out of sight of the tents, she wondered if that guy was a hostage turned slave.

She turned to look through one of the ancient, high-arched windows into what may have been a kitchen. There was a stove that could not have existed in a house like this in this or the last century. A wooden table stood in the centre of the room, in front of cupboards and empty shelves on the wall.

Beyond that kitchen she saw nothing but gloom, and heard nothing but birdsong outside. The "worker" outside didn't seem to be doing anything. She raised a leg up onto the windowsill and climbed into the room.

Entering noiselessly, she skirted around the kitchen to what was once a doorway. No door existed there now, but she could peer through into the hallway beyond. All she could see was a deserted hall, long disused oil lamps mounted to the wall.

A loud thud. Francesca backed up against the wall. The noise was followed up by more repetitive knocks, reverberating through the house. It sounded like someone was hammering a nail into a wall. Another worker?

Francesca moved into the hallway, following the noise. She didn't see or hear anyone else, as she came to a doorway in the rear of the house through which sunlight poured out.

Peering around the corner, she noticed a larger room that could have been a dining hall, now empty. Three large windows allowed in the early afternoon sunlight. The floor was covered in a tarpaulin. The walls were bare, with pale rectangles where paintings may have once been.

And stood against the wall, just out of Francesca's view, was a stepladder. A man in overalls was hammering nails into the wall.

Peering to take a closer look, she quickly retreated around the corner. It was counsellor Gregor.

Counsellor Gregor Davidovitch was in this abandoned, magically disguised Manor house, fixing up the walls on his own. Francesca lingered near the doorway.

A second pair of footsteps entered the room. Francesca peered in again. From the doorway opposite, a tall woman in a blue robe entered. Pale yet stately looking, her robe covered everything about her except her face, her blue eyes. Francesca hid again.

"Isabella," Gregor said. "Good afternoon. Have you made progress?"

"Yes," said Isabella. "Everything is going to plan. We still have a few more rooms upstairs to accommodate more guests. Most of the men who show up are only really fit for the tunnels, but there have been a couple who are more useful."

"Good."

"And speaking of the tunnels," said Isabella. "How goes the excavation of the temple?"

"Slowly. None of the men you have picked up know what they're doing. They're a crew of amateurs, figuring it out as they go along. All they have is the will to dig, but not much else going on between their ears. At least nothing useful. Could you at least bring in some men with construction skills? Some archeologists with field experience would be perfect."

"We can't select who comes here," Isabella replied. "Our girls are only taking in whoever they can find on the streets."

"I guess it's a bit much to ask," replied Gregor. "Not to worry. Things are proceeding, albeit slowly. I could do with some help fixing this place up though. Some men with DIY experience would be perfect."

"As I said, we can't select. Have you reached the inner chambers yet?"

"Yes. Just. They cleared out the outer tunnels into the temple. But the temple itself turned out to be bigger than expected. We may have found an old stone altar. Lots of artifacts keep coming up -- chalices, bowls, pendants. It's going to be interesting, sorting through all that stuff when we finish."

"So you have found the temple?" Isabella sounded excited. "Good. Good. We will soon restore the temple. It will be a centre of power, as it once was, millenia ago."

"Of course," replied Gregor. "And my end of the bargain will also be upheld."

"Of course," replied Isabella.

"Right. Well, I should probably get back to work. I need to get back to Plymouth in a few hours."

"I will leave you to your work," said Isabella, before withdrawing back into the doorway through which she entered.

Francesca was making mental notes of this. The temple, the bargain, and the "guests" upstairs. She decided to see what was happening on the first floor.

On the other side of the hallway was a foyer with a set of stairs. The walls were stone, with ancient candlebras, and the stairs were well-maintained.

Halfway up the stairs, Francesca could hear more activity. The sound of heavy breathing and grunting. Occasional footsteps. Francesca slowed down and crept onto the first floor.

She emerged onto a hallway like the others. These rooms still had wooden doors. The first door she came to was open, and she peered into a bedroom with a decaying four poster bed. This room was lit by candle-light, and the first thing she noticed was the bare ass of a woman, riding a man cowgirl style on the bed.

The woman's blonde, wavy hair covered her bare shoulders. Her back was arched forward as she pushed her hips down over his hard cock, slowly lifting her pale buttocks upwards before sliding them down again, repeatedly. From where Francesca was stood, she could see her breasts swinging forward against the man's face each time she grinded down on his penis.

Francesca lingered there for a little longer, mesmerized by their heavy breathing, the way his cock disappeared into her pussy. She forced herself to check out the other rooms.

One door was open. Francesca peered in to see another four poster bed. This time, there was no woman -- just a man lying naked on the bed, eyes closed. This room had a window, and she could his pale, emaciated body in the daylight. His jacket and jeans lay on the floor nearby.

She heard high heels against the ancient flagstones. She quickly slid into the room and closed the door.

Immediately, she looked to the window. Like all the windows here, there was no glass. The four poster bed was decaying, the sheets looked filthy, wooden posts seemed to be rotting.

The man on the bed didn't seem to be in a better state. He seemed thin. The only part of his body that wasn't pallid was his spent cock, limp but still slightly engorged. His eyes were half-closed, but opened slightly as soon as Francesca entered the room. He looked at her.

"Hello," his voice was hoarse. "I haven't seen you before."

Francesca listened briefly at the door. She could still hear the heels walking along the corridor. There were so many questions she wanted to put to this emaciated man on the bed, but there was no time.

She moved to the window and looked out. The coast seemed clear. The drop seemed manageable.

"Hello?"

Francesca put a finger to her lips.

"You didn't see me," she whispered. "But I'll be seeing you, later. Possibly."

This was reconaissance, not a rescue mission. She jumped out the window, scaled down the side of the building and landed in the foliage, before sprinting into the trees.

Gabriella was still waiting for her, on the hill, phone at the ready.

"What did you see? What's down there?"

"A lot," replied Francesca. "But I'm still not sure what the hell is going on.

She told Gabriella everything -- the workers, the pit, the men and women on the first floor, the conversation between Gregor and Isabella. Gabriella's eyes lit up at the mention of Isabella.

"So Isabella is still there," said Gabriella.

"Excuse me?" replied Gabriella.

"Nothing. That's great, thanks a lot. We knew something was going on down there. Those people you saw, we think they are missing persons. Let's head back to the car."

Gabriella pressed a speeddial button on her phone as they walked.

"Celia," Gabriella said. "We've got the information you wanted."

That evening, Gabriella was sat in Celia's lounge, looking out over a lit swimming pool through french windows. The sun was going down over the town in the distance. Juliette sat adjacent from Gabriella on a leather couch. Celia sat across from them on a leather seat of her own, sipping tea over a glass coffee table.

"So Gregor is fixing up a ruined manor house, that he seems to have under supernatural protection. And he's excavating a temple to some ancient deity, as part of some bargain," said Celia.

"That seems to be the jist of it, yes," replied Gabriella. "And those missing people are in that house."

"That's what I don't understand," replied Celia. "I get the workers. But why does he have prostitutes wanking off men in a designated part of the building."

"I don't know."

"I have a theory," Juliette interjected. "You remember the ritual summoning we did in the woods? Where we met Isabella?"

"Yes," replied Gabriella. "And she's still there, in that manor."

"And you remember," Juliette continued, "everyone is being lured there by a Dark Goddess, to perform sexual acts in the woods. Remember also, she talked about getting the men to spill their seed as a sacrifice on their altar."

"Now you mention it, yes," said Gabriella.

"Well then, it's obvious what's going on. The lust, the debauchery -- it's all there to fuel the power of this Goddess. People are being drawn to that place by the pull of their libidos. And their semen is being harvested on the altar. I think the Goddess, the spirits, maybe both, are harvesting that power."

Celia's eyebrows were raised.

"What on earth is Gregor doing?" remarked Celia.

"Bargaining with an ancient spirit. He could become quite powerful as a result."

"While kidnapping and enslaving local people," interjected Gabriella.

"I would say that's more the work of the Goddess than Gregor," said Juliette. "It sounds to me as if Gregor has some say in the situation, but he is merely a partner. Her representative in the human world."

"You remember Sarah? Her boyfriend is probably in there," said Gabriella.

"Maybe we should send her in there, to get him back," said Juliette. "His memory of her might be enough to snap him out of whatever trance he is in."

"Isn't this a police matter?" said Celia.

"The police are paid off by Gregor," said Gabriella. "And besides, what will you tell them? That there's a manor house north of Plymouth that is protected by a magical glamour? With an ancient spirit controlling people's minds?"

"Even if you did do that," said Juliette. "The influence of the spirit on the local populace would still exist. You wouldn't diminish her power. She would just regroup and come back."

"So what now?" asked Celia. "We just send in Sarah on her own, to walk in and drag Jack out of there?"

"Not on her own," said Juliette, smiling. "I have a secret weapon. You remember Tom?"

"Tom?" said Celia. "He's a smart guy, and he seems like he can look after himself. You think he can do the job?"

"There's more to him than that," said Juliette. "I initiated him. There's a power in him that I think would be enough to take down that spirit."

Now Gabriella raised her eyebrows.

"You initiated him? How?"

"It was a sexual rite of course. I summoned the power of the Golden Serpent, a solar symbol of renewal and power. And I put that power right into his body."

Gabriella raised an eyebrow.

"And how did you put this power into his body?"

"Through his dick of course," said Juliette, matter-of-factly. "And I tested him. When he fucked me, it caused a shift in my energy field. He has a protective power, inside of him. But whenever he fucks someone, it changes their aura. It could lead to magical powers in those he has sex with."

"Julie," said Celia. "Why did you do this? We only wanted you to draw him in for the espionage job."

"Because he's handsome, I wanted him to fuck me, and I thought to myself, why not see if his dick can give me magical powers?"

"And did it?" asked Gabriella.

"My psychic abilities have increased. I am able to mesmerize people, like I mesmerized that man into participating in our ritual in the woods."

"You showed him your tits," said Gabriella.

"I had him under my infuence before then," replied Juliette.

"Okay," said Celia. "What are you proposing?"

"Send Tom in there to spill his seed on the altar. The power of his semen will be like sunlight into a vampires coffin. Sarah can get Jack while Tom has them distracted. Maybe your highly competent assistant Francesca can help."

"How do we get them in there, to the altar, without arousing suspicion?" said Celia.

"Getting Tom into that brothel in Stonehouse might be easier," said Gabriella. "He could gain their trust. But I have a more interesting idea I'd like to try. Sarah is still an outsider, but she is an associate member of our inner circle. But right now, like Tom, she is still expendable. This might be the initiation she needs. It could be an initiation for both of them."

Celia raised an eyebrow.

"An initiation?"

"It would be interesting to see what happens if Tom and Sarah fuck," responded Gabriella. "It would be especially interesting to see what happens to Sarah."

"And if they don't?" asked Celia.

"I think Juliette and her new-found powers of mesmerism could help. Maybe suggest a threesome," Gabriella turned her attention to Juliette. "Tom shouldn't take too much convincing. You saw the way he looked at Sarah in the Treasury."