They Always Wait

As I neared the wall, tendrils of that icy fog reached out for me and pulled me in. I knew I was alive because my heart was pounding in my ears, but otherwise I felt cold as Death. My heart should have stopped. Not because of the icy fog but because of the mammoth hound standing and staring at me as I entered the room. I didn't need candles here. Its eyes and breath lit up the space around us.

I stood with my back to the swirling misty wall as it solidified behind me, too scared to move or even break eye contact with the Mastiff from Hell. It regarded me with flaming eyes and nostrils and wisps of flame escaping its mouth as it breathed. Then suddenly, he sat. Just sat down on his haunches like any normal dog and his tongue lolled out as he panted slightly and kept watching me. I got the feeling I was supposed to do something, but what? The idiotic idea of petting the "good boy" crossed my mind and I wondered whose pet this was? One of the demons, obviously. Sitting, his head was as tall as my shoulder. I tried willing myself to move.

When I figured out how to put one foot forward and fall on it, then the other, in an approximation of walking, I inched away from the wall so I could turn and look at it, but at the same time kept one eye firmly fixed on the panting mountain of fur. How does a fur-bearing animal deal with breathing fire? I thought out of nowhere. Just one more mystery, I guess. When I could see the wall, it was as I had suspected... solid, with no indication that a door was any way involved. Here we go, again, I thought. You're really good at stepping in it, Will. Well, let's look around and see what kind of shit we're in this time.

I was in another circular room, like the first one, except this one was dominated by this huge brute. There were similar red and white markings on the wall, which gave me hope that I might be able to find the glyph to get out of this place, if the dog didn't eat me first. Roast me and eat me, more likely. This room had a low bench against the wall, as did the first, and this one, too, had some items on it. The one that got my attention immediately was a statue, about two feet tall, of a nude female having all kinds of sex with a bunch of skeleton-like males.

I say female, rather than woman, because although she was beautiful as women go, she had wings. Bat-like wings. And a barbed tail. I inched over to take a closer look, afraid of the beast, but it didn't do anything except sit there and watch me. When I got to the statue, I noticed an inscription on its base. Gloria In Blasphemantes, Profanus Agrat, Creatorum Inproborum. I had a pretty good idea what blasphemantes and profanus meant, so I decided this must be a shrine to Agrat bat Mahlat. I decided leaving the statue right where it was would be a very good idea. There was a another piece of parchment and, not having learned from last time, I picked it up to read it. I didn't get a horde of nasty shadow creatures jumping out at me. What I got was a list of names, most of them crossed off. The bottom of the list made my decision to get out of there simple. Two up from the bottom was my mother's name, with a line through it. One up was my father's name with a check mark but no line. The last name, neither check marked nor crossed off, was mine. When I turned to start searching for the "V" glyph to let me out, the dog growled.

I was suddenly afraid that the purpose of the dog wasn't to keep me out, but rather to keep me in. I realized that there had to be a purpose for the huge animal to be in the room in the first place, unless Agrat had a thing for really huge dogs. I turned to face him and he sat there with that universal dumb dog look, panting slightly and watching me. As soon as I turned away, I heard the rumble.

In desperation, I decided to risk scorching my hand. "Good doggie..." I told it as I moved a little closer. "Nice doggie..." Maybe if I could befriend him, he'd let me out.

Who was I kidding? As soon as I reached out my hand, he was going to be feasting on Grilled Arm of Human. Oddly, the closer my hand got to the brute, the brighter and hotter the red amulet around my neck glowed. I'll admit, my hand was shaking as I reached out to pet him. But he didn't move or growl, or give any indication I was in danger. In fact, even though he was sitting there, his tail began to wag in that sort of friendly dog way. When I finally touched his head, he actually head-butted me to get the petting.

His fur was cool, as opposed to the flames coming out of his head, and he seemed excited that I was scritching between his ears and on the back of his enormous head. I decided that since he looked happy, I'd give him a good rubbing and then try again to leave. He not only looked happy, he decided to lick me. That hurt.

I did my best not to flinch too much and to keep petting him, but my face hurt and it was difficult. I was about ready to stop petting and try leaving when he laid down, rolling up to expose his belly, and I knew what he wanted. I also saw what he'd been sitting on.

I initially thought it was a bone, but it was too smooth and regular, and appeared to be carved. I gingerly made my way over to the hound, to give his belly a good rubbing, and incidentally to retrieve what turned out to be some kind of carved tusk, or some similar ivory-like rod, maybe a foot long and a couple of inches in diameter, with very intricate etching. I slipped it into my trousers' pocket as I petted the brute and he just ate it up. Eventually, though, I was going to have to leave. I gave his belly one last vigorous rubbing and then stood up. If a Hound from Hell could look doleful, he did.

"Look, I'm sorry, boy," I told him as I inched towards the wall. "But I need to leave, as soon as I can find the way out of here, but I'll see you again sometime and give you some more petting." I was trying to sound friendly, reassuring, knowing full well that if I saw him again, it would be post-mortem. He just rolled up, back to sitting there, watching me as I looked for the "V" glyph. I felt the ivory rod start to vibrate in my pocket, rather vigorously, so I took it out before it could tear the pocket. Although vibrating to beat Banagher, it was also pulling my hand towards the wall, so I let it lead me.

It led me right to a symbol in white on the wall. Not the "V" sigil I was looking for, but what looked like "VII". It worked last time to get out of the room, so I reached out and touched it. Someday, I'll learn.

I felt like my entire body had been suddenly turned to dust, and then into a vortex easing against the wall until I got sucked through something -- a grate, maybe? -- and into another dark space. No candles, no dog, nothing except inky black pitch darkness. A cold darkness. And damp.

I felt myself reforming, apparently lying on a cold, wet, stone floor. I could feel the cracks where the slabs had been joined. I started to pull myself together, to try to get to my knees, and I heard the Hissssss...

Very large and very serpentine and very nearby. I felt a tickle as if being kissed by a butterfly and realized the snake -- which is what it had to be -- was investigating me. The nausea burned my throat as I fought for control over my fear. It was then I realized the amulet around my neck was beginning to glow again, emanating a strange ruby light over my nearby surroundings. And revealing a snake larger than any Python or Anaconda I had ever read about. Its face was hovering inches from mine and there was an eerie greenish-yellow glow in its eyes, despite the red glow from the amulet. It was not, for the moment, attacking me.

I may be slow at times, but I do eventually get there. While trying to "keep a tight asshole," as the war veterans were fond of colorfully putting it, I realized that this amulet that was glowing was somehow protecting me. Maybe these creatures were guardians of some sort and the amulet signified "friend"... or at least, "not enemy." I managed to slowly stand up, all the way, and the gigantic snake kept its head level with mine the entire way. Somehow, good doggie didn't seem to fit the situation. But how the hell do you be nice to a snake? The only one I was even remotely familiar with belonged to a roommate of mine back at St. Egidius, and it was some kind of boa constrictor or something he fed with small mice.

I was about to think I don't see any small mice around here when I heard the scrabbling. Nails on stone, behind the serpent. A feeling of dread sank in as I realized the "small mice" this thing was living on were probably rats the size of woodchucks. And if the snake didn't eat me, they would. Until the snake ate them. And the bloody thing would probably let them eat me first just to fatten them up.

Okay, c'mon, Will... think! I started lecturing myself. This snake is guarding something. Like the dog was sitting on that thing. And there was that other stuff in the room. How do I get enough light to see what the hell is in here? I no sooner thought it than the amulet flared, bright enough to see by, adequately enough. It was, as I suspected, another circular room like the first two. There were markings on the wall, but in the red light it was difficult to tell if they were red and white, or some other colors. It had a low bench like the others, also with items on it. There was another one of those statues of a naked, bat-winged women fucking a bunch of skeletons.

I eased over to get a better look at it, with the serpent staying right with me, coiling around to look over my shoulder. Really unnerving, the way its tongue flickered in and out, especially since that tongue was the size of my arm. This statue had an inscription almost identical to the other one. It said, simply, Gloria In Blasphemantes, Profanus Ardat, Creatorum Inproborum. So this had to be Ardat Lili's shrine.

Or bedroom. That last thought sent shivers racing through me. I determined I'd better figure out how to get the hell out of there when a masochistic part of me just had to pick up the parchment lying there and read it. It was a different list of names but the last three matched the one from Agrat's -- my mother's name lined through, my father's name with a check mark and mine, not marked at all. It went into my bag like the other stuff and I turned to leave, knowing it wasn't going to be that easy.

As soon as I moved away from the bench, the snake -- the gigantic snake -- moved to stay between me and the wall. It didn't attack. It didn't even threaten. It just stayed in my way. I was pondering a method to get past the massive reptile when I was struck by a brilliantly stupid idea. Where are those fucking rats?

When I turned back to grab one, I realized why they were still there. There were several holes smaller than the snake's head at the base of the wall, where it met the floor, next to the bench. One of those giant rats could back into a hole and the snake wouldn't be able to reach it. The snake would have to be very fast and very stealthy, which in fact, it probably was. However, a bunch of beady big eyes were staring out from the holes as I looked. A couple of snouts protruded and sniffed, then withdrew back into the hole.

Probably Sumatran, if one believes the street rags, I thought as I looked for a way to bean one of those Rats in the Walls. I thought about that capped tusk I'd picked up, a good two feet long anyway. And that heavy gold ball on the end. Might make a good club. But I'd have to trick one of the buggers to stick his head out while I was in a position to hit him.

Oh, that's probably a really bad idea, I warned myself as I realized that if I lay down on the bench, I could cover the amulet enough to dim the light and also be able to reach a couple of the nearer holes with my impromptu mace. Probably puts me in the perfect position to be a human sacrifice...

I did it anyway.

Lying on my stomach with my club at the ready and the amulet covered by my body, the room was plunged into near darkness. After closing my eyes and counting to ten, opening them showed the very faintest of outlines of the features of the room. I was most interested, though, in the rat holes. I was as close to the wall as I could get. I hoped at least one of them would stick their head out. I doubted it, but if that snake was really smart, it would leave whatever I stunned alone so that another would come out to investigate. Now all I had to do was hope and wait.

I'll be damned. Well, actually, I probably will, but what I mean is, I actually managed to get three of the giant vermin. Caught the first one with a lucky swing and sent it sliding, right towards the waiting jaws of the snake. The second one came out more cautiously, but I stunned it, then used the other end of the tusk to pull it out farther into the room. The snake was still busy with the first one and was quite content to stay right where it was. The third one came out the hole closer to me and was an easy smash, again sliding it out with the tusk.

I eased off the bench as the snake came slithering over to get the other two and in the process, uncovered the twin of what the dog had been sitting on... a foot long and a couple of inches in diameter, with very intricate etching on a dark material, maybe ebony. I moved over and snagged it as the amulet, now uncovered, lit up the room in its eerie blood red light. I put the white rod in my bag and thought, well, if the first one pointed the way out, maybe this one will, too. Sure enough, as I moved away from the snake and its meal, and towards the wall, the black rod began to vibrate and pull at me. Like before, I let it lead.

What it pointed me to was not a single glyph but a row of them, essentially a series of I, III, V, VII, XI and XIII. I was still pretty upset by my previous encounters and tried to be logical. I definitely didn't want to find out what was at XIII and probably not XI. Or at least, not yet. I was hoping, really hoping, that the "I" glyph went back to some part of the main house. I couldn't exactly put my fingers in my ears, but I did close my eyes as I reached out to touch the glyph with the rod.

There was that icy cold feeling of being turned into vapor, again, and then a solid thump! as I landed somewhere cold, dark and damp. I gave my stomach some time to stop churning, then started feeling around, discovering some kind of wooden posts and such, and finally a door. There was dim light coming from beneath it and through a keyhole, and as soon as my eyes adjusted to the dark, I realized I was in the dungeon, in the basement. Of course, trying the door, it was locked. I felt for and found the twist switch for the lighting and in its dim incandescent glow, I managed to find the dungeon's key on the Ring of Keys. I intentionally did not look at all the equipment around me. I was going to have nightmares as it was.

Oh, bloody hell! I thought as I got the door unlocked and stepped out into the arched stone passageway. Nightmares... those demons live on dreams... I am so royally fucked... I continued to rail at myself as I made my way back upstairs and to the kitchen. It seemed warm enough and safe enough for the time being. I had a lot to digest, and not the sort of thing that would stop my stomach from grumbling. I was surprised to realize I was hungry and looked over at the clock. It was nearly nine at night. I went over and gave it a good winding as I tried to figure out what to do about food.

I decided to fry some black pudding to go with some of the bread I'd brought from town, and to cut up an apple. I decided to forego the Scotch and stick to wine. I knew what kind of night I had ahead of me. While quieting my belly, I decided to hide my messenger bag, and its loot, in the hidden study off the Mechanical Room. I'm not sure why I thought my father had set it up as a Praesidio Locus, as the headmaster called it, or Safe Room, but it was the best plan I had. I proceeded there after dining and secured the bag, returning to the kitchen for the rest of the bottle of wine and a glass. I had decided to keep the amulet with me, since it seemed to offer some sort of protection.

Two hours of scouring the Library for any kind of books that might help me understand the monsters living in my house, plus the letdown from my adventures of the day, had me completely beat. I made my way to my bedroom, stoked the fire -- the storm had not abated one bit -- and disrobed except for the amulet, crawling into the welcoming, soft bed and pulling the covers up around me. I drained the last of my glass, set it down, and settled in to sleep...

Our Prodigy has been busy... It was Agrat's voice. I needn't have opened my eyes, even in my sleep. I heard it in my head and could imagine her well enough, standing at the end of the bed, before seeing her there.

Naughty, Sister, certainly... Ardat's voice joined in. But definitely busy. How do you suppose he got past Bruce and Aspis?

Getting in with the amulet would be no problem, Agrat answered. Getting out should have been. Must be a clever boy. You know what this means, of course...

That until we find where he stashed our belongings, we are limited in what we can do with him, Ardat confirmed. But that doesn't mean we can't play.

True, Agrat agreed and I suddenly felt a hot wet mouth on my very turgid manhood.

To be honest, I had rather limited experience with women of any kind. There was more piccolo-playing to be had at Saint Egregious, as we called it, than I'd had since getting out. It didn't matter how these two touched me, no matter what they did, it was excruciatingly pleasurable and I did not last long.

I see what you mean, Sister, Ardat commented as Agrat pulled my whanger out of her mouth and watched me fountain into the air. He does have a bit of a hair-trigger.

But it gets better the more times he ejaculates, Agrat observed. And his staying power increases. Like this...

She engulfed me again and the shock of pleasure traveling through my body had me writhing on the bed.

Well, since his face isn't otherwise engaged, Ardat smirked, and his head needs steadying...

She climbed up to sit astride me, lowering her pit of darkness to my mouth, her nether-eye dripping with the same love-jelly to which Agrat had introduced me. It burned like acid, yet excited me beyond measure. So much so, that even as Ardat pressed her twitchet to me, forcing me to lick and suck her, I racked off again, this time deep in Agrat's mouth, where she swallowed all my milt and milked me for more.

As with Agrat before, I found that cunnilingating Ardat yielded the same taste of honey and absinthe, and I realized I was getting drunker and drunker on their sex. Again, I was having trouble breathing, but this time I knew they would not let me pass out. Instead, Agrat was reviving my dingle for another go. This time, though, when she had me hard as marlin spike, she came up off me and told her sister, Now.

Ardat raised up off my struggling tongue and swapped positions with Agrat, turning to sit across me and guide my throbbing jong deep into her nick in the notch. That was all it took. Once more I erupted as her naggie drank me in and I felt the world swirling around me.

Ah, yes... so sweet, Sister, Ardat sighed as she bottomed out. He has so much to give. He will make a great addition to our stable.

Once we get the amulet off, Agrat groused as she placed a tit in my mouth. I wish I'd never left it here. Once Elizabeth, Charles and Gabrielle had been accounted for, I saw no harm in storing it here. Obviously, I was mistaken.