Chapter 20

Footsteps approach.

Lynn says “Ernand is a sweet old man, he gave me an extended leave of absence. Thanks to him, I have months before I need to think about school again. Months to spend with you.”

Nails squeal as she pries at the box. I hear wood fall against the stone floor. Then my coffin lurches, and I crash into the floor. The coffin creaks open. I feel air moving against my skin for the first time in days.

Lynn says, “Look at me.”

Gasping, I clutch my chest as my pounding heart fills my ears. I can move. I can breathe. I open my eyes.

I’m lying on the floor in an open coffin. I look into Lynn’s eyes.

Lynn sits on the table, looking down at me. Her small frame and smooth skin remind me of a porcelain doll. Black hair, long and straight, flows down her back and frames her innocent face. She looks like she always does.

Her dark eyes focus on me, filled with compassion and love. My spirit starts to lift instinctively, though my rage and confusion quickly assert control. “Why?”, I manage to choke out.

She stares at me silently. Compassion and love drain away. Empty eyes stare into mine. Cruel amusement and pitiless curiosity slowly fill them.

Trembling at the terrifying combination, I look down.

Lynn reaches for something behind her. I attack. The lightning I silently prepared lashing faster than thought. She is even faster, moving out of the way as the bolt leaves my hands. She begins to cast a spell. I weave another lightning bolt.

Before I finish my spell, she finishes hers. I stagger as my mana drains away. Grabbing a heavy piece of wood from the splintered crate, I stagger towards her swinging my improvised club. In an instant she vanishes. A noise spins me around. I see Lynn on the far side of the room! She isn’t between me and the door any longer!

A plan instantly forms. I run through the door. Running a few steps down the hall, I throw myself around the corner before she can reach the door. I try to remember where the library is. I slip through another door, closing it quietly behind me. Several doors later, my heart pounds as I run into a hallway I recognize. I don’t even hear her yet. I’m several rooms ahead. I quietly run to the library and slip inside. I use what mana I’ve managed to gather in my escape to cast a ward while I run for the exit.

Just a few more steps! I reach the exit, and step into the secret passage. Something slams through my ward. A paralyzation spell freezes my limbs and I fall to the floor.

Unable to move, I lay in the silence. Cold stone against my back. I hear distant footfalls. I listen as Lynn’s slow footsteps approach. She is whistling a merry tune. Reaching the library, she opens the door and walks up to me.

Lynn says, “You have two important lessons to learn.” as she stands over me. “You can’t stop me from doing anything I want to you. Resisting always makes things worse.”

Lynn stands over me. She raises her voice and mockingly says, “No! Bad girl!”, like I’m a misbehaving dog.

She says, “When I remove the paralyzation spell, don’t speak. Pick up your club and follow me.”

Her eyes amused and pitiless convince me. I believe her. I can’t stop her. Resisting will only make things worse.

A long moment later the spell drops. I can move again.

I stand up. I pick up my improvised club and quietly follow her back to the room we came from. Once we arrive she points to a chair at the table and says “Sit.”. As I walk past her, she reaches out and takes the club from my hand.

I sit in the chair. I hear her walk up behind me. She slides one hand down my arm, threading her fingers through mine. She places my right hand on the table. She spreads my fingers.

She walks to the remains of my coffin and tosses my club inside. She picks up the hammer she used to open the box.

I tremble as she walks back to the table and sits down across from me.

Lynn says, “I want to play with both of your hands, not just one.” I hesitate, but only for a moment. I place my left hand on the table, mimicking her positioning of my right hand.

“I don’t expect you to hold still through this, but I do expect you to get in position after each strike.”

She pounds the hammer into the back of my hand. I scream in pain. Crying, I cradle my hand against my chest. She lifts the hammer, and pauses, waiting for me to move my hand back into position.

I slowly reach out, placing my hand back on the table. Bones break as her hammer crashes back down. Sobbing, tears falling from my eyes, “No more”, I beg, “Please, I’ll do anything.”

She lifts her hammer, waiting. “Please. Anything.” I beg. Lynn looks at me silently, hammer still raised. I can’t do it again. I can’t bring myself to place my hand on the table. Tears fall as I whisper “Please”, through my sobs.

She continues to wait. My fear grows moment by moment. This is a mistake, but I can’t place my hand under her hammer again.

She continues to wait. A slow cruel smile spreads across her face. She mutters a spell. Tentacles of force form around her and reach for me. They move slowly, but I don’t try to escape.

One wraps around my waist. Two more wrap around my ankles, one on each. One wraps around my neck from behind.

I watch, unresisting, and they lift me off the chair. The last two wrap around my elbows. Whimpering, I watch as they force my elbows to straighten. My arms are pulled over the table.

Slowly, my hands are placed on the table in front of her. One directly under her raised hammer.

Without a word, smile still on her face, Lynn slams the hammer down. I feel bones break. Agony pours up my arm. She lifts her hammer and slams it down on my other hand. Bones crunch, and I scream.

Tears blind my eyes as she continues to pound. Slamming the hammer into one hand, and then the other. I hear bones break. I hear bones grind. I scream over and over, as fast as I can draw breath.

She finally stops. I slowly gain control, and my screams turn into wracking sobs. I close my eyes. I don’t want to see. I hear Lynn stand up. She walks around the table. She kisses my cheek.

Her sweet-sounding voice whispers into my ear, “Look at your hands.”

My hands are swollen and misshapen. My throat raw, I continue to sob.

She sits on the table in front of me. Her hands slide down my arms. She doesn’t stop until her hands are resting on mine, the light touch enough to make me whimper.

She says, “You disobeyed.” I scream as she laces her slim fingers through mine. She tightens her grip crushing my hands. I continue to scream, helpless. She grinds my broken bones. Pain. I only know pain.

I realize she is no longer touching me. My screams turned into sobs a long time ago. I open my eyes. She is still sitting on the table. Looking at me. Smiling.

She casts a healing spell, and the bones begin to rejoin, sliding back into place. We both watch my hands heal. Agony fades into aching, and even the ache slowly fades.

The last of my wounds heal. She leans forward, uncomfortably close, and says, “That was fun, but now it’s time to talk about something else. Give me your hand.”

Trembling, I place my hand in hers. How much will she hurt me? She rests my hand on her leg for a moment, then slides it up her inner thigh. I feel dampness under my fingers. After a moment, she blushes and moves my hand away.

She looks away, still blushing, and says, “I’ve never been so horny in my life. Not because your wrinkled old body is attractive, but because I just spent over an hour making you scream.”

She says, “I’ve always loved beautiful women, and I’m told you were a beautiful woman in your youth.” She reaches out and taps the amulet on my chest. She smiles and says, “Do you remember why it only restores one year a day?”

Nodding my head, I look away and whisper, “You said anything more than a year to the day quickly becomes excruciatingly painful.” I close my eyes, knowing where this is going. I hear a smile in her voice as she says, “I see you understand.”

A scream tears from my throat as my body burns with a strange tingling agony. My body continues to burn. Am I still screaming? The pounding in my ears drowns out all other sounds. The endless burning is all I know.

The pain ends. Like snuffing out a candle. It just ends.

I open my eyes. I’m on the floor. Looking up, I see Lynn. She is still sitting on the table. She looks down. Her eyes fill with lust as they roam my body.

I look down, unable to help myself. My skin is smooth. Without a trace of age spots or wrinkles. I touch my fingers to my stomach. It’s flat and firm again. Like it was in my youth. For a moment I’m awed. Lynn created another impossible spell. Then I remember why she did it.

Lynn says, “Look at me.” I slowly raise my eyes to hers. When she opens her mouth, I know what she is going to say. “Strip.”

After the pain of the last few hours, I don’t hesitate. I take off my shoes and socks. I stand up blushing as I take off my robe. I pause for a moment, but then remove my chemise. I stand nude before her.

I look down and gasp. I forgot how beautiful I was. Before I discovered my mage talent, I had several lovers, and many suitors. Once I discovered magic, my drive to study consumed me, and I had no time for dating. I turned off that part of my life completely. Only recently, in the last few months with ... I take a trembling breath and turn my thoughts away from Ernand.

I see Lynn’s blushing face and can’t help but wonder if she is a virgin.

She lifts a hand and motions for me to come closer. I walk towards her. Goosebumps form on my arms. She reaches out and tentatively touches one of my breasts. She places her other hand on my other breast. Cupping one in each hand she gently squeezes. She lightly runs her fingers over my nipples. They instinctively harden, and she gently plays with them.

Her lips part, and she pulls my unresisting body closer. Looking up from my breast she meets my eyes with her own. They are filled with lust and cruelty. I want to encourage her lust. I want to distract her from the cruelty. This gentle rape is infinitely preferable to the agonizing torture she put me through earlier.

With that thought crystallized in my mind, I kiss her. Her hand slides up my body and cups the side of my face. I part my lips, so her tongue can play with mine. The kiss continues, and she pulls me closer.

When she ends the kiss, she says, “This time, my first time, I don’t want any distractions, so I’m going to leave pain out of it.”

She pulls me back into the kiss. A few minutes later she buries her fingers in my hair. She draws back panting and pulls my head down. She lifts her skirt and pulls my head between her legs.

The distasteful stench of a pussy fills my nose. I force myself to ignore it. The smell. The taste. These are trivial torments. Frantically searching distant memories, I try to remember what I enjoyed my lovers doing.

I nuzzle her pussy like an eager lover. I kiss and lick her inner thighs clean before I return to her panties. I continue kissing. The taste makes my gorge rise. I gag, and swallow back the bile. Lynn’s panting gasps come faster and faster. Working my mouth and tongue, I lick and suck at her panties. Lynn pulls my face tightly against the panties covering her pussy. She bucks in ecstasy, screaming her orgasm to the world.

She lays there exhausted, her tired body slowly relaxing, her fingers are still in my hair, but they are no longer pulling. Unsure, I consider pulling away. I want to clean myself. The only thing I smell is her pussy. The gross taste twists my stomach. I want to wash her stench away. I decide not to chance angering her. I don’t want to attract her attention. I hold still. I endure her taste and smell.

Lynn lets out a happy sigh and sits up. She pulls my head up and licks my lips. She kisses me deeply on the mouth. Her legs lock around my waist. She pats me on the head. My cheeks flush with shame as she mockingly says, “Good girl.” I can endure this. How often will she force me to please her?