Awakening

Something dark and sinister with a ravenous sexual appetite has awakened

Image copyright: The Author

My previous series, The Invitation, ended quite dramatically when Mary was taken over by her supernatural self. Isabella and Veronica were left naked in a bedroom with Jane’s corpse.

The Invitation began nine episodes ago when something dark and sinister with a ravenous sexual appetite appeared in a 1920s English village

The Invitation

but the roots of the story go back to the Middle-Ages. You can find the full sequence of free and subscribers stories on my website.

The Invitation Contents Page is here on substack.

Awakening

“What the hell are we going to do?” Isabella cried as they staggered into the library. Both she and Veronica were still naked, their bodies muddied and scratched from running through the village as their human forms returned.

“She killed Jane, or rather that creature, that thing she became killed her. Is it permanent? Is she stuck in that form? I mean, when we…” The words tumbled from her as she turned and looked pleadingly at Veronica, her eyes flicking around the room as if she expected Mary’s demonic form to suddenly appear.

“When we imbibe of his spend we gain power for a short time, and then we revert back, ” Veronica said, looking down at the tabletop and frowning. She glanced up at Isabella. “It would seem that it transformed Mary.”

I had no idea that was what he had planned. I swear,” Isabella brought her trembling fingertips up to her mouth.

“It seems as if our horny little devil has got a bit out of hand,” Veronica said

“This is no joke,” Isabella snapped. “I am supposed to be able to control him. Where has that thing Mary became gone? ”

“I would imagine she is in the cave with him,” Veronica said calmly.

“We must go and see if we can save her - get her back.” Isabella turned toward the door.

“No.” Veronica grabbed Isabella’s shoulders. “We need to arm ourselves first. I need to do some reading.”

“But what if that… that thing, has killed her?”

“I don’t think it has killed her, I think it has assimilated her.”

“What?” Isabella froze.

“I think it has joined with her. At the moment, it is in control, but Mary is strong. I think she will fight it, and with our help, she might win.”

“You mean, we could get her back?”

“Maybe. I need every book in this library that mentions anything to do with the supernatural around here.” Veronica paused and looked down at her dirt streaked body. “But first, I need a bath.”

When Veronica returned to the library, after lying in the bath thinking until the water was cold, Isabella had done a cursory clean up of herself and had donned a robe. She was adding books to piles on the table. In the corner of the room, one of the bookcases was swung back to reveal an empty alcove behind it.

These are what you need,” Isabella said. “They are journals, notes written down by my…” she paused, “my predecessors.”

“What exactly has been going on?” Veronica looked at Isabella with the expression of a stern teacher. “At first, I thought he was just some man in a costume - that you had found yourself a hunk of a lover and were indulging in some kinky role play. I went along with it because the sex was great. Then I realised it was more than that, we were obviously dealing with something not of this world - well not of our part of this world.”

“My ancestors or my predecessors, I’m not quite sure which they are, harnessed something supernatural. They called him a cambion, the result of a union between a demon and a human. Some of them said he is half Faun, half Satyr. I don’t know.” Isabella shrugged and her shoulders sagged. “They said they could control him, use him for good, but then one of them annoyed him. It’s all in the journals, apart from the last bit.” She waved a hand at the piles on the table.

“Go and get some rest.” Veronica laid her hand on Isabella’s. “This is going to take some time, and I will need you thinking clearly when the time comes.

Isabella nodded and left Veronica alone in the library.

Mary felt the touch of the creepers on her fingers as her hand pushed them aside, and then the grass beneath her feet as her other self walked out of the cave. It was as if she was in a dream; she could clearly see and hear everything but, she felt as if she was floating inside her own body. She remembered being carried on her father’s shoulders as a child: powerless to control where they went but seeing the world from a different viewpoint.

She sensed Goran was at her side. In the very edge of her vision she could see he was still in his human form. It was night, bright stars glittered against the midnight blue sky but there was no moonlight. They stopped. Isabella’s house was a few hundred yards away in the darkness.

“I cannot pass the stones, I am still not strong enough,” Goran said.

“We will feed and bring you back power that will set you free, my love,” Mary’s darker side said.

She turned and stepped forward. They crossed an invisible line and Mary felt something inside her body change. It was as if she had been released from a spider’s web. Now her movements were not just struggles; now she had control of her limbs.

She stopped. She felt shock from whatever was inside her. Something was trying to push her on, but she found she could resist it and remained standing on the grass. It would seem your power has waned now we are back in my world, she said to herself.

It has, the voice inside her head wailed, but we need to feed. We need to pass the power to Goran to free him.

So he can wreak havoc in this world?

No, he is not an evil spirit. You saw. He is part Faun. He is tender. It is only whilst he is locked in that prison that his darker side is dominant.

And what about you?

I am your darker side.

How do I know you are not lying? You took control last time we fed. How do I know I will be able to stop you?

We are becoming one.

You mean I am going to live the rest of my life as a schizophrenic?

No, I will always be there and you will be able to summon me when needed, and you will need me.

And Goran, what about him? There was a little surge of excitement in her head at the sound of his name.

He will be beside you and his dark side will be dormant, but still there.

Mary looked down. She was still naked. OK, the first thing we need is my clothes.

She looked up at Isabella’s house. And first, there are some rules: no preying on my friends and no preying on the innocent. If I am going to let you lose on this world, we might as well use your power to rid it of some of the detritus.

Agreed.

Am I making a pact with the devil? Mary thought.

Remember, I can hear your thoughts, the voice said.

So why can’t I hear yours?

You can.

Mary searched her mind. The desire to feed was there, an intense feeling for Goran, but she could not sense any outright malevolence. Then a memory came to her. It was as clear as if she had been there, which she supposed, in a way she had. A woman was wielding a whip, it circled her neck, strangling her and then there was darkness. There was some connection between the woman in her memory and Isabella, but she could not work out what.