Hunters

The first pawns are sacrificed

The predators are circling but they do not realise they have become the prey. Mary, Isabella and Veronica have raised something dark and with a ravenous sexual appetite from the past. Now outside forces want possession of it.

The Invitation began twelve episodes ago when something dark and sinister with a ravenous sexual appetite appeared in a 1920s English village. Read part 1 free and become a paid subscriber to read the full series

The Invitation

The Invitation Contents Page is here on substack.

By the time they had finished discussing the sleazy Harris’ visit, the shadows outside were lengthening as the sun set. “I still need to go and get some clothes,” Mary said.

“But it’s getting dark,” Isabella took her hand. “What if they are still out there?”

“Don’t worry. There are two of us, remember.” Mary smiled and kissed her on the cheek.

The orange glow of the sun had faded behind the trees as Mary walked down the drive towards the lane. She was sure that her night vision and awareness of what was around her had increased - Magda’s influence she supposed.

I know the way you feed, but what happens to me? Mary searched their joint minds for an answer to her question. Am I likely to get pregnant or catch some nasty disease? She felt Magda laugh. One of the advantages of being a monster is that you are immune to these things when you are me. Are we a monster? In some people’s eyes, yes.

When she turned into the lane two men emerged from the shadows under the trees, their combined bulk blocking her way.

“You from the big house?” One of the men stood casually in front of her, his hands in his pockets.

Despite the gloom she could see his unshaven face, the gleam of his eyes beneath the peaked cap he wore, even the faint pulse of his jugular beneath the skin of his neck exposed by his rough, collarless shirt.

Mary stopped. She felt Magda stir.

“You should be careful. Who knows what might happen on these country lanes.” The man’s smile was more of a leer than a friendly greeting. “If I were you, I’d find somewhere else to live and stay away in the future.” He raised his chin and looked down his nose at her. The pulsing vein grew more pronounced.

“Oh, I couldn’t do that.” Mary looked innocently at them.

“She’s a bit of alright, isn’t she.” The second man stepped closer to her. “I wouldn’t mind a bit of that.” He looked up and down Mary’s body. “Nice tits.”

He unbuttoned the front of his trousers and stuffed his hand down inside. “Want some of this do you?” His hips jerked. “No men up there in that house with you. Bet you’ve been missing a bit of cock.”

The closest man stretched out one arm to grab at her dress. Magda surged to the surface, seized his outstretched hand and twisted hard. There was a crunching sound as his bones parted. The man dropped to his knees. Magda’s talon slashed across his neck, his blood spurted out onto the road. She flew towards the second man, leaving the first falling to the ground in a crumpled heap.

“You want some of this she growled, lifting her dress.”

The man shook his head, his mouth open wide but emitting no sound, his eyes locked on the fiery red of Magda’s. She pushed him to the ground, ripped at his trousers and straddled him. Mary had the sensation of the man inside her, but it was somehow dream like, as if she was riding a horse, clinging so tightly to Madga that she felt every movement of her body and the animal beneath them, watching but feeling the sensation at the same time. Magda jerked her body, writhing up and down the man’s flesh.

How had she done that? Their victim was scared, yet he was still hard. He felt like a solid column of flesh. Her aura - Magda was emitting something that stimulated her prey. Like a preying mantis she could consume both his body and his essence.

Mary sensed the man exploding into them. She could taste him, not the nectar sweet honey taste she remembered from Jane and Isabella last night. This was savoury, strong, something between beef stock and mushroom. The taste grew stronger, the man squirmed beneath them, became a bucking bronco that Magda rode, her thighs gripping his sides. The man reared up in one last, defiant attempt to throw her off. The taste faded and he sagged back down onto the earth, his body fading as if crumpling like a punctured tyre.

Magda stood up and threw back her head. She turned and looked at the man in the middle of the lane. She bent down and rolled him over. Blood was no longer pumping from the gash in his neck. He is dead, no life force, we cannot feed.

What do we do with the body?

You are making me think like a human. We leave it.

But then there will be police, they’ll come asking questions. Perhaps if we leave it here, they will think he was hit by a car, although that’s unlikely on a country lane.

Mary looked down at her hands. She was becoming human again. She turned and walked down the lane.

An hour or so later, she made her way back carrying a small suitcase of clothes and a few things she needed to stay at Isabella’s. The body and what remained of the other man had vanished. There was no sign of the bloodstain on the road. It looks like someone has cleared up our mess. I guess that means they know what we are.

The front door to the house was unlocked and only the pool of light from the library door illuminated the hall. Mary looked into the library. It was empty. She stood listening - the house was silent. Panic began to make her heart beat faster as she checked all the rooms. There was no sign of Isabella or Veronica.

The Invitation Contents Page is here on substack.