Dreamer (3 page)

Closing his eyes, he forced his wandering mind to focus only
on the woman before him. She deserved his total attention, and he needed her
total submission. When she pulled away, a trail of her tangerine aura trailed
from her lips to his boot.

As his attention narrowed, he scanned the club one more time
out of habit. With his focus narrowed entirely on the woman kneeling before him
the building could blow up, and it wouldn't have broken his concentration. It
was a dangerous state for both him and the object of his desire, so he valued
the safety and security of the Steel Chalice.

The building was magically warded and guarded so the
servants of Creation could seek their release here without having to fear an
attack by the agents of Destruction. And, right now, he needed that release
like he required air. The last few weeks had been filled with one emergency
after another and he hadn’t had the chance to take some time for himself. Now
he was restless with the craving to lose himself in a submissive’s pleasure.

“What do you need?” he asked, needing to set up the ground
rules for their scene.

“I desire heavy bondage and light whipping.” Her tone was
matter of fact, and he appreciated that she knew what she wanted. He wasn’t in
the mood for playing twenty questions to drag the answers he needed out of a
sub.

“What is off-limits?”

“No excessive humiliation. No blood, burning, or wet play.
No marks that can be seen in public.”

Leaning toward her, he watched her aura reach out to him,
straining to bring him closer. “What’s your name?” he asked in a soft whisper.

“Kelly.” Her voice lowered to match his, easily giving
herself to his control as her pale blue eyes flickered from his lips to his
chest and down to his pelvis before flying back up to his face.

“Do you want to play with me, Kelly?” She was so soft and
feminine and he loved full-figured women.

“Yes, sir.” The surrender and anticipation in those two
words stiffened his cock.

“Your safe word is ‘ice.’ Once you use it, all play will
stop, and we will be done. If you think something may be on the edge of what
you can handle, say ‘cold’, and we may or may not discuss it.”

“My safe word is ‘ice.’ Thank you, sir.” Her nipples
hardened to peaks, and her hips shifted as she clenched her thighs together.

Standing, he tried to shrug off a twinge of disappointment.
He felt as though he was missing something, that someone else should be at his
feet. Before he led the pretty little submissive to the main floor, he gave the
club one last look. When no mystery woman materialized out of the crowd, he
raised the redhead to her feet and removed the black wrist cuffs from his belt.

Maria leaned against the closed door of the small utility
closet and wiped the sweat from her forehead with a shaking hand. Every second
that she was in this place she risked exposure. If the shields her god had
placed around her slipped for one instant, she would be identified as a servant
of Destruction, and all of their careful planning would be ruined.

Thankfully, she had managed to slip away from her partner
rather quickly. He hadn't beaten her nearly hard enough to bring her to orgasm,
but she had faked it in order to hasten his own climax and get out from the
watchful eyes of the Sentinels. A sub screaming his safe word had distracted
everyone enough for her to slip down the hallway leading to the bathrooms and
open the door to the storage closet, using a lock-breaking spell.

The scent of cleaning chemicals rushed into her nose as she
conjured a small ball of light. She had picked this room as the one place in
the club where she could do the ritual and not get caught. At five feet by five
feet, it was a large enough portal for the demons to use.

A quick survey of the space showed a box of nails on the
edge of one shelf to her left. Perfect. She fumbled open the box and pulled out
a long nail, her nerves making her palms slick with sweat. By the shimmering
light of her spell, she examined her scarred forearms and tried to find a good
place to cut. Her scars had come in handy for convincing the owner of the bar
that she had been abused. Little did he know that each scar was a willing blood
sacrifice made to her god.

Selecting a spot just below the crook of her elbow, she
pressed the point of the nail in deep and gasped in pleasure at the well of
blood. It was almost black in the dim light, and she watched in fascination as
it welled then dripped onto the floor. She didn't know how long she had been
standing there, watching herself bleed, but the laughter of a group of women
heading down the hallway outside of the storage room snapped her out of her
trance.

A small puddle of blood now pooled at her feet, and she
quickly checked to make sure none had seeped out the door. The shiver of fear
that raced down her spine held no pleasure. If she messed this up, her god
would never forgive her.

The cold cement was hard against her knees as she knelt and
traced an elaborate diagram with her blood. After double and triple checking
the diagram, she sat back on her heels and began the summoning. “Epiales, I
call upon you with blood and need. Dark Master of Dreams, hear the plea of your
servant and come to me.”

Time had no meaning as she felt the brush of his dark power
in her mind. Her body quickened with desire, and her nipples hardened to aching
points. Years ago, Epiales had claimed her as his own, torturing her in her dreams
and molding her desire for pain. Now she craved his dark kiss and would do
anything to please him.

His voice echoed in the room, full of a terrifying darkness.
“Why did you summon me to a stronghold of
the Chosen?”

“A shadow reader has foreseen that a Creation dream warrior
of considerable strength will be here tonight. I haven't been able to sense him
yet, but I don't dare lower my shields.” She took a deep breath, reveling in
his presence in her mind. “I have created a portal for your hunters to use.”

“Excellent.
I will have my faithful begin the scourge tonight. Very soon, I will be able to
unleash Zachary on the world. How they will weep.”
He
sent a bolt of pain through her, a memory of being skinned alive in her dreams,
that had her on the verge of orgasm.
“You
have done well. I will see you tonight in your sleep.”

“Oh, thank you, Master! Thank you.” A tear of gratitude
slipped down her cheek as his presence faded from her mind. Grabbing a roll of
paper towel from the shelf, she pressed it to the wound to halt the trickling
blood. In front of her, the diagram on the concrete flooring began to glow and
steam, as creatures of nightmares became living and breathing flesh in the
mortal world.

****

Daisy turned down the techno music thumping from the stereo
and steered her purple Jeep Wrangler down a ramp leading to an underground
parking garage. Nestled beneath a massive office complex, the upper levels of
the garage were pretty much deserted at 10:30 p.m. In the passenger seat, Shan
tried to keep from hyperventilating as she clung to her seatbelt.

They took a ticket and then drove down two levels until they
reached another set of gates. Unlike the simple wooden bar that guarded the
main entrance to the garage, this gate was much more elaborate. Solid metal
doors, wide enough to accommodate a truck, blended seamlessly into the cement
walls. As if that weren't deterrent enough, three cement cylinders rose from
the pavement and further prevented entry.

Leaning out the window, Daisy tapped a code into the gate
leading to the lower level and smiled at a small camera. The soft beep echoed
in the empty garage, and the cylinders sank into the ground as the gates
parted. Shan made a little strangled noise as they drove down the ramp. What
kind of club was this that they needed all this security? Little chills of
energy raced up and down Shan's arms, letting her know they were passing
through a magical ward as well.

“I take it this is an underground club,” Shan said in a dry
voice before checking her makeup in the mirror. Her lips were painted black and
shone like patent leather against her skin. Despite the fact that she would be
wearing a mask that covered the upper half of her face, purple glittery eye
shadow complemented the custom-made violet leather corset that pressed her
already impressive breasts up into mounds. The corset constrained her
breathing, but the black silk sheath she wore beneath made it comfortable.

She had made the silver-plated steel rose buckles fastened
to the front of the corset, and they matched the intricate rose necklace that
graced Daisy's throat. Clad in a skintight red PVC cat suit, Daisy grinned at
her as she whipped into a parking spot and turned the Jeep off. A few spots
down, a black Jaguar XKR sat next to a rather beat-up old Cadillac. The rest of
the vehicles were an equally odd mix, and there were even a few mini-vans. She
gave up trying to imagine the type of people inside based on their cars and
tried to ignore the acidic churning of her stomach.

The sound of the cooling engine clicking echoed off the
concrete walls of the parking garage.

“I think I'm going to throw up.” Shan moaned and fiddled
with her seatbelt. She was beyond nervous. This was like prom night, a first
date, and a job interview all rolled into one. “What if they don't like me?
What if I don't like them? What if I say or do something stupid, and they all
laugh at me?”

Pulling her blonde dreads back into a high ponytail, Daisy
said, “Shan, shut up.”

She glared at Daisy, who returned her look with a raised
eyebrow. “Once we get inside, I'm no longer Daisy your friend. I'm your Top,
and you will call me Ma'am.”

Shan snorted and said in a singsong voice, “Yes, Ma'am.”

Popping open the glovebox, Daisy pulled out a joint and
tossed Shan a lighter. “You need to mellow out. If you go in there like this,
you're going to spend the entire night worrying about what people think of you,
and you won't have any fun.”

Rolling her eyes, Shan plucked the joint from Daisy's hands
and lit it with the mumble, “Allow me to serve you, Ma'am.”

Instead of laughing, Daisy watched her closely while Shan
inhaled the pungent smoke and held it in her lungs. Blowing it out, she passed
the joint to Daisy. They smoked in silence, and Shan had the strange sensation
of winding down and waking up at the same time. As her fears melted beneath the
calming effect of the marijuana, she became more aware of her body and what she
was about to do.

“Thank you,” she said softly as Daisy put the joint out in
the tray. They had only had a couple hits each, enough to relax without getting
really high.

Daisy cupped her face and kissed her on the forehead. “I do
this out of love, Shan. You're my best friend, and I want you to be happy.”
Grinning, she wiped her lipstick off Shan's forehead. “Before we go in, I need
to know what you want out of tonight.”

“Hmm.” What did she want? What didn't she want? “I want you
to take care of me and make sure I don't make a dumbass out of myself.”

A slow smile spread over Daisy's face. “I think I can manage
that. Thank you for trusting me.”

After digging in the backseat, Daisy handed her the black
leather mask with swirls of silver wire running across like waves. Shan had
spent the afternoon embellishing their masks and liked the effect. She made a
mental note to find out who had made them and see if he wanted to do some
business. Daisy's mask now glittered with tiny silver stars attached to the red
leather.

They left the Jeep and strolled arm in arm toward a set of
stainless steel doors. Concrete grit beneath the heels of their boots, and the
air was cool over the exposed skin of her throat. Dimly, she could hear the
heavy beat of music from within. Daisy jingled her keys as they walked.

Looking at Daisy's outfit, Shan asked, “Where do you plan on
putting your keys?”

“Coat check,” Daisy said merrily. “Even pain-loving perverts
don't like being cold.”

Shan's giggle cut off as they reached the door. The surface
was smooth and sleek and Shan couldn't find any door handle. She dropped her
hand and wondered how they were supposed to get inside.

“May I help you?” A voice spoke out of nowhere. Shan jumped
in her Victorian lace-up boots, but Daisy smiled at the door and said, “
Whan that Aprille with his shoures soote
.
”

“Welcome to the Steel Chalice.”

The doors opened with a pneumatic hiss, and Shan whispered,
“What the hell was that?”

“First line of
The
Canterbury Tales
in old English,” Daisy whispered back and tugged Shan into
a dimly lit small foyer.

To their right, a pretty dark-haired older woman smiled at
them from behind a thick sheet of bulletproof glass. On the green
brocade-covered wall behind her, a graceful fencing blade gleamed from its
mounting. “Welcome back, Daisy. Is this your girl?”

Shan ducked her head as Daisy said, “This is my best friend.
Her name is Rose. Mistress Alice also vouches for her, and I've filled out her
guest form with Master Dan.”

At the mention of Alice's name, the interest in the older
woman's eyes sharpened, and she gave Shan a more thorough examination. “She's
lovely. I'm sure she'll do you proud.”

Blushing hard enough to fry eggs on her cheeks, Shan mumbled
a “thank you” and handed the woman her small purse and showed her ID. The woman
stored them both in a safe box and handed over a small sheaf of papers. “Fill
these out, and no intercourse inside the club until you return with a clean
bill of health from your doctor.”

“Thanks,” Shan mumbled while Daisy snickered behind her.
After scanning the first few lines about safety and club rules, she flipped to
the second page and signed it with a hurried scrawl. Anticipation sensitized
her body until she could almost feel the sensual energy in the room beyond.
Something behind the door called to her soul, and she was more than eager to
answer.

The woman took the papers back and slid them into a drawer
hidden behind the thick glass. “I'll see you when you leave. Have fun, ladies.”

Holding on to Daisy's hand so hard her knuckles turned
white, Shan whispered, “Rose?”

They pushed open a pair of black doors and walked together
into the club.

Exhaling, Shan relaxed her grip on Daisy's hand. The club
had black walls and a black marble floor as she’d expected, but it was far from
the seedy and sordid vision she had imagined. Graceful silver chandeliers hung
from the stainless steel ceiling and bathed the giant room in a low golden
light. Pockets of shadows fill parts of the space, and she noticed doorways
closed off with sheer violet and cream curtains. Dark green leather couches
surrounded a sunken main floor, and the back wall contained bondage gear.

Various couples made use of the implements there in an
arousing display of flesh and pleasure. Some of the equipment she recognized,
like stocks and a pair of restraints hanging from the ceiling, but others left
her trying to puzzle out what in the world you would do with them. To their
left, a brawny blond man was spanking a dark-haired woman dressed in a latex
maid’s outfit. She sighed and squirmed beneath his blows, and Shan felt a
sudden and fierce desire to be in her place.

“Ready?” Daisy whispered into her ear. The soft feeling of
her breath made Shan's body go warm, and she flushed with embarrassment.

Feeling vulnerable, she nodded to her friend and said, “Yes,
Ma'am.”

Daisy led them over to an empty couch with a good view of
the floor. Shan went to sit next to her friend, but Daisy shook her head.
“Kneel at my feet.”

Shan was pretty sure a blush would be part of her permanent
state of mind tonight. Feeling silly, she arranged herself at Daisy's feet and
smoothed the black silk around her thighs. They were only there for a few moments
before a stunning mature woman with long chestnut curls strolled up. Dressed in
a sparkling black sequined gown, she held leashes in both hands that led to the
necks of a much younger man and woman dressed in matching black leather pants
and half shirts.