I stood at the top, looking out over the cliff. The stars twinkled overhead, and a light breeze blew my hair back from my face. The view was astonishing. Even in the light of the stars, looking down at the forest below was stunning. It did not hurt that I had excellent night vision—a family trait, I was told.   

The nearly seventeen-mile hike to get here had been worth it. I had spent most of my day working my way up the trail around Yosemite. Not for the faint of heart, it was a lot of work. Most hikers I met along the way were on their way back. I had started late in the day, which had been the plan. Sitting down nearly at the top to watch the sunset had been a highlight. The astonishing colors of the horizon from this height were difficult to describe. My Aunt had told me to get home before midnight, and I had hoped I could still meet her timeline.   

The hike up had given me plenty of time to think about things. I lived with my Aunt these days since my parents had died in a house fire. I had been in summer camp. The camp counselor had pulled me into the office and explained. I was sixteen at the time. My Aunt had shown up the next day to take me back to town. The funeral had been days later. The fire had been so hot there were no remains to prepare. The authorities could not explain it. Nobody showed up to the funeral. I did not have many friends. My girlfriend had been in the house with my parents. Her family blamed mine and refused to show up. That afternoon, we flew across the country to my Aunt’s house in Yosemite Valley, California.   

It was still hard to believe that my parents were gone. Four years later, I still wake up thinking they are downstairs making breakfast, just waiting for me to come down. My Aunt said I must accept they are gone and move on. Easier said than done. She would not let me spend much time mourning their passing. She told me my old life was over during the flight back. She would not let me go back to school and said there were more important things to learn. As soon as we got to her house, she started reviewing everything I needed to pass my GED. In six months, I passed the test. Then, she began teaching me our family history.   

Looking over Half Dome in Yosemite was amazing. I loved the forest, the smell of fresh air and trees, the sounds of the animals in the distance, and the feel of the wind in my hair, like a soft caress across my face. This felt more like home than anything else. The only thing better than standing on the edge of the cliff was the jump.   

The first time my Aunt had brought me up here, she had thrown me off the cliff. My Aunt is not a large woman. At five-foot-four, she tends to be one of the shorter people in the room. I tower over her at six foot one, but I would never cross that woman. When she walks into a room, everyone stops to notice. There is something exotic about her. An almost otherworldly beauty and grace to her.   

I still remember our first hike up to Half Dome together, clear as day. It's not exactly something one would forget.   

 *** 

As we exited the car at the start of the trail, my Aunt handed me an unusual backpack. It resembled a hiking backpack, with a spacious, insulated main compartment and large pockets on either side for water bottles. The fabric felt almost silky smooth against my skin. It was brown and warm to the touch. There was a large amount of extra fabric packed into the sides. I inspected it closer, noticing how it slid into catches on the sides.  

I slipped the straps over my shoulders and tightened the pack against my back. Even with a water bottle on each side, the pack felt light against my back. My Aunt came around the side of the car with her own backpack, identical to mine. She smiled as she saw me tightening the straps and bouncing the pack against my back to check its comfort.  

“What is this made of? I’ve never felt anything like it before.”  

“I’ll tell you later.”  

My Aunt did not like to talk much about things in public. I knew she would tell me when she was ready. Two hours into the hike, my Aunt started to speak to me.  

“You will be doing this hike at least twice a week. Sometimes, I will come with you, and sometimes, you will do it alone. You’d best get comfortable with that.”  

“Are we spending the night?”  

“No. You’ll come down in the dark.”  

“Is that safe?”  

My Aunt stopped, took a deep breath, and turned to face me. We had been hiking for an hour already, and she had a light sheen of sweat on her forehead. Her eyes were filled with an intensity that made me look away. She pointed to a set of rocks just off the side of the trail. I walked over, slipped my backpack off, and sat on a boulder. As she came over, my Aunt grabbed a stick and started drawing in the dirt before the rocks.   

Curious, I stood and walked towards her. My Aunt stopped and held up a hand to stop me before I got too close. From what I could see, she had carved a large runic symbol in the dirt. She stepped back, nodded in satisfaction, then mumbled something under her breath. The rune glowed briefly. My Aunt nodded again, turned, and sat next to me.  

“What was that?”  

“Something so that no one interrupts our conversation.”  

Just then, a group of hikers came down the trail towards us. They walked right past us without even noticing us. I cocked an eyebrow at my Aunt. She smiled. With a well-practiced twist, my Aunt slipped her backpack off and retrieved a bottle of water. She took a swig, then fished inside the pack for a granola bar. She ripped the packaging off and took a bite.   

“Eat,” my Aunt said around a second mouthful.” We will not be taking another break for a while.”  

I slipped the pack off and fished out my own granola bar. After my Aunt had finished her granola bar, she took another long sip of water. Then she put the pack back on and turned to me.  

“Your pack is made of dragon leather.”  

I choked and started to laugh. Seeing the serious look on her face, I stopped.  

“You cannot be serious. Dragons aren’t real.”  

“They are.”  

“Okay, where did you get the skin from?”  

“It’s my skin.”  

This time, I did laugh. It was too ridiculous.   

“You are a dragon?”  

“As are you, Edgar.” Her eyes blazed with an intensity that made the hairs on my neck stand on end. “When was the last time you got sick?”  

I stopped and thought about that. I could not remember the last time I got sick. Even during the Covid pandemic, nobody in my family had gotten sick. We had self-isolated, like everyone else did, but nobody got sick.   

“When was the last time you got injured? Fell and scraped your knee? That time you fell out of the tree? Did you get hurt? Or when you ran into a parked car on your bicycle when you were nine?”  

“Wait, how do you know all this?”  

“Your parents kept me informed.”  

“Then WHY are my parents DEAD, Akasha?” I demanded. I stood and turned away, my eyes burning. This was not fair.   

“I don’t know,” she answered softly. “I’ve been searching for those answers and fear we may never know what happened that day.”  

The sorrow in her voice stopped me. I wanted to scream and yell, but something in my Aunt’s voice stopped me. I wiped the tears from my face and turned back to her. Akasha was huddled on the rock, looking at the ground. Tears tracked down her cheeks. She looked up at me and her eyes blazed with more emotion than I could fathom. She hopped off the rock and rushed into me. Her fists balled up in my shirt, pulling me down to her face.  

“Your parents were brilliant. We all needed the answers to the questions they were asking. Now they are DEAD! All we have left is you.”  

“Why are we here?” I asked, my voice a harsh whisper.  

“So you can embrace your inheritance.”   

With that, she released my shirt and pushed me back from her. I staggered and nearly fell as Akasha turned, kicked dirt across the rune on the ground, and stomped up the trail. I blinked, grabbed my backpack, slung it over my shoulders, and jogged after her to catch up.   

I spent the next four hours trying to keep up with Akasha. She stomped up the trail, muttering to herself and occasionally glaring at me. She did not stop for breaks. She pushed past hikers on their way down. When she got thirsty, she would pull out her water bottle, take a swig, and put it back without breaking a stride.  

When we finally reached the top, Akasha walked to the very edge of the cliff and stared into the horizon. The sun had gone down an hour before, and the darkness was nearly complete. Stars twinkled overhead. I was not sure what she was staring at, so I stood back from the edge, waiting for her.   

Akasha turned towards me. Her eyes glowed red in the dark. A shiver ran down my back. I took a step back from her. She raised a hand and beckoned me forward. I stood my ground.  

“Jump.”  

“No.”  

“Jump, or I will throw you off this mountain.”  

“Hell no.”  

Akasha was suddenly in front of me. One moment, she was at the cliff edge, and the next, her hands were on me. One balled in the center of my shirt, the other grabbed my belt. She lifted me off my feet like I weighed nothing and walked towards the cliff.  

“What the fuck!?” I cried out in surprise. She stalked towards the edge, holding me over her head.  

“You will embrace your destiny, Edgar, or the scavengers will feed well tonight.”  

“Wait, can’t we talk about this?”  

“No.”   

Then she hurled me off the cliff. I tumbled through the air, growing dizzy as I watched the stars and horizon do flips. Then I remembered watching videos of skydivers. I stretched out my arms and legs and steadied myself. I stopped flipping, but now I had a magnificent view of the forest rushing to meet me. Half Dome is only six thousand feet up. The ground below was closer than that. I had a minute before impact would splatter me across the ground.   

Pushing the panic away, I remembered all the extra fabric tucked into my backpack. I reached back and grabbed it, pulling. I felt it pop loose and start to unfold behind me. I grabbed it, catching my hands on the edge of the fabric. The fabric twisted around my arms, tightening in the rush of the wind. I could feel the fabric stop flapping and start to go rigid.  

As the fabric went tight above me, I felt my descent slow. I was no longer falling but gliding high over the treetops. I turned and looked at the fabric; it looked more like a wing than a cloak. It was sinewy and leathery, like a bat’s wing, only much larger.   

I felt, more than heard, something large moving through the air above me. I looked up, and the stars were momentarily blotted out as something huge flew over me. It banked to the right, flapped its wings, and sped past me. I banked and followed it. The landscape was a blur of shadows beneath me as we zoomed over the treetops, getting closer and closer to the ground. There was a break in the trees and the creature dove between them. I spotted the opening and followed.   

The creature ahead of me dove towards the ground. At the last second, it swooped upward and flapped its wings hard, coming to a stall. It settled its feet onto the ground lightly. The wings folded around them as they walked a few steps, then turned and looked up at me.   

I tried to replicate what I had seen done. I dove for the open ground. As I sped downwards, my heart pounding louder and louder in my ears, my nerves got the best of me. I changed the angle leveling off. I flapped my wings hard, bringing myself to a stop some ten feet off the ground, and dropped heavily to my feet.   

My Aunt walked over to me and said, with a sly smile, “You need to work on those landings.”  

 *** 

Jumping off Half-Dome is illegal. An old law from 1965, predating any jumping activity, forbids “aerial delivery” of people or goods in national parks. There was a movement in the late 1990s to get base jumping legalized, but after some very public deaths from protestors of the law, the National Park Services upheld it. That does not stop the hard-core folks from doing it anyway, though; they do generally get caught and either fined heavily or spend some time in jail for it. Hence why I was jumping at night. Some national parks do still allow jumps. The Gorge in Oregon is one such location. I hoped to get to jump there someday. Convincing my Aunt to allow me to go was the hard part.   

I took several deep breaths, steadying myself. This was not my first jump. I had done many before. Standing at the edge was always the most challenging part. I pulled my cloak around me, feeling the warmth of the heavy fabric against my exposed arms. I backed up several steps, then ran at the cliff edge. As I hit the edge, I leaped out as far as possible. Just as my Aunt had taught me. The air rushed across my body as I free-fell. I grabbed the edges of my cloak and held my arms out. I could feel the wind catching the heavy fabric.   

I could feel the fabric molding itself to my back. The shift was subtle, but I could feel it changing. The lower edge tightened; the fabric was no longer flapping. It had gone rigid from my back out to the edge. I felt it wrapping around my arms, tightening against my skin until I could no longer tell where my arm ended and the cloak began. I held my arms out stiffly, feeling the wind catch underneath. I glided out away from the cliff, over the forest. I flapped my arms once, twice, gaining altitude.   

I soared high over the highest treetops, sweeping my gaze over the landscape, reveling in the feel of the wind across my body. I had stopped worrying about falling a long time ago. Few things made me feel more alive than flying over the forest. I flew over Camp Curry and the Glacier Point Museum. This late at night, few lights were still on. I knew the workers were cleaning things up after another busy day with all the tourists who visited the park.   

This was what true freedom felt like: the wind blowing through my hair, nothing before me but open skies. I turned west and flapped my cloak/wings to gain altitude as I approached the high cliffs. Once I passed over the peaks, I tucked my cloak and dove towards the Merced River. The wind roared in my ears as I descended. Then, I extended my arms, caught the wind, and soared. My heart thundered in my chest as I swooped down over the river.   

My Aunt owned a small house along the Merced River, near the junction with Tenaya Creek. It was a modest house, nothing fancy. She said it had been in the family for generations. I flapped my wings, soaring over the river, following its twists and turns. I spotted the house, banked up, flapping hard to slow my descent, then dropped lightly to the beach. I folded my cloak against my back and felt the fabric release from my arms. I pushed the cloak back behind me as I walked up the beach. Goosebumps prickled my arms in the night air. I took a deep breath and could smell snow in the air.  

There was something else on the air, as well. A flinty odor combined with a flowery perfume. I saw a young woman leaning against a tree, watching me. There was something familiar about her. I started to walk towards her. She pushed off the tree and stepped forward, but kept to the shadows.   

I inhaled again, puzzling over the scent of her sweat. I peered harder at her, letting my senses discern the details. Her heart thumped heavily in her chest. She was nervous and a little afraid. I could also smell her arousal. The woman was not much older than I was, judging by the clean lines of her face and the roundness of her body. Her pale skin was flushed with the cold. Her eyes were hazel and watched me warily. She licked full lips, opened her mouth to say something, then closed it. She was shorter than I was by a good six inches. She was five-foot-three, give or take an inch. The young woman wore tight jeans that hugged shapely legs and tapered to narrow ankles. A thick jacket was zipped up to her chin, though I could make out the swell of an ample chest. Thick, dark hair twisted in the soft breeze around her face.   

“Ed?” she asked. Her voice was soft and timid. Memories rolled through my mind. I remembered that voice calling my name softly as her arms held me tight against her. My heart hammered in my chest.  

“Sydney?” She smiled, a flash of white in the dark. Sydney stepped forward, and the moon's light caught her face. I gasped; my heart caught in my throat. Her simple beauty captivated me. She wore not an ounce of makeup. Sydney had one of those classically beautiful faces that did not need makeup to catch the eye. When she smiled, she had full lips, a soft nose, and dimples at the corners of her mouth. Her eyes sparkled with moisture as she stood watching me.   

“I thought you were dead,” I whispered. Sydney watched me, tears in her eyes. Four years ago, I had been in summer camp when I got a call saying my family’s house had burned down in a freak fire. Authorities reported that the fire had burned so hot that no remains existed. Sydney had been staying with my family after a freak accident had crushed her pelvis. My parents had been nursing her back to health.   

My Aunt had shown up the next day and whisked me away to the other side of the country after the funeral. The pain was too fresh, too raw. Losing my parents and my girlfriend at once had crushed me. I had lived in a daze for months until my Aunt had finally had enough of my shit and snapped me back to reality.   

“How are you still alive?”  

“I got out.”  

I took another step towards her. For a moment, I wondered if she was real. Could she be a ghost? Or a hallucination? Sydney’s breath frosted the night air.   

“I’ve been trying to find you ever since you moved away with your Aunt. Did you know she left no forwarding address?”  

“She likes her privacy.”  

Sydney barked a harsh laugh. “I had to hire a private investigator to find you. Took him six months to track you down.”  

I whistled appreciatively. “That must have cost you.”  

Sydney nodded. “Seeing you again is worth it, though.”  

I smiled at the warmth in her voice. “It is good to see you again, too.”  

Sydney reached out her hand to me. I stood just outside of her reach, looking at her. Something felt off. I could not put my finger on it, but I could smell her nervousness. I took the extra step and took her hand in mine.  

As soon as our flesh touched, I felt a sense of calm. Sydney smiled, and I felt it from the top of my head to my toes. I smiled back, my heart thumping hard in my chest. It felt so right to hold her hand. Sydney ran her thumb over my knuckles. A shudder of pleasure ran down my back at her touch.   

“Shall we go say hi to your aunt?”  

I nodded like an overeager schoolboy. Grinning like an idiot, I started walking to our house, Sydney following a half-step back behind me, holding my hand. Something in the back of my head screamed out in warning. I ignored it. I did not care how wrong this was; it felt too good to hold her hand.   

A short walk along the trail opened into a small clearing. The yard was fenced-in and full of dragon carvings. Some were carved in stone, others in wood. The smallest were two feet tall, while the large ones towered over ten feet tall. At the gate, two massive dragons had been carved from stone, rearing up, wings spread, mouths open, as if they were going to breathe fire on anyone approaching the yard.   

I heard Sydney’s breath catch in her throat. I laughed.  

“Cool, aren’t they?” I pulled Sydney up behind me as I patted the dragon carving to the right of the opening on his massive arm. “This one is George. He is one of my favorites.”  

“Did your aunt carve all of these?”  

“Nah. Some of them are over one hundred years old. She said they have been in the family for generations. Come check this one out.” I pulled Sydney deeper into the yard. I could feel her trying to resist my pull. She followed reluctantly, not letting go of my hand. I could feel her sweat and smell her fear. I laughed. “There is nothing to fear here. They are just carvings.”  

We walked deeper into the yard, to the back fence. A massive dragon towered over ten feet tall. The dragon stood on its hind legs, its front legs crossed across its chest. This dragon was more human-looking than some of the others—more a man-shaped massive lizard with wings and scales. The wings were folded against his back, the tips protruding over his shoulders. His eyes had been carved with intricate detail and seemed to follow us as we approached.   

“This is Melvin,” I said as we approached him. I crossed my arms across my chest, still holding Sydney’s hand, and leaned against the massive statue. Trying to strike the same pose.  

“My aunt says I remind her of this one.” I grinned as I looked at Sydney. She shivered and tried to pull me away from the statue.  

“Can we go inside now? These things give me the creeps.” A shiver ran through Sydney’s frame. She craned her neck up and gazed at the face of the massive dragon statue. A shudder ran through her body. I stepped away from the statue and pulled her closer to me. My heart thumped as she wrapped an arm around my waist.  

“You’re scared,” I said as I softly kissed the top of her head. “Don’t be. They are just statues. They aren’t going to come alive and eat you.”  

Sydney gazed up at the massive dragon over my shoulder, “Are you sure?”  

I nodded and laughed. “Nothing to fear, I’ll protect you.”  

“Promise?” Her voice was small and trembled. I wrapped my arm around her and pulled her against my chest. She looked up at me and smiled timidly. My heart thundered at the closeness of her body. I could feel her breasts pressed against me through her thick jacket. My body was incredibly happy to have her there. Warmth filled her gaze, and she licked her lips as she looked up at me. I gulped nervously. She pressed herself more firmly against me. My manhood throbbed in response.  

“You seem very happy to see me,” Sydney whispered. “Shall we go inside and see just how happy?”  

I opened my mouth to answer her, but words failed me. I nodded instead. Sydney grinned and stepped back from me. She started to walk away from me, pulling me by the hand. She looked over her shoulder and winked. My heart skipped a beat as I followed her.  

Sydney walked slowly through the yard of statues. She paused to navigate her way. More than once, she got her jacket caught on a dragon’s claw, snout, or wing tip. It was like they were reaching out to slow her down. I walked behind her, my eyes glued to her firm ass as it shook with each step.   

Finally, we made our way to the porch steps. Two large wood dragon statues stood at the sides of the steps. They sat like cats, their wings folded along their backs, watching all who approached. Sydney paused at the bottom of the steps. She turned to me and smiled.  

“Enjoying the view?”   

I gulped and nodded as I stepped up next to her. She gestured with her free hand to the steps. I stepped forward and led the way. As I reached the top step, I ran my hand over the head of the dragon on the side. Petting it like you would pet a cat. The wood was warm and smooth beneath my fingers. I always imagined it purring in response to that gentle caress. Sydney pulled her hand close to her chest, eyeing the statues warily as she walked by.   

We walked to the door. I turned the knob and opened the door.   

“You don’t lock the door at night?” Sydney asked in surprise.  

I shook my head. “Nope. Nobody wants to walk through that yard in the dark.”  

“No. I suppose not,” she said softly.  

The house was an old two-story wood cabin. It had been well maintained over the years. From the outside, it looked like something from an old Western movie. The inside had been modernized, though it kept that old rustic feel. Lights that resembled candleholders had been strategically placed around the small foyer. The light was dim but warm and comforting. A coat rack was inside the door, though Sydney did not remove her coat. She kept her hand firmly gripped in mine, following as I walked into the house.   

There was no sound in the house. The air felt tense, as if waiting for something or someone. I paused for a moment, listening for any movement. I heard none. I could smell the scent of candles, but it was faint.   

The dragon motif from outside continued into the house. The foyer's walls were lined with oil paintings of dragons in flight. The living room, just off the right side of the hall, had even larger paintings of dragons and knights in battle. The far wall held a painting of a massive dragon lying on a hoard of gold coins. A stairwell led up to the second floor off the left side of the hall. The stairs to the basement and the entrance to the kitchen and dining room were towards the back.   

“Akasha?” I called out. There was no answer.  

“Maybe she went to bed?” Sydney offered.  

I shook my head. “No, she was going to make dinner, but I don’t smell anything. The stove has not been lit. Something is wrong.”  

I could feel a tingling sensation along the back of my neck. The hair standing on end. Something was off. Still, the feel of Sydney’s hand in mine grounded me and centered me. Kept me level-headed. I wanted nothing more than to hold her, pull her against me. Curl up before the fire and catch up on the last four years of her life. I pulled her close to me and smiled at her. Sydney’s eyes twinkled with mischief as she looked up at me.  

“Seems we have the house to ourselves.” She grinned and licked her lips. I gulped and nodded. Alarms were going off in the back of my head. There was something I needed to do. Something important. I stepped back from Sydney. She pulled on my hand gently but allowed me to make space between us. She raised an eyebrow in question.  

“I need to find my Aunt. Do you mind if we check the basement? Sometimes, she gets caught up in a project and loses track of the time. Never like this, but...”  

Sydney smiled sadly, then nodded once. “Okay.”  

We walked down the hall, my hand still in hers. I opened the door to the basement stairs. The smell of burning candles was stronger. That was strange. Akasha had never burned candles in the basement before. I started down the stairs, Sydney close on my heels.   

As we approached the bottom of the stairs, I reached for the light switch by instinct and flipped it. Nothing happened. I turned into the darkened part of the main room. Candles had been laid out in a circle around a figure kneeling on the ground. I blinked. I started to walk towards the figure, but Sydney tried to pull me back. I heard her voice say something but was too intent on the figure in the circle of candles to hear her. Then she let go of my hand. I stumbled forward in the darkness, closing the gap quickly.  

My mind swam. The scent of the candles was wrong. Everything felt wrong. I had never smelled a candle like that. It smelled like ozone and death. I saw runes carved into the ground around the candles. The figure was bound in iron chains.   

As I got closer, I recognized the usually lustrous silver hair matted to her back with sweat. The graceful curve of her neck as her head was bent. Her skin was flawless and beautiful. Like a twenty-year-old maiden, though I knew she was much older. It was Akasha, my Aunt, naked and bound in chains. She raised her head at the sound of my approach. Her eyes were wide and filled with rage and fear. She shook her head as if to say something.   

Then I felt it. I stepped through something. My skin prickled and danced as my breath caught in my throat. It was like I had stepped through a field of electricity. My skin crawled and tingled. I fell to my knees. As I looked at the ground, I realized I had just stepped into some kind of circle of runes. I recognized some of them. I had seen them before in some of my Aunt’s books. They were draconic runes. I reached out to one and felt a searing pain along my arm. I jerked back, rubbing my hand down my arm.   

I turned around, surveying the edges of the circle I was inside. It was large enough for me to comfortably lie down and stretch out without touching any of the edges. I furrowed my brows. Behind me, I heard footsteps. A jacket hit the ground. I turned and watched Sydney stalk towards me.   

With the light behind her in the stairwell and only the candles behind me to illuminate the room, I could barely make her out as she walked towards where I knelt on the floor. She chuckled coldly to herself. A shiver ran down my spine at the sound of it. She paused just outside the light, her body bathed in shadows. I tried to peer through the shadows at her. It was dark, but not that dark. My head throbbed with the effort. I clapped a hand to my forehead and blinked, trying to clear my thoughts. The smell of the candles made my eyes ache; my ears burned, my head thrummed. Sydney laughed again.  

“Oh, poor Ed. Poor naive Ed. I learned all your secrets. And your weaknesses.” Sydney stalked from side to side, watching me clutch at my head. “The more you fight, the more it hurts.”  

I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself. There was a sinister pitch to her voice. An edge of cruelty that had never been there before. Sydney slipped off into the shadows. I lost track of her in the haze of smoke from the candles. My head swam as I tried to listen for what she was doing.   

Then I heard bare feet padding across the floor towards me. Sydney stopped just outside the circle, still bathed in darkness. She barked something in a language that hurt my ears. Candles flared to life around me. The runes glowed faintly in the light. I looked at the runes, trying to decipher them. One was clearly protection. Another transference. As I looked at the next series of symbols, my head started to ache again. Sydney’s cold laughter grabbed my attention. I turned and looked at her.  

My jaw dropped. Sydney stood at the edge of the circle, the warm light of the candles bathing her naked body in soft light. Her round breasts jiggled with her amusement. Iron barbells through each nipple. Draconic runes decorated every inch of her skin, from her collarbone to her knees. Some were drawn in black marker, while others were carved into her delicate flesh. Some were still red and seeping blood, while others had healed into scars across her flat stomach. Her groin was shaved; runes had been carved into the soft skin above her lips and around her inner thigh. Those were still red and angry-looking.  

Sydney watched my gaze, her eyes sparkling with amusement. “Impressive, are they not?”  

She turned around. Her lower back had runes drawn in marker, while her ass had been carved with runes down the backs of her thighs. She twerked her ass, shaking the tight muscles. She giggled as she watched my body respond to hers. I felt myself growing aroused. She turned back to face me, her mound glistening with arousal.  

“Oh, Ed. I’m sorry it had to be this way. I wanted to take you in the comfort of your own bed, but you just had to check on your darling Aunty Akasha.” She spat the last words out like a curse. Sydney turned to look at Akasha and cursed in some language that hurt my ears. I clutched my ears, trying to block out the sound. Akasha’s back bowed, her head thrown back as her body was wracked with convulsions. Her breasts were thrown into the light as she bit down on the iron chains across her mouth. Akasha blinked, and her eyes burned with rage. I tried reaching out to her but got too close to the circle's edge. Burning pain lanced up my arm.   

“Ed,” Sydney called softly. I turned to look back at her. Sydney had her hands on her hips, her legs shoulder-width apart. Her body thrummed with intensity. Her eyes sparkled with anger as she watched me. “Ed. Oh, darling, I want your undivided attention. Don’t worry about Akasha. I plan to feed you to her later. Once I have drained every bit of your essence, I will let her crush you like you did to me. Then you will truly know what I went through.”  

My body responded to that penetrating stare. I could feel my pants tighten as my manhood strained to be free. Sydney grinned, her eyes lingering over my groin. Sydney licked her lips, and my erection throbbed painfully. I was angry with her and wanted to scream and yell at her, but I knew it would not help my case or save Akasha. The thought of having sex with her, here, in this circle of power was not what I had in mind.   

I looked at the circle of runes around me. Maybe I could toss an article of clothing across it, disturb it, and be free of this. I grabbed the bottom edge of my shirt and lifted it over my head. As the shirt blocked my view, I felt a rush of energy across my skin. It felt like a heavy weight pressing against me from all sides. My breath caught in my throat. Once I lifted the shirt free, I saw that Sydney was standing right in front of me. Her naked body was inches away from me. I could feel the heat of her skin so close to mine.   

“I’ll take that,” she said, snatching the shirt from my hands. Without looking, she threw it clear of the circle. I gulped. Sydney closed that gap, pressing her body against mine. I could feel the press of her firm nipples against my body. A shudder ran down my back as my dick throbbed painfully in my pants. She licked her lips as she met my eyes.  

“Don’t move,” she said with a light tap on my chest. Every muscle in my body locked up. I tried to move and could not. It felt like the air around me had turned to stone. I followed her with my eyes as she knelt in front of me. She kissed my dick through my pants with a giggle. Then she started to unlace my shoes. I could hear her humming tunelessly to herself. The music seemed to float through the air, causing my body to tingle and my cock to throb even harder in my pants.   

“Up,” she said softly. My knee raised of its own accord. I blinked furiously, unable to do anything else. She slipped my shoe off, then my sock. I could hear her stuffing my sock inside my shoe, then tossing it across the room. My eyes found Akasha. She was watching us, tears in her eyes, straining against the chains holding her. Akasha shook her head, trying to tell me something. I had no idea what it was.  

Sydney tapped my knee, and my foot dropped back to the floor. She moved to my other shoe, undid the laces, and repeated the same process. My other shoe went flying across the room with a crash. Sydney giggled and started to hum louder. She raised up on her knees and pulled my zipper down. I heard her laugh softly again as she pulled my pants and boxers down to my feet. Sydney gently grasped my foot and knee, picking it up to slide my pants off. I stood helpless while she did. Sydney bundled up my pants and underwear and tossed them clear of the circle.   

Sydney stood slowly, dragging her fingers along my legs as he did. I could feel her soft touch across my ankles, shins, knees, and thighs. She looked up at me as she started to sing a strange song. The words sounded like a combination of Latin and the harsh language she had spoken earlier. Her hands drifted across my groin and wrapped around my throbbing cock. She kept eye contact with me, her eyes widening as she gently stroked my cock.   

“Love me,” she sang softly as one hand slipped around my waist and up my back. My muscles relaxed, and I bent to kiss her. She turned her head at the last moment, her mouth sliding along my jaw and against my neck just beneath my ear. She continued to sing softly. The melody danced across my skin, making my bones ache.   

The press of her body against mine was more than I could bear. I hugged her against me. I kissed her neck and shoulder while my hands slid down to her ass, pulling her against me. I wanted her so badly that there was no room for any other thought. For a moment, my eyes found Akasha watching us. Akasha strained against her chains, shaking her head back and forth. Then, I was lost in the scent of Sydney’s body against mine. The hum of the tune filled my head. That primal need to take her in my arms and own her body.   

Suddenly, Sydney stepped back from me. I blinked furiously, wondering how she had gotten out of my grasp. I started to step forward, but Sydney touched my chest, stopping me. Then she pointed down, and I lowered myself to the ground, lying before her. Sydney stepped over me, straddling my groin. As she continued to sing those strange words, she lowered herself onto me.  

She put one hand on my stomach to brace herself. The other wrapped around my cock. The feel of her hands on my thick meat sent shivers of ecstasy through my body. She winked at me as she sang louder. I could see her arousal glistening on her mound as she lowered herself against my cock. I watched in rapt fascination as she held my cock steady, the tip of it pressing into her mound. The soft, silky wetness of it enveloped my hard, throbbing glans.   

Sydney’s eyes widened as she pressed herself down onto me. Her body was so incredibly tight that it felt like it could not possibly fit inside her tight little hole. Sydney sang louder, the word reverberating off the walls around us. The music washed through my brain, blotting everything out, but the feel of her tight pussy slowly took me into her. I gasped and groaned; my body bucked up into her. Sydney’s voice grew louder as she sank onto my cock.   

My eyes flashed open as I hit the back of her. I looked down and saw her groin a few inches off mine. The feel of her insides tightly clenched around my thickness was the most heavenly feeling I had ever experienced. Then she raised herself a hair and sank back down. I felt the tip of my dick thump solidly against her cervix. Sydney’s legs trembled as she started slowly raising herself up and down along my dick. Each lowering was accentuated by the impact of my cock against her cervix. Her eyes bored into mine as she did, still singing her strange song the entire time.  

I felt an intense pressure building inside me as she rode me. My body sang with the need for release. The need to fill her with all that I could give her. I wanted it more desperately than anything I had ever wanted. I started to meet her movements with thrusts of my own. Her song altered, the tempo shifting. The notes matched our increasing speed. I could see an eagerness in her eyes, a hunger that tingled the skin on the back of my neck.  

Something inside me snapped. Some hold Sydney had over me slipped. I felt my body succumbing to whatever magic she had cast over me, and my mind separated from it. I could feel my impending climax like a storm about to break. I knew that if I let that happen, she would own me. She would consume me. Sydney could claim something of mine that was so intrinsically me that it would be my end.   

I knew I could not stop my climax from coming. Maybe I could delay it? If I could make her cum first, perhaps that would save me? I had no idea how to accomplish that. Sydney’s hands were both on my chest now. The press of her fingers into my body was somehow heightening my arousal. I did the only thing I could think of. I started to hum along with her, matching her tone and intonation.  

Sydney paused for a moment, a question in her eyes as she continued to sing. I picked up the rhythm of her song, changing from matching her tones to harmonizing with it. I could feel a shift in the air around us. Something in what I was doing was changing. Sydney’s eyes widened in surprise. I caught her words and started to repeat them, singing in perfect harmony with her. The strange words flowed from my mouth as if I had always known them.   

As the song grew louder, I slid my arms up along Sydney’s back. Sydney’s eyes closed as she shook her head. I pulled her down against my chest, and her groin pushed as tightly against mine as it could go. Then I rolled her over onto her back. I slid my knees up under her thighs. Sydney tried to continue singing, but her voice cracked, and she lost her rhythm. The power of her song flowed around me and through me. I started to slide my cock in and out of her tight pussy. I could feel her body squeezed around my length as I started moving faster between her legs.  

Tears slipped from Sydney’s eyes, sliding down her cheeks as she gasped. Her breath was ragged. Her chest heaved with each impact of my cock against her insides. I grabbed her thighs and pressed them down against the ground as I raised myself so I could piston into her harder.   

“Fuck,” Sydney gasped. All hints of the song were gone. Now, I was singing it at the top of my lungs as I slammed into her repeatedly. More tears slid from Sydney’s eyes as she arched her back, trying to press herself against each massive impact of my body into hers.   

Sydney yelled as her body clenched. I felt her orgasm slam through her. Her legs kicked against my grasp; her body thrashed beneath me. I pressed hard against her, letting the climax crash over her. I felt something shift inside her. My dick found something inside her and slid deeper.  

Sydney screamed in pain and agony. My groin slid against her, with my dick fully sheathed inside her. I felt something tight against the head of my cock. A hole in her cervix? I pulled back and slid into that special spot again. Sydney cried out as I did. Her body was still thrumming with her orgasm. I pulled back and slid into her again, faster. I felt my own climax hitting that point of no return.  

Sydney matched my thrusts. Her eyes were filled with desperation. Sydney’s hands clutched at my back, sliding sharp fingernails down my back to grasp my ass, trying to pull me deeper into her. My thrusts lost their rhythm as my climax exploded over me. I cried out then, the final note of the song as my dick slid into that special place inside her. I felt the tight squeeze along my shaft and then felt myself emptying into her. She came again at that moment, her body bucking against mine. I felt the hot wash of her fluids splashing against the base of my cock.  

Sydney cried out again, tears glistening on her face. Our bodies thrummed with power. Our muscles trembled with the power of our orgasms. The ring of power around us glowed briefly, then faded away. The runes disappeared into the ground as if they had never been. The candles guttered and dimmed but remained burning.   

“What have you done to me?” Sydney gasped between panting breaths. “How did you break the spell?”  

I shrugged. Sydney lay on the ground panting. Her beautiful breasts heaved with each breath. I leaned down and ran my tongue across one nipple and the runes across her chest. I suckled on her nipple, pulling it into my mouth. Sydney moaned softly in pleasure. Her fingers slipped into my hair. I lifted off her and met her eyes.  

“I missed you,” she whispered, tears in her eyes, “You’ve broken me again. I am yours. Now and forever. Breed me. Eat me. Feed from me. Do whatever it is you are going to do. I will not stop you.”  

I looked at those beautiful eyes of hers and saw defeat in them. There was a depth of sorrow and longing in those eyes that I could not understand. Something about what Sydney said sent a thrill down my spine. My cock twitched inside her. Sydney’s eyes closed as she felt it deep inside her body. She moaned softly in pleasure.  

“Yes,” she said as she opened her eyes and met my gaze. “That is where you are meant to be.”  

I looked at her questioningly. “What do you mean?”  

Sydney met my gaze, and fresh tears started to leak from her eyes. I sat back on my heels and pulled her up against me, cradling her body against mine. She wrapped her arms around me, resting her head on my chest as she cried.  

“You really don’t remember, do you?”  

I shook my head. I heard the rattling of chains near us. I looked over at Akasha. Sydney turned and looked at her, too.   

“I’m sorry. I had to. I’m so sorry.” Sydney planted her feet and raised herself out of my lap. My cock slid from inside her. She gasped as fluids and thicker things dropped from between her legs to splatter across my lap. My cock was still large, though not as hard as it had been. Sydney stood for a moment, looking down at me longingly. Her body shuddered, her legs trembling.   

Sydney took a step back and walked over to the other circle. She dragged her foot across the line of it, knocking over a candle in the process. Akasha glared at Sydney, her eyes full of rage. Sydney cowered slightly as she went around behind Akasha. I heard chains rattling as they dropped from around Akasha’s body. Sydney scrambled backwards as Akasha stood.   

Sydney slipped and fell to the ground, staring as Akasha stood. I stood and moved between them as Akasha started to stalk towards Sydney. Akasha blinked and met my eyes. I could see her rage. There was murder in her eyes, but she paused and looked at me.   

“You would defend her?” Akasha asked, her voice hoarse and raw. “After what she did to me? You would stand in my way?”  

I met that fiery gaze and nodded. “Yes.”  

I knew Akasha could throw me out of her way if she wanted. I did not want to fight her. I would lose. I knew this. It was suicide, but I could not help myself. I did not want to see Sydney hurt. I did not know how I knew it, but I knew Sydney had been through something traumatic. She was no longer a threat. I did not know how I knew that, but it beat through my core. I needed to protect her. She was my ward.   

Akasha took a step back, frowning. She opened her mouth, then closed it.  

“Fine.”  

Akasha turned and walked across the room. She flicked her wrist, and lights came on around the room. I felt the breath of her magic as it flowed outwards, filling the room with warmth. I heard Sydney shiver behind me. I turned and offered her a hand.  

“Why?” she asked softly as I pulled her to her feet. “I deserve her wrath. Her fury. I deserve death.”  

I shook my head. “No. You do not.”  

“But you don’t know what I’ve done?!”  

“I don’t care.”  

“You will.” Sydney wrapped her arms around me and buried her head in my chest. I could feel fresh tears coming down her face against my skin. “Oh, Edgar. After I tell you all that happened, you may change your mind. I deserve your wrath and hatred. When the time comes, will you deal the final blow? Will you kill me?”  

I looked down into her sincere face. Her tear-filled eyes were full of love and desperation. I kissed her on the nose and nodded. I did not know what else to do. I heard Akasha’s soft, padding feet as she approached us. She had thrown a robe around her body, tied at the waist. Her large breasts pressed against the material. She handed two robes to me. Sydney backed away from me as I gave one to her. She wrapped it around herself, tying it off. I put on the last one.  

Akasha looked at Sydney, her eyes still sparkling with anger. “You will tell us, girl, why you did this.”  

Sydney nodded as she met Akasha’s eyes. “As you wish.”