Emerald Dungeon (7 page)

“Looking forward to tonight.”

“Me too.”

When the door closed, Dana folded up a throw blanket and placed it on the end of

the bed. She picked up the flogger, wrist straps and ropes and opened the closet to put them away.

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Inside the closet was a long, black robe. Like the one she saw the other entertainers wearing last night. She gasped and stepped away from the closet and shoved the door

closed.

Jack was part of this secret group too. What was this all about? What would’ve

happened if she hadn’t fallen into the bog? What if she’d caught up to them and

stumbled into whatever they were doing?

Images of bizarre sacrifices came to mind. She’d seen one too many creepy movies.

Walking to the back of the cottage, she peeked between the curtains out the window,

trying to see into the forest. She couldn’t see anything through trees and shrub growth.

The sky was clear and the paths into the woods could easily be seen. She wouldn’t fall into the bog in the daylight.

She didn’t know much about pagan practices but had a friend who was Wiccan. If

the entertainers were a pagan group, she had nothing to worry about unless they were

practicing black magic. A black robe didn’t mean they were practicing black magic. She laughed at herself but it was a forced laugh.

The door to the cabin swung open and Dana jumped. “It took some persuading, but

Donegal finally gave me the key. He couldn’t believe you went into the forest at night after he warned you.”

“What did you tell him?” She hadn’t gotten the nerve to ask him about the robe yet.

He was grinning and his eyes sparkled with mischief but not evil. There couldn’t be

anything evil about him, could there?

“Mr. Donegal is very superstitious. I’m afraid I told him you saw someone walk

into the woods and you thought it was Shannon. You followed her. I wasn’t lying. He

assumed you saw a ghost. He asked me to keep an eye on you and protect you from

anything supernatural. ‘The forest is haunted,’ Donegal says.”

“Haunted?”

“No, it’s not. I’ve lived here all my life. Never seen a ghost.” Jack handed her the

key. “He told me to tell you to stay out of the forest.”

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“Thanks for the key. See you later.” She rushed past him, suddenly wanting to get

far away from that black robe.

“You okay? Aren’t I taking you to town?”

“Oh, right.”

He gave her a puzzled look. “Go and get changed. I have a surprise for you.”

* * * * *

Jack gave Dana a tour of the old town and pointed out grocery stores, pubs,

restaurants and other shops. She couldn’t wait to go exploring and browse through the quaint shops. Before their stop at the grocery store, he brought her to an older part of town where the streets were narrow and the store windows were decorated with flower

boxes or hanging baskets. The smell of baked bread and smoked meat wafted in the air.

“I’m getting hungry again,” Dana said. “Something smells good.”

“This is where I got the brown bread for your soup.” He pointed to a bakery. “Next

door is a good place for meats. My uncle’s place is around the corner. I’m trying to get a loan to buy it.”

“Your uncle can’t hold a loan for you?”

“It would be a hardship for him. He wants to retire. And the place needs some

work.” Jack opened the door to a shop with a sign that read “Keagan’s Wool Shop”.

The store was quite spacious inside with several racks of woolen sweaters, coats

and wraps. Wooden shelves lined the walls filled with neatly folded colorful knits.

“Look at all the beautiful things.” Dana strolled around the room, touching the soft

knits. “I always thought wool sweaters would be scratchy. These are so soft.”

He pulled out a gray tweed wrap and covered her shoulders with it. “Like it?”

“It’s gorgeous. It’s like a gray cloud with bits of purple in it. I’m sure I’ll be back to shop here.”

“My uncle will love to see you. This one’s a gift.”

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She was about to argue with him, when a gentlemen came out from a back room. “I

heard that. I’ll be taking that out of your paycheck,” the man said with a wink. He

smiled at Dana and had the same mischievous sparkle in his eyes as Jack only this man was about seventy years old.

“Uncle Lee, this is Dana. She’s from America and our new harpist.”

Lee held out his hand and shook Dana’s. “Nice to meet you. I love your shop.”

“America? A long way to come for a job,” Lee said. His voice held a note of

disapproval.

“My cousin lives in Dublin and she heard about the job. She and Jack went to

college together. I’m here just for the summer.”

“Ah, so you’re a student?”

“No, I took a temporary leave from my management job in a security company. I’ll

be returning to my position at the end of summer.”

Lee’s face scrunched up. “A manager? You left a good job? Aren’t you a little old to

be acting like a rebellious teenager?” His voice was tight. Dana didn’t know what to

say.

“Uncle,” Jack cut in. “Maybe she had a good reason to leave.”

“When you’re young, you can be reckless and have a traveler life, drifting from

place to place, job to job like a gypsy. When you’re an adult, you stick with a job even if you don’t like it. That’s how you stay off the streets.”

Jack was about to argue but Dana jumped in.

“No, your uncle has a point. If I had a family, I probably would’ve made a different

choice, but sometimes taking a risk opens up opportunities. I don’t want to look back on my life and wonder what if, or if only I had…” She glanced at Jack then at Lee. She

obviously wasn’t scoring any points with his uncle. “I might be making a mistake, but we learn from mistakes and become stronger from them.” She should shut up before

she dug herself in deeper.

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“It’s foolish.” Lee’s face was red. He headed into the other room then glanced back

at Jack. “Look around if you like. I have the kettle on if you’d like some tea. Got a letter today. You were turned down on that last loan.”

Jack swore under his breath. “Did they give a reason?” He held up his hand.

“Forget it, I don’t want to know. They’re all stupid reasons. Out-of-town banks say the tourist trade has dropped off and a shop in this area is too much of a risk. Local banks say they remember my wild, reckless days in college and don’t think I’m a responsible businessman. That was thirteen years ago. Other reasons mention the leather and

specialty items are not appropriate merchandise. Certain months of the year we make

more on those items than the woolen goods.” Jack shook his head. “I’ve sold everything I own, given up my apartment to buy this place and it looks like it’s not going to work out.”

Lee frowned. “If I took out part of the loan.”

“No. You’ve been trying to retire for seven years. You’ve worked hard all your life.

I’m not going to have you sacrifice because of me. You could get a buyer for this place and live comfortably. If I can’t buy it in three months, then it goes on the market and I find another job.”

“Don’t worry about it, Jack. There’s time.” Lee glanced over at Dana and gave her a

nod. “I’ll get the tea.”

After Lee went into the other room, Dana turned to Jack. “I’m sorry if I upset your

uncle.”

Jack groaned. “You didn’t. He doesn’t understand. Things were different in his

day.” He took her hand. “Come on, I have something to show you.”

“Is this the surprise?”

“Yeah.”

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Jack showed Dana into a room separate from the clothing section. It had a sign that

said “Adults Only”, which he pointed out to her. Opening the door, he led her through and kept an eye on her expression. He wanted to see her response when she viewed the

various items and devices.

Upon scanning the room, Dana studied the display of leather fetish wear and

extensive selection of bondage accessories and implements for a sadomasochist’s

dream. “Wow, this is amazing.” She walked around and felt the leather floggers, held

up a leather vest and frowned at the mask and ball gag. A few contraptions she

examined for a long time. By the look in her eyes, she appeared more fascinated than

shocked. He was relieved at that.

“What do you think?”

“It looks like Disneyland for the sadomasochist.”

Jack laughed.

“I think I’d need an instruction manual on most of this stuff.”

Jack agreed. “A lot of it does come with instructions and warnings.” She didn’t

seem offended by anything in the room, but in the back of his mind he had his concerns.

He picked up a flogger and swung it in the air and gave her a wicked grin.

“I like those, I discovered.”

“I know.” His smile faded. “Something my uncle said made me think. Why did you

leave your job? Is coming to Ireland a rebellious diversion?”

She picked up a braided cat and ran her fingers through it. “The security business is a job I’ve had since high school. I went to college for electrical engineering and business.

My parents are supportive about me playing the harp but not as a career. I always

dreamed of playing in a large symphony but it would never pay like my management

job. My cousin knows I love Ireland and has been urging me to spend the summer with

her for years. When she told me about the medieval show, I knew this was my last

chance to follow a dream.”

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“So you’ll be going back,” Jack said.

She let out a breath. “Yes, that’s what I had planned.”

“If you had the opportunity would you consider staying here?”

She didn’t answer right away. “That would be a hard adjustment. I’d be so far away

from my friends and family.”

He nodded. “And what about this part of your life?” He held up some bondage

straps. “Is this a lifestyle you’re considering after last night or is this a rebellious phase like leaving your job?” He tried to keep his tone light but could hear an edge to his voice. He’d gotten involved with a woman before and after a year, she’d decided she

didn’t like the lifestyle and went back to her vanilla sex life. It had taken a long time to get over her. And now he was considering getting involved with another novice. Dana’s arrival had set off a rush of emotions he hadn’t anticipated. If he had any sense, he’d avoid her.

“I think it’s too early for me to make that decision, Jack.”

“Fair enough.” Was he willing to set himself up for another fall, knowing at the end

of summer, she would leave?

She moved up to him, her lips a breath away. “But I am getting wet and horny

standing in this room, so that must count for something. Right?”

His cock hardened at her words. “It certainly does.” He would probably hate

himself by the end of summer but he couldn’t resist a willing submissive as beautiful as Dana. “I think you’re ready for the next step. The dungeon.”

* * * * *

When Dana got back to her cottage, she pulled out the crumpled-up business card

and punched out the number on her cell phone. She knew it wouldn’t connect to

anything anyway. She was in Ireland, 1-800 numbers wouldn’t work from her phone as

far as she knew. She’d call, and then she’d know the card was a prank of some sort and wait until the prankster decided to make himself known.

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But after she punched in the number, it started to ring. She plopped down on her

bed and someone answered. “Thank you for calling 1-800-DOM-help. This is the

Operator. How may I be of assistance?” It was a man’s voice, no accent, calm and

formal.

“Hello?” Dana was tempted to hang up but then she wouldn’t know what if it was

a prank or not. “What’s this all about?”

“I see you received one of our cards?”

“Yes. This is a prank, right? Who gave it to me?” She was wasting her time.

“This is a help line. If you received a card, you must need help in your

relationship.”

She sighed in frustration. “No, I don’t need help. Besides, I’m not a Dom.”

“Ah, you’re a sub then, my mistake, hold on. I can connect you to someone who can

help you with your Dom and your D/s—”

“No, do not transfer me,” Dana raised her voice. “I don’t need any help in

my…whatever you said. Everything is fine.”

“That’s good to hear. Maybe there’s something else that’s troubling you?” The man

seemed genuinely concerned and Dana felt her throat tighten.

“No, everything is fine.” She hung up and ripped up the card.

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“Let the banquet begin,” Jack announced. With his words medieval-clad servers

brought out platters of soup and warm brown bread to each table for the first course

while Dana and the other musicians performed a lively renaissance melody and Jack

and Shannon sang a duet. They both had incredible voices.

When he’d said he was one of the singers, she had no idea how gifted he was. In her

opinion he could be singing in a Broadway show. He looked so handsome in his period

costume, the brocade tunic cinched with a leather belt. The tights he wore, she

remembered laughing at earlier. Jack’s comment had been, “Something wrong, my

lady?” The thought brought a smile to her, and she caught Jack winking at her now as if he knew what she was thinking.

Or was he thinking about later, after the show? Earlier in his cottage, he’d

instructed her not to wear panties under her costume. This, he said, was a simple test of her subservience and only they would know. After the show, he said he would meet her