Redemption (5 page)

Rebecca kept her
face turned away as she headed down the path at a brisk walk.  “No idea. 
Probably just to torment us and distract us.”

~~~~~

They had walked
for some time when they came upon a clearing beside the path.  It was filled
with wildflowers in pinks and yellows and blues.  A small stream meandered
across the clearing, shaded by the long, swaying branches of a weeping willow. 
Rebecca glanced over her shoulder at Isaac, who gave her a wary look and a half
shrug.  She turned her attention away, squelching the little flutter of
attraction that hit her every time she met those blue eyes.

“I was thinking
we should stop for a minute and rest,” she said slowly.  “And then this…”

He came up even
with her, staring out over the little glade.  “Seems a bit too convenient,
doesn’t it?”  A golden butterfly swept past them and danced across the glade,
pausing on a reed by the bank of the stream. 

Rebecca took a
deep breath.  She had been walking all morning and her feet hurt.  It certainly
couldn’t hurt to sit down by the water for a few minutes.  She stepped off the
path and made her way into the sea of wildflowers, crossing under a twisting
vine that formed a sort of archway.  She heard Isaac following behind her but
didn’t look back, not wanting to see the disapproval on his face.  A big,
beautiful willow tree shaded the little brook, and Rebecca headed toward its
inviting shade.

“Hello.”  A
warm, rich, liquid baritone spoke close by.  Rebecca watched wide-eyed as a man
appeared from behind the willow tree.  He had shoulder length hair the color of
wheat in the sunshine.  His well-muscled chest was bare above loose-fitting
cotton pants and bare feet.  As he paced toward them, it looked for all the
world like he had sprung from the flowers growing at their feet, as if he
belonged to the glade.  “You are travelers?”

Rebecca nodded,
not knowing what to say.  “Come and sit by our stream, and rest yourselves.” 

The man gestured
toward the stream, where a blanket was now visible, spread upon the bank in the
dappled shade provided by the willow tree.  A woman was kneeling there, nearly
unseen behind a screen of wildflowers.

“I’ve just put
out a picnic,” she said in the same sweet, flowing tone the man had used.  “And
we so rarely see new people.  Come, sit with us, and have something to eat.”

The man had
reached Rebecca, and he stood staring down at her with wide green eyes.  He was
even more beautiful up close, and she felt herself turn red and flustered at
his nearness.  He gestured at the blanket.  “Will you join us?”

Isaac cleared
his throat, making Rebecca jump.  “I don’t know… we need to hurry.  Remember we
kind of have a time limit…”

His words trailed
off as his attention wandered.  The woman had stood from behind her screen of
flowers and was coming to join them.  She and the man had to be twins.  Her
golden hair swayed about her hips, and her light sundress fluttered in a soft
breeze.  She was as stunningly beautiful as he was devastatingly handsome.  She
turned her wide green eyes on Isaac.  “We won’t keep you from your journey…but
surely you’re in need of rest?  This world is full of obstacles.  You have
worked hard to come even this far, and the road ahead is long.”

The man grasped
Rebecca’s hand and gently tugged her toward the blanket.  “Come, rest, just for
a bit?”  His chiseled mouth turned up in a sweet, inviting smile and she felt
her feet moving of their own accord, and her own lips responding without her
meaning them to.

“Well… just for
a few minutes…”

They made their
way across the glade to the blanket.  It was spread with fresh fruits, little
tarts, cookies, and dozens of other treats.  A big pitcher and some cups sat in
the middle, their sides glittering with moisture.  Suddenly, something cool to
drink sounded wonderful.  Piles of soft cushions were scattered on the grassy
bank of the stream, and the man guided Rebecca to one of these, where she knelt
and took the cup he handed to her.  Isaac knelt on the other side of the
blanket with the woman, who was piling fruits onto a little silver plate, her
movements fluid and graceful.

Rebecca sipped
the chilled wine from her cup, realizing quite suddenly that she was, indeed,
very hungry.  She had eaten nothing in this dream, in fact hadn’t even thought
she could feel hunger.  But now that she thought about it, she was ravenous. 
She reached for a bunch of grapes but the golden-haired man beat her to it, his
warm hand brushing hers as he took the fruit and smiling, plucked one from the
bunch.  She felt a warm blush rush to her cheeks as she allowed him man to put
the grape into her mouth, his sparkling eyes on hers the whole time.

The grape burst
in her mouth, juicy and sweet, and she took another.  Her gaze slid sideways to
Isaac, who was reclining back against the gnarled roots of the tree as the
woman leaned over him and tipped a cup to his lips.  A pang of something broke
through her contentment, but it was extinguished when the man placed his
gentle, graceful fingers along her cheek and turned her face back to him. 

A languid warmth
spread over Rebecca, whether from the wine or the man’s touch on her skin she
wasn’t sure.  It spread through her body, and she didn’t protest when his hands
glided down her arms.  He took her cup and re-filled it from the pitcher, never
looking away from her. 

Rebecca felt
languid and heavy.  Her movements were slow as she took the cup and raised it
to her lips.  The man stopped her, and she watched in breathless anticipation
as he dipped a finger into her cup, then leaned forward and traced her lips
with the red liquid.  Then, ever so slowly, he leaned closer, his lips soft on
hers as he kissed it away. 

Her hands rose,
unbidden, and tangled in the soft, downy hair at the base of his skull.  His
mouth slanted across hers and the breathless feeling increased, but she didn’t
resist as he drew her into his arms, pulling her onto his lap, making sure that
she felt how much he wanted her through his thin clothing.

“N…no.”  Isaac’s
voice was heavy, muffled.  Rebecca’s companion broke their kiss, but his lips
moved lower, caressing her neck and throat, her collarbone, the upper swell of
her breast, while his skilled hands moved lower.

“No!”  Isaac had
gotten his voice back, and it sounded overly loud in the quiet clearing,
briefly startling Rebecca from the haze of pleasure.  She felt slightly annoyed
that he was ruining the beautiful day.

She watched
complacently while Isaac struggled to sit up, to fight free of the woman’s
grip.  One strap of the woman’s dress had fallen- or been pushed - down,
exposing a perfect round, full breast, which was pressed to Isaac’s chest as he
sat up.  She gave him pretty pout.

“Stay,” she said
in that musical voice, now husky with desire.  “Just a bit longer.” 

She pressed her
bowstring mouth to the soft place just below his ear and he let out a strangled
sound, half annoyance, half pleasure.

“No!”  Isaac’s
voice was growing in strength.

Rebecca gasped
in surprise as the blond man reminded her forcibly of his presence.  He had
rucked up her shirt and he bent his silky head to her breast, his tongue
swirling over her nipple in a teasing way.  What was it she had been worried
about just now?  Closing her eyes, she melted into his embrace.

“Becca…”  Isaac’s
deep voice was rough.  Annoying.  She tried to ignore it.  But now he was
there, kneeling beside her, tugging insistently at her arm.  “Snap out of it! 
We have to leave.”  The blond man tried to gently peel Isaac’s fingers off her
arm as Rebecca stared at him, perplexed.

“Ow!  Hey.  Let
her go!”  Isaac was on his feet now, struggling against the blond woman, who
was foiling his attempts at freeing Rebecca.  He refused to let go of her arm,
and his grip was bruising.

“Wha..?”  It was
hard to find her voice.  Almost too much effort to speak.  But the pain in her
arm was sufficiently annoying to make her try.

The
golden-haired man laid a finger across her lips.  “Shh…don’t worry, everything will
be well.  I’ll keep you safe here.  Nothing will harm you.  We can be together
forever… just… like… this.”  His speech was punctuated with soft kisses dropped
on her lips and neck.  She felt a nip of teeth at her throat and let out a
little moan.

“No!  Rebecca! 
Damn it, wake up.”  Isaac was sounding increasingly angry, his deep voice harsh
and jarring.  He managed to rip himself away from the woman, and he gave
Rebecca’s arm a sharp, painful jerk that finally penetrated some of the haze in
her mind.  He heaved, dragging her to her feet, where she stood swaying, her
back to his chest as he held her up.

“But…what?”  She
shook her head, trying to clear it, but part of her didn’t
want
it to
clear.  The golden-haired man was still kneeling, staring up at her with those
soft green eyes filled with hurt, making no gesture of violence.  She wanted to
go back to him, tell him she was sorry.  It had felt so nice in his arms.  As
if nothing else mattered.

A pair of big
hands covered her eyes, obscuring her view of the beautiful man, their
roughness contrasting harshly with those of the gentle blonde.  “Trust me. 
Please.  You said you trusted me before.  Just trust me.  We need to go. 
Now!” 

His deep whisper
rippled the hair by her ear, the sensation sending a rush of pleasure through
her already sensitive body.  A wave of confusion swept over her, and she lifted
her hands, struggling to keep him from blocking her view.

“Stop.  Isaac. 
I don’t want to go.  I want to stay here.”

He held her
fast.  “You can’t.  You have to go home.  You have to get out.  To get us both
out.  Remember?  I don’t know what this thing is, Becca… but it’s not human. 
This is all make-believe… an illusion.” 

A soft, liquid
voice spoke from just in front of them.  “She is happy here.  Let her stay.  Nothing
here will harm her.”  Rebecca couldn’t tell if it was the man or woman who had
spoken in those musical, lilting tones, but the sound made her struggle
harder.  She desperately wanted to go back to him.  Even though she knew that
this was wrong, there were just so many things that she wanted to forget.  Her
head was starting to clear and she fought against the part of her that wanted
the numb haze to remain.

“Okay,” she said
roughly, still pulling at Isaac’s hands.  “Okay, just let go.”

He seemed to
hear the sanity returning to her voice and, grudgingly, his hands slipped from
her eyes, dropping instead to clutch her shoulders tightly, as if to hold her
there.  Rebecca opened her eyes slowly to shield against the bright sun that
bathed the glade, but the sky wasn’t sunny anymore.  It was grey and overcast. 
The meadow around them was more weed and grass than wildflower.  And in front
of her stood the strangest, and most oddly compelling, creature she had ever
seen.  The head and torso of the beautiful woman, now gloriously nude, ended in
the well-endowed and happily engorged bottom half of the beautiful man.  A pair
of small, pointed black horns peeked past the head of honey colored hair, and
its furry legs tapered to shiny black hooves.

Rebecca knew she
should be scared, repulsed.  But instead, she had to keep fighting the urge to
go to it.  The thing spoke again in that magical voice.  “Even though she sees
me for what I am, the girl still wants to stay.” 

The beautiful
mouth curved upward in a soft smile and a sensitive spot pulsed at Rebecca’s
throat.  She raised her hand to cover it, still staring.  The creature held out
a graceful hand.  “Come with me darling, and I will make sure you never feel
anything but pleasure for as long as you live.”  It paced closer.  “No more
pain.  No more loneliness.”

Rebecca closed
her eyes and breathed deeply through her nose.  She wanted it.  Wanted to take
its hand so badly.  But Isaac’s deep voice sliced through her stupor.  “No. 
She doesn’t want that, do you Rebecca?” 

He shook her,
hard.  “You can’t stay here!  Remember what the hooded guy said.  If we don’t
get out of here, someone will die.”  His voice cracked, and she could feel his
heart hammering against her back.  He leaned closer to whisper in her ear.  “
I’ll
die.”

Something cold
moved in her stomach, cutting through her warm stupor like a knife.  “What?” 

Her eyes widened
as she lost that last sense of connection with the strange thing before her. 
The creature’s mouth screwed up in a wry grimace, as if it had just had candy
snatched from its grasp.

Isaac tugged her
backwards.  “You can’t stay.  You have to help me… please?”

Swallowing hard,
she turned her back on the creature that had offered her escape and grasped
Isaac’s hand as tightly as possible as she headed away from comfort and back
toward hardship.  He squeezed back, and her hand felt as though it would be
crushed.

 “Get me out of
here,” she said in a choked voice.  “I…just help me get back to the path.”

He dragged her
back toward the path as quickly as possible, but the creature made no move to
stop them.  Once they reached the path again, Rebecca felt like herself once
more, as if a heavy veil had been lifted.  Glancing back, she saw that the creature
had disappeared.  The glade was empty.