The Sorceress (26 page)

Really?
she asked herself and then gazed at the ends of her wrists where there should have been hands. How would she subdue the red-haired trollop? No hands…no feet or legs. And she was swiftly losing her upper limbs. She slid a glance at Boozer.

He was as drunk as a skunk. No help at all. The ghoul was absolutely useless. She narrowed her eyes and strained as she tried to burn him with her gaze, but the light that emanated from her eyes had no power or glow. She couldn't ignite even a tiny flash of light. That special ability that served as superior night vision, as well as for inflicting scorching pain, had been compromised.

Eris snarled. She'd use Boozer for target practice after she regained the full use of vision. She'd burn so many holes in him, he'd think twice before he disobeyed her orders again. He'd be lucky if she didn't decide to cut her losses and light him up until he burst into flames.

No sunlight filtered into the wine cellar, but the annoying melody of chirping birds told Eris that morning had finally arrived. There was no more time to waste. Her lower arms and legs were gone, with ragged pieces of skin drooping from her elbows and her kneecaps as if her limbs had been hacked off by a maniac surgeon.

The urge to self-preserve kicked her senses into high gear. She sniffed the air; her eyes flickered about the darkened place, searching for a source of life force. She'd be damned if she was going to sit back like a bump on a log and allow her body to fade into complete nothingness.

She heard a noise overhead. Beeping sounds. Someone had entered the home. Ah! So her hearing was still intact and quite keen. Delighted, Eris smiled and then stabbed her companion from hell with her elbow. “Boozer, wake up!”

Boozer, slouched, legs splayed. His penis, large and pulsing, awakened and extended from inside its fur-covered foreskin.

“There's a female mortal overhead. Climb up those stairs and bring her down here to me.”

Boozer looked down at his swollen appendage. The urge to copulate made him drool.

“You'll get your satisfaction from her. Now go get her. Drag her down here if you have to, but make sure she's alive when I get my hands on her.” Eris licked her lips in anticipation.

Boozer, hung over from the wine, could hardly maneuver his oversized wobbly body. Head pounding, phallus throbbing, he groaned as he crawled up the stairs.

“Silence!” Eris hissed.

Boozer clamped his mouth closed and crawled to the top of the stairs.

Deceitful behavior was second nature to him. Stealthily, he twisted open the door and then crawled toward the scent of a human female. Taking an arm out of a gray jacket, she stood near a hook on the back of the pantry door, her knit hat pulled snug around her head.

Boozer looked around in wonderment at all the shiny machinery positioned around the kitchen. He'd never seen any of the appliances and would have loved the opportunity to tinker with them and see how they worked.

As his eyes roved swiftly, he was awestruck by the craftsmanship of the wood cabinetry. He wished he could sit a spell and take in the marvels of modern man, but he had a pressing need and Eris wouldn't appreciate the time wasted with him browsing around.

Quietly, he slithered across the shiny tile floor and when he reached the back of the female's ankles, he lurched to his feet. She let out a breath of surprise. Boozer quickly clamped his clawed hand over her mouth, muffling her scream.

Boozer hauled the squirming, resistant female to the cellar stairs and softly closed the door behind him. She kicked mightily, forcing him to tighten the grip he had around her waist. He heard a snap and looked around suspiciously. The sound had a familiar ring to it. The woman stopped struggling and went limp.

Old memories flooded his mind. Then it came to him…he'd cracked one of the female's ribs. That used to happen quite often, back in the old days when he had to simmer down a feisty female in order to have his way.

Smiling at the fond recollections of molestation and mayhem, he delivered the injured prey to Eris. Proudly, he laid the unconscious female in front of Eris. Slobbering and grinning, Boozer waited to hear Eris murmur words of approval.

“Pick her up and hold her close to my mouth,” Eris barked. There was a time when she would have siphoned the life force out of a human, leisurely taking in the essence of both males and females. But she was too bad off; she needed to go straight to the bloodstream.

Boozer lifted the woman, whom he would have considered hefty during his human life. But in his current form and with his enhanced strength, she was as light as a feather. Her jacket hung off of her shoulders; her hat was now twisted and sat lopsided on her head. The female's leg dangled from beneath her skirt; her thigh flush with Eris's face.

Eris could hear the rush of the life force she desperately needed coursing through the woman's veins. She bared her teeth and ferociously ripped away nylon pantyhose, tearing into the soft, spongy flesh of the ample woman's thigh.

The female awakened, her enormous eyes filled with bewilderment and pain, and pleaded for mercy. Eris bit her again, expecting to hear her howl in agony, but the female, too shocked to scream, produced only a sharp gasp.

Eris watched the female closely while she chewed her flesh. The woman gaped at Eris's blood-covered lips and then down at her own ravaged thigh. Now, her mouth was stretched open, preparing to liberate an explosive scream.

“Shut her up!” Eris ordered, still chewing on a large chunk of meat.

Boozer covered the woman's mouth.

With the female silenced and held still, Eris swallowed and then attacked the woman again, this time sucking the open wound, greedily slurping out blood and tendons, exploring the ravaged region with her tongue.

The female writhed in agony as Eris feasted. Savagely, she bit through marbled flesh and soft tissue until her teeth scraped against bone. The woman's anguished groan was heard; despite the tight seal Boozer's wide palm had made upon her lips.

The victimized woman succumbed to unconsciousness as Eris lapped blood and munched on olive-colored skin and red meat, filling herself with pulsating life force. She could feel the mortal's essence rushing through her. She felt vibrant and very much alive.

“Look!” Boozer gawked down to Eris's feet, which amazingly were beginning to materialize.

Excited by the progress she'd made, Eris chomped deeply into the other thigh and moaned at the succulent flavor of fresh human flesh and blood. Awed and inspired by the rush of life she was infused with, Eris crunched into the flank of flesh, devouring juicy muscle and stringy tendons. She quivered with glee when she saw the appearance of her extremities and finally her hands.

The female bled profusely from her open wounds. Her blood, dark and thick, pooled and streamed across the floor. The mortal was no longer useful. Eris frowned at the half-dead female. With her newly formed hands, she shoved the bloody mortal away.

Fast as lightning, Boozer stuck out a hairy hand and grabbed
the bleeding female by the ankle. He snatched her from Eris's grasp, yanking her into the shadowy bowels of the cellar.

Though he didn't crave blood or yearn for the taste of flesh, he had a ravenous sexual appetite—a need so primal it was debilitating, causing his head to throb. The room seemed to spin, and his vision blurred.

Again the mortal female awoke and opened trembling lips. Shutting off her scream before it started, Boozer covered her mouth with his roughened palm and then angrily slammed her head against the floor, sending her back to oblivion.

Voraciously hungry for sex, he hoisted the limp female's skirt around her waist. Boozer used a claw to slash through the nylon and cotton panty barriers. Inhaling the tangy aroma of female loins, he became drunk with lust.

He pulled her limbs apart so viciously, the harsh crack of thick bones echoed through the cellar. Undeterred by her drooping torso and lolling head, Boozer worked to make her groin more accessible. He stretched the older woman's thighs. The broken bones made it easy to pull the bloodied flanks of flesh widely apart until her legs were stretched absurdly taut like a young gymnast performing a straddle split on a balance beam.

He positioned her lower body atop his mammoth fur-thatched loins.

The cook's lids fluttered open as she felt the monster brutally thrust inside her, impaling her. And puncturing vital internal organs.

As her life seeped out, Carmen's lips moved rapidly in prayer. With a quivering finger, she made the sign of the cross.

A
loud clatter pulled Jen from a sweet dream. She sat up and looked around. Sleepily, she glanced at the bedside clock. Six-thirty.
Carmen must be banging around in the kitchen, getting breakfast ready,
she told herself as she lay back down, tugging the down-filled comforter over her shoulders.

As she'd hoped, the morning sunshine had driven away all fear. It was a new day and last night seemed like a remnant of a bad dream. Smiling, she remembered that she had a hot night planned for her and Rome. She wondered if the new nanny would arrive in time for her to go pick out her sultry lingerie.

Lizzy had the day off, and Jen wondered if she could persuade Carmen to look after the boy. Come hell or high water, she was getting out of the house to pick up her sexy wardrobe.

Rome! Rome! Rome! She couldn't wait to see his face. The man was incredibly gorgeous. And after all he'd been through in life, he was so kind, considerate and level-headed. As badly as Big Tee had treated him, Jen was sure that Rome would forgive her and welcome his mother with open arms. He didn't seem like the type of person who would hold on to a grudge.

Jen wished she could give him the gift of his mother's love, but she couldn't. But she wasn't going to hold back her feelings or try to keep them hidden. Lizzy and Carmen would probably accuse her of rushing things, but as far as Jen was concerned,
there were no rules or no set time frame that determined when it was permissible to fall in love.

She was falling in love with Rome and tonight she was going to tell him. In the meantime, she wished she had something of his…a shirt, a hat…something that held his scent; that would make him seem close to her while they were apart.

A warm filling poured over her. Her hand wandered inside her panties. Her finger located her clit as she imagined snuggling close to Rome, his tongue replacing the finger that pressed against her nub.

No sooner had Jen began stroking herself, striving to provide self-induced satisfaction, when the phone blared, jolting her like an alarm. It only rang once. Senator Provost or Carmen must have picked up.

The senator had clout. Jen figured he must have left an urgent message on the agency's voicemail last night. On the ball and striving to please, someone from the agency was handling the situation before normal business hours, calling to inform them that the new nanny was on her way.

Jen threw on a robe and padded down the corridor to the senator's bedroom. Maybe they should have a morning chat, make sure they were on the same page before the nanny arrived.

Outside his door, she heard him speaking. “I didn't realize it was that important. Why didn't you tell me about the photo op with the troops? Of course, I'll be ready.” There was a weary sluggishness in the senator's tone. “I promise you, I'll see you soon.”

Soon! How soon?
Jen wondered. She and the senator had nanny business to conduct together.

She knocked on his door. “Senator Provost, may I speak with you?”

“Yes. Come in, Jen.”

She'd expected to see him sitting up in bed with a breakfast tray in front of him, eyes roving between open copies of both the
Washington Post
and the
Philadelphia Inquirer.
But instead he was slumped down in bed, having a liquid breakfast, drinking straight from a bottle of Grey Goose. He looked a haggard mess, with bloodshot eyes and a blotchy face.

“That was Catherine.” He spat his wife's name as if it were a dirty word. “My de-balling wife has summoned me and she's not taking no for an answer.” He guzzled more vodka, some spilled down the side of his mouth, and wiped it with the back of his hand. Not a good look for a photo op with the troops.

Jen couldn't help but wonder how this obvious lush was going to make himself presentable. But more importantly, she wanted to know what he'd meant by…
“I'll see you soon.”

“Are you canceling the nanny interview?”

“Catherine insists that I join her,” he bellowed. Jen had never heard the senator raise his voice. Being the Second Man, or however the nation intended to refer to the senator after his wife won the election, was really getting under his skin and causing him to try to drink away his bruised ego.

“You aren't going to leave me alone, are you?” she blurted, her calm composure gone; desperation raising her pitch.

Senator Provost gave her an odd look, like he was seeing her for the first time. “Uh, yeah. Looks like I'm going to have to join her for this spur-of-the moment photo op with the presidential candidate, his wife, and some damned troops…uh, somewhere. I can't remember where we're going. I certainly hope we're not going as far as the Middle East.”