FicWad

Pervikar 12





Per and friends find a haunted mansion










"Bitch!"

"Slut!"

"Whore!"

"Dyke!"

The war of words had been going on for over a week and it grated on Per's nerves. Cendri and Gedda's loathing for one another had degenerated from ignoring one another to one-upmanship to name-calling. When Octavia who was riding point looked back in disgust, Per decided to put an end to it.

"Camp!" he called out.

Pawl rode up and asked, "What's the matter, Per? It's only midday."

"Those two," said Per with a snarl and a jerk of his thumb towards Cendri and Gedda, who were staring daggers at each other. "I should have stopped this earlier. I am going to stop it now."

"Praise to the Gods!" sighed Pawl in mock humility, while meaning it at the same time.

Both Cendri and Gedda were still on their horses glaring at the other when Per walked between them. The girls shrieked in fright as he grabbed each one by the arm and pulled them out of their saddles. The horses whinnied and bolted off as Per dragged the two girls on the ground and over to a convenient boulder. Per sat down and threw both girls over his leg. He crossed his other leg over top of them to hold them in place as he quickly divested them of all weapons.

"I warned you what would happen if you caused me trouble," Per snarled to them.

"Let me up, you big oaf," said Gedda angrily.

"You two could be heard from a mile away," said Per, ignoring Gedda."You've endangered us all."

Per grabbed the top of Cendri's pants and yanked downward hard. The pants resisted for a moment and then split down both sides to hang down like a flap, exposing Cendri's round ass. Both girls struggled to get free, but could not prevail against Per's strength and weight. Per was so angry he did not even pause to admire Cendri's pale ass sticking up in the air. Karlto and Pawl took one quick glance and then went over to help Octavia set up camp. The look on Per's face made them decide to put a little distance between them. Per raised his hard calloused hand and brought it down flat against Cendri's round cheeks.

Cendri screamed as Per's hand slapped hard against her ass. Tears sprang forth from her eyes as Per spanked her a second time. Gedda was literally clawing at the dirt as she attempted to get away. Per administered a full twenty spanks to Cendri's butt. By the time he was finished, her ass was bright red with handprints and Cendri was sobbing in pain.

Per grabbed Gedda's pants and ripped them off completely. Gedda tried to dig her fingernails into Per's thigh, but stopped when the first spank jarred her whole body. Gedda's ass was much slimmer than Cendri's, but it glowed just as red when Per finished spanking her. Both girls were crying as Per stood up and dumped them on the ground.

"Go!Get redressed and pitch your tents!" Per yelled at them.

The girls stood up, still crying in pain and went to set up their tents. Karlto, Pawl and Octavia all nodded their approval to Per before continuing on with their work. Per sat back down on the boulder to allow his anger to subside. It was a short while later before Cendri and Gedda approached him, moving stiffly and grimacing as they walked. They stood still, silently waiting in front of Per.

"What?" asked Per sullenly.

"We've come to apologize," stated Cendri.

"What is it with you two?" Per asked them. "Honestly?"

Cendri and Gedda looked at each other and then at Per ashamedly.

"Class differences?" suggested Gedda, telling Per that they really did not know.

Per stared at them. He felt it welling up inside of him and before he could stop it, it came out.

"Are you two crazy?" he laughed heartily. "That's it? You two really don't know?" and he broke down laughing as the two girls hung down their heads. "Alright, the rivalry stops now," said Per, once he stopped laughing. "It's dangerous to us all. Go help Octavia with supper. Hold on, Gedda. Wait a minute. Go on ahead, Cendri."

Gedda waited as Cendri limped off. She then turned back towards Per.

"You never said you would join us. Are you with us or just tagging along for the ride?" asked Per. "Gedda, remember I said you are free to come and go as you wish. It's the same for Cendri. Do you really hate her so much?"

"Strange question to ask about me joining you," grimaced Gedda as she gingerly placed her hands on her sore ass, "especially after you beat me." Gedda shook her head. "I'm sorry. No, I don't hate Cendri. It's just that superior attitude of hers. I grew up with no mother or father. I was raised on the streets by beggars, thieves and cutthroats. I can't read or write. Cendri was sent to school. Her father sent her away to be trained at a military academy. She has alook that makes me feel that I'm something that should have been set out with the garbage. Of course, her ego has taken several hits in the past week or so."

"Gedda, you didn't answer my first question," reminded Per. "No matter. I would guess that being sent away to a school might be as lonely as growing up on the street. Go help Octavia and send Cendri on over."

"Same pep talk?" asked Gedda.

"Nope and remember one thing, Gedda," Per paused until she looked at him inquiringly. "Cendri could have cut Bargan at any time with her sword, but she held back in fear of cutting you."

Gedda's eyes widened with the realization of the truth in Per's words. She quietly and reflectively went over towards the fire and sent Cendri over to Per. Cendri marched over to the boulder and stood at attention in front of him. Not a trace of pain showed on her face.

"Sir!" she barked as her heels clicked together.

Per picked up his shield and drew his sword. Standing at attention in front of her, Per raised Dorgeth in a salute and swung it down to his side. Cendri drew her own sword and followed suit. They both then crouched into an on guard position.

Per sparred with Cendri and, despite the painful spanking she had received, she was a superb swordswoman. Octavia was better, but only because she had more experience. Parry, thrust, slash, block and return – Cendri's moves were done with precision and timing. Per finally stepped back and saluted to end the bout.

Cendri returned the salute, but now her jaw was clenched in pain and sweat beaded up on her face. Per sheathed Dorgeth and sat back down on the boulder. He waved his fingers to indicate for Cendri to either sit or lay down. She sheathed her sword and went to parade rest.

"Cendri, relax," said Per.

"Sir!" she barked, maintaining her position.

"You've had excellent training. I could tell from our sparring," Per told her. "Did they drain all reason out of you? Was it so terribly lonely being sent away that you built this shell around yourself?"

Cendri eyes took on a scared, hunted look as if she felt that Per could see to the very core of her being. She heard the questions and saw the reflection of herself in them.

"Lay on the ground," said Per as he slid off the boulder to sit on the ground. "It probably hurts to sit and don't say ‘Yes, Sir!' okay?"

Cendri's face broke into a little smile as she gingerly laid down on her stomach. A sigh of relief escaped her lips as her sore muscles relaxed.

"Why do you hate Gedda?" asked Per.

"I don't hate her," admitted Cendri. "It's…It's that damned attitude of hers. She's so carefree and irresponsible. She doesn't care what she does as long as she has fun. I never saw my parents for months on end. It was drill, practice, drill and practice. I wanted to be the perfect soldier for my father."

"Funny," commented Per. "She is envious of your schooling because she can't read or write. You're envious of her freedom, even though she was raised not knowing a mother or father. As I said…funny. You both grew up unloved and you both want what you think the other has got. Do the two of you know anything at all about Octavia, Karlto or Pawl?"

"Per, can you excuse me?" asked Cendri, getting up slowly.

"Sure, I still have to set up my tent," he said.

Cendri walked over to Gedda and tapped her on the shoulder. The two of them then moved out of earshot from the rest of the group. They laid down on their stomachs, facing one another and began to talk. Karlto came over to help Per with his tent.

"I say, old chap, do you think they will get along?" asked Karlto as he drove a spike into the ground.

"Well, they aren't yelling anymore," stated Per. "I think those two have more in common than they know."

"Ah, Per…about Cific…" Karlto left the reference dangling.

"Yes?" asked Per, feigning innocence.

"Well, you know…about the…about the…You know what Imean!" stammered Karlto, trying to find the words.

"About what?" asked Per.

"Well, dash it! At least Pawl was willing to discuss it."

"If there is something troubling you about our stay in Cific, maybe you should talk it over with Octavia. I'm sure she can set you right," suggested Per.

Karlto looked over at Octavia and his face blanched.

"No, old boy, I think I'll just let the whole matter drop," he said.

"Wise decision," stated Per.

After dinner, Cendri and Gedda addressed the group.

"We just wanted to say how sorry we are for our behavior," said Cendri.

"Yes, it was inexcusable," added Gedda.

"No problem, ladies," said Karlto. "We've all made errors in judgment for time to time."

"Him, more than most," muttered Octavia loudly.

Karlto looked put out as everyone laughed at his expense. Per turned to Cendri and Gedda.

"There is one final punishment for you two," said Per. "One that will be more painful for the rest of us than you. Gedda, you need to read and write. Cendri, you are going to teach her."

"Me?" asked both girls in unison.

"There is a wealth of information out there in the form of books, parchments and scrolls, not to mention that most of it is valuable given the rarity of books. Pawl will immediately go to any books or scrolls we find. It helps him in his magical research. By the way, Gedda, do not touch any of his books without his permission. They could be dangerous to you."

"Books?Dangerous?" scoffed Gedda.

"It depends on whether you want to be turned into a frog or just burned to a crisp," replied Pawl with a no-nonsense look.

"I won't touch your books," said Gedda. "Just because we're in the same company."

"I think that's an admission that you've just joined us," said Per.

"Sounded like one to me," added Octavia.

Gedda grimaced at her slip and then shrugged her shoulders in acquiescence.

"What do I get out of teaching her?" asked Cendri. "You know all books are dangerous once you learn to read, not just the magical ones."

"Patience and, hopefully, a better understanding of people," said Per."You are right about the danger of reading, but without it, no one can reach their full potential."

"Will you tell me about yourself?" asked Cendri, sitting down.

"Only if you two will tell me about yourselves," said Per.

Per told the tale of how his mother, Karina, was kidnapped by goblins and saved by Gar, an ogre. He related how Gar taught Karina to speak ogre and that they became lovers. Per told how Gar knew that he could not keep Karina with him and how he took her to Tenan, a ranger by profession, who then set up the pregnant Karina on a farm bought from gems left for her by Gar. Per related his adventures at Dosser under the influence of Baron Cedric and how Cedric was exiled by the Overlord. Per went on to tell how Queen Shara, the Overlord's wife and Cedric's aunt, had put a price on Per's head for interfering with her plans.

"Basically, I went adventuring to get away from the assassins," concluded Per. "My mother married Tenan, who became the new Baron of Dosser. I met these wonderful people roaming about, who decided to latch on to me."

"…and roaming around with him, we've all come to understand the old curse," stated Pawl. "May you live in interesting times."

"It's been interesting alright," agreed Octavia. She turned to the two women. "Yourselves?"

"Not much to tell about my life," said Cendri. "I was the last of six daughters. My father was a general and wanted a son. I pleaded with him to send me to military school. I guess it was to gain his attention. My other sisters all became ladies. My father did send me and it was six years before I saw my parents again. My father came by to see how I was doing and talked to the headmaster about my studies. Just before I graduated, he was killed in some far-off battle. I came home to have my mother inform me that she hated the military, hated the weapons, hated the smelly armor, and hated my father for what he had transformed me into. She then told me that I was going to become a lady and that she had arranged the perfect marriage for me. It was to take place in amonth." Cendri took in a deep breath. "Well, I sort of went nuts. I was tired of being manipulated and I told her so. She informed me that when I came back to my senses that I would be welcomed back into her house. I guess I'm trying to find the real me."

"My story is not much more exciting," said Gedda as everyone turned to look at her. "Never knew my mother or father. I was raised by a burglar, who needed me to slip in between the bars on windows and ransack houses for him. He was caught by the sheriff's men outside one house I had just broken into. They dragged him off to die in prison after they searched the house for me. I crept into the nursery and into one of the empty beds. I guess they were looking for someone older because they mistook me for one of the owner's children. Acutthroat took over the burglar's residence and used me on a couple of his jobs to get inside and open doors for him. I was then passed from one person to the next depending on who needed my skills at the time. I'd have gotten Cendri's purse, too, if some woman had not bumped me into Cendri at the time."

"Maybe it was Aphrodite, my girl," said Karlto. "You were right outside her temple and maybe she did it so you would have to join us."

"Sorry," said Gedda flatly, "I don't believe any deity would be that interested in me."

"You never can tell," said Per. "I think we need to get some rest. Cendri, I want you to spar with Karlto tomorrow. Your training was very good, but your style is rigid and repetitious. That leaves you vulnerable to other styles of fighting. We have about two to three weeks until we reach the gorge."

It was a week later when they rode into a small village. Gedda was learning her letters as Cendri received a good lesson on patience. At times, Cendri could not understand why Gedda did not comprehend what was blindingly obvious to her. She found out that saying, "Because it is," did not work with Gedda who wanted to know exactly what something meant or did. Some of the starchiness went out of Cendri as she also learned that the why is as important as the how.

Cendri and Gedda also learned another painful lesson. The one that showed how good Per, Octavia and Karlto were. They were both routinely bashed out of their saddles by Octavia, thumped by Karlto and beaten into the ground by Per. Even Pawl got into the lesson, when Gedda angrily challenged him fro smiling at her when she was face down in the dirt. Pawl disappeared before her eyes and, while invisible, tied a rope around her legs and yanked her feet out from underneath her yet again. Cendri broke out laughing at Gedda's predicament and suddenly was frozen in place. Pawl released Cendri from the spell after a minute or two. The both learned and became better.

The village was a small hamlet with clean streets and well-tended houses. It was quaint, but Per saw that the people were watching them with suspicion. A couple of the townspeople watched them from behind closed windows as the group rode up the street. Gedda whispered that she saw the curtains move. No one smiled or greeted them all the way up to the inn.

"I say, unfriendly place," muttered Karlto to Per as they dismounted.

"I agree, but I'm tired of sleeping outdoors," replied Per. "It's only for one night."

They went into the inn and met the innkeeper. He greeted them in a neutral tone and squared the group away with rooms for them and stalls in the stable for their mounts. Per and his friends gathered in the taproom to eat supper.

"I wonder why everyone here is so unfriendly," mused Cendri. "Even my classmates had these people beat in personality and my school was very strict."

"Hmm, not unfriendly, I think, just cautious," observed Per. "They're not really hostile."

"Some deep dark secret they don't want us to find out about?" guessed Gedda.

"Well, Per, should we dig it out?" asked Pawl.

"I don't think so," said Per. "Octavia?"

"No, if, and I do mean if, it is a secret that has affected the entire town then it is usually based around someone that everyone here knows," said Octavia as she took a sip of her wine. "That type of information is almost impossible for outsiders, like us, to track down and find. I think we will also have enough trouble when we get to the castle on the crag."

"You're probably right," Pawl said to her. "Well, I'm for bed and an early start. This isn't someplace I want to spend a lot of time in."

The rest of the group agreed and early the next morning they left town. Per, just to be on the safe side, changed directions from east to north as soon as they were out of sight of the town. They rode all day northward until dusk. Karlto, who was riding point, suddenly reined in and called a halt. Per and Octavia rode up to him to see what was the matter.

"I say, can either of you two make out what that is?" asked Karlto pointing off in the distance.

"I don't know," said Per. "It looks like a building in a grove of trees."

"I think you're right, Per," agreed Octavia.

They rode slowly towards the building in the growing gloom. It was an old manor house with an air of abandonment about it. The bushes and trees were overgrown and the lawn was unkempt and uncut. Birds had taken up residence in the eaves. A couple of smaller buildings were now visible in the rear.

Per was staring at the windows when he was startled by something cold and wet hitting his cheek. He turned and looked up to see a snowflake falling down towards the ground. It was followed by another and before he knew it, more snow began to fall and the wind started to pick up. The clouds above were dark and ominous.

"Any shelter in a storm?" asked Octavia.

"Let's check around back for the stable," advised Per. "It should be standing if it is in the same condition as the house. We'll check out the house after we've taken care of the horses."

They found the stables and led the horses inside as the wind started to whip up the snow. Everyone headed towards the house and got inside just as the snowfall changed to ablizzard. The back door was unlocked and they entered into the kitchen.

"Fire?" asked Pawl, pointing to the large fireplace in the kitchen.

"Yes, just make sure the chimney is not blocked," said Per. "Gedda, stay here and help Pawl. The rest of us will check out the house. Cendri, go with Karlto. Octavia, you are with me."

The rest of the house was empty. The dusty furniture and dirty windows showed that no one had lived in the house for about a year. Per was surprised to see personal items, like jewelry and clothing still in the house. It was like the people had walked out the front door with only the clothes on their back and did not return.

Per, Octavia, Karlto and Cendri met back at the kitchen. They could hear the wind whipping up to a frenzy outside, but Pawl had a fire started in the kitchen and it was warming up nicely. Per checked the wood box and found it almost full.

"Whose turn is it to cook?" he asked.

"Yours and you know it," replied Octavia.

Per sighed and asked, "What do we have?"

"There's wine in the cellar," suggested Karlto.

"Really?Get a couple of bottles. Since I think we are going to be here awhile until the storm blows over, we might as well make ourselves at home. Gedda, will you with Karlto?"




"Why?" she asked from the kitchen chair she was sitting in. "No one is here."

"Because I asked you to and we have only done a cursory look around the house. It's better not to take risks."

"I'll go," said Cendri. "I'm already up."

"Charmed," said Karlto gallantly, extending his arm to Cendri.

Cendri looked at Karlto's arm as if it was a snake. Karlto shook his head in disgust and waved for her to follow him. Cendri smiled and winked at Octavia as she followed Karlto down the stairs. They soon returned with a couple bottles of red wine.

Per cooked up beef cubes in a wine sauce. Since they had picked up supplies in town, he was able to fix fresh vegetables with their meal. All in all, it was excellent and made even more so by the fine vintage wine they had with it. Afterwards, everyone settled down on the kitchen floor to sleep.

It was late when Per was awaken by someone touching his arm gently. He opened his eyes to see Octavia staring down at him. She was totally naked.

"Um, Per? Yes, that's it," she said sort of in a daze. "Per, I've wanted you for days. I have to have you now," and her hand reached out to rub his cock through the blanket.

Per jerked upward so that he was sitting up and tried to back away from Octavia's hand. She just scooted closer and kept rubbing his cock.

"Octavia!" hissed Per quietly. "What of the others?"

"Don't worry," she said softly with a smile. "They've gone to other rooms. Please, Per, I want you so badly." Octavia pulled the blanket off Per and stared down at his cock. "Oh, my!It's…It's wonderful! It's so big!"

Octavia grasped Per's cock with both hands. She only had to stroke it acouple of times to bring it to its full length. Per felt himself getting turned on, but something still did not feel right about this.

"Octavia, please stop," he said. "Something's wrong."

Octavia continued to pump his cock.

"Don't worry," she said. "I know…" and her eyes lost focus as she tried to remember something. "I know you have to cum twice. I'll take care of you."

Octavia stood up and stepped across Per's hips so that one foot was on either side of him. She gripped his shoulders and squatted down until the tip of his prick was at the entrance to her cunt. With one swift move, Octavia impaled herself on half of Per's cock. A loud moan of fulfillment escaped from her lips as his hard meat slid into her.

Per could not believe how incredibly wet and ready Octavia was. Her pussy was leaking her juices as she raised and lowered herself on his hard shaft. Per felt more and more of his cock slid into her tight cunt. Octavia groaned as she hit bottom with only eight inches of his twelve inch cock inside her.

"Oh!" she exclaimed trembling. "I've never had anything so big. I'm so…so full!"

Octavia put her hands around Per's neck as she used her legs to raise and lower herself on his hard cock. With her eyes closed and her mouth open, Octavia rose up slowly, her cunt gripping Per's shaft tightly, until she was almost off it before impaling herself down quickly back upon it. Her concentration was so centered on savoring the sensation of his cock in her pussy that she did not realize that her very large, firm breasts were dragging up and down Per's chest.

Per held himself up in a sitting position with his hands braced behind him. Octavia's hard nipples and large brown aureoles dragged across his skin sending shivers of pleasure down his chest and across his stomach to his balls. It added to the pleasurable tension down there from having Octavia's tight cunt wrapped around his hard prick. The pressure in his balls was building up fast.

Octavia was panting heavily as she fucked herself faster and faster on Per's cock. Her gasps were coming out in time to her bounces on his prick as she approached climax. Her eyes opened up and she looked at Per as if she had never seen him before.

Octavia inhaled sharply and hugged Per tightly, mashing her tits against his chest. She trembled violently and her pussy clamped down tight onto his cock as she came. Her cunt squeezed his cock, loosened and squeezed it again as she spasmed. Per's balls boiled over and he grunted as his cock spewed forth its load of hot, milky sperm into Octavia's hot, wet cunt. Octavia gasped and squeezed her cunt tight around his cock as she felt him spurt inside of her.

Per laid down on his back as his climax tapered off. Octavia leaned forward on top of him as he laid back. His cock remained rock-hard as the familiar fire of lust began to burn within Per. Octavia slid off his cock, her pussy leaking out their combined juices. She stared down at his cock with absolutely no expression on her face. With asigh of resignation, she knelt down between Per's legs and wrapped her large breasts around his cock.

Octavia pressed her firm tits tightly around Per's cock as she jacked him off. Per felt his cock sliding between the soft, pliant flesh. Caught up in the throes of his lustcraze, Per only cared about the sensations surrounding his prick. He never noticed that Octavia had turned her head away from what she was doing and had a look of complete boredom on her face as she pumped her breasts up and down on his cock.

Per's hard cock, slick with their combined cum, slid easily between the valley of Octavia's large tits. Per's hands clenched as he felt the tension build in his balls. Octavia squeezed her breasts tighter and pumped them faster on his cock. Her facial expression did not change. To Per, it seemed like forever that his cock slid between the heavy flesh. The pressure continued to build and build in his balls and then increased even more.

Per broke out in a sweat from the sexual tension in his body. The red haze was settling over his eyes and his balls felt like hard rocks from the pressure down there. Suddenly, everything snapped in his body like a huge rubber band. With a cry of pleasure, Per arched his hips upward as his climax exploded inside him. Octavia, her face still turned away, quit pumping his cock and just held her breasts tight around his prick. A long, white ropey stream of sperm spurted out of the tip of Per's cock to land on Octavia's breasts and his stomach. It was followed by two more spurt of hot, sticky cum.

Per's hips settled back down to his blankets as he finished spurting. Octavia released his cock from its soft cocoon to let it slap back on his stomach. She grabbed a nearby cloth and wiped the cum off her tits. Her expression was strangely non-committal.

"Octavia, what's wrong?" asked Per perplexed by her actions and expression. "Are you sorry we did this?"

"No," answered Octavia, looking into Per's eyes. "Nothing is wrong. Go to sleep. We'll talk in the morning."

Per did not believe her, but did not force the issue. It was not the same Octavia he remembered from the Temple in Cific. Octavia walked over to her bed and wrapped herself up in her blankets. Per snorted and made a resolve to talk to her about it tomorrow.

The following morning started off with a scream. That scream was soon followed by another one and then a different scream sounded out with it. Per jumped out of his blankets and raced into the other room. He was not even aware that he had snatched up his sword. He was followed by Octavia, who was a naked as he was, except for her sword.

On the floor of the pantry, a naked Karlto was wrestling with a naked Cendri. He was holding her wrists as she tried to claw his face. Karlto had one thin cut on his cheek already and was desperately trying to prevent others. Per turned when he heard footsteps behind him and saw Pawl running towards them. Pawl was trying to hold ablanket around his waist. Per and Octavia put their swords aside and dragged an angry Cendri off Karlto.

"Let me go!" she yelled. "That bastard raped me!"

"What!?!" exclaimed Per, Octavia, Karlto, and Pawl altogether.

"No!No! No!" stammered Karlto, now frightened. "She woke me last night and brought me here."

"You lie!" yelled Cendri. "I did no such thing! I went to bed and woke up here!"

"Settle down," Per told the squirming girl. He turned to Pawl. "Where's Gedda?"

"Um…She, uh…" now stammered Pawl, obviously embarrassed. "Gedda took me into another room last night. A scream woke us up. It was like she didn't remember what had happened. She screamed and pulled out a dagger. I, uh, froze her with a spell."

Per shook his head in confusion. He looked over at Octavia, who was staring back at him questioningly. Per nodded to her slightly in answer to her unasked question. Her face took on a worried look.

"Cendri, please go with Octavia and get dressed," said Per. "I need you to be with Gedda when the spell wears off."

Octavia left with Cendri, pulling the girl into the kitchen before she could say another word. Per turned to Karlto and Pawl.

"Tell me what happened exactly," he asked them.

"Well, old boy," stated Karlto hesitantly, "Cendri woke me up last night. She said she admired me and wanted me to come with her in here. She was naked and, well, we feel asleep afterwards."

"Same here," replied Pawl, "but with Gedda. Karlto's and Cendri's beds were already empty. We fell asleep and didn't wake until Cendri screamed."

Per sighed and said, "Wait here. Something's not right about this."

Per went to the kitchen door and knocked. Octavia replied and Per stuck his head in. Both of the women were dressed, except that Cendri was in full armor and had her weapons out.

"Cendri, could you go and stay with Gedda?" asked Per. "I need to talk to Octavia for a second."

"He will not get away with this insult!" snarled Cendri.

"Don't do anything to him yet," said Per as she stomped off.

"Come on in, Per," said Octavia. "I've seen you naked before."

"Octavia, what do you remember about last night?" asked Per as he went over to his stuff and started to get dressed.

"Nothing, but I know something happened," she said. "I was naked this morning and have crusty flakes on my legs and breasts…You?"

"You and I made love last night," said Per. "It was just like what happened to Karlto and Pawl. You woke me up and told me how much you wanted me. Does Cendri remember anything?"

"No, she said she went to sleep and awoke in Karlto's arms. What's going on, Per?"

"I don't know, but I don't like it. How's the weather outside?"

Octavia opened the back door and Per felt the blast of cold air, snow and ice. Octavia had to brace herself to shut the door against the howling wind.

"Brrrr," she shuddered as she slammed the door close. "It's bad! I couldn't even see the stable."

"I'll meet you in the room where Gedda is," said Per and he left to tell Karlto and Pawl to go get dressed.

Per walked into the large living room carrying some blankets. Octavia and Cendri were there already along with Gedda. Gedda, naked, was on her hands and knees with one hand raised up holding a dagger. Her anger and confusion was clearly etched on her face. Not a muscle or hair moved on her entire body. Per draped a blanket over her and moved over to where the other two women were.

"Cendri, this is important," said Per. "Do you remember anything about last night?"

"No," she stated. "I went to bed and woke up next to…ugh."

"The same thing happened to me and Octavia," said Per. Cendri whipped her head around to look at Octavia who nodded in confirmation. "I think it also happened to Pawl and Gedda. Something influenced us all last night."

"Not all of us," corrected Octavia, "just the women. You guys remember what happened."

They all jumped as Gedda's dagger thunked into the floor. Gedda, shivering, stood up and wrapped the blankets around her.

"Let's get out of here then," said Gedda, her teeth chattering in the cold. "I heard you and the answer is no, I don't remember either." She shivered again. "What did Pawl do to me?"

"I used a Hold Person spell on you," said Pawl, coming into the room with Karlto. "It sort of freezes you in place. I'm sorry, but it was the least offensive spell I could think of on short notice. Karlto and I haven't a clue as to what exactly happened last night, but we are sorry if we have caused you any insult or injury."

"I'll feel better once we have left this place," said Gedda.

"We can't," said Octavia. "The storm is too bad."

"We're here another night?" asked Cendri with trepidation.

"Unfortunately, yes," replied Per. "Let's have some breakfast and then Iwant to search this place from top to bottom."

"I'll go and check on the horses," said Karlto.

"How bad is it outside?" asked Cendri.

"Very bad," stated Octavia.

"I'll go with Karlto," said Cendri, taking off her sword belt. "We'll need rope and someone to time us."

"What?Why?" asked Karlto, with just a little distrust in his voice.

"In case you get lost," replied Per. At Karlto's look of disbelief, Per added, "In this storm, you can get disoriented two feet away from the house. The rope will be used a guideline to get you back to the house. The person timing you is in case you can't find the stable. After a certain time has passed, we will haul your half-frozen body back to the house with the rope."

"Can I withdraw my offer, chaps," asked Karlto.

"Don't worry. We'll be fine," said Cendri. "Unless, I find out you had something to do with last night."

The trip to the stable, although nightmarish, was done without any incidents. Breakfast was a quiet affair and as soon as it was done, they went from room to room, searching the entire house. Per had to remind Gedda several times not to take things. The master bedroom was huge with an extremely large bed, two chests of drawers and a desk, all of it made out of cherry wood. Above the desk was a portrait of ayoung woman.

"Arrogant," commented Octavia, staring up at the likeness.

Per had to agree. The painting was of a young woman in her early twenties. Her red hair was curled and a gold headpiece caused her hair to frame her face like a halo. Hard green eyes stared out and with her uplifted chin, it appeared that the woman was looking down her nose at all within the room. Her bearing was regal, but the painter had caught a glimpse of arrogance and haughtiness in her countenance.

"I wonder what happened to her?" asked Pawl to himself.

"I don't know," said Per. "Let's look around."

Pawl took two steps towards the desk and stopped suddenly just as he was reaching for the chair. Per also stopped, alerted by Pawl's sudden lack of movement.

"Pawl, what's wrong?" Per asked cautiously.

"Per, come here," said Pawl, his breath misting in white as he spoke.

Per stepped over to where Pawl was standing. As he stepped behind the desk chair, a sudden draft of freezing air blew over him. It was an unnatural cold that had nothing to do with the storm outside. Per jumped back and the cold disappeared. Per looked at Pawl who shrugged his shoulders. Per stepped forward again and felt the cold return. Per pulled out the chair and sat down, trying to ignore the coldness as best he could.

A search of the desk revealed writing paper, ink, quills and sealing wax. In the bottom drawer, Per found a small book. Opening it, Per discovered it was a diary. He moved away from the cold spot and sat down to read it as the others continued to search about the room.

The diary started about fourteen months ago. It was written by the owner of the house. Per leafed through her accounts of managing the estate, her gentlemen suitors, and other areas of interest to her. Per formed the image of a spoiled, snobbish girl, which fitted nicely to the image in the painting. The tone changed in the writing dating back to a little over a year ago.

Per read, "The nerve! A magistrate's son asking me to marry him! He has no position, no rank, nothing. He said he would return once Ihave had the chance to reflect upon his proposal. Reflect!!!! There is nothing to reflect upon. He is totally unworthy of me."

Per skipped over a couple of entries to the last one. "He returned fully expecting my acquiescence to his proposal. When I told him no, a change came over him. I thought him a fop and now I think he is insane. He told me he knew how I played suitors against one another and kept them dangling for years. He said he would not be one of those and his feelings were not to be trifled with. I ordered him out, banning him from ever coming here again. As he walked out the front door, he turned and said, ‘You will find pleasure in death that you could not feel in life.' I am afraid of him. I must tell the servants to check…"

The writing ended abruptly. Three brown spots stained the page and Per was sure that the drops were blood. He read the passages to the others and showed them the drops. Nothing was found on the floor or the carpet.

"Do you think she was killed there at the desk?" asked Gedda.

"I say, she might have been knocked unconscious and taken away," suggested Karlto.

"Not with that bloody cold air hovering around the desk," muttered Cendri in a mock imitation of Karlto's accent.

Octavia laughed and put an arm around Cendri's shoulders.

"I'm beginning to like this girl," said Octavia.

"The two of them aren't all bad," said Per including Gedda in his statement.

"Per, you weren't supposed to be looking when they were naked," admonished Pawl.

"I think this is a topic best left alone," stated Octavia as Cendri and Gedda both blushed bright red.

"Let's finish this floor and start on the attic," said Per.

The search of the rest of the second floor and the attic was unproductive. Again, Per noticed that almost everything had been left behind. The servants' quarters were in the attic and, while neat and tidy, there were no clothes or personal effects as there was downstairs. Per knew from the diary that there had been servants here. It seemed that they had been allowed to leave, but it left the mystery of what happened to their mistress. If she was alive, why had she not sent for her things? If she was dead, who made the servants leave without raising suspicions?

It was getting dark by the time they finished searching the upstairs. Everyone went back down to the warm kitchen. Octavia fixed supper and they sat at the kitchen table to eat it.

"Well, chaps, do we stay or go?" asked Karlto.

Per listened to the howling wind outside for a second or two before he answered.

"The only other place we can stay is in the stable," he said. "There may be other buildings, but we could get lost trying to find them in this blizzard. What do you think, Octavia?"

"I don't know, Per," she replied after a moment's hesitation."Freezing all night in the stable doesn't thrill me, especially after we haven't determined what happened last night. It's…disturbing, not knowing what happened. I think I would like to stay and see if it occurs again and maybe find out what is going on. It's not just my decision, though. Cendri and Gedda have as much say as I do."

Per looked over at the other two women. They looked at each other and then Gedda grimaced.

"Oh, shit," griped Gedda. "I would be saddled with aself-righteous do-gooder. Looks like we're staying."

"You sure?" asked Per.

"Yeah, I'm also not real fond of freezing my butt off in the stables, either."

"I think the men should keep watch," said Per. "What happened last night seemed to affect only the women. We should have set watch last night, but I didn't think anything would get to us through the storm."

"Per, you weren't any more remiss than I was," stated Octavia."However, I think we should watch in pairs. How about you and Cendri, then Karlto and Gedda with Pawl and I last?"

"Okay by me," said Per.

It took awhile for everyone to settle down, but soon everyone, but Per and Cendri was asleep. Per checked on the fire and sat down opposite Cendri to repair a tear in one of his tunics. Time dragged by slowly.




Per finished his repairs and put his tunic away. He checked on the fire again and sat back down. Per looked over at Cendri who smiled at him. She then stood up and walked out of the kitchen without a backward glance.

Per sat still for half-a-second, momentarily baffled by her actions. Uncertain as to what was going on, he stood up and followed after Cendri. The manor house was dark, but Per's infravision picked up on Cendri's body heat just as she crossed the dining room and disappeared into the living room. Per grunted in irritation and chased after her. As e walked into the living room, he spotted Cendri ascending the stairs. He took the stairs two at a time and caught up to her just after she entered the master bedroom.

"Cendri, what are you doing?" Per asked angrily.

"Oh, I thought we could better spend our time together alone," said Cendri unhooking her belt and letting it drop to the floor. "You liked the feel of my body earlier when you pulled me off, uh, Karlto," and Cendri started to unlace her blouse.

Realization crashed in on Per.

"You're not Cendri," he said accusingly.

"I am and I am not," replied Cendri, pulling her blouse over her head, exposing a nice pair of firm round breasts. "I'm ready for you and I know you want me." Cendri then reached for the laces on Per's shirt.

"No!" said Per grasping her wrists. "What I want is for you to leave Cendri's body. Are you the woman in the portrait? Why are you here?"

"I am the mistress of this manor, killed by an insane suitor and forced to possess all females who stay in this house. Please, ease my pain and sleep with me."

"No," said Per. "Release Cendri and we will do what we can for you."

"Please!" pleaded Cendri. She edged closer to rub her breasts against Per's hands, which were still holding her wrists. "It will be good. Iknow you have to climax twice. I remember from, uh, Octavia."

"No!" barked Per, shaking Cendri. "Release her! Release her now!"

Per was shocked when a ghostly image seemed to separate from Cendri. Apale, translucent form began to float above her and Per could see that it was the head and shoulders of the woman in then portrait. Time stood still for a second before, with an unearthly shriek, the ghostly form snapped back into Cendri.

"Cursed I am!" she snarled. "I was almost free! What is not given willingly, I will take by force!"

A searing bolt of intense cold transmitted from Cendri's wrists all through Per's body. Per fell to the floor with all his muscles paralyzed by the chilling touch. Cendri, now free, whipped off the skirt she had been wearing and kneeled down beside Per. She undid his pants and pulled them down, exposing his large cock.

"I'm sorry," said Cendri as she took his cock between her hands and began to massage and stroke it. "I am cursed to take pleasure in every woman's body that spends the night here."

Per was unable to speak. His entire body was paralyzed, but strangely the warmth of her hands sent waves of pleasure down his cock. In spite of himself, Per could feel his prick respond to her caresses and begin to harden. Cendri pumped his cock with long, lingering strokes.

When his cock was at its full twelve inch length, Cendri released it and climbed on top of Per. On her hands and knees, she reached down to aim his cock at her pussy entrance. Easing backwards, Cendri pushed herself down onto Per's hard cock. The head slid past her outer cunt lips into her incredibly wet, tight, hot hole. Cendri wriggled back and forth forcing more of his cock into her pussy. Per felt her cunt stretch tight around the hard shaft of his prick. She managed to get five inches in before she had to stop.

"She's…She's much tighter than Octavia," gasped Cendri, or actually the ghost inside Cendri's body. "Oh, yes! It feels so good!"

Cendri began rocking back and forth on her hands and knees, fucking up and down on Per's cock. Her pussy, stretched to its limit, clasped his cock tightly, despite her leaking lubrication. Her breasts, average in size, swayed only slightly in time to her rocking motion. The ghost had closed Cendri's eyes and was savoring the hard shaft stuffed up Cendri's pussy.

The heat of Cendri's cunt felt like liquid sunshine to Per's frozen body. The heat against the cold was sending untold pleasure through his cock. Per felt the pressure building inside him as Cendri fucked herself faster on his cock. Per's sexual tension sped through him like a racing meteor. His climax exploded inside him and all he could do was lay there as he felt his cock shoot off its first spurt.

"OH!Oh, my!" gasped the ghost in Cendri's body as she felt the first hard spurt of cum shoot into her cunt. She gasped again as the hot sperm set off her own orgasm. Cendri's body shook and quivered as she orgasmed. Her juices flowed out to mix with the creamy jism Per was pumping into her. She then collapsed, panting, onto Per's chest.

Per felt the beginning burn of his lustcraze and was terrified because he could not move. It was a few moments before Cendri stirred and slid off his cock. She looked down at Per with a trace of sorrow and left the room.

The fire in his loins burned hotter and Per panicked as the red haze started to filter over his eyes. His muscles remained frozen no matter what he did. It was then that a naked Octavia walked into the room.

"I could not leave you," she said. "The bodies I possess not only give me all their senses, but also some of their knowledge and feelings. Since Octavia, would not leave you like this, neither can I."

The possessed Octavia climbed on top of Per. Her breasts, being much larger and fuller than Cendri's, hung down to rest on his chest as she reached down between them to aim his rock-hard cock. As it touched the entrance to her cunt, Octavia sank backwards on it. Per's prick slid easily into her dripping cunt until it hit the top of her cervix after going in eight inches.

"Oh, yes!" she moaned. "That feels so good!" The ghost sat still, feeling the hard shaft stuffed inside Octavia. "Oh, yes!The curse forces me to have sex, but it also makes the body I am in instantly ready. Oh, you're so hard! Oh, my!"

Per was beyond hearing or caring. His fear subsided as his cock was encased in hot, wet flesh, but that served to increase the fires burning within him. The ghost was savoring the feeling of his cock inside Octavia way too much for his inflamed condition. Octavia was barely moving on his cock. Per desperately wanted to grab her and ram his cock in and out of her pussy. His frustration was insurmountable because his paralysis prevented him from doing anything about his lust.

The ghost humped Octavia's body faster on Per's cock. Octavia's breasts swung like pendulums as she rammed as much of his prick up her pussy as possible. The pressure started to build in Per's balls as Octavia's pussy gripped the shaft of his cock tightly.

Octavia was gasping heavily as she fucked herself on Per's cock. The musky odor of sex filled the air and Per, even in his state, could distinguish the difference between Octavia and Cendri's scents. Octavia gasped loudly and the gasped again as she thrust herself down as far as possible on Per's hard cock.

The head of his cock banged against the top of her cervix as Per felt Octavia's pussy spasm in her orgasm. The clenching of her vaginal muscles around his cock pushed Per over the edge and, even though he still could not move, Per felt his whole body tighten as his cum shot out into Octavia.

The ghost felt Per's hot jism spurt into Octavia's cunt and ground her hips down to savor the hot, wet feeling. Per spurted another gooey load of cum into her milking pussy before his climax subsided. Unfortunately, his lustcraze only increased instead of disappearing. To Per, his vision was almost obscured by the red haze and his cock felt as hard and as heavy as a steel bar.

"Oh, that was nice," sighed Octavia. "I…I…" and she paused. "What's wrong? You climaxed twice. You should be fine. Oh, no! I…I can't fight it!"

Octavia pulled herself off Per's cock with a wet slurping sound. His prick slapped wetly against his stomach as Octavia stood up quickly and walked out of the room. Per was left on the floor, paralyzed and still in his lustcraze.

The fires of his lust burned even brighter and hotter inside Per. Even though there was no visible movement, Per felt as if he was shaking all over. A painful pressure was beginning to build in his balls as he barely was aware of Gedda walking into the room.

"I'm sorry, Per," she said. "The curse will not make me stop."

Gedda threw a slim leg over Per's hips and squatted down. She reached down with one hand and grasped Per's cum-covered cock to point it straight up. She placed the tip of his cock on her cunt and pushed downward.

The tip of Per's cock split her outer cunt lips apart exposing the red flesh inside, but Gedda had to stop even before the entire head was inside her vagina. Her cunt was stretched as wide as it would go around the diameter of Per's large prick.

"Ow!Ugh!" grunted Gedda, her slim frame wobbling on top of Per's cock. "She's much tighter than the other two, but I have to!"

Gedda's face screwed up in a grimace as she held onto Per's cock with both hands and forced herself down onto it. Per did not even hear her as he was smothered by his overpowering lust. All he was concerned about was the incredibly tight band of hot, wet flesh stretching down onto his cock. Gedda had forced two inches inside her before she had to stop again. Her clitoris was pushed out from her overstretched cunt.

"OH!Augh!" she groaned. "I can't…I can't take anymore!"

Gedda remained poised on top of Per's cock as her body adjusted to the massive intrusion. Per desperately wanted to grab her and fuck her with all his might. After a while, the ghost made Gedda's body lift up off the hard cock and the then slid back down onto it. She made sure, while still holding onto it with both hands that only two inches of it went inside her cunt.

Per groaned internally as the head of his cock was subjected alternately from cold air to hot cunt. Gedda's slim legs pushed herself up and down onto his prick, while her hands held it in place. Per could feel Gedda's pussy being stretched as she fucked herself on the head of his penis. The tight binding feeling of her pussy against the sensitive head of his cock produced additional pressure in his balls. Per was ready to go off like a geyser. Gedda's body was sweating, despite the cold air, all from her exertions, the pain of having her pussy stretched abnormally wide and the sexual pleasure she was feeling.

Per, lying motionless on the floor, could not hold back and, in his lustcraze, did not want to. His first shot of cum spurted out just as Gedda rose up, making the thick sperm splatter all over her pussy. Gedda forced herself back down quickly as a second larger spurt shot out. Gedda inhaled sharply as she felt the hot jizz fill her womb and roll down her legs. She released Per's cock with one hand and brought it up to rub her over-extended clit. It took only a touch to set off her own powerful orgasm. Gedda shook and quaked on top of Per's cock as she exploded with sexual passion. She did not even notice his third spurt of hot cum into her.

The ghost possessing Gedda released Per's cock and rolled off to the side. Her cunt and thighs were splattered with white cum. She lay gasping for several seconds before she could speak.

"I've never…never orgasmed like that," she gasped breathlessly."Per, please believe me, I have no choice. The curse makes me do this. I am so sorry," and she placed a hand on his chest. She snatched it back as she felt the hot skin. "You're burning up!But…but, you came three times. I…I don't understand. I'll…I'll be right back!"

Gedda jumped up and almost doubled over as pain from her over-stretched pussy lanced through her. Gritting Gedda's teeth, the ghost forced her body out of the room and down the stairs. Per's mind was numb with lust and did not even realize that she had left. His only desire was to quench the burning lust building and building within his body. He did not even know that Octavia had walked back into the room.

Octavia stood beside the still paralyzed Per. Suddenly, a ghostly form separated from her body and floated over Per to hover on the other side of him. Octavia staggered back slightly, shaking her head and trying to orient herself. The apparition coalesced into the upper body of the woman in the portrait. Octavia stared at her for only asecond before her hand flashed down to where her sword normally was. When her hand slapped against her hip, Octavia realized that she was naked.

"Something is wrong," came the eerie voice from the ghost. "He…he climaxed three times, but he is burning up. I don't know what to do." The ghost then sank swiftly down through the floor.

"Wait!" cried Octavia, but the ghost had disappeared. "Damn!"

Octavia knelt down beside Per. She touched him and felt the heat radiating off his body. Looking at his violet eyes, she could discern a red tinge to them, even in the dim night light.

"Oh, shit," swore Octavia as she realized what the ghost had been saying.

Octavia wasted no time as she slid down to kneel beside Per's hips and grasped his cock. It was like gripping a hot iron shaft as hard as it was. Octavia sealed her lips around the tip and began stroking it quickly using both hands. She knew she had to make Per cum quickly so she pumped his cock with both hands as fast as she dared, while her tongue lashed back and forth over the sensitive head. Octavia became worried when Per made no movement or sound, but did not stop what she was doing with his cock. It seemed like forever that she was jacking him off and licking over the head of his cock. Octavia was getting desperate enough to go get help, when a spurt of hot thick cum filled her mouth without warning.

Octavia almost gagged at the unexpectedness of the spurt and her cheeks billowed out as Per's cock spurted out more and more cum. Sperm leaked out of the corners of her overfilled mouth, despite her desperate swallowing of his thick hot cream. His spurts finally tapered off and Octavia swallowed down the rest of Per's jism. His body felt less hot and she grabbed his hand. Octavia was shocked as she realized that his muscles were rigid. She was about to run downstairs for Pawl when Per's weak voice stopped her. She bent down to put her ear next to his mouth.

"Ghost…" he whispered through clenched teeth. "Paralyzed…wearing off…"

"I know about the ghost," said Octavia. "She brought me here. How are you otherwise?"

"Fine," hissed Per al little louder as he forced his jaw open. "I think that is thanks to you. I was overcome by that damn lust curse Ihave."

"Curse?'asked Octavia. "From my understanding, it is part of your heritage."

"Yeah, I know," said Per, painfully sitting up. "The cursed one is the ghost."

"Really?" snorted Octavia in disbelief. "Since I'm naked, I guess I was here. Was I as good the second time as the first?"

"Considering it wasn't really you and I was paralyzed AND overcome with lust, Idon't know myself," snapped Per. He then blew out a long breath."I'm sorry. I should have moved us over to the stable. The ghost took over Cendri first. I didn't even see it happen. She led me up here first. I confronted her here and she almost left Cendri's body. I think the curse forced her back into it. She said the curse forces her to possess every female who stays here to have sex. Well, I told her no and she paralyzed me. She used Cendri's body, then your's and then Gedda's. Oh, Gods, we have to check on Gedda. I have an image of pain associated with her."

"How far did you go in her?" asked Octavia anxiously.

"I don't know. Not far, I think, but I was paralyzed and pretty out of it," said Per as he stiffly rose to his feet. "She's not, uh…she kinda small."

"Let's go to the kitchen and I'll check on her," said Octavia. "Can you make it? It's freezing up here."

Per slowly followed Octavia back down to the kitchen. They quickly got dressed and Per looked out the window. He saw that the storm was diminishing and the sky was beginning to lighten up towards the east. Octavia went over and gently woke up Gedda. Holding her finger to her lips to keep Gedda quiet, Octavia motioned for Gedda to follow her. Gedda got up, stopped and her face looked scared as she felt the pain in her groin. Octavia shook her head to reassure the girl and helped her out into the other room. Per went over and woke up Cendri.

"What?Oh, damn, I fell asleep on duty!" exclaimed Cendri as she snapped awake.

"No," said Per quietly, "a ghost took over your body and put you to sleep. How do you feel?"

"A ghost?!" whispered Cendri, sitting up. Her blanket slid off her revealing her firm breasts. Cendri swore and snatched the blankets back up to cover her. "It happened again, didn't it?"

"Yes, with me," said Per, looking down. "I'm sorry. I'm more concerned that you are not hurt. We can deal with the ghost later. Are you alright?"

"I'm okay," said Cendri after a quick check under the blanket. "Why didn't you stop it?"

"The ghost paralyzed me when it was in your body. It then used you and then possessed Octavia and Gedda," answered Per.

"So, you could not do anything, either," stated Cendri. "That ghost has a lot to answer for."

"She does not have much choice, either," replied Per. "Octavia and Gedda are in the other room. Would you go and see how they are?"

Cendri quickly slipped into her clothing as Per stoked up the kitchen fire. Cendri went into the other room and after a few minutes, Per followed her. The women were sitting at the dining room table and someone had built a fire in the fireplace. Per could also look across the foyer to see s fire in the living room fireplace. He sat down in a chair at the table.

"First, I want to say how sorry I am," apologized Per to the three women. "We should have stayed in the stable. How are you feeling, Gedda?"

"Just like a man to get it backwards," said Gedda. "You should first ask how I am feeling, then apologize. What do you have…a tree trunk between your legs?"

"Gedda!" admonished Octavia. "Look at him. He's seven and a half feet tall and a bit shy of weighing a ton. He's big everywhere!"

Gedda snorted in amusement and Cendri choked on her laughter. Even Per had to smile. Everyone turned as Pawl and Karlto came into the room.

"I say, what's the joke?" yawned a sleepy Karlto. "Why are you in this icy place instead of the kitchen?"

"Good question," replied Cendri, rubbing her arms. The fire in the fireplace had not taken the cold out of the walls yet. "C'mon, let's get breakfast started."

She shooed Karlto and Pawl back into the kitchen and was followed by Octavia. Per stopped Gedda as she made to follow everyone else.

"I am sorry, Gedda," said Per.

"From what Octavia briefly told me, you had no more control than I did," said Gedda. She then smiled. "Actually, I'm kinda sorry I missed it," she added before she breezed through the door to the kitchen.

"Per, what happened last night?" Pawl asked him as Per entered the kitchen. "Karlto and I were never awakened for our watches."

"Go ahead and tell them," said Cendri as she prepared breakfast. "I can talk and cook at the same time."

"I wouldn't call it cooking," commented Gedda, which caused Cendri to turn around and glare at her.

"Easy," said Per to Cendri as he sat down.

He told them all of what had happened and what the ghost had said to him. Octavia, skipping over a couple of details, told everyone what she had seen and what the ghost had said to her. They were all silent for several minutes after she finished speaking.

"May Zeus comfort her soul," intoned Karlto in a short prayer. "What do we do now?"




"I don't know," said Per. "I think I'm safe in saying that we don't want to be subjugated to a nightly ritual of this."

"You have that correct," said Octavia with Cendri and Gedda also nodding assent. "It's one thing want to have sex and another to be forced to have it."

"Then we had better get ready to leave," stated Per.

"We could check the basement before we go," suggested Gedda.

"We've never searched the basement?" asked Per rhetorically.

Everyone looked at everyone else and then they all shook their heads no.

"It appears not, old boy," said Karlto, "at least, not beyond the first cursory look."

"Let's take a look," said Per.

The basement was cold and dark. As Karlto had pointed out earlier, it had a large wine cellar and several large rooms for storage. A search of the entire basement revealed nothing until Pawl noticed some scratches on the floor.

"What do you think?" he asked as he pointed the scratches out to everyone.

The scratches were circular and led from a blank wall to another wall where several large heavy barrels had been stacked up. The placement of the barrels looked odd to Per. They were cluttered in the center of the wall and stacked one on top of another haphazardly. As large and as heavy as the barrels were, it had taken a great deal of effort to stack them. The sloppy stacking was out of contrast with the tidy and neat order of the rest of the merchandise stored in the basement.

"The barrels seem out of place," stated Per. "Let's take a look at them."

As they approached the barrels, Per felt a great uneasiness about them as he walked closer to them.

"I don't feel good about this," said Cendri, disgust clearly showing on her face.

"I say, neither do I," commented Karlto.

"Let's get out of here," said Gedda.

"Hold on," ordered Pawl. "Everyone, back up."

As Per moved back, the feeling went away. Pawl stood in front facing the barrels. He moved his fingers in a pattern and muttered a few low words. A dim glow began at his fingertips and a corresponding glow appeared on one of the barrels, outlining a strange design. Pawl snorted and muttered some other words, while scattering some dust before him. The design brightened slightly before disappearing altogether.

"A ward of revulsion," said Pawl, turning around to face the others. "A simple spell to keep people away. Someone doesn't want anyone tampering with those barrels."

Per walked over and began rolling the barrels back to their original position. Everyone joined in and they soon uncovered a door in the wall. Per tried to knob and found that the door was locked.

"Allow me," said Gedda as she elbowed Per aside.

Gedda knelt down and pulled out a small set of tools. Using her picks and with a deft twist of the wrist, the lock clicked back in the door. Standing up, Gedda turned the doorknob and pushed the door open.

The twelve-foot square room beyond the door was bare, except for the skeleton lying in the center of the room. It had been wearing what was once an expensive blue gown. The cause of death was immediately apparent because the rear of the skull was caved in.

"I think we have found the mistress of the house," stated Pawl.

"No one deserves to die like that," said Per. "I wish we could help her. Let's find something to put her remains in so we can take them back to town."

"Why?" asked Gedda. "No one will disturb them here."

"Except the killer," said Per. "If he comes here and finds out that we have discovered the body, he could get rid of it before we can come back with the authorities."

"You know who did it, don't you?" asked Gedda. "Who is it?"

"I think it was the magistrate's son, but I'm not certain," said Per. "My opinion is based on what she wrote in her diary and not based on fact."

They found a long wooden box that would hold her bones until they rode back to town. Karlto volunteered to pack up her remains as everyone else prepared to leave. Per had just finished packing when he heard someone run down the back staircase. Gedda, breathless, burst into the kitchen.

"Someone is coming," she exclaimed. "I was upstairs and saw two riders coming this way in the distance."

"How far away are they," asked Per.

"About an hour or more in this snow," replied Gedda.

"Do we meet them or what?" asked Octavia.

"With a body in the cellar?" commented Per. "I vote for prudence. Check out back and see if there is a place to hide us and the horses. Pawl, go with Octavia. We need to cover up the fact that we were here. The fire is already out. Cendri, go down and get Karlto. If he's ready, help him bring up the box. Otherwise, leave it there and close the door." Per turned and grasped Gedda by the shoulders."You, I want to put back everything you have taken and put it back in its proper place. I do mean everything, understand?"

"Yes, sir," answered Gedda meekly.

Octavia found a group of buildings a couple of hundred yards away from the main house. The buildings were servant's quarters and all of the group's equipment was quickly moved there. The horses were moved from the stable to another building. Per cleaned up the kitchen and left the door open to chill the room. He and Pawl then went upstairs to check on things.

The riders were closer and easily seen in the afternoon sun. Per had not realized how late in the day it was. Due to the heavy winter clothing the riders were wearing, Per could not make out their features, but he was certain one was a man and the other a woman. Per motioned to Pawl that they should leave.

"One second, Per," said Pawl as they exited the room.

Pawl picked up a pinch of dust and blew on it as he rubbed it between his fingers. A fine settling of dust appeared in the room, covering their footprints.

"It's a minor cantrip, the reverse of the one I use to clean my room," he stated. "I never thought I'd be using it to hide my footprints."

As Per and Pawl left the manor, Pawl dusted down the rooms behind them. Per closed the kitchen door and used a branch to sweep their prints from the snow. They met the others in the small building that used to belong to the gardener. The smell of herbs and spices reminded Per of his mother's farm.

"Do you think they will notice that we have been here?" Cendri asked Octavia.

"Possibly, but it is getting dark. They may not notice anything." Octavia turned to Per. "Did you see who they are?"

"No," answered Per. "They were too bundled up, but I think it's a man and a woman."

"A woman!" exclaimed Cendri. "She might not know of the ghost. We have to warn her."

"I'm going to sneak back in shortly," said Per. "Once I know who they are and what they are doing here, I'll tell them of the ghost if it is safe."

"Per, you're not much of one for sneaking around," replied Gedda. "Why don't you let me go in and find out who they are?"

Per gave her s disgusted look and said, "And what will you do when the ghost takes over your body?"

"Uh, sorry, didn't think about that."

"No, I'm sorry," apologized Per. "I'm liking this situation less and less with each passing minute. I'm praying that the ghost is confined to the house and won't come here."

"I'll go with you, old boy," said Karlto. "Zeus granted me asilence spell for my prayers. We can be seen, but we won't be heard."

"Sounds good," stated Per. "As long as we don't accidentally silence the people we are going to watch."

"Good point," said Karlto. "I'll try to keep it in mind, while we are inside."

Per left his armor and shield behind, taking only his sword, Dorgeth. Karlto did the same, but taking his mace. Octavia stopped Per just before he left.

"Be careful," she warned him. "If she paralyzes you again, you'll be at the mercy of whoever is in the house. If you come back and find Pawl dead with a smile on his face, you'll know she was here."

Per chuckled and squeezed Octavia's arm.

"We'll be back," he assured her. "We can't let Pawl have all the fun."

Per and Karlto trudged through the snow to the back door. Candlelight flickered behind the windows of several rooms and two chimneys had smoke coming out of them.

"Let's try the spell here," whispered Per.

Karlto nodded and closed his eyes. He made a couple simple gestures with his hands and something dropped from his palm, which disappeared before Per could identify it. Karlto turned and whispered to Per who heard nothing. Per whispered back, then talked normally and then yelled. His actions all resulted in an eerie silence around the two of them. Per nodded and they went in through the back door.

The kitchen was dark and Per could see light peeking out from under the door leading to the dining room. He tapped Karlto on the shoulder and pointed towards the back staircase. They went up the stairs and crossed the second floor to where the front staircase led down to the foyer. From this location, Per could hear the two people perfectly.

"I'll say it again, Erik, this is enchanting," came a woman's voice from downstairs.

"A little bit removed for my tastes, Fiona, but it does have its charm." The man's voice was cultured with precise diction. "Luckily, Iget to oversee the property for the owner while she is away."

"And the owner is...?" asked Fiona.

"Her portrait is in your bedroom," replied Erik. "She left to go to her husband's grand estate, but she can not part with this, her old ancestral home."

"Your father must be very proud of you managing such a large estate," said Fiona. "Will you be following in his footsteps as magistrate?"

Per and Karlto both looked at each other. Per now knew that Erik was the magistrate's son and was convinced that he had killed the lady who owned this manor. He saw the same conviction in Karlto's eyes.

"Well, my dear, it is getting late," they heard Erik say. "We have a long journey back to town tomorrow, so we should get to bed. Please bolt your door. We are far from civilization and would feel better knowing you are safe."

"Oh, Erik," chided Fiona jokingly. "If it makes you feel better, I'll do it."

Per motioned Karlto back and the two of them ran noiselessly into a spare room where they could see the doorway to the master bedroom. Erik and Fiona came up the stairs and Per got his first look at the two of them.

Erik was a tall, thin man in his early twenties, with a handsome face and a shock of curly brown hair. He was richly dressed in velvet with an expensive dagger by his side. Fiona was a young woman around eighteen with long honey-blond hair. Her black gown showed off her hourglass figure without being vulgar or cheap. Erik kissed her hand before she went into the master bedroom. A loud clink reverberated down the hall as Fiona threw the bolt on the door.

Per watched as Erik sat down in a chair just outside the master bedroom. It appeared that he was waiting for something and Per had a strong guess as to what that was. It was only a short while later before Per heard the bolt being thrown back and Fiona came out of the bedroom stark naked.

"Well, my dear, right on time," said Erik.

"Erik, please, remove the curse," pleaded Fiona. "Let this woman go."

"Why?" asked Erik. "She means nothing to me. You are the only one Icared about. The only one I loved, but you cared nothing for anyone, except to use them and discard them as you will. No man was good enough for you when you were alive. Now…oh, yes…now, any man will fill your needs. You know, the next time I come here Ithink I try hunting. Of course, I'll have to bring my hounds with me."

"I could kill you!" snarled Fiona, her body shaking as the ghost inside her fought against the curse.

"Of course you could," replied Erik nonplussed. "Then your niece…what is she, fourteen?...would be brought here by ten of my men to collect her inheritance within four or five days. Imagine what would happen that night. If you did not wish to witness it, you could leave her body after the first one and let her deal with the other nine alone."

Per started forward ready to cleave Erik's head from his body. Only Karlto grabbing his arm and shaking his head no stopped Per. Per could see the anger in Karlto's eyes and also a warning. Per blew out a silent breath and settled back down.

"Erik!Please! Please, fuck me now!" pleaded Fiona, her body shaking. Her breasts quivered in unbridled lust as she reached between her legs and started rubbing her wet cunt. "I need your cock. Fuck me. Please, fuck me!"

"What a charming invitation," sneered Erik, smiling cruelly. "I believe Fiona is a virgin. You get to lose your maidenhood again. Think of how lucky you are. You have gotten not only to lose your virginity once, but several times. No other woman on earth can say that."

Erik led Fiona back into the bedroom. Per could see that her inner thighs were shiny from her juices running down her legs. After Erik closed the door, Per touched Karlto and they headed towards the back stairs. As they reached the head of the stairs, Per heard Fiona cry out in both pleasure and pain. Per was fuming by the time they returned to the others. Karlto cancelled the spell before they went inside.

"What happened?" asked Octavia, not liking the expression on either man's face.

"Why did you stop me?" Per asked Karlto angrily, ignoring Octavia's question.

"Because you would have killed him, old boy," said Karlto sadly. "He deserves to die, but if you had killed him, then she would have still been in that woman's body. With the curse, that would have left either you or me or both to satisfy her. I'm not sure what would have happened then."

"What did happen?" asked Octavia again.

Per told them everything that had happened in the manor house. The general consensus when he had finished was that killing was too good for Erik.

"Karlto was right," admitted Per. "The ghost with her curse would still have been here. Karlto and I would probably be paralyzed on the floor and the ghost's niece would have been brought here to be possessed by the ghost and all that that entails."

"Per, the curse may be broken," said Pawl hesitantly. "When you fought against Cendri, you said the ghost almost separated from her. That may be the key."

"What do you mean?" asked Karlto.

"I don't know if it will work, but if someone can reject and hold out against the ghost, she may be driven out of the person's body and the curse broken," said Pawl.

"In other words, one of us women has to go into the house, get possessed and then one of you stalwart men have to fight off our advances, right?" asked Octavia.

"Uh, yeah," murmured Pawl.

"Not possible," said Per. "she'll just zap the man stiff as aboard and have her way with him. It won't work, Pawl."

"It could work," said Gedda pondering over the issue.

"How?" came the question from several people at once.

"The problem is keeping the male and female apart. Just confine her so she can't get at him and he can't get at her."

"It might not break the curse if they are both confined," stated Pawl. "However, if she is accessible to him, his rejection may still be valid."

"Whoa!Hold on!" cried out Per. "I hear a lot of ‘ifs' and‘maybes' in this. Pawl, are you certain that this will break the curse?"

Pawl grimaced and said, "No, I'm not certain. It's all based on what happened when you tried to fight off the ghost in Cendri. We have to get a man and a woman in the same room, tie her up so she can't paralyze him and he has to reject all offers and proposals she makes. I believe that this will force the ghost out of her body and break the curse."

"But if she is forced to leave the woman's body, what would prevent her from coming here and possessing another body?" asked Per. "We don't know the range which the ghost can travel."

"That could happen," admitted Octavia. "You will have to tie up all three of us in the same room."

"How'd I get roped into this?" yipped Gedda.

"We can't do this," exclaimed Per. "It's too dangerous."

"I agree," chimed in Gedda. "It could turn on us like a mad dog."

"You're absolutely right," agreed Octavia, "but if we don't break the curse, who will? Do we leave the ghost to prey on unsuspecting travelers like ourselves? What do we do about Erik and the niece? No one will be closer to a solution than we are now."

Per knew that Octavia was right, but he still did not like it.

"Gedda?" he asked.

"I see no profit in this at all," she said sourly. "However, if I don't do this, Cendri will bash me on the head and tie me to achair. I guess I'm in, though this noble shit is for the birds."

"Cendri?" asked Per.

"You don't have to ask," she replied.

Octavia nodded her head affirmatively when Per looked towards her. He sighed in resignation.

"Alright, who's the patsy who's going to stay in the same room with them?" Per asked aloud.

"I volunteer," said Karlto with a flourish. "As a priest of Zeus, I believe I have the conviction and fortitude required for this endeavor."

"Oh, Karlto," said Octavia sweetly as she snuggled up to him. She pressed her large breasts against his chest and placed her arms around his neck. She then leaned close and whispered in his ear.

Karlto's expression changed from surprise to open astonishment to utter delight as she whispered in his ear. Octavia finished what she had to say and leaned back to smile up into his eyes. Karlto smiled back, his face full of hope and delight.

"My dear, I'd love to," he said.

Octavia let go of his neck and patted Karlto on the cheek as she said, "You lose."

"Oh, damn!" cursed Karlto. He turned to Pawl and Per. "It'll have to be one of you two chaps. It appears that I am too susceptible to Octavia's charms."

"Per, as much as I would like to, I think your strength would be better here," said Pawl.

"It's going to be more of a test of wills than a test of strength," stated Per.

"Don't forget character," added Pawl. "Ladies, I think you should decide between the three of us."

"I'm out, old boy," said Karlto. "Octavia knows how to push my buttons too well. She knows how lecherous I really am."

"Then I'm out, too," stated Pawl. "Remember how you found me with the Burgassi and why?"

"Looks like you're it, Per," said Octavia.

Per looked at Cendri and Gedda who both nodded to him.

"Okay," he said. "We need to wait until Erik has left. If anything goes wrong, we don't need the addition complication of having him somewhere around here. We'll have to deal with him later. What do we have to tie up this bevy of beauties?"

The group made their preparations and settled down into their cold beds. Per awoke the next morning to find the sun up and Gedda's bed empty. He roused everyone else and was getting ready to go search for Gedda when she sneaked back in the door.

"No spanking!" she said quickly as Per took a step towards her. "I waited until the sun was up before sneaking over to the house. They're getting ready to leave."

Per held up his hands and said, "Okay, spill. Next time, tell one of us where you are going."

"I did," countered Gedda seriously. "Only you were snoring too loudly to hear."

Per just stared at her until Gedda looked a little contrite. She then continued, "I sneaked into the house just after daybreak. The ghost only comes out at night so I figured it would be safe then. Erik and the woman…Fiona?...were packing their bags. Fiona doesn't remember a thing, but is moving rather stiffly between the legs. Erik told her he would be back here in five days. Oh, and it's a good thing I went over there. I erased the tracks you and Karlto left behind last night."

"We appreciate that," said Per.

"Five days is not a lot of time," said Gedda. "We might break the curse tonight, but we need a plan as to what to do about Erik."

"Is he bringing Fiona back?" asked Octavia.

"I suppose so," replied Gedda. "he told her that they would go hunting."




"Hunting!!!" snarled Karlto, who turned away to stamp and swear under his breath.

"What's wrong?" asked Octavia and then the realization hit her of what Per had told them last night. "Is he really that depraved?"

"Insane," stated Per, "and incredibly devious. He's gotten control of the estate, convinced people that the owner left him in charge and is exacting his revenge on a dead woman. We'll never get any of the townspeople to believe us without proof."

"We could bring them here and the ghost could tell them," suggested Cendri.

"Not if we break the curse first," replied Pawl. "She won't be here after that. If we hold off breaking the curse, those that don't run away in fright will probably accuse us of her murder."

"She also may not manifest for a group of men. If we bring in townswomen…," and there was no doubt about the end of Octavia's warning.

"There's also a good chance that they will not let us back in here to break the curse no matter what happens," said Per. "We'll have to break the curse and then try to deal with Erik."

"Wait a minute!" interrupted Gedda. "I've got a plan."

Everyone huddled around to hear her plan. Gedda explained what she had in mind. As she finished, she sat back and waited for comments.

"When Hell freezes over!" was the first explosive statement from Cendri. "Not no, but Hell no!"

"Octavia's too, uh, busty," argued Gedda. "I'm too thin."

The next hour was spent convincing Cendri to do her part of the plan. Per sent Gedda over to the manor house to watch Erik and Fiona. She soon returned to report that they had packed up and were riding off. Everyone moved back into the kitchen where Per relit the fire.

"Where do you want to do this, old boy?" asked Karlto.

"I'd say the master bedroom where she was killed," said Pawl before Per could respond.

"Seems appropriate," added Per.

They located three large heavy chairs and carried them up to the bedroom. Karlto started a fire in the fireplace as Per brought in a stool for himself.

"I say, I'm heading over to the gardener's hut to start a fire over there," said Karlto as he backed away from the glowing blaze."Pawl and I thought it best if we stayed out of the house until morning."

"Good move," said Per. "I would like to have you two outside to keep away any unexpected visitors. I think I'm going to get enough surprises tonight as it is."

"You can count on us," assured Karlto.

They ate an early dinner and trooped upstairs to get the women tied on to the chairs. Octavia was helping Karlto tie Gedda when she felt something in Gedda's sleeve.

"What's this?" asked Octavia tapping Gedda on the sleeve.

"Oh, crap. I forgot that one," fumed Gedda as she pulled a thin razor out of her sleeve.

"Any others?" asked Karlto.

Gedda checked herself over and found another razor and a lockpick. Octavia patted herself down and found a garrote wire in her belt that she had overlooked.

"Gentlemen, out!" commanded Octavia. "Per, I need three large sacks from downstairs."

Per ran and picked up the sacks. He gave them to Octavia who took them and closed the bedroom door. Per looked out the window and saw that the sun was about an hour away from setting. It was only a short while later before Octavia called the men back into the bedroom.

The men entered the bedroom and stopped dead in their tracks. Octavia's short black hair matched the short black shift she was wearing. Her large breasts had stretched the material tight across her bosom, which caused the shift to ride up and barely cover her ass. Cendri's ash-blond hair hung down to frame her face as the deep blue shift she wore fir her perfectly. Her shift, however, was so sheer that it was a see-thru. Gedda's shift was emerald-green and plunged down to her navel in the front. The three sacks were now full on the floor.

"All our gear is in the bags," said Octavia. "We had to take off everything to make sure we couldn't hide anything. We borrowed clothing from the dressers."

"Uh, couldn't you find something more appropriate?" asked Per.

"I like it," whispered Pawl to Karlto, who could only shake his head in agreement.

Octavia looked down at her shift and then looked over at Gedda and Cendri. She gasped in surprise and tried to pull the shift lower over her shapely legs to no avail. Cendri also gasped in surprise and did the classic one leg stand, with one leg slightly raised and bent as her hands cover her pubic mound and breasts. Gedda crossed her arms over her breasts and turned around, blushing furiously.

"Oh, Gods!" cried out Octavia. "I didn't even realize! We'll get changed!"

"We don't have time," said Per, cutting her off. "The ghost!She must have the power to influence you, even if she can't possess you now. Sit down! We have to get you tied up."

The three women were securely fastened to their chairs. Their arms and legs were tied down in two places each and rope was tied around their waists to the back of the chair. Only half the sun was visible on the horizon when they finished. Pawl and Karlto snatched up the three bags and hurried out the door.

"Per, I'm so sorry," apologized Octavia as he stared out the window.

Per smiled at her and said, "We said it was going to be a test of wills. She's going to pull every trick in the book. Let's just say she got off a good first volley."

"Huh?What do you mean by that?" asked a confused Cendri.

"We see you three dressed in armor all day," said Per. "When we camp and get ready for bed, none of us think twice about stripping down and going to sleep. Seeing you in these, uh, er, those…"

"Shifts," supplied Octavia.

"Thanks. Seeing you in those shifts is quite different. Karlto and Pawl are probably dumping handfuls of snow down their pants right now."

The girls laughed and Per moved away from the window to sit on the stool.

"Oh, Per," exclaimed Gedda, "I have to go. Would you release me for a second?"

"No, I can't," replied Per.

"Per!" pleaded Gedda. "I don't want to pee all over the floor. C'mon, Per, it's getting worse."

"Go on the floor," said Per flatly.

"Octavia?" pleaded Gedda turning to Octavia for help.

"Per, can't you let her use a chamber pot?" asked Octavia.

"The sun has set," stated Per.

Octavia looked at Gedda as if she had never seen her before.

"Nice try, if you're the ghost," said Octavia to Gedda. "If you're not, then you should know better than to ask him to release us."

"Per, I'm not possessed!" cried out Gedda.

"Don't listen to her, Per," warned Cendri. "She can't fight three of us, no matter whose body she is in."

Gedda's eyes widened and then her head slumped down. A white smoky shadow flitted from her body to Octavia's. Octavia gasped before her head also slumped forward. The shadow then flew into Cendri's body.

"Much better," said Cendri. "Now we are alone. Per, you know what the curse is. Are you willing to put these women through that torment…that misery?"

"They decided to do this as you well know," answered Per. "What Iwant is for you to be at peace."

"What I want is a piece of that hard cock you have between your legs," said Cendri with a seductive smile."I have a nice body. Imagine me squirming underneath you as your huge cock slides into my waiting womb. It was good the first time."

"I was paralyzed the first time," said Per. "You could paralyze me again, but then you wouldn't get free of the ropes."

"Where are the other two gentlemen? Maybe they would like to come up and play?"

"They're out of the house and won't return until sunup," Per told her.

"They'd come if I screamed," said Cendri with a smile.

"So, scream," suggested Per.

Per was not ready for the blood-curdling scream that Cendri gave forth. He waited anxiously to hear any noise of Karlto or Pawl barging into the house to come to the rescue. As the seconds passed, not a sound was heard beyond the crackling of the fire in the fireplace. Cendri's face lost some of its self-assurance as the minutes ticked silently by.

"Well, Per, it seems you were right," Cendri, or the ghost, said finally. "Now you have three bound women at your mercy. You can do anything to us that you want. My cunt aches for you. It's so hot and wet. It's just waiting to be filled by your hard shaft."

"I want you to depart from my friends and never return," said Per."I won't take advantage of them."

"But don't you see, Per. She needs it. Her body is burning with the flames of desire."

Cendri's body was indeed flush and her hard nipples visibly poked out the sheer blue material of the shift. Per could detect a little tremor race through Cendri's body every now and then.

"No," he said. "She does not need it. You do. I won't make love to you using her body."

Cendri's head slumped down and a second later Gedda's head came up.

"Maybe you like them thin," said the ghost within Gedda's body. "Do you remember how tight she was? That orgasm was the most intense one she has ever experienced."

"You experienced it," said Per as he stoked the fire. "Gedda did not remember a thing about it."

"You remember, though. Think of that tight pussy squeezing your cock." Gedda squirmed in her chair and one of her small breasts popped out of her shift. "While you are thinking about it, why don't you come over here and suck on this? I won't even ask you to untie me."

"No, leave her alone," said Per uncomfortably.

Per stood up and walked behind Gedda. His cock was stiffening up and in avery uncomfortable position. He straightened his prick and turned around. Gedda's head had slumped back down and Octavia was now looking at him from the side.

"Ooooo, someone's getting hard," cooed Octavia. Octavia scooted her butt so that her shift rode up, exposing her black pubic mound and glistening pussy. "Ram it in, Per. I can take all of it. Fill mewith your thick seed."

It went on and on like that. Per was bombarded by suggestions, innuendoes and outright proposals. He rejected everything from Octavia's offer to let him fuck her up the ass to Cendri's request that she be allowed to eat out Octavia's pussy to Gedda's request for a glass of water. Per had no idea what the ghost wanted with a glass of water, but he decided that it was better if he just denied her everything. As the night wore on, the ghost was getting more and more desperate. She tried breaking the chairs and picking at the ropes to get free. It was all to no avail.

Per's eyes were heavy and felt sandy as he looked out the window at the lightening sky. He was wrung out emotionally. All the women were breathing heavily. Their bodies were soaked in sweat and their shifts clung to every curve of their body. The musky scent of their sex permeated thru the air. Octavia was staring at Per with lust, her body trembling, as her hands clenched the arms of the chair. She suddenly sagged forward.

"You've won," she said wearily. "I can do no more. Please, if you have any compassion, protect my niece. You know she is in the clutches of that bastard Erik. He'll abuse and destroy her." Octavia's eyes flickered back and forth as if she was thinking."You…you have a plan. Promise me you'll take care of her."

"I can't promise anything," said Per tiredly. "We will do our best to protect your niece, but for her sake and not yours."

"That is all I can ask for," stated the ghost in Octavia.

Octavia's body leaned forward causing her very large breasts to swing down and out. Octavia gasped as her fingers pinched her hard right nipple as they grasped at the shift fabric. Octavia gathered the fabric in her hand and the suddenly jerked upward tearing the thin shift asunder. Her breasts bounced free and stood straight out at Per.

"Per, my final request," said Octavia. "I want to taste your cum. I never have swallowed before and Octavia thinks your sperm is delicious. You don't have to untie me and I won't do a thing to try to get free. Just spurt between these breasts so I can taste it before I die again."

Per took a step forward, stopped and shook himself with astart.

"Reasonable last request," he said, "until you take my lustcraze into the effect. Once I cum, I would physically tear the chairs apart to fuck and cum again. The answer is still no!"

Damn you! Damn you! Damn you!" cursed the ghost, banging the chair and struggling to get free. "Release me. You were a prisoner once. Remember the taste when you were freed?"

"You are not being held by us," said Per. "You're held here by the curse placed on you. We are trying to free you."

"You piece of…Aieee!!" screamed the ghost as the sun peeked over the horizon and a golden beam lanced through the window to strike all three women. Octavia writhed in her chair and then slumped forward as the shadowy form of the ghost was pulled out of her body. Per just stared as the wispy form solidified into the shape of the woman in the portrait.

"I'm free," came the eerie, haunting voice of the female ghost. "I'm really free! All the compulsion, all the need…everything is gone. Do you…Do you really think you can save my niece?"

"We'll try our best," said Per still wary of the ghost.

"Please, be at ease, Per," said the spectral voice. "The curse is broken. If it was not, I would never be able to stay this long out of another woman's body."

Per relaxed and said, "We will do what we can for your niece. You do know what we have planned?"

"When I had to possess a body, I received some of their memories. It was not always accurate, but I have a general outline of your plan. Ihave placed some of my memories in Cendri's mind. They will fade in about two weeks, but should help her with the plan. Will you permit me to touch you? There are no tricks and I feel my time is getting short."

"Remember this," warned Per. "If this is a trick, we can do this again tonight for as long as it takes."

"I understand your apprehension, but rest assured. The curse is broken, but, since we are warning one another, if you fail my niece, I will come back to haunt you in unimaginable horror."

Per started to laugh. "As long as we understand each other," he chuckled.

The ghost moved forward and her form melted into Per's body. Per felt aclammy chill as she entered his body. Suddenly, images flooded into his mind. He saw ghost as a young woman being killed and Erik incanting the curse from a piece of paper over her body. Per saw the malicious glee Erik took from tormenting the ghost and the couple of dozen women he had brought here to be possessed by the ghost in fulfillment of the curse. He witnessed Erik tell the ghost how he had taken control of all her property and how he was holding her niece as a hostage. Erik subjected the ghost, inhabiting the bodies of other women, to all sorts of perversions…anal, oral, bondage, bestiality. The images faded and Per found himself in a white non-dimensional space devoid of any features or attributes.

The ghost slowly materialized in front of him, but not in her transparent form. Her smooth cream-colored skin was solid and her hair was not the pale reddish-white film, but a rich vibrant red. Her green eyes stared at Per with concern. She wore the expensive purple gown she had worn on the night she died.

"Hello, Per," she said in a rich voice quite unlike the haunting voice Per had heard earlier. "You now know most of what Erik has done to me. We are meeting within your body where I more or less have substance. I hope the memories I have given you will aid you. Please, convey my regrets and thanks to Octavia, Cendri and Gedda, both for what I did to them and for what they did for me."

"I'll tell them," said Per.

"It's sad that I will never experience what they felt when they are making love," mused the ghost.

"Excuse me, but you were in their bodies when you were with Karlto, Pawl and I," said Per.

The woman smiled and said, "I experienced what their bodies were feeling. Every person's body is different. I should know…I was in enough of them. I died a virgin. I was proud, unfeeling and had no regard for others. The curse, at least, drove all of that out of me. I will never experience for myself what sex was like."

"We could try it here, if you want," said Per.

"What?" asked the startled girl.

"I said we could try it here, if you want to," repeated Per. "I don't know if it is possible, but you did say you had substance here."

The woman stepped forward, her eyes wide and her had trembling as she tentatively touched Per's chest. She gasped and almost swooned as she felt the hard muscle under his shirt. She began to frantically paw at his clothing to try to get them off him. Per grasped her arms to stop her.

"Whoa!Slow down!" he said smiling. "You're not under the curse anymore."

Per bent down and kissed her. She clung to him and returned his kiss fervently. Per gently licked her ear causing her to shiver and clutch her fingers to his arms. Per easily reached around behind her and started to unlace her dress. As the top loosened, Per pulled the dress down off her shoulders and trapped her arms by her side. Her pale round breasts sprang into view. Per gently stroked them with his fingers bringing out a moan of delight from the woman as her nipples hardened.

"I think it is possible here," whispered Per as his cock began to harden.

"Oh, shut up," she said as she pulled her arms free and grabbed his tunic to pull it over his head.

Per, after he was freed of his tunic, pushed her dress down the rest of the way. He was pleasantly shocked as she stepped out of the dress wearing only white stockings and slippers. The white stockings went all the way up her thighs and were tied at the top with white ribbons. Her pubic hair was just a shade darker than the hair in her head.

She smiled as Per as her hands slowly unbuckled his belt. Per managed to kick off his low-cut boots before she grasped the waist of his pants and pulled down. Per's cock fell down like a drawbridge to point straight out away from his body. The woman grabbed the head of his cock with both hands.

"Mmph!" grunted Per as pain lanced up his cock from her fingers digging into the sensitive skin. "Easy!"

"Oh, I'm sorry," exclaimed the woman letting go of his cock like it was a hot poker. "I'm…I guess…I'm over-eager."

"I learned early that you have to control your strength," said Per as he placed his hands under her armpits and lifted her straight up into the air.

The woman screamed in mock horror and delight as Per picked her up. She giggled and squirmed as he licked her belly button before her lowered her a little bit. Per moved his head to the left and right and the woman gasped as his tongue lashed out over both nipples. Per then lowered her all the way down.

The woman reached out and gently grasped Per's cock. Per inhaled softly as she caressed his prick, replacing his earlier pain with pleasure. He reached between her stocking legs and placed a finger right on her wet slit.

Her eyes popped open wide and she gasped as her body shuddered in aspontaneous orgasm. Per held her close as her juices poured out over his fingers.

"Now, Per," she gasped. "Take me now."

Per laid her down, which kind of struck him as strange since there was no floor or ground in this place. Her breasts were heaving as he moved between her legs. He made sure he held his weight off her as his cock leaked pre-cum at the entrance to her pussy. The tip had barely entered her hot wet cunt before it hit an obstruction.

"This may hurt," gasped Per.

"I've been through it before," she said back. "Several times."

Per pushed forward and the head of his cock ripped through her hymen. The woman gasped in pain as her fingers dug into Per's arms. Per held still with only the head of his cock inside her. It took about aminute for the pain to subside and, as the woman relaxed, Per began to move his cock in and out of her, but no more than a quarter of an inch either way.




"Oh!" she gasped heavily. "Oh, my! It's so…so different. More, Per. I want to feel more of you inside me."

Per pushed another inch inside her cunt as she moaned in delight as her pussy stretched wider to accommodate his large cock. Per shoved in another inch and then backed off as she grimaced. He slowly fucked his cock in and out of her, making sure that he only went three inches into her tight pussy. Her face lost its grimace and replaced the look with one of pleasure. Her legs wrapped around Per's wide hips and he felt the silkiness of her stockings sliding back and forth over his skin as his cock slid in and out of her.

"Oh, my! Oh, my! Oh, my! Oh, my! Oh, my!" chanted the woman in time to Per's thrusts. "It's soooo different. I'm going to…I'm going to…I'm going to…I'M GOING TO CUMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!"

Her scream seemed to reverberate everywhere as her pussy flooded out her juices over Per's cock. Per, who had been holding back his own climax, let go and felt his cock pulsate. A split-second later he sighed lustfully as his cock fired off several rapid spurts of hot cum into her gushing pussy. Her womb could not hold all the liquid in it and it leaked out over her thighs. The woman collapsed with her arms and legs splayed out as Per pulled his cock out of her sopping wet pussy and rolled off to one side.

"Ohhhhhhh," moaned the woman breathlessly. "I can't move. It was like nothing I've felt before. That…that orgasm, it was…" She sat up groggily. "Oh, no, I forgot you have to cum twice. What can I do?"

"Relax," said Per calmly. "For some reason my compulsion isn't working here. There's no need here for me to cum twice."

She smiled wickedly at him and said, "I don't know. I think I'd like to see you spurt a second time and…" Her face suddenly went blank as if she was listening to a voice that Per could not hear. She then looked at Per. "I'm afraid not. It is time for me to leave your body."

Per's awareness flashed back to the master bedroom. The sun had not moved an inch and the three women were still slumped over in their chairs. A white transparent shadow moved away from Per's body and coalesced into the ghost.

"My time is up," she said with the haunting tone back in her voice."My thanks for rescuing me, but heed my warning about my niece. By the way, I left Octavia a gift."

The ghost dispersed as if a wind had suddenly come up to blow away her form. Per blew out a sigh of relief and almost slumped down himself in exhaustion. He forced himself to go over and untie the women. Per had gotten Cendri and Gedda untied and covered up in the large bed when he heard Karlto and Pawl pounding up the steps. He met them at the door.

"It's over," he told them before they could ask any questions. "Let me get Octavia untied and in the bed. We'll then head into town."

Sure and watch you fall out of the saddle in about a hundred yards," scoffed Pawl. "You're all done in."

"Rest, old boy," said Karlto. "We still have a little bit of time."

"After Octavia is in bed," said Per sluggishly.

Per went into the bedroom to untie Octavia and was shocked wide awake. On her large right breast just above the areola, was a blue skull design about the size of a baby's fist. Per then remembered the ghost saying something about a gift. Per shook his head, too tired to worry about it now. Her untied Octavia and carried her into another bedroom. Pawl went in and started a fire in the fireplace as Per went downstairs and fell asleep on a sofa.

Per woke up around midday. His tremendous constitution with the amount of sleep he had gotten had refreshed him. In the kitchen, Karlto told him that the women were still asleep. Pawl said he would stay behind while Per and Karlto went to town to put their plan into action. They left for town immediately.

The rest of the day and evening was uneventful, except that Octavia went a little nuts when she saw the mark on her breast. She rubbed it red and raw trying to remove the skull. Even Pawl's magic could not remove it. Octavia's mood was not improved when Gedda made a crack about her now being able to squirt poisoned milk at her foes. Only the quick intervention by Cendri and Pawl prevent Octavia from pounding Gedda to a pulp.

Octavia finally settled down, while not accepting the mark the ghost put on her, at least not dwelling on it since there was nothing she could do about it. She, Pawl, Gedda and Cendri prepared for Per and Karlto's return. They practiced and tested several phases of their plan until they were sure they had it down pat.

It was a cold blustery evening g on the day before Erik was to return that Per, Karlto and three other men rode up to the manor house. Dinner was a quiet affair after the introductions were made all around and everyone turned in early.

Per spent the better part of the next day talking to Cendri as the three men he had brought with him checked over the house with Karlto and Octavia. Two of the men were in their late forties, one wearing gray clothing with a silver chain around his neck and the other man wearing chainmail. The third man was in his late teens wearing leather armor and following around behind the other two. Per had everyone in his group run through their plan one time for the three men. Questions were asked and answered. The man with the silver chain gave his approval and they all settled down to wait.

It was later in the day before two riders appeared, surrounded by a pack of six baying hounds. The fires had been put out since last night, so the house was cold when Per's group and the three men took up their positions.

"I had a great time, Erik," they heard Fiona say downstairs as the two of them entered the front door. "I like this house."

"It does sort of, uh, get under your skin," commented Erik. "Let me get the dogs locked in the basement and we'll start some fires."

Erik locked up the dogs and started the fires in the fireplaces as Fiona prepared dinner. Erik carried their packs upstairs to the bedrooms. The two of them then sat down to dinner as the set was beginning to set.

"Well, time for bed," Erik said to Fiona as they headed upstairs. "Make sure you push the bolt shut. I'll not rest in my bed until I am sure you are secure in your room."

"Oh, Erik," chided Fiona, a little embarrassed by his gallant air.

Fiona went into the master bedroom and the bolt clunked loudly as it was shot home. Erik's face lost its mask of civility for one of malicious glee. He sat down in the chair outside the master bedroom and waited.

"Erik," came a soft whisper from down the dark hallway.

Erik looked down the hall and then shook his head as if he did not believe he had heard his name.

"Erik," said the whisper again.

Erik jumped to his feet and stared down the hallway. His face was a mask of anger and rage. A dim light appeared at the end of the hall barely illuminating the figure of a woman in a purple dress. Her red hair shined in the light and her face was hidden in shadow.

"You're not supposed to be here," snarled Erik and he pointed at the master bedroom. "You are supposed to be in there, possessing her. I'm surprised you have the will to fight the curse."

"After a year, I have learned a little control," said the woman."Release me from this curse and spare the woman in the bedroom. Do you hate me so much?"

"I offered you everything and all you had for me was contempt," stated Erik arrogantly. "Now, you are the contemptible thing, cursed to possess any woman who stays in this house after nightfall…to become a slave to your sexual desires!"

"So you killed me and placed my body in the cellar, unmourned and unburied?"

"Yes!" hissed Erik.

"Is your revenge not satisfied? Even after all the women you have brought here? Salli? Sylvie? Fiona…and all the others?"

"My revenge will last through all time," gloated Erik. "My hounds haven't had a bitch in six months. I think they will like Fiona. Of course, you can leave her body after I have finished with it and before the dogs come in, but then she'll remember everything that happens to her before I have to kill her. You remember Alyse, of course?"

The door of the unused bedroom next to Erik burst open and the two older men strode out. Per and the younger man went up the hall after them.

Erik stared at them in shock before he croaked out to the man with the silver chain, "Father!"

Erik's father's face took on a look of complete loathing ands revulsion as he stared at his son.

"You will never call me that again," said the magistrate contemptuously. "You know the sheriff here. The two of us have been trying to solve the mystery of our town. Five girls have gotten pregnant and each one swears that they have never slept with a man. Other women get unexplained injuries and a couple have had recurring nightmares. We've been searching all over for elves, fairies, pixies, magic-users, anything that would account for their bewitchment. To find out it is all connected to you!"

"It's not my fault!" screamed Erik as the sheriff and his deputy chained Erik's wrist behind his back. "It's her doing!" as he indicated towards the shadowy figure down the hall.

"Mine?" asked Cendri moving forward into the light. Her ash-blond hair was now red and she was wearing a purple dress.

"A trick!" gasped Erik as his face turned white. "What have you done with her? Where is she? WHERE IS SHE?"

"She's gone," said Per quietly. "We broke the curse a couple of days ago and set her spirit free."

Erik stared at Per for several seconds before breaking down and sobbing uncontrollably. The sheriff, his deputy, Karlto and Pawl dragged the crying Erik downstairs to lock him up in the basement.

"I'm sorry," said Per to the magistrate.

"I didn't really want to believe you when you came to me," said the magistrate, staring at the stairs, but not seeing anything. "I came here because it was my duty to the women of my village. Was the owner of this manor really a ghost?"

"Yes, cursed by Erik just as he said."

Per stepped over to the master bedroom door and knocked. He heard the bolt being thrown back and saw Octavia open the door. Inside, a very frightened Fiona was sitting stiffly in a chair as Gedda held a knife to her throat. Upon seeing Per, Gedda quickly put the knife away and Octavia sat down on the bed.

"Magistrate!" cried Fiona jumping up as the magistrate came into the room."These…these people attacked me! Erik is here! He has to be saved!"

"I know he is here," said the magistrate. "These people actually are here to save you, even if their methods are a little unorthodox. Please, sit down. I have to talk to you and tell you what has happened."

Gedda nodded her head at Per for him to follow her out. Cendri went into the room as they left it.

"They're better at that touchy-feely stuff than you or I am," Gedda said to Per as she shut the door. "Now what, fearless leader?"

"That is my question also," said the sheriff walking up the stairs.

"Did you find out anything about the niece from Erik?" asked Per.

"No," said the sheriff in disgust. "All he can do is sob and cry over his lost love."

"What will happen to him?" asked Gedda.

"Another magistrate will be brought in, try him and have him hanged. Shame, too. The man in there will spend the rest of his life trying to atone for his son's sins."

"I guess we stay here until the niece shows up with her escort," said Per.

"In that case, I'll return after I have dropped off Erik in our jail," said the sheriff. "You know, to safeguard the property and give some legality to the massacre of her kidnappers."

"We could be here a week or more," advised Gedda. "How's your cooking?"

"I can burn water," replied the sheriff.

"Oh, great," complained Per. "You and Gedda can exchange recipes."

The longsword clashed against Per's shield as he raised it to counter the stroke. There was a momentary impression of an enemy archer clutching at his melting face as a bright green bolt of light hit him. Per swung Dorgeth at the man he was fighting only to have it parried aside. Nevertheless, Per's strength pushed the man back a few steps, giving Per a little breathing space. Per was dimly aware of the sounds of fighting going on all around him.

The man yelled and struck at Per again. Per parried and then bashed his shield against the man's shield. With Per's strength and three-hundred and seventy-five pounds behind it, the man was knocked over backwards. He managed to stay on his feet, but his guard was down. That was all Per needed to pierce his sword right through the center of the man's breastplate.

The man collapsed as Per yanked his sword free with a huge splattering of blood. Octavia had dispatched the man she had been fighting and headed over to help Cendri who was holding off the attacks of two men. Per could only marvel for a second at the apparent ease that Cendri displayed in defending herself. Per heard a yell from Karlto who was also holding off the attacks of two men, but not as well as Cendri was. Per ran over and, before the two men knew he was there, cleaved through the skull of one of them.

The other man, distracted by the blood and brains, turned to face the new threat. A mace caught him in the side with a loud crack of ribs breaking. The man doubled over and caught the mace again at the back of his neck with another crunch of bone.

Per took a quick survey around. All of the enemy was on the ground, except for one who was frozen in place. Karlto had a shallow gash on his forearm and Octavia had a couple of arrows stuck into her shield. Gedda was standing beside a young girl.

"Nice fight," said the sheriff walking up to Per and cleaning his sword on a piece of cloth before sheathing it.

Per, his friends and the sheriff had spent a week at the manor house awaiting the arrival of the previous owner's fourteen-year-old niece. They knew that Erik's men were under orders to bring the niece here if they did not hear from Erik. The men had ridden up this afternoon.

As Erik's men dismounted, the sheriff, Per and his friends came out of hiding. The sheriff ordered the men to turn the girl over to him and disperse. They refused and all of them died, except one. Now that the fighting was over, Per saw that the girl was about five feet tall, with the same red hair and green eyes that her aunt had. Since he was two and a half feet taller than she was, Per hung back, not wanting to scare her more than she was.

"Miss?" asked the sheriff soothingly. "I'm the sheriff of the nearby town. We came here to save you. We mean you no harm. Do you understand?"

The girl took a big swallow and nodded her head before saying, "Yes, I understand. They took me from the house where I was staying and told me it was my aunt's wishes. She used to write to me all the time, but stopped when they came for me. At night, they'd talk when they thought I wasn't listening and tell each other what they would do when they brought me here."

"Your aunt died a year ago," said Per. "She cared for you very much. An evil man took over her property and had these men hold onto you. He and they can't hurt you anymore."

The girl's lower lip quivered. Tears sprang from her eyes and collapsed on the ground crying. Per and the sheriff looked at each other, unsure of what to do, until they were elbowed aside by Octavia. Tossing her gauntlets to Gedda, Octavia squatted down and scooped up the girl in her arms. She straightened up and stood still for asecond.

"The door, gentlemen," she commanded with a touch of rancor.

Per, Pawl, Karlto and the sheriff all jumped and moved in unison towards the door. Pawl, being closest, opened it and Octavia carried the girl inside up to the master bedroom. Cendri and Gedda followed her inside.

The men all looked at each other, shrugged their shoulders and then went about the grisly task of moving the bodies to a shack towards the back of the manor house. The one man left alive was released from Pawl's spell and locked up in the basement. Karlto had managed to round up the kidnapper's horses and got them into the stable. The sheriff went through the personal possessions looking for evidence and taking inventory. Per, when they were finished, washed up and went into the kitchen to prepare dinner.

It was a short while later that Per knocked on the door to the master bedroom. He had removed his armor and was wearing his regular clothes.

"Come in," he heard Octavia call out.

Per grimaced for a second as he balanced a tray in one hand, while fumbling for the doorknob with the other. He managed to open the door and get inside without spilling anything. The girl was in the bed with the covers pulled up. Octavia, Cendri and Gedda were there and had also changed out of their armor into everyday clothing.

"I brought up some soup, bread and a small glass of wine," said Per, holding out the tray. "Dinner is ready downstairs, but Idid not know if you were up to eating with us yet."

"Thank you, said the girl. "I think soup is all I can handle now."

Per placed the tray on her lap. The aroma of the broth filled the air and they all smiled when Cendri's stomach growled.

"Go ahead, all of you," said Octavia. "I'll get dinner later."

Cendri and Gedda walked out as the girl tentatively tried her soup. Her eyes opened in surprise.

"This is very good," she said to Per. "Would you please thank the cook?"

"You're welcomed," said Per in mock humility. "I tried my best."

"You?You cooked this?" asked the startled girl.

"You'd never know it to look at him," Octavia told her.

"Octavia," chided Per, who turned back towards the girl. "My mother taught me how to cook. She's much better than I am."

"Do you think she'd like to cook here?" blurted out the girl.

"Hmm…baroness to kitchen cook?" mused Per. "It does hold possibilities for her."

"Per!" admonished Octavia as the girl blushed. "Go eat dinner!"

"Yes, ma'am," said Per with a bow as he headed towards the door.

"What's your name?" asked the girl just before he left. "Please?"

"Per Devon."

"I'm Tymera. Thank you."

"You're welcomed," said Per as he closed the door.

The following week was a flurry of activity at the manor house. The sheriff left with his prisoner and returned not only with the magistrate, but also with the other magistrate who would be holdingcourt over Erik. A teamster and his wagon came to haul the bodies back to town for burial. Obviously, word had gotten around town because all sorts of neighbors and townsfolk began showing up. One or two seemed to have ulterior motives, but Per's tall, hulking form along with his devastating smile, which showed his large incisors to their best, kept everyone under control. At the end of the week, Per, his companions, Tymera, the sheriff and both magistrates were sitting around the big dining room table.

"Erik is insane," stated Erik's father. "He has confessed to everything. The prisoner corroborated what he knew about this…this incident. Unfortunately, I can not separate Erik's finances from youraunt's, Tymera. What I propose is that all of Erik's finances be turned over to you except for twenty percent. That amount will be divided among the girls who became pregnant. The house and all its lands have been returned to you."

Tymera sat stunned for a second before asking, "What will I do with all this? I don't know how to manage an estate."

"I'm sure these people can help you," said the sheriff, indicating Per's group.

Per and his friends shifted in their chairs nervously.

"Unfortunately, we have to move on soon," said Per. "We sought refuge from a storm and got caught up in a murder. We've just about overstayed our welcome."

"But you could stay here!" cried Tymera. "There's plenty of room. I want you to stay."

"Tymera, I can't stay," said Per. "I have a price on my head. Nothing criminal, sheriff, but I got in the way of a powerful person who wants to see me dead. If I stay, then assassins could find me here. They've found me twice before. Not only could I be killed, but others could be hurt. If anyone else wants to stay, they can. It's their decision to make, not mine."




Karlto, Octavia, Pawl, Cendri and Gedda all looked at one another. Karlto then turned to Tymera.

"I'm sorry, milady, but we promised to go with Per," he said. "I don't think our journey has ended yet."

"No!" shouted Tymera, who burst into tears and ran out of the room. Per stood up to follow her.

"Per, I know a good man and his wife," said the sheriff. "They've worked places like this before and would be good overseers. The magistrate and I have agreed to stop by at least once a week until she is able to stand on her own."

"I'll tell her," said Per. "I don't think she will listen, but I'll talk to her."

"Mind if I come along?" asked Gedda.

"Come along, then," said Per.

The two of them found Tymera in the master bedroom, laying across the bed and crying softly. Per knocked on the door jamb before walking into the room.

"I didn't give you permission to come in," sniffed Tymera. "Get out!"

Per's nostrils flared, but before he could say a word, Gedda stepped forward and sat on the bed.

"Please don't make him mad, Tymera," said Gedda nonchalantly. "I irritated him once and he spanked me."

"He…He spanked you?" asked Tymera incredulously.

"The first time his hand hit my butt, I thought my eyes had popped four inches out of my head before snapping back in. The second spank confirmed my first impression. His hand is rock hard and I couldn't sit for a week. Please just listen to what he has to say."

Tymera swallowed, just a little in fear of Per, as she looked at him in anew light. She sat up on the bed and faced him with her hands resting on her lap.

"Tymera, you have to accept the fact that my friends and I have to leave. It is very tempting to stay, but it would put everyone in imminent danger. The sheriff knows a good husband and wife who could oversee the property for you. You're going to have to learn to manage this place. You're also going to have to make friends with the people around here."

"I wish you could stay," said Tymera. "I will miss you all."

"If you need us, send a message to Aphrodite's Temple in Tectin," said Per. "We'll come back as fast as possible."

"Thank you, again," said Tymera. "I'll be down as soon as the redness leaves my eyes."

Per and Gedda nodded, left the room, and went downstairs to join the others.