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Tales of Morveria: Shadow Mistress

A Man, Powerless, Succumbs to Her Twisted Desires

By Mantrid Brizon

(02/23/2023)

It wasn’t all that long ago, it seems, when my trials and tribulations began. Then again, the days bleed one into the other, and so memory may no longer serve me. There are things I do remember, and quite well! I was but a humble traveler, a nomad, a wanderer. I traveled to nowhere in particular, but I was eager to see just where it was my feet would lead me. Had I known they would bring me here, I may have reconsidered leaving my small, nameless little hamlet...

The darkness didn’t frighten me as it should’ve, for it was in this darkness that my life was changed forever. I had joined a group of travelers, men and women as humble and honest as myself, though some could’ve stood to wash a bit more often. There were seven of us when we met at that little tavern. What was the name, again? The Crusty Cask? No, that doesn’t sound right...

No matter... We’d met at this tavern, I, drinking my wassail, and minding my own business. It was then that a rather burly man and his feisty feline Vostii approached me. The burly man introduced himself as “Cairn.” I found it a strange name, given the meaning, and assumed it was an alias. His Vostii, a lowly slave whom he’d taken to his bed and made his partner, was simply called “Kitten.” He did so love Kitten, and she loved him...

Cairn glanced at my drink, a spiced wine or strong mead - it’s a matter of opinion, really - made from fermented apples, mixed with ginger, cinnamon and, occasionally, oranges. It contains hardly a trace of alcohol, and the children often drink it when the water isn’t clean enough, as what alcohol it does have will cleanse the water, but I digress... Cairn teased me for my choice of beverage, and my witty retort earned a chuckle. He took a seat and offered me his hand, to prove he was unarmed. Of course, I saw the pistol on his belt, and the sword across from it.

I shook his hand. He had a strong grip. He leaned back in his chair so that Kitten could straddle his lap. She cooed as she rubbed her butt against his lap, and his hands so tenderly caressed her sides. As she rested her back against his chest, Cairn told me of his travels, and his desire to reach Zhanai. The tropical paradise has seen a considerable influx in recent days, more so now that war has erupted between the Kingdom of the Ilium Rose and just about everyone else.

I asked him why he shared his plans with me, a stranger who drank “a menstruating woman’s beverage.” He smiled and told me he saw me before, aiding another small group two towns back. I’d made a potion for one of their injured, and my skills as a scribe were worthy of note. I was surprised he’d remember such a thing, given his brutish nature. Indeed, I was flattered. I held back a nervous chuckle, but not my smile. Cairn couldn’t help but comment.

“Blushing like a little girl after her first kiss! I can’t imagine how you’ll be when you take the tip!” He laughed.

For as crude as his sense of humor was, I admit I found him amusing. Cairn told me of the others in his group, and that if I would join them as their scribe and apothecary, serving to heal them should dangers arise, that he’d ensure my safety. It was an interesting proposition, and I couldn’t help but accept. I trusted him. I thought he knew what he was getting us into...

“When do we leave?” I asked, my eyes sparkling with childlike glee.

“Tonight.” Cairn coolly replied.

“Tonight?!” I gasped.

“What? Are you afraid of the dark?” He smirked.

He reiterated his remark in Ancient Hitrosii, just so that Kitten could giggle at me. She had such an infectious laugh. I now believe he did that to soften me. It worked. I agreed to follow and after finishing my drink, I joined them to a shop where he purchased additional supplies. He had a pouch laden with zakians, mostly gold but with some silver mixed in. There were also three precious sen’kamen, the elven stones worth more than all our lives combined. His were ruby, highly valuable indeed!

We joined the others and I was introduced to a truly ragtag bunch, mercenaries of the lowliest kind. It was obvious to me that Cairn was less scrupulous than I’d originally assumed. I fit right in, and I chose to press on. I chose to follow him.

“Don’t worry, my effeminate little healer! You’re in safe hands! We might even make a man out of you!” He boasted, to the amusement of the others.

I wanted to believe him. I had no reason not to. The first two days served only to prove him right. The only trouble we received was a group of bandits who, upon seeing our numbers and armaments quickly tripped over themselves to flee. Cairn and his men showed no mercy, and I began to trust in their morals. Aside from that, the only other complaint I had was how frequently, and loudly, Cairn and Kitten would have sex.

The others were quite jealous, but I only wanted to sleep. It wasn’t that I didn’t find her attractive, mind you, but that I knew better; if any of us so much as laid a finger on Kitten, even to pluck lint from her hair, Cairn would’ve torn them off and shoved them up our behinds. He said as much, several times. Nothing was out of the ordinary, until the third day.

“Are you sure about that?” One of the mercenaries asked.

“Of course! I wouldn’t lead us through there if I wasn’t sure it was safe!” Cairn boasted.

“I heard bad things about that gulch...” Another murmured.

“Quit being a bunch of girls! We’ll be fine!”

He was always so confident. In retrospect, that was his downfall...

“According to this map, we should be through the gulch before dusk! We just need to keep up the pace! ... So move it!!!”

For as loud a man as he was, Cairn never sounded hostile. I appreciated that. He was fatherly in his ways. We did as he said, but Cairn’s map was not accurate... Before lunchtime, we knew we were lost. Having taken too many turns, we no longer knew how to return from whence we came! Panic began to settle amongst the mercenaries, but Cairn, as usual, was confident. He calmed them as he slipped his arms around Kitten, holding her close and comforting her. We could see the fear in her eyes.

As the only beast folk among us, she had senses that we did not, and something unsettled her. We decided, or, should I said, Cairn decided, that we should march throughout the night. He said we’d save time, ignoring the protests of everyone. Only Kitten continued to back him up, but as his mate, she would only ever support him. In this regard, the beast folk can be loyal to a fault.

We marched and marched, until our feet were sore, and our knees buckled. Cairn showed no signs of fear and insisted that if we press onward, we’d emerge from the gulch and find that the map was simply “a little short.”

“You’ve had that problem a time or two, haven’t you?” He chuckled, glancing back at me and my crotch.

I knew the insinuation, but by now I came to expect it. When Kitten complained of a strange scent, we stopped. Even Cairn took this warning seriously. We circled, with Kitten and I near the very center, as neither of us were good fighters. A rock fell from the edge of the gulch, which narrowed considerably where we were standing. We turned toward the rock, and that’s when it happened.

A loud shrieking hiss, the strangest noise I’d ever heard, came from above us! We turned to look and saw the terrifying creature! It was a khodyachii! The “shadow walkers,” as many a traveler call them, are horrifying monstrosities. Though they appear similar to the Sabaarii, specifically of the sand-kin variety, they’re anything but beast folk.

Standing roughly seven-feet-tall and with six limbs - a pair of long legs and four arms, two at the shoulder and two below - they are truly a thing of nightmares. Their neck, back and prehensile tails are often covered in massive spikes, while claws cap all twenty-eight digits, twenty fingers and eight toes. Their head has the shape of a raptor, with spikes along their jawline and a mouth full of carnivorous teeth.

They’re nocturnal creatures, primitive and without the power of speech or reason, and are said to ambush prey by climbing into tall trees or wedging themselves in crevasses, to drop down on unsuspecting prey. In the desert regions, they’re as feared as the quill-bear is in the north. I never thought I’d see one with my own eyes, but there it was, dropping down from above.

Within seconds it fell upon a strong mercenary, tearing him in two! Kitten screamed and I instinctively tried to shield her. The remaining four warriors turned to fire at the monstrous beast. Thankfully, though they’re hide consists of fine scales and plates, like many Sabaarii of the sand-kin, they’re not invincible; firearms are very effective, when you can hit it...

The shadow walker began to use their strange martial art, utilizing the blade-like protrusions from their elbows and the backs of their ankles in a terrifying attack. The whirlwind, often called the “shadow dance,” turned the already darkened creature into a blur! They fired their weapons empty but hit only air, as the creature whipped between them, rolling and summersaulting around us.

Its spiny tail cut chunks of armor, then garment, then flesh. It leapt upon a warrior who dared to use his sword, pinning him with two of its arms before eviscerating him with the other set, and its tail, which curled around his waist like a snake. As his guts spilled from his body, it turned and quite literally knocked the head off another warrior! Soon it was just Cairn and another, and Kitten and I cowering near a tree...

They didn’t last long, and Kitten screamed in horror as her beloved master was slain before her very eyes. The sound alerted the shadow walker, who turned its head. I could only tell where it was looking from the massive, S-shaped horns that crowned its head. It approached, and even my human eyes could make out the beast in the dark. The shadow walker was a female!

She stood several heads taller than us, about seven-foot-two. Her scales and plates had a simple duotone; black covered her arms, legs, sides, back and head, whilst white covered her belly, breasts and uncovered womanhood. Her horns, spikes and claws were also white, though they now dripped with crimson. She stared at us, standing in silence and looking us over. She cocked her head like a dog, curious about the beings who put up no fight whatsoever.

Kitten glanced at Cairn’s twitching corpse, and overcome with anger, pulled a dagger and charged. I was in shock, so much so that I failed to stop her! It didn’t matter, as the beast, whom I will henceforth call “Shadow Mistress,” was considerably faster. She knocked the dagger from Kitten’s hand, grabbed her by her armpits and lifted her off the ground with the strength of a Korutan of the horse-kin!

She growled, narrowing her silver eyes at the Vostii. The feline’s tail flailed harmlessly as she wriggled about, trying desperately to free herself. She screamed at the khodyachii, roaring at Shadow Mistress for murdering her mate. She called her every filthy name one could imagine, but Shadow Mistress clearly didn’t comprehend her. Seeing her rage, the beast looked beyond the Vostii and straight at me.

With eyes narrowed, she threw Kitten at me! I was barely able to catch her, banging my head as I fell backward. The blow caused me to lose consciousness for some time. When I finally awoke, I was being shoved through an opening, the entrance to what could best be described as a cage. Kitten was already inside, rising to her paw-like feet as she growled and cursed Shadow Mistress.

I turned just in time to see her closing the cage, which was constructed of old branches of considerable thickness and tied with cordage made of a material I couldn’t recognize. It felt like sinew, but different. There were many gaps in the structure, and it wasn’t uniform. If I were a bit thinner, I could’ve fit through it. Kitten could have, if not for her bust, which I will now admit was rather impressive.

Trapped together, we were forced to sit back and wait. Kitten struggled to escape for some time, trying to cut the bindings that held the cage together. When that failed, she resorted to prying at them like a cavewoman. She is a Vostii, after all, and they were never as intellectually sound as humans. Still, I commended her for her efforts and warned her to save her strength.

“Why [do] you surrender?! Why [do] you fall onto your back like [a] bitch wanting to be bred?!?!”

Kitten always had a mouth on her. I can only imagine how she talked before she paired with Cairn. Before she could bark any more orders at me, Shadow Mistress returned. In her hands, she carried a leg, one from each of the warriors. The fifth body was carried behind her, dragged by her tail, the tip of which curled around an ankle. That was Cairn’s body.

Kitten fell silent, watching in horror as she gripped the wooden bars of our prison. Shadow Mistress wasted no time and promptly stripped the warriors of what little armor and clothing remained. She staked the four mercenaries to the ground before turning her attention to Cairn. I wasn’t sure what to expect and my mind raced, but nothing could’ve prepared me for what I saw...

Kneeling before Cairn’s corpse, Shadow Mistress grabbed his arms and ripped them from his trunk! When the flesh struggled to rip, she cut him with her claws. Kitten cried and looked away as her beloved mate was torn apart before her very eyes. I gagged, but I knew I had to be strong for Kitten. I was never a fighter, but now we were two survivors.

I took her into my arms, but Kitten fought me. She looked at me with fiery eyes, as if I had been the one to slay her mate! I fought her and pulled her close, knowing that she was in pain. She scratched and clawed at me, drawing Shadow Mistress’ attention. I grit my teeth and bear it, and before long, Kitten had ceased fighting me. She clung to me as if I was the only one left on Morveria, crying into my shoulder.

Shadow Mistress had approached our cage, Cairn’s right arm dangling from one of her four hands. Seeing that we were no longer an issue, she raised Cairn’s arm and bit a chunk out of it, eating it the way most people devour ears of corn. It made our stomachs churn, watching Shadow Mistress feast upon the warm body of the burly, boisterous but fatherly man. I will remember him until my dying day...

Once she’d feasted, Shadow Mistress returned to us. Kitten put her face to the bars and growls at her, shouting more expletives. After a while, Shadow Mistress became irritated. She opened the cage and crawled inside with us, and once again Kitten rushed her. She held open her hands, her claws at the ready. For as fast as the Vostii was, Shadow Mistress was faster.

Kitten leapt at Shadow Mistress, only for Shadow Mistress to backhand her hard enough to throw her off balance. Kitten fell to the ground. I was amazed when she did not spit out a tooth! She was clearly disoriented, and as she tried to regain her bearings, Shadow Mistress grabbed some of that strange material which bound the bars together. It hung from a crude spool hanging on a wooden peg in the wall of the cave.

She grabbed Kitten’s head with two hands, while the other two proceeded to tie her snout shut. She wrapped the cordage around her snout, behind her head and then around her snout again, before tying a simple but tight knot. She then threw Kitten toward me, and I was quick to catch her. With a bloody maw, she contorted her thin lips into a snarl, raised a finger and shushed us.

I was shocked to see such behavior! Shadow Mistress was still clearly bestial, but she had more sense than a household cat or dog. I turned to Kitten, who cried into my shoulder. I tried my best to remove the bindings, as did she, but we both failed. Even Kitten’s claws couldn’t cut it. We sat in a corner and feared the worst, waiting and watching.

Shadow Mistress proceeded to peel the skin from the other bodies, in preparation for air drying their meat. It was then that we learned that it was the skin of her victims, treated in a strange liquid, that made up the sinew-like material that held our cage together, and tied Kitten’s mouth shut. Clinging to the only source of comfort she had, Kitten eventually passed out in my arms, succumbing to physical and emotional exhaustion.

I lasted a bit longer, likely energized by the brief period I was unconscious, and watched Shadow Mistress. She watched Kitten and I, cocked her head and examined us closely. She moved closer, her bust jiggling. I knew from the literature that khodyachii are mammalian and have functioning mammary glands, but it was unsettling to see such humanoid features on such a vile creature.

Shadow Mistress made a strange noise, deep in her throat. It was almost a cooing. I saw her brow soften, her clawed fingers gripping the bars as she sat on her long, athletic legs. She remained there until I fell asleep, holding Kitten. I awoke to find Kitten sitting beside the bars, watching. It was daylight, and Shadow Mistress was gone! Kitten sniffed the air and confirmed that she could no longer smell her.

We quickly devised a plan to escape, focusing on the widest gap and using our combined power to spread the bars just enough for one of us to get through. Despite her large bust, Kitten had the best chance of fitting. We pulled and pulled with all our might, but the flesh bindings were simply too strong. Kitten whimpered and turned to me, grabbing at her still-tied snout.

I feared for her. How long would Kitten remain bound? How long could she last without water or food? She was already somewhat dehydrated from the start, as she was sweating more than usual in the arid climate. We sat and waited. It wasn’t until dusk when we finally heard motion. Kitten sniffed the air, turned to me and nodded. It was Shadow Mistress.

To our surprise, she emerged not from outside, but from inside! A portion of the stone wall opened, revealing a nook where the beast had tucked herself to sleep! Clearly, the khodyachii are more clever than we were told. Admittedly, few had been this close or spent this much time with the creatures. I could only wonder, how much longer would we be alive to observe her?

Shadow Mistress turned to us. She walked to a pool and scooped up water with the cracked skull of a beast. I believe it was an ox, but I cannot be sure. She presented us with the skull, passing it through the bars of the cage, but Kitten whimpered. Shadow Mistress cocked her head, eying the Vostii with suspicion.

“Please...” I spoke to Shadow Mistress for the first time. “Untie her. Please?”

My voice was as soft as I could manage, thoughtful and even sweet. This left Shadow Mistress visibly surprised. She leaned her head closer, watching my lips and throat. I spoke again. She moved her lips to mimic me, but no sound came out. I turned to Kitten and motioned with my hands, pretending to untie her bindings.

“Please, untie her.” I asked again.

Shadow Mistress crossed her lower arms but rested a finger of an upper hand on her chin. Was she contemplating her next action?! Kitten and I were both flabbergasted when Shadow Mistress motioned to her with a claw. Stepping closer, Shadow Mistress used a rather rancid smelling concoction which softened the flesh. It quickly began to rot, falling away like skin that had soaked for two days in brine.

Kitten jumped back as the bindings fell to the floor. Shadow Mistress scooped them up and tossed them into a little pit. It smelled like garbage. I turned to Kitten and presented her with the skull, letting her drink her fill. Shadow Mistress turned, watching us closely. Kitten held onto my hands and drank but saved the last for me. She offered it to me with a nod.

I smiled and thanked her, and Kitten smiled for the first time in a day. She held my hands, steadying the skull as I drank the last few gulps. My parched throat was so pleased that I failed to notice how close Shadow Mistress came to our cage. Kitten hadn’t noticed either, as she was visibly startled by her presence as she glanced over a shoulder.

Nothing eventful happened, and the days began to blur together. Shadow Mistress may have kept us prisoners, but she certainly had no intention of keeping us alive. She gave us water, but did so sparingly, and we were never fed. On the fourth or fifth day of captivity, she reached into the cage as Kitten and I slept and gave Kitten’s buttocks a squeeze.

As the Vostii awoke, she felt her thigh, judging its firmness. Kitten gasped and wriggled closer to me, wrapping her legs around me and rolling with me on the floor. I found myself on my back, the beautiful, buxom feline atop me. We stared in horror as we lay there, watching Shadow Mistress return to the now dried meat of our companions. As she took a bite from a cured leg, it was now clear why she was keeping us alive. She wanted fresh meat...

As she devoured the meat, Kitten turned away and found herself looking down at me. Her eyes changed and the fear melted away. It was obvious I was giving her comfort, as Cairn had done. She leaned in slowly and wrapped her arms around my body, clinging to my shoulders from behind as she placed her chin atop her own fingers. I didn’t know what else to do, and so I held her. This intrigued Shadow Mistress.

“Zhu’sa... Dra’zhet yii.” She spoke softly, asking me to hold her.

I did not fail her and held her as if she was mine. Two more days passed, and it was clear that one of us would soon be dead. We were growing weak from hunger, and Shadow Mistress would often judge us based on our meatiness. I assumed it would be me, as I had more meat on my arms and thighs than Kitten. Kitten also made this assumption and feared losing her only companion.

We’d spoken quietly those past two days, and though we learned very little about each other, it didn’t matter. She didn’t want to tell me her true name, preferring to be called what Cairn had always called her. I didn’t mind this. If I were being honest, I was just as afraid of being alone, and any companionship was good companionship. It caused me to cling to Kitten even more, something she greatly appreciated. After all, we were all each other had.

Awakening sometime around dusk, on what I believe was the ninth or tenth day of captivity, I felt something. The pain of hunger had stopped, as if I’d adapted to it, though I still craved food. What I felt was a pressure on my legs. Lifting my head, I looked down, expecting to see Shadow Mistress judging which of us to eat next. She’d finally made it to the last dried corpse and would soon need a new source of food, lest she hunt for it.

Instead, what I found was Kitten, sitting on my knees and opening my trousers! I was shocked, but she shushed me. Taking my manhood from my pants, she rubbed it and began to awaken me. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know why she was doing it. She leaned in closer and opened my shirt, now filthy and stinking of my unwashed body. She didn’t care. She basked in my warmth.

“Zhu’sa... So’vo.” She begged.

I knew those words, but even the untrained in Ancient Hitrosii, the language of the beast folk, know the word “so’vo.” I couldn’t understand why she was begging me for sex, but as she aroused me and crawled over my body, she looked me in the eyes and kissed me. As our lips parted, I felt the warmth of her loins rubbing against my shaft. She was very wet...

Kitten looked to me and spoke, and I heard the fear in her voice. For the sake of brevity, I will translate her words. She looked me in the eyes and said,

“Please... Mate with me. One of us may be dead tomorrow, and if one should be alone, the other should have a pleasant memory before it’s over.”

I was aghast. How could she fall into such despair?! Still, a part of me knew she was right. This could be the last time I ever enjoyed anything, and we both needed comfort. Cairn was only eaten barely a week ago, but Kitten had reached her breaking point. So did I. Without thought or concern, I grabbed her buttocks and told her to put me inside of her. She did.

I felt her womanhood as I penetrated her, and Kitten gasped. She bit down hard and clenched her teeth as she felt my member, the first she’d had since a day before our captivity. I have no idea how I compared to Cairn, and it doesn’t really matter. She took pleasure in me, and I in her. It was a passionate moment, and Kitten tended to my needs as if she was always mine, all the while begging for me to use her body.

I explored her body, feeling her buttocks and large, plump breasts. I did everything I thought she might like, tending to her nipples, kissing her neck and feeding her my tongue. Kitten enjoyed herself, evident by the geyser of fluid she sprayed on my genitals. I didn’t stop, rolling us over and pinning her onto her back. We continued, even as Shadow Mistress emerged from her nook.

Neither of us noticed her watching, staring at us. She cocked her head and examined us closely as I held myself up with my forearms and knees. I thrust away, giving Kitten every last bit of my strength, and the pain and fear melted away. By her second geyser of fluid, I’d reached my limit. I was never one to brag, but the amount I released inside of her was more than I even knew possible, from a human, at least.

Kitten felt the same way, or at least she appeared to. She shrieked and clawed at me as her back arched and her toes spread apart. It was a lovely moment, and one I will never forget. As we pulled apart and began to cuddle, we finally noticed Shadow Mistress in the background, her legs spread as she leaned back. The two arms to her left supported her body, while one right arm held a rather large breast and the other...

It doesn’t matter, because what happened next was beyond horrifying. Realizing that we were finished, Shadow Mistress wanted to explore us, curious about how her food mated. She sniffed the air and opened our cage, crawling inside to join us. I looked for an opening, thinking I might dash around her and escape. Kitten had the very same idea, but it was not to be...

As she leaned in to examine us, Shadow Mistress turned to Kitten! She grabbed the Vostii and pulled at her legs with her upper arms, spreading them apart so that she could peer inside of her! The feline shrieked and kicked but this only angered the beast. I tried to pull her away, grabbing Kitten’s arms and fighting with Shadow Mistress. This only served to make things worse.

Angered by my defiance and Kitten’s thrashing, Shadow Mistress pushed me away with such force that I was certain she’d broken every rib, and that was before I slammed into the wall! She dragged Kitten from the cage and sealed me in, only to lift Kitten by her ankles. Hanging upside down, her back facing toward Shadow Mistress, Kitten was truly at her mercy.

Shadow Mistress again began to examine the Vostii. She placed her raptor-like snout betwixt her spread legs and sniffed her loins, then peered at them with one eye, as if she was peeking into a keyhole. I begged her to release Kitten, using the gentlest voice I possibly could, but to no avail. Shadow Mistress glanced at me dismissively, then continued her examination.

She opened her mouth and stuck out her tongue, which is very long and forked, like a snake’s. Easily a foot long and perhaps more, Shadow Mistress licked Kitten’s loins! Kitten panicked, as did I. I screamed for her to release the Vostii, begging and pleading. She ignored me. She took her tongue and inserted it into Kitten’s womanhood, tasting our fluids!

We were both revolted; I looked away in embarrassment and shame, while Kitten did something unforgiveable. She swiped at the beast’s tongue and cut it with her claws, causing Shadow Mistress to drop her on her head! She tried to shield herself, but the fall left her dazed. Shadow Mistress roared in anger, and just as Kitten managed to rise to her feet, the vile beast had finally had enough. Her food would not injure her and walk away...

Grabbing Kitten by the hips with her lower arms, and grabbing her throat by her upper arms, Shadow Mistress choked Kitten until her eyes turned red. She was barely able to hold onto the beast’s wrists. Shadow Mistress enveloped Kitten with her tail, rotated it so that the spikes faced her core, and then ripped it away! She sliced Kitten in two, throwing her hips and waist to the ground as she held her torso in the air!

I couldn’t believe it! I couldn’t fathom the horror, and so I turned and vomited! Shadow Mistress dropped Kitten’s upper half to the ground and began searching for the lower half. She picked it up by the legs, her organs falling from her body cavity. I shamefully admit that I nearly feinted, stumbling before landing on my bottom. Shadow Mistress took notice.

Unfortunately, she mistook this for hunger and presented me with one of Kitten’s hands. I refused. The revulsion on my face made it evident that she’d done wrong, and for the briefest of moments, Shadow Mistress appeared remorseful! She sat beside my cage, her lone prisoner, and looked at Kitten’s remains with a softened brow. I’d met Sabaarii, and their faces are similar; I know the look of sorrow when I see it. She seemed to regret what she had done.

Unable to speak to me, Shadow Mistress did the only thing she could do. She sat there, staring at me. After a while, I sat in the far corner and turned my back to her. I heard her collecting Kitten’s remains, before taking them out of sight, around a stone pillar so that she could tend to them without me seeing. I found it strange that she would suddenly care about my feelings. In retrospect, I should’ve been more concerned.

Several days passed and Shadow Mistress became more attentive. She hovered around my cage with frequency and eyed me with curiosity. One day, about a week after slaying Kitten and feasting on her remains, she hunted a desert ram. She brought back the humble quadruped and butchered it, then, for the first time in more days than I could count, she opened the cage and fed me!

By this point, I was so weakened that I couldn’t escape even if I wanted to. I now believe that this was what she was waiting for. As my strength returned, Shadow Mistress’ curiosity increased. Her visits, already frequent, became a constant. She no longer slept in the safety of her nook, hidden behind stone that even shielded her scent from enemies. Instead, she slept with her back to the mouth of the cave, facing my cage.

I contemplated killing her many times, but she left me nothing to do it with, and if I were being honest with you... I feared being alone. If I killed her and escaped, I would have nothing to guide me, nowhere to go. I would surely die. Admittedly, I didn’t care much about that, not after all I’d seen and endured, but it was enough to keep me from even making the attempt.

A few more meals saw my strength returning to normal, and I was soon able to venture about the cage quite readily. This greatly pleased Shadow Mistress. She would often smile at me as her eyes followed my every more. It unsettled me. One night, as darkness fell and the cave was once again illuminated by only the modest light of the twin moons, I heard the cage opening.

Thumping caught my attention, and I turned toward the sound. I saw the silhouette of my Shadow Mistress, creeping ever closer. Her white plates and scales caught enough light to show me where she was, and before I realized it, the seven-foot monstrosity of a female had all but pushed my face in between her breasts. I felt a hand on my head and prepared myself for the end.

Was this it? Was she going to snap my neck? Would it finally be over?! I prayed to The One, begging our heavenly creator to let it be quick... And then she did something I never knew possible... She spoke.

“Please... So’vo...” She uttered in a guttural voice, melding the two languages of man and beast folk.

I was flabbergasted! She could talk?! My mind raced. What if this was a trick, like those parrots who can mimic their owners? The beast folk are simpler than man, but they can think and feel and articulate their emotions. I’d never seen that from a truly primitive creature like the khodyachii. The writings don’t even claim that it’s possible! I looked up at her with shock and saw her glimmering eyes.

“Please... So’vo.” She cooed.

She leaned in for a kiss, and soon I felt her long, slithery tongue entering my mouth! Her upper arms clung to me but her lower arms opened my trousers, imitating motions she’d seen me make whenever I had to relieve myself. She pushed them down and took hold of my manhood, stroking it the way that Kitten had. How long had she been watching us? Was I mistaken in my original assumptions?

The female monstrosity pushed me back and sat on my legs, cooing as she awoke my masculinity. Her hands caressed me, and she fondled my two stones very gently. It was almost as if she wanted to ensure they were intact and functioning. As she tended to me, her upper hands tended to herself. One fondled a breast while the other rubbed her belly in a suggestive manner. Her eyes turned to me as her hand slithered lower, until she rubbed her womanhood. It sounded quite moist...

“So’vo... Please, much so’vo.”

I could hear her attempting to use the words, and it sounded like memorization. I was unsure of what to make of it all, but my thoughts mattered little. Shadow Mistress was surprisingly skilled, and before long, she had me right where she wanted me. With my manhood as hard as stone, she pinned me down and kissed me. Her foreign tongue enveloped my own, as she did her very best to imitate how Kitten and I had kissed.

She curled her body, being much taller than I, and rubbed her nether lips against my flesh. I could feel how hot she was... How wet... It sickened me, how badly I wanted her. I lost all sense of self. In that moment I was her marionette, and her puppeteer. With my gentle persuasion, my hands guided her up. She rose from me and looked down and then behind us, as if she were perplexed.

I called out to her, gaining her attention. She turned to me, and looking into her eyes, which sparkled in the moonlight, I saw uncertainty. She was afraid! This didn’t stop us. If anything, it only emboldened me, tapping into a primal urge I didn’t even know I had.

“So’vo.” I said, adjusting my position so that my member aimed true. “I give you so’vo.”

She growled, but it sounded happy. Her lips peeled back to reveal her menacing, carnivorous teeth. My hands guided her back down, and with her teeth clenched, she grunted as I penetrated her. To my surprise, the beast who towered over everyone in our party of travelers had a womanhood that was even tighter than Kitten’s after a week without Cairn’s attention. I never felt such tension, such heat, such moisture! It consumed me...

Before long, I was busily attending to her as best I could, doing for her what I’d done for Kitten. She basked in my affection, and I could tell she liked it even before it became evident. As Kitten before her, Shadow Mistress became very tight, and her womanhood showered me with orgasmic fluid. This time, her loins were too much, squeezing me and pulsating around my member in ways I’d never felt before.

I couldn’t resist. I unleashed. I clung to her buttocks and roared as I filled her loins with all the strength I had left. My Shadow Mistress ensured that it all remained where it belonged, sitting upon my lap until I could not see any of my flesh protruding. She wrapped her gangly legs around my body as she sat atop her perch, her four arms and long, tapering tail doing the same.

I was consumed. In her embrace, I felt no air touching my skin, except for my legs. This only made my pleasure more intense, and I felt a chill in my two stones as they emptied. I shivered, and she held me tighter, nuzzling the crown of my head with her snout. The fog in my mind was unlike anything I’d ever experienced before, and I sat there with my arms around her shapely torso, my face buried between her ample bosoms as the pleasure gradually subsided.

I couldn’t believe what we’d done. Furthermore, I couldn’t believe how much I enjoyed it. She is a monster, a brutish beast who rips warriors and defenseless females limb from limb! And I couldn’t resist her... Perhaps it was the desire to feel something good; as Kitten had said, one last taste of pleasure before I died. Perhaps it was a sinister spell, cast by the vile temptress? Perhaps I’m not the man I thought I was?

In the end, it doesn’t matter. It served one purpose. My Shadow Mistress has refused to kill me, and now sleeps beside me in my cage, locking us in at night. She no longer leaves my sight, except to hunt, and that is a swift endeavor for a creature such as herself. She has kept me for countless days now, feeding me and tending to me before using my body. She has no understanding of neberum, though I’ve seen the contraceptive mushrooms throughout her dwelling.

I have no idea if my seed will fertilize her body, and I pray to The One that it cannot... Still, she persists in using me, sometimes daily, as if she wanted to learn the possibilities for herself. At night, she sleeps clinging to me, as if I were her favorite toy. It would be heartwarming if I wasn’t so terrified of her. Perhaps one day I no longer will be? Every day, I fear her less. Perhaps I am learning what it’s like to be indebted to a superior being, as the beast folk are to humanity?

I no longer recognize myself anymore. If anyone finds this record, scrawled on the last bit of parchment I have, please... Destroy my Shadow Mistress, and if I am alive and defending her... Destroy me, as well...