Page 24 of Unbinding the Demon

The low circle of flames crackled around us. I was dangling upside down and naked in the usual eerie dreamland dungeon. Thick black ropes hung from large rusty hooks in the ceiling. They wound around the length of my legs, spreading them wide apart. My exposed pussy was at the perfect height for demonic dream Ashton’s mouth to devour, and he was, of course, doing just that. His big, clawed hands were squeezing my butt as he growled like a beast and ravenously lapped away at my arousal.

My weakened arms clung around his thick thighs as I tried to take the entirety of his cock into my mouth. My tongue swirled over the tip and flicked at the slit, absolutely loving his taste. I tried to swallow the whole monstrous thing, but he was so tall that I couldn’t reach the base with my lips from my tied-up position. I shakily moved one of my hands from his thigh and gripped it where my face couldn’t reach. A loud hiss escaped him. His front teeth grazed over my clit, with his fangs gliding along my outer lips.

I writhed in my restraints, moaning as I sucked him harder. He licked at my clit as I simultaneously pumped his cock. A crescendo of growls and muffled moans filled the dark room as we climaxed together. I sucked hard and swallowed all that I could, but some cum still dripped down the corner of my mouth. His mouth opened wide and covered the entirety of my pussy as he sucked and slurped at my release. My breathing was heavy, and my body heaved and quivered with aftershocks. He crouched down while trailing sloppy kisses along my body. His tongue circled my belly button before he slowly made his way down to my lips. His mouth pressed against mine as he kissed me Spiderman style while weaving his clawed fingers through my swaying hair.

After a minute, he broke the kiss with a deep purr. Then he stood up and began effortlessly slicing through the ropes with his claws. I was a bit surprised to have another one of these bizarre erotic dreams. This was the first one I’d had since that night at the club, and I suspected that my subconscious had put these strange fantasies to rest after my terrifying hallucination.

His large arms caught my awkward, floppy body as the final pieces of rope fell away. He carried me over to a stone bench that rested against the wall, affection twinkling in his golden gaze. Leathery wings wrapped snugly around us as he sat down with me on his lap, holding me against his firm chest. He gently trailed the side of a claw under my chin, lifting my face up to make me look at him.

“You don’t really find me awful and repulsive, do you, Buttercup?” His glowing eyes searched mine, revealing his apprehension as he awaited my answer.

I reached up to place my hand on his stubbly cheek, and then he placed his much larger hand on top of mine. I wondered why he would ask such a thing, considering he was just a figment of my whacked-out imagination. I observed the long black claws that gently rested over my fingers. They were incredibly sharp and talon-like, and could easily slice right into my tender, helpless flesh. It was only natural to feel sickened by such a sight.

But did I find him awful and repulsive, though? “No, I suppose not.”

A relieved smile crossed his lips and his gaze softened with... admiration? Love, maybe? “Are you afraid of me? Of what I am?”

My eyes trailed up to his sharp, twisted horns, and then down to his soft, full lips that I knew concealed his razor-sharp fangs. But I wasn’t afraid to be in his arms and wrapped up in his spiky, dragon-like wings. In fact, I felt safe with him. “Well, you certainly look intimidating, but I’m not afraid of you.” I inwardly laughed at how silly it was to be having this conversation with a phantasmagorical, demonic version of Ashton.

“Good, I’m glad.” He brought my hand over to his mouth and kissed my palm. “Do you love me?” His face was calm and loving, but I could see a storm of trepidation swirling within his eyes. Did I love him? Could this be my subconscious mind’s way of confronting myself about my growing feelings for Ashton? I bit my lip as I gazed up at his anxious face, genuinely unsure of my answer.

He abruptly snarled, causing me to jump in fright. Anger flashed across his features as he latched onto me, holding me tight. “No! Fuck!” he growled, and then disappeared.

A large hand slapped over my mouth, startling me awake and causing my eyes to fly open. Fear surged through my being as I gazed up in confusion into wide, light blue eyes. “ Shhh ... Gwenny-love, it’s okay. It’s just me.” William’s face was looming right above mine with an unsettled expression. “Be quiet,” he whispered while removing his hand from my mouth.

“What the flying fuck, William? You’d better have a damn good explanation for waking me up like this!” I whispered, my voice low and rough, like a big old grouch. I narrowed my eyes in suspicion, wondering what he might be up to.

Lacey stepped out from behind him. Her hair was in a disheveled top bun, and she was wearing a dorky bed shirt with a picture of a cartoon frog playing the banjo. “There’s someone wandering around the yard, and there’s something really, really off about them.” Her big doe eyes shifted around, looking downright frightened.

“Yeah, it’s freaky as fuck.” William’s wide, worried eyes stayed glued to mine in an almost creepy manner.

“What the hell? Are you serious? You don’t think it’s the serial killer , do you?” I slipped out from beneath my blanket, being careful not to disturb the cats.

“I don’t know. I doubt it. But I really don’t have a good feeling about them.” Lacey’s voice trembled as she peered out my window with a look of concern, searching for whoever was out there.

“You should come see.” William took my hand and then Lacey’s, too.

The three of us tiptoed hand in hand down the stairs in our pajamas. I peeked over my shoulder a few times because of the ominous feeling of being followed. Of course, I saw nothing, though. We crept across the dark living room like a gang of secret agents, then quickly stood with our backs flat against the wall, all in a row next to the window.

“William, you’re the man of the house, so you should look first,” Lacey whispered.

“Bitch, please, you and I both know how laughable that statement is,” he whispered back with a sassy tone.

“You guys are ridiculous,” I grumbled while rolling my eyes.

I slowly leaned over, glancing out the window to see what all the hullabaloo was about. The yard was dark under the moonless night. I could barely make out the almost empty trees blowing in the wind against the starry sky. My eyes scanned around the slightly more visible areas on the lawn. However, I found no sign of anyone. I’d have bet that if it weren’t so cold out, crickets would have been chirping.

“Is this a prank? I don’t see anyone.” I gestured out the window and glanced over at my worry-stricken friends with an expression that said, “you guys seriously woke me up for this crap?”

William and Lacey joined in behind me like a couple of spooked house cats. Lacey’s hand trembled as she placed it on my shoulder. The three of us stared out into the empty yard together. “They were just out here,” Lacey said, her voice barely rising above a whisper.

“Shh, shhh, shhhhh!” William frantically shushed as a tall, skeletally thin, and deathly pale girl limped into view.

Filthy blond hair hung in stringy tangles around her sunken, lifeless face. She wore a disgusting, tattered white dress with no shoes on her grimy feet. The way she walked reminded me of the deranged shuffling of a zombie. Her head and upper body swayed limply while her feet tottered without coordination across the cold, dying grass. An immobilizing sense of dread washed over me as I took in the harrowing sight of her.

“What the fuck?” I whispered, staring fearfully through the slightly fogged glass.

Her head snapped up, and she looked directly at me with an eerie gaze. It was as if she had somehow heard my voice, pinning my exact location by mere whispered words alone. The three of us jumped in fright. Then her jaw dropped open in a loose gape and she let out the loudest, most horrifying banshee screech imaginable. She then sprinted toward us at full speed like an Olympic gold medalist.

All of us screamed and began to panic in utter terror. “Fucking fuck! Everyone get the fuck away from the fucking window!” William screamed while swooping Lacey and me up with his long, slender arms like a mother seagull ushering its chicks to safety.

We frantically scrambled away from the window and over to the wall on the opposite side of the room. William tripped on the throw rug on the way over and desperately half-crawled the rest of the way. Glass shattered with a deafening crash. Large, jagged shards went flying all over the room, somehow missing us, as if some magical force had shielded our quivering bodies. We huddled together, whimpering in terror, as low, otherworldly snarls came from right outside the window. I knew that staying put was the stupidest thing to do, but my mind was too clouded by fear for me to move.

A gangly, pale arm inched its way up and latched its sickly hand onto the windowsill like a hookworm. The girl slowly dragged her bony, malnourished body up through the window with stiff, jerky, and unnatural movements. She was completely unbothered as the sharp shards of glass sliced into her papery skin, causing darker than normal blood to drip beneath the window. She grinned at us with malice, her mouth full of black, oozing slime. Her nightmarish eyes were completely black, sunken, and hollow, with black veins webbing out around them and down her cheeks.

“Oh fuck! Oh fuck! Oh fuck!” William shrieked in horror while grasping me like his life depended on it. Lacey and I both screamed and clung to each other, sitting petrified against the wall. Hysteria overwhelmed my senses, and hot tears streamed down my cheeks. The girl looked like a soulless corpse as she crawled in and stood before us. Thick, dark trickles of blood dripped down her body; yet still, she grinned.

Lacey swiftly reached up onto an end table next to us and grabbed a decorative lamp. “Die, bitch! Die!” she screamed as she threw it at the malevolent intruder with all her might.

“My favorite lamp!” William yelled in desperation with an outstretched arm.

The lamp bounced off the girl with no effect and hit the floor with a clunk. She looked right at me with her unsettling crooked grin and slowly pointed a long gnarled finger my way. “Oh, Gwendolyn,” she sang in a creepy, hushed voice. “The father’s waiting for you,” she hissed with a distorted, evil smile. Then she began limping quickly toward me while snarling like a rabid animal.

All three of us cried hysterically and screamed in absolute horror. We held on to each other for dear life, cowering and bracing for the worst. Both Lacey and William had bruising death grips on me. It was as if they would not let this sinister, undead hobgoblin lady drag me away to her repugnant father, in their ramshackle swamp hut made of putrid bones, or wherever the fuck they were from.

She halted with a look of aggravation on her face, and then let out a harrowing shriek that could have split my skull. Her body convulsed in what seemed like agonizing pain. I covered my ears, shock and disbelief filling me as five deep gashes materialized over her face. With loud popping noises, invisible spikes seemed to drive into her skull. She then began literally levitating up off the floor, like a demon-possessed child in a shitty horror film, while flailing her bloodied limbs and screeching out in anguish.

I desperately tried to crawl further back against the wall. My eyes felt like they were bulging out of my head as I watched in terror and bewilderment. There was a loud crunch and a pop as her torso tore right off her hips. Rancid blood, guts, and black slime sprayed all over the room like an erratic sprinkler system. It looked as though an invisible force had ripped her at her waist, splitting her right in two. Both halves of her sickly body then fell to the floor with a heavy thud.

What the actual fuck is happening right now!?

William and Lacey were hysterical, screaming their fucking heads off. I, however, went into a state of complete shock. Time seemed to stand still as I watched her black eyes eerily shift to look at me from the bloody floor. Her hand reached out weakly in my direction. “Gwen — “ she tried to rasp out, right before her head exploded with a splash of brain matter and blood. It looked as if some invisible person had curb-stomped a ripe watermelon.

“What the actual fuck!” Lacey screamed while shaking me, breaking me out of my shocked trance.

“How is this possible? This can’t be real life! This literally can’t be real fucking life!” I panicked. My lungs felt tight, and my heart raced, causing me to gasp for breath. The stench of decay was suffocating, and a freezing breeze swept in through the broken window.

“Is she dead!?” William asked, right before leaning to the side and throwing up on the floor. He then ran into the bathroom to rinse his mouth out in disgust. Lacey and I were both trembling as we stared at the gruesome scene and the mutilated corpse in disbelief. “Let’s grab the cats and get the living fuck out of here right now!” William screeched from the bathroom doorway.

He was right. We had to get out of this house! Adrenaline kicked in and I took off running up to my bedroom, with William following right behind me. We ripped the peacefully slumbering kitties from the bed, with some confused meows, then darted back downstairs. Lacey already had her shoes on and her car keys in hand.

“Let’s go!” she said, and she opened the door.

We warily peeked around the yard for a moment, then the three of us all made a crazed dash for Lacey’s little red car. I jumped into the passenger seat while holding Pepper Paws tightly in my arms. William had Esquire’s plump body on his lap in the middle back seat. Lacey tore out of the driveway fast enough to catch fire, with the tires skidding on the rocky dirt below.

We sat in silent shock as the tires crunched over cracked asphalt. The headlights illuminated the foggy road, and I couldn’t help but half-expect another decrepit person to jump out in front of us. My wide, vacant eyes were glued to the maple leaf-shaped air freshener as it swung side to side from the rearview mirror, as if it were hypnotizing me. Esquire was yowling in the back, and Pepper Paws squirmed in my arms.

“What the fuck even was that!” Lacey yelled, with tears streaming down her cheeks as she slammed her fists on the steering wheel. I jumped from the suddenness of it.

“That was like, a literal motherfucking demon zombie.” William covered his face with a shaky hand.

“Yeah, but it fucking levitated and then... and then... ugh! Where do we even go and what do we do!? Should we go to the police station?” she asked through her tears.

“Yeah, let’s go to the fucking police station. I don’t think we really have a choice since, you know, there’s a dead, mutilated fucking zombie corpse in our fucking living room right now!” he dramatically exclaimed. “Oliver better not give us any more shit for believing in zombies after this!”

“What about the cats?” she asked. “We can’t take them there, can we?”

“Let’s take them to Ashton’s house. We’re already heading in that direction, plus I really want to see him right now.” I finally spoke up. It felt like I was trapped in a shocked daze, unsure if all this was real or not.

“He won’t mind that we’re waking him up at 2:38 in the morning, will he?” she asked while pointing to the clock.

“I doubt it. He’s pretty reasonable, and I think he’d want us to go to him for help.” I shakily brushed a strand of hair behind my ear.

“Alright, let’s go to Ashton’s then.” She shrugged and took the next turn.

The long driveway cut through the thick misty forest like a winding river of gravel. Lacey rolled the car up and parked next to Ashton’s black sedan. The headlights illuminated the large Victorian house, which no longer looked like a dilapidated house of horrors, but rather a beautiful and well-kept home, thanks to Ashton’s immense efforts to fix the place up. We jumped out of the car, then rushed along the cobblestone path and up onto the porch. I banged on the door, hoping to wake him up.

“What’s his number? Maybe I could call him,” Lacey asked, glancing around with unease.

“He doesn’t have a phone. He claims he doesn’t need such a stupid, worthless device . He lives like an old fogy.” Just as I finished speaking, Ashton opened the door with a concerned expression and raised a brow.

“Hey, is everything all right?” No one answered him. We just stood there, dumbstruck and unsure of what to say, while staring with pale, terror-stricken faces. “Come in?” He stepped to the side and motioned for us to enter.

William barged through the door first. “Oh my fucking god! You’re not going to fucking believe us!” Lacey followed in after him, and Ashton put an arm around me to guide me inside as well. In the back of my mind, I realized just how weird it was for us to show up unexpectedly during the wee hours of the morning, wearing our dorky pajamas while clutching our cats and looking terrified. But I didn’t care.

“Is everything all right?” he asked again as he shut the door behind us.

“I—I—I,” I sounded like a broken record. I couldn’t form the words to explain the unnatural occurrence we had just witnessed.

“Alright, well, why don’t we all go into the living room?” He ushered me across the foyer and into the living room, with Lacey and William following behind us.

A warm crackling fire was lit in the fireplace, with Belzar cozily curled up in front of it. “Belzar, you should go upstairs.” Ashton looked at him while pointing through the wide archway. Belzar tilted his head and gave Ashton an annoyed, groan-like whine. “Don’t give me that sass. You’ll terrify the poor cats if you stay down here!” Ashton scowled at him. With a small whine, he reluctantly got up and pranced out the door. The sound of his clicking nails echoed throughout the quiet house as he went upstairs.

William placed Esquire on the couch and then bent over while gripping his knees, as if he were catching his breath after running a marathon. Esquire was freaked out by his new surroundings and quickly jumped down to the floor. He then tried to shimmy under the couch to hide. However, he was a bit too fat to fit, so only his front half squeezed under there, while his back paws pathetically tried to propel him forward. I stood by Lacey, not daring to put Pepper Paws down.

“ Wooo, oh man! I need to get a fucking grip!” William said to himself while shaking his head from side to side, still hunched over. His messy hair fell from his bun in disarray, adding to his distressed, whacked-out appearance.

“What happened?” Ashton asked in a gentle tone while placing a comforting hand on my back.

William began to flail his arms while running all over the room like an absolute madman as he tried to explain. “There was this fucking Night of the Living Dead-looking—THING—this fucking girl! She had fucking soulless black eyes and black goop dripping from her mouth! She leapt through our fucking living room window! Then she levitated up into the fucking air and fucking exploded!”

“William, I think you should try to take some deep breaths and calm — “

“I’m not crazy! I know I sound crazy, but I’m not fucking crazy!” William cut Ashton off, hysterically yelling and staring at him with crazed eyes. He latched onto Ashton’s shirt, raving like an absolute loon.

“Breathe, William! Breathe!” Ashton grabbed onto his shoulders, since he was freaking the fuck out, and led him to the couch.

William laid on his back, with one knee bent like a horizontal flamingo, while hyperventilating. Lacey had an arm around me, as we both stood there, traumatized and trembling, with tears streaming down our cheeks. Ashton walked over and gently took one of our hands in each of his, with a compassionate smile. “Never mind, you don’t need to explain. Just tell me how I can help.” His eyes shifted back and forth between the two of us.

“The cats. We need you to watch the cats while we go to the police. Can they stay here?” Lacey asked through her tears.

“Yes, of course.” He then looked at me. “Gwendolyn, I want you to stay here as well.” He squeezed my hand.

“But Ashton, they’ll want to hear my part of the story too,” I shakily whispered.

“I know. We’ll go in the morning when you’re not so distraught. But you’re staying here tonight.” He brushed a tear from my cheek with an authoritative look. “You two are welcome to spend the night here as well if you’d like,” he added while glancing at Lacey, then William.

“We should go,” Lacey said while shaking her head. “But can we come back once we’re done there? I don’t want to wake anyone else up tonight.”

“Of course, I’ll stay up and wait for you to return,” Ashton smiled warmly at her.

“Alright, let’s get this shit over with then,” William said as he got off the couch.

We hugged Lacey and William goodbye, and I stared with frightened, teary eyes out the foyer window as Lacey’s car rolled back down the driveway. Ashton held me from behind in a comforting embrace, and I held Pepper Paws tightly in my arms.

The fire crackled, and the wind howled with an eerie timbre. I had spent the last hour pacing back and forth while anxiously glancing out the windows, trying my best to explain what happened to Ashton. The only part I left out was when that girl called out my name. My body was still shaking like a leaf, and I was crying on and off. I couldn’t bring myself to say that bit out loud just yet. It would only make everything so much more real. And that she wanted me specifically was downright terrifying.

“No one’s out there. You can stop checking,” Ashton said from the couch, as I peeked out the window for the millionth time. “Now, come here.” He held out his hand, beckoning me to him. The warm light from the fire reflected in his amber eyes, making them look like two citrine gems as they stared at me.

“You probably think we’re crazy, don’t you?” I asked through my sobs in a faint voice.

He got up and walked over to me. “No, I don’t. I believe everything you’ve told me.” He swooped me up and carried me back to the couch, hugging me on his lap.

“She wanted me... She called out my name and told me that ‘the father’ was waiting for me.” I sobbed into his chest, unable to hold it in any longer.

“I know, I know,” he breathed as he brushed my tears away. I furrowed my brows in confusion because I knew I hadn’t told him that yet. “You already told me,” he quickly added.

Huh? I guess I must have told him while everything was still a panicked blur.

We stayed quiet for a while, with him kissing my head and caressing my arm. I was still terrified, but felt far more secure in his embrace.

“I want you to stay here.” His deep voice broke through the silence.

I looked up into his loving gaze with my teary eyes. “I already am?”

“No, I mean I want you to live here, in this house, with me.” He brushed my hair behind my ear. “I want to be able to protect you and keep you safe.”

Wait a minute... Does he seriously want me to move in with him?

It would be a huge step in our relationship that I wasn’t quite sure we were ready for. My feelings for him were very strong; however, we’d only been together for a measly month and a half. Plus, what about William and Lacey, or Pepper Paws? But could I really go back to that house and sleep soundly at night after what had just happened? Definitely not.

“Well, um, what about Pepper Paws?” I asked while fidgeting with a lock of his raven hair.

“He can live here, too. I know Belzar’s a bit intimidating, but he’d never hurt your cat, if that’s what you’re worried about,” he reassured, while looking down at me.

I glanced over at Pepper Paws and Esquire. They were huddled together in the far corner near some books. “I don’t know. This is a pretty big step to take, don’t you think?”

“Yes, I do. But it’s a big step that I want to take with you, eventually. These circumstances have just hastened the timing on it, that’s all.” He brought my hand up to his mouth and gave it a kiss.

My heart rate quickened with both excitement and anxiety. I had never lived with a significant other before, but I had also never been with someone who took our relationship so seriously. I wasn’t sure how Lacey and William would react, but I decided to take the plunge. “Okay, I’ll move in with you.” I smiled up at him.

An almost wicked-looking grin stretched across his lips. The firelight danced over his features, making me feel as though I had just made a deal with the devil. “Excellent. We’ll gather some of your things in the morning.” He gave me a lingering kiss, then held me tighter against his chest. His soft hair fell over his shoulder and enveloped me like a midnight cloak. I still thought it was way too soon for such a commitment, but I trusted it would all work out. “Sleep,” he said in a soft voice. My eyes became too heavy to keep open, and I fell asleep while still sitting wrapped up in his arms.