Author: katebluestockings

Darkness haunted every step I took, obscuring the cave as I walked forward, torch hissing in the air. Other than my crimson flames, nothing but pitch black greeted my eyes. A cool air crept up my back, sending gooseflesh down my arms, as I walked through the cavern, stopping only to examine the two ways forward.

The pathway to the right, once illuminated, revealed rocks and fallen debris, but a clean way forward. The second whispered of scuttling, webbing guarding its opening. I grimaced and stepped forward, lowering my torch and ducking beneath the web.

The tunnel beyond seemed alive. Every surface was covered in sticky web that wafted as I moved by, sending spiderlings scattering. Their black bodies shone ruby in the firelight. A smile tugged at my lips as a palm sized spider landed on my shoulder, caressing the bare skin softly as she moved closer to my hair.

Everything, from spider to spiderling, scattered as I entered a larger cavern. Some were the size of my horse, scaling the walls rapidly and disappearing into the darkness above me. My light barely illuminated the creatures above me, showing me only the white web that hid their bodies. Nothing dared come closer with the torch flickering beside me. Read more »

Slick black blood slid down my arm and dripped off of my elbow, creating a puddle at my bare feet. The ocean coursed behind my beast, thundering on rocky crags. No words slipped past my lips, for their name was forbidden. No one dared whisper the word for fear of their wrath.

Ropey muscle covered each inch of their body. My fingers grazed over the muscular cheek, the thick ebony blood coating my pale skin as I moved. The horses maw gaped, the scent of death filling the air around us. It did not move as I did what no other had.

I pressed my lips to the equine cheek, soft and tender. Its body quivered, each muscle contracting and releasing beneath my hand. A strange low howl came from the humanoid head on the torso. I looked into their eyes and smirked before letting my tongue flick over the horse’s cheek.

The tang of rotten blood blossomed in my mouth. The beast stood still, considering, but I dared not relent. Fingers pressed forward, exploring the equine neck and shoulders, rubbing and caressing as I went. Each touch squelched with the natural lubricant that covered the creature’s skin. Read more »

The candlelight flickered, casting shadows over the altar. Tree branches quivered in the cool wind, clattering against one another. Fire warmed the air behind me, illuminating the effigy and the etched lines of a star in the stone. The air was still, nothing but the snapping hunger of the flames and my shallow disturbed the peace.

My lips moved, muttering the words I had been given by those who now refused to wander the woods. They had locked away their women, anyone whom they claimed had come back defiant and defiled. The words hung in the air, shivering in the candlelight before darkness consumed every flame leaving me in the pitch of night.

I felt their presence and saw nothing but the black night. Stars shimmered above as I turned my head only to see more nothing. 

“Another who wishes to be freed.” It was a statement, not a question. Long nailed fingers touched my hair, sliding down the loose strands to my shoulder. “Such freedom I will give you, child.” Their hoofs crushed the dead leaves below as they walked behind me.

“Is that what you want, Baphomet?” Read more »

My fingers caressed the red string as I walked, bare feet moving me between walls of the labyrinth. Bones lingered in the shadows while bloody rags deteriorated on the skeletons. Silence hung in the air, save for the vibrating grumbles that shook the ground the closer to the centre I got.

His rumbles sent shivers up my spine as I placed a hand against the wall, light tumbling into the darkness from within the heart of the Labyrinth. He had been banished here, fed the flesh of the living, moulded into a monster for a man’s amusement. I pulled in a deep breath, steeled myself, then turned the corner.

The minotaur stood, tall and broad, the scent of beast lingering in the air. His back rippled with his breathing, great horns rising skyward to the heavens. Fur ran the length of him, glimmering copper from the fire he stood before, impressive form silhouetted. I wondered if he knew I was searching for him as his tail swished over his naked back. Read more »

The mist rolled in around me, sending a chill up my spine and spreading goosebumps over my flesh. The woods were haunted, they said. That *he* would come, galloping through the night, and sever any hold on life I had. Who could resist such a fairy tale?

I stood amongst the twisted blackened trees, a hundred years of history pressing against me when I first heard it. Thunder shook the earth, sending vibrations through my feet. The horse moved as a shadow, thudding towards me, its rider silent and fierce, carrying his own head in one ghostly hand.

But unlike any before me, save those strange witches in tales, I didn’t flinch. I stood, hands at my side, eagerness in my eyes as he approached. The spinal whip he carried clattered in his hand as the horse reared in the moonlight, a perfect silhouette of fear and death.

Dead eyes stared down at me, vacant and soulless. “You must be lonely,” I whispered to his face before looking up at the animated body. The horse froze as my hand touched his neck, nostrils flaring in sudden surprise. One great hoof stomped on the ground. The rider tilted his torso as though to look down on me. Read more »