Showing posts with label demons. Show all posts
Showing posts with label demons. Show all posts

Thursday, September 17, 2015

Monstrous Obsession

by Giselle Renarde

This fortnight's topic is personal demons. Since I'm practically perfect in every way (HA!) I guess I'll just have to post an excerpt from my demonic possession novella Monstrous Obsession.

Artemis has never relied on a man for anything. When she moves in with her biker boyfriend, she worries she’s losing her independence. The moment she sets foot inside Budd’s big house, she realizes something demonic lives there. Artemis needs help. Can she learn to accept it from the man who loves her... before it's too late?


Until Budd turned out the lights, the atmosphere in the bedroom felt safe and protected.  Once darkness had fallen, all bets were off.  He slept on his side, facing away from her, and she wished he’d roll over, take her in his arms.
Artemis had never, in her entire life, felt so alone.
On top of the aching loneliness, she knew it was watching.  She didn’t know what it was, but she sensed its presence in the room, like a haze. Not a visible mist or fog, but dense, hot energy.  The force made it hard to breathe.  And moving?  That was out of the question.  Its haunting presence held her down.
In her mind, she asked, “Who are you?  What do you want?”
She heard him laughing.  He was inside her head, hearing her thoughts and feeling her fear.  Never in her life had she felt so invaded.
“Get out of me,” she said, panicking, struggling to move. “Get out!”
The laughter grew more resonant, until it vibrated in her belly.  It wasn’t just an impression on her mind anymore.  He’d found a way inside her body.
“Get out!”
This time, instead of laughing, the creature spoke from deep inside her. “Darling, I’m just getting started.”
Just getting started?  What was that supposed to mean?
Before the monstrous entity could offer any clue, it rose from her body like morning mist burning off an open field.
And then the room went quiet.
Not an eerie quiet.  Not a scary quiet.  Just a silent night beside her boyfriend quiet.  No suggestion of anything malevolent.  The air cleared so thoroughly she wondered if she’d imagined it all.  Really, she had no reasonable proof the creature existed.  Maybe she was scared of life with Budd and Vincent, and fear created monsters in her mind.
Artemis sat up, feeling more than a little proud of herself.  She’d defeated a psychological demon.  Good for her! 
Hopping out of bed, she tossed Budd’s T-shirt over her head and went to the bathroom for a midnight pee.  Mmm… his top smelled like him, and she savoured the scent as she grabbed a wad of toilet paper.  When she wiped… well, that was weird.  Why was she so wet down there?  And not pee-wet.  Arousal wet.  It just kept coming.
Artemis gave up and walked back to the bedroom, feeling slick between the thighs.  Very weird.  Not that she had trouble getting turned on, just that her arousal was usually inspired by… well, something.
When she arrived at the bedroom door, Budd sat up against the headboard.
“Sorry,” Artemis said.  “Did I wake you?”
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/monstrous-obsession-giselle-renarde/1119459287
The atmosphere changed in an instant.  An intense dread knotted in the pit of her stomach.  The bedroom made her dizzy, like if she stepped inside she’d get swept into a vortex.
“Budd?” she called to the shadow in bed.  “Are you okay, babe?”
His eyes flashed a venomous red, and Artemis shrieked.  Her impulse was to run far, far away, but her feet wouldn’t move.  They were like blocks of concrete, trapping her in the doorway. Her heart refused to beat.  If she could just keep quiet, maybe she’d become invisible. 
Maybe…
The dark form leapt from their bed, and she tried to see Budd beyond it, but no… the creature closing in on her was Budd.  He heaved his huge arms around her and lifted her off the ground.
“Budd? What are you doing?”  Artemis wouldn’t normally have been afraid of her boyfriend, but this wasn’t her boyfriend. “Put me down.”
The breath on her neck blazed hot as hell.  It smelled like decomposition. Artemis kicked her feet, but no use.  Her toes didn’t even touch the floor.  This thing, whatever it was, had gotten inside Budd. It was using his massive strength against her, and she had a terrifying feeling she knew what came next.
“Stop struggling,” said a voice that wasn’t Budd’s.  Its depths resonated inside her belly, and she tried not to feel that feeling, but she couldn’t help it.  She couldn’t keep him out.  “Hold still.”
He tossed her on the bed, which should have spelled escape, but once she was facedown on the crumpled comforter, she couldn’t move.  Her muscles froze, hands on either side of her head, legs off the bed, feet on the floor.  Her ass stuck straight up in the air…
“Stop it,” she said in her mind, because the words wouldn’t come out her mouth.  “Let me go.  Let Budd go.”
She didn’t know what kind of force she was communicating with, but she knew it wasn’t good. It disregarded her plea and pulled up the hem of Budd’s T-shirt.  “Let’s get a look at your pussy.”
Budd pushed her legs so far apart her hips popped.  The hands were Budd’s, but the touch wasn’t.  She knew what it felt like when he stroked her, when he caressed her.  And it wasn’t this.
When his fingers entered her from behind, her pussy clamped.  He was rough with her.  The way he jammed those fingers—how many, two?—in her cunt made her feel like her body was public property.  It wasn’t hers anymore.  She had no say over what happened to it, what entered it.  The monster made that decision.
In her mind, he said, “You must have been waiting for me.  I’ve never felt such a wet and ready pussy.”
“Stop touching me,” she pleaded, though she still couldn’t speak.
“Why?”  The demonic voice echoed not only through her body, but around the room.  “Your nasty little snatch is begging for it.”
“Who are you?” she asked, desperately.
“Me?”  He feigned innocence.  “Why, I’m your loving boyfriend, Budd.  Don’t you recognize me, Artemis?”
“You’re not Budd,” she growled.  Why couldn’t she move?  Why couldn’t she raise her foot off the ground and kick him in the balls?  “Budd would never treat me this way.”
“No?”  The creature cackled as it removed Budd’s big fingers from between her legs.  “And I’m sure you’d never lie to your loving boyfriend.”
“Of course I wouldn’t lie to him.”  Artemis tried with all her might to escape the monster’s mental clutches, but she couldn’t move a muscle.  She couldn’t even cry.  “Let me go.  Let me move!”
The nameless monster found her pussy with… what was that?  Budd’s cock.  Yes, she recognized the sensation.  He slid Budd’s cockhead the length of her slick, wet pussy lips.  When it connected with her clit, she gasped.  She didn’t want to feel good at a time like this, but her body insisted.
“Oh god!”  She tried to bite her bottom lip, but she couldn’t even do that. “Stop it.”
“You said you were ragging,” the monster chuckled.  “I don’t see any blood between your legs.”
Artemis felt her cheeks prickle.
“You lied to your boyfriend.”
What could she say?  The monster was right.  “I didn’t want to hurt his feelings.”
“And you had to lie?”
Rage surged through Artemis’s chest.  “It’s your damn fault.  You licked me!  You made me feel gross.  So don’t go blaming me, you bastard.  You fearful, cowardly bastard who won’t even tell me your goddamn name!”
“My name?”  He spoke gently, but grabbed her hips, rough as a lumberjack.  “My name is Budd.  I’m your boyfriend.”
“No you’re not!”
His cockhead throbbed at the entrance to her cunt, and the longer he waited to fuck her, the more her engorged pussy grasped it.  Her cunt couldn’t distinguish between the real Budd and this disgusting creature pretending to be him. 
“Your pussy is drooling for cock,” the monster said, mocking her.
“That’s not my fault,” she begged.  “It thinks you’re Budd.  It doesn’t know the difference.”
“But, Artemis…”  One hand trailed slowly across her back, sending shivers down her spine.  “I am Budd.”
He didn’t hesitate after that.  Lurching between her legs, he thrust Budd’s cock inside her waiting cunt. Her traitorous body accepted him with open arms.
“Oh, you like this.  I can tell.”  The creature controlling her boyfriend dipped his swollen tip inside her, dabbling in the shallows, teasing.  “Ooh, your pussy’s grasping for more, sucking me in.  And you said you didn’t want me tonight.”
“I don’t want you,” Artemis screamed, in her head.  “I don’t want you ever.  Let go of me and let go of my boyfriend.”
“That’s not what you want,” the monster said, in almost a soothing tone. “You want more.”
He slammed Budd’s cock in her cunt so hard she found her voice—her real voice—and screamed loud enough that it echoed through the house.
“Now, now.  Don’t wake the neighbours.”
The monster bashed Budd’s body into hers again, jerking her thighs against the side of the mattress.  “Oww, stop!  It hurts!”
This time, the words came out of her mouth. Actual, real words!  She could speak!
“Pain is just the beginning.”  The creature controlling her boyfriend punished her pussy with that hard-to-handle cock.  Budd’s front bashed against her butt so hard she’d be bruised inside and out, come morning.  “Well, now, look at this gaping asshole.”
“No,” she said, desperately.  “No, no, no.  I mean it.”
Didn’t matter what she said.  He wasn’t about to stop.  Drawing pussy juice up from below, he shoved Budd’s thumb in her ass.
“Don’t!” she screamed, but her body was saying something different.
The monster cackled.  “Your asshole is sucking my thumb!  What do you make of that?”
“It doesn’t know what it’s doing,” Artemis cried.  After all this time, there were tears in her eyes.  Finally!  “Stop it.  Please stop!”
“But you like it.  Your body’s telling me so.  It’s telling me it wants more.”
“Don’t listen to my body. Listen to me.”
He shoved a second thumb in her hole.  How was he doing that?  Budd’s fingers were huge!  Artemis screamed as he opened her ass, stretched it wide.  And then he leaned forward and spit in it, spit in her ass.  The slick glob landed right inside, spreading heat down her blazing hole.
“No,” she said, firmly.  “Don’t do it.  I’m serious.  I don’t want it.”
“Not even from your loving boyfriend, Budd?” the monster teased.
“You’re not my boyfriend.”  Artemis struggled to move, but it was no use.  “You think you can fool me?  Well, I know Budd.  You are definitely not him.”
“Oh, ye of little faith…” 
The creature in Budd’s body slid that thick dick from her pussy. It sprang up, like it knew just where to go next.
“Please don’t.”  She was serious.  Budd’s dick was too big.  “Don’t do it.  You’ll hurt me.”
Who was she kidding?  She already more hurt than she’d ever hurt in her life—psychologically, if not physically.  She struggled to get away from him, but she was stuck.  Absolutely couldn’t move.
“It’ll only hurt for a moment,” the monster said, and spit again.  “Then, it’ll feel… you’ll see.”
“I don’t want to see.”  She tried to kick, but nothing happened.  “I don’t want to!”
Budd’s thumbs tugged her asshole wider, and they didn’t let go until he’d lodged his slick cockhead inside.
Then he let go.
When his thumbs disappeared, the elastic ring of her anus closed around Budd’s pulsing cockhead.  She could feel his heartbeat in her ass, and it throbbed wildly—nothing like Budd’s usual regulated pulse.  After falling asleep so many times with her head on his massive chest, she knew what she should hear.  But that creature definitely had a hold on Budd’s heart, forcing it to behave as wildly as his body.
He pushed forward, driving his mushroom head past the tight spot.  It’s not like Artemis had never been fucked up the ass before.  She had.  But by smaller cocks. Artemis shrieked when the monster rammed Budd’s too-big erection deeper inside her asshole.  She wasn’t ready for it.  She’d never be ready for a fuck like this.  Budd was a huge, hulking guy on the outside, but, inside, he was a teddy bear. He’d never just take her.  He’d stop if she said no.
Now it didn’t matter how much she begged and pleaded.  There was a monster controlling Budd’s body, and that disgusting, perverted thing would take whatever it wanted.
“It hurts,” Artemis said, as Budd’s cock stretched her ass to its limits.  “You have to stop. Please!”
“It’ll hurt just as much coming out,” the creature reasoned.  “Might as well enjoy it while it lasts.”
“How could I ever enjoy this?” Artemis screamed.  With every word, her ass clamped harder around Budd’s generous shaft.  God help her, it actually felt good.  Not that she’d tell him that.
Of course, she didn’t have to.  The creature could read her mind.  He said, “See?  I told you you’d like it.”
“I don’t like it,” she snapped.  “I hate it.  I hate you, whoever you are.”
“You’ll love me, soon enough.”  He laughed, and his laughter was a wild thing tearing her body, streaking through it as forcefully as Budd’s dick rammed her ass.  “It won’t take long, my darling.  Soon you’ll beg for more.”
“No, I won’t.”  Artemis spilled tears all over the comforter, and not because her ass felt like it was being assaulted by a red-hot poker… because she held such a tenuous grasp on her hatred. “Please!”
“Please what?” the monster asked, like a challenge, like it knew instinctively what she desired.  “Please fuck you harder?  Is that what you want, darling?”
It gave her a chill when he called her darling, but he’d been right when he said it would only hurt at first.  Well, that wasn’t exactly true.  Her asshole ached. It wasn’t used to being stretched so wide.  But…
“Oh god.”  Artemis dried her tears on the bedspread.  She gulped in desperate breaths as he rammed.  “I can’t… oh god!”
“You can’t what?” he growled.  “Can’t breathe?  Can’t move?  Can’t keep yourself from coming?”
She whined into the tear-stained comforter. She didn’t want it to feel so good, but Budd’s body was her favourite plaything, whoever controlled it.
Budd’s hands grasped her hips much harder than they normally would.  She’d be bruised all over, and Budd would probably ask how it happened. 
How could she tell her boyfriend he’d fucked her ass without knowing it?  He’d think she was crazy.
“Come on my crack,” she cried, as the monster rubbed Budd’s palms up and down her cheeks.  He reached under her, then.  Reached under Budd’s T-shirt and squeezed her tits so hard it hurt.  “Oh god!  I’m ready.  I want it all over my skin.”
“I knew you’d come around.” He pulled Budd’s swollen dick from her poor, tortured asshole.
He was right.  It hurt coming out, though not as badly as it had going in.  When his cockhead got close to her ass ring, she clamped down hard, trapping him inside.  It felt so good when she milked that thick dick that she didn’t stop.  She just kept stroking his fat tip with her ass ring until her body burst into climax.
The monster panted.  “You’ll make this weak body come.”
“This one too,” Artemis confessed.
She’d never reached orgasm through anal penetration, but there was a first time for everything.
“Oh god!”  She tried throwing her ass back into the saddle of his hips, but the only muscles she could control were the ones in her mouth and her ass.  “I’m coming.  I’m coming.  I’m… OH!”
Just as her body buzzed with the rampant sizzle of orgasm, a familiar voice emerged from behind Budd’s naked body.
“What did I tell you pervs about closing the door?”  Vincent slammed it shut.  The monstrous spell must have broken in that split second, because Artemis was able to turn entirely around.  As her robe swung on the door’s hook, Vincent shouted, “And keep your voices down.  I could hear you from the lawn.”
“Shit,” Artemis said, though she was so confounded she didn’t know what to think.
Budd gazed at her in the moonlight, his eyes shimmering with humanity and confusion. “What happened?”  He looked down at his naked body.  “Did we have sex?”
Artemis nodded.
“I was asleep, I guess.”  Budd chuckled.  “I don’t remember a second of it.  Was it good?”
“Yeah,” she said.  “It was… yeah, it was really good.”

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

The Demon Inside Me

 My apologies for the lateness of this post, and also hurriedly taken from a book I wrote about demon possesion - I'll try to be original next time around!!

This is from Blood Lust - vampires and demons and mortals, oh my... Tommy's in love with a vampire, but uncertain of their future together. He goes to a tarot reading in the hope that a possible solution could be found. He meets a little old lady, Sylvia, in the elevator on his way to where the reading will be held...



***
 
Sylvia rapped loudly on Lorna’s door and it was immediately swung open, a tall, dark-haired man framed in the doorway.
“Welcome, Sylvia.” His beaming smile was wasted on the old lady who swept by him as if he wasn’t actually there. Dark Hair gave Tommy an appraising look. “And you are?”
“Tommy. I’m a friend of Lorna’s. I work with her brother, Alex.”
“Oh yes. Lorna said you were coming tonight. I’m Arturo.” He held out his hand and Tommy shook it, trying not to show his annoyance at the blatant way Arturo prolonged their handshake.
“Yeah, pleased to meet you.” Not. Jeez, who the heck are these people Lorna’s got herself mixed up with?
He entered the apartment, twitching his nose at the strong aroma of incense. Lorna was talking to Sylvia but waved and smiled when she saw him. There were one or two other people standing around.
“Like a drink?” Arturo was at his side, a hand on his shoulder.
“Uh, yeah…” Tommy didn’t want to appear rude so he resisted the impulse to shake off Arturo’s hand. The guy creeped him out. “A beer if you have it.”
“Sure thing.”
Arturo disappeared, presumably to get the beer, and Tommy walked over to where Lorna was listening intently to whatever Sylvia was telling her. They broke off their conversation as Tommy approached.
Lorna hugged him. “I was surprised when Alex said you wanted to come to one of these,” she whispered close to his ear.
“Well, I didn’t know it was going to be a séance. Don’t know if I’m into that stuff. I told Alex I was just kinda curious about the tarot thing, but if you’re not doin’ that I can come another time.”
He really wanted to get the hell out of there. Lorna appeared different tonight, and she looked…unfocused was the only word he could think of to describe her. Her eyes didn’t quite meet his and she seemed to be preoccupied…worried.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
Alex hadn’t mentioned his sister was sick, but then Alex didn’t see her on a regular basis.
“Too many weird friends,” Alex had told him once.
And they all seem to be here tonight…
“Fine, just fine.” She gave him a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “You’ve met Sylvia, I understand, and Arturo.” She waved the other couple over. “This is Amy and Caleb. Meet Tommy Cordain. He’s a firefighter—works with my brother, Alex.”
Amy and Caleb murmured some kind of greeting then drifted away again as Arturo showed up with a bottle of beer. Tommy had the distinct impression from the way Arturo was hanging around him that the man wanted to get a whole lot cozier than Tommy would ever allow.
“Shall we begin then?” Arturo seemed to snap to attention when Sylvia’s voice, her demanding tone belying her age and frail appearance, sliced through the room. She marched over to the table covered with a dark green cloth and surrounded by six chairs. “We’ll start with the reading since that’s what our handsome firefighter has come for—then we shall see.”
See what? Tommy frowned. Soon as this reading’s over I’m outta here.
Lorna handed Sylvia a pack of cards which she expertly fanned out in front of her, face down.
“So, Tommy, place your forefinger on five of these cards.”
Tommy reached out, hesitated for a moment then placed his fingertip on one card, following quickly with four more.
Let’s get this over with…
Sylvia picked up each card after he’d touched them then shuffled the cards without looking at them. While she moved the cards back and forth in her hands, she stared long and hard at Tommy for several moments, her eyes seeming to bore into his. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He could feel small beads of sweat breaking out on his forehead.
God, but it’s hot in here!
“You have chosen interesting cards, young Tommy,” Sylvia muttered, placing the first one face up on the table. “Are you aware that these cards are older than those associated with the Book of Thoth?”

Tommy shook his head. He hadn’t a clue what the Book of Thoth was.
“Dakar, an important demon of the Underworld, second in command to Lord Kardis himself, is represented here. He is the one who holds your future in his hands.”
Tommy peered at the image of a handsome man—a demon?—with long, flowing blond hair. His breath caught in his throat. He could have sworn there for just a second that the sapphire blue eyes—eyes that so closely resembled that of the woman opposite him—had narrowed slightly as they stared up at him from the table. He sat back quickly and glanced around the table. Everyone was focused on the card, but no one else seemed surprised or startled.
Must’ve been my imagination.
Sylvia laid the second card down. “The Sword of Damacian. This represents coming conflict in which you will have to choose between your life, and the life of someone you love, deeply.”
Everyone’s gaze lifted from the card to Tommy. Lorna gave him a knowing smile and Tommy wondered just how much Alex had told her of his relationship with Andrew.
“The third card represents your hopes and dreams.” Sylvia laid down the card that depicted a landscape of verdant green, the sun shining through tall pines in golden shards of light.
“That’s beautiful,” Tommy murmured and a glimmer of hope ran through his body. Maybe it’s not going to be all darkness and conflict.
“But I must place the fourth card on top of the third.”
And Tommy’s heart sank as Sylvia covered the card with one that was totally black.
“Wait,” he croaked. “Why d’you have to cover it with that, that thing? There’s no picture on it. It’s just a black card. What does it represent?”
“It represents struggle—you, Tommy, struggling to find your way out of the darkness and into the light.”
“What?” He forced out a derisive laugh. “This is bullshit, just like Alex said. Sorry Lorna, but I have to go.”
Sylvia gave him a wolfish smile. “I don’t think so, Tommy. You will stay until I have finished with the reading, and then we’ll see.”

“We’ll see? Listen, lady, I have a date and—” He started to get up and found he couldn’t move. His legs felt paralyzed. “What the hell?” He tried again, and again he could not move.
Arturo rose and walked over to stand behind Tommy, placing his hands on Tommy’s shoulders—hands that were much stronger than he remembered. Hands that were holding him down with such force that despite the excellent physical shape he was in, even squirming was impossible.
“What the hell are you people doing?”
Across the table from him, Lorna turned to Sylvia with a worried expression. “What are you doing, Sylvia? I’ve never seen that black card before, and there’s no reason to hold Tommy here against his wishes.”
“There are many things you haven’t seen before, Lorna dear.” She laid down the fifth card and Tommy gaped at the image of a vampire, his fangs exposed in a silent scream of anguish, hands grasping at a long stake protruding from his chest. “The death of a loved one.” Her sniggering laugh chilled Tommy’s blood and had Lorna leaping to her feet.
“What the hell, Sylvia?”
“This night brings more promise than I ever thought possible,” Sylvia said, ignoring Lorna’s reaction. “I thought merely to enslave these others to my bidding. Such a twist of fate that brought you to me, Tommy, but I knew from the moment you got on the elevator with me that you had lain with a vampire. His blood is in you. There is no mistaking that scent of spice—an aphrodisiac to humans—alluring even to me.”
Tommy stared at Lorna’s stricken expression, then at the other two seated at the table—Amy and Caleb, was it? They looked dumbfounded, frozen in place by the drama unfolding before them. He knew he had stumbled into something intrinsically evil. Whatever Sylvia was, she was no little old lady. Something lurked inside her, and Tommy could only guess at what it might be. His time in Andrew’s company had exposed him to some pretty amazing stuff. But while Andrew’s friends, apart from his creepy Uncle Lazlo, had never made him feel unsafe—this, whatever Sylvia represented—was definitely scary. And from the immobility he felt in his arms and legs, he wasn’t at all sure he was strong enough, either mentally or physically, to deal with it.
He sent out a silent plea to Andrew, but he had no way of knowing if he would hear him and realize he was in imminent danger. Their connection was strong, but he was way on the other side of town from the restaurant in West Hollywood where Andrew was meeting with Ron and Jean-Claude.
Sylvia sniggered again. “Useless to appeal for help, Tommy. I have shut down your ability to communicate with your vampire lover. I can tell from your silence that you cannot deny your association with the vampire. What is his name?”
“If you know so damned much, how come you don’t know that?” Tommy snarled.
“There are a great many vampires out there. Some are known to me, many are not, but in your mind, Tommy, I can hear the name Andrew. Yes, he is your lover and foremost in your thoughts. And wait, so many others… Marcus. Ah, would that be Marcus Lucius Verano himself? Master Vampire? You travel in exalted company, young Tommy. Exalted and useful company.And how marvelous that, through you I can infiltrate this vampire echelon and destroy them once and for all.”

Sylvia rose from her chair. Her head fell back, her body began to vibrate, and a long plume of black smoke spilled from her open mouth. It rose into the air, hovered over the table, then dived towards Tommy. With every hard muscle in his body straining against Arturo’s grip, Tommy tried to get up, knock the man out of the way and get the hell out of the room, but it was not to be. He yelled as Arturo forced his mouth open, then gagged as the black smoke entered him, filling him, taking him over with its sentient power. For only a few seconds Tommy had the will to fight, then…
Okay, this isn’t so bad… Feels good actually… Powerful. Wow. Yeah…bring it on!
Without any effort whatsoever, Tommy rose to his feet, freeing himself of Arturo’s iron grip as if it had been a mere nuisance. The big man backed away in obeisance while the others stared at him with something approaching awe.
“Tommy,” Lorna whispered, a flicker of fear appearing on her pale face. “What happened to you?”
He leaned over and picked up one of the cards. He glanced at it, twisting his lips in amusement. He showed it to Lorna.
“He happened to me,” he said, his voice a deep rumble. “Or rather, this vessel pleases me more than that.”
Lorna gaped at the image of the demon, Dakar, then at Sylvia who was slumped, immobile in her chair.

“She’s dead,” Tommy said with apparent indifference. “Without me to sustain her, her body was beyond its endurance.”
“Oh my God!” Lorna looked at the others for help. “What are we going to do?”
“Dispose of her body, of course. Arturo, see to it.”
Without hesitation, Arturo picked up Sylvia’s body and left the apartment.
“As for the rest of you…” What had once been Tommy swept a hand over Lorna and the couple who had not moved from their places at the table. “You remember nothing of what took place here.” Another move of his hand and the cards disappeared. “You were gathered to share a quiet evening, share some wine—and shame on you Lorna, your guests’ glasses are quite empty.”
“Right,” Lorna muttered and headed towards the kitchen for the wine bottle.
With a grim smile of satisfaction, the man who looked like Tommy turned on his heel and left the room.
 

* * * *