Free Hunt of the Bandham (The Bowl of Souls: Book Three) by Trevor H. Cooley

came closer, her features remained too dark to make out, but the orange glow of the eyes of the children to either side glistened on the edges of her, hinting at a form so perfect and desirable that he faltered and stopped. He was too overcome to move.
     
    She chuckled and the delight in her voice almost killed him. “ Stand, dear Arcon. Come closer. Closer still, that I may touch you. ”
     
    Numb to everything except his devotion, his body followed her commands taking step after step towards her. It did not occur to him to wonder why she did not move towards him. Her smooth black arms reached for him and he tensed every muscle in his body, aching for her touch. Then she grasped him.
     
    Her touch was not as expected. The hands that gripped him were powerful and rough, and as she pulled him closer, her breath was rancid. Her body and countenance were still so black that he could not make out what she looked like. Her presence though, was sultry as ever and he ignored everything else, filled with gratitude for her attention.
     
    “ Oh, my dear Arcon how I have longed for this moment as I know you have ,” she breathed and though her body smelled of decay, her voice was filled with such passion that he did not care. “ Now that you are here, I require one more task .”
     
    “Anything, Mistress,” he gasped.
     
    “ I must ask you to go on a journey for me .”
     
    His heart cried out in agony at the thought of leaving. She pulled him closer and whispered in his ear. Her lips touched his earlobe as she spoke, leaving behind something thick and wet.
     
    “ Do not worry. I will give you a piece of me to take with you. After this night, we will never be apart again .”
     
    “Yes!” he cried, overcome with gratitude.
     
    “ Very well ,” She chuckled again and ran one finger down his chest. Where her finger passed, the cloth of his winter robes tore and fell open, exposing his skin. She leaned closer and he shuddered at the chill of her breath on him.
     
    “ Now, you mustn’t die. What happens next will be too much for you, but you must live. You can not serve me if you are dead and you can not collect your reward. Do you understand? ”
     
    “Yes!” he cried. “Do it!”
     
    She ran a finger between two of his ribs and his flesh parted underneath. He cried out at the searing pain, but did not move. She then reached out and one of the special moonrats with the orange eyes approached her. She stroked its head lovingly, then squeezed. There was a horrible crunch and a shuddering squeal. Her hand returned holding one glowing eye.
     
    His mistress lifted the orange orb and brought it to his chest. A small clawed appendage sprouted from the bottom of the orb and grasped blindly at the air.
     
    “P-please,” he gasped, his eyes filled with terror.
     
    “ Shhhhh . . .” she whispered gently and reached her black fingers inside of him.
     
    He cried out again as she parted his ribs with her strong fingers and there was a crack of yielding bone. The pain was too much, but he kept his promise and did not die. She pushed the glowing orb inside him, he felt it slipping around his lung to nestle next to his beating heart, which she caressed gently before removing her hand from his chest.
     
    She squeezed the wound shut and with another swipe of a finger knit the wound shut. The healing was far more painful than the wounding had been. He could feel traces of her like decayed leaves remaining inside of him.
     
    “ There Arcon. We shall be connected as long as you live .”
     
    “Th-thank you, my mistress,” he said.
     
    “ Now for the reward I promised you ,” she breathed. The words were throaty and deep with promise. She pulled him in closer and when her arms wrapped around him it was as if she had a thousand arms. She ran a slithering tongue up his neck and along his jaw until her lips finally found his. As his screams echoed through the night, they were indistinguishable from pain or