Chimes of Passion (2 page)

When they reached the door, the three
women couldn’t help but notice the ornate markings on the door
itself. There was text across the top, written in a language and
alphabet none of them recognized. Two images were engraved below
the text. On the left side of the door was the silhouette of what
clearly appeared to be a woman. It was hard to tell based upon its
appearance whether she was standing or lying down, but her legs
were slightly askance and her hands stretched above her head. On
the right side of the door was a man’s silhouette; the man’s
figure, slightly larger than the woman’s, was in by and large the
same position. Both images were remarkably well-defined, especially
for an engraving into a wooden door.

Alyssa’s eyes darted back and forth
between the two pictures chiseled into the door. “Do you think
they’re naked?”

Irene didn’t want to dignify that
question with a response. Lynda responded to Alyssa’s question with
a grunt as she reached forward and turned the doorknob.

The door creaked open to reveal what
looked like a medieval sitting room. The three friends assessed the
decor: chairs placed around the room along the walls and a large
table which bore nothing save for a bowl with a small pool of
water, and more candles for lighting. The light from the candles in
this room danced across the surface of the water.

“We might as well get changed here,”
Irene finally spoke, as she started to search through her bag for
clean underwear.

Alyssa placed her bag on one of the
chairs and did the same. Lynda walked closer to the table and put
her bag down on the table. She started to open her bag but stopped
before she had the opportunity to find something. Taking a deep
breath, she spoke to her friends, “Do you smell
something?”

“Like what?” Irene
countered.

“Oh, I don’t know. Something in here
smells sweet and relaxing. It smells like ... lilacs. You know,
what I smelled outside. Are you saying you don’t smell
it?”

Irene sighed, “Nope.” Alyssa simply
shrugged her shoulders.

Lynda inhaled deeply. When she opened
her eyes, she casually removed her blouse and skirt and folded them
neatly on top of the table. Once she had stripped down to her
underwear, she felt the need to know more about this smell. “If
someone’s growing flowers down here, I’d like to know how they’re
doing it. I can’t imagine anyone having an indoor garden in a place
like this. Do you mind if I go check?” Neither Alyssa nor Irene
looked Lynda closely enough in her eyes to notice that her gaze
seemed distant, unfeeling.

Irene started to say that she didn’t
think this was a good idea, but Lynda said, “I’ll catch up with you
back with the boys,” before any objections could actually be
raised. Lynda turned on her heels and slowly walked out of the
room.

Irene and Alyssa looked alternately at
each other, and towards the door through which Lynda had just left,
confused as to what just happened. Irene hastened to change her
clothes and said, “Let’s go after her.”

Alyssa nodded and quickly changed into
a sweatshirt and sweatpants, shoving her other clothes into her
backpack. Both girls left the room and looked around. Alyssa asked,
“Which way do you think she went?”

“She said she smelled lilacs. Do you
smell anything?”

“No. She wouldn’t be imagining it,
would she?”

“Probably not. But she works with this
kind of stuff, so maybe she’s just more attuned to it.”

Alyssa pointed to her right. “We came
from that way. I doubt she would have gone that way. What do you
think?”

Irene scratched her chin, scowled and
indicated the hallway to the left. “You’re probably right. Let’s go
this way.” With each stride, both women felt colder and colder, as
though the gusts of wind through which they had trudged to reach
this place, were actually blowing within these cavernous walls. The
only saving grace was that it wasn’t actually raining inside the
building.

Alyssa rounded a corner and saw that
the corridor stretched further than she could see. The torch-like
candles still lit the way, but did little to help warm them up.
Irene stayed close behind Alyssa, arms crossed and trying
desperately not to let her teeth chatter too loudly.

“Ya know, Ally, I d-d-don’t
th-th-th-think Lynd-da c-ca-came th-this w-w-w-w-way. It’s too
c-c-c-cold and sh-she’s barely wearing anyth-th-thing.”

“I th-think you’re right. Let’s head
b-b-back. M-maybe she’s already c-caught back up with Ron and
P-p-p-p-pete. If not, we’ll get the guys to help us f-f-f-f-find
her.”

Irene and Alyssa quickly turned around
and headed back to the sanctuary where their friends were waiting.
The rain outside gave little sign of easing up.

*****

Lynda reached the end of the corridor
and entered a small foyer. She had sensed some of the coldness her
friends had felt, but it didn’t affect her. The lure of the flowers
was simply too strong. Once she reached her destination she saw a
large circle of flowers growing out of a small mound of dirt in the
center of the floor. She knelt down and deeply inhaled the sweet
aroma.

She grabbed a handful of the dirt in
the ground and examined it closely, sifting some through her
fingers. With each handful of dirt that she grabbed and slowly
released onto the floor below, she slipped deeper into a state of
tranquility, remembering those happy times when she was a little
girl, playing in the dirt and returning home, filthy, and loving
every minute of it. To her, nothing else existed in the world: only
this beautiful, aromatic, magical place.

After a few moments of playing in the
dirt, she sat back on her hands, staring at the dirt and the walls
that surrounded her. She felt a slight vibration in the ground but
remained motionless.

Rising up out of the dirt, inside of
the circle of flowers, came a tall, slender young woman, her long
hair cascading over her shoulders. She wore in a long, flowing red
robe that swayed in the light breeze from the hallway. This
mysterious stranger smiled solemnly as she held out her
hand.

At first, Lynda felt afraid, but the
fear quickly dissolved to confusion, and, ultimately, to a sense of
purpose. She reached out and took the hand of this girl who stood
above her. As her hand gripped the outstretched hand offered to
her, she felt a sense of warmth, of beauty, of light. She stood up
and gazed into the face of this woman. The woman cracked a slight
smile of welcome.

In an instant, Lynda’s mind went
blank, replaced with the knowledge of who this woman was, and what
this woman wanted, needed, and expected. She knelt down and bowed
her head. "How may I serve you, my Goddess?"

The Goddess gestured to command her
new servant to stand, which Lynda did wordlessly. Lynda stood
upright, her hands hanging limply by her sides, as the Goddess
quickly assessed the role Lynda would play in her quest. After a
moment, the goddess snapped her fingers, and Lynda accepted her
duty.

As Lynda removed her bra and panties,
she intoned, "I shall be your voice, my Goddess. I shall enlighten
the masses on your behalf."

The Goddess lowered her left hand and
held it a few inches away from the exposed skin between her
servant's legs. Lynda closed her eyes and let a low hum escape from
her lips. The pleasure, the warmth, the beauty surrounded her and
she was powerless to do anything but surrender to it. She opened
her mouth and let out a gasp followed by a low, drawn-out
squeal.

If this was the reward for simply
dedicating herself to her Goddess, she knew that she must share the
Goddess’s teachings for even greater rewards.

"It is time to begin the process of
enlightenment, my Goddess. Do you wish to demonstrate your love
now, or do I need to go before you?"

The Goddess placed her hands on her
hips and stared at Lynda, who immediately knew the answer. Lynda
calmly turned around and walked back towards the sanctuary where
her friends were starting to grow concerned for her.

*****

After Irene and Alyssa
recounted what Lynda had done, the two men decided they needed to
search for their friend.
Ron and Pete had
nearly reached the door in the back of the sanctuary, when Lynda
calmly walked back in.

The two men jumped back, first
startled by the return of their friend, but then in greater shock
at her complete lack of clothing.

“What’s going on, Lynda? Where’re your
clothes and what’s that you’re carrying?” insisted Alyssa, pointing
to the bowl of water from the sitting room where they had changed
their clothes.

Pete tried to divert his eyes. Lynda
had already chastised him once for staring at her tonight, and he
didn't want to cause any further trouble.

Lynda walked past all four of her
friends and stood near the altar at the front of the sanctuary. The
Goddess had entrusted her with a mission, and soon it would be time
to carry it out.

In the ensuing silence, Lynda stood
motionless as the four others cautiously approached her,
occasionally glancing back and forth at each other, unsure of what
to do next. Lynda finally spoke, her tone devoid of emotion,
especially for the word choice. "There is such beauty
here."

Alyssa stepped forward and placed her
hands defiantly on her hips. "Fuck, Lynda! What’re you talking
about? Where’d you go? We were worried about you! Why're you naked?
Aren't you cold?" A flash of lightning momentarily distracted
her.

"The Goddess protects us all," was
Lynda's cryptic response. Seeing the confusion on Alyssa's face,
Lynda continued, "Unleash your inner goddess and you shall
understand."

"My inner .... goddess?"

"All females should embrace their
inner goddess. All males should revere the goddesses."

With a mixture of confusion and fear,
Alyssa stepped back, almost losing her balance and bumping into her
other friends.

Ron started to laugh, causing Pete and
Irene to glare at him. Feeling his friends' reproachful glances, he
hurriedly explained himself. "Sorry. I'm not really trying to
offend anyone, it's just that, you know, I'm supposed to revere
this goddess? Alyssa, Irene, do you know your inner
goddess?"

Neither Irene nor Alyssa spoke. Alyssa
wanted to say that she didn't, but she took a deep breath and
decided she’d feel safer just by keeping quiet.

Ron stepped closer to Alyssa, facing
Lynda. "I think Alyssa here doesn't know how to embrace her
goddess. Maybe you could show her, and then I'll see whether her
goddess deserves my reverence."

A look of panic spread across Alyssa's
face as Lynda responded. "Fair enough. All goddesses deserve
reverence, but you shall soon learn this fact for
yourself."

A loud crack of thunder from outside
filled the air and the candles flickered madly.

Alyssa turned to run, but lost her
footing and fell to the ground. Lynda casually approached her,
setting the bowl of water on the floor next to where Alyssa lay,
and helped her to her feet.

Seeing the look on Alyssa’s face,
Lynda spoke calmly, quietly, reassuringly. "Be not afraid. Your
inner goddess will be your guide, and she will not lead you
astray."

Lynda knelt down and covered both of
her hands in the water from the bowl. She raised her left hand and
placed it on top of Alyssa's head, much like the way a faith healer
would attempt to channel mystical powers to cure the lame. Alyssa
opened her mouth to express her shock and discomfort at this, but
no sounds came out. Instead, her eyes simply focussed on the
pressure and moisture from Lynda's hand. She didn't notice Lynda's
right hand reaching forward to a spot between her
thighs.

Even through her clothes, Alyssa felt
a jolt of energy in her sex, radiating throughout her entire body.
Her inner goddess had been awakened, and needed to be embraced.
Lynda was right: there was nothing to fear. The men shall bow
before her inner goddess. She knew and understood her mission, and,
using both hands, moved Lynda's hand away.

She then calmly, casually, removed all
of her clothes and turned to face Ron. Here was a man who had said
he only wanted to be friends with her, in spite of her clear and
stated interest. She smiled as she recognized that he was staring
at her body. "Do you like what you see?"

Ron's breaths began to quicken. He
wanted to say something, but all he could find the energy to do,
was to stare, slack-jawed, at her form, and the beauty he had
simply never seen before.