Pulled to the Dark (The Siriena Series) (16 page)

She gave me a hug and a kiss, and I woke up.

Sunday was errands and cleaning day. By the time everyone arrived at five, the apartment was spotless and I'd put up some Halloween decorations. Everything was ready for cooking, and my laptop was out, ready for Erika and Beth.

Andrea arrived first, a few minutes early. She came carrying a bottle of wine and a pie. "If the pie is against the rules," she said. "We can leave it in the refrigerator."

"Maybe Erika and Beth have desserts waiting for them. If not, we'll have to leave it in the refrigerator. It would be rude to eat pie in front of them."

She nodded.

"I'll give you their email addresses," I said. "If you want to bring dessert in the future, you have to warn them at least a day in advance. So they can have something, too." I paused. "Well, usually
it's
just Erika."

"I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't think of that until I was halfway here."

"It is okay," I told her. I gave her a quick mini hug. "I'm happy you can come."

Petra came in, carrying Dervish. "He was outside Karen's door," she said. "Meowing for her."

I laughed. "Dervish," I told him. "You hate the corridor."

"Maybe he feels safer here?" Andrea said.

Karen arrived just as my laptop started pinging for attention. I accepted an invitation from Erika then told her, "Invite Beth too. She's online." Soon we had a three way video chat going.

We made dinner and carried it to the living room.

"What's the movie?" Karen asked.

"Ghost," I said. "Erika picked it, but after my dreams this morning, I'm finding it very appropriate."

Before we hit play, I set several boxes of tissues out and moved two
waste baskets
into range. "Anyone who gives me shit for crying is off the invite list."

We set up the movie and served the meal,
then
I remembered the pie. "Hey, Erika and Beth. Do you have anything at your places for dessert?"

Erika smiled. "I made pumpkin pie today."

"I have ice cream," said Beth.

"Excellent," I said. "Andrea brought pie without knowing all the rules. I'm glad we can enjoy it."

We hit play together. Beth had to fumble on her end slightly, but she got her copy of the movie more or less in sync with ours.

Everyone cried.

Later, after we'd hung up on Erika and Beth, I said, "Halloween
is next Saturday
. I don't have a party invitation yet, so unless I get one in the next fifteen seconds, I'm going to plan one here."

"My place," said Andrea. "No one trick or treats here. My place will be better."

"Will it be decorated?" I asked.

She laughed. "Yes. But there are conditions. You have to bring a carved pumpkin with you. And yo
u have to come in a costume, a
traditional scary costume. No princesses or ninjas!"

She glared at Petra, who laughed. "I only came as a ninja once. No one told me the rules."

"I'll invite maybe a dozen more people or so." She paused. "Karen and Felicia..."

"I'll help," I offered immediately. "But I'll want time and privacy to put on my costume."

"Me too," Karen said. "Fifteen minutes will do it for me."

After that, I chased them out, cleaned our small mess, and went to bed.

* * *

Dream Petra was waiting for me.

"Please don't stop singing," I told her. She smiled and shook her head.

She tossed a blanket over my shoulders and pointed to the wall. I made a door. We stepped through and I closed it. Then we walked quickly to her tower, my feet getting cold. When we got to the base of her tower, I tried to make a door. It didn't work.

She let me try a few times.

I turned to her. "I can't make one here."

She shook her head. She pointed to me and to my tower. She pointed to herself and her tower.

"I can only make one at my own tower?"

She nodded.

"But you can make one at my tower."

She nodded. Then she pointed to me and put her hand on her chest.

"What is yours is yours," I said. "And what is mine is yours."

She grinned at me then opened the door. We stepped through and she closed it. Then she pointed to the wall.

"Make a door?" she nodded. And I made a door. "I can leave, but I can't enter?" She nodded again.

She let me in to the top of her tower and stole the blanket from me. She launched herself at me and spent an hour making love to me.

Until I woke up.

* * *

I cooked again for Petra on Tuesday. On Wednesday evening I carved two pumpkins and set them in the hall outside my door. I carved two more and set them in the window. On Friday, Petra invited several people to her apartment for pumpkin carving. I
carved
two more
pumpkins
.

Everyone told what
her costume
would be, but I refused to answer. Petra became quite vexed with me, but I told her she was going to have to wait.

I love Halloween.

* * *

Monday night, Dream Petra was waiting for me holding two sheathed swords. She pointed to my rack of clothes. I got dressed. Then she handed me one of the swords and showed me how to wear it.

We'd been working with swords in the dojo, but they were wood with dull edges. The one she gave me weighed about the same, but when I pulled it partially from its sheath, I saw that it was real.

She moved to a point in my room six feet in front of me, turned her back on me, and drew her sword. She looked over her shoulder at me and pointed to my own sword, so I drew it.

It was a two-handed sword. I could possibly have used it with one hand, but I'm a small woman, and I'd been learning two-handed swords to make up for my size. It held a slight curve to it, and I'd been taught to use a slicing motion with it, not a hacking motion.

"Hacking doesn't work very well," Petra had said. "You would be better with a big hammer if you're going to hack."

Petra took a starting position then
led me through a slow exercise. I recognized the sequence of moves and followed along with her. The sword had a different balance than the ones we practiced with at the dojo, so I was a little clumsy.

We finished the
kata
and Petra turned around, sheathing her sword and setting it aside. She pulled me to the center of the room and stood back.

"Again?"

She nodded.

I went through it again at half pace. When I made a mistake, she would stomp her foot to get my attention,
then step forward and adjust my
stance.

She made me run through that
kata
a total of ten times, increasing the speed slightly each time, but then holding me when I was about three quarters speed. She then mimed the opening moves of another
kata
, and I ran through that, receiving corrections along the way.

When she mimed a third one, I told her, "All right, but I hope you'll leave time for at least a little cuddling before I wake up."

She smiled and nodded.

By the time I finished ten runs of the third one, I was winded and my arms were sore. I was rubbing one. She cocked her head.

"My arms are tired," I said. "The sword is heavy." I paused. "Why are my arms tired in a dream."

She shrugged and took the sword from me, sheathing it. She pulled me to the edge of the room and we sat down, leaning against the wall. I got a few kisses and a nice little cuddle before I woke up.

* * *

The rest of the week with Dream Petra went the same. Some nights we worked with the swords or practice aikido. Some nights she helped me refine the doors and windows I made. And some of the nights she gave me mind-blowing orgasms, but only if I spent the entire time telling her, "Yours, yours, yours."

One of the nights I asked her, "Are you mine?"

She frowned. Then she nodded followed by shaking her head. She pointed to the floor in front of her and I walked to face her. She put her hands on my shoulders and pushed down.

"I don't understand."

She pushed harder. It too me a moment, but I asked, "You want me to kneel?" She nodded. So I knelt. She adjusted my position until she was satisfied, then put her hand on her chest.

"Yours." She nodded.

"Slave?" I asked.

She violently shook her head "no". "Servant?" No. "Love-slave?" she smiled and
nodded,
then made a keep going gesture. I tossed out more words, she agreed with some, but I think I frustrated her. I never reached the one she wanted.

She sighed and had me stand up. Then I smiled. "Squire?"

She nodded enthusiastically and hugged me.

* * *

I'd used a portion of my costume in the past. Several years ago
I'd found a very expensive cat costume that included a mechanical tail. I'd worn it that way for a while but decided to change it. So two years ago I started playing with it.
It had taken time, but I had redone the tail in bright red latex and gave it a forked end. It was now a proper devil's tail. I'd worn it for the last two years as a devil, but this year I was feeling playful and modified my costume again.

The corset I wore was required because the tail required support. It actually fit up inside the corset between the corset and my skin. This gave it enough support. There were little motors in it that let the tail swish back and forth. It was further rigged so I could make it curl around me on the right. There was a little switch I could hide just underneath the bottom of the corset on my left side, so I could touch the switch with the fingers of my left hand, and the tail would swish around to the right and point ahead of me.

It was a marvel.

Karen drove the two of us to Andrea's house, arriving at noon. I had both a garment bag and a large suitcase for my costume, plus I brought the two pumpkins I'd carved Friday night at Petra's.

Karen and I spent the afternoon helping Andrea prepare for the party. "I love theme parties," she said.

We set up more decorations and made a bunch of food. Then Andrea and I both rearranged the decorations. She caught me moving some after she had just moved them, and I offered a meek look. But then she decided my choices were better.

At four she declared the place ready to go. I adjusted two pumpkins on her staircase and agreed with her. She laughed.

"People are arriving at five," she said. "Everyone has an hour to get ready."

"Andrea," I said. "I'm, well. I want to make an entrance. Can I get ready and hide somewhere at least until Petra gets here?"

She laughed. "You can use the guest bathroom and bedroom upstairs, although you
will
have to use the hallway to move between them.
I can text you when Petra arrives and will keep her somewhere she'll see you when you start down the stairs.
"

She showed me the rooms I could use then she and Karen went to the master bedroom to get ready.

I started with a shower. I powdered and primped the parts that needed powder or primping then started on my makeup. I did very elaborate eyes and felt I had achieved a proper dark and
alluring look when I was done. I applied makeup all the way down over my shoulders and chest, very light and subtle, but it gave a unified look.

Then I did the hair and horns. The horns were elaborate and were built into an almost
skull cap
. It used my own hair for bangs and in back, but had hair towards the middle. I set it in place the messed with my hair for twenty minutes before I felt it had the right shape. I used a spray on grey to add some streaks then more hair spray to hold everything in a properly demonic shape.

Between the hair and the makeup, no one would recognize me if they weren't expecting me, at least not until they heard my voice.

While working on makeup and hair, I'd heard the doorbell several times. It sounded like children were already out trick-or-treating.

After that it was time to dress. I poked my nose out of the bathroom to make sure it was clear, then dashed to the bedroom, closing and locking the door behind me.

In the past, I'd gone with red, but not at
all sultry
. I switched this year to black. Patterned nylons, black leather skirt, specially adjusted for the tail, a black corset and black boots. I put everything on and tested the tail. It all worked. Then, to tone it down from total slut, I added a black pashmina. I added one more prop: a black leather bullwhip, which I curled up and hung from a loop on the corset.

I checked myself in the mirror on the back of the door, making adjustments. I wasn't sure about the pashmina, but without it I felt it was too much a
cliché
. Oh look, another
overly-sexy
H
alloween costume. On the other hand,
I decided it was a damned good H
alloween costume.