Lamia (10 page)

From that moment Maria knew that her fate was sealed.  They took her back to her room and locked her in.”

Now I could definitely not see any way out for Maria.  Mateo was due back later that day and they could not risk her telling him about Almero.  I wondered how she was going to escape and I felt that we were very close to her transition into Lamia.

“Leandro came for her after about an hour.
  She was desperately hoping that Mateo would arrive early, but knew that his plane had not yet landed.  She was led into the living room where Pablo, Cesar and two others were standing with their
leather belts in their hands.  In blind panic s
he
struggled
in vain to
break free
; then she
threw herself on her knees, begging
the
m
en
not to beat her.  Pablo laughed and pulled her to her feet, telling her that she would not be beaten if she was ‘a good
little
girl’. 
He told her to take off her clothes
,
while the others leered
and sniggered
.  Then he pointed to the table.  She walked
up to it
, standing there naked
, body trembling in fear
while they used their belts to secure her
ankles
to its legs.  Then she was bent over and the other
three
belts joined together around the table to secure her torso.  Now, more than ever, she was completely at their mercy.  In one final attempt to save herself, she said that Mateo would punish anyone who touched her.  Pablo dragged a chair to the side of the table
that was
facing Maria and
he
sat down.  He grabbed her hair and held her facing hi
m, propped up on his elbows.  His face was inches from her
s
w
hen told her that she wouldn’t say anything to Mateo as she was to be shot while trying to escape
,
before his return.
He smiled as he told
her that he
was going to
let
Guillermo,
the youngest g
o first.

Maria felt someone
poking her around with his fingers. 
She
squeezed her eyes tightly shut, only to feel Pablo tugging pain
fully at her hair; he wanted her eyes open so that he could
watch
her suffer!  With a little encouragement, Guillermo finally pushed it inside her, causing her to wince in pain.  If only she had used the grease! 
With his inexperience, it was over with swiftly. 
Next came Alejo who Pablo claimed had
previously
only managed sex with goats.
  He wanted to shove all of his fingers in first, causing her to cry out in pain and making Pablo smile.  Then he rammed it into her time after time as the tears ran down her face and Pablo kept up his commentary.  She was so sore by the time Leandro took over
that she begged Pablo to make them
stop, and
by Cesar’s turn she thought she couldn’t take any more.  When he had finished, Pablo told her that she was being punished for thinking she was too good for mountain-men.  Then he kissed her hard on the lips and told her that he wanted her to remember his face while he was taking his turn.
  At least now she could close her eyes and pretend that she was already dead as she sobbed into the wood.

Her torment was finally over and the straps released.  Maria tried to stand but ended up
collapsing on
the floor in a heap.  The men were still congratulating
each other
when
Pablo ordered her to get dressed.
  She was slowly pawing at her clothes w
hen the door burst open and in walked Maria’s greatest fear.  The half-wit La Bestia began to
shout and scream
Pablo, saying that he was also promised a turn.
 
In the end
Pablo simply nodded and La Bestia ripped off his shirt before grabbing Maria by her upper arms and lifting her clean off the floor, finally depositing her on the table sitting in front of him.  He took hold of her head and tried to kiss her, the few rotting teeth that he had
left
,
made
his breath smell like he drank from a sewer.  Maria struggled and managed to push him away but that just gave him the time and space to
drop his shorts and
reveal a huge cock.  Maria struggled again so Cesar and Leandro held her arms
and thighs
apart while Pedro began a chant to encourage the half-wit.  They held her body forward while he sucked at her nipples
as he pumped his cock
with his hand
, but then he pulled her body towards him so that he could shove that huge weapon in
side
her.
  Maria couldn’t have taken any more, so that was when I took over.”

I was stunned, shocked, almost traumatised at how Maria had been abused.  After all she had been through, Lamia took this moment, a time when there was not the slightest possibility of escape, to take over.

“What did you do?” I asked in a husky voice, as I could hardly speak.

“His stench engulfed my body as he pulled me towards him.  I saw the vein in his neck standing out and I felt the tip of his cock against my hole.  He wasn’t going to shove that thing into me!  I am not Maria!”

“But how did you stop him?” I asked in almost a whisper.

“I threw my mouth onto his neck and bit down hard over the vein, shaking my head from side to side like a dog playing with a soft toy.
  Then I felt it was wet and
I tore a huge chunk from his neck
, spitting it onto the floor
.  My arms had been released and I wrapped myself around the dying creature, supporting him there for a few moments while I watched the blood welling up and running down his chest.  Then I began to drink the blood, making loud slurping noises as I watched the men backing away.
  I saw
fear in their eyes
and I would occasionally pause to hiss at them.  Many religious expletives followed but none of the men moved.  I let the
crimson
body slide to the ground, stood up and approached the men, blood st
reaking
my naked flesh.  They backed away muttering the words
vampiro
and
Lamia.  Then I
ran to
my room, bent over the toilet and vomited.  I heard the door being locked, the water being turned on and eventually the shutters on my window were opened.  They would tell Mateo
I
had gone insane and killed a man.”

CHAPTER 8

I remembered Maria telling me about The Lamia. 
The legend began in Greek mythology of a woman who lost her children and therefore murdered other people’s children in a jealous rage.  The legend changed as it travelled around Europe and was eventually brought to Latin America by the Spanish, where this half-snake half-woman was endowed with vampiric attributes.  Parents would use it to get their children to sleep at night, much as the Sandman was used in England.

How long was it before Mateo returned?” I asked.

“It seemed like days but it could not have been much more than an hour and a half.  I had slipped on a gown and splashed water on my face, but I was still streaked
with blood
.
  I heard the door unlock and, unlike Maria who would have cowered in the corner, I headed straight for it.

Mateo came in with a riding crop in his hand and a face that spelt death.  I grabbed him as he entered.  He must have been off balance because he crashed against the wall with me still having hold of him.
  There then followed the most ridiculous dance you’ve ever seen, as each spun the other against the wall.  The conversation went something like this:

‘
Th
ey tried to get him to rape me!’

‘
They wouldn’t have dared!  They’d
have known I’d have killed him!’

‘
The
y were going to kill me anyway!’

‘Now I know you’re lying!’

He raised the crop to beat me and I brought up my knee into his groin.  Bending down in front of him I held him by his ears.

‘
Listen to me!
’
I yelled, but then my voice dropped to a whisper in case anybody wa
s listening through the door.  ‘
Luis Almero was here
!  He pla
ns to take over your operation!’

This stopped him in his tracks.”

“Why did you not tell him the others raped you?” I asked innocently.

“Mateo would have had nothing more to do with me.  He wouldn’t have his property spoilt.”

“So did he believe you about Almero?”

“Not
initially
.  I first had to describe him and then he listened to their plan.  I didn’t mention Guillermo or Alejo as being involved.”

“Why not?”

Lamia smiled at me and took a long, cool drink.

“Sometimes it’s more profitable to have enemies who are indebted
to you
, than to have allies who are not.

Mateo opened the door and called one of his bodyguards.  After a few whispered orders he again closed the door.  He still had th
e crop in his hand and the
ridiculous wrestling match
continued.  The conversation also continued:

‘
You bit out his throat!
’

‘
Yes I did,
’
I said smiling.

‘
You drank his blood!
’

‘I
was thirsty.
’

‘
They think you’re some kind of vampire!
’

‘
YES!  That’s the point.  If they are that
terrified, even though they kno
w me, just think how frightened the farmers would be!
’

I explained that we could cover a much bigger area if we resurrected
the Lamia, and that we could take over Almero’s area as well
”

“Yes I can see that,” I said.  “Fear of the supernatural is a much tighter control than fear of the physical.”

“Y
ou’re right.  Religions have known that for centuries,
but do you realise what just happened?  There was an exchange of power as we wrestled and talked.  Mateo was much stronger than I but still we wrestled and that riding crop never touched my body.
  Maria would have been beaten almost to death before being thrown to the mountain-men.  Lamia was just as powerful as Mateo.