Carrie Cuinn - Cthulhurotica

The door was open a crack, probably left that way when Asynn went through because she thought I’d be close on her heels. I never knew my mother, but I suspect I’d inherited some of her defiance. Maybe he’d tell me what he wanted without my having to go all the way inside. His den suited him, but it made me nervous. The gray stone walls sweated, leaving salt trails behind as one seep dried and another began somewhere else. Damp and cool, it smelled of rotten ship hulls and moldering seaweed.

“Daddy, you called?”

The walls rattled when he yelled, turning my name into a threat. “Milleu! Now!” Of course.

Just peeking through the cracked opening wasn’t going to be close enough for him. I swallowed my distaste, slipped in and closed the door behind me. With as humble a demeanor as I could muster, I approached. He growled again and the desk he sat behind danced, spilling papers that Asynn frantically gathered while avoiding becoming a casualty to the flaying tentacles. The girl gave me a stern look as she got the rest of the papers and backed to the far side of the room.

Sniveling idiot. She’d be bait soon and didn’t even know it, ego too inflated to question the process.

“Yes Father, you called?” It wouldn’t do any good to attempt bravado. Using the more formal paternal title would stroke his tentacled ego. I knew his ways and open defiance was a straight ride to the pens, daughter or no. I scratched the back of my neck and waited. He’d want to think I was nervous, afraid even. Avoiding eye contact was the best course of action when he looked for a fight.

Daddy motioned impatiently to Asynn for the stack of papers. He grabbed the top one off the stack and shoved the rest back to her.

“This chthonic you’ve been working with, Theo. Is he ready yet to be traded?”

Answer too quickly and he’d think I lied. Take too long and he’d think it took me too long to think of a lie. I took a deep breath and fingered the uppermost welt on the back of my thigh.

“No father, he’s recently become irritable. I think it’s time—”

“Then make him ready. You’ve got one month. The Lady Bertain would like him to entertain her guests at her next Solstice party. She wants them to leave pleasured, not butchered, and she’s paid a hefty sum to see to it they do. Now leave,” he rumbled with slightly less decibels than when I’d entered. A good sign. It didn’t matter what I’d answered, he already had his response prepared. And I had my work cut out for me.

Before we could begin, though, I needed an assistant. It wouldn’t do any good at all to get myself injured in this training process.

“Father, one favor before I go, please…”

He looked at me and I glanced toward Asynn.

“May I have your page for my assistant?”

To see the color drain from her face was worth the risk I had taken. It was priceless. Even if he didn’t consent, the effect of my request on her was all I’d hoped it would be.

“She’s of age,” I ventured, enjoying her discomfort far more than I’d anticipated.

He rumbled, a low growl that indicated that he was ruminating the idea, probably considering his investment versus the possible gain the deal could bring. I smiled so that she could see, but quickly restored a solemn face for dear Daddy.

Asynn stood stock-still. Her skin had gone so white I wondered if she might fall to the floor at his feet any second to beg for mercy. If she made such a weak move, she would prove to be more stupid than I’d thought.

“Her loss is acceptable to me, on the condition that you return her to my service if she’s able. I’d prefer not to have to train another, but for a month I can get by without her,” he agreed.

“Come Asynn,” I said gently as I gestured toward the open the door. Still in shock, she placed the last stack of papers on the corner of his desk and walked with me toward the stairs.

“We’ll get started right away,” I told her. “There’s not a lot of time, and you’ve got a lot to learn.”

As soon as we reached the enclosure, Theo snaked out a tentacle in greeting, rumbling with excitement. He smelled her fear. His enthusiasm wasn’t a good thing, but Asynn didn’t know that.

“First thing,” I reached down and picked up his tentacle, resisted letting him pull me closer and showed it to Asynn.

“See these?” I pointed to the saucer-shaped suction cups. She nodded, still white but at least attentive. Still, she didn’t seem to want to engage.

“Here,” I took her hand and made her touch them. “If you’re not careful, you’re going to look like you’ve been shredded through a grater. There’s a way to do this. Watch.”

Wide-eyed she watched as I took the tip of his tentacle and sucked it gently. Instantly Theo relaxed and quit trying to pull me toward his pen. The sounds rumbling from inside were decidedly different now, and less threatening. Indeed, he was pleased.

“You try it now,” I passed it to her. She swayed and I thought she might really pass out. My robust laughter snapped her out of it and her eyes flashed.

I realized at that moment she wasn’t so different from the beasts.

They were all trainable.

“I can’t”, she said.

I resisted the urge to snap at her. The willful ones needed a gentle touch.

“The first time, you’ll watch me,” I told her. “The next time, we’ll do it together.”

Mamie Bishop and I had been courting for a number of years before I proposed. I think that we would still be courting now had it not been for the incident involving that local misfit, Wilbur Whateley. The details of which are too vast and unsettling to go into here — only have it known that following his disappearance, a gloom seemed to settle over the town. Inhabitants unwilling to discuss the event hid away behind closed doors, avoiding each other’s gaze for fear that mentioning “the unspeakable name” of Whateley would bring some unknown terror lumbering to their door. For Mamie, who had visited their residence on past occasions, the effects were far more pronounced.