Erotica Fantastica Read Online Free Page A

this lush, secret balm.
    As she journeyed further along the
labyrinthine corridors no moonlight lit her path, but an ethereal
glow emanated from the walls, as if their rocky surfaces reflected
her presence in the form of this strange luminescence. She needed
no other light to guide her. With an eager hand she felt her way
along the rock to one side. Light pin-pricks of sensation tickled
at her fingertips. She felt only pleasure as the ancient stone and
her flesh teased one another with their connection.
    Deep in the cavern her body encountered
trailing moss, delicate strands of spider webs and other caressing
tentacles. She met the touches readily, entranced by their delicate
embraces.
    After a while she drifted to a halt and her
body inclined against the rocky surface while she rested. The
torpor deepened and for a time her consciousness left her
altogether. When her awareness altered again she felt a new
presence and struggled against her lethargy to find out what
touched her.
    In time she perceived a large leaf upon her
hand, covering her skin. Its tactile fleshiness moved over her numb
skin, very slowly, arousing her flesh with its caress, a hard stem
following the persuasive leaf. Its insidious path over her arm felt
so good, so seductive. Although she could barely move, her
consciousness wavering, she strained to see what was happening to
her. The distinctive shape of large ivy leaves pressed against her
nightdress. They moved quickly around her body, pulling the fabric
of her nightgown apart as they did so.
    Tara had never seen anything like it and her
breath constricted in her lungs as the vine crept tighter around
her.
    The awakening came as suddenly as ever, but
this time with a greater chill of fear. Icy terror filled her mind,
froze the breath in her lungs. The vine's strengthening grip
possessed her body totally. Fear clenched her heart. If she tried
to move, the leaves tightened their hold.
    There was no escape.
    Tara heard herself scream aloud, and the
sound seemed to turn her blood to stone.
    She struggled long and hard
against her captor, but in vain — it was far stronger than she.
Exhausted, she hung in its grip and used the last of her strength
to cry for help. Her mind still ran with fear and chaos. Am I going to die
here in this place? Is that why I have always come here, because
life's passage is always towards its end?
    Her cries eventually wavered and quietened.
She hung like a rag doll in the web of vines, wishing for the
trance to take her again. She longed for its numbness, for it would
bring a temporary escape from her trap.
    When she calmed she sensed tenderness in the
embrace of the ivy. It seemed to offer her gentle succor, even
while it held her in its terrible grip. Its leaves strained towards
her face. She could see the gloss of her own tears shining in their
veins. It seemed to be trying to comfort her, as if in some strange
way it understood her fear.
    When her last shred of hope faltered she saw
a light materialize, a strange gleaming oval that came towards her
from somewhere within the labyrinth. Her senses began to revive. As
the luminous blur got closer she saw it resembled a face, the face
of a man. His eyes glowed. He carried no light, but his gaunt face
shone, suspended in darkness. When he drew to a halt before her she
became mesmerized by the fierce intensity in his eyes. He said
nothing, but his gaze searched her face eagerly, as if to learn
more about her. Then he reached out and unleashed one of her arms
from the mighty grip of the ivy, taking her hand and caressing it,
an action that both freed her and entrapped her anew.
    With immense effort she spoke. "Who are you?
What is this place?"
    At first he did not answer. Smiling briefly,
he continued to stroke away the vines. As his touch passed over her
it enlivened her body with unfamiliar sensations.
    Tara stood before him, uncovered. She could
not draw her gaze from his strange face. His skin looked delicate,
almost