Goddesses and Gremlins - Part 6 By Beaten Man Replies to humbled@abeatenman.com Part 6 - He Who Wished to Lead Chapter 40 No one knew a thing. Gabriel had seen Martin leave the manor house about midnight and head up the path towards his home. After that no one had seen or heard him until his body was discovered at six this morning. He had been strangled and fought his attacker was all Nathanial Ward could ascertain. He questioned everyone who was present at the site from the slaves right up to Martin's own wife and son. No one had any idea of how the Ward heir met his fate. Nathanial instructed that the overseers question and account for the activities of every slave, worker and tenant on the Plantation and its surrounding lands. They were to report to Foote that evening and in turn account to him of their own whereabouts during the evening. The slaves present were to spread out and search the area clear back to the manor for clues under Joshuas supervision. He himself with Foote and Gabriel to assist would be investigating the site of the bodies discovery and Martins nearby home. An overseer was dispatched to the county seat to report the death to the authorities. Nathanial was not a man who believed in coincidence. He did not for a minute think that his son just wandered out for a midnight stroll and happened to bump into an errant slave who strangled him. Martin was going somewhere for a reason. He wasn't investigating some phantom noise or presence He had snuck out of the house quietly through the rear. He had a purpose to his nocturnal outiing. Considering where he was found and knowing his sons tendencies, the most likely thing he could imagine was that Martin was on his way to a late night tryst. He must have been intending to screw the new female slave. He'd shown plenty of interest in her and he'd never been one to deny himself something he wanted. That is where he would begin looking for Martins assailant. Chapter 41 The serpant, in his vanity, had slain his own mother. He who wished to lead had desecrated her sacred tablet and had made himself the image of the creator. His long narrow seed bearer contenance usurping that of the Mother When his forgery was complete the creator herself had been made a seed bearer. When his mother, the Nai Oben Sha, discovered his treachery and confronted him he killed her. He then stole upon the huts of each of the first daughters of each of the clans, in turn desecrating their tablets and then slaying them to hide his forgery. When he came upon the hut of the first daughter of the En Atu Ule clan she was ready for him. Rasha Shaluaan had made known to her the treachery of the seed bearer. The Mother of All Daughters own spawn had been slain by he who her image gave life to. This The Mother of All would not abide, he must pay at the hands of the Mothers own image and his ledger must reflect until eternity his sin. The First Daughter of the En Atu Ules was now Nai Oben Sha . She slew the vile seed bearer with her own hands as he stole upon her Sacred Tablet. The serpant was gone but not so his vile legacy. The seed bearers of the other clans fought amongst themselves for leadership of the clans as they followed the dictates of the desecrated Ledgers. The Mothers wrath was mighty. She brought the rains down upon the rivers that cradled the fertile valley. When the great floods came all were forced to flee the fertile garden. Their destiny, to continue the flight until the true believers, those who rejected the lies of the serrpeant who wished to lead, found sanctuary above the great waters. When the chosen ones walked upon the Green Hills where the great waters ended they would be home. Only then would the wanderings be at an end. Shatiluaan was reciting this verse for the third time that morning when the pale virgin Lu-cee came to attend her. With her were the pink faced and the sharp faced seed bearers, the smell of seed weak about them. But they in turn were followed by the huge seed bearer she had seen at the docks and a young seed bearer who was unknown to her. The scent of seed from them was powerful and she felt the stirrings in her loins and breasts that would soon be the white hot heat of her time. She chanted her devotion to the Mother as they assembled about her. Chapter 42 Foote and Gabriel first carefully searched the area immediately surrounding the body. Then the group went into Martins home to see if anything there would give them a clue. Nathanial instructed that they begin in the basement. Lucille insisted that it had been locked and the slave bound, it would just be a waste of time. Nathanial insisted anyway. He first inspected the fruit cellar storm door and found it locked from the outside. This did not satisfy him, the perpetrator could have locked it as he left. Perhaps Martin had come upon someone leaving his home. They should investigate the basement, perhaps the new slave had seen something. How will we communicate with her Gabrial had asked. Foote and Lucas will handle that had been his grandfathers reply. And so they headed down to the cellar. Have you checked her tethers and made. sure that she has been secured Ward asked of his daughter in law as he examined the powerful hands of the new slave. Then he noticed the new scratches on her face. What happened to her face he asked Lucille suspiciously. Thats my doing Foote volunteered.. She gave me a bit of a struggle when I brought her here. I had to get a little rough with her. He smiled at Lucille and winked at her as he spoke to Ward standing behind him In the rear at the foot of the steep stairs, Gabriel stood mesmerized by the woman as his mother attended to her scratches and his grandfather examined her.. He stared with his mouth slightly open at her curves, barely hidden by the loin cloth and simple shirt she wore. The only women other than his mother he knew were either the middle age slave women that tended the houses or the young girls that did the mopping and menial chores. The young ones were barely more than children. The few otherl women he had ever seen were breaking their backs in a field as he passed, he barely noticed them . This though was fully a woman, and his body had been desperately demanding one for near a year. He felt a stirring in his loins as he stared. Then he noticed that her hands were bound. Why are her hands tied, he asked. Foote told him that was how his grandpa, as he put it, wanted it. Nathanial offered as to how she might be dangerous with no males in the home to watch her. He was loathe to admit to, as even he thought of them, his irrational fears regarding the woman. To end the discussion of the slave's bound hands Nathanial was abouit to order everyone back up into the house when Shatiluaan suddenly dropped to her knees and began chanting with her bound hands stretched skyward. The others in the cellar were taken aback and watched her in stunned silence. After a few moments she arose from her knees and stretched her hands toward Lucas and tried to push around Nathanial and Lucille. She was just moving passed them towards the open cellar door where Lucas stood when Foote struck her twice in the head with his whip handle. As she fell unconcious, Gabriel grabbed her arm to support her and Foote grabbed her other arm to restrain her. She's scared to death of him Gabriel shouted at his grandfather. Get him out of here she's terrified. Lucille joined her son. He scares us that know him, what do you think he does to those who don't. she offered. Nathanial was in a bit of a bind. He had no reasonable answer for why he was restraining the slave yet he felt suspicious of her. She had been there three days and three men were dead. At the same time it did not appear possible that she had anything at all to do with Martins death and he still needed to get to the bottom of the matter. And there was no doubt that Lucas scared people. To occupy himself, his chief employee and his grandson who was now thrust into the role of heir apparent, with a slave woman seemed follly. Reluctantly he withdrew to the house above to begin looking around there He ordered her hands remain bound using her outburst as reason enough to justify his decision. Lucille remained to dress the wound on the unconcious Shatiluaan's head as the others adjourned upstairs. He had to call Lucas three times before he finally followed. Chapter 43 As the sun had risen in the morning and her hut had filled with light she'd seen the aura of the vilest of all sins. The evil shadow was cast upon the floor in front of her. The Mother had sent another spawn of the serpant to the Nai Obin Sha for his balancing. She had recited her sacred oaths and moved to smite him. Now she was dazed and confused. As she had reached for the vile giant the Mother had sent, pain and darkness suddenly came upon her. When she awoke the evil spawn was gone as suddenly as he had appeared. She could still smell his seed but was tethered to the strange mat she slept upon. Why had The Mother caused the blackness and why was she restraining her. She was Nai Obin Sha, he must die at her hands. She prayed aloud for guidance. She struggled against her bonds She told her pale attendant no over and over as she thrust her bound hands forward. She prayed that the Mother would have her release the bonds. The smell of his seed was receding and soon the vile serpants spawn would be gone. Lucille tried to comfort Shatiluaan. She told her that she had nothing to fear and that the big man who had so terrified her was gone. But her soothing words were as incomprehensible to Shatiluaan as the first daughters prayers were to her. Chapter 44 Nathanial was getting nowhere and time was passing. Questioning the other female slaves at Martins home as well as the search of it had failed to produce anything. The mystery surrounding the death of his son would remain a mystery for the time being. There were still fields to tend and businesses to run. By midday he had returned to the manor and life was returning to normal for the workers and slaves as they were set about their usual tasks . He himself, however, had urgent business to attend to. The heir to his vast holdings was gone and now there was a new heir. As soon as Nathanials mind had cleared and he could think again he realized that must be his first priority. Under the terms of his present will Martin or Martins estate was his beneficiary. If something were to happen to Nathanial now his holdings would effectively be controlled by Martins widow. They would not pass to Gabrial until she died. He must go to Charleston and he see his solicitor, He would need to draw up a new will that directly named Gabriel as his beneficiary. Though Lucille was still Gabriels mother and his legal guardian and would be in charge of Gabriel, she would not be in charge of his estate. He would name a trustee to manage his holdings until Gabriel attained legal age. He planned to live that long anyway but you can never be too careful. The thought of a woman running his empire was even more upsetting to him than was the thought of incest Or, for that matter, some slaves unexplained attraction to men. The slave wasn't going anywhere and would be there when he returned. He'd get to the bottom of her mystique and the death of Martin when he did. He was still deeply suspicious that he'd find the answers to both were related. He hoped he would find the answer to Lucas's troubling behavior as well. He was suddenly unresponsive and had to be told things repeatedly. He never had to repeat himself with Lucas. He never had to be told anything twice. Today it was as if his ears had joined his brain in retirement. Nathanial was just as suspicious that his new breeder's mystique was involved here as well. Martin was to be buried in two days at a small private cemetry that was on the original property Nathanial had grown up on and inherited at twenty. That is where his own father and mother were buried and where he intented to be laid to rest when his time came. Martin would be buried next to the empty grave that bore the tombstone of his fictitious mother. Nathanial would purchase an appropriate casket and any necessary supplies while he was in Charleston. And so a little past noon on the day of his sons death Nathanial set off to Charleston in his carriage with the flying giant on top, closely followed by an empty wagon for a casket. Foote could manage the Pines for the day on his own. He had Gabriel, who despite his young years was far more trusted by Nathanial than Martin ever was, to assist him. He would be taking a much more active interest in the running of the Pines anyway now that his father was gone. It would be good practice for him. Nathanial would be back late that evening at any rate. He would because Gabriel had refused to leave his mother to mourn alone. He had insisted on staying with her in her home. Nathanial had been too preoccupied to spend the time making up a reason to insist otherwise. The idea of Gabriel sleeping under the same roof as the amazon slave woman troubled him. He would be returning to the Pines just as soon as his business was completed. Chapter 45 Foote, he of the sharp wit and the dark appearance, was a pleased slave master. He knew damned well where the marks on the slave woman's face came from. They came from Martin's hands. And whats more the widow Ward knew it too. The heir apparent's mother was eyeball deep in Martin's death. He'd let her know that he knew too. She was going to be beholding to Niles Foote for a long time. For just as long as she lived as a matter of fact. As far as Foote was concerned no matter what happened from this point forward, once Nathanial Ward made his long awaited appearance at the pearly gates, he would be running things. Gabriel would own everything and the only person to watch his interests would be his mother. She'd be the one in charge of Gabriel, and now, he'd be the one in charge of her. Curiously there was only one tiny and contradictory little thought that darkened his otherwise uncharacteristicly sunny feelings. If something were to happen to Gabriel, or even his mother, before the old fool kicked off there was no telling what the disposition of the estate would be. He might not be living in the big house dealing with money and land instead of whips and slaves in that case.. Foote thought it strange that Gabriels best protector, and new personal bodyguard, was now none other than Niles Foote. At least for as long as his grandfather lived anyway Not really a big deal he thought. How long can that be when you're almost sixty five years old, and you have a brainless giant with hands that crush but no concept of right or wrong standing over your right shoulder. Maybe that's why I call him the old fool. That thought made him chuckle at his own wit. Chapter 46 At last the luaan had removed her tethers. She had been demanding that she do so for hours. It was so hard communicating with only two words and a name to use. The heat was rising in her body and soon the seed bearer would be sent. Shatiluaan must be ready. Already the scent of seed from above was making the fires begin to rage within her. The sire of the mother of the next Nai Obin Sha would be upon her soon. Thank goodness the Mother had finally made Lu-cee unbind her. Forgotten was the spawn of the serpant, his destiny would await the Mothers wisdom. At this moment all that was important was that she fulfill her own. That she do her part in assuring the Natuli march to eternity. She was Natulei, the Nai Oben Sha. She was the chosen people. Chapter 47 Gabriel was having difficulty concentrating on what his mother was saying. His mind kept wandering to the woman in the rooms just beneath the house. His breathing was becoming labored. He was experiencing as powerful an erection as a sixteen year old young man could have. He was actually squatting and leaning over his own lap pretending to look for something in the corner to hide it from his mother. He hadn't heard a word she'd said in the last half hour. He just kept thinking of the six foot tall chocolate woman with the seductive hips and the lush breasts. He had been struck the moment he'd seen her but had put her out of his mind while he assisted his grandfather in combing the house for clues and questioning the slaves quartered there. But after Nathanial and the others left Gabriel had felt compelled to go downstairs and watch his mother attend to the slaves wound. He had watched the woman as she frantically kept showing his mother her tethers. As he watched he was overcome with arousal. So much so that he'd bolted up the stairs and ran out of the house. He'd busied himself helping Foote with the moving of his fathers body to the shed near the manor house. The irrational lust had subsided by the time he got there and was gone entirely by the time he saw his grandfather off to Charleston. But before he even arrived back at his home the arousal was on him again. He had sprinted the last quarter mile down the path and then ran straight down into the cellar. He didn't know what he intended to do when he got to her he just knew he had to see her. If he had not run into his mother coming up the cellar steps he might have ran straight to her bed. As it was, since they'd come upstairs from the cellar together, he had been avoiding his mother and barely listening to her when she spoke. His back had been turned to her for over an hour in embarrassment. She had gone downstairs once since then, to untie the womans hands, and thats the last thing he'd actually heard her talk about. He did, however, hear her when she said she was going to her room to pray for his father and then retire early. He was down the cellar stairs in less time than it took for his mother to get to her room. By the time he reached the bottom of the stairs he had undone his trousers to relieve the discomfort of restraining the raging stiffness of his arousal. The smell in the cellar room made his head reel and his mind was filled with visions of the carnal pleasures that might await him. In spite of his soaring passion and the erotic dreamlike state he found himself in he still hesitated at the foot of the stairs. He was young and inexperienced. He didn't know how to approach her and what to do when he did. He was frightened. He had heard of the plight of the slave that had raped her. He was afraid of his own lust. He was even afraid that his presence would frighten her as she had been that morning. So he stood and stared becoming ever more desirous of her. As he watched her she arose from the bed and cast off the garments she wore. She threw wide her arms and then touched her own breasts . He watched her hips circle seductively and her breasts heave as she chanted and looked directly into his eyes. He was completely overcome with desire and ran straight to her, shedding his clothing as he crossed the room. When he reached her he began frantically running his hands over her body. His lips explored every inch of every curve of the chanting object of his desire. When he reached the firm breasts and began to lick them and suck on the erect nipples she moaned and breathed hot passion on his neck. His swollen member throbbed in its demand for satisfaction. He knelt and traced the contours of her firm ass with his tongue. He licked around the swaying hips and caressed her legs with his lips. Her thighs were damp with the juice of her arousal and he followed the sweet nectar up to the juncture of her legs and into the soft darkness of her womanhood. She groaned and pressed his face to her body thrusting her hips forward. as she did. He thought his cock would burst through its skin when she gently began pulling him upright and it pressed against her. She reached down and took his pulsing erection in her hand and began circling the tip against her body. He moaned as the amazon goddess guided it into her moistness. She circled her arms about him and pulled them down on the bed, wrapping her legs around his waist when they were upon it. She began to gyrate her body, circling her hips and pulling at his passion gorged penis with the vagina that enveloped it. He thrust his own hips back and forth in response and madly licked at her breasts. They undulated together on the bed as though they were one body. The tempo of their passion's rhythm increased as their bodies swayed, bonded in a mutual embrace. Gabrial moaned as the woman beneath him kept increasing the passion of her movement and the pleasurable feelings continued to rise in his loins. Faster and faster they pulsed against one another until Gabriel felt that his body must surely explode to release the passion inside. She was groaning and bucking, pulling desperately at his stiffness with her womanhood when he could stand it no longer. His body arched and he groaned as the semen shot from his engorged penis in a final eruption of passion. She screamed aloud and convulsed as his seed spilled into her. Slowly the gyrations subsided until they lay still in one anothers arms and moaned softly together. Gabriel was no longer a boy. He was now fully a man. The woman, an expectant mother. Chapter 48 Lucille Ward finished her prayers for Martin exhausted. She had not slept since discovering his body the previous night. As she made ready for bed she worried over Niles Footes behaviour that day. He had lied to Nathanial about the slave womans scratches, taking responsibility for them. He had made known to her, by his twisted smile and conspiratal winks, that he was doing it for her benefit. What did he know and what was he up to. She felt guilty in her role covering up the circumstances of Martins death. His father and his son deserved the truth. She thought of Narthanials dark demon that supposedly had visited her in the night and left a dead black daughter in return for an evil deed. An evil deed she had never committed. Was this the deed? Was it punishment for a future sin and not a past one? These thoughts plagued her as she drifted off to a troubled sleep She needn't have been worried about Niles Footes at that particular moment. Foote's normally sharp wits had deserted him. He was confused and disoriented. He was on the path leading from the Manor compound to Martins home, hell bent on taking the slave woman, overcome with the desire to have his way with her. And now his passion had suddenly disappeared and he had no idea of why he was standing on the path in the early evenings darkness or which way to head. Dazedly he began retracing his steps to his quarters, angry at himself for his uncharacteristic confusion. In the same gathering darkness his employer was beginning his return trip to the Pines. He would be home before midnight with all of his business accomplished. His solicitor had redrawn his will and his legacy was safe. Martin had been removed as heir and replaced by Gabriel. The solicitor himself would act as trustee in the two years until Gabriel attained legal age if Nathanial were to pass between now and then. A fine casket for Martin had been purchased and followed in the cart behind his carriage. He had even spoken with the authorities regarding his sons death. Nathanial Ward was a man who knew how to get things done. As the carriage increased its speed Nathanial drew closed the window drapes to muffle the sound of the gales of laughter emanating from the roof above. .............................................................................. ... To be Continued in Part 7 Destiny and Demons