The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive

“If its bride is my wife, the house takes my life,” Maxamed rocked back and forth on his sofa, whispering to himself in the dark room. “It’s a colonizer. My nation but its plantation. The house will furrow into her soil a crop of toil.” He wasn’t sure what he was saying. “The house will supplant me as it delves her. I have seen it. That is prophesy. I have a foretoken. The house has spoken.”

“Maxamed?” Khadra walked into her living room and switched on the light. “Who are you talking to?”

“No one, my darling.” Maxamed stood, took his wife’s hand, and gently kissed her dark knuckles. “You are radiant this evening.”

“You are acting so strange. I think the Andersons’ place still pulls at your mind, husband.” She drew her hand away from him gently. “Maybe I should go back there and see if I can get us some closure.”

“No, no, no,” Maxamed hissed. “Never go back there. It wants you.” He looked around the room like a hunted animal. “Where are the children?”

“At my mother’s.” Khadra sighed. She missed the kids. They were always at her parents’ recently.

“Good, good.” Maxamed nodded and leaned onto Khadra’s shoulder with all his weight. “You are mine and it cannot have you,” he whispered in her ear. “I have seen what it would do, and you would never be the same.”

“There, there, Maxamed.” Khadra patted him on the back tenderly and steered him toward their room. “I am yours, never fear. Let’s get you to bed. It’s late.”

“Yes, I fear it is too late.” Maxamed let his wife guide him to bed and tuck him in. “But maybe I can change the course of things to come.”

“Maybe.” Khadra kissed her husband on the cheek. “Now get some rest. You’ll feel better in the morning.”

“Mom?” Daniel looked over at his bedside clock. It was almost morning. “Wake up.” He and his mother had really gone at it last night, and she’d fallen asleep still mounted on him. His dick was big enough to stay inside her even when soft. Daniel ran his hands down her soft sides and over the wonderful curve of her hips. Her large breasts pressed into his clavicle, and her head rested on the pillow with her mouth right next to his ear. He could hear her gentle breathing as she slept. “It’s almost morning, Mom. You have to go back to Dad.”

“What … what was that … pumpkin?” Julie opened her eyes. It took her a moment to figure out where she was. When she realized it was her son’s room, her blood froze. “What time is it?” Goodness, was that his soft penis still inside her vagina? Her pussy gave an involuntary squeeze. Oh, no, and he was growing.

“It’s four-thirty.” Daniel’s fingers pressed into the soft, pliable flesh of her butt even as he knew she needed to leave.

“Oh, dear, oh, dear.” Julie lifted her hips and pulled him out of her. Cold semen ran down her legs. “I was worried this would happen. If your father ever found out …” She picked up her bra and panties, finding them on the floor in the moonlight. The cold air sent goosebumps along her arms and legs. She wrapped her nakedness in a robe. “I have to go, sweetie.” Julie turned for the door.

“Bye, Mom. I love you.”

“I love you, too.” Julie turned back to the bed and hurried over to Daniel. She kissed him on the lips and on his soft cheek, then rushed for the door. “I’ll see you at breakfast in a few hours.” She looked back over her shoulder as she opened the door and could see her eighteen-year-old son’s penis very hard again and sticking up in the air. It was such a beautiful sight.

“Mom?”

“Yeah?” Julie stopped in the doorway.

“Remember that time we did it after you were running on the treadmill in the basement?” Daniel watched her soft, pretty face hovering in the shadows.

“Yeah.” Julie shivered when she thought about how he had taken her from behind on their washing machine.

“Could you, maybe … um … go for a run naked on the treadmill when I get home from school?”

“Naked? No, Danny. I can’t do that. My breasts need support. And your father will be home this afternoon, and so will your sister for that matter. Why would you even ask such a thing?” Her question came out harsher than intended.

“Sorry.” Daniel hung his head. “I just thought it would be sexy.”

“Sexy?” The thought of pleasing her insatiable teenager was still quite new and titillating to Julie. He really did want her. “Maybe another time, okay?”

“Okay.” Daniel watched her robed figure disappear out the door. He needed to fap. Just thinking about her jiggly body on that treadmill sent waves of pleasure through his nerves.

“Do you hear that, honey?” George stopped working on a drywall patch in the guest bedroom, kneeling on the floor and listening.

“What?” Julie paused as she made the bed. Brad and Penelope would be staying with them tomorrow night, and she wanted the guest room ready for them. She listened to the house. “It sounds like ticking. It’s a clock, George.” She finished tucking in the top sheet.

“I know it’s a clock.” George put down his tools, took off his gloves, and stood. The way his wife filled that dress was otherworldly. It hurt his heart to gaze on her beauty. “But we don’t have a grandfather clock. Or any ticking clock for that matter.” He moved up behind her and grabbed her wide hips. His hand moved up her belly. There was more of a curve there than he remembered. Maybe those larger breasts were a harbinger of more fat to come. George didn’t care.

“Stop, George. I’m making the bed.” Julie pushed his hands away. “Maybe it’s water dripping somewhere.” But Julie knew it was a clock. She’d never seen it, but she’d heard it for months.

“I hope not. Can you imagine that disaster?” He spun her around and kissed his wife on the lips.

“You’re filthy from work, George. Maybe later.” Julie half-heartedly pushed him away again.

“You look too good, Jules.” With a smile, George pushed her down on the bed, lifted her dress, and mounted her.

“You need a condom.” But Julie didn’t insist on it. She let him have his way. It was only fair that he got a turn after what his son had done to her last night.

“I’ll be … careful.” George pulled her panties aside and entered her. Three minutes later, he lay panting on top of her, completely spent. “How was that?”

“Amazing,” Julie lied. She’d barely felt him. It had ended almost before it begun. She’d spent so much of her life thinking that sex with George was good sex. She’d been so wrong. “Now get off, I have to make the bed again.”

“Give me a … minute.” George huffed and puffed.

“Your son and daughter-in-law are sleeping here tomorrow. In this very bed. Have you no shame, Mr. Anderson?” Julie swatted at his shoulder playfully, thinking of all the times Daniel had destroyed her pussy in George and Julie’s marital bed.

“None.” George rolled off his wife and pulled up his pants. “Back to work, I guess.”

“Dude, your sister-in-law is here again.” Hassan nudged Daniel as he watched the gorgeous blonde woman stroll across the library. She was perfectly put together with a black purse slung over her shoulder, a knee-length green dress that hugged her curves wonderfully, and just a touch of makeup. Hassan tried not to drool.

“Really?” Daniel looked up. He was sitting on the floor near the stacks with a book in his lap. He dropped in his bookmark and closed his copy of Psycho. “I better go see what she wants.”

“Yeah, you better.” Hassan nodded and watched Daniel stand up and amble across the library.

The librarian, Mrs. Nancy Pemberton, caught sight of Penelope. “Miss Riley? What’re you doing back here?”

“It’s Mrs. Anderson now.” Penelope held up her left hand so Nancy could see her ring. “I’m here to pick up my brother-in-law.”

“Ah, so you married Brad after all. Good for you.” Although Nancy didn’t really mean it. Brad was obnoxious. Nothing like his thoughtful younger brother. Nancy watched the young man greet his sister-in-law. Nancy looked over at Daniel. “Last time I saw this young woman, she was Homecoming Queen. She was radiant.”

“Thank you kindly, Mrs. Pemberton.” Penelope turned to Daniel. And took him by the shoulder. “Come along now, it’s time for your doctor’s appointment.”

“Right.” Daniel picked up his backpack on the way out and gave a quick wave to Hassan. His friend waved back, but his eyes were glued to Penelope’s butt. “I must have forgot,” Daniel said. “Bye, Mrs. Pemberton.”

“Keep reading, Mr. Anderson,” the librarian called after him.

“I will.” Daniel let Penelope hustle him down the hall. “What’s your rush? I said I’d visit tomorrow.”

“It’s been three days,” Penelope whispered in his ear. “Four days is too long.” She looked around the hall, saw no one, and gave his little butt a smack. “You have a jacket?” Penelope collected her down jacket from a hook by the school’s main entrance.

“No.” Daniel only had on jeans and a sweater.

“It’s snowing, Danny.” She gave him a mock serious look. “If you catch cold and die, I’ll be very upset.”

“You’ll have to keep me warm, Pen.”

“Mission accepted.” She smacked his butt again and herded Daniel out of the school into the falling snow.

From the warmth of her office, Mrs. Erin Haskins watched the pair of Andersons walk shoulder to shoulder into the parking lot. Little white flakes swirled around them. Typical of the boys at the high school, Daniel had neglected to bring a jacket. As principal, Erin always tried to remind the boys that they weren’t impervious to cold. Youth made one feel invincible. It didn’t make one invincible.

This odd couple had Erin’s attention. She strummed her fingers on her desk as she sipped at her coffee. She could see her own reflection superimposed on the retreating Andersons. She was a chubby, middle-aged woman in a dark skirt suit, with her brown hair in a sensible ponytail. The Andersons were a couple of young people having a good time, pushing, playfully hitting, and altogether too close. They looked like lovers to Erin’s trained eye. But of course, that was impossible. Right? Erin didn’t know Penelope’s family, but she knew Julie and George Anderson from church. Daniel was a good kid. The pair got into an SUV. Erin turned back to her monitor and pulled up some files on the computer.

Penelope had been in to see Daniel often these past few months. Doctors’ appointments, was it? Erin would have to see about that. Erin checked Daniel’s grades. They’d been falling lately. Erin’s son had dated Daniel’s twin sister for a little while. She’d have to ask Ted about the Andersons when she got home. She sighed, turned, and watched the SUV leave the parking lot. Erin didn’t know what was going on, but she trusted her gut. And her gut said something fishy was happening right under her nose.

“I’d forgotten you were Homecoming Queen.” Daniel looked over at Penelope. She seemed so serious with her blue eyes staring at the road. That was probably a good thing, he didn’t want them skidding on some ice and ending up in a ditch.

“Oh, yeah. The funny thing about it was Brad didn’t win Homecoming King.” Penelope took her right hand off the wheel and reached into Daniel’s lap. She deftly unbuttoned and unzipped his pants, and then pulled out his heavy, semi-rigid cock. It was so warm in her cold fingers.

“Maybe just keep both hands on the wheel?” Daniel liked the attention, but he liked living even more. The snow flew up against the windshield and it reminded him of how stars looked when a starship from one of his beloved movies went warp speed.

“Brad was so jealous of DeQuan. He thought I was cheating on him with the captain of the football team. What a dummy, right?” Penelope smiled and risked a glance at Daniel. Her hand stroked his dick up and down. With each pump it got bigger and bigger. “Maybe he figured I’d cheat because that’s what he would have done.” Penelope laughed at that thought, a soft jingling sound. “With a girl I mean. Everyone had a crush on DeQuan. They all loved the King. But stupid little teenager me only had eyes for Brad.”

“Uh … Pen?” Daniel loved the thought of Brad jealous of the Homecoming King and Penelope’s steadfast faithfulness. The thought so caught his imagination that his balls churned.

“You remember the fight Brad had senior year?” Penelope’s white smile widened. “He had a black eye for graduation, remember? That was DeQuan. Brad, dumb-dumb that he is, accused DeQuan of stealing his girl and took a swing at him. Of course, DeQuan defended himself.”

“I’m going to … cum … Pen.”

“Oh.” Penelope pulled over to the curb on the deserted suburban street. “We can’t have you making a mess of my car.” She looked around, let the car idle, and then lowered her head to Daniel’s lap. She gagged a little as she forced his monstrous length down her throat. What a powerful feeling. With her left hand she massaged his heavy balls. To think, those hanging testicles would be banging against her ass soon. Her pussy creamed.

“My … Homecoming … Queen,” Daniel said. With snow softly falling around their car, Daniel grunted and emptied himself straight into her belly. The sounds of her hungry gulping filled the car.

Penelope carefully cleaned the head with her tongue. Eventually, she leaned back into her own seat and smiled. “There now, let’s get you back to my place.” She put the car back in drive and pulled out onto the road. She noticed Daniel hadn’t tucked away his still hard dick. That was fine by her. Every moment she got to see that thing was a gift.

Ten minutes later, Penelope only wore her bra. She pressed her hands up against the front hallway wall. The framed pictures danced with each thrust she absorbed from the back. “I … ugh … ugh … ugh … love it, Danny. You’re … turning me inside … out.” She could feel his fingers pressed into the flesh around her hips and the desire they conveyed was sublime.

“Don’t have sex with … Brad … for a week.” Daniel looked at one of the bouncing photographs, a wedding shot with Penelope’s veil pushed back and a big smile on her face. Little did that woman know she’d soon give in to a boy sitting in the crowd that day.

“Why?” Penelope looked at a different photo. She and Brad on their honeymoon, both in their swimsuits on the beach. Brad was so tan, and muscled. But it turned out he wasn’t big where it counted.

“I just want … him to go without … a little bit.” Daniel reached a hand up and pulled on her hair.

“Okkkkayyyyy … ggggggzzzzzzzzzzz …” Penelope came while looking at her unsuspected past self so happy on the beach. When she recovered, Daniel was still giving it to her from behind with long, powerful strokes. “I … I … have to tell you … something.”

“Yeah?”

“I’m … I’m …” It was so hard to say, but she desperately wanted Daniel to know. “I’m … pregnant.”

“What?” Daniel stopped thrusting and held his dick all the way inside her. “Really? Is it Brad’s?” He loosened his grip on her hair.

Penelope shook her head and wiggled her pale butt back into him.

“Is it … mine?”

Penelope nodded and looked back over her shoulder. “It’s a good thing, Danny. I want your baby.”

“I thought you were on the pill?” Daniel could feel her pussy squeezing him as he held himself motionless inside her. The flood of emotions was contradictory and confounding.

“It happens.” Penelope shrugged. Especially when you forget to take your pill for some crazy reason, she didn’t say.

“Should I pull out? I mean, will I hurt the baby?”

“No. It’s fine.” Penelope bounced her butt against him to get some rhythm back. “Do me, Danny.”

“Wow.” Daniel put his hands back on her hips and moved slowly in and out, gradually picking up the pace. “What are we going to do about it?”

“I don’t … oh … know, Danny. I’ll have the baby … with Brad … I guess.” Penelope could feel the surge of another orgasm approaching. She had told him he was a father. She was the first to give him that gift, not that stupid girlfriend of his. That made her so proud. “We’ll figure it all out … aaahhhhhhhh … later.”

The glass in the picture frames rattled as Daniel moved closer to his own orgasm. He’d planted a seed inside his sister-in-law, and it had taken root. The idea was unsettling, but also deeply compelling. He thought about all the times he’d cum in his mother. Had they really dodged that bullet? And Khadra, too. “Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh.” He unloaded in Penelope’s pussy, thinking about all the babies he could make.

When they had both settled a bit, Penelope pulled him out of her, turned, and dropped to her knees. She worked with her tongue to clean up their combined cum. Between licks, she looked up at Daniel. “Can I be your … girlfriend?” He tasted so salty and so good. “I mean … I know you already have this mysterious girlfriend.” She popped him in her mouth, swirled her tongue, and then popped him out again. “But can I be your secret girlfriend, too?”

What could Daniel say? He’d already knocked her up. “Of course, Pen. You’re my secret girlfriend, too.”

“Oh, so your other girlfriend is a secret?” Penelope gave each of his balls a kiss and stood up. She walked down the hall to retrieve her clothes. She needed to get Daniel back to school.

“I didn’t say that.” Daniel dressed himself, watching Penelope’s wide, pale butt shimmy as she pulled on her panties.

“Yes, you did.” Penelope turned and winked at him. “I’ll figure it out someday, smartypants.”

“Whatever, Pen.” Daniel sighed and pulled on his shoes. “I have a test in a little bit, can you take me to school?”

“Of course.” Penelope went to fetch her purse. “I’m sure you’ll ace it. You always were such a nerd.” She rolled her eyes playfully at him, but closely gauged his reaction. He laughed it off and Penelope breathed a sigh of relief. She knew he was sometimes sensitive about her teasing him. “Are you still coming over tomorrow?”

“Sure.” Daniel walked up and gave her butt a smack through her dress. He thought about saying something about the baby, but still didn’t know what to say.

“Don’t worry about the baby, Danny.” Penelope put her hand on her stomach. “Brad will think it’s his. It’ll all be fine.”

“Yeah.” Daniel nodded. “It’ll be fine.” And he followed Penelope to the garage to get back to his test on time.

The cold air in the basement settled around Julie as she undressed. First, she took off her running shoes. Then her socks, yoga pants, panties, shirt, and sports bra. She stood naked and shivered. The treadmill came to life when she pressed start and stepped on. It gradually increased speed, until she was at a good jog. Her boobs took long bounding lunges, from side to side and up and down. They hurt, but not as much as Julie expected.

It was time for the twins to get home from school and normally she wouldn’t expect anyone to come down to the basement. But she’d left Daniel a very nice note on his desk telling him where to find her and what state of disrobe she’d be in. So, Julie expected her son to arrive any minute.

“What in heaven’s name are you doing, Jules?” George stood at the bottom of the basement stairs, watching his naked wife jog on the treadmill. The way her butt shook with each step was mesmerizing, but also scandalous. What if someone other than her husband had wandered down into the basement?

Julie looked over her shoulder and nearly tumbled from the treadmill. She caught her balance with a hand on the rail and lifted her feet off the rotating belt. “George. I was just …” She stepped off the treadmill completely and covered her boobs and brown bush with her hands and arms.

“What? You were just what?” George walked across the basement toward the laundry room. “You’re lucky it was me that found you running like some crazy hippie in the nude. The twins are due home any minute. What if one of them walked down here?”

“Running naked is … supposed to be good for …” Julie looked up at the ceiling as she thought up a lie. “I read this thing online that running naked is good for ageing women. It helps our bodies keep the sag away. You know, in Paleolithic times women didn’t have any supportive underwear.”

“You’re supposed to run like a caveman?” George stopped at the laundry room door and cocked his head. It was an interesting theory.

“A cavewoman. Yes.” Julie nodded and dressed herself.

“You don’t need to worry about sag, Jules.” George watched her boobs disappear back into her sports bra. “I mean, sure your breasts hang a bit. But they look wonderful. Better than on our wedding day.”

“Thank you, honey.” Julie blushed and pulled her pants on.

“Wow, Mom, I …” Daniel froze at the bottom of the stairs. “Oh, hi, Dad.”

“Avert your eyes, Danny. Your mother’s getting dressed.” George gave Julie an I-told-you-so look. When she’d pulled her shirt on, he looked back at Daniel. “Welcome home. It’s almost like I just warned someone of this exact situation.”

“What?” Daniel raised his eyebrows and looked back and forth between his parents. “Look, sorry to interrupt. I got your note, Mom. And I thought …” Daniel gave an exaggerated shrug.

“Note?” George felt like he was missing something.

“Oh, I just left a note on Danny’s desk welcoming him home and congratulating him on his test.” Julie studied George closely to see the effect of this lie. It seemed to do the trick. When had lying become such a habit for her? When had she become good at it?

“Test?” George perked up. “You did well on a test?”

“Yeah, I aced a math test today.” Daniel frowned. This was a lie. He’d actually barely passed his math test after Penelope had dropped him back at school. He hadn’t been able to concentrate after the news she’d dropped on him. The lack of studying hadn’t helped either.

“Excellent. Extra dessert for you tonight, kiddo.” George smiled, opened the door, and disappeared into the laundry room.

Daniel gave Julie a look that said what the heck is he doing here?

Julie mouthed the word sorry at Daniel. “Yes, lots of goodies for you tonight, Danny. Now run along upstairs and we’ll catch up with you later.” She gave him a wink. “If you’re in your room, I might bring you an early dessert in a few minutes.”

“Oh, okay. Thanks, Mom.” Daniel smiled and bounded back up the stairs.

“George. Are you busy for the next hour?” Julie called into the laundry room.

“Yeah, I’ve got to work on this leaky valve near the water heater. Why, you need something?” George called out at her.

“No. That’s fine, dear.” Julie couldn’t stop the smile that spread on her face. “That’s fine. I’ll catch up with you at dinner.”

“Sounds good. The water will be off for a little while.” George turned off the main and got to work. This house certainly kept him busy.

“Not a problem.” Julie turned and headed for the stairs. Hopefully the water would be back on by the time she needed a shower. They’d have to make this a quicky. No more than an hour, she promised herself.

“I was thinking you could put it in my butt, today. What do you want, sweetie?” Julie stroked his penis with her breasts, giving the head a lick every once in a while.

“About that …” Daniel took a deep breath. He really hoped she wouldn’t be mad at him. Better to tell her while she had her tits wrapped around his dick. He figured she’d be less likely to scold him that way. “Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue is but for a moment. Right?”

“Don’t quote the bible while I’m doing this for you, pumpkin.” Julie looked up at him with adoration. When was he going to mount her? He better do it soon or they were going to run out of time.

“I got a girl pregnant.”

“You what?” Julie stopped moving her breasts up and down and held them with his penis still buried between them. She looked up with incredulous, wide eyes at her handsome son. “You did what now?”

“It was an accident.”

“Well I guessed that much.” Her hands moved, almost as if on their own, and squeezed her boobs slowly up and down again. “Who is it? Is she one of your classmates? Did you use the condoms I got you? No, this must have happened before I got them. Was I too late?” Her hands sped up.

“She isn’t a classmate.” Daniel leaned back on his bed. He couldn’t believe she was still giving him a titjob after he’d broken the news.

“You conquered a teenager with this enormous thing, didn’t you?” Julie stood, straddled her son, and positioned his penis at her entrance. She really should be angry. Furious even. But the thought of him taking one of those high school seniors, digging her out, and leaving her full made Julie giddy. She wished she could have seen that girl’s eyes when Daniel plastered her womb. “Aaaaaahhhhhhhhh.” Julie lowered herself onto his penis and felt inch after inch slide in. “This is the penis that … uuugggghhhhhhh … penetrated some innocent girl.”

“I told you … uh … uh … uh … Mom.” Daniel grunted as his mother planted her feet on the bed and rode him with long, bouncing strokes. “She’s older.”

“You did?” Julie, her face twisted with lust, looked down into Daniel’s blue eyes and knew. A mother always knows these things. “You … ugghhhh … didn’t stop doing it with Penelope. Did you?”

Daniel shook his head and watched her big tits bounce and shake.

“Oh, gosh, Danny. You impregnated your brother’s wife?” The thought set Julie on fire. She switched up her movements, and rubbed her clit against him with hard, twisting gyrations. “What have you done?”

“She … was on the pill.”

“Your seed was so strong that … oooohhhhhh … it beat her birth control?” How many different layers of wrong were carefully placed on this one moment? A massive orgasm seized Julie and she convulsed with quick jerking motions on top of Daniel. “Aaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh.” Just as she came down from the orgasm, she felt the hot splashes inside her and heard Daniel’s familiar soft grunts. Another climax took her, one on top of the other. She closed her eyes and let the rapture carry her away.

A few minutes later, Julie opened her eyes and looked down at Daniel. He had his usual post-orgasm dreaminess about his face, but he also looked a little worried. She put her hands on his chest and felt that long pole still nestled inside her. “It’s okay.” She wouldn’t be a hypocrite. She was hardly one to cast stones on the baby issue. “I know Brad and Penelope were thinking about starting a family in a year or two. It’s just a little early. Everything’s going to be fine. Are you happy you’ll be an uncle?”

“Yes?” Daniel was not sure what the right answer was.

“Good.” Julie thought about something and her shoulders tensed. “Did you tell her about us? I know how pillow talk goes.”

“No.” Daniel shook his head adamantly. “I haven’t told anyone.”

“Good boy.” Julie squeezed her pussy on his penis and felt Daniel flex his giant thing back at her. “I’m disappointed you didn’t listen to me and you kept seeing her. But I understand how it is with teenagers. You are a horny lot.” Julie smiled at him. “Promise me you’ll use condoms from now on. No matter what the girl says about birth control.”

“I promise.” Daniel would certainly try.

“And you can’t sleep with your sister-in-law again.” Julie tried to look cross, but this was hard to do while naked and straddling her son’s lap. “I won’t have her break Brad’s heart.”

“I promise.” Daniel reached up and fondled her boobs. He was confident that he wasn’t really going to get in trouble. He thought about what would have happened if he’d told his mom about knocking up his sister-in-law before they’d moved into Palmer Mansion. It would have been fire and brimstone. But now, not so much.

Julie sighed and her hips rocked back and forth. “Okay, maybe one more time before I make dinner. Your father should be busy in the basement a while longer.” It was actually well past the hour she’d given herself, but Julie felt optimistic. “Fill me up … one … more … time.” She bounced her hips and she could hear the slurping sounds as that hard penis displaced the sperm he’d already dumped inside her. Why did sex with her son have to be so perfect?

The car slid to a stop in the snowy parking lot. Maxamed was a couple miles from the Anderson house, but he didn’t want to park any closer. He didn’t want the house to see him coming. The wheels slipped and spun as Maxamed pulled into a spot. Tonight was a perfectly lucid night for Maxamed. He felt clear headed. He’d woken at two in the morning, sneaked out of bed, and with the knowledge of exactly what he needed to do.

Maxamed got out of the car, opened the trunk, took out the tiki torch and lit it with his lighter. Not a roaring fire, but plenty good enough to burn the vile place to the ground. It seemed odd to hike down the street with a lit torch, but with the falling snow he needed something to help light his way. His boots crunched in fresh powder as he began his walk.

Awhile later, he arrived. Pulling his jacket tight around him with his left hand, Maxamed held the torch up with his right. He blinked in the snow at the shadow of the two Victorian towers rising above him. “You cannot have my wife,” he whispered.

Maxamed trudged down the front walk. The snow blanketed the place in silence. When he reached the front door, he was surprised to find it wide open. Was this the house’s invitation to its own destruction? Maxamed stepped in and held the torch aloft. The mansion was not as he remembered it. There were strange, dark paintings on the walls and new furniture. White people were always changing their décor. A door to his left stood open and a warm glow flickered from inside.

A flash of memory hit Maxamed. That was where he’d taken the boy for his exorcism. And something else had happened in there. Something horrible. Maxamed decided to start the fire there and then wake up the Andersons to flee. Once the fire got going, they wouldn’t be able to stop it. He strode across the large entry room, past the main stairs, and into the once locked room. He stopped dead in his tracks upon entering the room, his heart nearly beat out of his chest. Behind him, the door swung silently closed.

“Welcome to my favorite room, Mr. …?” A tall man in three-piece suit and top hat lounged in an armchair at the far end of the room.

“Samatar.” Maxamed ogled the man and his surroundings. The man had a thick, dark mustache and the blackest eyes Maxamed had ever seen. Smoke rose slowly from a pipe in his left hand. The room contained a sofa, a sideboard, a glowing oil lamp, and the armchair. Maxamed suddenly remembered tying Daniel Anderson to that chair. The room’s most striking feature, however, was an enormous brown bear that stood right next to the armchair and leaned its left forepaw on the man’s right shoulder. It watched Maxamed with hungry intensity.

“Mr. Samatar. Ah.” The man tipped his hat at Maxamed. “I am Mr. Frederick Palmer and this is my home.” He took a puff from his pipe and blew smoke up into the air, watching it writhe and twist.

“You are mistaken, this is a demon’s home.” Maxamed held the torch in front of him, as if it would ward off this new evil.

“The devil has his hooks in this place, to be sure.” Frederick nodded with thoughtful purpose. “But so does God. For I am His agent, messenger, and guardian. And He is filled with wrath. Our God is a vengeful God.”

“I do not recognize your god.” Maxamed eyed the sofa. A good place to start a fire. The bear moved slightly, shifting its weight. Allah help him, the thing was alive. Maxamed had hoped it was taxidermy. Maxamed’s knees began to tremble.

“But He does recognize your countenance.” Frederick’s gaze shone cold in the room. “And he cares not for it. Are you so wrapped in your possession of a woman that you would commit arson upon my house and burn alive those living in it?”

“I’ll get them out first.”

“That is a poor plan.” Frederick’s smile seemed more ice than human flesh. “It is said that to colonize a land, the colonizer must first till its soil, consume its fertility, and reap its harvests.”

“You talk in riddles.”

“It is metaphor.” Frederick sighed and looked over his shoulder at the bear. He nodded. The bear looked down with a sad, ursine face and nodded back. “I don’t see as much as I used to. As the years pass, my vision darkens and shadows move through my house. But He has told me that your wife has already been colonized by that witch.”

“Who? What witch?” Maxamed was beyond confused.

“You hear that clock?” Frederick paused and cupped a hand to his ear. The tick tock of a great grandfather clock somehow made its way into the soundproof room. “That was a wedding gift from my wife’s father. When her treachery became clear, I cleaved and hung her various parts in place of the clock’s pendulum and weights. The fucking thing kept ticking. Hell of a sight, that was. I moved the clock’s parts inside her. I’m happy to tell you that she no longer went tick tock tick tock.”

“That’s horrible.” Maxamed took a step back and looked over his shoulder to see the door closed behind him. “It can’t be true.” His pulse now beat in his ears.

“For he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer,” Frederick recited one of his favorite bible passages and rose from his chair, chewing on his smoking pipe. As he sucked in, the embers reflected red in his eyes. “You came tonight to foment fire and realize murder. That He cannot suffer. That I cannot suffer.” He nodded at Maxamed and the bear lumbered out from behind the armchair. Standing at its full height, it was greater than ten feet tall. It walked on its hind legs across the room.

“Back. Get back.” Maxamed’s voice wavered. He turned to the door, but it was locked. He then turned back to face the beast. “Help. Somebody help me.” He held the torch before him. The bear was only a few feet away. Maxamed could smell its sickly-sweet breath, and see the torchlight glistening on its sharp, yellowed incisors.

“They cannot hear you.” Frederick laughed. “No one will hear you.”

The bear knocked the torch away from Maxamed with a mighty arm. The flame extinguished as it clattered to the floor.

Maxamed made his last earthly sound, a keening, plaintive scream. But Frederick was right. No one heard him. No one came to his rescue.