It`s a Long Way 7

Pater Michele took a linen cloth and wiped the sweat from his forehead. Usually, taking the confession at Santa Eulalia was easy: the nuns usually hadn`t much opportunity to sin and some of them just came to him since it was one of the rare occasions they were allowed to talk. Today, however, it had been different and the reason for that was Innocentia.

He had already known from the written report the matron had given him that the Black had disobeyed the rules and therefore had to be punished. Pater Michele had seen to Innocentia and had to admit that the punishment was strict, but just. However, it seemed that Innocentia had some bad influence on the nuns.

No less than four of the younger nuns had confessed that washing or spanking the naked body of the Black had caused some disturbance inside them. Since Pater Michele also heard confessions from worldly people, he knew what they meant. He had given these four some mild penances and he knew that they had been tempted – but by whom?

»I have proven she is no witch and she received baptism without any problems or even trying to avoid it – so, how can she still influence these poor nuns?«

As a man of science, he did not believe in common superstition, but of course, he knew that demons existed. After all, several authorities and even the Pope himself had assured that. But how could a demon accept baptism and work its evil powers within the sacred walls of a monastery?

As usual, Mother Agatha was the last of the nuns to confess. Of course, she also brought up the topic of Innocentia and so, they could talk about her.

»She`s definitely willful and defiant! But she`s also human, at least physically. I can`t believe she`s a real Succubus.«

Pater Michele, however, could hear the doubt in her voice and also the sorrow for her co-sisters. So, he made her promise that she would keep an eye on Innocentia and tell him immediately if something unusual happened.

***

»Uuuhmmmm!«

»Mph!«

The conversation between Jelena and Janika had gotten them to nothing, just like their efforts to get free.

Those who had attacked Jelena had carried the struggling girl, who had a sack over her head and a hand clamped over her mouth, with them before they had forced her to the ground and started to bind her up. By then, Jelena had overheard that her attackers were a bunch of women.

They tied her wrists behind her back and then pulled the sack down to her waist and wrapped more cord around her arms and upper body, pulling the strings tight and not taking care that they squeezed her boobs. A big knot was forced in her mouth, though her head was covered by the burlap sack, and then, the ends were knotted at her nape. When they had also tied her legs at knees and ankles, Jelena had been pulled over to a beam, leaned against it and secured to it with more rope.

There had been a whispered conversation of her captors and then, one had pressed something pointy against her ribs.

»No sound, or you are dead!«

So, Jelena had waited in enforced silence and heard that at first, Janika had called her name. Then, there had been approaching steps, some swishing sounds and then, there had been a fight. Now, it seemed to be over and though Jelena could not see, she knew that Janika had lost since she could only hear some rustling and an occasional grunt.

Indeed, the women – and there had been at least seven of them – had taken no chances. They had thrown two fishnets over her and so, entangled in the web, she had been unable to fight them off. Now, Janika was wrapped tightly inside these nets and a thick heavy hawser. Her mouth had been stuffed to the bursting with rags and then, another piece of the heavy rope had been tied between her lips to keep the gag in place. Janika could see, but she was even more restrained than Jelena and in addition, their captors still were around them.

Janika now recognized some of them as the wives and daughters of the fishermen and she began to understand: they feared that she and Jelena would take their men! And by the way they had flirted with Alessandro and Nino, albeit just to help Tabea, this was not even far-fetched. However, Janika was not really worried. These were simple women and girls, not killers.

»Soon, they will hold a speech that we shall take our fingers from their men and leave! Then, they will maybe spank us, but after that, they will let us go!«

»Jelena! Janika!«

It were the voices of Nino and Alessandro and though they still seemed far away, their captors acted immediately. Again, a knife was pressed against Jelena`s ribs whilst the others just sat down on Janika. One of them she recognized as Gabriella even took a ragged cloth and pressed it over her face, further muffling her moans, and only loosened her grip once and awhile so Janika could still breathe.

The two men came closer and Janika, though her head was pressed down, could even get a glimpse of Nino standing in the door of the warehouse, but obviously, he could not see them in the dark and neither she nor Jelena could alert him. It was only when they had gone for some minutes that Gabriella relaxed and again allowed Janika, who had nearly suffocated, to breathe again.

»You will never see him again!«, she hissed into Janika`s ear. Had she been ungagged, the blonde would have promised her that if they would just let them go now, but obviously, these women wanted to take more secure measures.

Two of them now cut loose Jelena from her post, but left her restrained otherwise. They then carried the girl outside the warehouse, but came back after a short time. To her dismay, Janika saw that their skirts were trenched up to the knees. Had they drowned Jelena?

»Hhrrrrmmph! Uuuhmmm! Mph!«

Janika fought when they tried to carry her outside, too, but packed and wrapped as she was, the seven women finally managed to drag her with them. Then, after a few yards, she was thrown and landed on something hard and shaky.

»Mhhmmph!«

She squirmed and managed to raise her head, only to see that she and Jelena were lying in a boat. Outside, the women were standing, pushing the boat deeper into the water.

»Ciao, Belle!«, Chiara said mockingly, and then, her figure and that of the others became smaller. Obviously, the boat was now dancing on the waves.

»Well, not much improvement since the last time we did a boat trip!«, Janika thought, but then, she saw that there was indeed a significant difference. There was water streaming in from different leaks. The boat obviously had been abandoned because it`s planks were all rotten.

A mew from Jelena, who was lying in a veritable puddle of sea water already, told her that she had recognized their latest predicament, too. Blindfolded, she squirmed and also managed to get herself into a more upright position.

Not that this had improved their situation much. Janika could see that they had not drifted very far: the shore was just some 15 or 20 yards away. Not even shouting distance, had they been able to shout. But there was nobody except for the group of women who were just walking back towards the city, avoiding to even look back.

Janika looked into their boat. It would not sink immediately, but they would have only a few minutes left. By then, they would still be close to the shore, but tied as they were, two yards in depth were as lethal as 2000. Janika knew that they had only one chance.

»Mph! Uhhm!«

As vigorously as her bondage allowed, she began to throw herself around, causing the boat to shake. Jelena screamed into her gag, obviously thinking they were about to die. Janika ignored her and continued her efforts and finally, the boat capsized.

Janika was pulled downwards by her heavy restraints, but as she had hoped, the water was still shallow. She squirmed and managed to get her feet to the ground, pushing herself upwards. Her head broke through the surface and though she swallowed some water and had to struggle for a while, she finally managed to stand on wobbly legs, the water just reaching to her chest.

»Mhhrrrmmm!«

Desperately, she looked for Jelena, who was less severely bound, but who could not see, was smaller than her and in addition had not been involved in Janika`s daring plan of escape. There, some yards away, she could hear a muffled snort and could see a hooded head break through the water. It seemed that Jelena was able to keep balance, too, for she managed to keep her head above the surface.

With some difficulties, Janika hopped over to her and Morse coded by moans:

»I-T-W-O-R-K-E-D!«

Jelena panted, then, she answered by some muffled grunts and screams that needed no translation: obviously, she was quite upset. Janika ignored her and then, she moved until she touched Jelena`s body.

»F-O-L-L-O-W-M-E!«

»Mph!«

Jelena still sounded angry, but then, she followed Janika, listening to her panting and grunting. It took them some hour, but by first hopping, then crawling, they managed to get to the shore. There, they were lying on their backs, their legs still in the water. Both girls panted and were totally exhausted, but when Janika was just thinking that they hadn`t improved much, she could see that Jelena had found some sharp stone and was working on her wrist ties.

Again, progress was slow, but finally, Jelena had freed herself from the ropes, her gag and the sack. She then crawled over to Janika and bent over her.

»Why haven`t you warned me? Just counting to three would have helped!«

»Mph!«

»Is that all you have to say?«

»Nngg!«

Janika stared at Jelena who suddenly could no longer be serious. Her lips trembled and then, she started to giggle hysterically. She clumsily hugged Janika and breathed:

»Next time, you tell me if you are trying to kill us!«

»Mph!«

She then began to work on Janika`s bonds. It wasn`t an easy task, since the now wet ropes were hard and she had only her stone. After a while, she gave up. Using her remaining strength, she pulled Janika fully out of the water and behind a rock. The blonde protested, but Jelena needed some time to catch breath again. Then, she whispered:

»I can`t even get your gag undone without hurting you, let alone cut these ropes. I will sneak back and see if I can get a knife or something!«

Janika wasn`t happy she should remain bound and gagged, but she nodded and Jelena disappeared. She realized that it was late in the afternoon already. She had no idea what the people of Pescara would do on a Sunday afternoon, but obviously, it took place elsewhere. Then, she heard a strange sound.

For a terrible moment, she thought that she had discovered another gagged woman, but then, she recognized the sigh as that of a woman in the throes of passion. Curiously, she sneaked to the hut where it came from. First, she could see a pile of clothes and then, she saw a man and a woman who were enjoying the carnal sides of love. Jelena smiled involuntarily when she saw that she knew these lovebirds. It were Chiara and Alessandro.

»So, sending someone to death is an aphrodisiac! And you, Alessandro, sure were not struck with grief for very long!«

She fumed, but then, she had a better idea than shouting at these two. She quickly sneaked forward, grabbed their clothes and sprinted away. According to the fact she could hear nothing but another sigh, she guessed that they hadn`t even noticed her.

Quickly, she returned to Janika and told her about what had happened. The blonde was still gagged, but her eyes showed some glee. At least, one of their attempted murderers would have a lot to explain!

Jelena`s prey was quite promising. In Alessandro`s belt, there had not only been his purse (that only contained a few small coins), but also his knife. Now, it was a matter of minutes until Janika was freed, too. The two girls hugged and then, they looked at what they had.

Jelena`s dress was a bit disheveled and torn on a few places, but apart from the fact it still was damp, it was okay. Janika, however, only had rags left and so, she had the choice of either putting on Alessandro`s clothes or Chiara`s dress. With a sigh, she decided for the latter, though it only reached down to her knees and was a bit tight around her ample breasts.

»Like that, I`m just indecent, but dressed like a man, they may call for an exorcism!«

Their involuntary boat trip had started on a part of the fishing harbor that was outside the inner city and its walls and so, the two girls decided to hide in some barn for the night.

»Tabea may enjoy the hospitality of the nuns a little longer. I am not sure about the local currency, but I think, our money will at least get us some provision. Let`s get to some village and tomorrow, we will get back to Pescara and try to get inside the monastery!«

***

Santa Eulalia was an order of silence, but there were three occasions when the nuns were allowed to speak: during ceremonies, at their confessions – and at emergencies. Of course, if a nun detected a fire or a thief, no one expected her to do a pantomime to alert the others. And obviously, Sister Pankratia, one of the younger nuns, was calling at the matron because she had seen some severe danger.

»Honorable Mother!«

She did not shout, but at such a quiet place, even a low voice attracted attention. Mother Agatha rose from her chair and put her hand gently on the shoulder of the young nun who had thrown herself to her knees and sobbed. Though she could be stern, Mother Agatha also cared for her co-sisters and so, she looked friendly at Sister Pankratia and made a prompting gesture. The nun cleared her nose, took a deep breath and then, she uttered just one word:

»Sodomy!«

Mother Agatha frowned. From time to time, it happened that two sisters were haunted by a demon and were tempted to show each other more than just sisterly love. On some occasions, these poor souls even succumbed to their unnatural desires.

She sighed. For years, there hadn`t been such problems and they had lived in peace and chastity. Perhaps, it had just been a minor offense, like a kiss. Something that could be taken care of by just reprimanding the two nuns. However, she now had to do something. Still remaining calm and friendly, she asked:

»Who?«

She expected Pankratia to hesitate. in a small monastery, they each knew each other well and sure, she did not want to betray a co-sister. But at once, Pankratia said:

»Innocentia!«

The memory of her talk with Pater Michele, about Innocentia being a Succubus, occurred in front of her inner eye. A Succubus was a female demon who seduced men. And obviously, sometimes also women.

»Sister Pankratia!«

The young nun stared at the matron. Mother Agatha, though becoming a bit impatient, forced herself to remain calm as she asked:

»Innocentia – and who else?«

She steeled herself to hear the name of any of her beloved sheep to have succumbed to the sin. But before she could fall into the sin of perhaps suspecting one more than the other, Pankratia breathed:

»J-just Innocentia!«

Again, she sobbed and began to silently pray. Mother Agatha padded her shoulder and then, she went for the stairs leading into the cellar. Two thoughts were haunting her. The first would have been a relief:

»Maybe, this poor thing has just seen a shadow or heard a strange sound coming from Innocentia and she mistook something harmless for a sin!«

It would have been a plausible and soothing explanation. There was, however, the other possibility: that Innocentia was a real demon and had done something that had frightened the young nun.

Mother Agatha had reached the main cellar, where they kept their food and wine storages. The cell where Innocentia was kept was below her feet, but there was also a small lid through which it was possible to have an eye on the captive. When Innocentia had been brought to the cell, Mother Agatha had ordered that the hinges would be oiled so the lid could be opened without a sound to allow a secret observation.

She put out her lamp to adjust to the dark and slowly opened the lid. The cell was only lit by a single, flickering candle and so, she could hardly see much. But she could see that obviously, the girl had misbehaved once more, for she had been punished by a leather strap that forced back her head. This strap was fixed to a wooden hook that stuck in the girl`s rear. A harsh punishment, but sometimes, one had to be taught to behave the hard way.

Then, however, she saw that Innocentia was moving her head back and forth. She could hardly move it at all, but her movements of course had an effect on the hook. As Mother Agatha looked closer, she could see that Innocentia also wriggled her hips the little she could and she was panting and occasionally sighing, but not from pain. Finally, a breath of a specific fragrance she thought she had forgotten about long ago reached her senses.

»So that kind of Sodomy poor Sister Pankratia was talking about!«

She carefully closed the lid and went straight to her office. There, she wrote a letter to Pater Michele and then once more broke the rule of silence to tell one of the servants to get it delivered immediately.

***

Tabea felt tears build in her eyes. She definitely was at her limits. She was thirsty, as since she had refused her soup in the morning, she had had nothing to eat or drink. In addition to feeling numb from being perpetually tied to the Andreas` Cross for some 30 hours now, her neck hurt from being pulled back so harshly. She had suffered for hours and even the only distraction she had found had turned out to be a curse.

The hook in her anus was just irritating, but Tabea knew that under other circumstances, she would have enjoyed a little penetration from behind. Of course, it would not be sufficient without some stimulation of her clit and vagina, but at least, it sent some little waves of pleasure through her when she had moved her head and wriggled her hips the little she could, making her feel a bit better for a while. Then, an even greater frustration had taken over since she had not been able to somehow get over the brink and so, Tabea had ended up even more exhausted and in the claws of deep, black frustration.

»Oh my God, I will bow to any of their stupid rules, I will even help Pater Michele in his campaign, but please, get me out of this! I can`t stand it any longer!«

As an answer, the candle had went out, causing Tabea to panic and to scream into her stifling gag until exhaustion stopped her. Then, she finally saw a beam of light. Literally.

First, she could not see who had entered, but then, she could make out the silhouettes of the matron – and Pater Michele! For a second, she thought that she had passed out for days and that it was next Sunday, but obviously, it was just an extraordinary visit.

Silent as usual, the matron released Tabea from the head strap and pulled the hook out of her rear. With a deep groan, Tabea lowered her head, only to be gently held by the priest. He held a water hose to the little opening in her gag and greedily, the exhausted girl drank.

It took her quite some time to realize that it was neither water nor soup. Tabea mmphed and tried to move her head, but now, the matron held her head steady whilst Pater Michele continued to instill her the content of the hose. Since the gag almost touched the back of her throat, she had no other choice than to drink.

The liquid felt warm in her belly, warm and pleasant. The aces in her limbs ceased and weariness took possession of her.

»It`s a poison! Or some drug!«

Again, she tried to resist, but she felt that she was even weaker than before. She became dizzy and more and more, the contours of the priest and the nun began to blur. Tabea blinked and then, her eyes twisted and everything went black.

***

The next morning, the doors of Pescara were opened for the public and soon, travellers and salesmen crowded the streets. No one took notice of the two women that entered the city about an hour after dawn.

Jelena and Janika had indeed been lucky. Alessandro`s money had not only been sufficient for a meal and some provision, but also been enough for two large cloths and two pairs of simple straw shoes. Janika had draped one cloth around her hips to hide her too short dress whilst the other concealed her blonde hair. Jelena, who could pass as an Italian, had not taken such precautions.

They avoided the harbor region for obvious reasons, but it wasn`t difficult to find the monastery. Janika looked at the small door.

»Looks solid to me. And besides, this street is quite crowded. Let`s see where this warehouse is Nino had talked about.«

So, the two girls strolled along the streets until they had finally found a large building that looked indeed as if it had been abandoned for some time. They sneaked inside and decided to climb up to the upper stage where there were enough gaps in the planks to allow looking outside whilst they would remain hidden.

»Bingo!«, Janika whispered. Jelena looked and beneath them, there was a little garden where herbs were raised in neatly arranged beds. The two nuns working there took the last doubt that this was the monastery`s garden.

»Now, where could Tabea be?«

Janika had been a policeman before she had been hired by Sandor whilst Jelena was a linguist, but had also studied history. So, she also had some knowledge about monasteries.

»I am not sure, but they either have given her a cell of her own or a bed in the hospital. I doubt that such a small monastery has got its own guest rooms.«

She pointed at a small patio that was surrounded by an open corridor with columns.

»That`s the cloister. From there, we should have access to all rooms, including the cells.«

Janika looked at the two nuns. They would be no match for her, but it would be hard to attack them both without one of them alerting the others. However, Jelena stopped her when she was trying to remove one of the planks.

»Easy, hotshot! We have to wait for the bells!«

She explained to Janika that every few hours, the nuns would go to their church for prayer. Usually, those who had important work would be suspended from church service, but since these nuns were mainly dedicated to prayer, she was sure that at least during the evening prayer, every nun should be in church.

»I say, we use the next prayer to get some planks loose, so we can get down quickly once it`s evening time.«

This sounded like a plan and when they heard the bell toll and saw the two nuns walk inside, they started to work and soon, they had prepared a passage that could not be seen from the garden, but would allow them to climb down within a few seconds. Now, they worked out their further stratagem:

»If Tabby`s in her cell or at the hospital, it`s quite easy. We just take her with us and hide here until we can make or way out. Maybe, we can even take a nun`s habit with us, so she can hide by putting it on. If she keeps her head down, nobody will notice she`s black.«

Of course, this wasn`t the most elaborate plan, but it was the best they could do in their current position. So, they just waited as the hours slowly passed.

Then, when the sun went lower and the bell could be heard another time, the two girls quickly climbed down. They had used the time waiting to splice some old ropes lying around together and make a rope ladder from it. They sneaked through the garden and then slipped through the door, entering the cloister.

As they had hoped, it was empty. From behind two doors, however, they could hear some noise.

Behind the first door was the kitchen. Two servants were preparing dinner whilst a third was laying the table. Jelena counted 13 plates.

»Okay, let`s see if Tabby has to join the service!«

The Latin prayers had told them already that behind the other door was the church. The door was only ajar and since the choir was lit by several candles and the nuns were sitting in two rows, they could easily tell that none of them was Tabea. Jelena, however, frowned.

»Thirteen nuns!«

»So?«, Janika asked. Jelena looked around if they were still alone and whispered:

»I counted thirteen plates in the kitchen. So, Tabea is not eating together with them. That means, she`s either in the hospital-«

They quickly looked for that room and found it empty. It had three beds and none of these looked as if someone had slept in them recently. Continuing their search, they found the nuns` cells and other rooms a monastery usually had, but no sign of their friend. Janika pulled Jelena inside one of the cells and asked:

»When you said she`s either in the hospital, this implied an ›or‹, didn`t it?«

Jelena looked at her with an expression of concern.

»The priest may have baptized her, but Tabea`s still a Black in 16th century Europe. Maybe, they didn`t consider her human enough to treat her with humanity!«

Janika gulped.

»You mean, they have put her in some cell – a prison cell, I mean?«

Jelena just nodded. This would add some difficulties, including the fact that they didn`t have any key. But since they were here anyway, they decided to look for the cellar and after a short search, they had found the staircase.

It ended in a room filled with barrels and sacks that smelled from the foods and spices they contained. Again, it was empty, but at least, they found a lamp and also a burning candle so they could light it.

»Look!«

Now, they could see that in the little platform in front of the cellar, there was an iron ring and they saw it was fixed to a heavy stone lid. Working together, they could open it and found the stairs going deeper.

»Dark as a bear`s ass! After you!«

Janika carefully went down the stairs. Jelena took a small barrel and placed it in a way it would keep the lid from falling shut and followed the blonde.

The stairs ended at another door, made from solid iron and looking heavy. Janika tested the handle and to their surprise, it slid open without hesitating and even without a sound.

»Holy shit!«

They stepped inside a room that was some five yards long and four yards wide. It was dominated by a large contraption in its middle. As the two girls stepped closer, they could see it was two large crossed wooden bars that formed an »X«.

»Phew, what`s that?«, Jelena asked, cringing her nose. Janika silently pointed at a bucket that stood near the center of the cross and that obviously contained some urine.

As they looked closer, they could more signs of what must have happened inside the dungeon: the bars were scuffed on several positions, as if something had been tied to them and maybe chafed the wood. On the floor, there were several pieces of rope, each of them cut by a knife and with several knots in it.

»These bastards! They must have kept Tabby here! in total darkness and tied to that horrible contraption!«

Jelena shuddered and though she usually despised any weakness, Janika put her in her arms. She heard the other girl sniffle and then, with a hoarse voice, Jelena whispered:

»Whatever they have done to her, one thing is even worse. She`s no longer here – and we have not the slightest idea where Tabea`s now!

***