** RAVEN'S HOLLOW – Part IX **
=== ATTACHMENTS AND REMINDERS ===
Eli had thought his passion was music, but success never came and love for love's sake could only carry a young, unattached man so far before doubts grew beyond his ability to self-deceive.
Tall and perpetually seeming in need of a haircut, Eli wandered and hitchhiked along the coast. His dark eyes were filled with sorrow one day, crinkling in joy the next.
With a lightly stained overcoat and the weight of a saxophone in its case on his back, Eli came to Raven's Hollow with the intention of only passing through, but the weather was turning dark fast.
He entered a resort that looked vastly out of his price range, just to ask for the nearest, more peasant-friendly accommodations.
To his surprise, an old man in a blue suit had offered him a free night in exchange for just one dinner's worth of a solo concert.
Lead by a chubby woman in a navy blouse, Eli arrived in the Fir Room – a spacious bedroom with furniture of untreated wood, brighter than much else of the old house and faintly smelling of forest.
With a deep breath, Eli dropped his coat and fell into bed. He wanted a hot shower right now, but every time he indulged himself, his thought wandered back to the words of his father. No, Eli refused to `come crawling back', but trying to make it as a musician entirely out of spite wasn't going to work either.
==========+++++==========
Carrying his saxophone along the corridor, Eli looked down onto the courtyard where peonies bloomed. With a space this big, he worried his tunes would end up distorted and echoing. Should he request moving the concert to a smaller room?
Thus distracted, Eli almost ran into a woman who burst from the first room by the stairs. She wore a knee long floral dress too scant even for the hallway's ambient temperature.
With an intense gaze from her large eyes, she stopped in front of him, curious, then full of recognition, then curious again.
"Oh, I'm sorry," she said, her voice exceedingly gentle. "I thought you were someone I knew. You don't happen to know a Kenneth Roberts?"
"My... my grandfather."
She was no older than thirty. She couldn't have known him personally. Eli's grandfather had been well known in his days, but those were long gone.
"Ah," she said. "I remember him well. His concerts..." She squinted. "I mean the recordings I've heard. Excellent. Oh and you've taken up his legacy, yes?"
Eli reflexively raised the brass instrument. "Yes, in a way. I... don't play much of his stuff but jazz was always my forte."
"Cecilia."
"Eli. I'm playing a few songs at dinner."
"Ah, I'll try my darndest to be there. It's not always up to me. I... I travel a lot, between places, and I feel I might travel again soon."
Darndest? Her whole mannerism was a bit old-timey. She looked detached enough to be a wallflower who had learned social interaction from books.
"I was about to call for a cup of tea," she said. "Would you like one?"
==========+++++==========
The Raven's Green Room was quite crammed with memorabilia. If it had been a home, not a hotel, the gadgets, snow globes, stacks of books and piles of dresses wouldn't have been too unusual. Eli wondered of Cecilia was a minor hoarder who traveled with all her belongings but then how could she travel frequently?
The conversation was pleasant but not enlightening. Cecilia was strangely eager to talk about nearly every subject and sounded like she had personal experience with everything Eli could think of, but as soon as her private life became relevant, she changed to a different topic.
Before long, it was time to play.
The man in the suit introduced him as hotel guests sat in the glass-roofed courtyard eating fancy dinner. Even the employees sat and ate.
Eli played.
Approving glances turned into cheers turned into dance. One of the employees grinded on a muscled teen who couldn't stop giggling. A massive black man swung around a blond guy like he weighed nothing. The man in a suit danced stiffly with an old, thin woman in black. Cecilia stayed on her own but sank deep into the tunes with eyes closed.
The acoustics of the space were surprisingly good for jazz performances. It was as though the portrait of the black woman behind Eli hummed along and kept the echoes away.
==========+++++==========
The suited man's name was Mordecai and as expected he owned the place. Even after the little concert he showed interested in the saxophone.
"Did you know your grandfather played with Laqueta Brown?" Mordecai said as he sat across from Eli in a little tea room off the courtyard.
"The name rings a bell but... Oh, there was a vinyl but it got all scratched up before I was born somehow. Dad wasn't always that careful."
"A shame," Mordecai said, sounding unsurprised as if he knew Eli's dad personally. "I thought you had a special gift, and no doubt you do, but it's figurative. I thought you have inherited something from Mister Roberts."
"Well, my passion I guess, though that's not shaking out quite as..."
"No, I meant literally. This wouldn't happen to be his saxophone, no? Didn't think so. Anything at all?"
Eli's brows furrowed. "I have a few things from him I left at Jason's. We... we were a five men band but things fell apart once we ran out of funds and had gotten nothing done. We were halfway to producing our own album but recoding renting equipment and... Chimes! I have grandpa's old chimes. I mean, Jason has them. I don't think those are what you wanted to hear about?"
Mordecai smiled. "They are. Could you get Jason to send them here?"
"Sure... Are they for a collection? Is this some kind of Laqueta museum?"
"Of a sort. How about five thousand."
"What?"
"For the chimes. Five thousand. If you have your bank data handy you can have it in advance."
Money alone wasn't going to bring the guys back together and in the recording studio but it was enough to try.
"Y-yes. Yes? I mean, there's no other answer, really. Oh, something I meant to ask. Cecilia, the lady from the green room. She was gone as soon as the encore was over."
"Ah, I'm afraid she couldn't delay her departure any longer." Mordecai rose with the help of a cane and stretched his legs. "Perhaps she is listening to Mister Robert's tunes right now. For some value of `right now'."
==========+++++==========
Officially, the Raven Resort didn't have night shifts, but Kamron volunteered for them anyway. The reception desk computer was more powerful than what he had at home and his MMO ran smoothly into midnight and beyond.
Slaying another goblin king, Kamron didn't notice as someone slipped through the entrance. The concierge jolted back to reality once the thickly muscled figure approached him.
The round-faced, brunet boy in a baggy sweater, camouflage pants and a reverse baseball cap clutched a skateboard like a lifesaver. He looked uneasy.
"Hunter?" Kamron asked. "What are you doing here?"
The boy flinched. "Y-you know who I am?"
"Uh, sure... Why?"
"Because I don't. I was just skating along and figured it's getting dark I better make it home. But then I realized I don't know where that is. Or where anything is. But I remember this place. No idea why. Can I stay?"
"O...kay," Kamron said, doing his best not to show his panic. "I'll get Jasper."
"Who?"
"...right. Maybe wait in the Blue Room. Up the left, first door."
The boy pulled out his wallet. Kamron was about to wave him off but Hunter only retrieved his ID to enter his own name correctly into the guest book – Hunter O. Cox – having forgotten even that.
"Jasper," Kamron whispered, "this time I'll kill you for real."
Kamron quickly found Jasper scrawling symbols from a tattered book onto interior window sills upstairs.
"Hey Kam," Jasper said. "I'm trying to set up a ghost detection system. Not sure I'm doing this right. Take a look at this page and tell me if my glyph looks-"
"Shut up."
"Uh," Jasper made, simply shocked.
"Hunter is here and he's got no memories. Not even his name. I know he's your new favorite toy to molest, so obviously you overdosed him on your brainwashing potion."
"Uh," Jasper made, again. Open mouthed, his eyes wandered to the floor. Then he jolted to life. "Fuck. I think I know what happened. I was trying to give Lazaro some more options so I made Untethering Mead. I must have confused it with Uncolored Mind when I mixed the oil."
"Fuck's sake, Jasper. How do we fix him?"
Jasper grinned like he didn't have a care in the world. "Oh it's going to fix itself. Just keep him here for a night."
Kamron's shoulders sank. "You really know how to give a man a heart attack. I like Hunter but I was really hoping this would be a wakeup call to you."
Jasper raised the hand that wasn't holding the book in a swearing gesture. "I promise I'll redo my organizing system. I'm serious. I don't actually like messing up, you know?"
Kamron turned away. "Fine. See you tomorrow."
"Um... Tiny problem. I had three customers today. Could you stay at the reception a bit longer? Till everyone's here?"
"You can't be ser- Ugh, sure."
"I own you big time, Kam. I swear I'll make it up to you."
"Yeah, you better."
==========+++++==========
Jasper's other memory-wiped customers worked for the Raven's Hollow fire department, as evidenced by their shirts - tight, white tees with the department name spanning their thick pecs.
Oliver was short and stout, making him look extra muscular. He was only a bit darker than Jasper but with more pronounced African-American features. Anders was a tall man with loose, dirt-blond curls and kind, calm eyes.
They arrived together, confused about why they had been drawn to the hotel when all their memories were missing but agreed to wait in the room with Hunter.
"Take one," Jasper said and handed Kamron two potted, white peonies. He carried one himself. "Now let's get those poor fools sorted out. I think we better make them sleep through the process."
"More drugs?" Kamron asked as they approached the room. "I'm not a fan of... Hear that? Are they fighting?"
The two concierges burst into the Blue Room.
On the bed, illuminated by iridescent spackles from the chandelier's gems and backlit by azure sconces, were two naked firefighters fucking a college wrestler.
Hunter was on all fours on the royal blue satin sheets, his face hidden between Anders' bulging thighs, bobbing up and down, while his glutes jiggled with the rhythmic impact of Oliver's broad torso.
"Hey," Anders said. "Do you have more lube? I'd like to fuck Hunter next."
Jasper put his peonies down on the desk and patted Kamron's back. "I guess that's what happens when you put three hunks without memories of pussy into a room. Get them more lube?"
Kamron fought to tear his eyes off the trio but left, while Jasper presented three needles and asked for a drop of blood from each man.
By the time Kamron was back with a tub of lubricant, the three white peonies on the desk had turned dark red, in stark contrast to the furnishing around them.
More importantly, Jasper was kneeling at the bed sucking Hunter's cock as the boy leaned back, getting fucked by Oliver from below. Anders stood on the bed and facefucked Hunter, his pale ass cheeks flexing as he thrusted into the eagerly gagging boy.
Kamron tore his hotel uniform off and joined in. "Brought lube. Here you go."
Jasper slipped off Hunter's cock but kept jerking it. "Thank you very much. You gonna be top or bottom?"
Kamron shrugged. "We'll see. I'm still taking care of Leo when necessary, so I'm feeling a little topped out." He cupped his crotch. "Isn't this weird? I thought that one drunk night in senior year would be the only time I'd have sex in the same room as you."
"Don't see the issue," Jasper said with an impish smile and gave Kamron a slap on the naked ass.
Five minutes later, Hunter was on his back getting fucked by Jasper while his dick got ridden by Anders. Jasper had his muscled arms wrapped around the tall blond's beefy pecs to keep their humps synchronized. Oliver's dick was in Hunter's mouth, getting a slow suckjob. Kamron was behind the bent over Oliver, sliding his cock in and out and savoring every second.
"Hey Kam?" the Raven alchemist said.
"Yeah?"
"I think the presence is haunting the manor again."
"You're going on a ghost chase now?" Kamron asked, voice strained as he reached under himself to finger his hole open.
"Never mind, it can wait another few days. Having fun?"
"Sure."
"Does that count as me making it up to you?"
"Nope, hehe. You still owe me."
Jasper sighed. "Fair."
"Hgng," Hunter mumbled into the black dick between his lips. "I'm close."
"Then let's switch it up," Oliver demanded.
Jasper ended up on all fours, getting sucked from underneath by the masturbating Anders, while Hunter fucked Jasper's ass with deep, aggressive thrusts. Kamron slid his dick along Anders' crack without entering yet while Oliver had sunken deep into the Asian concierge's ass.
"Hey Kam."
Kamron groaned with a mix of lust and annoyance. "What now?"
"Can you reach my phone?"
"Seriously?"
"Come on," Jasper begged. "Just one little pic for Alec. You don't have to be in it. Although, a fivesome is hard to beat."
"You're not telling me you've still got that competition going on."
Jasper wiggled his eyebrows. "Maybe."
Kamron tried to stay on Oliver's cock as he leaned off the mattress to dig in his friend's pants pockets. "I swear one day I'm dragging you both to family therapy."
==========+++++==========
Eli woke up from something splashing in his face.
He swallowed, then coughed and spat. The gross goo was all over his face. He wiped his eyes free with one hand and lit the bedside lamp with the other.
There was nothing to be seen, only the sensation of something thick running down his face and now clinging to his hand.
The bedsheets went flying, exposing his body to the chill air.
Hands gripped his wrists and ankles and held him spread eagle.
Eli grunted in confusion. Before he could think to shout for help, a massive finger entered his mouth – no, a dick. Two hands held his head facing forward. No wait, those were feet.
With those unseen feet keeping his head steady, Eli was raised upward until he was in reach of the ceiling. Fingers closing around his package made him grow erect despite the panic.
The dick in his mouth began to fuck. Despite the multitude of violations, this was the worst part. Eli had never tasted dick but ghost dick was no worse than what he imaged regular dick would taste like.
His legs opened wider against his will and something inserted itself into his hole. It was just a finger, thankfully, but it slipped past his resistance as if lubed, despite not leaving any residue he could feel.
The orally fucking dick cummed and pulled out after making Eli gag on the initial stream. The load was incredible. Ghost cum rained onto his chest and ran down his sagging body. Ropes kept splashing onto him.
New invisible hands held him up by the hip and the cum reversed, running from his shoulders onto the mattress underneath. The purpose of those hand, however, was not to hold him up but to spread his ass cheeks.
The finger in his ass was replaced by a phantom dick and Eli gargle-screamed at the intrusion. This provoked yet another dick, which shoved itself far enough down his throat to make him wretch and writhe in midair.
Eli was rock hard by this point and spasmed as the fingers holding his erection tugged lightly in a frustratingly minuscule motion.
The dick in his ass shot its load immediately, making Eli's hole spray invisible cum down on the sheets.
All hands let go and Eli dropped a foot before being caught again. As if toying with prey, the ghostly hands and feet turned him over with a toss so he was looking down on the bed.
The man looked along his body and between his legs. In the mirror he could see his hole getting opened by an invisible force as yet another dick fucked its way into him.
The phantom cock that had just been in his mouth reappeared at his lips and sprayed a load into Eli's face. No longer braced by feet, Eli shook the cum off as best he could, watching the sheets move under undetectable rain.
One more twirl and he faced upward again, with the dick in his ass as the rotation axis.
That anal intruder also creamed into him, adding pressure to Eli's own dick from inside that finally pushed him over the edge and he shot his own load from his steadily held tool without the benefit of orgasm.
The flying man dropped hard onto the mattress, hearing and feeling the splash of puddles underneath his back.
Before he could even roll off the wet spots, darkness overtook him and he feel into deep sleep.
The nightlight turned itself off as a hand that wasn't there pulled its string.
The young man would wake up caked in incredible amounts of cum and sticking to his sheets, horny enough to jerk off first thing.
Being five thousand dollar richer, with a plan and renewed passion, he'd care little to investigate.
==========+++++==========
"And the last one's home," Jasper said as he read the text message. "Which is good cause I don't remember which flower is which so I gotta do them all at once."
The Raven heir sat at the desk with three Blood Peonies lined up before him.
Kamron leaned by the door. "How does this work?"
"Their memories are tethered again by now, problem solved, but I can't let them remember the whole event from yesterday. One missing day won't confuse them too much – I hope."
"Oh you mean that you massaged their brains out with mystical chemicals?" Kamron asked. "Or that you made them forget their own names. Or that they ended up in an orgy with strangers which they'd never have done in their right minds and- Fuck, I'm guilty, too, huh?"
Jasper chuckled. He held up a Raven heirloom – a highly ornate pair of silver scissors. "Do you know what that means?"
Kamron leaned in. Within the complex embellishment was an inscription. One word on each blade.
"Carpe Diem. Seize the day."
"Wrong," Jasper said with a knowing smirk. "It means pluck the day. It's always been a gardening metaphor."
He pulled the dark red peonies together and put their three stems between the blades. "Bound by blood, flower to man. Hunter, Anders, Oliver. As I claim these lives from the garden of earth, I claim your days from the garden of time."
Snip