Zodiac, Chapter 1
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Zodiac, Chapter 1
By William W. Kelso
I drove past the old mansion, but not too slowly. I didn't want to draw any attention to myself. Not that it was very likely; the houses in this old neighborhood were far apart with huge yards. They probably couldn't even see the houses next door. Which made it perfect, this old neighborhood was mostly older retired folks or widows/widowers, and they were also less likely to have modern alarm systems. But they'd have plenty of goodies, oh yes. About a year ago I hit an old place about two blocks away and came away with a coin collection I got over thirty grand for, one of my best hauls ever. This neighborhood was third or fourth generation old money; and stuff was just lying around for the taking. But I had my standards, and I never hit a place if I thought anyone was home, and if I was interrupted I just split, I wasn't going to take a chance on someone getting hurt, especially myself. I never carried a weapon, only amateurs and/or idiots did that.
I'm a cat burglar, and a damn good one. Been doing it over twenty years, and never been caught once. How? Planning and research, and never take anything that can be traced. By keeping a low profile you go unnoticed. Get greedy or careless and you get nailed. Plus don't spread money you can't explain around, it attracts unwanted attention. It beat working for a living to make someone else rich, and I enjoyed the adrenalin rush. And there was nothing better than taking it easy and going through a big haul and thinking about how much you'd get for each item. And I only hit a place about three times; four at the max, a year. And always nice fat targets. I'd seen an article in a local "Homes and Gardens" kind of magazine about the lady that lived here, supposedly some famous retired archaeologist or something. Inherited the place from her parents and lived alone except for a daytime maid. I'd cased it for the last two weeks, and if the old Mercedes wasn't in the drive by the front door the old lady wasn't home. And it wasn't, and hadn't been for several days, so tonight I'd make my move. But first one last drive-by, and bingo, still no car. So I drove to the spot I'd picked in advance to leave my car; planning, and got out. I was already in my "burglar" outfit which was just dark jeans, dark gray sweatshirt, and tennis shoes. My bag was just a gym bag, complete with towels and other stuff you'd find in a gym bag. Just in case I was pulled over, everything I had was perfectly normal. I had an old tool kit in the trunk, but nothing to indicate what I used them for. Those films you see of the burglars in black tights wearing masks are pure BS, any who wore an outfit like that might as well hang a sign saying "I'm a Dumbass, Arrest Me!" around their necks. I dumped out the contents of the gym bag, put on a black ski cap and thin black leather driving gloves, got a few tools out of the trunk, and was ready for a night of breaking the law.
I approached the huge old hulking house through an overgrown garden, plenty of cover and NO pets. Dogs can be a real pain. You hear a dog, you split. I moved carefully up to the back of the place and took a good look around for any signs of an alarm system. No tape on the windows, no signs of sensor switches on the doors or windows, and then a gift from heaven, an open window! Why thank you very much, how considerate. It was open just a couple of inches, but I oiled the grooves and it slid the rest of the way up silently. Nope; just like I had thought, no alarm system. I eased myself into what appeared to be an unused storage or bedroom, or bedroom being used for storage. Whatever. There was bed with a sheet over it and lots of stacked boxes. Everything was dusty; no one had been here in a long time. There was enough light from the window that I could see clearly, and I have excellent night vision. But I had a penlight with a narrow concentrated beam, and of course extra batteries. You do NOT want your batteries to go dead in the middle of work. Plus if you use a regular flashlight it will show up in the windows and a snoopy neighbor or passerby might notice. And since most folks don't walk around their house in the dark with a flashlight it tends to look suspicious.
I exited the room and started taking a quick look around. I always scoped a place out before I started putting goodies in my bag. Don't want to fill it up with junk before finding the good stuff. At first I was disappointed as all I found were more rooms being used for storage, a dusty library with lots of dead things heads hanging on the wall, and basically just junk. Man, I really hated to waste my time. I found the kitchen, then exiting through another door things started to pick up. I'd found the lived-in part of the huge old house. A nice cozy den with a fireplace; and on the mantle there were some nice trinkets. I looked at two candlesticks, sterling, old, nice, in the bag. I stayed away from the china and porcelain stuff, too fragile and too easy to trace. Then I found a study, and bingo! Some nice looking old gold and silver coins, a small tray with some rings and jewelry in it, a small Art Nouveau clock which I bagged, for my own collection as I love the stuff. There was some other larger, heavier, stuff, but I decided to keep looking around before I weighed myself down.
But I hit the jackpot in the next room. It looked like it used to be a dining room at one time, but now it looked more like a private museum. I turned to one wall and almost freaked when my light hit the face of a real mummy inside a glass case. Damn thing scared the crap out of me. I mean; really, what kind of nut keeps a mummy in their living room anyway? I gave a shudder, and kept looking. Some cases had old pottery and stuff in them, probably valuable, but not my area of expertise. Then I came to cases with more coins, lots of silver and gold. Oh yeah! And jewelry too, really old looking stuff with all sorts of precious stones. I was very pleased; this was turning out to be a good night! My bag was getting pleasantly heavy from all the gold and silver goodies I was stuffing into it. Then I came to the far wall and there was one small display case with something in it standing by itself like it was special, a good sign. I shined my light in the case and sucked in my breath. Oh yes indeed, very special! It was a large fancy medallion, obviously solid gold and inlaid with lots of small gems. I checked the case for an alarm, and nothing. So trusting, so naïve. I carefully lifted off the glass top and picked up the medallion, and even better it had a long heavy gold link chain. My bag was pretty full, so I looped the chain and medallion over my neck and tucked inside my sweatshirt. Sucker weighed about four pounds! Well, time to go, enjoyed my visit, thanks for all the memories. Don't bother, I'll see myself out. What a haul!
I started across the room and passed through beams of moonlight coming through a window, and dropped my bag with a scream and started clawing at my shirt as a cold burning pain blossomed in my chest. Oh Jesus Christ! Was I having a heart attack? Oh God it hurt! I fell to my knees with a sob and managed to tear open my shirt, and that damn medallion was glowing like it was white hot. With a moaning whimper I tried to take it off, but it was stuck to my skin like it was glued. My whole body felt like it was on fire now, and I felt an itching tingling sensation all over and it felt like my skin was crawling and rippling. I kept clawing at the burning medallion, but then noticed something strange was happening to my fingers. They were flattening out and looked, fuzzy? And as I stared in total incomprehension I saw; and felt, what looked like thick hairs or bristles sprouting from my arms, and I could feel them all over me, and they hurt as they pushed through my skin, and itched horribly. My fuzzy fingers took on more definite forms and I saw what they were becoming now, feathers! What the fucking hell!?! And the bristles were becoming feathers as well as they unfurled and filled out! No! I, what?? This is impossible!! I gave a moan of pain as suddenly my tennis shoes began to swell and I could feel my feet getting larger, but before I could take them off they burst and long ribbed hard looking toes ending in sharp talons pushed through my socks and ripped my shoes to pieces. And they were my toes, I could feel them! The feathers on my arms were now many inches long and really did look like feathers, dark brown or tan. The horrible burning and itching just got worse and I could feel more feathers rubbing uncomfortably against the inside of my clothes and something pushing against my pants. It was hard to do as my fingers were gone now, but I managed to shed my already torn sweatshirt and peel it off. The feathers on my chest and back felt better after that, but I couldn't get my pants off as I had nothing to grasp the waistband with. This can't be happening I thought, panicking more and more. I tried to walk, to run, on my deformed legs and feet, but just ended up doing a nosedive as my center of balance was off now, and rolled onto my side wildly kicking and flapping my arms as I tried to get up. Oh God it hurt, please make it stop! Then I let out a shrill shriek as I felt my head start to change shape, and felt my lips stretch and start to feel hard and immobile as they pushed out of my face and with horror I could see down my BEAK! Arrrrrawwww! I shrieked, clacking my still growing beak together. "Rawwwwkk! Uuuurrrawk!" Still kicking and struggling I managed to get to my feet again and stood there swaying from pain and disorientation. I had my arms tucked up close to my sides, and stretching them out I looked at my new wings. Wings! I thought as I shut my eyes and swayed, breathing heavily. The burning cold pain had faded now, and I could feel the medallion sliding against my chest feathers, it wasn't stuck to me anymore. I lowered my head, and hooking a clawed toe over the chain I managed to slide it off my neck. Then I kicked it away as far as I could. And about that time the lights came on. Busted! But I just stood there blinking my eyes. I felt no urge to run; I was too stunned to do anything except stare straight ahead. "Urrrrawwwkkkk!" I moaned. God, was this even real? I looked at the feathers covering my body in horror.
"Well, well. What have we here? A woman's voice said. It appears I have an uninvited guest, but I must admit he'd not what I expected. Now what have you done to yourself my friend?
"Rurrrrk? Bac, eerrr, buc-buc-buc-awk!" I said as I lifted and swiveled my head towards the voice. What a minute, that NOT what I meant to say. Desperately I tried to talk, to say something, anything! "RUUUR! BUC-BUC-AWK! ARAWK-AK-AK-AROOO!". Oh, Holy Crap, I just crowed! OMG I'm a giant chicken! Noo!
The lady said, "Don't try to talk my friend, you can't anymore. Now let's see what you've been into. Oh, and don't try to run, I'm a good shot."
And for the first time I noticed the biggest shotgun I'd ever seen in her hands. So I froze and just nodded my head. Then I looked down at myself and gave a moaning "Arrrrrwk!" of disbelieving horror. My pants had finally slid off a body they no longer fit. I was crouched over and leaning forward, but it felt natural, and what I could see of my body was covered in dark orange-brown feathers, except for my yellowish colored legs that looked like they belonged on a lizard and ended in four toed feet with nasty claws, three in front and one in back where my heels used to be. Looking over my shoulder I could see the fan of my tail faithers. "Urrrk, buc-buc-urawwwkkk!" I said as I tried to talk again. The woman looked around for awhile while I just stood there trying to accept and believe what had happened. This was fucking insane! Finally she came back and she didn't look happy.
"Well, she said, it would appear you were helping yourself to some of my collection, the best pieces as a matter of fact, you have a good eye. But it would also appear you messed with something you shouldn't have. Now I wonder what it was? I have an Aztec bracelet that turns the wearer into a Jaguar, a ring that turns you into a fox for good, but nothing that turns someone into a bird so far as I know.
I looked around for the medallion, and it had landed in a pile with the other stuff that had spilled out of my bag when I dropped it. I made an "Urrrrr-buc-buc" sound to get her attention, and indicated the bag with my beak. My beak! Holy freaking hell. She nodded, so I stepped out of pants, pausing to kick off a piece of tennis shoe, then bending over I picked up the medallion and chain in my beak and walking over dropped them into her hand, keeping an eye on the huge bores of the double barreled elephant gun. If it had nitro-express cartridges in it they wouldn't even find enough of me to fry for dinner.
She accepted the medallion gingerly, holding it by the chain, and said, "This did it? Are you sure?"
I just nodded again, and gave a sad cluck. "Raarrwwkkk!" I looked at her, pleading with my eyes, Please, for God's sake, help me lady! This, this is, is so wrong! I don't want to be a fucking chicken!"
"Hmmm, she said, I knew this artifact was magical, but I had no idea exactly what it could do. Turning people into chickens, or in your case, a Rooster? It doesn't make any sense. I really should call the cops, but I don't think they'd believe the burglar was a giant bird. So I guess you're mine for now. That is, unless you'd like to leave? If you do I won't stop you, I figure you've already been punished enough. It's up to you."
I looked at her in horror. Leave, like THIS? I had no doubt a five foot chicken would attract a lot of attention, and I sure as Hell didn't want to stay this way for the rest of my life. I gave a sad "Raawwrrrr, buc-buc", and pleaded with my eyes. For God's sake lady, this isn't funny! I thought.
"I thought so, she said. Well, I'll have to do some research. In the meantime what the heck am I going to do with you? Well, you just wait here while I put everything back in its original place.
Like, where am I going to go? I thought. I'm yours whether you like it or not until you figure out what the HELL happened to me! Please! As she busied herself putting items back in their cases I walked over to a glass topped case and looked at my reflection. Oh God, I thought, that is just wrong! The face staring back at me had a large yellow beak, beady blue (do chickens have blue eyes too?) eyes, black, brown almost orange looking feathers, and a large red floppy comb on its head and wattles under its chin. It looks like a red scrotum, I thought. And speaking of scrotums, where the Hell are my dick and balls? I could feel them, but couldn't see them. "Urrrr-awk!" I said, and pecked at the image. I heard the lady yell at me,
"Stop that you stupid bird, you'll break the glass! Go stand in a corner or something!"
Bite me, I thought, but went over and stood by the door, mainly so I wouldn't see the thing I'd become reflected back at me anymore. "Ruuurrr" I said softly, and looked at the ground and my weird lizard feet. Please, I don't want to be like this, I don't deserve this. "Ruuurrrawk" I moaned.
She finally finished, and carrying the medallion by the chain she told me to follow her, which I did willingly as no WAY was I going to let her out of my sight until she fixed this. She led me back to the musty old library and I looked at the mounted trophy heads suspiciously, if one of those moves I'm out of here, but at least none were giant chicken heads. She grabbed several large books off some shelves and took them over to a large desk. Sitting down she started poring over them as she flipped the pages. Curiously I walked over and looked over her shoulder, but the books were some foreign language that looked Chinese or something. Since I had a hard enough time with English I soon lost interest. Then I spied something moving on the desk next to another book, a bookworm! With a lightening jab of my beak I snapped it up. The lady let out a loud yell,
"DAMN IT, she said, don't sneak up on me like that!"
With an alarmed squawk I jumped up in the air, and flapping my wings flew across the room, and hitting the wall slid off it and landed in a corner. Jesus, that scared the crap out of me, and did I just eat a BUG?!? Oh YUCK! And I'd rumpled my feathers, so using my beak I started preening. I smoothed them back in place and plucked out a couple of broken ones. Then I realized what I'd done, oh my God, I'm starting to think and act like a chicken too! I looked at the lady with horror in my eyes, what if I start to think I AM a chicken? Oh God.
Ruth flipped through her books on ancient artifacts and magic, but couldn't find anything pertaining to this particular medallion. She looked before, but thought she might have missed something. She could tell it was extremely old and probably oriental in origin, but that was about it. And she knew it was magic from the aura it gave off, but that was about it. But she still had a lot of books, scrolls, tomes, and tablets to go through. She looked up at the giant bird and he had squatted down and fluffed his feathers to cover his feet and it looked like he might have fallen asleep. Despite the fact he had broken into her house to rob her she was not a vindictive woman, and would help him if she could.
One might think it was odd that Ruth wasn't too surprised to find a giant chicken in her house at two in the morning, or that she believed in magic in this modern day and age. The fact was she was very knowledgeable about magic, and had seen transformations before. She was the only child of a very wealthy couple, and even after her parents died the dividends and other profits their holdings brought in kept her very well off, rich actually. She was independently wealthy. But she was one of those people who did not flaunt their wealth, and in fact she was quite frugal. She gave herself a decent "allowance" and stuck to it religiously. She also donated quite large sums to charities on a regular basis, and staffed and ran two small hospitals overseas. One veterinary clinic in India, and a pediatrics clinic in Africa. Her parents had started them, and she kept them going in their memory. She also selected deserving poor children who were brilliant, and put them through college, the only stipulation being that they spent an equal amount of time doing charitable work. One of them ran the clinic in Africa. She never revealed herself to them as she was too shy, but kept track of them from afar. In a way they were the children she'd never had.
Ruth Baxter was 47 years old and a little on the short and squat side with ample breasts, but her face was plain and her hair limp and mousy. She wasn't ugly, but was certainly no beauty. As a result the only boys who had shown an interest had obviously been sniffing after her money, and she was smart enough to know that and give them the heave-ho. She was also exceptionally smart; brilliant even, and turned her interests to academic pursuits. Rather unusual ones to her parents dismay, but they loved her and let her indulge her interests.
First she had studied archeology, then after getting a Masters had branched out and ended up with degrees in paleontology, anthropology, and other similar areas. And in her travels to various dig sites, and to do research in museums around the world, she had encountered magic and the occult. At first she had just pretty much ignored such "superstitious nonsense" until she had started to see things she couldn't explain. In her typical fashion she had plunged into the study and pursuit of arcane and magical subjects; and because of her independent wealth had been able to gain access to much beyond most people's means. Even magic users like money. Much was a hoax; or clever trickery, but there was a core of the very real and the very powerful and totally unexplainable. And she began to acquire magical items of all kinds until she had probably the biggest private collection in the world outside of the Vatican. Books, scrolls, every known form of written word, runes, or glyphs, and objects of every kind. Statues, plaques, jewelry of every kind, wands, staffs, clothing, and much more. She knew how some worked, knew how to use some, but most remained a mystery. And many were dangerous to the uninformed, or even the informed. Such as the medallion the man had somehow invoked or activated. She had found it herself in a dig in Iraqi before the wars, and it was a mystery how an artifact clearly oriental in origin had ended up in an ancient Persian noble's tomb.
She picked up the heavy medallion and looked at it closely, for the thousandth time. She wore gloves made of a special material that were nonconductive to magical power, much like rubber is to electricity. She carefully scrutinized it under powerful magnification. The medallion had an oriental character in the center, but its exact meaning was unknown. Some references referred to it as the "circle" or "cycle of life", others called it the "Cycle of time". It was the only thing on the medallion except for twelve figures in precious gems, figures of the twelve animals of the Chinese Zodiac, in a circle around the center character. So it was definitely related to the Zodiac, but in what way? Its very simplicity is what made it so mysterious and aggravating to try and research. There was no reference to it anywhere so far as she knew, but it radiated power like a beacon to those who could detect such things. And Ruth could as she had become an accomplished magic user herself, but hesitated to claim the title of witch or sorceress. She saw herself as more of an arcane research scientist as she not only used the magic, but tried to find out what made it work. She was also very painstakingly careful; she had seen what could happen to those who weren't. She had seen a spell that went wrong transform the caster into a frog, and had once seen a demon claim another who made a mistake in the summoning ritual. So she had great respect for the unknown. She looked at the medallion again, and suddenly made a possible connection. She got out her laptop and got online, then checked a couple of things. Soon she had what she thought was a very plausible theory; at least it was something to work with as it all tied together, at least so far. She stood up and walked over to the sleeping chicken.
"Hey, she said in a soft voice, wake up you. I think I might have something."
I woke up with a started squawk. Geezus, did I really fall asleep? Then before I could stop myself I stood up and crowed again, which told me it wasn't a dream and I really was still a giant rooster. I turned my head and saw the large fan of tail feathers. Yep. Crap. I looked at the woman and gave a sad cluck. Man this sucks.
As Ruth stared down at the giant bird she realized something had changed, and when he stood up she realized what it was. Before his head had come up to her shoulders, now it only came up to her stomach. He was shrinking! She looked at the confused fowl in worry. There were two kinds of transformations. One in which you took on the form of an animal or beast, but your human awareness remained intact, the other was where you became the animal entirely, both physically and mentally. Those were the types considered to be among the worst of curses. Which was this? I think I'd best keep that possibility from him for now.
"Look, she said, I think I might have found something, a lead anyway. Today is the 28th of September and the night of a full moon, and in the Chinese Zodiac it is the 8th Lunar month "you", the sign of the Rooster. The medallion is definitely related to the Chinese Zodiac, and a full moon is often used to power or activate magic because of its natural power. I think you somehow triggered the medallions magic and it changed you into the appropriate form for the time of the year. Does that make sense?
I just blinked at her, and thought "Huh?" She sounded like a loony to me. But if she thought it would help, I was all for it. So I just said "Awwwwk?" And at the same time I thought, boy has she put on weight. Looking down I scratched at the carpet and fretted.
She crouched down in front of the obviously confused bird, and said,
"Look, I hate to tell you this, but you're getting smaller. It's the last part of the spell; soon you're going to be the correct size for a chicken as well. At this point I don't know what that might mean. I just thought you should know. I'm sorry."
I looked at her in horror, or more horror. Shrinking? It was bad enough being a giant chicken, but a regular sized one? "Arrwwwwkk!! Buc-buc-arrwwwkk!" I cried. Please, oh please help me! I thought, I'm so scared.
She could see the dismay and terror in the bird's eyes, strange blue eyes for a chicken. But there was nothing she could do for him right now. With a sigh she turned and went back to check come more reference material. She would also contact several other practitioners of magic or other arcane arts that she was friendly with, or at least got along with. Plus she had several rather disreputable; but very useful, people on "retainers" that might know something as well. Just because they were crooks didn't mean they weren't intelligent, and a couple of them were as knowledgeable as she was. They were also very useful for acquiring certain items. Thinking about that she sent out some untraceable emails to some sites she used to keep in contact with some of them. Then she went and pulled several more books off the shelves. There should be something somewhere!
I crouched back down and dozed again. I was feeling kind of weak and dizzy, and found it hard to concentrate. Oh God, I thought. This is just too damn weird, it can't be real! But it was, horribly so. And I suddenly realized I was crying as tears ran down my beak. Please, oh please, I don't want to be like this! I found myself dozing off again, trying to ignore reality through sleep, hoping I would wake up my old self and the nightmare would be over.
I woke up again, how much later I had no idea as I found I had no concept of time anymore. In a panic I stood up and flapped my wings. I looked around and was horribly confused. I seemed to remember this place, but at the same time it was strange and scary. I tried to think, to concentrate, to grab onto my fading memories. Oh no, please! My name, what is my name?? I can't remember! Oh please! I'm a man, not a bird! In a confused daze I ran over to the only thing I did recognize, the large animal, the woman. Something in me knew she meant me no harm. I jumped up into her lap, and gave a loud "Raaawwwwkkkk!" And looking in her startled eyes I pleaded desperately, please help me, don't let me go! I don't know who I am anymore, please help me! And she hugged me while I cried as I felt my life slipping away. No, no, I want to be ME!
Ruth had been so busy poring over books and manuscripts she hadn't noticed the steadily shrinking bird in the corner, and she was startled when a normal sized rooster suddenly jumped in her lap and gave the most agonizing squawk she had ever heard, full of terror and anguish. And looking in its eyes she saw it was crying! She had never seen a bird cry before. And the look in its eyes as it struggled to remain aware was terrifying; she could actually see the last spark of intelligence fading as she watched. She did the only thing she could; she hugged the poor creature to give it the only comfort she was able to. And it seemed to help as it settled down some, but she could feel the wetness of its tears on her arm as it tucked its head under it trembling in terror.
I pressed myself as close as I could to the warm comforting presence that was holding me. Noooo, I screamed in my mind, pleeeasssee! I could feel myself fading away, like an echo in my own mind. I lost all concept of "self" and any memories of any kind. I stopped crying as I no longer had a reason to do so. I was nice and warm, and felt protected. I was also hungry. My new mind, my new "self" was aware, but it was dull awareness with almost no attention span or concept of "self" other than basic needs and instincts. I started to kick and fret so the warm animal put me down, and I started to scratch around on the strange fuzzy ground looking for food.
He's gone, Ruth thought, as she looked at the Rooster pecking and scratching at the carpet. She had no idea if she could bring him back, but maybe it was better this way. At least he no longer remembered having been something else. But she would do her best to try to help him; even a thief didn't deserve such a horrible fate. If she couldn't' help him she'd make sure the rest of his life was comfortable.
She pored over the books and other references, but there was nothing. The ones with Zodiac material only mentioned the various kinds of Zodiac's, and their history and how to use and interpret them; nothing mentioned any related magic of any kind. So unless one of her contacts had something she was stymied, at least for now.
It was almost morning, and she was very tired after all the excitement. But one good thing about being "self-employed" was she made her own hours. She got up to leave the room and felt something brush her leg, and looking down saw it was the rooster. He was pressed as close to her leg as he could, and was trembling. He's terrified I'll abandon him, she realized. Strangely touched she reached down and picked him up, and he let her without any fuss.
I stopped scratching for food and looked up as the animal started to leave the room, and something in me told me I needed to stay with her, so quickly I ran over and brushed against her leg. I felt so strange, and something told me she was my only hope, my protector. When she picked me up I felt relief wash over me. As she carried me I pecked at some round things on her robe.
Ruth carried the Rooster with her as she went up the stairs to her bedroom in what used to be the houses old servants quarters. She avoided the huge main bedrooms as they were just too big and ornate for her taste. She put him down and he started inspecting the premises, before finally hoping up into her favorite chair and settling down. He seemed to be exhausted too, which was understandable as he'd had one Hell of a night. She only wore panties when she slept as nightgowns or PJ's made her uncomfortable as she tossed and turned a lot and they got wrapped around her. She enjoyed the feel of the sheets on her large firm breasts too. But she found herself somewhat embarrassed to be almost naked in front of a man, well, a male. But as she took off her shirt the Rooster paid no attention to her breasts, it just stared straight ahead like it was in shock. And again she felt sorry for the poor creature. She slipped under the covers, and turning out the light fell asleep after tossing and turning for awhile.
She woke with a start as another loud crow rang throughout the room. Looking over at the chair she saw the Rooster had hopped up on the top of the back, and as she watched he flapped his wings and crowed again. And boy was he loud. When he saw her looking at him he flew over to the bed and started walking around on it clucking to himself, then settled down and looked at her. For a second it looked like he wanted to try and say something, but then his gaze wandered, and jumping off the bed he started scratching at the wooden floor. She looked the clock and would have liked to sleep a couple more hours, but was wide awake now. So she got up and went into the bathroom, and when the bird tried to follow she gently booted him out the door and shut it, much to his displeasure. She didn't mind having him follow her around, but NOT in the bathroom.
My sleep was filled with strange disturbing dreams, and I kept waking up and staring around the dark room. I could see and smell my protector; and hear her too, and that kept me calm. But the dreams hurt my head, and when I woke up at first I could almost remember, something? But it faded right away and I stopped worrying about it. Then I saw the first beams of the morning sun and responded to my instincts and crowed to announce the new day, and mark my territory. This woke up the animal, which was fine with me as it made loud scary noises sometimes while it slept. With a cluck I flapped over to the nest and poked around, then as I looked at her something tingled in the back of my mind. Help me! I thought, and it was gone. I was really hungry; and thirsty, so hoping down from the bed I started looking for food. Nuthin! When she went into another room I tried to follow, but she wouldn't let me. So I sat down by the door to wait, in a bad mood. "Urrrrr, buc-buc, urrrawwkk!" I muttered.
When Ruth finished her shower and morning toilet she walked out into the room with a towel wrapped around the top of her breasts, and nothing else. She was still a little reluctant to be seen naked in front of the bird, but finishing drying off she quickly slipped into her usual plain comfortable clothes. If the bird got a look it didn't seem to care, it appeared to be too busy looking for food, and at one time disappeared under the bed and came out covered in dust balls. It looked like a big feather duster and she giggled, and then laughed when it looked like it was offended. Squatting down she cleaned off the worst of the dust and the bird evidently trusted her as it stood still and didn't fret or complain. Then she picked it up and carried it down to the kitchen. Now the question was; what to feed it? She was fresh out of Purina Chicken Chow. She poked around and found a box of stale corn flakes. Well, chickens ate corn, so why not? She filled a bowl with water and another with the flakes, and the Rooster seemed absolutely delighted and dug in without wasting time.
I calmed down again when my protector came back into the room, and I started looking for food again. When she sat down and brushed me off, then picked me up, I was happy. I knew she would take care of me. When she gave me some feed and a bowl of clear cool water I was delighted, and clucking contentedly I ate as much as I could, which was a lot. Then I crowed again, and happy and full hopped up and perched on the back of a wooden chair, took a dump, and went to sleep.
Ruth watched as the Rooster finished eating, crowed again, then hopped up on a chair and promptly crapped all over it. OK, she thought, you're not housebroken obviously. Can you even housebreak a chicken? Well, she could put up with that for awhile; at least it wasn't huge piles. Besides, he didn't even realize what he was doing. Cleaning up after herself and her "pet" she headed back into the study; closely followed by her attack chicken, to check and see if any of her emails had had any results.
Yes! Ruth thought, she had a very interesting email from an old acquantence of hers who called herself Madame Marian. Ruth knew that wasn't her real name as she had ways of finding out as much as possible about her contacts. The grand old lady was Gypsy stock; most of the more powerful practitioners of the arcane arts had a fair amount of Romani blood in them. She was also Ruth's best contact concerning the darker arts, demonology especially. She wasn't cheap, but you always got your money's worth. Ruth sent back a quick reply asking for a time and place to meet. The old sorceress was very careful about whom she dealt with, but Ruth knew she trusted her. And the reply was almost instantaneous, she told Ruth to come and visit her sometime today at her house, and to bring the "afflicted" person.
Ruth didn't waste time, and grabbing her handbag, and the bird, in that order she headed for the garage. She had been parking her parent's old Mercedes sedan on the drive, but since she'd managed to clean out one side of the garage had started parking the old car there instead. She told the fretting bird,
"Calm down rooster, we're going to see someone that might be able to help you, so stop squirming! And don't crap on the leather upholstery!"
And thinking about that, she grabbed a couple old towels as well and spread them over the passenger and back seats. Bird poop on the soft old leather was not going to happen as far as she was concerned. But she need not have worried; the chicken was obviously fascinated by the shiny nickel plated knobs and controls on the dash, and stared and pecked at them during the whole drive. And when it relieved itself it was on the towel, thank goodness. She didn't blame the bird, it couldn't help itself.
Ruth pulled up in front of the imposing old house were Madame Marian lived, and getting out she walked up to the front door, which opened just as she reached up to ring the bell. Bet the old lady was watching from a window, either that or she did have some ESP. If Madame Marian was surprised to see she was carrying a chicken she didn't show it. But she did say,
"Greetings Miss. Baxter, welcome to my house. But please excuse me while I let my cat out, I didn't realize your "friend" would be poultry. I'm afraid Brutus might think you'd brought him a treat, which would be most unfortunate."
Ruth shuddered; Brutus was the old ladies familiar, a huge black tomcat with glaring yellow eyes. And Madame Marian had also been quite blunt in letting her know the black cat was also her part time lover in his "large form". Which was more than Ruth really wanted to know, he creeped her out.
Madame Marian came back a short time later after shooing her upset familiar out the door. She'd make it up to him later tonight. Then she went back in to get her friend settled and find out more about her problem. The young plain woman had been a good contact, and was very mature and sincere about her interest in the arts. It was nice to deal with a mature adult who knew what they were dealing with instead of the more usual wannbe-witches. She made a decent living off of the spells she sold, and curses, and the few apprentices she took on. She charged quite a lot, but had never had any complaints. After settling Miss Baxter in, and her rather annoying companion who wouldn't stop crowing, she carefully listened to what she had to say. When she was through Madame Marian asked to see the medallion and gave a hiss of surprise. It was old, very old, and radiated a magical aura that lit up the room once it was removed from its storage bag.
"Child, Madame Marian said, where did you acquire this? What do you know of its history? It is an artifact of great power, but unlike any I have seen before. It must be handled carefully!"
Ruth told her what little she knew, which wasn't much. It had been found in the tomb of an ancient Persian noble, who was also one of the Mystics or Magicians of the Royal Court. But since the artifact was definitely of oriental origins that didn't help them much, but the tomb had predated Alexander the Greats conquest of the Persian Empire by over a century.
Madame Marian; wearing the same type of magical nonconductive gloves that Ruth had, carefully examined the large heavy medallion. She was fascinated by the combination of crude and skilled craftsmanship it displayed. The main medallion and center character were almost crude in their casting, but the inlaid gems and engraving of the figures around the edge showed a great deal of sophistication. Maybe they had been added much later? The medallion could be a composite from different periods. There were some tests she could run. She said,
"Ruth dear, let me run some quick tests. It won't take long; do you have time to wait? Would you care for some tea and cake while you wait?"
"Thank you, replied Ruth, I am thirsty and your green tea is always so lovely. Do you have some cookies or crackers for my, um, friend?"
"Certainly my dear, I will bring our unfortunate fowl a bowl of water as well." Madame Marian replied.
Leaving her visitors to their snacks Madame Marian took the medallion to her "laboratory" as she liked to call it. The room had a thick door and no windows, and was well warded against Scrying or other trespassing spells or observation of any kind. Since some of the spells were demonic in origin she felt secure in her inner sanctuary, nothing got past those kind of spells. She placed the medallion in the center of a small pentagram and used some fairly common spells of revelation or similar ones which would reveal any hidden markings or tell what the medallion was for, but as she expected they had no effect and the medallion shrugged them off with ease. She ran more tests and cast more spells; each one progressively more powerful, all with negative results. Once the medallion even reacted to a more intrusive spell and singed her fingers with backlash. Madame Marian stared at the stubborn medallion as she sucked her fingers. She was growing frustrated as she was very good at what she did, and it affronted her professional pride that she was unable to discern neither the medallions origins nor its function. Finally after the medallion ignored one of her most potent spells she had to admit defeat, but there was still one other source of possible knowledge. She went back to her visitors, and said,
"Ruth, I must admit I am stumped. This medallion has resisted every spell or conjure I have thrown at it, and I have learned nothing. All I can say is it is not demonic in origin, and even if it is nature magic it is of a type I do not recognize. But there is an alternative, I can contact my patroness demoness and ask her for any information, if anyone can tell us she can. But I must ask for an additional $1,000 for this service as you well know it is not lightly done."
"Very well, replied Ruth, if you feel that is necessary. I do not mind paying an extra fee if we can find out what this thing is."
"Excellent, said Madame Marian. Now as you know I cannot summon my patroness until the night has come. So you must leave the medallion with me for now. Return tomorrow at the same time and hopefully we'll have what we need to know."
Ruth wasn't too keen about letting the medallion out of her sight, but knew it was the only way she'd find out anything useful. So she bid the old lady goodbye until the next day. Then picking up her strange pet she left until the following day.
Madame Marian let her familiar in, and the big black cat looked at her with his brilliant yellow eyes, and said in her mind,
"So My Mistress, is there a problem, I sense you have been busy."
"Yes Brutus, a very intriguing artifact that refuses divination, it is a most obstinate thing. I plan on summoning Mistress Vulva for consultation as soon as it is dark. I will; of course, need your help my love."
"Mwor! Sex magic, Mistress?" the cat asked hopefully.
"But of course my love, Mistress Vulva always likes a good show while we talk."
As Madame Marian prepared the pentagram for the summoning her familiar, now in his large humanoid form, helped her. He looked like more like a panther or cougar in his large form then a regular cat. As she set up the spellbook on the stand he stood behind her and massaged her shoulders. She was nude as that was the best way to summon a Demoness of Carnal Pleasure, and he never wore any clothes being an animal. His fine black fur felt like crushed velvet as he rubbed against her, carefully kneading her shoulders with his claws retracted. He purred in her ear and licked the back of her neck, and she moaned in response to the erotic touches. He had been her familiar; and lover, for over three hundred years, and he did know what they both liked. She felt his large erection rubbing against the small of her back, and it was hard for her to say,
"Mmmm, not yet my love, we must wait until I perform the actual spell. Then you may mount me and give me pleasure and use your power to augment my own."
"Muuurrrrr, the cat replied, I will pleasure you greatly My Mistress, and it will be glorious."
Brutus, as with all his kind, loved his Mistress dearly. And he liked nothing better than to pleasure her as his mate, and to receive the pleasure she gave him in return. They were both very old, but her magic and agreement with her demonic patroness had kept her body mature and firm. He ran his paws under her arms and hefted her full firm breasts, drooling at the thought of licking and feeding from the beautiful orbs, or just fondling them as they coupled. He was not picky. He needed her rich delicious milk to survive, and quite often his feeding led to other delightful things. Despite her rather stern appearance his Mistress enjoyed sex as much as any other nymphomaniac. It went with her patroness being a Carnal Demoness, much to Brutus's satisfaction. Leaning over her shoulder he gently licked her ear as squeezed her breasts. Her moans were music to his ears. Leaning over further he ran his long dark red tongue over her breast and rubbed against her nipple and licked at the rich milk as drops formed. He half closed his eyes and purred at the rich taste, oh how he longed to mount his Mistress and mate. To claim her as his.
Oh my, she thought, as Brutus began softly kneading her breasts and then licked one, he does know what I like. She so wanted to drop to all fours and have him service her, but for now concentrated on getting the spell ready, but it was hard with such a delightful distraction. That he mount and service her during the casting was not necessary, but it definitely added an element of pleasure to the summoning, and Mistress Vulva always appreciated the "compliment". She got a kick out of her acolytes having sex while treating with her.
Finally everything was ready, and she was so wet and aroused she could feel her juices dripping down her thighs. She had left the medallion on an altar in the pentagram so Vulva could examine it. She had no fears the demoness would take it back to Hell with her, there were rules which were strictly observed by both participants in these summoning. Some codes of conduct, or "trust", were necessary. She readied the spell as Brutus lit the special black candles, then he walked back to her, his penis rampant and dripping pre, and she felt herself getting even wetter at the sight. She had never gotten over the sight of him aroused and lusting after her, he was a magnificent male beast. The fact he was an animal just made it even more arousing. She was something of a zoophile, and quite often went to "familiar swapping" parties with other sorcerers and sorceress's, and the familiars certainly enjoyed themselves as well. If their Masters and Mistress's desired them to pleasure one another and/or other humans, then so much the better for everyone and everything involved. Being what they were sex was a given, and they had no inhibitions at all, and new partners were always interesting.
Brutus kneeled down in front of his Mistress, and purring deeply started to lick her mound with his broad rough tongue, but oh so gently. He loved her ample thatch that almost looked like fur, and the sweet taste of her sex. He gave a deeper purr and ran his tongue inside of her as she rubbed the back of his head and gasped in pleasure.
"Mmm, oohhhh, my love!" Marian sighed. "Come, I can wait no longer to feel you inside of me, mount me and let us cast the spell!"
Leaning against the book stand she moaned as Brutus ran his padded paws over her body and then down to her waist, and gripping her mounted her with a powerful thrust, and she could feel his hot breath on the back of her neck as he started humping her with deep steady strokes, murring softly to himself. She gave a deep grunt of pleasure, then once he had settled down to a regular rhythm she invoked the spell and opened the pentagram, then they both watched as a cloud of reddish smoke filled it, and then it cleared to reveal the imposing figure of her patroness.
"Well hello Gertrude", Vulva said, smiling as she watched the sorceress and her familiar pleasure one another. She did so enjoy watching other professionals at work. "To what do I owe this unexpected call? Hiss?"
"Greetings Mistress, ugh, Vulva. I have a mystery on my, ohhh, hands. Can you, um, oooohhhh, ugh! Identify the artifact on the altar for me? Uggghhh!"
Oh it feels so good! Brutus was gently nipping the back of her neck know and knew she'd soon have her first; of many, orgasms. And just as she thought, she gave a deep gasp as an incredibly pleasurable orgasm rocked her body, and her familiar gave a snarl of pleasure of his own.
Vulva politely waited until the sorceress had stopped coming, then replied, "I will examine your artifact, but I must first know what you know of its powers and history. Then if I feel I may be of assistance we will discuss my fee."
Marian breathed heavily as she leaned against the stand, only it and Brutus's strong hands around her waist kept her from collapsing. He had paused temporarily to catch his breath, and she gasped as he began to service her again, his thrust slow, but to the hilt every time.
"Mistress Vulva, she gasped, that is the problem. All I, ugghh, know is that it is oriental, ohhhh-ugh, very old, appears to be related to the Zodiac, and, ohhhh, has so far defied all spells of; ugghhhh-ohhhh she gasped as she came again, divination. I can, uh uh uh, tell you no more."
Vulva gave a hissing laugh, "Well my little sorceress, it is nice to see you enjoying yourself so much. Hiss. I must admit watching your familiar fuck you so thoroughly is making me wet myself, looks like I'll have to have my Pet to give me a massage when our little meeting comes to an end. Hiss. Oh my, did you just come again, how delightful! It's a shame you don't end your contract early and come with me now, I can promise you an eternity of energetic lovers. Of course you familiar would be one of them. What do you say? Hiss. Step into the pentagram and I can give you all the sexual pleasure and pain you can endure for eternity. It will be my pleasure."
Madame Marian smiled to herself, her Mistress always made that offer, and honestly some small part of her looked forward to her eventual "reward", but for now Brutus was all the lover she needed.
"My thanks for your tempting offer Mistress, but for now I prefer to remain on this plane with my familiar."
With a hissing sigh Vulva said, "Ah well, a shame. Hiss. I would have picked most skilled partners to service you, but I can wait a few more years. But to the business at hand, let me have a look at your trinket."
Marian lowered her head and gave a guttural moan of pleasure as Brutus picked up his pace again, and soon gasped as her fourth orgasm exploded deep inside her. She could feel their sexual juiced running down her thighs, Brutus was truly amazing, and he never ran dry.
Vulva walked over to the altar, and frowned when she saw the medallion close up for the first time. She could see; and feel, the power that radiated from it. Well, well, she thought, what have we here? She looked down at it, but didn't pick it up, something told her that might be a bad idea. She smiled as Marian gave another deep moan of pleasure, she could hardly wait to pair her with three lusty Imps. She planned on giving Marian, or Gertrude, a "job" as her slave in Hell, but first she would need to be "broken in" and taught her place. A few years of being constantly gang-banged would do that nicely. It was amazing how eager she would be to be an obedient slave after that, but it would be so she would be rewarded with more sexual partners. Yes, delicious! But for now, what are you my pretty? Vulva thought as she stared at the perplexing medallion.
With a hiss she gestured over the medallion, calling upon the powers she controlled to tell her what the artifact was, and its function. To her great surprise at first the artifact resisted! That was rare; the powers of Hell could not usually be thwarted by an inanimate object. With an impatient gesture she increased the power of the spell, and yes, finally! She concentrated as the results of the spell were revealed, and slowly her eyes went wide with surprise. She had never seen anything quite like this before. It was powerful magic, but even beyond nature magic. This was fueled by the power of the cosmos, the metal of which the medallion was cast was not even gold, it was not even from any plane of existence of which she was beware, it was not even from this planet! The gems and the spells they invoked had been added much later, but because of the metal they were attached to their power was extreme, and she doubted it could be broken. Perhaps modified or controlled to some extent, but never completely broken. She was most impressed, and for a demoness of her age and experience that was very rare. She cast another spell to see if the spell could be controlled, and was pleased by the results. Yes, it could, but only to a certain extent. The transformation spell could be modified, but that was all. Finally satisfied she had found out all she could she ended her spell and turned to face Marian again. Vulva was surprised at how long it had taken her, it was nearing dawn. And Marian and her familiar were both still humping away. She smiled; poor Marian must feel like she's been split in half by now.
Marian hung over the stand almost comatose with sexual pleasure and exhaustion. She had lost track of how many times she had orgasmed, at least ten or more though. She could tell Brutus was tiring as well, his breath was ragged with exhaustion, but the beast never missed a stroke. She lifted her head and stared as she moaned when she heard Vulva speak.
"Gertrude, it would appear you have a very unique and one-of-kind object of power here. Might I ask if it is for sale? I would extend your contract for an additional hundred years. Hiss. No? hiss, how disappointing. It is something I have never seen before. The power comes from the stars. It is not demonic, nature, angelic, or other. It is totally unique, and thus quite powerful, but also unpredictable. The characters and inlays were added much later, and harness the power of the metal. Because of this once cast the spell cannot be undone. But however it can be modified to some extent, but never be completely broken. It is very hard to explain what must be done to do this, so I will leave you a spell scroll to explain. Now in payment I expect virgin male human, or two rams and six ewes, or two Billies and six goats. By the end of the month. Now I will leave you to your, um, labors. I need to get laid!"
As Vulva disappeared from the pentagram Brutus sped up again, desperately trying to reach release, and then with a yowling roar came again, and Marian screamed herself as a final massive orgasm rocked her as she closed the pentagram. And it was over. She leaned against the stand or awhile gasping for breath as Brutus dutifully cleaned her with his tongue, a "duty" he insisted on. But it was nice to feel nice and clean after that fantastic sex. Then he hugged her for awhile and she nibbled his ears and told him what a good boy he was, and he purred in delight. As she fondled his soft warm ears she realized she did truly love the creature, and a short time later as he suckled eagerly at her breasts she realized they weren't through for the night after all. It didn't take him long to recover, and she would let him ride her as long as he wanted. And as he had promised it was glorious.
Madame Marian, nice and sore from last night's marathon "workout", looked at Ruth; and her chicken, across the table. She pushed the scroll across the table, and said,
"Ruth dear, I have some good news, and some bad news. The good news is my demonic patroness has shed some light on the matter. The bad news is that the spell is unbreakable. It is powered by a magic she has never seen before. We can fight it; even modify it, with our own powers, but not break it. And more bad news as I'm afraid her price for her help was much higher then I expected, I must charge you an additional fee. She requires a human virgin sacrifice, or some livestock in payment. You must obtain those before the end of the month or we'll have a very upset; very powerful, demoness on our hands."
"Very well, I can understand the additional costs. But a human sacrifice is out of the question. I will have the livestock required delivered wherever you specify. Now, do you mean this poor man will have to remain a rooster for the rest of his natural life?"
"Actually, said Madame Marian, that is the least of this poor souls worries. According the scroll; which is in old Latin by the way. I can provide a translation if needed. Oh, you can read it? Excellent. Now; as I was saying, this spell, or more appropriately curse, is unique and one-of-kind. I have never heard of such a spell before, and neither has Mistress Vulva. It is a multi-transformational spell, with not one form, but many. According to my calculations your chicken will become a dog in about two days, give or take a few hours. He will return to human form for a short while, then transform again, but into a dog. Then in a few weeks he will undergo a new transformation into a boar, and so on. He will take on all forms in the Chinese Zodiac during the time their signs are ascendant. The curse was designed to let him be aware long enough between changes to know what is happening to him, then to spend the time in between as an animal in many different forms. He is locked into the cycle of the Chinese Zodiac, not just now, but forever. He IS a living Zodiac. I am sorry my dear, even a thief does not deserve that. Even Vulva found it: now how did she put it?, cruel and insidious."
"Oh my God, Ruth said, and hugged the clucking rooster close. Oh my God, that's horrible! Twelve forms! For, for eternity? Who would have come up with such a horrendous curse? Who could hate enough to inflict it on some poor soul?"
"It is a form of immortality, replied Madame Marian; he will live on long after we are dust and not even a memory."
"Yes, but as animals with no human awareness, except for short periods of time long to remind him what his fate is. It would have been more merciful to deny him that horrible knowledge. You said the spell could be modified, what does that mean?"
"We can try some various negation or reversal spells. Marian replied, they would not work on normal transformation curses since those are permanent, but in this case they may have an effect as the magic is so different. They may be able to cancel one another to a certain extent. They cannot neutralize the spell entirely, but if you wish to try you may be able to at least keep him in a form human enough to remember who he is. A kind of Were if you like, trapped between two forms, human and animal, a beast. But think child, you would have to perform the spell every month as he begins to change again. And we cannot even be sure it would work, you might end up with something mostly animal and uncontrollable. Do you wish to waist such time and effort on someone who may not even appreciate it? After all, he is but a common thief and has after all done this to himself. You are not to blame, you owe him nothing."
Ruth looked at the rooster sitting in her lap. It wasn't paying any attention to what was going on, and kept pecking and pulled at the buttons on her blouse. But it adored her and followed her everywhere, and became frantic when separated from her for even short periods. She had never had anyone; or anything, be so dependent on her before. Somehow it knew she was its only hope. She tried to think what it would be like to be a human soul trapped in the mind and body of a chicken, and shuddered. No, she would do what she could to help him, if she didn't then she might as well have cast the curse herself.
"Madame Marian, thank you for all your help and advice, but I will do what I can to help make his, torment, more bearable. Can you sell me the potion or spell I'll need to fight the curse?"
"My child, said Marian, I could do that, but it would be much better if you were to learn the spell yourself, and the ingredients for the potion are not cheap. And I must warn you, the spell must be very powerful, you will need to meet, and accept a demonic patron or patroness to aid you. Only demonic magic an provide what you need, nature magic would have little, or no, effect. But it is not as bad as you think; if you keep your dealing to a minimum your soul will remain yours. I, on the other hand, overextended my dealings at an early age, and Mistress Vulva will collect my dark soul when my time is up. But to be truthful in a way I look forward to it, it should be interesting. She has promised me pleasures I can only dream about."
"I'm, I'm truly sorry, stammered Ruth. Can't you do anything?"
"No child, I will present myself to my Mistress on my last day. If I do not she would send a truly terrible demon to claim me. No, it is best for me if I go without fuss; she appreciates those who honor their contracts. And if you truly desire to help this poor benighted soul I can recommend you to her, by demonic standards she is quite easy to get along with. But I must warn you, once you have dealt with her you will not be the same ever again. For one thing, your, um, sex drive and need for sexual pleasure will be greatly increased as she is a Patroness of Carnal Pleasure, and those who deal with her are affected. I must say though; from experience, this is one of the nicer side effects though. If you wish she can even provide you with a familiar. Do you wish me to introduce you to her as a prospective acolyte? If you say no there will be no repercussions from her of any kind, she may not even accept you."
Ruth wasn't really sure how to respond to that. She knew demons were perfectly real, but to deal directly with one? She knew the powers obtained and other benefits could be fantastic, but at what cost? But if she did it just once, to learn the spell she needed. She knew her soul would be tainted some, but if she had nothing more to do with the demonic creature after that, and the fact she did it to help someone else, that should keep that taint to a minimum, shouldn't it? She wasn't sure she believed in Heaven, but if Hell existed then surely it did too? It was quite a quandary. As for her sex drive, who cared? It's not like she had to beat off partners with a stick. She was able to take care of those needs herself without any "help". It was amazing what you could do with a dildo if you knew how to use it. Most men were pigs anyway. She looked at the old lady, and said,
"Madame Marian, thank you for your help. As for your last offer I will have to think about it for a few days. Whether to deal with a demoness or not is not a decision I can make right away."
"Well, I can certainly understand that, Marian replied, but be warned, your "pet" will change again before long, and every time he changes it makes the curse more permanent and powerful. You need to start modifying it as soon as possible. Call me as soon as you have decided, I will need to make preparation to "introduce" you if you accept my offer."
As Ruth drove back home she kept glancing at the rooster as he pecked at the bright instrument panel knobs again. Did she really want to risk her soul to help a perfect stranger? One who had inflicted the curse on himself while robbing her? Should she just abandon him to his fate? Leave him by the side of the road somewhere? She didn't even know his name, for all she knew he was a murderer as well. Damn it, she didn't know what to do!
Her mind was made up a couple of days later when he changed again. She first noticed something was wrong when the rooster started to stagger, and then ran into the wall in obvious distress. Then it fell to the ground kicking wildly and started making horrible strangled sounds, first birdlike and then slowly more human as right before her eyes the rooster became a man again. A very confused and terrified man, but even as she watched he was already changing again. And he crawled across the fool towards her, begging for help between screams of agony.
I was following my protector around as usual, and when she settled down I kept scratching hopefully at the ground for some treat. I'd found a few bugs this way and you never knew. I started to feel bad, and when the pain started I panicked and tried to flee, to get away from the horrible pain. Finally it got so bad I fell over and started screaming, and slowly I felt something happening, and as I thrashed and squawked I started to remember! My memories came back slowly and sporadically, but finally the pain receded and I realized I was lying naked on the floor in front of a very scared looking woman. But I remembered everything, the change into a bird, the stupid nearly mindless existence I had led, everything. And something told me it wasn't over. I could feel something inside of me that would never let me go. I looked at the woman and remembered the gun in her hands, but most of all I remembered that she had taken care of me. I looked up at her, and said,
"Please, please help me. Oh God, I can feel it starting to happened again! What's wrong with me?"
Then I grabbed my stomach as I felt it start to churn, and whimpered a minute later as brown fur began to spread across my skin. With loud cracking popping sounds my bones began to rearrange themselves and change, and I felt my face start to push forward as my jaws lengthened. I looked at her in terror, and dragging myself towards my only link with my humanity I begged,
"Arrrggg, please, please, make it stop! Urrrrrowwrrrr! It hurts! Ennuuu-ugghhh! Oh, oh GOD! Ooooourrgghh! Puhlez, make it stop! Urrrrrggghh! I can't stand it anymore, please! Arrrggghhh!"
I thrashed helplessly as it kept on, and on. The pain and nausea, the horrible burning and itching, the feel of my spine lengthening into a tail, my claws scrabbling against the floor as I struggled and fought what was happening, to no avail. I gnashed my jaws together, growling and snarling as I could no longer make an intelligible sound, crying and whimpering from the pain.
Then it was over, and with a whimper I staggered to my feet and stared down my muzzle at my paws. I was a dog, a large short haired brownish tan dog. I wagged my tail as I looked up at the nice lady, the one I knew would take care of me. Some part of me knew I wasn't supposed to be like this, but it was trapped in the back of my new mind. I sat down and whined in confusion, but when she started to pet my head and scratch my ears I wagged my tail again and panted happily.
Ruth had watched horrified as the rooster had changed back; very painfully, into a man. A fairly stout, but lithe, man with mousy hair and grey/blue eyes. But that was only fleeting as almost instantly he began to change again. She watched as fur sprouted from his body as it began to change shape, and he screamed and begged at first, before his human voice became deeper and changed into grunts and growls, mixed with whimpers and squeals of pain. Then when it was over he sat up, and looking at her in adoration wagged his tail. And as she scratched his warm soft ears she made up her mind. She would do what she could to help him, no one deserved this.
She got on the phone and called Madame Marian, and when the old lady answered told her to set up the meeting with Vulva.
The End
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