The Invitation - Short Story for Exclusive Content Subscribers
Hello subscribers!
It's been a minute since I've shared a short story with you all! I decided to fix that and share a new short story I submitted to the Dreadnosh website. I decided to bring it here to share with you. For the month of November, the theme was 'gluttony.' Here's my take below! (And when you're done here, hop over to the site to read some more snack-sized horror from some amazing authors.)
But first, the legal bit:
This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, contact jensequel.com
The Invitation by Jen Sequel
When Lila pressed the lever on the ornate handle, she was surprised at the ease with which the heavy wooden doors swung open. Her eyes adjusted to the dim lighting cast by the ornate chandeliers and candelabras as she took a timid step across the threshold. When she saw the feast spread on the varied tables within, her eyes widened at the many meats, vegetables, breads, and delicacies presented within the great room.
The air was heavy with the scent of roasted flesh, spiced wine, and the burning of wax and wood. Despite its oppressive odor, her stomach rumbled deeply, and she instinctively wrapped her arms around her mid-section. She hadn’t eaten in days and her mouth filled with saliva at the sight.
“Welcome,” a voice carried rich and deeply from a corner of the room.
Startled, Lila took a step back and swung her gaze toward the sound. She watched as the man approached her. He was dressed in a well-fitting suit made of dark cloth that shimmered slightly in the candlelight. A deep burgundy shirt peeked from beneath the lapels with a slim black tie that effectively hid the buttons. The look of the fabric made her long to touch what she imagined could only be silk.
She swallowed and lifted her gaze to his face. Though his lips held a welcoming smile, his eyes remained stalwart and cold. She searched her memory to determine if she recognized him and failed.
“I—you—forgive me,” she stuttered, dropping her gaze to the floor. “I thought I was alone, and you startled me.”
“It is I that must apologize.” His voice was warm and elicited a different hunger within her. She looked up to meet his gaze and blushed when her stomach rumbled once again.
Lila twisted her hands across her mid-section once more, her cheeks red with humiliation. “This, the room,” she looked hungrily at the table laden with food. “I haven’t eaten all day.” She returned to stare at the man once more. “Are you our host? On the invitation it was signed Lucian Beaumont.”
“In the flesh.” Lucian’s voice rumbled as he bowed slightly.
Lila licked her lips and looked around her. She noticed the heavy doors were closed behind her. “I thought there would be others.”
She looked at the feast once more. Surely it wasn’t meant just for the two of them. She thought of her empty cupboards at home and her barren refrigerator. She had been surviving on toast and peanut butter for a week and that had run out two days prior. Her rent and utilities took up all of her unemployment, and she had used all of her savings to pay one shut off notice after another. When she had received an invitation to a private dinner at an exclusive club, she had jumped at the opportunity.
“Please,” his voice thrummed with a deep baritone. “Have a seat. This feast is for you. It would be a shame for it to go to waste.”
Lucian gestured toward the table and her eyes followed. She hadn’t noticed the solitary place setting until now. The aromas were too much for her to resist and she hurried to take her seat before the offer was rescinded. Her fingers lingered only slightly on the silk cloth that was folded delicately across her porcelain dinnerware.
Lucian pulled the fabric from her light grasp and neatly placed it across her upper thighs. As his fingers brushed hers, she averted her gaze as heat flooded her cheeks and stole her voice. When she had the courage to look up, she noticed a smile graced his lips. She caught a glimpse of brilliant white canines, and her thoughts lingered on touching them.
She pulled her gaze away from him and looked at the roasted meats presented in front of her. Her hands fidgeted in her lap as her sense of manners fought with her salacious hunger.
“Please, do not stand on decorum,” Lucian said while pouring her a glass of ruby red wine from a crystal decanter. “Everything in this room is for you alone.”
He lifted his wineglass and raised it in her direction. “To new beginnings,” he toasted.
Lila’s hand shook as she reached for her glass. She raised it and clinked the edge to Lucian’s. For a moment, the world seemed to stop, and her shaking stopped as she was overcome with a sense of calm. She tipped the glass to her lips and felt the liquid burn with a seductive warmth as it raced down her throat, soothing whatever reservations she had upon entry. As she set her glass down, Lucian leaned down and whispered in her ear.
“Go on,” he said. “Satiate your hunger.”
A smile spread across Lila’s face as her hesitation was eliminated by the invitation and wine.
Her hands found the roasted meats first. She began with carving the succulent meat from the bone and found the effort took too much time. She discarded the silverware and tore into the flesh with her fingers, the skin crackling under her teeth as the grease coated her lips. She tore into it ravenously, unaware of the juices that dripped down her chin. Her nails ripped into the carcass as she pulled more meat into her mouth. The hunger pains she had felt for the past month, once sharp and painful, began to deepen. Each bite merely added to the intensity. The more she consumed, the more ravenous she became.
Lucian watched silently from his seat at the head of the table. His elbows rested on the arms of the chair while one hand held his crystal stemware, untouched. The smile remained on his lips as he watched Lila tear into the meat in front of her.
Lila moved on to the fruits next, her fingers grasped fistfuls of ripe, sweet berries that burst on her tongue. The apples were crisp and tart and felt like heaven in her mouth as her teeth tore into the skin. With each bite, she discarded the fruit and reached for another. She gorged herself on the sweetness of the flesh. Her eyes roved the many dishes that were out of reach from her seat, and she stood, pushing the chair away from her.
She moved to the tray of tarts and pies and dipped her hands through the crust to pull the innards out and into her mouth. She gorged herself, each bite sending waves of pleasure through her body, yet with each bite, her hunger grew. It was not enough. Her stomach felt tight, aching with the amount of food she had digested, yet she ignored it. Her eyes roamed for the one dish that would satisfy her craving and end her hunger once and for all.
When her eyes lighted on Lucian’s she paused. She had forgotten he had been in the room with her. She froze, a leg of lamb in one hand and a fistful of blackberry pie in another. She swallowed, hard, and stared into his cold gaze.
“You seem to be enjoying yourself,” Lucian commented. He raised his glass of wine slightly, the corner of his mouth lifting in a sneer. His voice, once warm and seductive, had taken on a cold tone.
Lila nodded, unable to speak, her mouth full of pastry. A strange dizziness overcame her, and she leaned against the table to keep herself stable. She swallowed what was in her mouth and raised the lamb to tear more flesh from the bone. Her mind railed at her to stop yet the food was too intoxicating. She dropped the leg and reached for her glass of wine, draining the last of it.
The taste was sour, and she stared at the dregs left in the bottom. She dropped the crystal and bit into the pie that was still grasped in her opposite hand. What was once sweet, now tasted sour. She wiped the remnants on her pant leg and pulled a buttery croissant from a tray. The taste was sweet instead of rich. When she looked at the pastry in her hand, she noticed the inside was filled with green and black mold.
“What is happening?” she said. Despite what she had just tasted, she tore into another pie and found only rot inside. Still, the hunger persisted, and she watched in horror as her hand brought the foulness to her lips and she continued to gorge.
Lucian’s smile grew darker, his teeth gleaming in the low light. “You’ve had quite the feast, haven’t you?”
Lila paused, her hand trembling as she reached for another Cornish hen. Her vision swam and her heart raced as she realized that something was terribly wrong. The food, once delicious, was now grotesque, the meat was blackened with rot, the fruit shriveled and oozing with decay. The air in the room grew colder, and the shadows deepened.
Yet, despite all of this, her fingers burst through the crust of the pies, and she pulled the rotten ichor into her mouth until she could no longer breathe. She could feel something terrible ripping her apart from the inside and she collapsed to her knees. Her lips parted as a scream tore from her throat, and she fell to her side. Her vision darkened yet her hand still scratched the floor as she attempted to pull herself closer to the slice of beef that had dropped beside her. As she slipped into unconsciousness, she could hear Lucien’s laughter.
To keep in the spirit of the Dreadnosh site, here's the song I chose to go along with my little tale. Bon a 'petite!
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