"Sorry about that," I said as I stifled another yawn. "Haven't been getting much sleep lately."
My grandmother narrowed her eyes. I could see that she was getting one of her strange ideas.
"Have you been having... bad dreams?"
I had, and I told her so. "Nightmares. Every night this week, actually. I wake up drenched in sweat."
"I had a feeling there was a Mara in town. Just didn't know she was after you."
"Mara?"
"A Scandinavian creature of the Night. A young woman that sits on your chest while you sleep, draining your energy while giving you bad dreams." She filled my teacup again. "It's where the word 'Nightmare' comes from."
I smiled. My grandmother had always been a bit superstitious. But instead of making her nervous, it had made her battle-ready. Eager to study, to protect those that couldn't protect themselves. It was actually fairly sweet in its daftness.
"I can tell you how to make her leave you alone, if you wish."
"No thanks."
"Suit yourself," she said, smiling. She knew what I thought of her whims, and she didn't really care.
Three days later, I sat there, under the moon, smoking my fourth cigarette. Ten nights in a row. I needed some sleep, or I would go mental. As I picked up the phone, I wondered if I already had.
"Yes?"
"It's me," I said.
"Hello, dear. How are things going with the Mara?" I could tell I had woken her up, but she was cheery and seemed eager to assist me.
"Not too good. I was thinking that trying your approach couldn't harm anyone."
"Very well. Now, here is what you must do."
More than once during the rather lengthy explanation that followed, I had to raise my eyebrows. This was actually happening, I thought to myself. I was actually sitting here, in the middle of the night, listening to my grandmother telling me one of the strangest plans I had ever heard.
The next night, I got into bed, all preparations made. Well, this is it, I thought to myself. Worst case scenario, I look like a fool in front of absolutely no one.
I woke up in the middle of the night and realized that my trap had been sprung. Maras, grandmother had told me, are shapeshifters, and can also turn into mist. They can only enter a room if there is a tiny hole they can seep through. If that hole is closed – if that specific hole no longer exists – they can't get out, and they are returned to a human shape and stripped of their powers. Don't ask me how this works, I haven't the faintest idea.
During the day, I had found that hole. I had placed an iron plate over it, held up by a string with a lit candle under it. During the night, the candle would weaken the string, and the plate would fall down and cover the hole. This meant that if there had been Mara in the room, she would be trapped.
I looked around the room, and instantly spotted her. A Mara, I thought to myself. They actually exist. Grandmother had told me that they would look like young women, attractive, but with a strange sense of otherworldly origin. She had neglected to mention that she would also be completely naked.
The Mara had noticed that I had woken up, and she rose to her feet, giving me a cold glare. "What do you think you are doing, mortal? Trapping a Mara? Release me at once, or suffer the direst of consequences." Theatrical, I thought to myself.
Grandmother had warned me about that. Trapped Maras took one of two options: they tried to bribe you, promising you your fondest wish if you would let you go. Or they would threaten you with harm. Either way, they were powerless and therefore bluffing. They could only do you as much harm as any normal woman that size, and given that I had a foot of height and quite a few pounds of muscle over her, there wasn't much to worry about there.
I stepped forward, letting her know I wasn't afraid. I could tell that she for just a second wondered whether she should continue her bluff, but she must have decided against it, for she started backing away. "Listen, mortal, I have the power to grant you whatever you wish, and if you let me free..."
Ah. Both threats and promises. Wasn't I lucky?
By now, she was standing with her back to the wall and had no places to run, so I covered the short distance between us and grabbed her by the arm. I dragged her back to the bed, and sat down on it. Then, I did what my grandmother had advised me to, the strangest step in her little master plan.
I pulled the struggling spirit over my knee and started spanking her bottom.
At the start of it, the Mara was too shocked to resist, motionless over my lap as my hand struck her bottom again and again. Eventually, though, the pain got through her cloud of confusion, and she started struggling. "Stop this now!"
"No," I told her calmly. "You've been sneaking in here for over a week, and it's about time you paid for your crimes. I'll teach you what will happen should you ever return."
And I held her down with my left hand while my right hand was painting her cheeks a nice rosy shade of pink. After trying to intimidate me yet again, she started pleading again, but pleas of a different sort.
"Please, I've learned my lesson, just let me go!" Tears were rolling down her cheeks.
"I don't think so. I decide when this is over, and I'm not satisfied yet."
I kept spanking until her bottom was bright red, and her crying had progressed to sobbing.
"Now tell me your name," I said. This was one of the most important steps of the evening. Grandmother had warned me time and time again that if I wanted to make sure she stayed away, I would need her name. The magical incantation she had would not work unless I had her name.
"No, I can't tell you!" She was reluctant to share that information. I didn't blame her, names are powerful things where magic is involved, and she didn't want anyone to have power over her. Unfortunately, I needed that name.
I gave her a dozen, hard spanks, and she cried out for every single one. That sharp pain on an already stinging bottom must have been unbearable.
"Your name."
"No!"
Twelve more spanks, even harder than the last. "I'll keep doing it until you tell me your name."
She didn't answer, so I raised my hand again. "NO! Please..."
"What's your name?" I asked, hand still in the air, ready to come down hard on her unprotected bottom.
"Azure. My name is Azure," she said between sobs. She wasn't lying. She couldn't lie about her name. Part of the magic, according to the expert I had consulted.
I helped her to her feet and dried a few of her tears. "Well, Azure, it was nice meeting you." I lifted the plate from her escape hole, and in front of my eyes, the woman rubbing her sore bottom was transformed to mist and disappeared.
I got into bed for the best sleep I had gotten in quite some time.
"What's wrong?" My grandmother filled up my teacup again. I had never quite gotten why she was so obsessed with tea.
"Just thinking," I said, feeling slightly sad for some reason I hadn't figured out. She did, though.
"You fell in love. Otherworldly beauty can have a strong effect on a young man." She said this as if falling in love with fairies that magically appeared in your house was nothing unusual. " I guess you have two options," she said as she leaned back in the chair.
"Two options?" I asked her.
"Two options," she confirmed, holding up two fingers as if I was too thick to get it. "First option. I give you the Ritual of Banishment." She placed a small, black scroll on the table in front of me. "She can never enter your house again, and your dreams are protected."
"And the second?"
"I give you the Ritual of Summoning," she said, pulling out another scroll, this one blue. I realized that she had anticipated my emotional attachment to the Mara. "You ask her to come to you, and if she wants, she will appear."
After some consideration, I picked up the blue scroll.
At night, I was sitting in the middle of a circle, drawn with white chalk on my bedroom floor. I was repeating the words on the scroll, over and over, staring at the small candle in front of me. Could this work? Would she come? Why would she? But maybe she would...
Suddenly, the candle went out. I looked up, and leaning against the wall, impish look on her face, was a very familiar figure. She had come. I stepped over and kissed her, and she leaned against me eager for more.
For the second time in as many nights, I led her over to my bed, but this time, for a different purpose, and she was considerably more eager.
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