(This story is part of a collection of Dunvegas tales written by the authors from the Beyond the Veil blog. You can download the entire anthology for free here.)

Nightmare in Dunvegas

By Sela Carsen

What in Hera’s name was a ParaPleasure Expo? And why was it happening in his favorite casino?

Nicolas Hippotakis strolled through the dungeon-like atmosphere that pervaded the Dunvegas resort, eyeing the conference attendees askance. They were easy to spot, actually. Aside from the leather and chain lanyards holding their conference badges, they were draped with lengths of condom packets and gleefully carting around boxes featuring plastic penises in varying sizes and colors.

Then there was the couple copulating on the floor of the lobby. That was a big clue.

ParaPleasure? It was a sex convention!

He snorted. Just what he needed. All he wanted to do was close the deal and get the hell back home.

“Mr. Hippotakis.” The voice was a sultry purr. Not surprising, considering that the speaker was his casino hostess, Amanda Bast. Her feline heritage was obvious in the tip-tilted eyes and erotically languorous walk. She glided closer and placed her claw-tipped fingers on his arm. “I’m so sorry. I had no idea you were coming in today. I’ll arrange a suite for you immediately. Perhaps you’d like a private table for Blackjack?”

“Sorry I didn’t give you any advance warning, Amanda. This business trip came up suddenly. I don’t think I’ll have time to play.”

“Mr. Hippotakis, there’s always time to play.” Aphrodite’s apples. If that voice didn’t get his engine running, nothing would.

Nope. Not a single piston fired.

And damn if that wasn’t annoying. He was surrounded by people with sex on the brain. He had a black book full of women who would just love to service his needs. But lately, those needs had been seriously flagging. He was pretty sure he could perform if he really wanted to — he just hadn’t wanted to lately. With any of them. Blonde, brunette, redhead. Tall and lean or small and curvy. None of his usual ladies intrigued him anymore.

Thank Hera that business was occupying his time at the moment. The letter he’d received from Mr. Fritz, the mysterious owner of Dunvegas, had catapulted him from his Colorado mountain ranch to this parched cityscape in hours. In fact, he still had no clear idea what exactly Mr. Fritz was offering for sale.

All he had gleaned from the note was that this item was something he’d been seeking for a very, very long time.

“Not this time. I need to find the stables, though.” He looked at his watch. “Now.”

The gold suit she wore shimmered as she led him through the lobby. The elevator doors closed and the noise of the casino was abruptly silenced. Amanda slid her employee card into the panel and they descended. For a very long time.

Suddenly, the unmistakable refrain of “What’s New, Pussycat?” jangled from Amanda’s cell phone. Nic eyed the suit that fit her like a second skin. Where did she have room for it?

She drew the slim phone from what had to be her bra. If she wore one. Damn. She raised an eyebrow as she answered, but Nic just shook his head.

“Yes? Hello, Will. A package delivered? Certainly. I’ll meet you at your suite. Ten minutes? I’ll be there.”

As she hung up, the elevator dinged. The doors opened to the suffocating scent of rot and death. The last time he’d smelled something like this, he’d been on a pig farm where all the creatures had been poisoned with anthrax.

Nic and Amanda both recoiled at the stench, the elegant hostess pressing a manicured hand over her nose. Her large eyes widened, the pupils thinning to vertical slits as she arched her back and hissed.

Nic’s head went up and he snorted — trying to get the reek of filth and flesh out of his head. “Stay in the elevator, Amanda. Go back up and do not return. You’re out of this now, you hear?”

She hesitated. “Mr. Fritz will be very upset if I lose one of his high rollers. Do you need me to send security?”

“No. I can handle this.” At least he was fairly sure he could handle it — as soon as he figured out what it was. “Go back. Be safe.”

This time, Amanda nodded and punched a button on the panel. The door slid shut, leaving him in hell.

The unmistakable sound of a horse’s scream short circuited most of his brain and he fought to retain reason. An urbane voice reached through the chaos.

“Mr. Hippotakis, I presume?” A dapper, elderly gentleman in a designer suit stepped out of the shadows.

Nic’s nostrils flared. Evil. It wasn’t dead, rotting meat he smelled. It was evil.

“Are you Mr. Fritz?” He needed to know his opponent, but he had never met the reclusive and mysterious owner of the casino.

“In a manner of speaking. It’s one of several names that I’ve found useful. I’m very pleased with your prompt response to my note.”

“You implied I didn’t have much choice if I wanted to obtain the…item.”

“An accurate assumption. Would you like to see it?”

Nic’s entire body was on fire with the effort not to charge the man. If he was right about Mr. Fritz’s true identity, it wouldn’t do any good anyway.

He allowed the older man to lead the way. Dim light flickered, barely penetrating the murky darkness. Had the place been cleansed of filth on several planes, it would have been an ideal place for horses. The stalls were large and well-equipped. It occurred to Nic that the disgusting state of the stables might be an illusion, designed to drive him to fear and fury.

Mr. Fritz laughed abruptly. “You’re smarter than I gave you credit for, Mr. Hippotakis.” He waved a hand and the dungeon brightened. The scent of fresh hay and clean water replaced the reek of evil, although not entirely.

They reached the last stall. Inside stood one of the most beautiful mares Nic had ever seen. Sleek and lean with a heavy chest and masses of mane and tail, the golden bay held her finely sculpted head with pointed delicacy, nostrils flaring to show the bright red lining of panic. Her dark eyes rolled and she danced back as far as she was able.

At her movement, the metal clanged. She was chained to a bronze manger by a manacle around one slender ankle.

“What the hell is this, Fritz?” He stepped into the stall and turned on the man, who smiled back with a mouthful of teeth.

“It’s your destiny calling you, Mr. Hippotakis. I mean to take you back to your roots and recreate your ancestors.” As he spoke, his gnarled hands made swift signs in the air, each stroke of his fingers leaving a fiery trail.

Nic reached out to knock him back, get him out of the way so he could lead the terrified mare out of this stable of the damned, but he couldn’t. A wall of invisible power had slammed into place between him and the wizard, locking him in the stall with the horse.

Fritz laced his hands behind his back now that the task was done and nodded, apparently satisfied with his work. “Alcippe here is a very, very distant cousin of yours. A descendant of one of the four wild mares of Diomedes, just as you are. Gifted by Hera with the ability to shift from horse to human.”

“And Hera would be beyond pissed off if she discovered what you were doing here.” So where was she, he wondered.

“She would be…if she found out. Hera does not see what happens down here. Her power is limited under the Earth’s surface. And since Alcippe has been in my care below ground since she was a mere foal, she’s not even on Hera’s radar.”

“What do you want with us?”

“Ultimately, my goal is to breed a few more like you. Rebuild a herd of vicious, man-eating horses. Untamable and savage. It appeals to me.”

“It would, you freak. We no longer eat the flesh of men.” The mare whinnied in agreement.

“Then I suppose you’ll be here for a very long time. At least until…” Fritz let the words die off and Nic followed through.

“Until what?”

“Until one of two things happens. Either you provide me with a foal I can mold to my wishes. Or until Alcippe learns to talk.” With that, he spun on his heel and walked away, humming the tune to Mr. Ed.

***

A string of expletives escaped Nic as he heard the elevator door slide closed after the old demon. He banged his fist against the solid air that trapped him in the stall.

Trapped. He was trapped. No clean air, no room to run. He might as well be chained. The reminder of chains brought him out of his panic spiral. He wasn’t alone in this prison.

The mare was backed into a corner, her ears flat against her head. She stamped her front hoof against the stone floor of the stable, striking sparks. Her lips were curled back from her teeth — teeth that didn’t look normal. Several of them were pointed.

“Shit,” he muttered, spreading his hands at his side. Trapped in a stall with a man-eating mare. A mare who should be able to shift, but didn’t…or couldn’t. And he had to teach her to shift because he sure as hell wasn’t going to play stud. Not for that freakshow, Fritz.

“Steady, Alcippe. Steady, girl.” He took a few steps to the side, circling until he reached the stone manger to which she was shackled. The chain was sunk deep into the rock. No help there. Alcippe had retreated from him, pulling the tether until her leg stood out, leaving her off balance.

The only way to get the chain off was for her to shift. A slender human foot would slide right through the cuff.

Easy. He snorted.

“All right, girl.” The mare tossed her head.

“Sorry. Alcippe. Not girl.” He put his hands down. “Let’s start over. My name is Nic Hippotakis. I’m like you.”

A faint voice touched his mind. “Not like me. Never like me.”

He smiled. There she was.

“I’m just like you, Alcippe. Do you know what you are?”

“I know what I was. I was not born here. I know that I was free.”

“What happened? Do you remember?”

“Not well. I was only a foal. Wolves. I think there were wolves.”

Nic ground his teeth. The bastard had stolen someone’s baby. And if he’d used dogs or wolves, the dam was probably dead.

“Do you remember when this happened? Do you know how old you are?” From the looks of her, she was in her prime. Age was relative with his breed.

They were born as horses and lived their youth running wild. They had to have reached sexual maturity to begin their two-legged lives, and when they shifted for the first time, they emerged as adult humans.

“That man tells me that years have passed. But I can’t trust what he says.” She shoved her head forward, knocking his shoulder back. “I still don’t know if I can trust you.”

Nic sighed and looked around. “I only know one way to prove to you that I’m as you are. Stay back.”

It had been so long since he’d let this side of him rule. Too many obligations in the human world kept him on two legs. He always meant to find time to shift and run free, but time never seemed to find him.

A shock of electricity ran through his body, suspending him as he changed. The buzzing wore away and he shook his head. His forelock fell into his eyes and he shook his head again.

Alcippe stood shivering, but not screaming. Slowly, she reached out her nose, ears pricked forward.

“You…you…”

“I told you. I’m like you.”

She blew through her lips. “No. Not like me. You’re still different.”

“A different breed. I’m Andravida. You look like a Spanish horse. Andalusian, perhaps.”

“What’s Andravida?”

“The mares who were our dams were all different breeds. We looked different, with different characteristics. When we were freed by Hercules, we moved across the world. My dam stayed in Greece and we became a breed known as the Andravida. I’m descended in a direct line from her.”

“I know nothing of descent or of my line.”

“When we escape, it won’t be difficult to find out who you are.”

“And how are we going to escape? I’ve tried everything. This chain keeps me here.”

“The chain can’t hold you if you become human.”

“Human? Like you? Like that man?”

“Fritz is no man. He’s evil. A wizard who works black magic.” Nic snapped his jaws together, finding satisfaction in the one feature that differentiated him from other horses. His teeth. “When we get out, I’m going to tear that man limb from limb.”

“I thought you said we didn’t eat the flesh of men.”

“For him, I’ll make an exception.”

Alcippe whinnied and he joined her.

“First, you need to shift.”

She backed away from him. “I don’t know how. I’m afraid. What do I know about being human?”

“I’ll help you, Alcippe. But I won’t lie. The first time is painful. Even though I was warned, it still took me by surprise. Have you ever been stung by a bee or a wasp?”

“Never. At least not that I remember.”

“You’d remember this. Your first shifting will feel like a hundred bee stings. I wish I could tell you different, but you have to keep moving through the pain.”

She shuffled her legs restlessly, the chain clanking an ominous toll.

“Keep an image of being human in your mind. Two legs, two arms, standing upright. I’m going to change at the same time. Are you ready?”

Alcippe nodded. Nic was sweating. He remembered his first change and he’d have done anything to take the pain for her. But she had to get through it on her own. As a horse, she lived only half her life. The rite of passage would make her wholly Diomedan, the best of both species.

And so it began. He waited for the waves of power to recede, then changed. When he opened his eyes again, they were both human. And both nude.

Alcippe the woman was stunning. It didn’t surprise Nic because every woman in his family was stunning. They weren’t always gorgeous, but every one of them was eye catching.

But this woman had it all. Long, lean legs, slender hips, trim waist. Her breasts were high and firm. Not large, but definitely there. Her entire body was that of an athlete. Well-defined with muscle, and just enough body fat to make her feminine. Atalanta reborn.

Her face reflected the delicacy found in the beautiful Andalusian mare she’d been. Carved out cheeks and a straight nose complemented her almond shaped eyes. Waves of golden hair cushioned her shoulders. Her full lips were slightly parted and he gathered her close.

“Alcippe, wake up.”

She opened her eyes. She smiled. And Nic’s heart flipped over in his chest.

Alcippe moved her legs and the rattle of the chain broke the spell. She propped herself up on her elbows and Nic moved to kneel at her feet. The manacle slipped right off.

“We’re out of here,” he said, offering her a hand. Wobbly as a newborn foal, Alcippe leaned on his shoulder, learning how to operate her new legs as they made their way to the elevator.

The doors dinged just before they parted and Nic pushed her back into the shadows.

Fritz stepped out, bringing the scent of evil back to the stables.

“Stay back,” Nic whispered. He had to keep her away from Fritz at all costs. She deserved the freedom that had been taken from her and he meant to see her run with the wind in her mane. If the gods were kind, he meant to run beside her.

Fritz muttered to himself as he charged past the niche where the two hid. Something about his ungrateful daughter. Nic’s lip curled. He had a daughter? Hera help him if she was the vicious counterpart to her father. But one problem at a time.

The wizard pulled up short outside the now-empty stall, his shoulder rising in tension, though his voice was smooth.

“Well, well, Mr. Hippotakis. I see you managed to teach Alcippe to speak. Where is she? I’d like to see her…in the flesh, as it were.” Fritz eyed Nic up and down. “Didn’t you have clothes on the last time I saw you?”

Nic grinned, unashamed of his nudity.

“Hey, we’re all naked under our clothes, Fritz. But I think the lady and I would rather leave now.”

He stepped forward and the wizard moved back, his eyes shifting uneasily to the black space beyond Nic.

“I’m afraid that’s out of the question. This day hasn’t gone quite as I’d hoped and I simply can’t let my favorite breeding program slip away without a fight.”

Nic knew that if it came down to a fight, he’d lose. In this human body, he had no real power against a wizard. But he could at least keep Fritz occupied while Alcippe made a run for the elevator.

Fritz was reaching for something in his jacket pocket when Nic felt the air crackle with familiar electricity. From out of the night, a golden equine bolt of light shot forward, knocking the wizard off his feet. Alcippe pawed the air in righteous fury.

“You wanted to hear me speak, old man, so listen closely. I am Alcippe. Descended from the wild mares of Diomedes. My fore-dams ate the flesh and drank the blood of the man who enslaved them. What makes you think you’ll escape his fate?”

The midnight chill of her voice reached into Nic’s heart and drew out the hot thrill of victory. She was a goddess in her own right. The dank closeness of the stables fell away and Nic smelled only her heat. And the wizard’s blood.

Her teeth flashed in the darkness and Fritz screamed, his fear adding to the delicious scent of prey. Nicolas Hippotakis was as the gods had made him. He and his mate. Together, they visited the doom of Diomedes on the man who had tried to bend them to his puny will.

Nic trumpeted his victory to the world as Alcippe screamed her own cry in the night. They were covered in blood and Fritz was no more. As the wizard’s life drained away, the stones themselves heaved under their hooves, giving up the ghosts of those who had been imprisoned here before.

The sound of the elevator door brought them back to themselves and Nic watched with pride as Alcippe effortlessly reclaimed her human form.

A voice reached into the darkness.

“Mr. Hippotakis?” Amanda Bast’s pupils were widened to make use of all the light available. Alcippe retreated behind Nic and the feel of her breasts pressing into his shoulder blades caused an involuntary reaction below his waist.

“Right here, Amanda.”

She looked around. “Mr. Fritz?”

“No more Mr. Fritz,” he answered.

“No big loss. Business will be better without him.” She shrugged, a lithe movement, as insouciant as her namesake goddess.

“Amanda, you’re the best casino hostess I’ve ever known. But you need to work on your timing.”

“Seems to me I got here at exactly the right moment. The words ‘hung like a horse’ seem appropriate. I think the Deathly Buzzings Marital Aid company might like to talk to you about modeling for one of their products. I think it would be a best-seller.”

Nic flushed. There had been a time in his life when he’d have taken her up on the invitation in her eyes, but Alcippe pressed her teeth into the top of his shoulder. He grinned.

“I don’t think so, Amanda. We’d like to get out of here, though.” He covered Alcippe’s firm flanks with his hands as the elevator rose to the Lobby level. “How’d that ParaPleasures Expo go for you guys?”

“Huge hit. I think we’ll definitely be doing it again next year. After all, even the Dunvegas crowd can use some shaking up every now and again.”

“Forgive us if we don’t show up for it. I think we’ve shaken up Las Vegas enough for one year. Anyway,” he said, turning to give Alcippe a hug, “I feel the need to get out in the fresh air.”

The doors opened and Nic let the rush of magic overtake him. Beside him, Alcippe tossed her mane and trotted out through the crowd of humans and not-quite-humans alike.

The desert called as he and his mate turned east toward Colorado. Time to let his NightMare live out her dreams.