Hot, stale air clogged Henri's lungs as he approached a metal chair built into the wall. A man came and pressed several buttons on the arm of the chair causing the metal wrist restraints to retract. No one spoke. Seven of ten chairs along the wall contained restrained men, most sweating profusely. Unlike the others, who quivered with nerves, Henri grinned.

His right eye twitched with excitement when he looked at the restraints that awaited him.

Sinking into his seat, Henri placed his thick wrists on the armrests, and metal bands emerged and closed, tightening around his wrists and ankles. The attendant walked over to the entrance and closed the metal door, settling net-glasses over his eyes. Once the metal bar clanged into place, no one else could enter. His work complete, the attendant stood by the door, arms folded, glasses black so he couldn't see the room.

The sweat, a product of both fear and heat, dripped into Henri's eyes.

From the chair, a final restraint slid forth and encircled his head, holding him in place. He didn't object to the restriction of his movement.

I didn't come here to see the other men strapped helplessly in their chairs, after all. I bet none of them even know what the show is. I wonder if any of them will scream. I love shows with screamers.

After a few moments, the lights went out. The heat remained, swelling, filling all his senses. The thick, sweltering air and straps were all he felt. One man began to whimper. The sound sent licks of anticipation down Henri's spine. This was going to be an exceptional show. No one else spoke or made a sound.

As the seconds ticked by, his eyes grew accustomed to the dark. In the nearly lightless room, he saw Silvia's slender form, the darkness holding her close. At first, she was only a curvy silhouette against the back wall.

Silvia moved among the shadows with no more substance than a muffled scream. A small flame bloomed on a candle. She stood in its flickering light, both hands clasped around the tall white pillar. Even in the grotesque shadows of the candle's flame, her face was cold and perfect. Black hair streaked with red hung to her waist. Her eyes glowed in the darkness, the black eyes of a beast. Silvia took a few silent steps toward them. The only sound she made came from the gold tassels of her belt rustling against the russet robe encasing her body.

The shadows partnered Silvia in a sensual dance. Hands pale as smoke against the night sky caressed a jungle of dark shapes and didn't neglect any of them. A sigh parted her full lips and rippled in the silence. Six candles blared to light along the side walls even as the one in her hand dropped.

Those pale fingers had better things to do than hold flame. The tasseled belt fell. The russet gown slipped like a creature forgotten to the floor. Beneath it, she wore only the tissue-paper-like undergarments usual to brothels. Her black eyes inspected the restrained men. She ran one finger down the center of her chest. Her nail cut through the undergarments, and they flared to ash.

Lust brought Henri crashing back into his body. This was not a woman he would ever touch, but the thought of her taloned fingers on his body brought a moan to his lips. Those were foolish dreams. Strapped to a chair across a room was as closer than any sane man would ever get to Silvia, the Spider Queen.

As she posed, a shadow entered the room behind her. Henri watched its skittering movements and waited with bated breath for the others to see the beast. The spider was huge, standing as tall as Silvia's waist, and its eyes stared back unblinking. Then one man choked back a scream.

Silvia smiled and began to dance, her movements fluid. The spider approached her. It came up and stopped inches from her white body. With infinite care, it caressed her shoulder with one long, hairy leg. Her face leaned against its leg in an automatic lover's gesture. Feelers touched her hair, and she reached up one arm to hold it against her.

Silvia turned away from the men and danced for the spider. Her hands fondled its body, and she caressed the twitching maw. She glanced over her shoulder at the men, and her mouth moved, forming a chilling smile. Withdrawing her limbs from the spider, she walked toward the men. When she reached Henri, her long dark nails scraped across his chest. The spider retreated to the back corner, its eyes glowing.

Silvia was gone again, walking down the line of men.

"Come, bring me my gift." Silvia's voice was deepened and colored by the dark.

Henri's breath came in short bursts as he stared at the growing sliver of light emitting from the back door.

Two pretty girls entered, carrying a man between them. Each of his feet banged into the floor with all his weight but without intention, like one in a trance or drugged. The girls let him go, and Silvia beckoned to him. On tottering legs, he stepped forward. He grabbed at her. She eluded his grasp, feet skipping to the side and hips swaying. The chase that followed was one-sided, embellished with her laughter and his stumbles.

Silvia raked her hands across the air, and the man's clothes fell in shreds to the ground. Naked and shivering despite the heat, the man stood in front of her.

Henri couldn't have spoken if he wanted to. The air around him was heavier. Lust ate at him, but his desires would remain unsatisfied and he tried to ignore the urges. Ridden by fear, this was the most exquisite form of lust he had encountered in all his years.

Silvia did not turn to the chained men, but stared at the other as she ran her hands along her body. The man stumbled to her and pulled her against him.

The spider queen grabbed the back of his neck and pulled his lips to hers. The brutal kiss completed, she shoved him back. Every inch of her revealed and yet remained forbidden to Henri. As she lay back on the ground, her hair spread out around her. The man got down on the ground and crawled to her. The spider began his slow movement out of the corner and into the center of the room. Silvia crooned, one hand beckoning the man and the other motioning to the spider closer.

Henri's fingers scraped into the chair. He panted, his breath creating a rhythm his body longed to follow.

The monster approached the man's back. The man's empty, drugged eyes turned in Henri's direction. Somewhere in the vague depths of those eyes, terror lurked buried beneath the hunger of desire. Silvia's long hair writhed on the ground, and her mouth glistened as it parted in a sigh. Her intricate dance threaded the air with rhythm.

The instant the man's hand touched her, the spider ripped him from her body and threw him back against the wall. It sprang after him. Like a wisp of smoke, Silvia rose, a laugh blooming on her mouth. The spider pinned the man to the wall, and he screamed.

Momentarily, Henri's eyes closed, but the image of the spider, the victim, and the sorceress remained etched on his brain. When his eyes opened again, blood splashed across the floor and spurted onto Silvia's giggling face.

The spider spat and left a long burn on the man's cheek and neck. Silvia's hips swayed with a rhythm that enclosed them all. The light moved through the room, dancing with her. Following the command of her slender body, the illumination fell like a spotlight on the carnage. One of the restrained men began to scream as another retched.

Henri giggled despite himself.

The spider bit into the man by the wall. The man struck out at the spider's face and flailed his legs. The gaping maw snapped shut again, pulling away a bloody chunk, and then impaled the man with one hairy leg. The man jerked for a few moments, then slumped down. The spider dropped him to the ground and began to rend him apart.

Silvia turned to the other men. The shadows danced for her. Silvia didn't move; she only smiled. Then the spider came to her, and they embraced. The man's blood dripped over her until red streaked her white skin. She licked blood from the spider's prickly body.

A moan of pleasure escaped her lips, and a similar sound escaped Henri's lips. A laugh of insane glee came from Henri's left and then one man to Henri's right whimpered and began to mutter prayers to his gods. Silvia's dark eyes flew to the praying man. Slowly, she disentangled herself from the spider.

All he could do was picture her approaching the whimpering man since Henri's head remained fastened in place. Henri enjoyed the jump of adrenaline that came with imagining Silvia's approach and ignored the twinge of fear.

Screams filled the air. Henri imagined he felt her soft fingers on his forehead. At her touch, his airways would freeze. The screaming stopped. What would his death look like reflected in her eyes? It might be worth it to feel Silvia's kiss.

"Remember," Silvia said. "Once you leave this room, this never happened. To speak a single time of the contents of this show will earn you a place center stage and your loved ones a messy death."

When Silvia returned to his sight, the room was silent. She tapped the side of her head, where most net-chips were implanted—as if any of them needed a reminder of the programming installed in the devices before they ever entered the room.

She caressed the spider's side as she left the room.

Henri relaxed in his chair. His eyes drifted closed. Sight was not the only sense he could use to enjoy the finale. The spider was hidden from view as it consumed the screamer, but he heard the snapping of bone and the rending of flesh. When the spider finished, it followed Silvia out of the room.

The attendant turned on the light, and stepping over the blood and body parts. He unlocked the men. One by one, they fell from their chairs or ran. Henri looked at the dead man. A mix of jealousy and pity welled up in him. He quickly discarded both emotions and whistled as he walked out.

* If you like the story, please go ahead and hit the fancy little star and let the world and me know you appreciate it :) Thank you all for reading. I'm getting a better response than I hoped! Constructive comments are always welcome or almost any other type of comment you wish to make. Your responses always make my day!  

*Thanks to seventhstar for the wonderful cover!

*Revised 3/26/2016 (and hopefully done!)