The Mask

Editor’s note: this story contains scenes of non-consensual or reluctant sex.

*****

Kenneth sighed while brushing his hair with his fingers. He had messy and curly dark hair, which he never bothered combing in the morning. He worked at a newspaper company, and the hustle and bustle of the staff running around the room was really stressing him out. The problem was, it had been months since he last got laid, and he desperately needed it. It always managed to calm him down, and he could feel his stress level rising tremendously every day that passed.

He decided at once that the best thing he could do was go to the bar tonight. He was somewhat of a loner, and didn’t socialize much with the outside world. This would be good for him, to go out for once, and maybe meet a nice girl he can get along with. His mother would be happy about that.

He was finally able to go home at around 7pm, which was even earlier than when he was usually able to leave. It was too important to always be caught up with the most recent news, and that meant staying at the office for as long as possible. He quickly grabbed some microwave dinner, changed into a dress shirt and jeans, and drove down to the nearest bar.

The evening ended up being a complete bust. He had sat there in the corner seat, watching people passing by with unease. Then, he spied a beautiful woman that seemed like just his type, and decided to be confident enough to talk to her. When he did, she rejected him harshly, and he was so ashamed of himself that he left the bar immediately, after paying a tab that was much higher than he thought it would be.

Deciding not to order a cab home, he walked along the water, humming to himself as he thought about how miserable and lonely his life was. How had he gotten to this point? He had plenty of friends in high school, but after moving to another city, he had lost connections with most of them, and now his job was the only thing he had in his life. This was far from what he had planned for himself, and he couldn’t help but wonder where he had gone wrong.

His stream of thoughts were interrupted, however, as he spied something glinting up at him near the harbor. He felt entirely transfixed by it, and edged towards the edge of the water, looking down at it with a sense of uneasiness. There seemed to be some sort of aura radiating from it, begging him to touch it. He had never experienced something like it before, and knew he would have to approach it no matter what his mind was telling him.

As the waves washed over it one more time, he was able to see it properly. It was a mask, a wooden mask with a large metal bar in the middle and what appeared to be three screws holding it in place. It had a slightly pinkish-red tinge to it, and large cracks throughout the bark. It was very peculiar, and Kenneth knew he would have to take it home with him to see what it was all about. Maybe he would display it in his kitchen, and show it off for his guests to see. If he ever had any guests. He looked to either side of him, making sure there was no one watching, before lifting it up from the sand and brushing the dirty debris off of it. It was very heavy, almost like he was holding a rock he found at the beach. He almost considered leaving it there for someone else to find, but the mask itself seemed to speak to him, and he knew he wouldn’t actually be able to part with it.

And so he hummed to himself, already feeling much better as he journeyed the rest of the way home. As soon as he arrived, closing the door of his apartment behind him, he stared at the mask, wondering if he should put it on. He wondered if he would be cursed with some sort of voodoo, since the mask definitely had something off about it. He chuckled to himself before putting it on his face.

Nothing happened. He looked at the mirror by the front door, almost giggling as he looked at how ridiculous he was in front of it. The mask barely fit his face, and he had to squish it to even look like he was wearing it properly. He shook his head as he took it off of him. This would be something cool to show his sister this weekend during her baby shower, since she pHd in archeology, and maybe she would be able to tell him more about it. He decided to display it in his living room for now before bringing it for her to enjoy along with his gift for her newborn baby.

Kenneth, now realizing how late it was before a work night, promptly prepared himself for bed and fell asleep immediately. It turned out to be an exciting day afterall. He was rejected at the bar, but at least he found something interesting at the beach, and it might actually be worth a lot of money.

———

The week flew by with Kenneth completely forgetting the mask existed. After buying a last minute gift for his sister, he headed to her home, and was excited to be able to interact with people for once. This would be good for him, he could sense it in his gut.

“You’re finally here!” She cried out when she opened the door to welcome him.

“I had to buy the perfect gift for my future niece!” He winked at her as he gave her an one armed hug.

She scowled at him. “That last minute, huh? So typical of you.”

“Shh…” He said in response. “I also brought something cool to show you.”

She arched an eyebrow. “What?”

“It could be ancient and archeological, I’m not sure. It feels really old.” He shrugged.

Her mood immediately changed into something more curious. “What? Show me!”

“Don’t you have to entertain your guests?” He asked as they traveled down the hallway together towards the kitchen.

“Mom’s already doing a good job annoying everyone.” She rolled her eyes dramatically.

He chuckled in response. Their mother was… eccentric. A loud talker that liked to be involved in other people’s businesses, but he knew she had a kind heart, and always held her deep in his heart.

His sister, Melody, stopped in her tracks at the kitchen counter, where an assortment of pink cupcakes with pacifiers on them filled up most of the counter top. “Well, show me.” He felt a little shy to do so, since he might’ve over-judged its significance, and he knew that she would make fun of it if it was merely an over-produced item from the local gift shop.

He hesitantly pulled the mask out from the duffle bag he carried, and she arched her eyebrows in amazement as it came out. “Wow, I’ve never seen anything like that before.” She grabbed it immediately, but held it carefully in her arms as she studied it. Her eyes were transfixed to every detail, and he could see her face shift from humour to concentration. It was always weird for him to see his sister like this, when she was passionate about the field she was in.

“Do you know what it is?” He asked curiously.

“Hmm…” She said, and before he could say anything, she ran upstairs with the mask, leaving him behind. He was appalled, but followed her anyway. They stopped in her study room, and she frantically searched through the bookshelves, looking for a specific novel.

“Um… can I help you look for something?” He asked awkwardly.

“No, I’ve got it.” She replied, pulling out what looked like an ancient book that must’ve been at least a thousand pages. She slammed it on the table, and flipped through it with a hungry look in her eyes. He stood next to her, watching the images and words fly by on the old papyrus paper. She seemed to know exactly what she was looking for, because she stopped on a particular page, and almost squealed when she saw the picture.

It was identical. To every crevice and arch on the wood. The only difference was that the mask in the book had a green tinge to it, and the one currently sitting on her study table had a pink tinge. “Doesn’t that look the same to you?” She asked him.

He nodded. “I can’t believe this is actually something special, I thought it might’ve been from a gift shop or something, or a craft someone made.”

She chuckled. “Well, it’s definitely not the real thing. There’s no way the Norse Gods even existed, you know I’m not that delusional.”

“Wait, what? The Norse Gods?” He asked curiously.

She nodded. “Wait, let me read this again. I don’t really remember the story very well.”

He arched his eyebrows. “You know how to read this?”

She laughed out loud. “You know I can read almost twenty languages right? Though none of them are even useful in modern life. It’s just a part of my job.” He whistled from how impressed he was, but she only shrugged it away, like it was normal.

She pulled the novel up and sat down with it on her lap. He watched as her eyes rapidly screened the pages, trying to learn as much as possible in as little time as possible. After a few minutes, she looked up at him. “Okay, I remember the details now.”

“Well?” He was so curious he was almost bursting. This was beyond what he expected to learn from her today.

“It says here that the mask was created between the end of the 4th century AD and the beginning of the 5th century AD by Loki, the Norse god of fire and mischief in the northern lands of Europe in Asgard, supposedly of Scandinavian origin. Some very old texts describe Loki as a night god and a nocturnal creature, which fits perfectly with the mask and its method of functioning, since it only works at night and stops functioning at sunrise.

It is said that Loki may have been imprisoned in the not ordinary mask by Odin, due to this, at the moment the user wears the Mask, the user becomes Loki himself. Another theory is that Loki was the one who created the mask, and he imbued it with some of his own powers where he then threw it on Earth so that it could cause chaos, confusion, and terror among humans. This theory also has its problems, such as why Loki would allow humans to gain equal footing against him or other gods, and because the one who wears the not ordinary mask gains more than the ability to change form and other powers than those that Loki is able to use.

There’s a story told here at the end that not a lot of people know about. You see, Freya was one of the most sensual and passionate goddesses in Norse mythology. She was associated with love, fertility and beauty. She wasn’t too happy about Loki causing chaos and terror again, and so she did something to the mask when he wasn’t looking. Instead of causing terror and confusion in the human world, it would cause lust and beauty instead. It was something that she really cared for, and why she was one of their favorite Gods.”

“But nothing happened when I put on the mask.” He said, still a little confused.

She laughed out loud. “You don’t believe in any of this, do you? Stuff like this doesn’t actually exist. I’m thinking this mask was probably made by someone who really loved the story, especially the Freya aspect.”

“I see…” He replied, feeling a little disappointed.

“Well, I still think you should donate it to the museum, they might be able to tell you more than I can. I’m also curious about how old this mask really is.”

He nodded. “Well, we should probably go join the party. It is your baby shower, after all.”

She put the book back on the shelf and they headed down together. He couldn’t help but fidget with the mask, his head deep in thought. It just felt like there was something more to it, something he couldn’t quite place his finger on. There was energy radiating from it that was different from anything he’d felt before.

Their mother was waiting for them at the bottom of the stairs. “Where have you two been?!” She said, looking a little bit miffed.

“Kenneth just wanted to show me something, mom.” His sister explained.

She shook her head, “you’re too involved in that work of yours. For God’s sake, you’re pregnant! You should be thinking about taking care of your future baby, not this!”

His sister could only roll her eyes in response and walk off, clearly annoyed.

“And how has my favorite son been?” His mother asked him as she pulled him into a hug.

“Great.” He replied. “I think I’ll be getting another promotion at work soon.”

“But what about your love life?” She asked.

He fought the urge to groan at her. This was all she wanted to talk about. And he had no love life. “What about you, huh?”

She laughed. “I’m fifty years old and have been divorced twice, I’m done with men.” He felt a little sad for her, both his dad and the man after in her life were terrible people, and she didn’t deserve to be treated like that. She was an average looking woman, with B-sized cups and bigger hips, but she was full of love and affection, and deserved someone who loved her the same way.

“Nah, I’m sure you’ll find someone.” He said confidently. She gushed at him and gave him a huge hug, squishing him into her as he tried to breathe.

“Okay, let’s go join everyone else.” She said, and he followed her into the backyard, where the celebrations were still underway.

The party lasted a few hours, and when the kids that were invited were finally pooped out from running and giggling for hours, most of the guests decided to leave. HIs sister was beaming from all the presents she received, and clearly in a good mood. She hadn’t talked about the mask the rest of the night.

After helping them clean up, Kenneth nursed his 6th beer at the back porch, still thinking about the object that was now hidden in his satchel again.

“You’ve been quieter than usual today.” His mom, Janet said as she sat down next to him with a glass of wine.

“You know I’ve always been the quiet type.” He responded nonchalantly, though he knew what was really wrong.

She was silent for a few seconds, then looked up at him, “I just remembered, you said you were showing something to your sister?”

Loving the chance to talk about it again, he pulled the mask out of his bag to show it off. “Look, isn’t it cool?”

Janet widened her eyes, and snatched it from him, eager to touch it. “Wow, I’ve never been interested in any of your sister’s work, but this is quite impressive. I bet it’d be worth a lot. Where did you find it?”

“Just on the beach while I was walking home one night.” He said, shrugging. “I think I’m going to donate it to the museum.”

“Well, then. Let your mom try it first before you do that.” She fitted the mask on her face, and gave a loud gasp. He glanced over to find the mask literally grab onto her, with pink tendrils shooting out, seemingly seeking her face. Before he could help her by pulling the mask away, it seemed to jump out of her hand and onto her face. She cried out in shock, but it was muffled by the mask wiggling and stretching over her head while grabbing onto her entire body. Her face turned into the same color as the mask, and she began to spin so fast it looked almost like a cartoon. He could barely see her as the tornado whirled around over and over again, knocking everything in the patio aside. It was so loud he knew his sister would wake up soon.

It seemed to stop as soon as it started. And he stood up as he watched the woman appear in front of him, someone who was definitely not his mother. The problem was… she was wearing the same dress and heels as his mother was, and had come out of the whirlwind that his mother had just entered after she put on the mask.

The woman next to him was exactly his type. Long silky blonde hair that fell at her waist, E-cupped breasts that were threatening to fall out of the dress, and curves that he’d never seen before. Her legs were smooth and silky, making him desperate to grab it, and forced the observer to look all the way down to her feet. The only problem was, well, the mask that was on her face. It looked exactly the same, except it was now smooth instead of the wood-like material it was before. It looked like it was glued to her face, and wouldn’t come out no matter what.

“Mom?” He asked cautiously. “Is that you?”

“Kenneth.” Was her response in a sultry tone. “What’s happened to me?”

“No way.” Was all he could say.

She looked down at her body, at the curves and the skin that seemed to glow under the moonlight. “This… this isn’t my body.” She sounded mesmerized, but also a little frightened.

“She said… she said that the goddess Freya did something to the mask, to make humans enjoy lust and beauty instead.” Kenneth said, though he felt like a crazy person.

“This isn’t real, I must be dreaming.” She was still studying her body, and she stood up shakily. He couldn’t help but look at her, even though he knew it was his own mother. She was absolutely gorgeous, and if it was a woman he saw at a bar, he wouldn’t hesitate to hit on her, no matter her age. And he’d never even been with a woman over thirty before.

“My skin… it won’t stop tingling.” She said, mostly to herself.

“Do you… do you think I can touch it?” He asked with a bit of hesitation. She thought about it for a second, then nodded. He approached her slowly, then reached out to touch the smooth skin on her arm, which was covered in goosebumps. She let out a gasp, and looked as if there were shivers going down her spine.

“Are you okay?” He asked, worried.

“Oh my god, Kenneth. That felt so good.” She exclaimed. “Do it again.”

He had no idea what was going on. This was so wrong, and so unusual. He couldn’t help himself, though. When a gorgeous woman like that practically begged you to touch her, you did as she asked. No matter who she was. He touched her arm again, in the exact same way, stroking from the top to the bottom. She shivered once more. “I don’t know what’s coming over me… I just can’t stop thinking about being touched.”

She looked directly at him, and though the mask was a little unusual and scary to look at, he knew it was still his mother behind it. Though the lust in her eyes was something he had never seen before, and something he never thought he would ever see. She reached out tentatively, but then pounced at the very last second. She pressed her lips against his neck, and began sucking on it. He tried to press her back, but it was no use, she was determined to do anything she could to get to him.

Before he knew it, she had taken off his shirt, and he gasped as she continued to move down his body, licking and sucking and trying to get as much of his body against hers as possible. Her teeth scrapped against him multiple times, and he couldn’t help but moan. Damn, curse it for feeling so good. How could he say no to this?

Soon, she had moved down to his jeans, and she pulled it off, revealing his black boxer briefs. She almost whimpered when she saw his hardness there, pushing against it like it was trying to escape. “I need it.” She said, still like she was talking to herself. It was like she was in a different world.

“Mom… we need to stop. This is so bad.” He tried to say. It was too late, though. She was like a greedy monster, clearly being controlled by the mask and Freya’s powers. She nuzzled her face against his crotch, and he groaned. God, it had been so long since anyone had touched him there, he almost needed it as bad as she did. She pulled his boxers down as quickly as she did everything else, and his dick sprang free, already covered precum. It was throbbing and needy, and she barely looked at it before putting it in her mouth.

Kenneth couldn’t believe what was happening. He was standing on his sister’s back porch, getting a blow job from his own mother. This felt like a fever dream, but the sensations currently going on in his crotch indicated that it was not. She sucked and bobbed up and down on it like she had never eaten before. Her tongue swirled around it over and over, and he moaned as he thrusted into her. This felt too fucking good. He grabbed onto her wavy blonde locks, and matched his thrusting perfectly with her bobbing.

He was so fucking close, but he couldn’t imagine cumming into his own mother’s mouth. He still had some sense of self control. Before he could tell her to stop, though, she had stopped on her own. “I need you to touch me.” She was whimpering, begging him to do so.