Heart of the Resonant- the Soldier's Tale

by B. C. Handler

  The piercing power of her voice had not only shut-up and stilled every soul, but left a high-pitched whine in my ears. Nolala’s poisonous stare and silence made the effect worse. The only sound aside from the crackling wood was the steady tap of the Chieftain’s index finger on her bicep as she watched with crossed arms.

  With one final tap, Nolala raised her chin at me.

  “Do you know what you did, Oliver?” she asked after a tense moment.

  “Mother, he—” Nuna started before Nolala’s piercing eyes made the words die on her tongue.

  “I am speaking to Oliver,” the mature lamia started slowly, giving each of my fellow conspirators a look of warning. Those icy orbs of purple returned to me, and it took everything I had not to look away. “Tell me what you did, Oliver.”

  I let out a shallow breath. “I went against your word.”

  “And?”

  “And I stole from you.”

  “And?” she pressed.

  “And I put three of your own in harm's way, again.”

  Silence loomed, and Nolala resumed tapping. Sighing heavily, I decided to man-up and just everything laid out.

  “This was all me, Nolala. I took advantage of Fell’s and Meriel's goodwill, and I manipulated Nuna, Tru, and Yanet into joining in. This was a shot in the dark and I knew it, and I still went against your word and took food from your people. The falling of the Marker doesn’t erase the wrong I did unto you. Only I deserve the punishment, and I’ll take it happily.”

  Face still blank, Nolala dropped her arms and slithered closer. Once were nearly face to face, she grabbed my jaw and tilted my head up. “You broke your word. Your tongue should be removed for that. And your theft warrants the removal of your hand, perhaps both considering the significant portion taken.” She leaned in until our noses were touching. “Death seems like a fit punishment.”

  “You can’t!” Meriel cried as she leaped to her feet.

  The elf hardly made a step when one lamia ceased her from behind. Fell didn’t even get the chance to yell before another snake-woman got her in standing headlock. The pair struggled as Nuna, Yanet, and Tru watched on with conflicted looks.

  I tore my eyes from the girls and back to Nolala. “If it’ll make us fair and spare everyone else, sure.”

  Nolala narrowed her eyes and took a long look at my face. She made an amused hmph, then released my jaw as she turned and slithered back. Not sure of what to make of that, I snaked a glance to the others. After that split-second glance, a black blur smacked me upside the head, launching me a few feet in the air that ended with a heavy fall to the stone floor. Somehow I was still conscious.

  Groaning, and making sure my jaw wasn’t broken, I looked up to the Chieftain. Waving the tip of her scaly tail, Nolala smirked down at me.

  “There,” she said with the usual warmth in her voice. “You are forgiven for your transgressions against the Isusi.” The tip of her tail ran along my shoulder to my cheek to give a light pat. “But if you do it again, I’ll crush your body until your organs spill from your mouth.”

  I spat out a mouthful of blood from biting my cheek. “You’re too merciful.”

  Fell and Meriel were released, and they rushed down to help me sit up. As they tended to me, Nolala turned and addressed everyone in the room.

  “Oliver has succeeded in his conquest! The Marker stands no more!”

  Several minutes of applause and shouts praise filled the great room. Just as Meriel and Fell were helping me stand, several lamia rushed forward and hoisted us up and bounced us around like we were beach balls at a rock concert. The blow to the head and the fatigue from the last two days made all the hands on my body a little painful, but I didn’t have it in me to tell them to stop.

  After waiting for the excitement to die down a little, Nolala put herself at attention. “This calls for a celebration in the morning.” She paused and waited for the ecstatic whoops to fade out before turning her eyes to the girls and me. “Let our esteemed guests rest. I’m sure accomplishing the impossible has left them feeling weary.”

  Per command, they set on my feet, and Meriel and Fell were at my side in a heartbeat. Nuna, Tru and Yanet worked around the people congratulating them and gave the girls and me quick hugs. More women shared words of praise, but all I did was smile and zone out. By the time I was even aware of what was happening, we were in my room again.

  Everything seemed to be happening too fast, working out too nicely. Perhaps it was all a dream I fell into?

  That thought didn’t last very long when the girls bundled me up from either side, hugging with enough force for me to groan uncomfortably. Meriel was the first to break away. Looking up at me with glittering eyes, she went to her tiptoes to deliver a long, passionate kiss.

  Soon after, Fell turned my head to face her. Blushing furiously, she leaned in and gave me a light peck on the lips. Next, they took their time to strip me of my vest, shirt, and then boots, their roaming hands warm and gentle. They coxed me over to the bedroll, slowly easing down with me until were bundled up and snug like a bunch of peas in a pod. Sleep tugging on my lids, I wrapped my arms around them tighter, hoping that they’ll never leave, even in my dreams.

  ✽✽✽

  Tight, aching muscles greeted me as I stirred awake. The pain in my muscles argued for more sleep, but the vacancy of my bedroll spurred me up. Prying open my lids, I saw the room was empty. Fighting against screaming muscles, I got out of bed. Getting a shirt on was all that could be managed by my aching core and back, so I padded down the long corridor in my bare feet to the main gathering room.

  A slight panic had settled when waking to see the girls gone, but it was quickly replaced with joy when I rounded the corner and saw Meriel and Fell happily chatting with some lamia near the hearth. They abruptly stopped talking and looked my way, smiling widely as they rushed over.

  “Sorry we didn’t wake you,” Fell said.

  Meriel pressed herself into my chest and got a quick peck in before saying, “You looked so sound asleep that it didn’t even seem possible.”

  I patted Meriel's back. “Is it morning?”

  “We’re well into the afternoon,” a familiar voice said from my side.

  Whirling around, I was surprised and grateful to see Sanvi moving around. Meriel stepped away so the muscle-bound women could scoop my off my feet with a tight, one-armed hug. Her embrace felt too good for me to feel embarrassed.

  “Are you sure you should be moving?” I asked, looking up from where she had me mashed in her chest.

  Chuckling, Sanvi set me on my feet and raised her bandaged left arm. “Wren healed me a little this morning.” Amethyst eyes twinkling, she smiled even wider. “Plus, I’m in good spirits after hearing what you did, Hero.”

  “C’mon, Yanet and Fell deserve more credit than me,” I admitted with a shake of my head.

  Fell smacked my back with her tail, though it was too fluffy to have hurt. “Oliver, it was your plan that our efforts even amounted to anything. Shut up and accept the praise. Enjoy the celebration in your honor.”

  “Yeah, about that…” I trailed off, looking around the common room to see that most of the floor was covered with bedrolls and that several lamia were bringing in more. “What’s with all this?”

  Sanvi, Fell, and Meriel shared a knowing look, salacious smiles splitting their faces. Now that I noticed, all the nearby women had similar expressions.

  Meriel reached up and lightly pressed the tip of my nose. “It’s part of the celebration. Breakfast was pushed back for the occasion. Come, take a load off and relax while everyone takes care of the finishing touches.”

  She tugged me over to a spot near the hearth, Fell, and Sanvi following. Too much in a good mood, I pushed any questions away and got comfortable on the padded floors. I had to wonder why they didn’t have it like this all the time.

  While the other Isusi cooked or helped with the bedrolls, Sanvi berated me for every single detail of what happened. Before long
, as people finish their tasks, I had a small gathering around me as I talked more about the explosion, the tunnel collapsing around us, and finally describing how the Marker snapped in half and crashed into the valley. There was a long round of applause at the end. Doing as Fell advised, I just ate it up and took part in the merry atmosphere.

  Just as breakfast was served, Wren slithered into the space with a few of her helpers totting armfuls of dried plants. The one thing they had in abundance were the big bushels of tall, dried stalks of pink flowers. From being around, I knew they used a lot of those pink flowers in their medicine and ointments. Something for the celebration?

  The question was put on hold when they announced the soup was ready and began handing out portions. The small pang of guilt I felt when they handed out bread couldn’t be helped, but the others were quick to notice and said it was a worthy sacrifice in the end. The talk of flour just stirred more conversation, many asking how I could even fathom using a common ingredient as a weapon against the Null; a Marker, no less. Spurred on by the good vibes, I ate happily and enjoyed myself.

  Once everyone had finished their meals, Wren announced she was finished with her special tea, and then started handing off bowls to be passed around. Meriel got a bowl and took a big gulp, then visibly shuddered and vocalized her discuss.

  “Something different about the tea today,” I asked as I reached for the bowl.

  Meriel smirked and skipped me to hand off the bowl to Fell, who gave a similar reaction after taking a big gulp. “Just a special tea for us women,” she said, which earned snickers from everyone around.

  When I was going to ask for clarification, Nolala rose and addressed all the lounging women. “My fellow people, this is a time for rejoicing. While many can’t be with us today, know that they are smiling down upon all of us, knowing that a great blow has been dealt to the scourge of all that is good. The Null made the grave error of stepping into our domain. Without a means of reinforcements, they’ll be hunted down and eradicated like the vermin they are by the might of Elesrora and its allies.” She looked over to me, giving a radiant smile. “For Oliver! The eternal friend of the Isusi!”

  “For Oliver!” several voices cheered in unison.

  “Christ, you’re all going to make me blush,” I said, feeling bashful under all the gleaming faces.

  “We’ll now commence the burning of Nature’s Blessing,” the Chieftain announced, then gave a nod to Wren. The healer tossed a bustle of the pink flowers into the hearth, and then her helpers began tossing in the rest into the braziers around the room.

  “Nature’s Blessing?” I asked, staring at the women as they got everything burning.

  “A bountiful flower that grows all over our forests,” Sanvi answered. “It’s a key ingredient in all of our medicine.” The mocha-skinned beauty paused and took a deep breath as the smoke began to fill the space. “But it does hold special… medicinal properties when inhaled as smoke.”

  Oh.

  So this is what they meant by celebrating. When in Rome, I guess.

  I was looking for a good moment to have a smoke with my last cigar; this worked, too. The aroma was certainly pleasant: musty like autumn, but have a sweet spice sort of like gingerbread. I breathed in the warm smoke smoothly, feeling the immediate effects. There wasn’t a headrush or high, just a gentle sense of euphoria. My body hummed with a pleasant tingle, washing away the tension in my muscles. The relaxation ramped up when Meriel and Fell began massaging my shoulders. I groaned and turned to jelly under their hands.

  “Whoa,” I breathed out. “They should burn this stuff all the time.”

  “That wouldn't be very wise,” Fell whispered, her musical voice sending waves of pleasure in my ear canal.

  I hardly process her words when Meriel shifted closer and began planting kisses on my neck. They started light, and then she began to lightly sink in her teeth, which spurred me on at an alarming rate.

  “Easy, Meriel,” I whispered. “We can do that—”

  She shut me up fast with a hard, sloppy kiss and made no effort to mask her moans. The worry of being indecent went out the window when more heated moans sounded from the other women. While Meriel’s tongue warred with mine, I saw other lamia making out with each other passionately.

  “Enjoy yourself, Oliver,” the horny elf gasped when she finally broke away.

  “We certainly are going to,” Fell added.

  The fox-woman pulled off my shirt when Meriel pulled off my pants. The erotic turn of events left me stunned; though, it wasn’t like I was against this. Especially not when the first thing I saw once my shirt was off was Sanvi’s beautifully sculpted tits. Looking down at me, she bit her bottom lip and cupped the back of my head. Not having to be told, I leaned in and suckled one of her dark nipples, getting powerful moan from her. After suckling for some time, I went to her other nipple, but I only had a few seconds to play before another hand drew my head away.

  Nuna forced her mouth over mine, her tongue working deep. I groaned in her mouth once Meriel began to bob her head up and down my dick, greedily trying to suck my soul out. Nuna broke off the kiss and watched the sloppy show the elf was putting on.

  “Please,” she begged. “Please let me go first.”

  Fell chuckled. “He won’t turn you away, right?”

  I managed a weak shake of my head, Meriel making it really hard to remain coherent. Fell picked up on that and jerked the elf away from my dick with a firm tug on one of her long ears.

  “You’ve had him all to yourself,” the fox-woman husked, tugging on Meriel's ear and getting a whimper. “Share with our new friends. We’ll be sure to have some fun, too.”

  Meriel gave me a steamy smile before she and Fell started stripping each other, the nearby women joining in. My attention was pulled away back to Sanvi, the woman peppering me with kisses while coaxing me down. Nuna freed her perky breasts and tossed aside her skirt, revealing her glistening pussy. Sanvi gave my cock a few light strokes, then angled for Nuna. Never breaking eye contact, she pressed forward until our hips were flush. Nuna’s jaw fell open, and I trembled from the blinding pleasure of her tight, hot slit.

  Sanvi giggled, then asked, “How’s your first man feel, Nuna?”

  “D-deep,” she managed in a shuddering gasp, then began to grind our flesh together. She kept up a steady tempo for half a minute before she wrapped her arms around my head and screamed, her pussy clamping down as an orgasm ripped through her. She planted a weak kiss on my chin before unimpaling herself and rolling to my side.

  “Wow,” Sanvi mused as she took up stroking my cock, still slick from Nuna. “You’ve got something special here, Oliver. All the more reason you should be Yanet’s first, too.”

  It took a moment for the bliss that was Nuna’s pussy to pass once Sanvi’s words clicked. Looking to my side, I saw Yanet making out briefly with Nuna before she slithered over her and got into position. Nuna gave me one tender smile before slithered over to the nearest women who needed a partner. Like last time, Sanvi guided me into the young woman, which was just as mind-numbingly as Nuna. Yanet made a high-pitched moan, then began to pump her hips in an awkward, but pleasurable way.

  Just a little over two minutes passed before Yanet found her orgasm, which was almost enough for me to finish, but she slithered off after giving a parting kiss. Sanvi took to lightly stroking me while nibbling on my ear.

  “Ready for Tru?” Sanvi asked in a sultry whisper, then looked to her side only to quirk her brows. Following her gaze, I saw Tru on her back, Fell grinding her pussy against the smooth scales, her face buried in Tru’s sex. Humming, Sanvi said, “Well, I guess I can take her turn.”

  Barely coherent and throbbing in a way I’ve never felt before, my eyes stayed glued to Sanvi as she settled on top. Smirking down at me, Sanvi brushed my cock along her dripping pussy, and then she guided me into her channel. For a few moments, I swore I blacked out from the sheer pleasure. The mocha-skinned warrioress was tight, for tighter
than Meriel, and I had to grit my teeth to keep from crying out, my mind crossed between ultimate pleasure and agony.

  Desperate for release, I sank my nails into Sanvi’s lower back, which earned a pleased cry, and began to thrust into her wet sweetness. The brief intimacy with Nuna and Yanet had edged me bad. I needed this sexual tension to be sated before I lost my fucking mind.

  Going past the fog of sweet-smelling smoke and hypnotic cries of women engaged in carnal acts, I become lucid and ceased pumping into Sanvi, much to her displeasure.

  “Stop, Sanvi,” I panted. “I’m going to—”

  Sanvi growled and forced her mouth to mine, then began savagely thrusting her hips. “Do it,” she drawled in a raspy moan. She mashed her chest tight to mine and wrapped me up tight in her arms, her hips stirring in a tight circle. “Fill me up, Oliver,” she ordered in a husky whisper.

  Not being given the option to deny, I drove myself as deep as possible and began to flood Sanvi’s pussy. As she felt my heat spill into her, Sanvi shuddered and clenched up as an orgasm crashed into her like a tidal wave. A wave of panic hit me when it felt like she was going to snap my neck from her arms, and my dick from the pressure, but she went slack and uttered a long moan of contentedness. With her pussy relaxed, my cock continued to spurt within her.

  “Sanvi,” I groaned, trying to fight from being a drooling idiot. “That was… a lot. Definitely enough to make a baby.”

  She chuckled warmly then wiggled her hips, which forced a moan out of me, then rolled off to rest at my side. After experiencing such a hard orgasm, I was shocked and a little horrified to see my cock still hard. Like animals preying upon food, three lamia who had been watching from close by rushed over and began to blow me in sloppy fashion collectively. Sanvi moaned in an especially low octave when another lamia began to eat her out, sucking and slurping the mess I made inside of her.

  “Wren’s tea,” Sanvi forced out as she grabbed a fistful of the woman’s hair who was really going to town. Sanvi heavy chest bounced from her labored breaths, but she turned her eyes back to me. “It’s a contraceptive made from various roots and leaves. Those who wanted to lay with you drank it.”