The Duelist

by Eric Vall

  A small radius close to the tree’s trunk opened up just enough for us to stand to our full height, set up our triangular canvas tent, and maybe even have a small fire.

  “I will gather wood for the fire,” Zoie said as if she’d pulled the thought straight out of my head.

  “I’ll do the tent,” I said, and I was grateful for the way she was just there, like she was always a part of me. My heart was sore like hers probably was after leaving Shay, but we didn’t necessarily need to say anything, and that was a relief.

  I slung off the pack and set to work removing the rolled and compact bundle of our tent.

  It was a simple design, with two upright poles supporting a ridge across the top that made up the tent’s roof, and the wooden supports were made out of the cool telescoping bamboo material the torches were made out of. They just needed a strong flick of the wrist to make them extend like a pair of plastic play Lightsabers.

  After I assembled the three main poles, I set them aside and unrolled the animal skin tarp. I laid it flat on the ground and then went around and lightly hammered small iron pegs into each stitched eyelet with a small wooden mallet.

  When the tarp was down, I shook out the tent, and I was glad it happened to be in the travel pack I tried to leave behind at the Ruins since it didn’t get wet from the river.

  Also, kudos again to the ghost king who magicked it to us intact.

  The first thing was to lay down the ground cloth, and because I left the pegs halfway out of the ground, they were easy to slip through the matching grommets on top of the tarp and then finish off with the mallet. After that was all set, I arranged the awkwardly cut roof piece that also had the sidewalls attached around the hem.

  When I laid it flat as best as I could, I inserted the longest pole through the sleeve stitched along the top of the roof, and then I loosely tied the two shorter poles to either end. That way, when I stood it up, I could maneuver the support poles where I wanted them so the tent wouldn’t be crooked. Once I was satisfied, I tightened the knots and then fastened down the guylines so the little tent would be secure from any weather.

  Not like we would even be affected under the sturdy protection of the Wandering Tree, but it was nice to let my mind go blank and focus on a menial task, even if it meant tying down every guyline as if we were expecting a hurricane.

  When the tent was secure and ready, I threw down our bedrolls and then tied up the door flap as I left.

  Zoie was sitting quietly by a small campfire with her cloak spread out underneath her. She had her armored pieces in a neat pile next to her and was stripped down to just her pants and shirt, and she looked so soft and vulnerable with her knees up and her chin on her forearms as she stared into the flames.

  She seemed… sad, and that just would not do, so I sat down behind her, pulled her back against my body, and caged my arms and legs around her.

  She fit into me like a puzzle piece and grabbed my wrists so she could wrap me tighter around her chest and waist like I was her own personal seat belt custom-built to keep her safe from the damages of the world.

  I knew this because she was the same for me, and if I knew her like I thought I did, she was just as upset about leaving Shay as I was.

  “Thank you for keeping me centered. My head was a mess there for a second.” I stroked my thumb against her collarbone and then breathed in the scent of her as she exposed her neck a bit.

  “We will get her out of there,” she said in her low ember voice.

  “Yes, we will,” I said, and I felt this down to my marrow.

  I glanced up at the ethereal branches of the Wandering Tree and watched as the smoke got caught in the moss and dispersed before it made it above the treetops. That way, if any highwaymen nearby were scanning the area for unsuspecting travelers, they couldn’t follow any smoke trails to lead them back to the campsite.

  No wonder this tree was a wanderer’s best friend.

  “Look,” Zoie whispered in awe and pointed up.

  I followed her finger and spotted a glowing speck as it floated down from the hanging moss. At first, I thought it was a firefly, but when it got closer I could see it was just a bit of spiky fluff similar to a dandelion seed.

  But a dandelion seed that glowed in the velvet blue backdrop of the dark branches.

  Suddenly, multiple glowing specks began falling down on us like snow, and I watched their reflections sparkle in Zoie’s eyes like starlight on a calm sea.

  “Beautiful,” I said and pressed my nose along her upturned jawline so I could inhale her fresh clover scent where it was strongest.

  She moaned softly and leaned her head back into my shoulder as I rubbed my hands over her chest and across her flat belly. With one callused thumb, I flicked circles around her left nipple until it stiffened through her tight shirt.

  “Ohhhh,” Zoie sighed and arched against me in a sensual body roll.

  I flexed my hips as my blood was directed south, and slow-burning arousal started to build in my groin.

  Goddess, it had seemed like an age since Zoie and I were able to connect like this, and that icy gut-drop feeling I got whenever I remembered how close I came to losing her caused an urgency to roar up inside of me, and I suddenly just needed to reaffirm our bond.

  So, in a burst of nearly frantic energy, I lifted her up and flipped us over in one fluid motion.

  “Alex!” she gasped in surprise as she clutched my shoulders and bit into her dark pink lip until it bled white.

  “Fuck, Zoie,” I groaned at the delectable sight of that mouth and swooped down to devour her like a man after a long famine.

  She breathed harshly through her nose and threw a leg around my hip so I could grind my erection against her soft mound.

  These clothes were going to be a major fucking problem, and I broke away so I could untie the laces of her pants with shaking fingers.

  She stopped me, though, and my eyes shot up to hers.

  “I’m right here, my love, remember?” Zoie cupped my face, and I was struck by how bare she made me feel whenever she looked straight into my soul like that. “I’m right here, and I will not leave your side for as long as the Goddess is willing.”

  “Zoie,” I breathed out and felt shattered when she hit the nail right on the head.

  “Let me show you, my love,” she said, and I nodded as I let her take the reins.

  My heart pounded inside my chest like a bass drum as Zoie had me lay back against the soft cloak under us. Then she massaged my chest and raked her fingernails down my abs that I was happy to discover were becoming more defined due to all the physical exertion I’d been doing lately.

  Zoie seemed pleased as well because she tugged the riding vest open even more so she could untuck the starched white shirt from my pants.

  “Do you mind if I--” Zoie then tore the shirt open in a spray of buttons, and my blood singed with how hot that was. “Strong…”

  I hissed as those sharp nails dragged down my chest, and my hips bucked up when she cupped me through the cropped riding pants.

  “You’re going to kill me,” I said when she started to untie the laces on my waistband.

  With her teeth.

  She chuckled and then crawled up my body so she could bite at my mouth with fierce kisses while her fingers quested downward.

  “Yes,” I moaned when her satiny hand wrapped around my hard shaft, and she stroked upward a few times and then pulled me out of my pants so she could get a firmer grip.

  “I want to do something for you, my love,” she purred and then licked my ear.

  “Please,” I said as I shivered with pleasure.

  Zoie kissed my lips and then dotted more of them down my chest and stomach until she could pull my pants and boots the rest of the way off.

  When she came back up, she hovered in front of my cock for a moment as if unsure how to begin.

  My blood thrilled, and my erection twitched sharply for a moment when I realized what she was about to do.

/>   The inexperience was as endearing as it was hot, and I groaned when she finally took me by the base and licked the sensitive tip of my cock.

  She pulled back as if examining the flavor of my essence on her tongue, and I guess she found it pleasing because she then dove in for more a moment later.

  “Oh, godddd,” I ground out in a gravelly voice as she tried to immediately swallow me down as far as she could.

  My hand flew up and tangled into her dark briar of hair, and I tried with all my might not to choke her when the coil in my hips made me want to thrust into the wet channel constricting around the spongy head of my cock.

  I noticed my hand tightened viciously in those locks when she swallowed to try and adjust to the sensation, and I went to remove my hand from her hair in case I was hurting her.

  Before I could untangle my fingers, however, she stopped me by laying her hand over mine and squeezing.

  Then, with the glowing seed pods drifting down on us, and her blue-flame eyes burning into mine like a brand, she pulled back in one long pull before engulfing me again.

  “Fuck,” I said and couldn’t help but grip her with my other hand as she continued to bob her hot mouth up and down on my cock.

  She soon found her rhythm by concentrating that wicked tongue on the underside of my head, and with her hand, she stroked where her mouth didn’t reach.

  Bright shocks of pleasure made me jerk every time she tongued my weeping slit, and at this rate, it would all be over before the main act, so after one last twirl of that sinful appendage, I untangled my hands and pulled her up so I could feast on the pale skin of her neck.

  “Put your strong hands on me, Alex,” Zoie panted, and I drew my large hands up her sides before I flipped us over.

  “You are wearing entirely too many clothes,” I whispered as I peeled off her shirt and pants so I could admire the expanse of her perfect body.

  I sat there for a second and stroked her silky thighs as she arched and stretched against the soft travel cloak. Her pale nipples were stiff and peaked from arousal, and her toned stomach fluttered when I cradled her tender hips.

  “Your hands are so rough,” Zoie rasped as she brought one of said hands up to her mouth and suckled on my fingers. She then moved my wet hand down to her pussy lips, and I let her guide me to where she wanted me most.

  “How’s that?” I breathed into her mouth as I gently circled my callused fingertips around the rosebud of her arousal.

  “Ohhhhh, Alex, yes!” she said and jolted every time I stroked my middle finger directly over her kernel of pleasure. “Yes!”

  I closed my mouth over one of her erect nipples and lightly bit down with my teeth the moment Zoie started to climax, and she nearly shouted as she pressed my head closer to her breast until she came down from her high.

  “Don’t make me wait any longer, husband,” Zoie moaned and then pushed me away so she could turn herself over onto her stomach.

  She then raised her hips, and her shiny black tail drooped to the side as she presented her aroused sex glistening with her pussy juices. My dick twitched again as her musky pheromones hit my nose, and I felt every pulse of my heart in my throbbing erection.

  Zoie reached under her and pulled open her lips slightly with two fingers. Her eyes burned into me from where she was staring at me over her shoulder, and my balls ached to be buried deep inside her.

  “Please, fill me up and remind me that I am yours,” she purred.

  Without waiting any further, I dragged those luscious hips toward me and slammed my cock to the hilt inside of her.

  “Aleeeex!” Zoie squealed as she came for the second time around my iron shaft, and the intense contractions of her silken walls were almost my undoing as they tried to milk me for all I was worth.

  It was almost painful how sexy it was how she climaxed from just one thrust, and I had to work extra hard to beat back my own orgasm that had been chomping at the bit since she went down on me.

  Even though she came twice, I wanted to see if I could lavish her with as much pleasure as I could, especially considering I didn’t know exactly how the next two days would turn out.

  “Now you, my love,” Zoie said through a breathless gasp as she rose up on her hands and knees and gyrated her hips against mine in a way that caused goosebumps to erupt all over my naked flesh. She ground back, and I lifted us both up so I was kneeling and she was straddling me as I supported her on my thighs.

  “Fuckkkk… you are so tight… and wet…” I slowly rolled my hips in a deep grind that had us connected as close as we could get.

  “Goddess, you’re so deep inside of me, my love,” Zoie breathed through her teeth as I delivered another unhurried grind.

  I brought one hand around to fondle her right breast, while the other dipped down to part the folds of her pussy once more so I could massage her sensitive rosebud.

  “I need you to come for me again,” I said into her velvety pointed ear, and I guided her to circle her hips in the way she liked. “Can you, Zoie? Come for me just one more time, sweetheart.”

  “Ohhhh, I want to, my love,” she chanted and then spasmed violently when I used two fingers to massage her on either side of her most sensitive part. “I want your seed in me filled to bursting. Please, Alex! Come deep inside my womb!”

  “Yesss…” I rasped out and then unsheathed myself just long enough so I could turn her onto her back, hook my elbows under her knees, and then plunge back into her hot grasping channel.

  “Yes!” my wife hissed as her eyes rolled back into her head.

  “I’m going to come, Zoie,” I grunted as I pistoned my hips like I was going for gold.

  “Fill me up with your essence, Alex-- I want to feel your love inside me!” she shouted and clutched my broad back with weak fingers.

  I pushed her knees wider apart and angled my thrusts in a way that had her clamping and spasming around me like crazy.

  “Is that it, baby?” I ground out, and she thrashed her head back and forth in ecstasy. “Is that the spot?”

  “Th-there!” was the only thing she was able to call out right before her third orgasm crashed over her in a violent wave.

  Zoie whimpered, and the lustful little noise was the straw that broke the camel’s back on my own climax, and I came with a roar I tried to bury in her shoulder as I filled her pussy with ropes and ropes of my hot sperm.

  “Yes,” she moaned, and she pulled me in even deeper with her hands on my ass as I continued to pump into her with shallow thrusts.

  Finally, we both descended from the heights of our pleasure, and I gently lowered her legs to rest on either side of my hips as I remained buried inside her. I didn’t want her to feel uncomfortable, but I also didn’t want to break our intimate connection by pulling out yet.

  I could tell she didn’t want to, either, because she wrapped her ankles around mine and kept me close until I softened inside her.

  “I love you,” Zoie whispered, and I looked up at her from where I was laying with my face next to hers.

  “I love you, too,” I said and kissed her gently. “Let me take you to bed?”

  “Yes, please,” she said almost shyly even though I still had my member still inside her.

  I pulled out slowly, but even then we both winced a little from hypersensitivity.

  When I helped Zoie up to her feet, I also shook out the cloak and tucked it around her bare shoulders.

  “The tent is all set up. Go ahead while I bank the fire.” I kissed her fingers when she nodded, and I watched her disappear behind the door flap before I began cleaning up for the night.

  After the fire was put to rest, and I had gathered our scattered clothing, I wearily dragged myself to the tent.

  “Come to me, husband,” Zoie said in the darkness, and I dropped all of the gear into the corner as exhaustion hit me like a ton of bricks.

  I barely had the coherency to tie the door shut before I crawled under the bedroll and spooned up behind my wife.


  “What if--” I started to say, but she stopped me by squeezing my wrist where it rested over her chest.

  “Don’t,” she said and then turned around so she was facing me. “I have trained you, and you have the power to slow your time and heart. You’ll win. You have to win.”

  Even though we couldn’t really see each other, I felt her hand rest over my heart, and the comfort of her familiar presence lulled me out of my sudden doubt.

  I sighed and enveloped her in my arms where she belonged, and she tucked her head under my chin.

  I’d never been carried off to sleep so quickly in my life or woken up feeling so drained, even though I’d hardly moved all night.

  In fact, both Zoie and I were still cloistered together under the blankets like a pair of parentheses just like when we fell asleep. If it wasn’t for the small ribbons of light trailing in through the seams of the canvas tent, I might have questioned whether it was morning at all.

  Zoie’s serene face filled my vision as my brain slowly booted up, and the sight of her parted lips, cute nose, and flushed cheeks made up for the usually sour mood I was in when I remembered there was never any coffee on mornings like these.

  A scratching noise interrupted my study of the masterpiece in front of me, and I scowled when I recognized this was the sound that woke me up. The noise was persistent, and I knew there was no way I could fall back asleep.

  I sighed as I gently removed Zoie’s arm draped limply over my waist and tucked the blankets around her after I crawled out of the warm nest.

  The morning was chilly, and I hurried to pull on my preferred outfit of pants and tunic that I was beginning to find more comfortable than my old jeans and t-shirt combo.

  The scratching noise sounded again just outside our tent, and I grabbed the substitute short sword I was using until Horus could deliver me the forged herald sword.

  It turned out I didn’t need a weapon because the second I untied the door flap, a familiar fluttering sounded, and Roofus barreled into the tent with a happy squawk.

  “Roofus--ack!” I grunted when the energetic gold-seeker slammed into my chest in a puff of golden dust.