Carnival of the Soul

by Cebelius

  He held his thumb and finger very close together as he said, "Maybe a little. Still, are you happy?"

  "Stupidly."

  "Wanna stay?"

  "Yeah."

  He shrugged and waggled his eyebrows at her. "Then why complain? I prefer happy to the alternative. You being happy makes me happy and dammit, I think I deserve some fucking happiness. Truth is one of us got lucky that day."

  She blinked, her eyes flickered around a moment as though she were trying to parse what he'd said, then she shrugged and leaned down on him, pillowing her chest on his as she kissed him and said, "It was me."

  "See how nice I am? I'm even going to let you be wrong."

  Halla smiled, laid her forehead on his, and began to roll her hips. Her insides were hot, silken, and tugged nicely at him as she sighed.

  "This is a different kind of nice. Will you cum in me?"

  "Yeah, I will."

  She set her knees and her rhythm picked up a bit. His shaft got even harder inside her. She must have felt it because she smiled indulgently as she breathlessly asked, "Soon?"

  "If you keep that up ... very soon."

  "I want it. I want to feel you gushing. I want you to fill me so full I can't hold it all."

  "You're such a pervert," Terry murmured, careful to let her see him grinning to take any possible sting out.

  He felt her squeezing, then realized she'd changed her size again. This time though, he was so close to orgasm that instead of shutting him down, the extra tightness finished him off.

  His head dropped back as he arched underneath her, his hands clamping around her hips as his shaft bucked inside her.

  She squeezed her own tits hard and shuddered, licking her lips as she stared down at him with wide, golden eyes.

  "That's it, Boss. Fill me up and then keep going ... mmmm I can feel it. Soo good ..."

  Yes Ma'am.

  When it was over and he lay panting, she laid back down on him and he wrapped an arm around her back as he wearily gasped, "You ... cheated!"

  "Forgive me?"

  She asked the question in a curious, hopeful tone that pretty much forced him to laugh as he said, "Yeah, this time."

  Halla kissed him, leaned back, then stood, cupping one hand to her sex as she traced the other between her breasts, looking at him fondly.

  "I love you, Boss. Thanks ... for giving me my chance. Still don't know why you did it, but I'll make the most of it ... I promise."

  "You're welcome, La. Likewise. I know I'm not always the best man to be around."

  She shrugged at that, then turned and sauntered toward the door as she said, "I'll send in the rest."

  Terry's eyes widened and he lifted his head up to look at her a moment, then let it fall back. Prada caught him as he groaned, "Fuck me!"

  "Oh, they will. Never you fear."

  Rolling his eyes, he nodded and said, "I opened the door for that one, didn't I?"

  "Yes, Husband. You're such a gentleman."

  34

  Blind Eyes

  "What have you learned?"

  "My Lord. There is no sign of Stheno."

  Thomas' head lifted, and he tilted his ear toward the speaker as he asked, "None?"

  "Nothing at all. I have also seen no trace of Terrence Mack. The last vision of him was at the Carnival that formed around the entrance to Lost Labyrinth. He vanished from there, and has not reappeared. The spirits will say nothing of him, and my vision fails when I seek him personally."

  The Dust Lord's head lowered, and he folded his hands in front of him and was silent for long moments during which the oracle trembled, waiting.

  "What ... can you tell me?" he asked at last.

  "My Lord, I suspect the influence of one of the Powers. Baba Yaga. The shaman from the Carnival, Vlad the Dreamer, was known to be a pawn of hers. She is famous for being beyond the ability of even the most puissant scryers."

  "I see. So Mister Mack has found a second Power to support his futile quest. When was the last such to rise against me?"

  The oracle bowed her head and said, "This is unique. None save Terrence Mack has ever enlisted a Power beyond Cecaelia."

  Thomas nodded, then lifted his head again. His mood seemed pensive. Finally he asked, "Tell me of the remaining Powers under neither my influence nor that of this upstart."

  "My Lord, Tiamat sleeps in a mountain range on the edge of Zhū Què's territory. They are the farthest from us and secured by the support of mortal nations and eldritch might. Agasaya's location is not known, and though I could find her, she has always fled at your approach. Scylla has a presence in the oceans beyond the pole, but her lover makes her unapproachable. Ariadne's location is not known now that the Labyrinth has moved again, but there are some in the carnival Terrence traveled through who believe her to have been deposed."

  "So ... those Powers I have not subdued remain out of my reach."

  "Absent great cost, my Lord."

  "I have perhaps been idle too long, trusting that in time, this world would crumble. I must subordinate my own preferences, and begin to lay active waste to the nations and peoples of this hell. The Eastern Steppes where Terrence was last seen would be a waste of resources. The tauren there would simply flee before they could be consumed or subverted. Whither should I strike if I wish to do the most grievous harm to not only my target, but surrounding nations?"

  The oracle considered this question, her legs moving restlessly for a moment, before she said, "If it could be subdued, the ripest target would certainly be the southern empire of Edelweisse. Her roads connect all the nations of that continent, and her trade ships navigate even as far north as Florence. However, we do not have-"

  "Not currently, but soon. Echidna's next brood is due, and her last is developing rapidly," Thomas cut her off, then turned his eyeless face to the oracle, focusing on her in a way that seemed to put pressure on her spirit directly.

  "I will breed you as well. Your body is not to my taste, but I will suborn my dislike for the sake of the ruin I must bring to this evil place. You will, of course, submit."

  "What of Stheno?" she asked, careful to keep her voice from shaking. It had been many long centuries since she had felt this man's touch, and though the desire for a brood was powerful within her, she no longer wanted her children to be his.

  "I will cast a summons for her later, but if even you cannot see her, I doubt she will come at my call. Stheno has failed twice, and now vanished from the sight my most powerful visionary. She is not dead, for that is impossible. Alas, any I might spare to search for her would as likely suffer her curse as rescue her. She will return to me in the fullness of time."

  Thomas' hands moved to the rope cord that served him as a belt.

  "The only thing of consequence now is that I grow my armies. Echidna has already been seen to but her children, while mighty, take time to develop.

  "Now it is your turn. Even the newly hatched brood of our grandchild subdued one of my mighty Behemoths. It is time to yolk that power to my own purposes once more. A few months, and we will bury Edelweisse in webs and shadow. The lifeblood of trade will fail, and the dust of endless twilight will rise in the south. Once the mortal nations have fallen, Tiamat and the Vermillion Bird will both be vulnerable. They will then submit to me, or perish."

  Arachne bowed her head.

  "As you wish, my Lord."

  Afterword

  As always, thank you so much for reading!

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