Grapeshot Pantheon

by Dragon Cobolt

  Amanda glanced at Sung – to see if he had any idea. Sung looked haunted.

  “I am become death,” he said, intoning the words. “Destroyer of worlds.”

  Ganesha nodded and the reference clicked in Amanda’s head. She could remember the first day she had been told just how easy it was for her to give the order and end the world in atomic fire. It sometimes kept her up at night, shivering and panting, waking from dreams of fire and weeping corpses. She looked at Ganesha, who said: “We knew we needed to do something. But we waited until our own land became able to wield such weapons. And thus, we knew, we had to step in. Our dharma became protecting India and her people from the end of the world until its time.”

  Amanda nodded. “And now you’ll protect us from the next threat. But not from the shadows.” She stood and offered her hand to the shimmering god.

  “No,” Ganesha said. “Not from the shadows anymore.”

  They shook hands.

  ***

  Liam groaned as he walked into the bedroom of his house and sprawled face down next to Meg. His face mashed up against a pillow and he groaned. “Can we hire my mom permanently?”

  “Aww, you have some spaghetti in your hair!” Meg cooed, picking at Liam’s hair, flicking some bits of food into trash. “Brax? Or was it Marion? Or was it a cunning alliance of both?”

  Liam mumbled incoherently.

  “Tsk!” Meg clicked her tongue. “I bet Fizit is handling this far better.”

  The door to the room swung inwards and Fizit stumbled in. She groaned, then toppled forward into the bed, landing to the other side of Meg. Meg frowned, her wings fluttering as she drew them even more taut.

  “And you call yourselves big damn heroes,” Meg said, shaking her head.

  “Meg,” Fizit hissed, putting her arms underneath her, then shoving herself up. She glared down her muzzle at Meg. “You could help. With three of us, Brax and Marion would only have us slightly outnumbered.” Her tail twitched slightly.

  “I did help!” Meg said. “I played with Brax for an hour.”

  Fizit and Liam both shot one another a look. They had both assumed almost the same position – on their hands and knees, glaring at Meg. From downstairs, Liam could hear a faint crash and an excited ‘whoa!’ from Brax. He sighed, then closed his eyes. Meg rolled her eyes.

  “Pfft,” she said, then pushed herself to her feet. She walked, casually, off the bed and dropped down to the floor lightly. “I’ll show you how it’s done!”

  And with that, she was out the door, flouncing as if she had just won some major battle. Fizit and Liam both looked at one another again. Liam savored something he rarely got.

  Schadenfreude.

  The two of them sprawled next to one another. Liam felt like he hadn’t got to say two words to Fizit that weren’t work related since they had arrived on Earth. But as he tried to think of what to say, Fizit said: “I got a report from Babylon. Finally.”

  Liam groaned. “Fizit...”

  “The State Department have put in new security checks on their gates,” she said, shaking her head.

  “Gates?” Liam asked. “There are more than one now?”

  Fizit nodded. “They started building the second one the instant you reconnected the first. Anyway, the report-”

  “Fizit, come on,” Liam said, sitting slowly up. He shifted so that he sat behind his, well... He had been about to think of her as his wife. He had gotten used to think of Meg as his wife, but Meg hadn’t borne him a child yet. Fizit had. But she and he hadn’t married. They hadn’t exchanged rings. Liam felt a strange impulse to offer – but then recoiled mentally. Two wives? He wasn’t King David. Or Solomon. Or Jacob. Or... shit, there were a lot of men with multiple wives and lovers in the Bible. He shook his head as Fizit continued despite his grumbling.

  “The report is really troubling,” she said, leaning into him. This, perforce, made Liam have to start to rub her shoulders. “Immense amounts of magical resources and goblin engineers are being redirected from the surface navy and the Blinking Stars. I’m talking enough that my spies are complaining. And this!” She snapped her fingers. “Free Lord Mary has sent tribute to the Tuatha!”

  “We are allies with the Tuatha,” Liam murmured into Fizit’s ear. His hands slipped from her shoulders to her arms. He felt her muscular biceps, then slipped his hands up to her armpits, which let him marvel at the smoothness of her scales. Then his palms inched closer and closer to her breasts. Fizit drew in a quiet, hissing breath, squirming ever so slightly. But she definitely didn’t pull away and she most definitely didn’t say ‘no’ when his hands cupped her full breasts. He squeezed her through her T-shirt, and Fizit crooned.

  “Yessss, we trade with them. And this was marked as trade...”

  “I trust Mary,” Liam said, quietly. “And you should too. If she’s keeping something secret, it’s because she can’t tell us.” He smiled. “Come on. Let's take advantage of Meg’s incredibly stupid decision and, you know...” His smile became wicked. Very wicked. “Upset my mother a bit more.”

  “She’s almost getting used to the idea of you as a conquering hero,” Fizit murmured, her eyes closing as Liam started to really play with her breasts. He squeezed and cupped and caressed them, finding the hard points of her nipples and teasing them, T-shirt or no. Fizit hissed, then gasped, then finally squirmed out of his grip. She turned around, her tail lashing as she put her finger to his chest.

  “We should head back to Purgatory to figure this out,” she murmured.

  “Later,” Liam said, his hand going to her hand. He took her palm to his mouth, kissing it gently. Then, without quite meaning it, he stammered. “D-Do you ever wish you were my wife?”

  Fizit looked taken aback. “I’m not?” she hissed. “I thought Brax was a fairly good piece of evidence to the contrary.”

  Liam flushed. “I meant with a ring. A ceremony. All that.”

  Fizit smiled slowly. Her teeth were quite sharp. “Yes. You could stand to buy me more jewelry.”

  “T-That’s not what I meant,” Liam stammered.

  Fizit leaned forward. Her nose bumped against his and her voice dipped into an even more quiet purr. “Liam Vanderbilt. I am your spymaster, the mother of your child, and quite possibly, one of the few people in the world who could kill you without taking a scratch.” Her clawed finger pressed to his throat and Liam felt a shiver of almost erotic terror run from his spine to his balls. His cock surged against his pants as she teased the sharp point of that claw along his skin, letting him feel every crevasse and curve of his throat as if it was a new organ, just by feeling the contrast between razor sharp claw and soft, soft skin.

  Fizit’s eyes flickered like molten gold. “Do you think that if I wanted a title and a ring I couldn’t get it?”

  Liam gulped. “I am so fucking horny right now, I don’t even think I can speak English, Fizit.”

  Fizit smirked. “Exactly.”

  And Liam took advantage of the fact that, while he was no longer as wealthy as he was as the Free Lord of Babylon, he was still on a world with plentiful, inexpensive T-shirts. His hands grabbed onto the neck of Fizit’s white shirt and he used every iota of strength he had. The T-shirt didn’t even stand a chance. Tatters went flying and her green and gold scaled breasts bounced as she pounced on him with a raptor-like snarl. Her clawed fingers sunk into the pillows to either side of his head as she kissed him. Her tongue plunged down his throat and Liam grabbed at her ass. His fingers hooked onto her shorts and he tugged. Her tail got in the way.

  Fizit reached back. Her claws did to denim what Liam’s sword arm did to her shirt. As the tattered scraps of fabric hit the ground, Liam slapped his hand against her rump, sending a delicious jiggle through her whole body and breaking the kiss. Her tongue slurped free from his mouth and licked from his cheek to his ear in one smooth motion as Fizit rolled her head back. She hissed, her tail lashing as Liam leaned up and bit her neck, grabbing her and rolling.

  Fizit sna
rled and tried to fight back, but she had never been quite as strong as Liam when it came to the upper body. And her legs were far too busy being locked around his hips and grinding her hot, hungry sex against his bulge for her to use any of the astounding muscles that let a lizard leap ten straight feet. Liam pinned her arms over her head as Fizit panted heavily, which set her breasts to heaving in the most delightful way. His grin was wide and eager as he murmured. “Now, how to enjoy you, my pretty little captive...”

  “Oh, we’re doing that?” Fizit growled, her eyes flickering with amusement, lust and feigned fury.

  “It’s been a while,” Liam said, shrugging.

  Fizit snapped her teeth, then spat in his face. It was a remarkably accurate hit – splashing against his cheek without actually getting near his eye. Liam laughed, indulging in his best melodramatic villain, then wiped at his face. “Feisty!” he leaned forward and kissed her. Fizit squirmed, mashing her breasts against his chest as she arched her back and wriggled and generally did the best worst job at trying to escape that Liam had ever seen. Best, in that she was grinding her every soft curve, every sleek limb, against his body in a sensual delight. Worst, in that she never actually managed to get him off her. Her tongue pressed against his as if she was trying to keep him from kissing her, but it surrendered as he pressed more against her muzzle, his hands going to her shoulders, then her back, then her ass, cupping her fiercely.

  When Liam broke the kiss, Fizit gasped and snarled. “I’ll never talk.”

  “We’ll see about that,” Liam purred. He lifted her ass, so that she was mashed back against the slightly shredded pillows. Holding her up with one hand on the small of her back, Liam drew away and smacked her rump with his palm. Her hips rocked as her tail pressed to the bed, giving some extra support to her lower body and legs. It was a neat trick – a way to get her ass up into spanking range while letting her sprawl comfortably on the pillows.

  “Ah!” she gasped, her eyes closing. “Bastard.”

  There was a way that Fizit could say the word ‘bastard’ that set Liam’s blood on fire. They didn’t play this game often. But when they played, Fizit seemed to revel in it. And Liam got to do something he hadn’t done since he had lain Neb, the submissive librarian. It felt like several lifetimes ago. But his hand sure knew what to do. His palm cracked against her ass, sending a body-rocking jiggle through Fizit. The jiggle set off patterns of glittering and sparkling from her scales that was nearly as entrancing as the way her belly muscles tightened and her breasts bumped against her muzzle, her head tucked forward against her chest. Her eyes were lidded and she hissed out. “You call that a spank?”

  Liam started to slap her ass with a will – taking advantage of the position and Fizit’s own inherent toughness – and soon his own palm was tingling and sparking with the after-sensations of contact with Fizit’s perfect ass. By now, Fizit was twisting her head from side to side, hissing with every slap. Finally, she cried out: “S-Stop! I’ll talk!”

  Liam grinned and then slapped her ass once more. Fizit’s back arched and her thighs spread and he could see her scaled sex. It was smooth and hairless and glittered with her arousal, clear juices slicking her mons and making her clit glint as temptingly as an emerald. Liam licked his chops and let Fizit’s back down, his arm aching faintly with the weight of her body being held up for so long.

  She sprawled there, panting.

  “So? Talk,” Liam said, slowly lowering himself down, his lips brushing her neck.

  “I love you,” Fizit whispered.

  Liam smiled, slowly. “Is that the state secret I’ve been spanking you for the last ten minutes to hear?”

  Fizit turned her head, looking into his eyes. “When have I said it to you before?” she asked, her voice soft. “I’ve asked you to make love to me. But you can make love to anyone. You have made love to many.” She touched her finger to his chest, her voice husky. “But I’ve never said those three words. And in my line of work, being specific matters.” She paused. “I. Love. You.”

  Liam gulped, slowly. “Whoa...”

  Fizit’s palm pressed to his chest. She rolled him onto his back. Liam let himself be moved – and shivered as Fizit’s claws slashed out, cutting his pants off of him. Now they were shrouded and surrounded by tatters of their old clothes. But all Liam could see was the smooth grace of Fizit as she swung one leg wide and settled above him, her tail curving and arching around so that the very tip was pressed to the base of his cock, keeping him aimed upwards. Her hips rocked down and her sopping wet sex pressed to the tip of his member. She hung there, looking down into his eyes.

  “I love you too, Fizit,” he whispered.

  Fizit grinned, slowly. “I knew that, Liam. I am your spymaster. Aren’t I?”

  And she sank back. The quiet grunt that escaped her was nearly the most erotic thing Liam had heard all night – it was the faintly shocked sound of a woman, once more, being impressed with his size. He didn’t know if Fizit was faking for his ego or if she had just gone without for far, far, far too long. He didn’t care. What he did care about was watching her rock up, revealing a few inches of slick cock, then rock back down, taking even more of him into her vice-tight pussy. She churred quietly, rocking back up again, then pressed down once more.

  Third time was the charm. His thighs and hers met and her tail lashed like a whip as she let her tongue loll out of her muzzle, her eyes closing.

  “Yesssssss...”

  Liam reached up and caught her hands. He tugged her close and he kissed Fizit deeply. She started to bounce herself along his cock, her silky depths squeezing around him as her hips rose and fell, rose and fell. Each soft slap of skin on scales set off that delicious jiggle in her breasts, and each time she kissed his lips, then broke the kiss to gasp in some extra air, Liam moaned. He slid his hands from her hands to her shoulders to her back, to her hips, marveling at the perfect hourglass of her form, thrusting up into her. As he thrust and thrust, Fizit started to gasp out.

  “Now, ah, fuck, that I have your attention, Ambassador,” she crooned, her eyes half closed. “Ah, gods, yes, fuck me!” She closed her eyes, rolling her head to the side. Her grin was wide. “Fuckyes. Ah!” She shook her head. “We do need to discuss the, ah, supply shipments.”

  Liam laughed. “God, Fizit, do you ever stop working?”

  He slapped her well-spanked rump. Fizit cried out so loudly that Liam actually glanced at the walls nervously. Modern houses weren’t exactly built for soundproofing in mind. Hell, considering this was California, he was lucky they had insulation at all. Then Fizit was rocking herself faster, the bed squeaking as she leaned forward. “Babylon is still our responsibility, Liam. We, ah, are here to ensure her people are safe. Not just, hhh, the United States or the people, ah, fuck, yes, of Earth!”

  Fizit bit down on one of the shredded pillows to keep from crying out as another frisson of pleasure shot through her, her sex tightening so much that Liam nearly slipped out of her cunt. As she shuddered, Liam closed his eyes and took advantage of what she was offering him. Nothing like disquieting questions of realpolitik to keep yourself from cumming until your lady was finished.

  And she had a point but it felt almost like treason to think it.

  Liam closed his eyes. Who did he owe his loyalty to?

  The United States? The land he had been born in, the country he still loved, despite everything? Or Babylon, the land he had been given responsibility over, the land he had ushered into a new age?

  Fortunately, Fizit took that worry from him by tightening her sex on him like a fist as she climaxed again. Her whole body shuddered as her tail wrapped around Liam’s ankle and squeezed tightly, almost popping his fake foot off as she came. The feeling of her sex and the feeling of her pleasure and the slick heat of her juices dripping along his balls were all enough to send Liam over the cliff and into pure, utter bliss. He emptied himself into Fizit, shuddering as he arched his back and bumped his balls into her.

  In the a
ftermath, Liam sprawled underneath his lover, panting slowly.

  “We’ll ask Mary. Later,” Liam murmured.

  Fizit nodded, her voice sleepy. “Good.”

  The door opened. Meg tottered in, her wings drooping. “No more Legos,” she mumbled, walking past the bed and then toppling to her side. Her wing nearly knocked Liam and Fizit from the bed as she sprawled there. Meg groaned.

  “Told you,” Fizit and Liam said.

  ***

  “All systems are online,” Quinn said, looking away from the borrowed United States Air Force laptop. The Babylonian magicians who had deciphered how it worked had set up a fairly simple operating system – it turned out, apparently, translation spells worked on programming languages. Quinn had been fascinated to see lines of symbols like {s and /s and odd words like dir and sys and root transform before her eyes into: “Go here. Do this. Display that. Access this.”

  It had let them alter the United States technology to suit their own needs.

  “Good!” Kailee said, rubbing her palms together as she sprawled on her chair. Quinn had known, from the instant they stepped aboard the bridge, Kailee would be more in love with that chair than she was in love with anything else. Save Quinn, of course. At least, Quinn hoped she still ranked higher than the chair. It had been carved specially for Kailee, sized to fit her in her smaller form. It could swivel along a bronze post, angling towards each of the consoles in the triangular bridge. It was comfortable, but it looked imposing as hell.

  It gave Kailee all the pleasure of being on the wheel with none of the ‘needing to stand’ parts.

  Quinn looked back at her screen. She, being the best alchemist on board, was on the Life Systems and Support console. Here, the laptop was literally wired to a set of simple Ancient machines that had been salvaged from the Endless Mine and re-purposed to sniff the air and tell her exactly what was in it. One of the other machines from that mine would produce and control nanites, which would take carbon dioxide molecules and convert them to oxygen molecules. And that was the simple part of her console. It also included the water systems, the radiation detectors, and the like. Looking at the console, she saw that the entirety of the ship’s ice shield was ready.