by S. A. Price
“Wait, you mean there isn’t some kinky thing going on between camels and huntsmen?” Eli asked, face serious. “Huh, must be a human thing then.”
“Camels are a need in the goddamn desert,” Anders said, “and they can sniff out water.”
“I’m sure that’s a lie,” Abaxley said.
“You do realize there are springs where we’re going,” Scur said with a laugh.
“Still doesn’t explain where the hell you got a camel,” Khalid said, standing up and sliding the notebook in his back pocket. “But I’m not sure I even want to know.”
“I know people,” Anders said, and packed up his trunk. “I’ll let you guys get to it. Have fun, don’t take no shit.” He gave Khalid a pound. “Kick some hob ass.”
“Will do, brother. I’ll call you when I get back. I want to hear how everything is going.” Khalid didn’t elaborate but by the look Anders gave him, the current huntsman knew what her captain was talking about.
“I’m going to want to get a look at this magical cabin you have when we get back,” Eli said.
“Magic cabin...” He laughed and shook his head, heading toward the door.
“Thanks, Anders,” Alyx said as she waved as he walked out.
“Looks like we got everything we need,” Khalid said. “And I guess if it doesn’t fit in our packs, we have the camel carry it for us.” He shook his head. “Fucking camel.”
“I want to know which one of you guys is going to be in charge of it,” Eli said.
“Not it,” Scur said immediately.
Alyx shrugged. “I got it,” she said and grinned. “’Cause I’m going to ride it.”
“You might regret that after about ten minutes,” Scur said. “Trust me. I’ve ridden one of those suckers before. Not a fun time.”
Alyx smirked. “I’m going to get dressed.” She grabbed her gear and walked out of the study, into her bedroom. Slipping into her bathroom, she grabbed her needed essentials: toothpaste, toothbrush, mouthwash, and lip balm.
“Any tidbits you want to share with your newest guard before we go?” she heard Eli say before she caught the other woman’s reflection in the mirror. “It’s been a while since I’ve fought with a team. Want to make sure I’m not a hindrance.”
She shook her head. “Usually a melee ends up with everyone dead, and Scur and Khalid ripping my clothes off and fucking me within an inch of my life. This will be Bax’s first real op with us, too. So, this whole team dynamic is going to be a little different.”
“Death and sex...” A slow, seductive grin curved her lips. “Those happen to be two of my favorite things. I know the boys have no issue with me helping them kill, makes me wonder about the other.”
Alyx arched a brow. “Meaning?”
“Meaning,” Eli said and walked further into the room, “say we kill everyone and Scur and Khalid start ripping off your clothes, are they going to have an issue with me being in the middle of that as well? I know there is only one other female guard, the queen’s captain, I’ve heard how things work with them, so I want to know how it’s going to work with us. Lay it all out so there are no surprises later.”
She blinked. “Oh. Well...” she turned and leaned against the countertop. “That’s a very specific situation. I mean, Arien is a lesbian, she’s very against anyone but another woman touching her.”
“That’s what Bechar told me, although I hear threesomes without any wandering hands is a thing with them. My question is, how will this work for us? You’re the only opinion that matters, Alyx. I might still be getting to know you, but this connection we have? Well, my head is still spinning from it.” She laughed.
She cocked her head. “And if I were to tell you I don’t care? I mean I don’t believe in limiting pleasure where it lives, or where it comes from. Consent is a huge thing for me, but I’m not a jealous woman...not really. You want one of them inside you? I’m okay with that, provided it’s when I’m involved.” She smiled. “I’m not running a poly household, but if we are all in the throws and shit happens, I personally don’t care. But if it’s not something you want, if you just want me, and only me, I’m okay with that, too.”
“I want what you want.” Eli stepped closer until she was standing directly in front of her, hands moving to her hips. “So, if we’re in the throws and you want to watch one of them touch me, if it’s something that would turn you on, well, let’s just say, I would do anything to have those sexy full lips of yours part and your eyes go all glassy. While I’m not technically a demon, I’m as close to being one as I can be. And, well, we don’t think in the terms of jealousy and sexual orientation. We are who we are and pleasure is never wrong.”
She nodded. “Neither of us were raised to be this. I wasn’t raised to be a princess, and you weren’t raised to be a guard. Things here are going to be different because of it. My men...none of them were raised to be guards and don’t believe in limiting the pleasure of those I love. So, how’s this...” She pulled Eli close by her hips. “There’s things that are just mine. These lips...” She kissed Eli. “These, at least orally...” She ghosted her fingers over her pussy. “These things are saved for me, I don’t ever think I need to worry about them taking you when I’m not there because they are mine and you are mine.” She kissed the princess of Hell again. “Anything else, within reason? I’m game if you are.”
“I can’t argue with any of that,” Eli said and nipped her lower lip. “But you’re wrong about something. I might not have been raised to be a guard, but I was definitely born to be yours. Now, what do you say we go kick some hob ass?”
Alyx laughed. The conversation with her girlfriend was interesting. She knew Eli was bi, or tri, as in try anything, so knowing that she wasn’t going to be hindered in her passion was a wonderful thing. The idea of being with all of them together to a degree interested her to no end. And it would happen. Sooner rather than later if she had any say in it...and she did. She was the only one that had a say.
The coyote stepped into the doorway of the bathroom and surveyed them and then turned, walking out. She kissed Eli once more. “Let’s get dressed for the desert.
***
Abaxley brushed sand off his knee and looked up into the mildly bright sky. Something felt off. He turned to see Alyx come through the shimmering portal between the two large stones, on camelback, and then watched as the portal shorted out.
“Something is wrong,” he said and pulled out his GPS. Shit. Something was very wrong.
“I see desert and the sun in the right place,” Scur said and looked around. “Then again, deserts tend to all look the same to me. We could be in the Mojave Desert and I wouldn’t know the difference.”
“We missed the mark.” He looked to Khalid and tossed him the GPS. “Almost fifty miles from where we need to be.”
“Fuck,” Alyx said.
“Told you Faerie was finicky,” Khalid said. “We have two options. One, we can try to re-portal closer, or two, we can start walking.”
“If all the stories I’ve heard about Faerie playing for the home team is true,” Eli said, “then maybe we were put here for a reason.”
Alyx nodded. “Someone get Hendrix on the horn.”
“On it,” Abaxley said and hit the button on his headset. “Hendrix.”
“Hey, shouldn’t you be climbing into dunes right now?”
“Well if we came out the right portal, yes. Can you get us on sat?”
“Hold, please.” Abaxley heard Hendrix typing. “Okay, so you are fifty miles off the mark.”
“We know,” he said. “What do you suggest?”
“Oh...well this is interesting.”
“What is interesting?”
“Well, all the portals in the area are offline. Like flat out offline. And there was a heat flare a second ago, to your west. And...okay...”
“What?”
“Caves. Caves came up on sat. Caves that weren’t there before.
“You guys can all hear this, right?
” he asked the group.
“Hold, please,” Scur said and Khalid coughed out a laugh.
“Yeah, we can all hear you, Hendrix,” Khalid finally said. “Sounds to me like as soon as we stepped through the portal it was game on.”
“Of course, it was game on.” Nihar’s voice filled the coms. “You have no idea just how game on it is, too. Fucking fascinating. I’ve been up since we left the party last night. It feels good to actually get to research with actual books again. Nothing quite like the smell of a book.”
“Uh,” Eli said as she looked around at them. “Is it just me, or does he sound like he’s been doing more than just reading those books?”
“This is why we don’t borrow books from Outura Ken, and why he needs an escort to go to the royal library. You never know what’s on the pages,” Alyx offered. “What is going on, you book perv?”
“That right there is the definition of TMI,” Eli said and made a face. “Pretty sure we have a few guests in Hell that are there for those very reasons.”
“You might want to be really nice to me right now because I have some news for you,” Nihar said.
“Spill it, druid,” Scur said. “You know you’re dying to tell us what’s going on.”
“True. Well, you were placed fifty miles outside of your destination because part of your journey is getting there. Terjit is more than just a desert oasis, it’s rooted deep in history of its religious ceremonies and royal coronations. It’s not a place you can just walk in and start digging around for a stone. You must earn your invitation.”
“Great,” Abaxley said. “So, we have to set a fucking pilgrimage to it? And let me guess, the journey will be fraught with peril, right? What is it, quicksand? Evil genies? Camel shit?”
“If you have to deal with camel shit, that’s Anders’ fault,” Nihar said. “I heard about him giving you a camel. Now as far as a fucking pilgrimage...dude, it’s a fucking pilgrimage. How can you not be excited about this? Ugh.”
“Hendrix,” Khalid said, “I have a visual of Nihar pacing around and pulling at his hair. Tell me, am I close?”
“On point, and his dick isn’t hanging out either,” Hendrix said. “Keep doing that and you’re going to lose what hair you have left.”
“Okay, so a pilgrimage. What’s the parameters?” Alyx asked. “I mean I’m sure there are rules. And be snappy, it might be early evening but the sun is already giving me swamp ass.”
“That could be the camel,” Abaxley said to her and he grinned when she shot him the finger.
“You guys really think it’s hot out right now, don’t you?” Eli said with a laugh. “Adorable.”
“Says the girl raised in fire and brimstone,” Khalid said. “And fuck yeah, it’s hot. Though I prefer this over freezing my balls off.”
“As I was saying,” Nihar said. “You know how the nomarts told you that you had seven days to complete your task? Well, that doesn’t mean you can use any of those three days to do it. At least on this leg. Three of those seven days need to be spent traveling to Terjit and according to what I found, Princess Alyx is the one who must lead you.”
“This isn’t some weird following a star to a manger kinda shit, is it? ‘Cause that’s been done to death and I don’t think Anders kitted them out with Frankincense and Myrrh,” Hendrix said. “Honestly, where the fuck would you find that shit in the desert?”
“He has a point,” Alyx said. “So, I’m supposed to lead them...like with what? Period cramps? Rolling a twenty-sided die? Which tit itches more?”
“The tit thing could work,” Nihar said. “I mean, nipples are an amazing thing and I personally think they have magical powers. But I can’t tell you how to do that. It’s up to you. It would kinda defeat the purpose if someone told you what to do.”
“Of course.” Alyx sighed. “So, we have to use three days to get there and I have to lead us. Any other restrictions?”
“Only that you must lead, everything else is up to you and your guard. From what I’ve read, what happens over the next three days is up to you.”
“Three days and fifty miles,” Scur said. “That’s doable. If we walk three miles an hour, it will take about seventeen hours to walk that far. Split that into a seventy-two-hour time span, and almost six hours a day.” He nodded. “Even with sleep and possible fight time, we should be able to make it.”
“That’s just three days to quest, then we have four more?” Alyx shook her head. “Okay, let’s do this.”
“Well where are we going?” Abaxley asked. “What’s those nipples say?”
She smirked. “They are silent but...” He watched her close her eyes and take a deep breath. “Hendrix, you said that caves appeared to the west?”
“Yep...and... Hmm...a canyon to the east. That’s odd.”
“Faerie wants you to choose,” Abaxley said.
“And Alyx,” Nihar said, “it’s true you have three days to quest, but remember, you only have three days. After those seventy-two hours are up, so is your chance at finding the stone.”
“Understood. Thanks, Nihar. Now go back to abusing yourself with parchment.” She smirked. “We go toward the caves. The idea of a canyon isn’t any better but...” She shook her head. “Cave.”
“Cave it is,” Khalid said with a grin. “You point, we’ll follow.”
Alyx looked far ahead and leaned down to the camel. “Come on, sweetheart,” she said and the animal started walking forward. It was then they noticed the coyote bringing up the rear. Abaxley arched a brow. He didn’t recall him getting through the portal but there he was, padding along behind the camel.
“Where the fuck did he come from?” Scur said, scratching the back of his head.
“Don’t know, but let’s hope he likes scorpions,” Khalid said, walking on the front right of Alyx, Eli behind him.
“Still say a coyote is a strange pet.” Eli glanced behind her. “But he could definitely come in handy.”
“He’s not a pet. He’s a member of the team. How fucking often does an animal that’s clearly not domesticated save a person? Seriously, he made a conscious decision to save me, and for that, he’s cool with me.”
“Think you should give him a name,” Eli suggested. “Unless Coyote is his name.”
“That’s his decision,” Alyx said. “Would you like a name?” she asked the animal from her perch on the camel.
“Alyx, it’s an animal,” Khalid said, “pretty positive he has no idea what you’re saying.” The coyote just continued to walk a short distance behind the camel, ignoring them all.
“I’ll think on it. Normally naming an animal gives it a preconceived personality, and I don’t wanna do that to him. So, we will see by the end of the op.”
They walked a while, Scur making comments about sand and camel spiders, and Abaxley hoped to the fates they didn’t encounter one of those fuckers. Twice they stopped, and Alyx changed their direction, and the sun started to sink to the horizon. Just as twilight turned to night, they hit the caves, a dark opening in the still luminous sand. He blinked.
“Um...is it me or is the sand sort of glowing?” He leaned down, picking up a handful. It wasn’t strong, but the tan of the sand was still visible as the world was blanketed in darkness. The crystalline splendor of it stretched to the cave mouth. He looked to Alyx. “Well?”
“We go in and set up camp for the night. We can make up hours tomorrow I think.”
“It’s not the only thing glowing,” Eli whispered. “I’ve never seen anything like it.” They followed to where she was staring and not too far from where they stood, glowing insects flew through the night sky. “Wisps?” Scur asked.
“I don’t think so,” Khalid said. “They look like something else entirely.”
The coyote let out a low, rumbling growl before turning and heading into the cave. “Looks like he’s going to check everything out for you, Alyx,” Khalid said with a smile. “He does come in handy.”
“’Cause he’s awesome,” she
said as Scur reached up and helped her down from the camel. She wiped her hands on her pants and then kissed him, and wrinkled her nose. “Sand in your beard,” she said and fluffed it, letting the grains fall.
“Trust me, I know,” he said with a groan. “Itches like a son of a bitch. I was tempted to shave the thing off before we left.”
“Don’t you dare think that! No one has seen your chin in years.” She winked. “Is it even there, or are you like Chuck Norris and it’s just another fist?”
“Most of the time I’m not sure if you’re complimenting me or insulting me,” he said and smacked her on her ass before he started to take the supplies off the camel.
“I believe the coast is clear,” Eli said and pointed to the coyote who was stalking out of the cave, looking no worse for the wear.
“Complimenting, totally.” She winked and looked up into the sky, the glowing bugs hovering, as if lighting the way. She looked to Khalid. “Do you think they are moths?” At the word she felt Willy struggle on her shoulder and unwound her net scarf, leaving her neck free. She opened her shirt, allowing for him to climb out.
“Could be some mixed in,” he said, his arm moving to slip around her waist. “Seems like there are all different kinds. Although, I think it’s the moths that are brave enough to come close. The others seem to be doing their own thing.”
She looked to Willy as he emerged. “Curious, little love?” she asked as she put her finger to him and he climbed onto it. She raised the little bug to the sky so he could see better. He flexed his wings, and little sections of them glowed softly as they moved. It wasn’t bright, like the others, but it was there, faint.
“I...oh, cool,” she said as he took flight and ascended to the closer bugs.
“You two coming?” Scur asked from the mouth of the cave, several bags over his shoulders.
“Come on, Princess, I know how much you like bunking down in caves for the night,” Khalid said with a curve to his lips. “We can figure out a game plan for the morning and get some rest. I’m sure Willy will be fine hanging out here for a bit.”