Thrall

by E. William Brown

  I put my hand on hers. “That’s a tempting offer, Alanna. But you know, you don’t have to bribe me with arcane lore. I was already going to say yes.”

  She took my hand in a surprisingly strong grip, and smiled. “I thought you might. But I wanted to make the offer. I have been very impressed by your works here in Kozalin, and especially by your efforts to forge a new tribe of such disparate peoples. I want to see you succeed, and I would be more than just another spear in your army.

  “But there is one thing I must ask of you. I know you have a young romance with your coven to nurture, and Pelagia’s grove to minister to. But if I’m to be your familiar, I need to be close to you. In every sense. I don’t expect you to discover some grand passion for me overnight. But I need to be allowed to live with you, work with you, and be a part of your life. Let me be your armor when you go out to do battle, and your companion when you’re far from home. Let whatever affection or friendship might kindle between us grow as it will. And as I am in the end a dryad, don’t forget to give me a good dicking now and then.”

  She gave me a teasing grin at that last bit, and I chuckled. That wasn’t exactly a great sacrifice. She might not have the voluptuous beauty of the nymphs, but she was attractive enough in her own way. Lean and fit, with tanned skin and a neat braid of dark brown hair, she could have stepped off the cover of some fitness magazine back home.

  “I can do that,” I said. “What are you doing for the next hour?”

  She took my hands, and pulled me to my feet. “Let’s find out.”

  Chapter 6

  Alanna’s bedroom was as oddly appointed as the rest of her bower. A flat expanse of wood grew seamlessly from one of the walls, extending well out into the room before dipping to meet the floor. Thick posts rose up from the corners, and a mattress big enough for three covered the flat area, but the whole thing was a good bit higher than the beds back home. Another flat surface sprouted from the wall at one side to serve as a nightstand, and a glass decanter of water sat in a little recessed nook behind that.

  One wall of the room was completely covered with a row of tall wardrobe doors, with drawers below them and smaller cupboards above. The rest were bare, smooth wood, just like the floor. The overall impression was an odd blend of stark simplicity and homey comfort, like a cabin in the middle of the desert. The sourceless flood of warm sunlight that filled the space only reinforced that impression.

  Alanna led me to the bed, and sat next to me with an expectant look.

  “You know, it occurs to me that most of what I know about familiar bindings comes from the writings of people who were hunting for slaves or mana batteries,” I told her. “You’ve obviously got more experience with this than I do. What do you think is the right way to do this?”

  “Why Daniel, do you mean to say that you’ve never had a familiar before?”

  “Well, um, yes,” I admitted, feeling strangely embarrassed.

  Her smile turned impish. “Fear not, my wizard. Many would say that choosing an older woman for your first time is a wise decision. I shall be quite gentle,” she teased.

  I chuckled. “That’s good. Wouldn’t want to bruise my fragile ego.”

  She leaned into my side, and ran her hand over my chest. “Not too fragile, I hope. But in all seriousness, a gradual approach is best. With your sorcery to aid the process, I would say begin by giving me a taste of your magic. Like before, but not so much all at once.”

  I must be getting used to women throwing themselves at me, because it felt completely natural to put my arm around her and cup her cheek in my hand when she looked up at me. I opened the connection, and let a trickle of mana flow into her.

  “Like this?” I asked.

  “You can give me more than that, Daniel. I’m not some little flower spirit.”

  I widened the flow considerably, until I was giving her something like what I’d use to charge Avilla’s mana reserves. Alanna sighed happily, and rubbed her cheek against my hand.

  “Mm, yes, that’s good,” she purred. “Does your sorcery show you how your magic moves within me?”

  “Yes, although I’m not sure how to describe what I see. My anatomy lessons never covered a dryad’s metaphysical organs. It looks like there’s a whole expanse of something that was asleep, or in hibernation maybe, and this is waking it up.”

  “Exactly. Ah, it has been too long. When you filled me so suddenly before the battle I overflowed, and most of the mana simply drained into my body. For a stable, lasting familiar bond we need all those sleeping parts to fully awaken, and bask in your power.”

  “What does it feel like?” I asked curiously.

  “Something like getting the best massage in the world, while you drift along half asleep,” she said. “And, I’m told, something like waking up to a beautiful woman worshiping your manhood.”

  “How did you come by that comparison?” I asked.

  “From the lips of a man who had a talent for empathy,” she said. “But this is no time to speak of past wizards. Do you see that connection that’s begun reaching out, blindly trying to find you? If you were after an impersonal sort of bond you’d loop that back on itself, or simply bind it in place.”

  “That sounds like a cruel thing to do to a dryad,” I observed. “Especially your familiar.”

  “Men are often cruel,” she said. “Sometimes they even have reasons. For a more personal bond you could lay your head next to mine, and let my magic eventually find you. But shared pleasure makes for a stronger connection.”

  “That makes sense,” I said.

  I kissed her.

  Her lips were soft against mine, parting in warm welcome at my touch. She moved against me, confident and unhurried, hungry for more but content to savor every delight in turn. I finally came up for air to find that she was in my lap, grinding against me while I panted for breath.

  My hand went to her braid, and I tugged her head back to bare her throat. Her breath caught. My teeth drew a groan of excitement from her lips.

  The connection was beginning to form now, and I could feel her desires through it. A simple, earthy enjoyment of physical pleasure, with no hint of the undertones that made sex so complicated for humans. There was no shame or embarrassment in her, no judgement about my worth as a lover or worries about the future. Just an uncomplicated animal desire to feel me inside her, and finish what we’d begun.

  I went for the buttons of her dress, but I didn’t have to figure them out. Instead the garment faded away like mist, and Alanna grinned at my startled expression.

  “I’ve got to learn how to do that one of these days,” I said.

  “Alas, my method would not work for you.” Deft fingers worked at my shirt, and in a moment she had it off me.

  Her breasts were just big enough to fill my hands. She groaned at my touch, throwing her head back and pressing them into my palms.

  “That’s the way,” she said. “Touch me, and let me touch you. I’ve wanted you since the first moment I saw you, Daniel.”

  She ran her nails up my sides, and moved in for a taste of my neck. It was a moment before I could find the breath to speak again.

  “You could have said something sooner,” I gasped out.

  “It was too soon. You were busy, and I needed to be sure. Even now I feel that I’m rushing, but I don’t want to wait any longer.”

  She suddenly pulled away, and sank to her knees in the floor beside the bed. Before I could ask what she was doing she was already working one of my boots off.

  Our connection strengthened, and I caught the edge of her deeper desires. A heady rush of longing for the primal intimacy of a healthy bond, so like a human’s desire for romance but at the same time so different. And beyond that, a deep ache for the return of lost joys whose nature she could barely grasp at on her own. All the arts and insights she could only have by embracing her nature, and baring her soul to someone who had the power to abuse that trust if he wanted to.

  I put my hands on her
head, because it felt right, and unbound her braid with a bit of force magic so I could run my hands through her hair. The magic was still flowing, but letting it run out through my fingers made the connection more personal.

  She got my boot off, and paused for a moment to savor the touch.

  “Kind master,” she murmured.

  “Happy familiar,” I countered.

  She smiled, and went for the other boot. “I certainly hope so. Now get those pants off, master. I don’t want to wait any longer.”

  I started working on my belt as I answered. “Master seems more like what a powerful asshole would demand than what you’re actually feeling. There’s some love of being chased and caught, sure, and wanting to belong, and a lot of warm fuzzy feelings for smart and powerful guys. But that all feels like it should add up to something different than ‘master’.

  She tossed the other boot over her shoulder, and helped me get my pants off. When I was naked she ran her hands up my thighs, and looked up at me with a playful smile.

  “My wizard,” she said, her tone filling the words with possessive warmth. “That is the sum of my heart’s feelings. Will you take me as your familiar in the way that I love best, and be my wizard in return? Will you share magic and wisdom and pleasure with me, in a bond that flows both ways? Will you offer leadership in return for loyalty, with no other compulsions or vows? Will you accept my protection, and protect me in turn, in hopes of a long and fruitful life together?”

  “Yes,” I said. “That sounds like a much better arrangement than the kind wizards usually make.”

  Her smile grow. She rose, and pushed me back onto the bed.

  “Wonderful. Then shape your binding like this, my wizard, and our pleasure shall seal the pact.”

  She spun out her half of the spell with as deft a touch as I’d ever seen, and held it as I studied the structure and blended my own magic into it. Unlike any bond I’d seen before it was designed so that either of us could release it at will, although it would take a few hours to completely unravel. Its major function was just to protect the natural connection she’d already formed with me, turning it into a mental and magical link that could stretch over vast distances and resist any attempt to sever it. As long as that was in place no other binding would be able to anchor itself to her, so she wouldn’t have to worry about being enslaved if she got caught by some ambitious wizard.

  Not that she was in much danger of that regardless. As we wove the spell I realized that she was far stronger than she looked, and endlessly devious at preparing defenses against unwanted manipulation. There were internal wards and barriers woven all through her soul, and what I was seeing now was just the part of her that could walk around pretending to be an animal. The part that was really a tree was much harder to get a read on, but I had a vague sense of hidden depths and vast reserves of power slowly accumulated over the passage of eons. I’d almost pity the fool who slapped a standard dryad binding on her and expected it to work.

  As for the leadership part, it was a delicately nuanced structure that reminded me of the binding promises so many magical creatures in this world made. Deserve my loyalty, and you will have it, it seemed to say. Lead me well, and I shall follow you happily and wholeheartedly. But if I find you unworthy my loyalty will fade, and our bond with it.

  I could live with that. But there was an unexpected complication hidden among the details.

  She mounted me as the spellwork settled into place, and sank down onto me with an appreciative groan.

  “I love a wizard with a nice, big cock,” she said. “I hope you’re as good as they say, because my hunger will take some doing to satisfy.”

  She rolled her hips, working herself on me in a way that was incredibly distracting. For a moment I almost lost myself in the delicious sensation of slick wet heat sliding in every direction around me. But I pushed through it, and managed to wrap my arms around her and roll us both over.

  “Oh!” She gave a delighted squeal, and wriggled in my grasp. Testing the strength of my hold, without seriously trying to get out of it.

  I shook my head to clear it, and pinned her hands above her head.

  “One thing,” I growled. “I’m the one who’s on top here, you mischievous wench.”

  She giggled, and wrapped her long legs around my waist. “So you noticed?”

  “The lust effect that triggers on whoever finishes first? Yeah, I noticed.”

  “Most men need the inspiration to keep up with me,” she said. “But if you want your my passion tied to the state of your manhood, you need only outlast me. Would you like that? To know that I will get wet for you every time you look upon me with desire, and burn for your touch for as long as you wish to keep going?”

  She squeezed me with her inner muscles, and started to rock her hips. It was impossible not to respond, thrusting deeper into her heated depths.

  “So that’s how you like to play, is it? Challenge accepted,” I growled.

  If she’d been the first woman I had in this world I never would have been able to focus. But even her masterful technique wasn’t nearly as distracting as Cerise’s lust aura, and the crazy physical changes that her demonic magic manifested when she got worked up. Holding myself back only took a tiny application of flesh magic, and that was all I needed.

  She gasped when I took control of our coupling, overriding the movement of her hips to thrust into her hard and fast. Then she was matching my pace, hips working automatically while her mouth fell open and her eyes rolled. A long, breathy moan escaped her lips, and just like that I could feel her struggling to hold back her release.

  For a dryad her self-control was incredible. Usually the little minxes can get off from a heated look, and she was every bit as responsive as her younger sisters. But she held out through the first heady rush of sensation, while our bond deepened and my sense of her body grew more intimate with each passing breath.

  “Yes!” She hissed as I adjusted my stroke. “There! Just like that! It’s been so long, I’m as tight as a virgin for you, Daniel. Stretch me out, and make me a sheath for your mighty weapon.”

  I leaned down to claim her lips. She responded eagerly, arching her back to rub her firm breasts against my chest. But still, she held herself back.

  Then I realized that I could feel the stubborn knot of resistance inside her, through our growing familiar bond. I brushed against it, gently, and it trembled in response. A jolt of deeper, more primal ecstasy shot through her, and she broke away from the kiss.

  “Yes!” She gasped, her eyes wild with passion. “That’s it. Do it, my wizard.”

  The first time we’d made a temporary bond, I’d realized that I could reach through it and move her limbs as if they were mine. Now I reached deeper, and made her stop holding back.

  She climaxed instantly, with a joyous cry of triumph that echoed off the walls around us. We fell together, the bond engulfing us both, and I held her soul in my hands.

  Much later, we laid together on her bed recovering from our exertions. Alanna was practically purring with contentment, and I was basking in the afterglow that only comes from amazing sex. She rested her head on my shoulder, running her hand idly through the hairs on my chest.

  “What a wonderful beginning,” she murmured. “I had hardly dared hope for such a performance, or such a satisfying bond. Did I please you well, my wizard?”

  “You were amazing,” I told her. “Hell, that was so intense I think it echoed back through my coven bond.”

  “It wouldn’t surprise me,” she said. “Coven members don’t have to share a familiar, but they can if they so desire. I’m sure your ladies felt our working, though they may not recognize its nature.”

  “Sounds like I should take you upstairs and introduce you around,” I said. “Dinner isn’t that far off, anyway. Um, do you eat? I mean, I know you can, but is that something dryads need to do or is it just for pleasure?”

  “I can live on soil and sunlight if I dwell within my tree, bu
t if I’m to walk about like a human I need to eat like one as well,” she explained.

  “Good to know. You don’t look like you’re going to be moving anytime soon.”

  “It’s your fault for spoiling me so well. I just want to lie in your arms and drift off to sleep. But I suppose you’re right. We don’t know how much of an echo your ladies felt, and it would be rude to leave them wondering for too long. Help me up?”

  “Sure. Just as soon as I muster enough willpower to move.”

  Eventually we did get ourselves going. I helped Alanna out of bed, and she helped me find my clothes. She never stopped touching me, and half the time she was draped against my side or back with her arms around me, but somehow she managed not to get in my way.

  Apparently she was the clingy type, but I didn’t mind. Although I wondered about the practicalities. When I was finally dressed I glanced over at her lean, naked body, and raised an eyebrow.

  “Are you planning to go out like that?”

  She smiled up at me, and a fresh outfit materialized around her. A simple halter top and miniskirt of soft leather, like most of Corinna’s grove preferred. This time I could see her magic better, but that only made the trick more impressive. She was somehow abusing the magic that let her step in and out of her tree, and using it to summon items from her bower. But the details of the effect were as intricate as any wizard’s spell, and obviously not something dryads naturally learned to do.

  “You’re basically the dryad version of a wizard, aren’t you?” I asked.

  She wrapped herself around my arm with a smug grin. “Praise me more, my wizard. Aren’t my works amazing, for one who can only borrow human mysteries? My powers are more like sorcery than wizardry, in truth. But you’ve given me such gifts that I have high hopes for finding improvements. With your sorcery over mana I can see myself more clearly than I’ve managed in ages.”