The Ravens of Death (Tsun-Tsun TzimTzum Book 4)

by Mike Truk

  “Druach?” I asked. “Who are they?”

  “Merchants,” said Senca, gaze sullen as he stared into the fire. “Who trade between the stars, it is said. Morathi lapdogs. They take the best we have and either give it to their masters or trade it for great profits on worlds that lack our goods completely. Rich, uncaring bastards.”

  “And they allow other off-worlders to come through the portals with them?”

  Senca shrugged. “I don’t know. I doubt a common gate guard would either.”

  “Fair enough. We can wear local cloaks, and the ladies can hide their hair under scarves,” I said.

  “Best if I simply use Harmiel to disappear,” said Imogen. “My clothing is the most strange here.”

  “You are most lovely to the eye,” said Khandros, “but yes, your garb is… impractical, and… illogical in these climes.”

  Valeria was stirring the coals with a long branch. “There’s no way to avoid the gates altogether?”

  “Not that I know of,” said Khandros. “Alas, I am not a local. There might be secret ways, but we would no doubt draw attention to ourselves if we simply walked around the walls searching for one.”

  Valeria grunted and said no more.

  “It sounds risky, but what about this venture isn’t?” I sat up straight, reached for the stars till my back popped, then subsided with a sigh. “We’ll just adapt on the fly like we’ve done before when shit hits the fan.”

  “When shit…?” asked Karios.

  Emma smiled wryly. “An expression from back home. It means when everything goes south.”

  “Goes south?” asked Karios.

  “It means…” She waved her hand distractedly. “You know. When everything that can go wrong does go wrong.”

  “When shit hits the fan in the south,” said Karios awkwardly, then grinned. “A double negative.”

  “Let’s hope it doesn’t get that bad,” I said, returning his grin.

  We subsided into silence for a spell, each of us lost in our own thoughts as we stared into the flames. Then Imogen rose to her feet, black dress rustling.

  “We’d best turn in,” she said. “Long day tomorrow.”

  “Agreed,” said Khandros, tone hearty as he stood.

  “I’ll just be a moment,” said Little Meow, porcelain mask gleaming in the firelight as she took a step toward the cliffs. “Just going to gather my thoughts.”

  I watched her go, her figure melting into the darkness as the others stood and set to breaking down the camp.

  A gloved hand slipped into my own. “You should follow her,” said Imogen.

  I startled, repressing a flicker of guilt as to the direction my thoughts had been straying. “You think?”

  “Yes. She’s proving invaluable to our group. She’s wonderful, strong, talented, and her heart is in the right place. We’re blessed to have her. Follow her, Noah. Ask her what’s on her mind. Comfort her if need be.”

  “Comfort her,” said Brielle, pausing as she’d been about to walk past us. I could practically see the air quotes.

  “Yes,” said Imogen, forthright. “Who knows what we’re to face tomorrow, or the day after, or a month down the road? The only certainty is horror and pain. We need to bind ourselves tightly to each other. And if Noah can connect with her, can forge a bond that that will resist the horrors to come? Then he should do just that.”

  “True,” said Brielle; then to my surprise, she sighed. “Emma and I were talking about it, actually, not too long ago. About her position in our group. If Noah sleeps with her, will she become one of us? A companion?”

  “I… I don’t know,” said Imogen. “It’s possible? Or perhaps the bond can only be forged back in Bastion - perhaps it needs to take place in the sphere of Kether to take on a mystical property? I’m not sure.”

  “This is still pretty weird,” I said. “You all discussing me and Little Meow like this.”

  “Is it?” Imogen studied me. “It shouldn’t be. Sex and love are weapons in this war. Weapons of goodness and strength. If you can weaponize your bond with Little Meow, it’s only to Lilith’s detriment.”

  “Imogen can sweet talk like no other,” said Brielle with a laugh. “But she’s right. Noah. None of us doubt your love for us. Not now, not after all we’ve been through.” She reached out and took my hand. “The days where I wrestled with insecurity are long past. If you wish to fuck Little Meow’s brains out, then I only ask you don’t disturb my sleep while doing so.”

  I laughed ruefully. “What a world. Fine. I’ll go and check on her. Not saying anything’s going to come of it. But… you think Valeria is cool with it, or should I check in with her, too?”

  Imogen and Brielle exchanged a glance. “Check in with her,” they both said at once.

  “Fuck. Fine. Why not? This can’t get any more awkward. Excuse me.”

  I stepped away, moving to where Valeria was stretching out her sleeping roll.

  “Hey, Noah,” she said, glancing up at me as I approached. “What were you three talking about?”

  “Weird, awkward, Savior stuff,” I said, dropping into a crouch beside her. “There’s no smooth way of asking you this, so fuck it, I’ll just shove my foot in my mouth, and you can watch me choke. Imogen, Brielle, and Emma are all in favor of my, ah, sleeping with Little Meow if it feels right and makes us stronger. But what do you think?”

  Valeria’s eyebrows both rose, and she moved her weight back to her heels. “You think she wants to? No, that’s a stupid question. I know she does.”

  “I mean, we’ve flirted before, but I never thought it was a sure thing. Um.”

  “Go for it.” Valeria cupped the nape of my neck with her hand and pulled my brow in to press against her own. “But be sure to save a little something for me soon, yes?”

  I laughed and turned my face so I could lean in all the way and kiss her. Her grip pulled me into a hard kiss; her tongue slipped between my lips, muscular and probing. For a moment we remained like this, locked together, then she pulled back with a smile.

  “Mmm. Yes. I’ll be wanting some soon, oh mighty Savior. Just keep that in mind.”

  I chuckled huskily. “Fair enough. I’ll, ah, see what I can do.”

  Valeria grinned, slid her hand between my legs, and cupped my cock, which went from being merely hard to painfully erect as she squeezed me. “Then go show her what you’re packing. And if she’s not walking bow-legged tomorrow, I’ll be disappointed.”

  “I am surrounded by mad women,” I said, rising shakily to my feet. “How the fuck did this happen to me?”

  “Good luck, I guess,” said Valeria, resting a hand on her chin, elbow propped on her knee as she considered me. “But seriously. Have fun. I like Little Meow. She’s good people, and she’s one of us now. Do what feels right.”

  “Okay. Well. Thanks.” I resisted the urge to salute. Aware of how just about everyone was staring at me now, I fought to keep my expression solemn.

  I left the camp, rising out of the hollow in which we’d built our fire to approach the cliff’s edge and the dark, shifting mass of the ocean beyond.

  Little Meow stood to one side, hugging herself in the cool breeze blowing off the waters, tall and girlish, her mask catching errant gleams from the low hanging moon. She startled as I approached, and turned to stare at me.

  “Oh,” she said. “Noah. Hey.”

  “Hey there,” I said, face still burning, cock aching from Valeria’s touch. Be natural, I commanded myself. Just chill. Nothing has to happen. Nothing at all. “How are you doing?”

  “Just… thoughtful,” she said, turning back to the endless expanse of gleaming water that looked like liquid obsidian under the moonlight. “You know. Deep thoughts? Or at least, I think they’re deep? Most likely they’d sound pretty childish if I said them out loud.”

  “Try me,” I said.

  She remained quiet, so I stepped up beside her. I didn’t press, but waited patiently until she stirred again.

  “
You ever feel like you’re in a dream? That you’ll wake up, and be back home?”

  “I used to,” I said. “A lot. But now I’m coming to terms with it. It’s starting to feel all too real.”

  “I’m not there yet. I catch myself going along with things as if this were normal, as if it were normal to be with the Savior and his companions, questing against Lilith. And it hits me how this isn’t normal, how this is…” She shook her head slowly. “Monumentally important. Then I get overwhelmed, and self-conscious, and…” She shrugged. “Am I making any sense?”

  “Oh yeah,” I said. “Plenty. You should have seen me back in Bastion. I couldn’t take two steps without tripping over myself. In Ghogiel, even. It’s taken me ages to get a grip on what we’re trying to do.”

  “And it doesn’t mess with you?” she asked. “Make you, I don’t know, freak out?”

  “It did.”

  “And now?”

  “Not so much.”

  “How do you keep a handle on it?” she asked. “Not let it get to you?”

  I stared out over the shifting waves, inhaling deeply of the salt air. “You know? Somewhere along the way I just started manning up. Or it got beaten out of me. You can only go through so much shit before complaining starts to sound like whining. You can only ask, ‘Why me?’ so many times before you realize there’ll never be an answer from outside. It’s just the way it is, and it’s up to us to accept it.”

  “Oh,” said Little Meow, curling a lock of black hair over her ear. “I didn’t mean to whine, I just -”

  “No,” I interjected, “that’s not what I meant -”

  “- it’s that this is so important, I want to make sure I get it right -”

  “You are getting it right,” I said, trying to break in again.

  “- and you are all so - I don’t know - connected, and strong, that I want to be sure I -”

  “Little Meow.” I took hold of her hands, giving them a peremptory tug. “Enough.”

  She went still, but didn’t pull her hands away.

  “We’re the ones who should be thanking you for being here. You’ve saved our asses already more times than I can count. If we succeed in this crazy quest, it will be because of you. How many times have you already literally saved my life by healing a mortal wound?”

  “Um,” she said.

  “You’re fantastic. Everyone agrees. Kind, generous, talented, strong - I mean, the way you punched that Morathi back in Ur-Gharab, the way you blocked those attacks in Elleria - you’re amazing.”

  She ducked her head, curled another lock of hair behind her ear, and remained quiet.

  “Seriously. I know I’ve told you this before, but here it is again - I can’t thank you enough for being here with us. For healing us. Keeping us strong. Helping us get through this madness.”

  “You’re welcome,” she whispered. “And I’ll, ah, try not to doubt myself moving forward.”

  “Good.” I smiled. “You’ve absolutely no reason to. I don’t.”

  “So strange,” she said, tilting her head to one side, the moonlit gleam sliding liquidly along the contours of her mask. “I would never have guessed we’d end up here when you first crashed into my home.”

  “Your chicken coop,” I said.

  “My poor fucking chicken coop,” she agreed, and I heard the smile in her words. “There you lay, wounded and passed out, and I remember thinking, He’s really cute, I’ll heal him just to see him smile.”

  “That what you thought?” I laughed.

  “I never said I was the most mature girl in the universe,” she said, laughing with me. “But your smile was worth it.”

  Like that, I became aware of the sudden tension between us, how close we were standing together. My heart was thudding solidly in my chest. The wind swept off the ocean and swirled past us, pulling at her long dark hair.

  The old me might have continued talking, might have found a way to make sure of the situation. Confirm her interest.

  But I wasn’t that kid anymore.

  I reached out and slid an arm around her slender waist. Stepping in, I pulled her close. She didn’t resist, but rather looked up at me.

  Each time we’d kissed in the past, she’d hidden her face. But I’d seen it twice now, and knew how precious that intimacy was. So I touched her porcelain mask and paused.

  “Can I take this off?”

  In response, she pushed the mask up over her head, sliding it over her hair to reveal her face. A shock of desire rushed through me at the sight of her wide lips, her raised cheekbones, her vaguely East-Asian heritage that evinced itself in her eyes. She was so hot. It was hard to believe that beauty was hidden beneath her cute cat mask all this time.

  “There you are,” I whispered, lowering my face to her own.

  “Here I am,” she whispered as our lips touched, then I kissed her. She moaned as she turned her face gently to the side, mouth opening, her kiss rapidly becoming a hungry one. Her hands slid around my waist to cup my ass and squeeze aggressively.

  I held her close, and all the tension, all those moments of attraction, came pouring to the fore. I wanted her, needed her, wanted to break through her reserve, to get to know her, to be one with her. I felt Svadhisthana within me like a dull pressure, seeking release, but no. Not now. Not here. Instead, I kissed her passionately, both of us clinging together as if the world were about to tear us apart until at last, she thrust me away.

  I nearly stumbled and thought in my shock perhaps I’d gone too far, had crossed a boundary. I was about to apologize when she pulled the mask off altogether and carefully set it down on the rocks.

  “I’ve been dreaming of this moment since I first kissed you,” she said. She straightened, bit her lower lip, and took her time looking me up and down. Finally, she shook her head. “And you’d better believe I’m going to make the most of it.”

  I laughed. “Come get some.”

  “Oh no. Not just like that. I’m going to savor this.”

  At that, she stepped toward me, hips swaying, face naked in the moonlight. Dropping into a crouch before me, her long fingers expertly worked at my belt.

  I inhaled deeply as I watched, and could only think to myself, Holy shit, Little Meow’s gonna suck my cock.

  A tug, and my pants came down to my knees; her cool fingers slid around my shaft.

  “Oh, Noah,” she said, voice soft with wonder. “You’re perfect.”

  “Well,” I said, looking up at the stars and trying for a nonchalant tone. “I’ve been told -”

  “Thick and long, and your head - perfect.” She leaned forward to gently run her cheek down the side of my cock. “What a relief.”

  “A relief?” I raised an eyebrow. “You were worried?”

  She laughed, pulled back, and licked a trail of fire from my balls right to the tip. “A girl never knows what she’s going to find. But this.” She wrapped her fingers around me, pulling down so the skin of my cock went taut. “This I can work with.”

  I slid a hand into her dark hair, curling it into a fist. “Then get to work.”

  She smirked, closed her eyes, and took all of me in her mouth, lips stretching around my girth. Slowly she pushed down, working to take my whole length in her mouth. She got within an inch of the base and grimaced, my cock hitting the back of her throat.

  Pulling back, she allowed my cock to fall free. “You’re big,” she said accusingly.

  “That going to be a problem?”

  In response, she took me into her mouth again, sucking tight, holding my cock in place with her thumb and forefinger to push in deep once more. Slowly, oh so slowly, her mouth hot and wet, her tongue rubbed against the underside of my cock as she took all of me. I hit the back of her throat again, and she paused, adjusted her posture, then pushed, eyebrows lifting, eyes closed, shoulders rising. A moment of resistance, and my cock head slid into her throat.

  With a gasp, she pulled free again, grinned up at me, then bent down, once more taking my cock
between her lips. She worked up and down my shaft, focused and earnest, till she pulled back and only my cockhead was between those full lips. A thick strand of spit fell from her mouth, but she ignored it. Lowering her hands to massage her breasts, she rose higher on her knees to work her way down my shaft.

  Up and down, the friction was divine. She moved back so my cockhead was in her mouth alone, pumping my wet shaft a few times before reaching down to cup my balls and push hard again; going deep, making soft gagging noises as she took all of me into her throat.

  I watched, mesmerized, entranced by how focused she was, how her eyes remained closed.

  It felt insane. The cold wind chilled my cock when she pulled away, only for my length to be plunged back into moist heat when her lips slid down my length.

  Her free hand moved to her breast; this time, she pinched her nipple through the cloth, rubbing it back and forth between her fingers.

  It was all I could do to not place my hands on either side of her face and fuck her mouth harder.

  Low moans. Soft, wet sounds. Gasps, choking noises when she pulled away. Strands of spit hanging from her lips to my cock.

  “Here,” she said, smiling wickedly up at me. “See how this feels.” And she took all of me again, pushing down, down, pressing her lips right to the base, where she paused, shuddered a little, then opened her mouth to extend her tongue. She worked it from side to side even as she choked, even as she grinned - then with a sharp gasp pulled free to smile up at me.

  “Fucking hell,” I said, voice a low growl.

  “Mmm,” she said, pumping my shaft with her hand as she reached down between her legs. “I’m like the ocean.”

  My mind short-circuited again, trying to find a connection. Depth? Waves? Tides -?

  “I can’t get any wetter,” she said, and rose to her feet. Turning to press back against me, she rubbed her tight ass back and forth over my cock. “You ready, Savior?”

  I pulled down her leggings and underwear in response, down over the swell of her hips, over the curve of her perfect ass. Sliding a hand under her tunic to cup a breast in my palm, I felt her own hand reach back to guide my head under and up against her pussy lips.

  It was a whole different kind of heat. She shifted from side to side, parting her legs, her lips clinging together for a moment, then she gave a delighted gasp as I slid inside her.