Amazon Companion

by Roseau, Robin

  "You must be very close," I said. "It will be dark, and I may not see well, and I will be cold and not running well through the trees."

  "I am on a trail, the trail east from your village, and I will draw closer. Kill her and come to me!"

  I moved slowly, careful to make no noise, and I took my sword, the one Malora had given me.

  "Tell me when you are close, no more than fifteen minutes run for me. I will not be able to run further in the dark."

  "Soon," she said, and I could tell she was moving.

  "I will see you soon," I said. "Will your eyes glow?"

  "Brightly, to help you find me."

  She spoke to me as she drew closer, telling me I would love her and worship her and belong to her. She would keep me in a cage, and I would be hers, and she would give me eternal pleasure beyond any I could imagine.

  "Yes," I said. "Yes. Hurry."

  "I am near," she said. "Do it. Do it now. Kill her!"

  I raised the sword, and I ran it into the still form. There was a sickening sound, and then I pulled it out and slid it in, again and again and again.

  "Yes!" she said. "Yes. Again. Do it again!"

  "Enough," I said after a time. "I am the only one alive in this hut now."

  "Yes! Come to me now!"

  "I must put on my boots," I said. I found them and pulled them over my feet, lacing them tightly, then I collected another blanket and wrapped it around me. I grabbed the sword, and I ran, I ran east to my demon lover.

  She guided me, telling me the trail to take, and the entire time she spoke gleefully, "You will love me. I will be loved and worshipped, and you will be mine, forever and ever. There is no going back now! You must come to me now, you must come to me. Run faster, little Maya."

  And I ran.

  Ahead, I saw her eyes, her glowing eyes, and I ran towards the glow.

  She was beautiful, and still very large. I stared up at her.

  "I will kiss you," I said, "when you are small and delicate. You frighten me so."

  "Drop the sword," she said. "You do not need it."

  "No," I said. "I do not need it." And I dropped it to the side. And then she shrank, taking only seconds, until she was no larger than I was.

  But she was beautiful and delicate, and I stepped closer. "So beautiful. So beautiful." I moved into her arms, and looked at her from very close. "Show me your tongue."

  She slipped it out, brushing my face with it, and it tickled.

  "When we kiss, we touch tongues."

  "Yes!" she said, still in my mind. "I will fill your mouth with my tongue. Yes!"

  "You must not crush me. Are your claws away?"

  She held up her hands, free of claws, and I took one, studying it. "Beautiful," I said. I ran my hands along them, feeling the scales. "So soft one way, and so rough the other. You must never rub me the wrong way, or you could remove my skin."

  "I will never hurt you, Maya Softpeace. But you must tell me you love me, and you must worship me, and you must kiss me."

  "I am human, Lathana Jara Marquine, and that is not the order we do things. First, we kiss, and we kiss again, and then you take me home, and we make love, and then I love you and worship you."

  "Yes!" She said. "Kiss me now."

  "You must let me kiss you my way first, or I will be too frightened." And I reached for her slowly, touching her cheek. "So beautiful," I said. And I wrapped my arms around her neck, and I came to her. "Hold my body, gently, but support me. Are you strong enough to hold me?"

  "Of course."

  "Your lower hands can hold my ass," I said. "I would like that."

  And she did, her hands cupping me, and then I lifted my legs and wrapped them around her body, and she held me to her. I lowered my mouth to hers, and we were kissing.

  "Yes!" she said. "You are kissing me! And now my tongue!" And she slipped her tongue into me.

  I moaned, adjusting my hold, wrapping my arms around her more completely, pressing my naked body against hers.

  "Yes. You are naked and in my arms. You are mine now. We will go!"

  "Not yet," I said back. "More kissing. Closer kissing. I must touch you." And I wrapped arms around her. "I must kiss you here." I pulled away from her mouth, kissing her shoulder. Kissing her neck. I pressed her face away from me, my arm reaching to caress her cheek, then reaching even further, I clasped her chin, and I kissed where a human ear would be.

  "Yes. I will make ears for you to kiss."

  "Not tonight," I said.

  I clasped her tighter, and then I tightened my muscles and I pulled, my right hand wrapped around her head, holding her chin, my right arm, strong from months and months of swinging a sword.

  I pulled, using the headlock Omie had taught me, I pulled until there was a pop!

  She slumped, but still her voice was in my head.

  "What have you done?"

  I pulled further, and there was another pop! But her head did not pull away.

  I reached down into my boot, and I pulled out my knife, and I began sawing at her neck. The ichor, black in the night, boiled over me, coating me, and still I sawed.

  "No! No! You love me."

  "I never said I love you," I told her.

  She began to grow, returning to her original size, pleading for me to stop. "I can heal this, stop. You must stop!" And after a moment she was her original size, the muscles strong and tight, but my knife was sharp.

  Her head popped free, and her voice began to plead, and then... she was gone.

  Her body tumbled to the ground, and then I dropped the head beside it, and I fell to my knees.

  I could have loved her, but she wouldn't have been satisfied, not until Malora was dead.

  And I could never leave Malora.

  I knew I couldn't resist her forever, with her voice in my head. She spoke so seductively, her voice a caress against my soul. I knew in time I would do anything, anything for more. I would have crawled into the cage she prepared for me, her human thrall.

  I had no choice.

  But still, I mourned.

  * * * *

  They found me there, some hours later. Nori and Ralla found me first. "She's here!"

  I lay there in the snow, next to the body of Lathana Jara Marquine, demon. I was covered in her ichor and nearly frozen to the bone. I lay numb.

  I had killed her, and my soul cried in anguish.

  She had been a demon, but she had a lock on my soul, and I needed to be free.

  Nori knelt next to me.

  "Don't touch me," I said.

  "Maya! You'll be okay."

  "I killed her."

  "I know."

  "She's gone," I said. "Her voice is gone. I'll never feel it again." I rocked slowly. "I have been lying, all along."

  "You can tell us later."

  More Amazons arrived.

  "What in the world is that?" Aura asked.

  "Her name was Lathana Jara Marquine," I said. "She was a demon."

  "That's not a demon," Malora said, and then she knelt next to me. "They disappear when we kill them."

  "No," I said. "I have a great deal to tell you." I looked up at her and smiled.

  "Does the story explain why there is a bag of flour in my bed, dressed in my second-best tunic, and with multiple stab wounds through it?"

  "How was your trip?"

  She shook her head and reached for me.

  "No. I am... sticky."

  "I don't care." And she pulled me into her arms.

  "You mustn't kiss me," I whispered. "Not until I am clean. Take me home and bathe me, Malora, bathe me until I am clean." I began to cry quietly while she held me.

  "What do we do with the body?" Ralla asked. I blinked tears away and looked past Malora. Everyone from the village had arrived, and they were staring at either me or at the dead demon.

  "Burn it," said Malora.

  "No," I said. "Does it have talons?"

  "Six inches worth," Nori said. "How did you kill it?"

&n
bsp; "Head lock," I said. "And cunning. Send the head and the hands to Giorda in Broken Knife. Tell her to preserve them as best she can." I looked at Malora. "We have another trip to take. Take me home now. Can you carry me?"

  Together, they carried me home, and there was a pause. Malora held me, rocking me gently while a bath was prepared.

  Part Four

  Telling the Story

  I looked out over the assembled people of Gallen's Cove. We had warned them ahead we were coming, and we would talk, only talk, and they would listen. But we required everyone there from the age of twelve.

  And they were all there. All my old townsfolk, but they weren't really mine anymore.

  "And so," I said, "they took me home. They cleaned me up. And then they cleaned me again, and again. And when finally I felt maybe I was clean, I told them the story of Lathana Jara Marquine, the demon who would have enslaved my soul. Then I turned to Malora and asked her, 'Can you kiss these lips, these lips that have kissed a demon?' And she didn't answer in words, she simply pulled me into the deepest kiss I could imagine."

  I held out my hand, and Malora stepped up to me. I pulled her to me, and I kissed her, then I sent her away again.

  I looked out over the people. "I see doubt in many eyes. Demons are not real, are they? They are a story from days long past, and the Amazons continue the legend so that you will offer us tithe." I smiled. I collected a sack and stepped down from the small stage they had set up for me. In the front row were the village elders, all the ones I knew. I reached into the sack, and I pulled forth the hands, and I tossed them into Juna's lap.

  She screeched and pulled away, dumping the hands to the ground.

  And then I nodded to Nori, and she pulled the head from the sack at her feet, holding it aloft by the horns.

  "This is a demon," I said. "Look at Nori strain to hold it." And she set it on the stage, staring at everyone. Several women screamed. "I killed this demon. It cannot hurt you."

  I looked around, my eyes setting on the elders.

  "Demons are real," I said. "And the Amazons protect all of you from them."

  "We knew," my grandmother said. "We have always known."

  "Then why did you stop tithing?" Malora asked. "Why did you stop giving us the girls we need to fight them?"

  Juna stepped around the hands, lying on the ground. I hadn't made an effort to pick them up.

  "We love our children," Juna said. "We are so far from the demons. They will never come here. How could we send our girls to fight that?" She pointed at the head. She looked at me. "How could we have let someone like you go to fight that? How could you expect us to know you would come home with such a horrific story, a girl the entire village loves, lost to fighting a creature like that?"

  I looked at Malora. I hadn't expected that answer. But Malora left it for me to respond.

  I stepped back to the stage. "Nori, put that away," I said. Ralla helped her, and they put the head back in the bag, then Nori gestured, and Balorie stepped forward to collect the hands, putting them away. When it was done, I turned back to face the people of Gallen's Cove.

  "Nori, come up here," I said, holding out my hand. When she arrived, I caressed her gently, and her face smoothed. "This is Nori. She is one of my best friends in the entire world. I love her like a sister. She saved me from a demon and she taught me to fight. She offered her friendship and her strong arm. And she has banished many demons and holds their voices in her head. She requires a companion to ease her days. She requires a woman of spirit and kindness, someone who will allow her to be gentle at home and fierce on the training grounds. Perhaps that someone is here today."

  I kissed her on the check and sent her back to Malora. "Ralla."

  Ralla stepped up to me, and I said, "This is Ralla, who I love like a sister, the only Amazon I have met who can swim as well as I can. Ralla is responsible for coordinating the patrols between all the villages, and she is gone from home a great deal. She requires a companion who is gentle, and who can love her, who can give everything she might offer. She requires a companion who can learn from her and travel with her, who can sleep rough and enjoy it. Perhaps that companion is here today."

  I hugged her and sent her away, then called Balorie up.

  "This is Balorie. She coordinates the patrols from Queen's Town and is a fierce warrior. She reports to Ralla but advises Queen Malora. She is gone a lot, as she takes more than her share of patrols so that others can take less. She requires a companion who will be strong of heart and gentle of spirit. Perhaps that companion is here today."

  I invited Benala, Ree, and Karena, one after another, and then, together, Omie and Vorine.

  "These are my friends, Omie and Vorine. They are sisters, and they require two companions who can love one another as well as they will love their companions. Omie and Vorine are fond of wrestling and fierce in a fight, but they are gentle and sweet, and I owe them my soul for the things they have taught me. They are dear, dear friends, and I hope their companions are here today."

  I looked around the room. No one was speaking. "This village will tithe. We need food, anything that travels and keeps. I have a list of the things we need, and in the proportions we require. We need sewing needles and thread, cloth and leather. We need bandages and ointments." Then I smiled. "And I need fishing hooks and line, small hooks, as the fish in my river are small, but tasty."

  I looked out over the crowd and saw my mother, tears in her eyes. "We need musical instruments, and music for them. We need paper and pencils." I looked at the elders. "This village will tithe. Won't it?"

  "Yes," said Juna. "This village will tithe."

  "As for companions, well... The villagers themselves will decide. It is no longer the choice of the elders. We will not rip girls from their mothers' arms, but we will ask you to help us. We need you." I looked around. "The village will assemble a dance tonight. Every girl in the village from age eleven to thirty will be there, and whoever else wishes to come is welcome. And we will meet, and get to know each other, and then each of you will decide. Maybe no one will offer, and we will ask again at the next village, and the next. Maybe a girl of eleven will offer, but that is too young, and we will hope she still wishes to come when she is older. Any other girls who wish to come will leave with us in one week's time. We will visit other villages in between tonight and a week from tonight."

  Then I smiled. "I promised my warrior a ride on the cove. May we borrow a skiff?"

  * * * *

  "They all came," Malora said, looking out across the sea of dancers. "And they are making an effort to meet us. We get the most amazing questions."

  "I know. I have been performing introductions. But I have not introduced you to my family, and you cannot escape any longer." I grabbed her hand and pulled her through the crowd. Along the way, I collected Omie, who was talking with Bea and Aura rather than doing what she was supposed to be doing: meeting town girls. I dragged both Malora and Omie until I found my family, sitting together at a table.

  I introduced them both, my mother's eyes glistening, and then we were hugging deeply, and my father too. I ruffled the hair of my brothers.

  Then I turned to Beria. "Hello, little sister. Did you miss me?"

  And she threw herself into my arms, hugging me tightly.

  "Was that story true?" she asked.

  "Every word."

  She looked at me, then glanced at our mother, then said, "I want you to introduce me to one of the warriors."

  I smiled at her and held out my hand to Omie. "Omie," I said, "this is my sister, Beria. Beria, this is Omie, a kind, gentle warrior. Omie, my sister is thirteen."

  "I am nineteen," Omie said, sliding under my arm for comfort.

  Beria cocked my head. "I thought you were with that one," pointing at Malora.

  "I am," I said. "Omie is nervous, and she needs a companion especially strongly. I am comforting her, that is all."

  My parents didn't look happy, but they didn't interfere. I address
ed my next words more for them. "Omie has been taking this comfort from her sister more than me, but Vorine became a warrior two weeks ago and now she needs her own companion, too. She can no longer help Omie."

  "Is it magic?" Beria asked.

  "No," Omie said. "It is only touch, and the desire in your heart to help me. The rest you learn."

  "Does it hurt?"

  "No," I said. "I rather enjoy it. I get a lot of attention. Balorie has taken to rubbing my feet, and at night, Malora gives me the most wonderful massages."

  "Each warrior finds a different way to accept comfort," Omie said. "Would you perhaps like to help me a little tonight, Beria. We can dance, perhaps not like the others."

  "It won't hurt?"

  "Not in the slightest."

  "All right," she said, and she accepted Omie's hand. The two of them moved away, heading to the dance floor. We watched after them, and then Omie opened her arms, and Beria hesitated for a moment before stepping into them. Omie's features smoothed, and she closed her eyes, swaying gently to the music.

  My parents stepped up to me. "You would take our second daughter."

  Malora joined me. "We would come for visits," Malora said. "Not often, but as often as we could."

  "It will be Beria's choice," I said. "That is the agreement. It is the agreement Malora gave me, and it is the agreement the council gave me. We will force no one, but every year, we will come, and we will hold this dance, and the girls of the village will grow to know us, and they will decide."

  Mother sighed. "Are you happy? You were never happy teaching."

  "Of course I was!"

  "No. You were determined, and you were fulfilled, but you were not happy."

  I smiled at Malora. "I am happy now."

  "It is dangerous," Father said.

  "Yes, it is, and it is not an easy life, but it must be done, and we need help to keep doing it."

  "It will be Beria's decision," they agreed.

  We moved away after that, and a few more times I offered introductions.

  "I have not found companions for everyone," I said.

  "This is one village," Malora replied. "Tomorrow we will visit others, and there will be more girls. I am proud of you."