Eyes of Glass

by Raven Li

  “You’re so beautiful, Sasha,” Elodan whispered. “You make me ache to please you. I would do anything for you.”

  She would never have thought a ghost could feel such things, but the groan in his voice made it clear that the sight of her affected him. An unexpected feeling of power rushed into her at that. It had never occurred to her that a woman could exert such control over a man through such simple things. The feeling made her bolder, so she reached up and began to slowly unbutton her robe, deliberately lingering over each of the ivory fasteners, drawing out the moment. She could feel his eyes on her, feel his hunger like a physical thing, and knowing that she was the cause of it sent desire racing through her as well. Her nipples hardened, and the now-familiar tingling began between her legs.

  The robe slipped to the floor, and she stood clad only in her hair. Elodan groaned softly, the sound almost lost in the wind. “Yes, my beautiful Sasha. Touch yourself for me. Show me that you know you are a goddess.”

  Sasha hesitated, a bit shocked by his words. Still, having already gone this far, what would it hurt to do as he requested? She would stop if it became uncomfortable.

  Her hands slowly reached up to cup her breasts. Although she was used to touching herself when she bathed, any more thorough explorations were forbidden. Now she ran her fingers lightly over her own skin, reveling in the soft heaviness of her breasts, the silkiness of her skin. The hard nubs of her nipples peaked under her fingers; she squeezed one gently between thumb and forefinger, and a bolt of pleasure seemed to arc between breast and clit. She moaned, her explorations becoming rougher and more urgent, heightening her need.

  Keeping one hand on her nipple, she slid the other down across her belly, reveling in the smoothness of her muscles, until she reached the thick tangle of curls between her legs. Only half conscious of her own actions, she spread her legs farther apart, sliding her fingers in between to fondle the turgid folds of her labia. Wetness covered her fingers as she slid one, then two, into her vagina, trying desperately to ease the ache there.

  “You have no idea what you do to me,” Elodan growled from directly in front of her. Truthfully, she had almost forgotten his presence, and now her need was so great that it didn’t seem to matter that he was watching her do such lewd and wanton things. Indeed, it occurred to her that his presence made the entire situation that much more erotic.

  Whimpering with need, she thrust her fingers in and out, her entire body ablaze with desire. “Let me help you,” Elodan whispered. Another pair of fingers closed suddenly on the hard button of her clit, tugging urgently.

  His touch sent her over the edge. Ecstasy seemed to explode out from her clit, washing over her in waves, her vagina contracting around her fingers. For a moment the entire world seemed to go blank, all thought and vision overwhelmed in a torrent of pleasure.

  When she came back to herself, she was sprawled languidly in her chair. Elodan was no longer visible, but she could sense his presence beside her.

  A faint stirring of guilt broke through the pleasant afterglow. “I shouldn’t have let you talk me into that.”

  “Why not? Listen to your heart, Sasha. You know that it was beautiful. You know that you are beautiful.” Ghostly lips brushed her forehead tenderly. “Tomorrow is the celebration of the Downfall, is it not? Come to me in the evening, as soon as the sun has set. There is something special I want to do with you.”

  A part of her argued that she should say no, that she should call for an Exorcist and have Elodan eradicated from her tower. But the newfound sense of herself as a woman won out. “All right. I’ll be here.”

  Chapter Four

  Because the anniversary of the Dark Mage’s Downfall was a holiday, all lectures were cancelled, and the apprentice mages were allowed to spend their time as they would. In the evening, there would be a grand Gathering, which would include a speech from the First himself. If she kept her word to Elodan, though, Sasha would not be there to hear it.

  As she ate her tasteless breakfast that morning, she asked herself again and again whether she was doing the right thing. All of the precepts that the Order lived by taught that physical pleasure of any kind was a sin. The only thing worse that she could possibly do would be to fall in love, a state that she knew little about but had always imagined as heinous. If she truly believed the teachings of the Order, she would not rendezvous with Elodan while everyone else was at the Gathering.

  Elodan said that the teachings of the Order went against her nature. And it was true that she had been discontent ever since coming to the castle, although as a member of the nobility she had been raised in an environment that was scarcely less restrictive. But didn’t that just mean that she was defective?

  It might help if she knew more about the ghost. Who had he been in life? How had he come to haunt the castle? He had refused to give her a straight answer when she tried to ask him, which troubled her. Was there some reason he was reluctant for her to know the truth?

  So instead of joining the other apprentices outside for the games and contests that marked the Downfall celebrations, Sasha found herself on the way to the library, determined to discover the identity of her haunt. As she passed by a large window, however, she paused and looked down wistfully. The students and elder mages alike made a splash of white on the wide lawn outside. In one corner of the yard, two young men tried to navigate glowing balls of light around obstacles and through traps set by their opponents, while in another, a group of chanting women forced writhing fire elementals to spell out Arath’s name and title. Although her skills were not nearly so advanced, Sasha still found herself overcome with longing to join her friends outside. Perhaps her research could wait until another day?

  But no—she had an assignation with Elodan tonight, and he had hinted that he had something special planned for them. Better to know ahead of time whether or not he was the sort of person she should be consorting with. After all, so far she had been going only on heart and instinct—it was far past time to get reason involved as well.

  As she turned back to the cold interior of the castle, Sasha heard the sound of slippers on stone. It seemed that she was not the only one trapped inside today. Her welcoming smile died as the approaching figure rounded the corner.

  Jacie moved like an old woman, and there was a grimace of pain on her face that she tried to hide the moment she realized someone else was present. What she could not conceal was the dead, hopeless look in her eyes.

  “Jacie?” Sasha gasped, horrified. “What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”

  Jacie swallowed convulsively. “I fell down the stairs,” she mumbled.

  Sasha quickly ran her eyes over her friend, looking for injury, but of course the only patch of visible skin was Jacie’s face, and that at least looked unmarked. “You need to go to a healer immediately!”

  “No. No, I’ll be fine,” Jacie protested.

  Sasha frowned. Something was deeply wrong here. She could think of no logical reason for Jacie to refuse a healer. It was clear from the panicked look in the young woman’s eyes that no amount of arguing would get her to have her injuries tended to.

  “I have to go,” Jacie said abruptly, then fled as quickly as her body would let her. Sasha stared after her, all sorts of wild speculation running through her head. Was Jacie practicing forbidden spells? Or was she trying to do magic that was too advanced for her, and had been caught in the backlash when her conjuring got out of control? Was that why she had been angry at Sasha for going to Arath yesterday, and why she refused to see a healer now?

  Deeply puzzled, and more than a little frightened for her friend’s sake, Sasha walked the rest of the way to the library in a daze. Once there, she tried to put Jacie’s problems out of her mind, knowing that there was nothing she could do to help until her friend confided in her. But, between Jacie’s odd behavior and her own secrets, it was hard to concentrate for more than a few minutes at a stretch. So at first, she blamed her inability to find even the mention of Elodan’s name
in any archive on her own distracted state. It was only after hours of searching through birth records, the lists of noble houses, and even old student lists, that she realized there had to be some other reason.

  As far as she could discover—and the library records went back centuries—there had never been a mage named Elodan. It was as if he had never existed at all.

  * * *

  Elodan returned to awareness as the sun began to set, and the power of the Goddess waxed. His first thought was disappointment that he was still trapped in a half-real state, still not fully in any world. His next was that, if things went as he expected them to, this would be the last time he awoke thus.

  Sasha. He looked for her, but she had not yet come up to her quarters. His little Summoner. An involuntary smile curved his lips at the mere thought of her. She had proved to be everything he had hoped for and more. Fiery, brave, possessed of a strong sense of self that was surprising in one who had been raised in the repressed society that Arath had created over the last fifty years.

  If only I could tell her the truth, Elodan mused. But he didn’t dare. Better to let Sasha labor on under her own false assumptions. Once she learned the truth, it would be too late for her to change her mind. He would be restored to the world, freed from limbo. As soon as that happened, he would explain to her why he had not corrected her assumptions. He would show her the careful web of lies that Arath had woven for the ugly fiction that it was.

  Unless she rejects me utterly. The mere thought made him cold. What if Sasha turned away from him? What if she believed that he had used her only for his own purposes—that he didn’t care for her at all? What if he returned from limbo only to lose her forever?

  No! I won’t let that happen. How he would prevent it, he didn’t know—yet. He knew only that somehow he would.

  He had to.

  * * *

  Sasha’s hands trembled a little as she closed the door to her room behind her. Instantly, she was aware of Elodan’s presence, knew exactly where he was standing despite having her back turned towards him. Her heart quickened immediately, and all her resolve began to come apart like cobwebs in her hands.

  Ephemeral fingers trailed along her neck when she removed her headdress. The touch made her shiver with need. “We...we need to talk,” she managed to say.

  His arms slid around her, and she thought they looked even more solid than last night. For the first time, it occurred to her that what she was seeing was bare skin. The thought sent a bolt of desire through her even as his fingers slid over her breasts, tweaked gently at her nipples.

  “We’ll talk all you want...after,” his sensuous voice breathed in her ear.

  “You always leave after.”

  “Not tonight,” he promised. Ghostly lips nibbled on her earlobe, making her jump. “I swear to you, I will answer any questions you have tonight.”

  She swallowed against a surge of desire. “But not until...after.”

  His fingers on her nipples were driving her mad. “Do you want to wait?” he asked, but there was a teasing note in his voice that said he knew just how aroused he was making her.

  “No,” she gasped.

  “Take off your clothes and stand by the candle where I can see you.”

  She complied hastily. Every inch of her skin felt super-sensitive, and the touch of clothing against it was almost painfully restrictive. As soon as the last of her things fell away, she felt him running his hands over her. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see him standing in front of her, a creation of light and shadow. His fingers caressed her back, her shoulders, then dove down to her breasts. A hungry mouth fastened on one nipple and she arched her back eagerly. His left hand slid sensuously over her buttocks, but she could feel the right delving lower, brushing lightly against her labia until her clitoris ached with the need to be touched.

  “Lie down on the bed so that I can touch all of you,” he whispered, his voice rough and urgent.

  The sheets felt cool and rough against her bare skin. On fire for his touch, she lay back and spread her legs for him. His hands teased her nipples, cupped her breasts, then dropped lower. A moment later, she felt a ghostly tongue lick its way languorously up her swollen labia, then burrow amidst the folds.

  “You taste so good,” he whispered, lips brushing her skin as he spoke. “Open yourself for me so that I can taste more.”

  With a little moan, she reached down and held the folds of her labia apart for him; they felt hot against her fingers. His tongue dipped deep into her, drawing on the nectar flowing out, then swirled lazily over her labia, danced teasingly over her clit, then back in.

  Sasha bit her lip and bucked her hips a little, whimpering. She wanted to come, badly, but he refused her, teasing with his tongue and lips until she thought she would go mad. “Please,” she moaned at last, her voice ragged with desire.

  “Please what?” he teased.

  “I need you, I want you!”

  “Do you want me in you, beautiful Sasha? Is that what you want?”

  Surely that isn’t possible. “Yes,” she gasped. “Yes, I want you in me, Elodan!”

  He shifted position, and she sensed that he was above her. Then she felt something brushing against her fingers where she still held herself open for him, pushing at the opening of her center...then slowly spreading it, pushing at the inner walls of her cunt.

  It was similar to when she’d had her fingers in her yesterday, but different. The touch was too light, too ephemeral, could not penetrate deeply enough. She moaned frantically, her head thrashing on the pillow in frustrated desire.

  “You need more, don’t you?” Elodan gasped above her.

  “Yes!”

  “You want me, don’t you? Tell me! Call out for me!”

  “Elodan! I want you, I need you in me!”

  He made an odd little sound, and she felt the pressure against her vagina increase as her opening was stretched wider. It felt as though he was slipping in deeper, spreading her more widely, but still it wasn’t enough. She bucked wildly against him, needing more, desiring more. “Elodan!”

  Deeper still, and it came to her distracted mind that he seemed more solid. She could see him now without having to look out of the corner of her eye. He was above her, hands braced to either side of her shoulders, his cock pushing urgently, insistently into her. She couldn’t make out his expression, but she could hear the desire in his voice. “Yes, Sasha! We’re almost there! Call me again, Sasha! Call me the rest of the way to you! Summon me!”

  “Elodan!” she screamed.

  The cock in her finished the transition to full solidity, no longer a ghostly touch but a heavy, hard spear spreading open her body. She cried out in pleasure, beyond questioning what was happening, beyond caring that what she was doing was wrong by the Order’s definition.

  Elodan groaned and bent over her suddenly, his mouth coming down on hers. It was real, solid, and tasted of hot desire. His tongue slid between her lips, ruthlessly plundering her mouth, even as he shoved the engorged length of his cock all the way into her.

  She would have screamed in ecstasy if his mouth hadn’t sealed hers. She spasmed around him, the muscles of her cunt contracting around his hard length. He moaned against her mouth and began to thrust into her, pulling almost all the way out, then burying himself balls-deep in her tight wetness. Wave after wave of pleasure pounded through her, as if, once started, she couldn’t stop coming.

  He pulled his mouth free only to bury it in the crook of her neck, teeth scraping her skin. The hard muscles of his chest pushed aggressively against the burning peaks of her breasts, but they weren’t half as hard as the cock he buried in her. She screamed with pleasure, back arching, then heard his moan.

  “Sasha...oh, Sasha, you’re so tight!” he growled in her ear. “I can’t get enough of you! I want this to last...I want...ah, I can’t stop!”

  His hips went into a sudden, urgent rhythm, pounding desperately against hers. His back arched, eyes closed, ex
pression one of pleasure that bordered on pain. His stiff cock seemed to swell even larger in her—then she felt a flood of warmth deep within as he pumped his seed into her. The sight and feel of his pleasure overwhelmed her, dragged her over the edge into a shattering climax that wrung her entire body like a limp rag.

  As Sasha floated gently down from her final orgasm, she felt a pair of very-solid lips brush her face tenderly. The mattress vibrated when he shifted off of her, as it had not when he first mounted her. Confused, she opened her eyes and found herself looking at a very real and un-ghost-like back. He sat on the edge of the bed, his pale, naked skin gleaming slightly in the light from the candle. Black hair tumbled past his shoulders, long and thick as a woman’s.

  “Elodan?” she asked, wondering if she had fallen asleep and was now dreaming. “What happened?”

  “You did,” he replied, his voice warm with what sounded suspiciously like affection. “I was trapped between worlds, my dear, neither in this one or the next. Your desire Summoned me from my prison and restored me to this world after five decades of limbo. Thank you.”

  She frowned at his back, but trepidation filled her heart. “I don’t understand.”

  “I know,” he said gently, and turned towards her.

  Her first thought was that he was beautiful, although that wasn’t a word she had realized could be applied to men until that moment. His dark hair tumbled loosely down around high cheekbones, sensuous lips, and a straight nose—features that at first seemed flawless.

  Until she noticed his eyes.

  They were perfectly black—two smooth globes of volcanic glass, shaped and spelled to take the place of the eyes that had been torn from him.

  “Osan, forgive me,” she whispered in horror. “You’re the Dark Mage.”

  Chapter Five