Past Lives

by Kirsten Bij't Vuur

  Feeling faint, he did not hear the footsteps behind him, until a gentle voice asked in Greek: 'Are you all right, master?' An arm supported him, and a face now came into view, a sweet narrow face, with an unruly mop of curls on top and short, only slightly curved horns. Lukas, but even to his befuddled senses, a girl. She sounded, looked and even smelled feminine, but her image was overlaid with that of his dear friend.

  'You're not all right, let me fetch master Lykos, or your lady,' the worry in that voice was so real, the second hand now supporting his chest. 'Don't worry,' he managed to say, 'I've only overspent my power, I'll be all right in a minute, in a few heartbeats. Maybe you can help me to sit against the wall instead of on this stool.'

  And the gentle hands turned out to be rather strong, helping him to the ground without toppling, then steadying him against the warm wall. She sat down right next to him, holding him upright but also running a hand through his hair freely. If he hadn't been drained to the dregs, his passion would have exploded, as it was he just sat there until he could move again.

  'Are you feeling better now?' the sweet girl asked, 'I'm Damara, what's your name, master?'

  'Pleased to meet you Damara, I'm Paul, and I am nobody's master, just Paul please.'

  'You make beautiful art, Paul, but why didn't you pray to master Hermes for power, you know him, don't you?'

  Paul grimaced and said: 'I may know him, but I most certainly will not pray to him. I am nobody's master, but I do not acknowledge anyone as my master either. My own power will suffice, it will take a little longer this way but I'm not in a hurry. I didn't realize melting gold took so much power, I'll not let it drain me next time.'

  Damara was certainly not like any girl he had ever known, and that had nothing to do with her horns or her hoofs, but more with her tiny dress and her forward manners. By now she had finished caressing his hair, and had started on his face, stroking his cheeks, and moving down steadily, over his throat, her hand slipping under his shirt next.

  'Ooh, you're incredibly muscular, that feels good. Why do you wear such high boots, isn't that very hot?' She didn't wait for an answer, but felt his stomach, exclaimed again at feeling its flatness, then straddled him and kissed him full on the mouth. She had a delicious dented lip, just like Lukas,

  and he wanted to lick it. Her scent was musky too, but in a different way from Lukas, though just as enticing. She smelled like an expensive perfume, though somehow he knew it was all natural, subtle and so very, very good.

  But he was still rather weak, and overcome with her forwardness, and after her exquisite kiss he politely asked her: 'I don't feel so well, though you are very nice to me. Would you be so kind as to take me back to my friends?'

  He felt rather overwhelmed by her affections, especially since he could hardly move a limb.

  She didn't seem hurt by his question, and replied: 'Of course, young mas....sorry, Paul, just lean on me and I'll have you back with them in a minute.' And she lifted him easily, laid his arm around her shoulder and supported him to the room where the others were still talking. Melissa ran towards him, and asked with concern: 'You look faint, beloved, what happened?'

  Taking his other arm she followed Damara's lead as the girl led Paul to a comfortable sofa, where he fell against the padded backrest, head spinning with the exertion of walking.

  'Don't worry, Melissa, I'm just faint because I totally drained my power.

  Apparently melting gold uses quite a lot of it, and I was concentrating so I didn't notice. Damara here found me just before I fell from my stool.'

  Hermes now said: 'I suspected as much, gold is formed deep in the earth, and it is very rare, working it doesn't just take the power to melt metal, but also something extra, some mental price, which is why I offered you a link to my power.'

  Voice still weak, Paul nonetheless managed to sound determined: 'I am not going to pray to you Hermes.'

  Exasperatedly, Hermes remarked: 'Have I ever asked you to worship me?

  You're making this necklace for me, it is my duty to provide you with everything you need to make it.'

  Lukas had had enough. He got up and kneeled in front of Paul, took hold of his jaws and kissed him passionately, Paul answering the kiss with sudden fire. Brushing Paul's mind with the request to be admitted, he got pulled inside, and Paul's mind did not look like it used to at all. As Lukas filled Paul's reserve to the brim with his own power, he took a good look around, and found his friend's control the complete opposite it had always been.

  Was this damage done by the portal? Lukas remembered how he had had

  no control at all when he emerged from it, and was on the verge of restoring it to its former height. But then he remembered Paul over-controlled, ten years older than his real age, possessive of Melissa. This was not the place to be good old Paul. So he restored a good measure of control, enough to make his friend happier, but not enough to make him restrained again.

  And then he basked for a moment in the extreme love his friend felt for him, and went back to the now. They both took a deep breath. 'That is much better,' Paul observed, I feel almost human again. Thank you. Did you do something else too?'

  Lukas admitted: 'I did. When you let me into your mind it was different, all your control had gone, which I suppose is why you look so young. I think it must have been the portal, remember? I had no control left first time I went through. So I restored a little of your former control, not all, for that would serve you ill in this world, just enough to refrain from doing things you'd regret. I hope you approve.'

  And at exactly the same time, Melissa and Hermes exclaimed, and Melissa said: 'Hermes, you suffered loss of control too, that is why you threatened Lykos and set the hound of Hell on us all.' Lukas thought of himself, nearly murdering his father without any reason at all.

  He did not comment further, but when they were back in London he'd check all of them again.

  'Do you want a permanent link from me, Paul?' he asked.

  Voice back to normal, Paul replied: 'I'd still rather make do with my own power first, but I'd appreciate it if you would kiss me like just now once in a while. I'm giving you so much love, it's time I got something back.'

  How did he know that? Could he read Lukas' mind whilst Lukas was in his mind? Lukas felt himself get all weak-kneed and shy again under Paul's teasing. And how did he do that? With a little cry he fell on his friend's neck, and was picked up and set on Paul's lap for an intense hug.

  'I do love you, and I wouldn't mind praying to you once in a while, Lykos.'

  Melissa thought their intimacy was very moving and kind of hot, but the girl, Damara, seemed a little put out by it. Was Paul going to share his love very soon?

  Searching her own feelings, that didn't pain her, as long as she was not expected to do the same with some man who fancied her. And as long as it wouldn't stick to him once they were back in London. Though that wasn't

  even fair, for she would still have Lukas.

  She decided to follow Lukas' creed and not weigh love. Time would tell, and if she believed Lukas and her father, everything would be all right as long as they talked to one another.

  And there was once thing she really did want to know: 'You melted gold, Paul, but did it work? Did it melt as you wanted it?'

  Paul looked around Lukas and replied: 'Yes! Above all expectations. I melted the gold away from the shape I wanted to make. In fact, I want to finish the first dolphin, now I have power again.'

  'Can we see it?' Melissa asked.

  'Not until it is finished. Though Damara has already seen it half finished, so she can come to watch. If you can be very quiet.' That last was straight at the girl, and she nodded fervently. She really wanted to come along.

  'Better be ready to answer some prayers, Lukas.'

  And with that, they were off, and so far, Melissa did not feel sad or abandoned. That girl looked like a carbon copy of Lukas, and she could easily imagine Paul would be attracted to her. A carbon copy of Lukas, aroun
d twenty. Undoubtedly from a neighbouring village, living with a woman who was used to having a daughter of Lukas around. Melissa decided to stop thinking and join the conversation again.

  Chapter 6

  As Paul walked towards the workshop once more, he really wondered why he had taken Damara along. It would give her expectations, and he really didn't know if he would be able to give her what she clearly wanted. She was very attractive to him, an attraction largely due to her resemblance to Lukas, for something in Paul wanted to make love to Lukas desperately, just not in the way he imagined how that would go.

  Was it fair to make love to a girl because she resembled someone he loved but wouldn't make love to because he happened to be a man? Was it fair to not make love to the person he loved so much, who loved him as much or more? He didn't know, and he decided not to think about it anymore, but to first finish the golden dolphin and then see what happened.

  As soon as he sat on the stool and held the plaque of gold with the front part of the dolphin freed from it, he felt fabulous, and the rest of the world just disappeared. He projected the rest of the image on the gold, activated the spell to keep the detail motionless and meticulous, then directed the power at the gold once more.

  With a rush, power drained from him, good, he felt it this time, and the gold melted away once again, freeing the little back fin, the bend of the tail, the tail itself.

  The top was done, freed from the gold with perfect detail. But now the bottom, it was still fused to the mass of the gold.

  He checked his own power and found it dangerously low already.

  Unwilling to quit before he had the figurine in his hand, he thought of his love of Lukas, remembering the kiss they had shared just now, the things they had been through together. And he sent out a little plea for some power, to finish his trial piece.

  Love filled him instantly, intense pleasure at being addressed this way.

  He felt himself filled up with power, and a message: have fun!

  Wasn't that a cheeky goaty remark! He sent back a thank you, projecting innocence, eagerness to finish his dolphin, and got a hearty laugh as return.

  Then he concentrated again, using the spell to keep the image stable and visible, even though the work surface was in the gold itself. Then he unleashed his new power. The gold underneath the figurine melted away into a little puddle, joining with the solidified puddles from his earlier sittings, and even before he could turn it around to check, he knew it was flawless.

  The power kept filling him until he was at full charge again.

  Paul picked up the little figurine of the dolphin, and it was indeed a perfect clone of his wax model. A perfect clone, that shook something in him loose, but he didn't know what. Yet.

  He handed it to Damara, and she admired it, but did ask: 'What is it? A kind of fish? It looks cute.' Cute. It did look cute, and so did she, with her dented lip and narrow face. Damn!

  'What is it, Paul, aren't you happy with your work?'

  'Oh I am, Damara, very happy. Let me pack up my stuff and then we'll show it to the others.'

  Her face fell and she pouted a little, making her even cuter. 'Don't you like me, Paul? I thought you asked me along because you wanted us to share love.'

  Paul couldn't speak his thought yet, so he studied the bar of gold, even the molten bits were still usable without remelting, to pull the thread for the links with. He put it all away, and all the tools as well, each in its rightful place.

  'You love master Lykos, don't you? You kissed him as if you do.' She looked even more unhappy now.

  'I do, Damara, very much so. And I find you very attractive because you look so much like him. But I've never shared my love before, I love Melissa and have always intended to stay true to her.'

  'What is stay true?' Damara wanted to know, and Paul told her.

  'But why would you do that? If you want to make love to me you should do it, it would be unhealthy not to do it,' she was very certain of that. 'Don't you care that if I were to make love to you now, I would really be making love to Lykos, only as a girl?' he just had to ask.

  'My mother says master Lykos is the best lover ever. But I'm very sure I can convince you I'm myself, and not him. Will you please love me?'

  Paul knew there was no way back, to refuse was a deadly insult, and would hurt this sweet girl a lot. He had invited her along, giving her expectations.

  Letting out a big sigh, he felt guilty about cheating on Melissa, and he felt

  guilty for making love to Lukas' daughter, but if he was very honest, he really, really wanted this.

  Her slight shape, the irresistible lip, she'd have one of those cute tails beneath her dress. Would scratching her horns turn her on instantly?

  She saw the instant that his decision was made, and she even jumped him.

  He caught her, crushed her against him, and they kissed with intense heat.

  His control was indeed slightly higher, and when they ended that kiss and she suggested they seek out her room, he let her take his hand and followed her meekly through several halls and doors to a nicely decorated, good-sized room with a good-sized bed, leaving a thousand pound bar of gold behind him in a fabric roll. Paul had never seen the value of gold, to him it was just another metal.

  Damara sure had some heat in her, and she was strong, she practically dumped him on the bed and jumped him, kissing him eagerly, grabbing at him wherever she could.

  Fortunately she took the time to unbutton his shirt, which made him glad for he didn't bring that many with him, he was sure she would have preferred to rip it off him.

  She had one of those folded dresses, like Melissa had, only much shorter, and it was the easiest thing to loosen the sash holding it together. He did not grab anything or make haste in any way, and as Damara stroked and kneaded his chest muscles with glee, he unwrapped the front of her dress slowly, her chest as narrow as Lukas', her skin as mottled, and as a special bonus, a pain of small, girlish breasts.

  By now Damara had discovered that Paul loved at a different speed than she did, and she adapted her eagerness to his loving contemplation of her body, becoming less greedy and more tender, and actually enjoying the time he took for every step.

  He stroked her skin to find it as soft as Lukas', and she shivered at his intense touch. She had been loved before, but never slowly, always in extreme heat and very fast. It was clear he was still seeing master Lykos when he touched her, he must have loved him many times, and she wished she could have that pleasure. Too bad he was almost certainly her natural father, for that made loving him not acceptable.

  But this human was beautiful, with his pale skin and soft hair, and very muscular. His hands stroked her very gently, she liked that, and as they carefully took hold of her breasts and he sucked the nipples one by one, she

  gasped at the flash of heat it sent through her.

  After her breasts, he wanted to touch her tail, which was singular, for no lover of hers had ever been interested in that part of her body. They mostly went straight for what mattered to themselves. His gentle touch on her buttocks and tail made her shiver once more, and she wanted some more of his to touch.

  She unbuttoned his trousers, as he felt her inner thighs now, and reached for the patch of hair between them. He stroked that as well, rubbing the sensitive part beneath it gently, and she could no longer control her own heat.

  She pulled his pants off him, and they got stuck on his absurdly high boots.

  She knew he was a foreigner, maybe he was from a cold country.

  As she bent over his boots to undo the laces, she stuck out her butt towards him to provoke him to some more action. But that didn't work at all, he got all interested in her little tail again, and stroked that once more, and her butt-cheeks, only gently stroking the part of her that most men would not have been able to resist, teasing her into ever greater passion.

  Finally she had those boots off, they were kind of nice, actually, but so unpractical, and she removed the trous
ers and went for his penis. Fortunately it was erect, or she would have doubted herself, he was so tame.

  She took hold of it firmly and took it in her mouth, gently licking the head, moving her hand up and down a little. That finally got his attention, and he gasped and grabbed for her legs, working himself under and between them, spreading her legs a little more and pushing her labia out of the way to get to the prize underneath. He pulled her in his face and licked her until he clearly got way too excited by her ministrations.

  Then he turned her over and kneeled between her legs, and he quietly but decidedly brought her to a high, then jumped and entered her on the climax, scratching the base of one of her horns at the same time.

  Her fervour exploded, the world started to spin, and she lay panting beneath him. How had he known to do that? No-one had ever touched her horns like that, she thought she'd go mad, her whole body started to shudder and she came to an explosive high.

  He smiled at her, and scratched the other horn, still thrusting almost lazily, until he saw the fire in her eyes and realized she liked it fast. He had to support himself with two hands to speed up, and he did, getting a series of moans out of her, and one climax more, nearly at the same time that his own gaze became a bit distant, and he ended it with a sprint.

  He supported himself on his arms, staying on top of her, breathing hard, which she appreciated. She noticed only now that he smelled really nice, she had been too horny to really notice much before. Too bad he would probably leave tomorrow, he made love really well. She'd remember the horns, though.

  When his breathing had slowed to normal, he sat on the bed and asked:

  'Can I hold your hoofs for a moment? I've only seen Lykos' ever before.' She nodded in assent, not even flustered, and he gently took one of her hoofs in his capable hands, studying it intently, feeling the sides and the bottom. Then he did the same to the other one, and said: 'Thank you. They look exactly the same. Lykos has been wearing shoes, but they have clearly not damaged his hoofs.'

  'You did guess he's probably my father, didn't you?' Damara said.