“It looks that way,” I told her. “I take it you’re joining us, then?”
She did a little curtsey. “If you’ll have me, milord. Miss Avilla said most of the mercenaries for hire are single, and she wanted a few reliable girls on hand to keep the numbers in balance. Although I’m not sure what I think about this ‘wolf-touched’ business.”
I chuckled. “She actually explained that, did she?”
“Hrodir was asking her some pointed questions, milord,” she explained. “It seems her magic works better on some folk than others? She said I’m so open a couple more wolf hearts would probably have me sprouting fur and getting an urge to go hunting.”
“You don’t seem too put off by the idea,” I observed.
She shrugged. “It’s a bit unsettling, to be honest. But you’ve taken good care of us so far, milord. I’ll trust that you know best how to keep us all alive, and try not to worry overmuch.”
“I see Avilla is picking good people,” I smiled. “Don’t worry, if we do any major enchantment I’ll ask for volunteers and explain the risks first. I take it you’re on lookout duty?”
“That’s right, milord. We’ve a lot of people coming and going, and it’s hard to get a good enough view from inside. But there’s plenty of open space between here and the town, so if I see soldiers coming I can scurry back inside and help Gronir bar the door long before they could reach the stairs.”
I was halfway up the steps myself by then, so I paused to look her over. She was wearing one of the warmth cloaks I’d enchanted the day before, but her face was bare and her feet were wrapped in rags. With the temperature well below freezing that seemed a little inadequate.
“It’s a good plan, but find someone to take turns with,” I told her. “You’ll get frostbite if you stay out here too long.”
She nodded. “All taken care of, milord. Beri is going to spell me until lunch, while the men are busy moving furniture and getting guard shifts organized. Then they’ll take over and we’ll be working inside.”
Two steps inside the tower I was intercepted by a blonde-haired missile.
“Daniel! Are you alright? Are we in trouble? What happened with the Baron? I saw you brought the windboat, do we need to leave?”
I stopped the manic flow of questions by kissing her. Ah, honey and cinnamon, with a hint of cherries this morning.
“We’re fine, sweetie,” I said reassuringly. “The Baron’s not happy, but he’s not going to make an issue of it publicly. I think you can even go shopping as long as you take a couple of guards with you.”
She smiled in relief. “Oh, good. I suppose I was worried about nothing, then.”
I shook my head. “No, it’s good to be cautious. Actually, I want us to make a point of keeping up better security in the tower from now on. Keep guards on the doors whenever they’re open, and make sure anyone who goes into town has an escort. Cezary may try to get revenge somehow, so let’s not give him any openings.”
“Can we count on Rain’s men for that?” Cerise asked from the stairwell.
“Better not. They take their contract with the Baron pretty seriously. I don’t think they’re going to end up coming with us, either, so we may need to hire more men than originally planned.”
Avilla frowned. “That’s too bad. He seems like a good captain. Well, we have three town guards, a couple of hunters and a veteran mercenary now. Should we go for a dozen fighting men, or more?”
I considered the size of the hover-barge, and the volume of supplies I’d like to have room for. “I think twelve will do. I don’t want to make things too crowded. Oh, and we definitely need gloves and good boots for everyone if we can manage it.”
“Of course. And liveried clothing, and proper bedding, and tents… oh, unless you’re going to do something about shelter?”
“I’m going to put walls and a roof on the hover-barge tonight. Beyond that, we’ll see how much time I have. How are we doing on money?”
Cerise grimaced. “Everything costs three or four times what it should, now. But those cloaks are selling really well. If you’ve got time to make a couple more I think that’ll cover all the essentials.”
“Alright, I’ll knock a couple out right now. Then I’d better get to work. The new wall doesn’t protect enough of the town to do us much good yet, and I’m getting nervous about those giants.”
It was a dreary, overcast day. The snow never quite stopped falling completely, and every so often we’d get a flurry that dropped visibility to nearly zero until it passed. Eventually I realized my toes were going numb, and had to stop to put a warmth enchantment on my boots before I could go on.
The men in my escort worked in short shifts, four men watching the fields around me nervously for thirty or forty minutes at a time while the other four huddled around a warmth stone I’d set up in the nearest tower. A group of the Baron’s men were moving into the gatehouse I’d built yesterday, but the rest of the new construction was still empty aside from a few sentries on the wall.
The first time a flurry forced me to stop work I was terribly tempted to pack it in for the day, and spend the afternoon improving my weapons or preparing for the trip to come. But then I remembered the faces of the townspeople, and the refugees huddled together against the cold.
I might not be able to save them. But I had to try.
I built two more towers that day, and another gatehouse on a road that was more or less perpendicular to the river. I was tempted not to bother with that, but there was enough traffic through the existing gate that I decided I’d better not block it. Besides, the gatehouse could easily quarter a hundred men.
Maybe I’d spend a day building shelters for the refugees, when I was done with the wall?
I kept going until the light began to fail, and Cerise came to fetch me for dinner. After a full day of heavy spellcasting I barely had the energy to wolf down my food, and stumble off to bed.
Chapter 10
I was awakened the next morning by a leisurely blowjob.
I groaned happily, still only half awake, and palmed one of the soft breasts pressing against my thigh. Much more than a handful. In my limited experience Avilla’s blowjobs were usually fast, hungry affairs, but she was taking her time this morning. Nuzzling, sucking, stroking, swirling her tongue around the tip...
“Oh god! You’re getting good at that, Avilla.”
She giggled, and came up for air just as I realized that hadn’t been Avilla’s voice.
“Good morning, milord,” Tina said brightly. “Miss Avilla sent me to wake you.”
The smiling redhead rose a bit, her heavy breasts dangling and swaying enticingly. I found myself cupping them in my hands, and she sighed happily.
“You like them, milord?”
“Hell, yes. But is this really what Avilla meant?”
Her brow furrowed in consternation. “I think so, milord. She reminded me to swallow an everything. Oh! Did y’want to have my virginity this morning, milord?”
I swallowed heavily. Wow, I really wasn’t used to the way these people thought.
“I, ah… I think we should make that a special occasion, Tina. A girl only gets one first time, right?”
She beamed. “You’re so kind, milord! I’ll be looking forward to it. Are you gonna do my boobs too? You said you could make’em really big.
I chuckled. “I suppose I can. Hold still for a minute.”
I closed my eyes and focused on my magical senses. Growth was a simple form of flesh sorcery, much easier than some of the healing I’d been doing. Hmm. Her breasts didn’t seem to be very sensitive, but that was easy to fix.
“Oh!” She gasped. “That feels good, milord.”
“That’s the idea, Tina. Think that’s enough?”
“I get to pick? Oh, more please, milord!”
I kneaded her soft breasts, drawing a series of gasps and sighs from the lovely young redhead as I tuned her nerve endings to an exquisite level of sensitivity. By the time I was satis
fied with that she was about two cup sizes bigger, which was getting pretty impressive. She looked down at herself in dazed wonder.
“There we go. How’s that?”
“Oh, my lord!” She breathed. “It’s… they’re…”
She abruptly ducked down and took my organ back into her mouth. Now it was my turn to groan again. She bobbed her head energetically, thoroughly coating me with saliva, then pulled away. By the time I caught my breath she had my length nestled into her newly expanded cleavage.
“Fuck ma big boobies, milord!” She pleaded.
How could I say no to that?
Avilla gave me an impish grin when I finally made it into the kitchen for breakfast. I mussed her hair, and gave her a squeeze and a kiss.
“Devious wench,” I teased. “Are you going to make a habit of setting me up like that?”
“I’m just making sure everyone in the household is happy,” she smiled back. “You were going to hesitate and agonize over it and leave her worrying about her place for who knows how long. Now she knows you’re going to keep her, and you know that she’s perfectly happy being in your bed.”
“You’re pretty perceptive,” I admitted.
“Thank you. It’s a part of my art I haven’t had the chance to practice as much as I’d like, so I’m glad I got it right. That reminds me, would you mind loaning me some magic before you go out, like you did when you healed me? Now that I have a stock of ingredients I’d like to work on some things.”
I shrugged. “Sure. You know, I still don’t really know what you can do?”
I sat at a table that had appeared since the last time I’d been in the room, noting that I seemed to be the only one around. It was fairly early, but I still wasn’t used to rising at dawn the way everyone else here did. Probably Cerise and Beri had already had breakfast and headed off into town to run errands.
Avilla retrieved a bowl of batter and started pouring hotcakes.
“Oh, a lot of different things. Most of it isn’t all that impressive, but it’s useful to have. Anything to do with keeping a home is part of my domain, so things like cleaning and organizing are easy for me. I sew almost as well as I cook, and once I properly claim a house again I can hold dominion over the little elemental spirits that live there. I’m good at keeping my own garden, for herbs and such, but that doesn’t work outside my own land.”
“Hmm. What’s involved in claiming a home? Is that something you can set up and take down as we travel?”
She winced. “That sounds unpleasant. I have to put a lot of myself into a place to claim it, blood and magic both. I could probably do something like that if I had to, but I think I’d hurt myself. My magic would be damaged, at least. I’d much rather wait and do it right.”
“Fair enough. What does that entail?”
“Well, that gets back to what I was telling you the other night about needing a partner. I can get by with a series of rituals to work myself into a building, but that takes days to build even a weak claim and it’s always a bit fragile. Hearth magic is wifely magic, you know, so it works best if I have a man involved. Your magic for strength and protection, mine for nurturing and healing, mingling our power to lay a claim with sex and surrender…”
She set the hotcakes down in front of me with a naughty grin, bending low enough to give me a good view down her dress in the process.
“If we do it right I’ll become my home, like a dryad with her tree. As strong as you are your magic will be in everything I do, making me more powerful than I ever dreamed I could be. It’ll be like having your own personal house-nymph. Won’t that be fun?” She teased.
I chuckled. “I think I’d better watch it or you girls are going to make me die of exhaustion.”
She giggled, and went back to the stove. “I wouldn’t worry about that, Daniel. Everything I cook is at least a little bit magic, and I like you being more man than I can handle. If your magic ever flags mine will be right there to fill in the gaps.”
I paused with a bite halfway to my mouth. “You put magic viagra in this?”
“Oh, there’s hardly anything in it today. Some encouragement for good health and general hardiness, maybe a little extra manliness if I’m lucky. I don’t have the ingredients or the kitchen for any serious work, but I do what I can. Make me an oven and give me a few days to get situated, and then maybe I can manage something noticeable.”
“Oh.” I considered that. “So it’s like the thing with the wolf steaks? That’s interesting. Just promise me you aren’t going to start playing games with it like Cerise.”
“I have more sense than that, Daniel,” she said seriously. “If I abused your trust in this how would I ever get it back? Right now everything I’m doing is meant to help us all survive until we can find a new home. If there’s ever a time when we’re safe there are some games I might like to play, but I’d talk to you about it first.”
“Games?”
“Games. Harmless recipes that sound like they might be fun. For instance, there’s a sauce that’s supposed to make a man’s seed… ah, overwhelmingly copious?”
She blushed prettily at my raised eyebrow, and ducked her head. “Ahem. Granny collected all sorts of unusual recipes. Things that make a girl wonder what it would be like.”
“But you’ll need to have things in a better place with Cerise first. Please be strong for her, Daniel. She can’t help playing, but she needs someone who can take her in hand and keep her grounded. She’s always been a bit wild, but this last year I’ve seen her starting to lose herself bit by bit.”
“Yeah, I was afraid of that. How can I help?”
She chewed her bottom lip cutely. “If we complete the coven bond it will help immensely, but I think you’re right not to rush that. We only get one chance at it, so we need to do it right. If she takes a turn for the worse there are some rituals we could try to help stabilize her, but they tend to be dangerous and costly to her power.”
“No, I think the best course is to avoid magic for now. You’ve been wonderful to her so far, you just need to stop holding back. Demons are made to serve a master, and her stolen power needs to be tamed before she can command it properly.”
I considered that for a moment.
“I think I get it,” I said. “Normally I’d hesitate, but Cerise likes power games anyway, doesn’t she?”
Avilla blushed faintly, and nodded. “Oh, yes. The things she’s made me do... well. You’re a worldly man. I’m sure you can imagine. Just remember, we want her to be a witch who controls the powers of a succubus, not the other way around.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” I nodded. “Well, let’s get you charged up.”
I scooted my chair back, and she settled into my lap. Her dress seemed to unbutton itself, and fell to gather about her waist.
“I’m ready,” she said breathlessly.
I chuckled, and started feeding her magic. “For future reference, holding hands would work just fine.”
“I know,” she said, taking my hands and moving them to her breasts. “But this is where my magic is stored. So it only makes sense to watch them carefully, in case you give me too much.”
Her magic eagerly embraced mine, drinking in the donation of power like some exotic desert flower greeting a rainstorm. I had far more energy available that the last time we’d done this, but I didn’t know how much she could handle so I expanded the flow gradually.
“Ah, so that’s how it is,” I teased. “You make excuses about needing power for practical projects, but you really just want to find out how much you can hold.”
“Y-yes,” she admitted. Her hands on my shoulders were trembling now, and her pupils were huge. “Oh, Daniel. Please, please don’t stop this time. I don’t care if I’m a mess afterwards. Your magic is so warm. Please, fill me up. Stuff me until I can’t take any more.”
“Heh. Are we still talking about magic here?”
Her eyes lit up. “Oh! Yes, that’s a wonderful idea! Take me right here on the
kitchen table while you fill me with your magic.”
I increased the mana flow, and watched the cascade of reactions within her body. Her back arched, pressing her breasts into my hands as a soft moan escaped her lips. The faster I gave it to her the more erotic the experience seemed to become, and from what I was sensing her storage capacity was immense. This could be fun.
By the time I worked my way up to my maximum flow rate Avilla was stoned out of her mind, babbling a happy stream of incoherent nonsense as I worked my tool in and out of her warm, gooey center. She seemed to be climaxing more or less continuously, but that didn’t stop her from wrapping those long, golden-brown legs around my waist and fucking me back with delirious enthusiasm. I had to reinforce my self-control with magic to keep things from ending prematurely, but even then I couldn’t last forever.
When I was done I gathered her back into my lap and held her until the trembling passed. Her beasts were tight and swollen now, her nipples so hypersensitive that a casual tug was enough to make her squeak and twitch as another sharp little climax cascaded through her tender flesh. But the fog gradually cleared from her eyes, and after a few minutes she twined her arms around my neck and kissed me tenderly.
“Thank you,” she breathed.
“You’re welcome. You alright now?”
“Yes! Oh, Daniel, I love you so much right now. Ask anything you wish of me, I’m yours.”
I shook my head with a grin. “Ah, the mating cry of the well-fucked woman. You say that now, but you’ll be back to spending all my money and ordering the servants around in a few hours.”
She giggled. “Maybe. I guess you’ll have to fill me again whenever you want me breathlessly swooning for you. The rest of the time I’ll just be your practical, hard-working house-nymph. Such a hard life you lead.”
“Yeah, it’s a rough job but somebody has to do it. Speaking of which, that wall isn’t going to build itself.”
Tearing myself away from that vision of buxom blonde beauty wasn’t easy. It was so tempting to just stay there and make love to her all morning. Maybe get her help giving Tina a special first time, and then pounce on Cerise when she got back from whatever errand she was on. With the near-infinite endurance my amulet gave me it would be easy to get carried away.
Fimbulwinter (Daniel Black) Page 16