by J. Sselxuyt
We check ourselves over and find that no one is hurt. Brooke tells me that her scarred stomach had been healed after waking up in Douglas’s small home.
“Why were you able to resist that thing?” Becky asks Jewkes, and I perk up a bit wondering the same. “Are you colorblind, too?”
“What do you mean?” he asks, somewhat confused. “I’m not colorblind at all. What does that have to do with anything?”
“I think it’s his shades,” I say, entering the conversation. “You said they were Blublockers, right? Don’t those block out a certain wavelength of light?” He nods at my statement, and I feel a small measure of happiness enter me. “We need to get more of those,” I say. “They make you immune to Aldol’s control, just like my color-blindness does for me.”
“You mean that was the thing you’d told me about?” he asks incredulously. “Didn’t seem all that tough to me.”
“Except that its true power resides in its ability to control almost anyone it wants,” I tell him.
He rubs the back of his neck and gives Jennifer a rueful look. “I see what you mean.”
Jennifer looks apologetic, but we all know her actions weren’t her fault.
“We really shouldn’t stay here any longer than we need to,” Becky says. Of course I can’t argue with her logic. “Can we get back without Angela?”
That poses an issue I hadn’t thought about before. Angela was always the means of getting us in and out through the oak tree elevator.
“Only one way to find out,” Lisa says, and starts heading south.
“I am here for you if you need me, Master,” Sheila says after we’ve been moving for a bit, offering her services as a whipping post.
“Thank you, but I’m fine,” I dismiss her off-handedly. I’m not in the mood, but don’t want to hurt her feelings either.
“Are you going to be alright?” Becky asks me a few moments later.
“You can talk to us if you need to,” Lisa says before I have a chance to reply.
“Thank you, my beautiful girlfriends,” I try to tell them graciously, “but I have too much to do, for me to just lie down and wallow in self-pity.”
They give each other a look, which I ignore, and then walk away.
“Don’t even think about trying to comfort me,” I tell Areth as she rides on my shoulder. She gives a ‘humph’ before flying off to annoy Sheila. I can see Brooke giving me worried looks, but right now I just want to be left alone. I don’t need to be coddled, I just need to buckle down and take Aldol out. Once that creature is out of commission, then I can concentrate on my love life.
“So, remember how I told you I served in the Army?” Thomas asks when he approaches me. “It was tough. I never told you why I got out, though.” I look at him, wondering if this is another attempt to cheer me up after Angela’s leaving. “I had my own squad, and my commander ordered me to do something I knew was wrong. I refused, of course, but he talked some of my men into doing it.” He chuckles lightly, shaking his head. “That’s kind of how I see that light thing. He talks you into doing things you know you shouldn’t. I’m really sorry I tried to shoot you.”
“What happened to your commander?” I ask, ignoring his apology. I know it wasn’t his fault.
This time his laugh is genuine. “As far as I know he’s still in Fort Leavenworth, turning big rocks into little rocks, and being Bubba’s Bubbette every night.”
I smile at his analogy, and after a few seconds of silence, he walks away.
You know you’re going to need to face your feelings sooner or later, don’t you?
“Not you, too,” I whisper so no one else can hear. “I’ve had plenty of practice lately reigning in and controlling my emotions. I think I’ll survive.”
The walk to the Oak tree seems to take forever. I have to fight hard in order to keep my emotions in check at the sight of it. So many memories. . . .
Thankfully the bark splits for us, and a couple of trips later, we’re all safely back on Earth.
The sun is just coming up over the city buildings as we pull out of the garage.
“We’ve been gone for three weeks,” Lisa says, checking her phone.
“There goes my job,” Jennifer groans.
“I could put in a good word for you at the department,” Jewkes offers. I’m surprised at how readily the large breasted woman agrees.
“We might have a bigger problem,” Becky states. I can see she’s truly worried over something. She doesn’t give me any significant looks, so I know it’s not her concern over my well-being. “Aldol knows you’re still alive, Lyden. He also knows where we live.”
Silence sits heavily in the crowded car as we all take that in. Becky was the one most affected the last time Aldol attacked us at her place.
“I could get you police surveillance,” Jewkes states hesitantly, “but I don’t honestly think they’re equipped to deal with your sort of problems.”
“They’re not,” I state bluntly. The law enforcer grimaces. I realize I might have been a bit too blunt, but I don’t care enough right now to mollify him.
I believe I can help, here. Shemhazau, or maybe I should start calling him Murasame now, informs me that he has many bank accounts on Earth, and that we can get plenty of money to find a better place.
“But what about all our stuff?” Lisa asks when I inform them of what my blade said.
“I forbid anyone to go back there,” I say firmly, and get more than just a few dirty looks at my imperious tone.
“I’ll send a car around, and see if anyone or anything is watching it,” Jewkes tells the two women. I glare at him, but he just shrugs his shoulders. “I understand you want to keep everyone safe, Lyden, but I’m not under your jurisdiction.” He turns back to Lisa, “Give me a key, and if it looks clear, I’ll have someone move all your valuables and anything you list, out.” The two women immediately get to work listing everything they can’t lose, and from the suffering look Jewkes gets at the growing list, I can see he’s starting to regret his decision.
“Would . . . would it be alright if I stayed with you?” Ondine nervously asks Thomas. The older veteran looks nervously at me, and I just nod his way. It’s his decision, and Ondine doesn’t belong to me.
“I would be honored,” he tells her. His cheeks burn bright red as the mermaid hugs him tightly.
As soon as she lets him go, I carefully pull him aside. “I’m not going to tell you how to live your life,” I begin, “but I wanted to make sure you understand what you’re getting into.”
“Wha’d’ya mean?” he asks me, glancing over my shoulder at his new roommate.
“She’s a mermaid, not human for one, and she’s completely infatuated with you,” I state matter-of-factly.
“I may be old, Lyden, but I’m not dumb. Though she could be young enough to be my daughter,” he tells me with a grin on his face. “It was easy to figure out she wasn’t human. Hell, you tend to attract very few human women,” he gives Areth, buzzing around the compartment of the Orange Bubble, a significant glance. “And I’m not blind, either. But tell me; where is a man my age going to find a hot young thing like that, willing to be with him in our world?”
“The internet,” I reply blandly, and then ruin it with a little laugh. Man, but it feels good to smile about something! “And she might not be as young as you think,” I add, remembering how old Brooke is.
“Do you think I could convince her to get some piercings?” he asks me conspiratorially. My laugh only grows as I walk away from him. He’d been the original reason Angela had shown up as a punk that fateful day at work.
We head to the the bank and I have to sign an entire novel’s worth of forms, before they inform me that the money will be available within forty-eight hours. Thankfully Shemhazau is able to communicate with me even when we’re not together as I’d left him in the car. Somehow I think the bank would have frowned on me bringing in a large katana-like weapon.
My father informs me that he was st
eadily growing weaker, the longer we were apart. I guess that explains why Muramasa kept coming back to me, even when I didn’t want him to.
While we were at the bank, I saw that I still have enough money, and then some, in my account to get us all a hotel room to tide us over. I decide to splurge and reward my friends with a five-star experience, but after paying for the rooms I head back to the Orange Bubble to be alone.
Everyone heads up to their penthouses—I’d rented two—except for me. Even Areth is willing to change into her tiny golden dog form, but I choose to stay with the one link I still have to Angela.
My wallowing is interrupted by a knock on my car’s door.
“What is it, Arethusa?” I demand, when I sense the fairy on the other side.
“I don’t think you should be alone, right now,” she says to me. If it had been anyone else, I would have turned them away, but this is so out of character for the little fairy, that I just decide to turn away and let her back in. She didn’t even complain about me using her entire name. I’m not feeling up to arguing with her right now.
Ignoring her and crawling into the oversized bed, I’m soon fast asleep.
My dreams are filled with visions of faceless monsters, coming for me and slowly taking out my friends, one by one.
“Lyden, wake up!”
Sitting bolt upright, sweat flings from my brow before running down into my eyes, making them sting.
“You were having a nightmare,” the fairy says soothingly, placing a hand on my shoulder.
Wait a minute. . . .
My legs get tangled in the blankets as I attempt a hasty retreat from the bed, resulting in me landing face first on the floor of my car.
“Stay back!” I yell at whomever was just in bed with me. It couldn’t have been Areth, she’s not big enough to be the owner of the hand that had been on my shoulder.
“Lyden, relax! It was only a dream,” the golden pixie’s voice sounds above me as I free myself from the evil covers.
“Who are you?” I demand. Murasame’s hilt is suddenly in my grasp, and I hold the sheathed blade up, still trying to see in the dim light filtering through the curtains.
A golden glow slow brightens from my bed, and I see the fully formed body of Areth on her hands and knees, looking curiously at me. The glow is coming from her.
“Arethusa?” I ask, confused. “But how . . .?” I realize I’m still pointing my sheathed blade at her, and embarrassedly drop it.
“Gee, you sure don’t wake up easy, do you?” the normally tiny woman asks of me, trying to hide a smile behind her hand. “And stop calling me Arethusa. I hate that name,”
“How did you get so big?” I ask her, trying to hide my disgruntlement at being so terrified a moment before. “Is Marchosias back? Did he do this to you?”
“The demon?” She quirks one light-colored eyebrow at me. “Why would he. . . . Oh! Silly mortal, I can do this on my own!”
Silly mortal? Grr. . . . I’m a mortal? Does that mean she’s immortal?
“Then why haven’t you done it on your own before now?” I demand, my ire rising.
“Because there hasn’t been a reason to,” she states simply. “The way you were tossing around in your sleep, you almost crushed me twice. I figured it would be safer if I was this size.” She emphasizes her point by shrugging.
Anger turns back into embarrassment at her statement.
“Sorry,” I mutter as I get to my feet, and try to straighten the blankets some before getting back under them.
Lying on my side, facing away from the still slightly glowing fairy, I try to get back to sleep. Her arm slips around me, and I can feel her breasts pressed against my back. Despite my mood, my cock also seems to notice.
“Today really screwed you up, didn’t it?” she asks without preamble.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” I tell her, trying to keep my voice calm. I thought I’d made that clear enough, earlier.
“Well I do want to talk about it,” she huffs. “I know she means a lot to you, and you lost your father today as well.”
“I said I don’t want to talk about it,” I repeat myself, my voice full of anger. Despite everything, I can feel tears begin to fill my eyes. Why did this have to happen? I honestly don’t know which is worse: having Angela leave me again, or knowing that I killed my own father.
I’m still here with you, son, Shemhazau’s voice fills my mind.
It’s not the same, I think.
“On the other hand,” Areth continues talking as though I hadn’t, “The succubus is still alive, and you’re free of the cursed blade.”
“I’m not free of it,” I yell back. “I killed my own father, and still have the damned thing with me, only now it’s filled with the voice of my father. I will never escape the guilt of what I’ve done!” the tears are flowing in earnest now. “And Angela left because I had no choice and killed the man she saw as her father. I can’t even tell you how messed up I feel about that!”
“You’re alive,” she states then as if that should make the whole world right again.
Anger over flows through me as I roll over on top of her, and pin her arms down as I glare at her. She doesn’t understand, and I don’t know how to make her understand. My voice is loud as I scream mere inches from her face. “I’m alive? What good is that when everyone around me keeps getting hurt? Angela is gone, my father is dead, I’m saddled with a sword that is likely going to be more trouble than it’s worth, and all you can say is, ‘I’m alive’?”
“I was wondering what it would take to get you on top of me,” she says then, a smile spreading across her lips and giggling softly. I can feel her hips moving against my groin, but it still takes a few seconds for her meaning to penetrate my skull. “You haven’t hardly looked at me twice since we escaped from Marchosias’s fantasy world. I was beginning to think you didn’t care for me. Then when you found out I’d tricked you. . . . I’m glad to finally see you showing me some emotion. Treat me as you do Sheila, if you must. I can take it. Just stop ignoring me.”
I’m stunned. I mean, I know she’d said she loves me, but I hadn’t even realized how I’d been treating her. True, I didn’t know she could change her size at will, but that gives me no right to pretend as if she’s not important, or to ignore her feelings entirely.
“I-I’m sorry,” I murmur, not sure what else to say as I release my grip on her arms.
“Prove it,” she challenges me, giving another wiggle of her hips, making sure I don’t mistake her meaning.
Just because I’m feeling perverse, I state, “I’m, sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Thrice said, and done.”
Her eyes go wide for a second, before shrewdly squinting back at me. Her skin is still glowing, and as she responds, the glow brightens until it’s almost blinding. “I love you. I love you. I love you. Thrice said, and done.”
Shock ripples through my system as she states those words three times, meaning that they are undeniably true.
“What’s that phrase you mortals have? If you keep your mouth open like that, you’ll catch flies.” She laughs as I close my mouth with a click of my teeth. Her laughter grows as I continue to just stare at her, unsure of what I’m to make of the golden fairy. When her joy looks like it isn’t going to end anytime soon, I press my mouth to hers, kissing her soundly.
Her mirth turns into a moan as I grind myself against her. Underwear is the only thing either of us are wearing, and as soon as I pull away, we waste no time in removing them. I can feel her slender hands gripping my length, rubbing me against her slight slit in anticipation of our connection. When I pull my hips away, however, she groans in frustration.
“Be cruel to me if you must,” she tells me earnestly, “just please me as you have in the past.”
“I won’t be cruel to you,” I tell her softly. Bending forward, I plant a soft kiss on her neck, then another lower on her collarbone. A couple kisses later, my lips land on her sweet areola, and she gasps as I graze i
t with my teeth. I only spend a couple seconds here, before continuing my trek along her softly glowing skin, down her smooth stomach, until I reach the golden tuft of hair at the top of her pussy.
I can already smell her arousal, and can’t resist dipping my tongue into her little pot. Her back arches as I use the tip of my tongue to lightly flick her clitoris. A second later she grips my ears and pulls me forcefully against her as she cums. Energy floods me and I begin to feel giddy inside as a portion of her soul joins mine.
Bringing my right hand up, I slip my middle finger into her wet hole, and crook it against the top wall of her vagina. At the same time, I suck hard on her clit, occasionally popping it between my teeth, and enjoying how her legs twitch each time I do this.
“Oh Lyden! Thank you. Thank you for showing me a world where I don’t have to fear everyone I meet. Thank you for showing me what real pleasure is.” She sucks in a deep breath. “And thank you for making me cum again!”
Her sweet juices begin running down my chin and wetting the sheets as her legs clamp my skull, muffling her loud moans of pleasure.
As soon as her legs loosen their grip, I lift my head and look at her, smiling as she glows from more than just her magic.
“You are incredible,” she states, slightly out of breath. “I . . . um . . . want to return the favor.”
I nod at her as I climb my way back up the bed, pausing only long enough to kiss her softly, sharing her wonderful taste between us, before flopping onto my back, and waiting for her.
“What do I do?” she asks me, tucking her light tresses behind her ear, and looking between my cock and me.
“Try kissing the tip, and do whatever you’re comfortable with,” I tell her coaxingly.
She follows my advice, planting her light mouth against my tiny hole, then pulling back and licking her lips. “Salty, but not terrible.” She says, and then smacks her lips some more. “I think I taste better, though.”
Before I can formulate a response, she drops her head forward and swallows the head of my prick between her lips, causing a moan to escape my chest.