“Traitor,” Kirril mumbled. “Here I am worrying my ass off, and she’s warm, dry, and enjoying herself.”
For all his words, he was clearly relieved. As we passed onto Vesper, we saw him sulking in the arms of another woman, this time with fiery-red hair. She was clutching him between her generous breasts, much to my friend’s dismay, and for the first time, he seemed to realize that a cute bunny shape might not be so safe after all.
I’d have actually thought that the road was deceiving Kirril and me with these somewhat comforting images, but then, I looked into Larue’s orb. Unlike the other two, he didn’t seem to be even reasonably at ease with his current circumstances. In fact, he was at present attempting to fight off something that looked like a huge black feline.
“Oh, no,” I gasped out. “It’s going to hurt him.”
Bowie snorted, but finally said, “For your peace of mind, I’m going to take you there. It looks like you’ll bore me with your whining until I do.”
It was the last warning I got before the world shifted once more. I had the foresight to cling to Kirril, so I didn’t feel as confused and off-balance as I had been the last time. However, that didn’t change the shock I experienced at the change in scenery. This time, the barren desert had disappeared, replaced by a rocky mountain. High upon the peaks, a quiet castle lay, its dark towers making me shiver with apprehension.
“Well, I guess that’s our destination,” Kirril said. “Come on.”
I half expected the path to actually make another comment, but it didn’t. As such, I clung to Kirril’s hand as he led me toward the large castle gates. He seemed to have no fear, and I found comfort in that. Oddly enough, his cloak, still wrapped around me, made me feel a little safer, although that thought made very little sense.
We reached our destination completely undisturbed. The gates were guarded by huge gargoyles, one of whom was grinning, the other weeping. I could have probably flown over the fence, but somehow, I had a feeling it wouldn’t be that easy.
Before we could take a decision on that account, a sudden voice startled me from my contemplation of the castle. In a way, Bowie’s appearance had prepared me for anything, though, and I couldn’t say I was very surprised when the laughing gargoyle said, “Hi. We have a lot of visitors today. Come right in.”
The gates slowly opened, revealing a quiet courtyard of stone and the looming castle in the distance. “I’m so happy,” the weeping gargoyle said. “We won’t be so lonely anymore.”
“Err…Thanks,” Kirril replied, obviously uncertain what to make of this new development. “We appreciate your help.”
“Oh, and he’s polite, too.” The first guardian laughed. “I’m sure we’ll have lots of fun together.”
For some reason, his words made me bristle. “The only person he’ll have fun with is me. Got that?”
Kirril blinked in shock, while the crying gargoyle sobbed harder, its tears falling onto the ground and turning into dust. “Oh, that’s so sweet. He’s possessive. Isn’t young love just grand?”
“Especially when one of the lovers runs around naked all the time,” his companion pointed out.
I decided that if I was going to remain in human shape for much longer, I needed to find more clothes. I didn’t actually need them, but for the purpose of decency, it seemed they were necessary.
For the moment, I pushed back those thoughts as irrelevant. My friend was somewhere beyond these gates, perhaps in danger of being eaten by a huge cat. Grabbing Kirril’s hand, I ignored the still chortling and sobbing gargoyles, as well as the sound of the gates closing behind us with a resounding bang. We didn’t let it discourage us, however, and we crossed the courtyard, walking all the way to the huge castle doors.
Similarly enthusiastic gargoyles awaited us and allowed us entrance before we even reached for the dishearteningly large knocker shaped like a large lion head. “So far so good,” Kirril murmured. “Be ready. It can’t be as easy as it seems.”
I nodded, very much aware that if the owner of this castle had kidnapped Larue, he or she wouldn’t release my friend just like that. We walked into a dark, large foyer, the sound of our footsteps obscenely loud on the marble floor. I suppressed the urge to call out “hello,” just to hear how it echoed against the walls.
Every shadow seemed to hide an enemy, so I was more than a little relieved when all of a sudden, torches flared to life. My instincts sensed a new presence, and as I turned, I saw a tall, dark elf descending a wide staircase. He was carrying a black cat, which I assumed must have been the one I’d seen toying with Larue. Of course, it would have only been huge for Larue because of my friend’s small size. Eyeing the feline, I tried to assess if I could see a Larue-shaped bump in its stomach, but I couldn’t tell.
I glowered at the elf, obviously the owner of this huge castle. “You took our friend,” I said without preamble. “Return him to us.”
The elf chuckled. “You certainly aren’t shy about what you want.”
“Mmmmm,” the cat said, lazily stretching against the elf’s chest. “Relax, Dineiro. Your friend is just fine. I’ll take you to see him soon. But first, welcome to my castle.”
“Your castle?” my mate inquired, obviously surprised. “You’re a cat.”
The feline snickered, and I, of course, realized there was more to it than what appearances showed. “That’s what you think, dragon slayer. I am Dr. Victor Frankenstein. You can call me Victor or Doctor, if you so prefer. I’m the owner of this lovely residence.”
It was certainly something, although I wouldn’t have called it lovely. But I had more important things to worry about than the state of Victor Frankenstein’s castle.
“This is Igor, my assistant,” the cat continued, unaware or ignoring my less than pacified attitude.
“Your assistant,” Kirril repeated. “What exactly does he do?”
“Mostly, he grooms me,” he replied steadily, “feeds me, you know, that sort of thing.” He purred contentedly as the elf, Igor apparently, scratched his ear. “He also found me a mate.”
At that, alarm bells started to ring in my head. “A mate? You don’t mean…”
“Larue, yes. Come. We’ll show you to him.”
“Don’t look so surprised,” Igor told me. “Surely, you must have known that your friend would someday find his other half.”
“Well, yes,” I replied morosely, “but I didn’t think it would be like this.”
Igor shook his head, and I honestly couldn’t read him at all. He started to go back up the stairs and gestured for us to follow.
It was Kirril who spoke next. “You said you were a doctor. What exactly do you do, if I’m not being indiscreet?”
“Well, yes. I’m actually an engineer.” He perked up, his black feline ears twitching in obvious excitement. “Technology is the future, my dear dragon, and I’ve found a perfect way to further our advancement.”
Before he could elaborate on that, his assistant stopped in front of a large door. The moment Igor pushed it open and we stepped inside, I found myself pounced on by a familiar, small figure.
“Dini!” Larue screeched. “Oh, Goddess…You have to see this.”
I sneezed as his wings excitedly beat around me, sending pixie dust all over the place. Larue fortunately realized it and flew a little farther. Much to my surprise, he sat in Igor’s arms, or rather, on the cat.
“I see you’ve made yourself quite comfortable here,” I drawled at him.
“Well, it was kind of scary at first, but now…” He shrugged and absently petted the black cat. I wondered if he even realized what he was doing it. “You really have to see it, Dini. It’s amazing.”
I was really intrigued now, and rightly so, it would seem. Igor walked to what seemed to be a large screen with a slab of glowing symbols in front of it. On the screen, letters appeared, forming what seemed to be a message. “I call it magical mail, m-mail, for short. It’s largely fueled by the magic of the user, so Igor and I have only had
moderate success with it. Larue, however, has mastered it with ease and is able to communicate at great distances now.”
Larue nodded excitedly. “I m-mailed Vesper, and he replied just now. You should try it, Dini. With the magic you hold, it’ll be a snap.”
My mate gave the item a skeptical look. “It could be a trick.”
Doctor Frankenstein scoffed, sounding affronted. “It’s science. Count Vlad is quite open-minded and was among the first who purchased the experimental product from me. Besides, I would not play a trick on Larue.”
I trailed my finger over the slab, wondering how it worked. The symbols seemed to send energy into my palm, and as if I’d known this magic forever, I created a message for our bunny friend. It obediently appeared on the screen, just like I’d wanted.
“Very good,” the doctor said approvingly. “Now, just think about your friend and the message will instantly be sent to him. It is very easy as Count Vlad owns a device himself. I’m working on further applications of my invention. I hope that once I’m done, we’ll be able to communicate with people all over the world. Even Arthuria.”
My mate actually seemed interested now. “That would be very useful. Arthurians need to learn more about Merlinians. We have a lot of mistaken perceptions, and I’m only finding it out now, through Dini.”
Victor actually looked a little impressed. “You’re quite correct, Prince Kirril. And you are in the perfect position to change that.”
The machine made a sound, and I saw that I had indeed received a message. “Dini!” it said. “Save me. These women are…They’re perfuming my fur. I can’t bear it.”
I snickered and wrote back. “The solution is easy. Change shapes. Then you won’t be so cute anymore.”
He didn’t reply again, and I wondered if I needed to be worried about that. As if guessing my thoughts, our host said, “Don’t be concerned. Count Vlad won’t allow any real harm to come to your friend. At most, he’ll end up harassed by Vlad’s harem. It always happens to me when I visit.”
“Perhaps we could go see them, too,” I said hopefully.
“I’d advise against that,” Igor replied. “The sun will be rising soon. If you leave the castle, you’ll end up back in your normal Merlinian reality.”
The cat nodded sagely. “Right now, you’ve slipped into an alternate dimension only accessible at night. You’re still in Merlinia, but one different from yours. My castle will keep you here, just like any of your chosen homes would have kept you in your usual dimension.”
That made sense, although I still had many questions, with the most important one being the identity of the spirit hunters. Also, how in the world had night passed so quickly?
But then, time and space had little meaning in Merlinia, and in some respects, I was used to these oddities. “Perhaps you’ll care to get some sleep,” Igor suggested. “I’m sure that you and Prince Kirril still have a great deal of things to discuss once you awaken.”
The way his black eyes glinted suggested that he was aware of my desire for Kirril. It was probably very easy to see. I hadn’t left Kirril’s side since we’d entered the castle, and no matter what I did, I always attempted to touch him.
Maybe Igor was right. I was pretty reassured that my friends were safe. Vesper’s fur aside, it didn’t seem like any damage had come to them. The time had come for me to solve my own problems.
I smiled at the elf. “I think I’ll take you up on that invitation.”
Chapter Six:
In Which Our Characters Censored
Igor the elf led us to the guest wings, where two rooms had already been assigned to us. After showing us around, he promptly took his leave. With a brief, mysterious smirk, Dineiro disappeared into his quarters. I could do nothing but follow his example.
For all the apparent gloominess of the castle, the chambers I’d been given were quite comfortable. All right, so there were a couple of paintings that I suspected gave me a long look as I passed them, but I was slowly getting used to the oddity. For a brief moment, I entertained the thought that this might be nothing more than an elaborate dream. Perhaps in the morning, I’d wake up soaking wet from another rain, with Magda watching over me. Somehow, the notion scared me, and I had the urge to go next door and see if Dineiro was there, if he was real.
I didn’t get the chance to embarrass myself by rushing to the dragon’s quarters, as a knock sounded at my door. Hastily, I opened it, and to my poorly disguised relief, found Dineiro at the other side. He was still wearing my cloak and nothing else, and for some reason, the sight of him in just that awoke a possessiveness inside me that I didn’t dare analyze too deeply.
He smiled shyly when I gestured him inside. “I wanted to talk to you,” he whispered, fiddling with the edges of the cloak as if nervous.
“Sure,” I told him, my mouth suddenly dry. He stepped into the room, and I closed the door behind him, my heart suddenly beating a million miles an hour. I remembered all too well what Bowie had said about his hobbies. Matchmaking. Where did that leave Dineiro and me? I was pretty sure the attraction didn’t exist solely on my side, but I might be seeing what I wanted to see.
For a few seconds, he just looked around the room, his gaze lingering on the mysterious paintings. Finally, he turned toward me and pressed his body against mine. Before I knew what was going on, soft lips crushed mine in a clumsy, but passionate kiss that took my breath away.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I was no stranger to men taking their pleasure with other men. As a soldier, I’d had plenty of satisfying romps during our campaigns. But all of my experienced amounted to just that, empty pleasure and carnal satisfaction.
I’d never complained, of course. In a way, I hadn’t even acknowledged that it bothered me. But in my heart, I’d always known something was missing. In this simple, innocent kiss, I’d found that something.
It was truly nothing more than a closemouthed lip-lock, and yet, it held more passion and desire than anything I’d ever experienced. I had no clue as to how this was possible. Perhaps Dineiro really did have magic and had enchanted me from the very moment we’d first met. If it was so, I prayed to all the gods in existence that the spell would never break.
Groaning, I slid my hands under the cloak, touching him like I’d wanted from the very first moment I’d seen in him in shifted form. His skin was soft, and also apparently quite sensitive. No sooner had my fingertips come in contact with his body than he released a tiny moan of pleasure, his hard member insistently poking my thigh and demanding my attention. I took advantage of it and thrust my tongue into his mouth, tasting him for the very first time.
Kisses had never been extraordinarily enjoyable before. They’d been like a milestone to hit in the journey for something more interesting, and neither my partners nor I had wanted to linger on them. However, when I sampled Dineiro’s flavor, I completely revised my original assessment. He tasted like plums, fire, and something else that I couldn’t even hope to identify. And his passion…Gods…He melted against me as I ravished his mouth, making small noises of pleasure that had me harder than I ever remembered being. For fuck’s sake, I could already feel my orgasm closing in, sizzling in my balls, and we’d only shared one kiss.
Granted, he had been parading half-naked around me for the past couple of hours. I was surprised I hadn’t lost it until now and taken matters—so to speak—into my own hands. But at the same time, I was overjoyed that I had waited. In fact, I’d wait for as long as he needed me to, if I had the promise that we’d be together in the end.
I didn’t know where that thought had come from and how I’d gone from dragon slayer to dragon lover. Lover? Was love what I felt for Dineiro? It couldn’t be, right? Bards and poets eternally sang odes to this emotion, but I’d never experienced it, not in a romantic sense, at least. My affection for my parents, brothers, and Magda was nothing like this.
The thought distracted me and gave me the apparently impossible ability to break the kiss. “I think it’s safe
to say we need to talk about this,” I said, panting. It wasn’t exactly unwarranted. He himself had wanted to discuss something with me before he’d suddenly pounced. Not that I was complaining, but unfortunately, a part of me was studiously ignoring that he was over two hundred years old. He just seemed too pure for words, and I didn’t want to hurt him.
“Can we talk later?” he purred, wrapping his arms around my neck to pull me back toward him. “I’d like to mate now.”
My mind just about melted at that, easily translating “mate” into “fuck” and “yes, Gods, yes.” Of course, it could have been my cock doing the translating, and in that case, he could have said anything from Magda’s my daughter to There’s a war going on between Arthuria and Morganna, and I’d have heard the same thing.
I undid the cloak still shielding his body and picked him up. “All right, baby. Whatever you want.”
I crossed the room, heading toward the huge bed dominating the area. As I placed him on the bed, I added, “We’re going to mate.”
His eyes widened, and all of a sudden, he looked startled. I stepped back, wondering what I’d said, or if I’d done something that could have frightened him. “What is it?” I asked, trying to keep my voice calm and soothing.
“I can’t force you into something you don’t understand,” he replied, curling into a ball and in the process hiding his lovely erection from me. My cock wanted to protest that it, and I, understood the situation just fine, but Dineiro seemed in distress, and trying to push him would solve nothing.
Therefore, I sat on the edge of the bed and took refuge in the discipline instilled into me throughout my life as an Arthurian. “Tell me, Dini. Tell me what you came here to say.”
My Mate's a Dragon Slayer? Page 5