Stones of Power- Hellstone & Maelstrom

by Jenna Grey

  “I feel as if someone has hit me over the head with a brick,” Polly replied.

  Finn handed her the bottle of brandy.

  “One of us ought to be watching the news, you know. Anything could be going on.”

  Finn put his mobile on the bedside table.

  “Jack will phone if there’s any news.”

  He was right; she took the bottle of brandy and gulped down a large mouthful, making a noise like a horse with colic as it hit her.

  There was a knock, and Liam walked in without waiting for an answer. He held up a bottle of cognac and said:

  “Thought you might be able to use this.”

  Finn held the brandy up and grinned at him.

  “Great minds.”

  “Oh, okay.” Liam half turned to leave.

  “No, come in, we can share,” Finn said. Polly kept her mouth shut, but her immediate thought was ‘share what?’.

  Liam dropped down next to Polly so that she was sandwiched in between them.

  “I’m not sure about your new body, Li, it’s a bit emo. I mean you look as if you should be writing death poetry and self-harming.”

  Liam laughed.

  “I couldn’t find a priest or a nun.”

  Polly was already well on her way to seeing pink elephants and started to giggle.

  “A nun,” she said, and collapsed back, giggling hysterically.

  “You’re pissed,” Finn said, laughing as well.

  “I love you,” she said, wrapping her arms around Finn’s neck and pulling him in for a kiss. She grabbed hold of Liam with her free hand, still with one arm around Finn and tugged Liam towards her, head butting him, but managing to press her lips to his. “And I love you too.”

  Finn already had his hand up under her skirt, caressing her thighs, and she felt Liam’s fingers close over her breast, slipping under her blouse. Liam’s touch was cool on her skin, his hands just a little rough, compared to Finn’s. She was too drunk to really register what was happening, but Finn didn’t seem to be bothered that another hand had crept into the mix, so she just lay there and let them help themselves.

  Finn pulled her around to face him, seemingly untroubled that his brother was joining in; he began kissing her neck and fondling her breasts, ignoring Liam. Polly could feel Liam behind her, struggling to get his jeans open, his movements clumsy; he finally won and he spilled out, already ripe and swollen. Polly felt his hardness slip between her legs, just resting across her opening, nestling there without entering; he slipped his arms around her waist and pressed his face against the back of her neck, nuzzling her and nipping her gently. His breath was hot against her skin, sweet with the scent of the cognac. Polly still couldn’t quite believe this was happening, but the alcohol had dulled her senses enough for her to abandon all of her inhibitions and give herself completely to them.

  Polly wrapped her arms around Finn’s neck and began to kiss him, eating greedily at his mouth. She could feel Liam caressing her buttocks, stroking his slender fingers over her skin, gradually moving down so that he could slip his fingers between her legs. He pushed them up inside her as far as he could, teasing her. Polly, too drunk to care now, let the pleasure wash over her, savouring every new sensation. Finally, Finn’s fingers slid down to join Liam’s, gently rubbing over that small sweet spot at the front, while Liam’s fingers worked inside her from behind.

  Polly groped behind her awkwardly, giving a little giggle as she closed her fingers around Liam’s hardness. He laughed and gently moved her hand away, fumbling in his jean’s pocket for a condom. She looked up at Finn; he was watching Liam, his head on one side, the expression on his face one of curiosity, not anger.

  “Move down the bed a bit,” Finn said. Liam eased Polly further down the bed, so that Finn could make himself comfortable; he lay facing Polly with his groin just a couple of feet from Polly’s face so that she could take him in her mouth. She began to lick him, tiny flicks of her tongue over the rosy satin of his flesh. She was still so worried that Finn would suddenly change his mind about Liam being here, that she found it hard to concentrate on what she was doing. She let her tongue slide over the peach soft smoothness, and Finn pulled in a gasp as she slipped the tip of her tongue inside the opening, tickling over the top of it and gliding her tongue over it, making it wet with her saliva. Liam put his hands to her hips to raise her a little more but didn’t move against her, waiting for her to close her mouth over Finn, just resting against her and gently running his hands over her flesh, caressing her. Polly ignored Liam and concentrated on Finn, nuzzling his hardness, gently nibbling on him and forcing small moans from him as she nipped him. She took the meat between her teeth and bit down just a little harder, glancing up to see what expression Finn wore on his face. He had his eyes closed, his head thrown back and he looked as if he was enjoying every second of it. She closed her mouth over him, taking as much of him in as she could; he was so hard now she had to open her mouth wider than she would have liked to get him all in. She evened her breathing and relaxed, trying hard not to gag. Little by little, she took more of it into her mouth, slowly at first, then letting it go deeper in.

  “Oh, that is so good,” Finn said. He cast a glance at Liam and gave a little nod.

  Liam thrust himself into Lily with one fast, long movement that took her breath away. He hit the back of her, not hard, but enough to make her cry out. As soon as Liam hit home, she began to move up and down on Finn, sucking and caressing him with her tongue, biting gently into the flesh every so often. She took as much of him in as she could, relaxing her throat muscles, and moving up and down on him slowly, trying not to gag as he hit the back of her throat. She heard him gasp, and then moan, as she took in his entire length, trying to find the same rhythm that Liam had found at the other end. Liam moved against her cautiously, almost pulling himself out every time, almost, but not quite, then pushing himself in again hard, making her draw in her breath every time. Once they got into the same rhythm, it became easier, and she could move against Finn and ride up and down on Liam at the same time, letting him do most of the work. She sucked Finn hard, feeling him shudder with each press of her lips. He laced his fingers in her hair, and she could feel excitement building with every convulsive movement of his body, hear it with every moan.

  Liam pushed against her harder now, forcing himself into her as far as he could and it almost hurt, the pain mingling with the other sensations into something unimaginably wonderful. There was a slightly salt-bitter taste in her mouth, and she knew that Finn was close to coming, but she eased back a little so that he would last a bit longer. She knew that Liam was close too, as he lost his rhythm and thrust into her so fast and so hard she thought she’d suffocate on Finn because she had no time to get her breath between each frantic thrust. They both held off as long as they could, not wanting it to be over. She pulled off Finn for a moment, just licking and sucking around him, getting her breath back, her breathing so ragged that she felt herself going dizzy. Liam just moved against her gently, easing himself in and out with slow, languorous movements, idling while they got their breath back. He caressed her, moving his hands up and down her body, then bent forward and kissed her again, cupping his hands over her breasts.

  She took Finn in her mouth again, and they found their rhythm; it was only a few minutes before Finn gave one muted scream, forcing himself so hard into her that she gagged as he came. Liam pounded against her so hard that it was almost too much, but she could feel a burning throb building in her body as she rubbed herself harder against him and that spot just at her opening began to burn white hot.

  Polly held her breath as she felt him almost ready to come, his breath quickening and erratic. She wanted them to come together, and she forced herself not to orgasm before he did. She hung on until he was almost there and then she tipped over the edge, feeling that delicious throbbing between her legs. It brought him as well, in one astonishing burst of ecstasy that blotted out everything else.

  Behind
her Liam came at almost the same time she did, pouring himself into her. He closed his hands over her buttocks and moved with her as she rode him and she threw her head back, feeling the length of him hitting hard against the back of her because he was in so deep. She felt him throbbing into her in steady bursts, and she stifled a scream as his body stiffened and he dug his fingers hard into the tops of her arms, his teeth clenched as he rode the orgasm. Finn had suddenly gone limp beneath her; she collapsed on top of him, laughing, smothering his body with kisses.

  Liam was still inside her, still throbbing out the last of his orgasm, bringing her again, and she jerked her head back as her body spasmed and shuddered with the fire that burnt through her body. She looked up at Finn. He had his head resting back, his face slack with pleasure and such contentment that it made her smile. Liam pulled out of her and crawled up beside them, while Finn rested against the headboard with his eyes closed, a smile plastered on his face.

  “So are we all good, bro?” Liam asked.

  “Better ask Polly,” Finn said, opening one eye.

  “We’re all good,” she said. “And I think I’m going to throw up.”

  “She’s good,” Liam said, and rolling over was snoring before Polly reached the bathroom.

  Polly looked down at the bowl of soggy cornflakes and realised that she’d been sitting staring at them for about twenty minutes. She had the worse hangover in history and thought that if Hel showed up now, she might just agree to swap places with her just to get rid of it. But despite all the misery and feeling as if a herd of elephants had trampled over her, she still felt more able to cope than she had done since this nightmare begun. Liam and Finn finally seemed to have made their peace and last night, what she could remember of it had been good, although she wasn’t quite sure what had happened. All she did remember were a lot of naked arms and legs and flailing about like some bizarre game of Twister. At least the two men in her life didn’t seem to hate one another now.

  The kettle boiled and she put the tea in the pot – no tea bags in this house, Bert would have a seizure. She tried not to worry about him, but she was worried. He’d been so strong, the backbone they needed right now, but it was beginning to take its toll; he couldn’t take this kind of punishment forever. He had sacrificed so much for her, done so much for her, and he had never been under any obligation to do it. Yes, he had been a friend of her grandparents back in the day, and yes he was sort of her father in law now, twice over, but he had gone above and beyond the call of duty, simply because it was the right thing to do. For all of his love and kindness his courage and his strength, she had grown to love him, almost as much as she’d loved her grandmother. The thought of anything happening to him was too terrible for her to think about. She suddenly realised that she was missing him; she hadn’t seen him this morning, but thought that was probably a good thing. He needed to get as much rest as he could, ready for the next onslaught.

  She’d make him a nice cup of tea and take it up to him.

  She put a couple of Hobnobs on the saucer for him to dip, and knocked lightly on the door. There was no answer, so she knocked again. Still no answer. She called through the door, concern suddenly nipping at her with sharp little teeth – still nothing. She went in.

  Bert was lying on the bed, fully clothed, the sheets beneath him scarlet, the blood stain blossoming outwards like petals across the bed.

  Polly dropped the cup, screaming for Finn and Liam. They both came running, still half naked and stood behind her in the doorway, staring at their father.

  “What the fuck?” Liam asked, bending over Bert, horror-stricken.

  Polly knelt beside the bed, so afraid, so numb that the room started to spin around her.

  “Is he alive?” she asked. Liam felt for a pulse and let out a sigh of relief when he found it.

  “Yes, but he’s lost a lot of blood,” Liam said. Polly could smell it in the air, that horrible smell like raw meat and copper, bitter on her tongue. She couldn’t work out for a minute where the blood was coming from.

  Then Polly saw Bert’s left hand, swathed in a bloody tea towel.

  “Oh my God, what’s he done?” Finn asked.

  Liam stood and made for the door. “We need to get him to a hospital. Let me get dressed. I’ll phone for an ambulance.”

  Polly carefully unwound the cloth from Bert’s hand and stared down at the devastation. Two of his fingers were missing, and a third almost cut through. It was still bleeding heavily. There was no sign of the missing fingers.

  “We need to put pressure on it,” Finn said, “Wrap it tightly, as tightly as you can. We’ll get him to A & E.”

  “How in God’s name did this happen?’ Polly asked.

  Bert was beginning to come round, moaning slightly. He half opened his eyes and stared up into his son’s face.

  “It’s okay, Dad, we’ll get you to hospital. We need your fingers, where are they? It might not be too late to reattach them.”

  Liam came back in, clutching Finn’s phone and a first aid kit.

  “No, they’re gone,” Bert murmured. “I’ll be fine. You can heal me, Liam, I don’t need a hospital. Just stop the bleeding.”

  “You need an ambulance, Dad,” Liam insisted.

  Bert shook his head.

  “No, they’ll ask too many questions. I’ll be fine. Liam, just heal me and put a few stitches in if you need to.”

  “What the bloody hell is going on, Dad?” Finn demanded. “How did this happen?”

  “It doesn’t matter right now,” Liam said, “There’s time for explanations later.”

  Polly didn’t need to wait for answers; she knew already.

  “I know,” Polly said, angry. “This was the blood sacrifice, wasn’t it? You petitioned the gods, and because you wouldn’t hurt another soul, you sacrificed your own flesh and blood.”

  Bert sighed.

  “It had to be done, and this was the least harmful way to do it. They heard, I know they heard.”

  Finn’s face was thunderous,

  “For fuck sake, Dad.”

  “He did the right thing. I would have done the same,” Liam said. Finn just gave him a look that would have crumbled concrete. Liam laid his hands over the bloody stumps and closed his eyes, muttering something under his breath. Polly had known that Liam was the healer of the family; his gifts were clairvoyance and healing, but she hadn’t quite understood how much natural power he had. Almost the instant he laid his hands on Bert, his father visibly relaxed, some colour returning to his face, and what Polly could only describe as the spark of life returning to him. Liam looked totally drained, his already pale face taking on a deathly pallor.

  “Finn, go and get some of Dad’s healing salve and some of his pain potion. Polly, if you go to the kitchen there are some sewing things in the drawer, bring them up here, will you?”

  Polly found the sewing kit and watched as Liam stitched the open ends of the wounds, pulling the skin over the raw meat and white bone, to close it up. He worked with surprising expertise, and she couldn’t help but wonder how many times he’d had to perform triage before.

  She helped Liam dress the wounds, putting a great wad of gauze around it, and bandaging it tightly. Bert hardly seemed to feel it, which couldn’t possibly be, because he must have been in agony. Then she noticed the glass full of some red concoction on the table beside the bed and knew that it must have been something to kill the pain.

  “He’ll be all right. He’ll need to take it easy for a while,” Liam said.

  Finn was still furious.

  “We really didn’t need this right now. It was stupid and indulgent, Dad. The last thing we need is a bloody martyr. How the hell can you say that this is the right thing?”

  “Because we are dealing with things here we don’t have a hope of controlling and this might be the only thing that can save us,” he said, his voice quietly authoritative. Finn mumbled something under his breath but said:

  “Leave him to rest. I’ll g
ive Jack a ring and tell him what’s happened. I’m pretty sure he won’t be impressed.”

  Liam gave Finn a truly unpleasant look.

  “Finn, Dad knows what he’s doing. He asked us to trust him, and I for one do. My gut tells me that this was the right thing to do, and I think one day, we’ll be bloody glad he did it.”

  The opening bars of Carry on my Wayward Son, broke the uncomfortable silence. Liam answered it. Polly felt her heart skip a few beats; no more, not now. She didn’t think she could bear it.

  “What’s the betting that’s not good news?” Finn said.

  Liam’s face didn’t give anything away. He hit the end call button, just stared at them for a few moments, then said:

  “That was Jack. They’ve got Dalbert Winchard in custody.”

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  “How?” Polly asked.

  Liam looked a little dazed.

  “Apparently he got a phone call from Dad, telling him that he’d located Winchard. I don’t know any more than that. He said he’d phone back, he had to sort something out, but just wanted us to know they have him.”

  “So the ritual paid off,” Polly said, ecstatic that something had finally gone right for them.

  Finn just glared at her, and she shrank back, the grin dropping from her face.

  “Oh, yeah terrific, and Dad loses the use of his hand and almost bleeds to death in the process. A roaring bloody success.”

  Polly wasn’t sure if she should say anything else or keep her mouth firmly shut – she decided to go on to risk Finn’s wrath.

  “But Finn, we might be able to get Winchard to talk and tell us where Gaunt is. Once they’re out of the way―”

  “Polly is safe,” Liam finished, and there was a real sting in his words. “I know Dad would think that was a fair trade. All the time Gaunt and Winchard are out there, Polly is in danger. I’d say it was worth making a few sacrifices to keep her safe.”

  Finn’s ears grew very red, and she could see his fury just bubbling under the surface.