Eternal Palace (Sexcraft Chronicles Book 4)

by Edmund Hughes

  She planted a kiss on the tip of his erection, and Malcolm felt pleasure surge into him from the point of contact. Her lips slowly parted, and she brought her head down, pulling him into a warm, wet paradise of mouth and tongue.

  Maybe this is just one of the perks of the job?

  He watched her slowly begin to suck, half dazed from the pleasure of it. The woman knew exactly what she was doing, and Malcolm wasn’t all that surprised. She didn’t even know his name, yet, and they were already fooling around. Though, she knew that he was one of the gifted, a champion, and perhaps that detail was all that really mattered to her.

  The woman’s hand stroked the base of his shaft, while her tongue and lips pleasured the tip and upper half. She was confident, deliberate, and beautiful. Malcolm reached his hand out and ran it across her cheek. The woman took it as encouragement, and slid her lips down even further.

  Her tongue was doing a little trick, tapping and teasing the sensitive underside of his erection. She was looking at him, her green eyes locked onto his, full of excitement and pride. It was as though she felt like she was getting more out of it than he was, and maybe that was true, in way.

  “Oh…” Malcolm ran his hand through her hair. “Hey… I’m about to…”

  The woman moved started moving her mouth faster. Her lips made a tight seal around his shaft, unyielding, even as Malcolm passed over the edge. He bucked his hips upward and groaned as the pleasure hit him in an incredible burst. The woman kept sucking, running one hand along his thigh, encouraging him to unload in her hot mouth.

  And he did.

  CHAPTER 3

  Malcolm was drained from the experience. He leaned his head back in the bed, closing his eyes for a moment. His day had been incredible, and there was still so much waiting for him outside. It was a little intimidating, now that he had a chance to think about it.

  “Smile!” The woman slid up next to him in bed, taking a selfie of the two of them before Malcolm had a chance to say anything. “That one’s for my Instagram.”

  “Hey,” he said. “That’s kind of rude.”

  He stood up and started pulling his pants on. The woman kept taking photos.

  “Hey!” he said, a little louder.

  “Relax,” she said. “They’re just photos. And they’re going to be worth a fortune. The first intimate photos of a new champion, not even an hour into his powers.”

  “Are you… being serious right now?”

  The woman took another photo. Malcolm scowled, reaching out with the wind and trying to knock the phone out of her hand. She clutched it to her naked breasts and glared at him.

  “If you try to hurt me, I swear to god I’ll start filming!” she said. “Do you want that to be the world’s first impression of you?”

  Malcolm massaged his temples.

  “Okay, I’m gonna go,” he said.

  If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.

  She followed him, taking photos even as he walked out her front door and into the street. The news copter had apparently gone off in another direction, and there was no media presence waiting for him.

  He wasn’t sure what, exactly, to do next. He’d left his backpack on campus, but there wasn’t much in it that he needed, beyond some textbooks and an extra hooded sweatshirt. Heading home would mean submerging himself into the media frenzy again. There was no doubt that the press would have his apartment staked out.

  Malcolm started walking down the sidewalk, headed in a direction that would take him toward the outskirts of town. He felt for his powers again, but didn’t use them, remembering how he’d been swept up in the sensation last time. The powers had an allure to them, a mysterious intensity that pulled him in.

  He’d been walking for close to ten minutes when a black BMW slowed to a stop next to him. Malcolm sighed and forced a smile onto his face, figuring that he might have to sign an autograph, or maybe pose for a photo.

  The tinted driver’s side window rolled down and a young woman smiled at him from behind it. She was attractive, and probably close to the same age as him. She had blonde hair, green eyes, and a curious confidence about her, as though she knew something important that he didn’t.

  “You aren’t going to run off again, are you?” she asked. “It took us far longer than we expected to pinpoint your location, young man.”

  Malcolm snorted.

  “Young man?” he asked. “You’re like, the same age as me. And… wait a second, what did you just say?”

  The girl opened the door of the car and stepped out of it. The first thing Malcolm noticed was that she had an amazing figure. She wore a long sleeve grey blouse and black leggings, and the clothes were tight enough to show off her small, well-formed breasts and a solid, athletic butt.

  She was shorter than he was by quite a bit, but the way she moved made him think that her height suited her perfectly. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail, and she nodded to him, extending her hand to shake his.

  “Malcolm, right?” she asked. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m with the United States Champion Authority.”

  Malcolm felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up straight. He’d heard nothing but good things about USCA and champions in general. They were a force for peace in the world, protecting the civilian population against the sprytes and demons that had come into existence at the start of the Phenomenon, along with more mundane threats.

  It was either a spryte or a demon that killed my family. This is exactly what I’ve wanted, all this time.

  He realized that he’d been staring at the girl for several silent seconds and quickly cleared his throat.

  “Uh, yeah, I’m Malcolm,” he said. “And you are…?”

  “You can call me Tapestry,” said the girl. “Will you come with us without a fight?”

  Her question prompted several of the other doors of the car to open in unison. Malcolm watched as a short, balding man with tufts of red hair clinging to the crown of his head stepped out of the passenger side. And both back seats. Three identical copies of the man stood watching him, only differentiated by their clothing.

  “That’s Multi,” said Tapestry.

  The nearest of the copies stepped toward Malcolm, while the other two circled around behind him.

  “It’s nice to meet you, Wind Runner,” said the Multi in front of him.

  “Uh… Wind Runner?” Malcolm shook his head in confusion. Tapestry cleared her throat, pulled out her phone, and spent a couple of seconds looking for something. She passed it to him, and Malcolm found himself staring at a selfie that the naked woman, who was apparently named Emily, had taken and posted to Instagram.

  Just hooked up with a champion! #Wind Runner

  “It’s catchy,” said Multi. “I think it’s going to stick, whether you want it to or not.”

  “Uh…” Malcolm just shook his head, totally at a loss for words.

  “Right…” said Multi. “I’m Ted Shelton, also known as Multi. I’m the Executive Director of the Greater Vanderbrook USCA chapter.”

  He shook Malcolm’s hand.

  “Okay,” said Malcolm. “So… what now?”

  Tapestry smiled at him. Each of the Multis set a hand on his shoulder or back, and pushed him toward the open backseat door of the BMW.

  “Now, you come with us,” said Tapestry.

  CHAPTER 4

  Malcolm sat between two identical Multis in the back of the BMW, feeling awkward and tense. He’d asked several questions immediately after the ride had begun, mostly about what was happening to him, and where they were taking him. The Multis had each just shaken their head at him. Tapestry told him that he’d have his answers soon enough.

  They drove into the outskirts of town, across the badly maintained roads that cut through the wilderness preserve that touched Vanderbrook on the south and west edges. The sky grew cloudier as they got further out, and it almost felt like a reflection of Malcolm’s own mood.

  This whole “being a champion” thing h
as gone from fun to serious in a very short amount of time.

  He frowned, also feeling a little annoyed that he was sitting in the middle seat, and didn’t really have a window to look out of, other than the one straight ahead. Tapestry glanced back at him over her shoulder and smiled reassuringly.

  “Hey,” she said. “You look a little overwhelmed.”

  “Well, I feel it,” he said, furrowing his brow. “I’m more than a little outside my comfort zone, right now. It would help if you’d explain a little more.”

  “We do it this way for a reason,” said Tapestry. “Trust me, we don’t mean you any harm. It’s all part of the process.”

  Malcolm nodded, but her words only made him want answers more. Tapestry turned the car onto a dirt road, driving them down a stretch where the trees were tall and thick with branches, choking out most of the sun’s light.

  At the end of the road, Tapestry brought the car to a stop outside of a large, dome shaped building. It was built on the edge of a hill, just past where the trees thinned out into a clearing. He parked the car next to a truck and a motorcycle, and everyone climbed out.

  “We’re heading inside,” said Multi. “You’ve been very cooperative so far, Malcolm. Just don’t freak out or doing anything impulsive, okay?”

  Malcolm was about to ask what he meant by that when Tapestry came up beside him, setting one hand on his shoulder and smiling cordially. Her other hand was positioned on top of a small bulge on the side of her waist.

  A gun. Somehow, I doubt I can do much about that with the wind.

  “Fair enough,” said Malcolm. “Look, I came with you guys willingly. I just want to know what’s going on, and uh, I guess what I’m supposed to do now?”

  “We know,” said Tapestry. “And I’m sorry that we have to take this approach with you. It’s just how the Champion Authority brings in new recruits. Standard procedure.”

  Malcolm nodded, walking alongside her as she gently guided him forward by the shoulder. Two of the Multis went ahead, inputting passcodes into a keypad next to a large, metal door at the front of the dome.

  “This is the Vanderbrook HQ,” said Tapestry. “We just call it ‘The Dome’ for short. It’s where all of the local champions report in for briefings and missions.”

  “Local champions?” Malcolm raised an eyebrow at her. “In Vanderbrook?”

  His hometown had just under fifty thousand residents, and the only champions he’d ever heard of appeared right at the start of the Phenomenon, five years earlier. A few sprytes and demons, such as the one that murdered his family, passed through the town occasionally, but as far as he knew, there were no champions currently in residence.

  “Well, I guess I’m the only true local champion,” said Tapestry. “Multi and Morph are transplants from other parts of the country. And I guess technically you now, too.”

  “What?” Malcolm shook his head, frowning. “Why haven’t I heard of you, then? Most people who are gifted get serious media attention.”

  “That’s a common misconception,” said Tapestry. “I gained my gift three years ago, in the comfort of my own home. My power isn’t flashy, and it wasn’t exactly hard for me avoid the media and contact the USCA discretely.”

  Malcolm looked from her, back to the Multis, as the group of them started down a metal hallway with strips of LEDs lighting it from the ceiling.

  “Multi… Morph…” he repeated. “Those names do sound… a little familiar, now.”

  “Multi was one of the champions who did the toy line last year,” said Tapestry, smiling. “And Morph has done a few commercials, though she really isn’t much of a fan of acting.”

  The three Multis all cleared their throats in unison.

  “Enough,” said the one in the lead. “We have to give him the tests before we let him in on anything further.”

  Multi took a turn through a door on the right-hand side of the hallway, his two clones standing guard just outside. Tapestry walked in with him, and a third champion, one that Malcolm recognized on sight, stood in the center of the room, getting a chair ready.

  “You’re… Morph,” said Malcolm, pointing at her.

  She was a tiny woman in her mid-twenties, with brown hair, glasses, and a mousey face. Her power allowed her to transform into the last animal she’d touched, and she’d showed it off in a commercial for PETA that had run during the Super Bowl the previous year, bringing her an enormous amount of international attention.

  “I don’t like to go by my champion name, normally,” said the mousey woman. “Just call me Anna, please.”

  “Malcolm,” said Malcolm. “Hey… wait a second. Anna… Morph? Seriously? That’s a perfect fit, given your powers.”

  Anna rolled her eyes at him.

  “Yes, like the books, I know,” she said, dryly. “If you only knew how many times I’ve heard the joke before…”

  “Anna,” said Multi, cutting the conversation short. “Get the straps on him.”

  “The straps?” asked Malcolm. “That’s not really necessary, is it?”

  “Malcolm,” said Tapestry. “If we’re going to be able to trust you, we need to know more about you and how your powers work. Namely, your weakness.”

  “My… weakness?” he asked.

  “It might not be something obvious,” she said. “And it might not be something we can test for. But this is standard procedure. Every champion goes through it, when they’re first brought in.”

  Malcolm hesitantly sat down in the chair in the center of the room, waiting while Anna pulled the leather straps on each of the armrests over his wrists. He noticed something that he’d missed before. She had a metal armband around her wrist, as did Tapestry, though she had hers mostly hidden under the sleeve of her blouse.

  “Good,” said Multi. “I’ll be monitoring from the observation room. Tapestry, Anna, take it from here.”

  Multi shut the door to the room firmly behind him. A tense silence hung over the air. Malcolm looked back and forth between the two women, feeling a bit more concerned about what the test would entail than he had before.

  The first thing Tapestry did was take his blood pressure, along with a surprisingly large blood sample. Malcolm fidgeted a little in his chair, knowing that the experience was going to diverge from a normal doctor’s examination.

  “Now Malcolm,” said Tapestry. “I’m going to set up a small ball on the ground in front of you. All you need to do is attempt to use your wind manipulation to move it while we try out a few different stimuli on you.”

  “Is this safe?” he asked. “What happens if I accidentally summon a tornado? This place is insured for that, right?”

  Tapestry smiled.

  “Relax Malcolm,” she said. “It will be fine. Normally, I would be the only one in here during the ability testing. My power is regeneration, and I can take a beating if things get wild and crazy. But given the extent what we’ve seen of your powers, I think it’s no issue for Anna to be here, too.”

  I feel like I was just subtly insulted…

  “Now,” said Tapestry. “Are you ready to begin?”

  Wind Runner