by Aya Walksfar
She replied in a sultry voice, “Yes, First Councilwoman, I accept my commission to your service. My body and my Soul are yours to do with as you will; my blood shall nourish you and protect you, howsoever you need.”
“Stand, First Guard, and assume your duties.”
Adele flowed to her feet and slipped into place behind me.
A hint of distaste raced across Guardian Herbert Smythe’s face. One of Gregory’s first choices when he became general had been the pompous Herbert, a Changed vampire of no particular lineage, a mongrel really. Why had I ever allowed Gregory to place Smythe in the Guardians? It must have had to do with his exceptional skills as a fighter. His dogged loyalty to Gregory, however, presented potential for unrest. Though I hated to lose a good fighter, I had no choice. “Guardian Herbert Smythe, step from the line of your peers.”
A puzzled look flitted across the man’s common peasant features, but he did as he was bid.
“Herbert Smythe, draw your sword.”
Brows bunched, he hesitantly drew his short sword and let it dangle next to his thigh.
“Herbert Smythe, I name you a traitor. You aided and abetted the desertion of the human Magic User, Alexis Night Runner. Do you wish for death by my sword or do you accept the Truth Challenge?”
He lifted his chin, though the burnt sugar scent of fear poured off him in great waves. “I have aided and abetted no one’s desertion. I accept the Truth Challenge to prove I have no dishonor to hide.”
His answer gave me pause; what did he know of Alexis’ escape? Obviously, he did not see her escape as a desertion of duty. Just as obviously, he felt that whatever he had done was justified. Damn it! If I had suspected that he might know something…too late now.
“First Guard, meet Herbert Smythe’s Challenge.”
Eyes gleaming, Adele stepped into the clearing to face the older Guardian. “Gladly, First Councilwoman.”
Guardians formed a loose circle around the combatants and me. With the calmness of a consummate swordsman, Herbert shuffled his feet as he silently turned in a tight circle, maintaining eye contact with Adele.
“Hey, old man, what do you say now?” she taunted. “Still think you’re better than me? Here’s your chance to prove it.”
Herbert allowed the smallest sigh to escape his lips. “You are a delusional and pitiful child, Adele.”
“How dare you!” Face twisted into a snarl of anger, she lunged and slashed.
Herbert easily parried and smacked her blade aside. His blade slipped in. The gold tip burned through her uniform and traced a shallow line of black up her chest. Instead of pursuing his advantage and running his sword through her heart, he stepped away.
Enraged, Adele sprang at him. Her blade caught the sleeve of his black silk shirt. The silk parted like butter. The tip of the blade scored a gouge along Herbert’s forearm. The skin around the wound turned gray and some of it flaked off.
Adele rushed him, slashing and hacking wildly. He parried the blows, though a few breached his defenses. His sword caught hers and he moved in close. With a heave of his powerful forearm, he slung her away from him. Adele smashed into the ground.
He stood quietly to give her time to regain her feet. Ash dribbled from a dozen slashes and blood oozed from unhealed cuts on his body. He seemed ignorant of them all.
He’s tiring. His body can no longer spare the energy to heal every cut. A tiny smile of satisfaction touched my lips.
The First Guard’s muscles rippled beneath her tight uniform. The ache in my groin intensified. Saliva pooled in my mouth. Lust gripped me. For a moment, I wondered at such unrestrained hunger from one as old as I, but then the thought faded.
Adele bounced to her feet and charged.
As she drew so close that there hardly seemed any space between them, he dodged to one side, whirled and stabbed. His sword entered the First Guard’s back, dangerously near her heart.
Instead of jerking the blade upward, he angled the sword so that the young woman’s body slid from the blade. The stench of burned flesh filled the air. Adele hit the ground and rolled to her side, curled in a loose fetal ball.
Herbert stepped close to her fallen form. He looked down then turned his pity-filled gaze to me. “Why are you doing this, Serena? What have you done? I felt Gregory d....”
Behind him, Adele lunged up, sword swinging. Before he completed the word, his head rolled from his shoulders and splatted to the earth. In testament to the great amount of energy expended during the fight, he did not ash out immediately.
Adele swayed on her feet. Not quite old enough to heal such a nearly-lethal wound, blood ran down her back and stained the white silk of her shirt. Smythe’s blood speckled her face and turned her savage grin macabre. Victorious, she bent and picked up his sword. The blood on her face turned to gray grit as the vampire at her feet flashed with heat and ashed out.
After she shambled over and placed the sword at my feet, she returned to her place behind me. My sharp gaze stabbed each of the gathered Guardians. “As you can see, Herbert Smythe’s Truth Challenge marked him as a traitor.”
No one met my gaze nor pointed out that the Truth Challenge had been dishonorably won by Adele. After a long moment of charged silence, I dismissed them. “Go to your barracks, or to whatever station you have been assigned. I will apprise you of my selection for general in due time.”
I marched up the path to the entry of the Admin Building. Adele darted ahead and held the door open. With a regal nod, I swept through it.
Chapter 28
Serena Longer
Adele stopped at the doorway of my apartment. I proceeded to the wingback chair near the foot of the bed and settled into it. “Come in, Adele, and close the door.”
The younger woman stepped inside and did as she was bid. My eyes wandered over the woman’s lithe form. Lust perfumed the air with a musky scent. I parted my lips and wet them, watching the woman’s eyes follow the sweep of my tongue. The throbbing in my groin increased its tempo. “You look delicious,” the huskiness of need infused my words.
Though she dipped her head with proper submissiveness, a smirk flitted across Adele’s full lips. “Thank you, First Councilwoman.”
Ah, a conceited one. I shall enjoy her. Gracefully, I rose and glided across the floor. Circling Adele, I ran my nose close to her and inhaled deeply. “You smell of blood and death and sex.” My tongue flicked out and drew a line up the column of white throat. Adele bent her head to one side and moaned.
One hand rose and tentatively squeezed my breast.
My hand lashed out and gripped Adele’s forearm. A snap then a sharp cry sounded in the quiet room. Shock registered in the Guardian’s eyes.
I tenderly traced fingertips along the shattered forearm, feeling the bones knit. It healed much slower than it should have, but that was expected as the woman had suffered a grievous injury minutes earlier. Once the bones had fully knit, I wrapped my fingers around the newly-healed area and gradually tightened my grip. “I did not give you permission to touch.”
Adele’s face blanched, but she didn’t try to pull loose. “Yes, First Councilwoman,” she gasped.
I held onto her forearm and leaned close. With a quick snap of teeth, I nipped Adele’s lower lip, hard, and then lapped away the small stream of blood. My saliva closed the wound. “Yes, Mistress,” I breathed into her mouth. I drew back and slightly loosened my hold.
Panting from pain and excitation, Adele responded dreamily, “Yes, Mistress.”
My fangs peeked from beneath my upper lip as I grasped Adele’s breast and squeezed hard. She threw her head back and groaned as her pelvis thrust toward me, but not close enough to touch.
I stepped closer. One hand remaining on Adele’s breast, I dropped the other hand to the woman’s ass. My mound pressed against Adele’s, I ground in a slow circular fashion.
A deeper moan wound out of Adele’s throat. In a sex-heavy voice, I asked, “What do you desire, Adele?”
Between
pants, she gasped, “You, Mistress. I desire you.” Her eyes widened with lust. “Please, Mistress. I...I need to taste you, to feel you.”
I released her so abruptly that she stumbled backward a step before she caught her balance. “Go to the barracks where the wantons are housed. Select one that looks well-fed and bring her here. I hunger.”
Adele quickly returned with the wanton. The girl looked no older than twenty, not even old enough to drink. Just old enough to taste fresh when she was drunk. What a delicious irony.
The wanton quaked as she stood frozen in the middle of the room. Her heart pounded so hard I wondered that it didn’t burst. Contempt at the pitiful specimen briefly tainted my hunger before the scent of fear drew a low rumble from my chest.
I sauntered close and scraped my fangs down the wanton’s neck. Blood beaded along the deep scratches. Not desiring the wounds to heal, I ran a finger through the beads and licked the red elixir from my skin.
My nipples hardened into pebbles. I could barely keep from ripping out the woman’s throat. Snatching the front of the wanton’s cotton blouse, I tore it open. The material fell to the sides revealing a plain white bra. Taking the bra in both hands, I snapped it in two.
The woman trembled as the humid air touched her skin.
I circled around her, snatched the back of her shirt and roughly yanked the remnants off her arms. Negligently, I tossed the scrap of cloth aside. I eased up against her naked back. My hard nipples brushed along her skin. “I can smell your fear. You smell delectable, but I really don’t want you to upset the other cattle.” Murmuring close to the rim of her ear, I set the spell for silence on the room.
I embraced the woman from behind. My hands clasped around her breasts. The brutal hold elicited a cry. I tightened my fingers and twisted. She cried out louder and struggled in vain. Her flailing incited my blood lust. I struck hard. Hot, burnt sugar and almond splashed into my mouth as I savaged her throat.
The body thudded to the floor. Lust blazed through me. I stalked toward Adele. Without speaking, I ripped her clothes from her and scattered the pieces. I fisted a hunk of thick hair and bent her head back until her breath rasped in her throat. Pure lust shone in her dark eyes. “Please, Mistress. Please.”
“Tell me what it is for which you plead.”
“You, Mistress. Fuck me, fuck me hard. Drink me while you take your pleasure.”
My fangs gouged her tongue and lips as I invaded her mouth.
I forced the woman to her knees then onto her back. With my robe flung aside, I dropped between Adele’s sprawled legs.
The brush of my skin against Adele’s inner thigh elicited a deep moan from her. Eyes burning with desire, she licked her lips. Her hips lifted from the floor, offering her sex up to me. I kneed her legs wider and flung my body on top of hers. Hands grasping her hips, I thrust hard against her wet mound.
Harder and faster I ground my body against hers until Adele’s moans and pleas for more chased away the images of Gregory hanging from cold chains. The scent of sex filled my nostrils. My sheath clenched as my climax crested. I held that edge, riding the woman beneath me ever more roughly.
Even as my nails gouged deep into her hips and her blood ran freely down my fingers, Adele met every brutal thrust with eagerness.
The sweet musky scent of the woman’s building climax forced more blood into my own clit until the pleasure sensation interwove with pain. My climax hit, a tidal wave that tore into the shore, shuddering the very ground it smashed upon.
Adele cried out, her hands digging into the wood of the floor. The old boards creaked and chunks ripped loose as her climax slammed into her.
My fangs lengthened. Blood hunger rode the crest of lust. I thrust fangs into Adele’s smooth throat. She jerked as a second and more intense climax rushed through her. With her previous injuries still weakening her, the intensity was too much and the Guardian’s consciousness fled. Her arms and legs fell lax against the floor.
Sated, I rolled off her and flowed to my feet. Contempt curled my upper lip. “If I’ve killed or enthralled her, I haven’t lost much. Only a coward and a sneak kills when their Challenge opponent is not looking.”
Chapter 29
Alexis Night Runner
I crawled to my knees then pushed up from the hard-packed ground at the Crossroads. Twilight gripped the forest that stretched out on all sides. A dirt path wound around the trunk of an ancient cedar. Green branches obscured whatever lay beyond the trail’s bend, no matter in which direction I set my eyes.
The Lady, clad in leather battle gear of ancient times, stepped from between the full skirts of two Grandmother Cedars. Long, raven hair swung below her hips. A gentle curving of The Lady’s full lips hinted at a smile. “Ah, Alexis Night Runner, do you yearn so for the Land of the Misty Between that you come again?”
I gazed around until my eyes settled on The Lady’s features. The Lady would never qualify as mundanely beautiful for her jaw was too strong and her chin hinted at stubbornness--or tenacity, depending on which side you viewed it from. No, The Lady far exceeded any mere standard of beauty. There simply existed no words to describe how The Lady’s simple presence made the hottest sun feel barely warm. Her eyes delved deep into my Soul and illuminated both the good and the evil within me, yet never judged; only acknowledged, as if She knew beyond any doubt that I would always choose for the good.
A tinge of laughter wove like a lacy cloth through The Lady’s next words, “Alexis Night Runner of Many Words, has the journey from your existence to mine stolen your voice?”
I blinked and cleared my throat then blurted out, “Why does the path curve so quickly and keep me from seeing what lies ahead, no matter which way I look?”
The Lady’s eyes twinkled. “No one has ever asked me that.” She turned and headed, not along one of the paths, but straight into the trees. As she glided among the ancient cedars, she spoke softly, “The Crossroads are the pathways of your life, Alexis Night Runner. The path to the South is the way of your future. The pathway to the West is the way of your past lives, and past deaths. The path to the North is the road that the monsters you must face--be they in your Soul or in the physical world--take to find you. The path to the East leads to other places; most people will never travel along the path that leads to the East.”
“A lot of people travel, Lady. It is not so unusual today.”
She chuckled, a warm breeze stroking my face. “Those are mundane travels. The path to the East never leads to such common destinations.”
“When I come here, am I following the path to the East?”
“Ah, Alexis Night Runner, you are a joy.”
“Are the curves there to prevent me from seeing my life?” I didn’t wait for The Lady to respond. “What if I need to see beyond the curve?”
“No one, but those Gifted by the Goddesses, should ever be able to see very far along those pathways lest they would change the future.”
In a firm tone, I said, “Lady, with all respect, though I have not the Gift, I sorely need to see beyond the curve. I must decide the best direction in which to lead our People.”
“Are you so wise, Alexis Night Runner, that you can tell which future is best for your People? Or even for yourself? Is not pain and disappointment the crucibles that strengthen the spirit?”
“The world in which I live is filled with pain and disappointment.” Bitterness edged my words. “What I speak of is the very survival of the Supernatural species and the human species. Is not the protection of Caine’s Children of paramount importance? If no one of Caine’s blood survives, how can their actions redeem the Souls of their kind, both past and present?”
A distant quality filled The Lady’s words. “Caine’s Children will survive, Alexis Night Runner.”
“Survive in body perhaps, Lady, but they will be reduced to mere cattle unless I can find some way to release Serena’s Soul from the spell that darkens it.”
A sable wolf paced in parallel to the wandering
steps of the Lady. I met its golden stare that reminded me of Gregory’s gaze. It hurt to think of him, so I turned my attention away.
“My wolf reminds you of your friend, Gregory Trueson.”
The Lady’s words were not a question, yet I felt compelled to reply. “I lost much more than a friend when he died.”
“You lost nothing, Alexis Night Runner.”
Anger speared through me and hot words filled my mouth. Before I could spit them out, The Lady turned and placed a finger gently across my lips. “Shh. Be at peace, Alexis Night Runner.”
I blinked and realized that we had arrived at a clearing in the woods. A log cabin stood in the middle of the clearing. Its entrance faced the East while a window looked out to the West.
The Lady led the way across the boards of the shallow porch. They creaked under my weight though they had been silent beneath Her footfalls. She swung open the heavy oak door and waved me in ahead of Her.
Stepping in on the packed dirt floor, I felt certain that I knew what awaited. In the middle of the single room sat a rough plank table with two benches facing each other across the table. On the table sat an exquisite crystal bowl. I knew clear water shimmered inside of the bowl.
A shadow detached from the far wall and stepped into the mellow lantern light. Tears quickened in my eyes. “Gregory,” my startled voice whispered. Unable to move, I stared hungrily across the room at my friend. The ache in my chest throbbed. I clutched at it with one hand.
Gregory opened his arms wide. “Come over here and give me a hug, Alexis.”
His deep rumbly voice broke my paralysis. It didn’t matter if he was only a figment of my hurting heart. I threw myself across the empty space and into his embrace. His big arms folded around me as I burrowed into his broad chest. My arms encircled his trim waist. Time didn’t exist as I breathed in his unique scent of melting chocolate and Butter Pecan ice cream.
He led me to a bench and slid onto it beside me, his arm slung across my shoulders. Finally, I wiped the moisture from my face. The Lady had left. Still clinging to one of his callused hands, I drank him in.