They kept walking on past the grassland and back into the shade of the tall trees. Kayla’s feet started to get sore; she didn’t mind walking about without her clothes, but she really missed her sandals. A soft cool breeze drifted over them; the feel of the soft wind on her bare skin was more than wonderful, after the inside of the wagon it was heaven. She hurried to keep up with Zarra, who was starting to get a bit ahead of her. She marveled at the way the Star Elf girl moved, like a great cat, or a temple dancer. The play of supple muscles under her rich bronze skin was fascinating. She listened, and heard the sound of the river as they came back to it.
Kayla ran down to the bank and jumped into a deep pool. The feel of the water on her hot skin brought out goose bumps all over her. Under the water she ducked, running her fingers through her matted hair. She came up gasping for breath, tossing her head back to sling water from her hair. She treaded water in the deep cool pool that the river had so conveniently created in this cool shady spot. Slowly, her Earth Magic had regained its power, and now she luxuriated in the pleasant coolness of her skin.
Zarra was more hesitant than Kayla had been. Their recent brush with death brought on a greater sense of caution. She stopped and sent out a wave of Air Magic, testing to see if there was anything dangerous in the area that had frightened any nearby birds. She did not pick up on any warning within her range. Nor did the air tell her of any predators nearby, but her ability at checking for lower life forms was very limited in range, so it really didn’t reassure her.
She stepped into the river slowly, allowing it to creep up her legs as she waded into deeper water. The coolness tickled her toes and ankles, softly coiled around her firm calves, and shocked the back of her knees in a very pleasant way. She could see Kayla diving under the water, taking it all in at once instead of enjoying it bit by bit as she was. Another step, that dropped father than she had expected it; the water surged up her thighs and between her legs. The sensation was wonderful, and nearly made her cry out in joy. Another sharp step down and the water lapped higher past her waist to just under her breast. She let the cool waves slowly lift them up in pleasant weightlessness, then lap at her very erect nipples. The tingle was delicious. Slowly, she sank back until she was floating on the water, her hair fanning out around her head. The water tingling her scalp in it’s soft caress.
Suddenly, a hand grabbed her by her slim ankle and pulled her under the surface. She turned under water and grabbed Kayla by her shoulders and pulled her to her. She could see the laughter in the other girls eyes. “Now she’s asked for it.” Zarra popped to the surface and once again grabbed for a hold of Kayla, who was trying to swim away while laughing. Zarra caught her by the waist and together they tumbled under the water again. The feel of Kayla’s wet skin on her own was beginning to be very distracting to Zarra. Kayla had worked her way onto Zarra’s back, legs wrapped around her waist pinning her. Zarra quickly reached behind her back and grabbed Kayla by her nipple and pinched. Kayla in shock let go, as Zarra had known she would.
Zarra smiled a naughty smile at Kayla, “I don’t play by the rules; there just no fun if you do.”
Kayla had frozen; she had not expected the rush of pleasure that coursed through her body from Zarra’s soft pinch. It had been years since she had been with another female; it just wasn’t as common with Sun Elves, except between co-wives who shared a husband. She hadn’t done anything like this since her stay with the Moon Elves in Tuscan. To them, this was nearly as common as playing with a male.
Zarra had taken the time Kayla was stunned to move in closer. She reached out and fondled Kayla’s nipples that were floating on the surface of the water. Kayla groaned; her head fell back and her hair floated on the water.
Zarra began to kiss her neck, her soft smooth lips like velvet sliding over her tender skin. Kayla brought her head back up and looked Zarra in the eyes. Slowly their heads moved together, lips softly touching. Then, with a building passion, they explored each other’s mouths with their tongues. Kayla’s hands roamed down and cupped Zarra’s breast, and began to knead her nipples in a gentle pinch of finger to thumb.
Zarra reached down and cupped Kayla’s round firm bottom in her hands, feeling the wonderful sensation of her silky skin. Kayla wrapped her legs around the slim waist of the other girl. She found herself brushing chest to chest against Zarra. Zarra led her back to the shore and to a soft patch of grass. Together they lay down and resumed their touching.
CHAPTER 8
His back ached from the long ride up into the mountains. Renna had fallen asleep pressed up against his back, and young Ensign Fornost look as if he was about to fall from his horse in exhaustion.
The ride had been brutal on the horses as well. Myst felt sorry for the tired beasts, they had given their all and more. To help them keep up, he had been quietly feeding Earth Magic strength into both horses. He was doing it as softly and quietly as he could so as not give away his gift of magical manipulation.
He had some ability to use Earth Magic, not a great depth of skill, but then again not useless by any means either. He could increase stamina as he was doing with the horses, or detect the presence of living things, and even heal minor wounds. But the skill the Earth Magic gave him that he found most useful, was that gift of speed. He was by nature and training a highly skilled swordsmen, he would have been one of the very best swords masters in the world, without the Earth Magic. With its boost of speed he was awesome to watch, and terrifying to battle.
The problem he was having with helping the horses, was that both Elves and Nymphs were creatures that possessed an innate tie to Earth Magic, and so are more sensitive to its use. Kell Fornost and Renna just might be able to pick up on what he was doing, and that was not what Myst wanted at all. The more people who knew about his magic, the more chance that an opponent would be forewarned and have a chance to counter it. No one could pick up on his using his magic to boost his own speed, or hearing, or such, but to project magic caused faint waves that those attuned to the waves might be able to notice. Well it was just his luck that he had a magic skill that over sixty percent of the worlds population could pick up on.
Myst looked skyward, and noticed the circling flock of vultures a mile off or so up the road. “Kell, something’s dead up ahead. You take Renna and follow me in about ten minutes.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Myst reached back and gently shook Renna a wake. “Renna, go and get on Kell’s horse. I need to check the road ahead, ok?”
Renna nodded her head, and sleepily slipped down and went over to Kell who pulled her up into the saddle in front of him. Where she immediately snuggled down and went back to sleep.
“If anything goes wrong, get her back to Zengara, and let Moss know what has happened.”
Up the road he carefully went, listening for the sound of any possible danger. At just past the half mile mark, he started to send out a wave of soft Earth Magic that would let him know if there were any large animals near by. It had a range of no more than a hundred yards, but it would let him know of any danger well before he tripped an ambush.
There was nothing in the area he could detect, but if someone knew he had the Earth Magic skill they could counter his sensing ability. Especially if they had priestly Spirit Magic, which could easily hide the life forces that he was attempting to find. And sense all the Shadow Elf priest get Life Magic as well as Death Magic from their Goddess, it was a real possibility.
Coming up to an ambush sight, just not one for him he hoped, he carefully looked around the battle field. Six dead Star Elves in the uniform of house guards of House Haddar. A broken slave wagon with one of its wheels off, was turned on its side as if something had picked it up to look under the bottom for someone trying to hide.
The tracks of at least five different Ogres were to be found all over the sight, Myst sighed, “Freaking Ogres”. They had dug a trap in the road for the wagon, and then shot the guards when they had stopped. But why would Ogres do this he wondered
.
Kell and Renna came slowly up the road to him.
“This is hundreds of miles from prevalent Ogre areas. Sure, a few lone Ogres can be found wandering high up in just about any mountain range, but this many, this low into the foothills?”
“And why would they attack House Haddar on purpose, it does not make any sense. Everyone knows that Haddar trades with the Shadow Elves, and there are convincing rumors that they are even trading with the Ogres.”
“How do we know they were the specific target Sir?”
“This is not a likely target for Ogres. They would go after an easier and more profitable target, if theft and raiding was their goal. A fat unguarded merchant I could see, or a lone traveler certainly, but not an armed group without trade goods to steal.”
“Renna, are there many Ogres that live up in the mountains, from what you remember?”
“No, not usually.”
“So why go after their allies?”
“Maybe they want the Ambassador, for different purposes than House Haddar wants her for.” suggested Renna.
“Could be, my guess is that House Haddar has bit off more than they can deal with, in this deal with the Shadow. I think maybe the Shadow Eleven agents are playing a nasty game, and didn’t tell House Haddar all of the rules.”
“Let’s go, this is only about two or three hours old, maybe we can find out what happened in Tazco.”
“Sir, we aren’t going to follow the Ogres?”
“The Ogres don’t have them, Kell. I saw signs of two female Elf tracks down by the river. The Ogres were up here at the time killing the guards, and then tearing up the wagon. No, they got away, and if they did they would head to Tazco It’s a hundred and fifty miles closer to walk.”
“Two female Elves? Who’s the other one?”
“You’ve got me Kell. All I know is what the tracks show.”
“What does the Ambassador look like, Sir.?”
“According to her file, she’s five foot three, about one hundred fifteen pounds, gold blonde, with light greyish blue eyes. And stop calling me sir, when we’re out of uniform. Remember we are undercover. Start playing the role now or you’ll slip up later on when it might count.”
“Yes,... Myst.” Kell flashed a very youthful smile at his catching of his slip. “But don’t the Kushians all know who we are?”
“Yes and not always. Yes, you are known to the Imperial Secret Police as a low level military member of the Embassy, but they don’t know that you are not still in Zengara. Also, they are not nearly as effective outside of the capital as they are inside. As for me, I’m certain they have an extensive file on me, but they may not know that I’m in the country. If they do know that I’m here, and we must assume they do for I wasn’t subtle about it, they may think I’m still also in the capital.”
“Also Kell, there are at least twenty of thirty thousand Sun Elves running about Kush at any given time. Not all of them are spies remember. Kush is the trading capital of the world. Merchants, bankers, and tradesmen of all types, cross through Kush daily. Then, there are people visiting friends here, or tourists on holiday, and those just passing through to the other side of the continent. It all makes Kush the perfect place for spies to operate.”
They continued up the road toward Tazco. The lush green trees were blowing in the pleasant wind coming down from the mountain. Their leaves singing a relaxing song on this bright blue mid afternoon ride. Myst noticed that Renna had fallen asleep again, this time in Kell’s lap.
“Friendly little thing, isn’t she Sir, er, Myst,” smiled Kell.
“Well they have to be don’t they.”
“How’s that Myst? I’ve never spent much time around Nymphs before.”
“The Creator and his Consort, the Goddess of Nature, really played a trick on the Nymphs. Like us Elves, they are blessed with the gift of Earth Magic. They have long life spans as we do, six hundred years at least. And like Elves, the females ovulate randomly, about ten times in their entire lives. Unlike Elves, the female Nymphs do so without any prior warning. Elven lasses know, more than a month before it happens, and so can prepare for it. Nymphs have no warning at all. The first they know about it, it’s too late do anything about it. So, to survive as a race, nature gave them the ability to mate with other sentient races and still produce offspring. They are the only people who can do so. The offspring are fully Nymph; none of the father’s race is passed on".
“But, the different Elven races can interbreed, Myst.”
“They are not really separate races, but sub races of a single main race, that’s why. And even then, the offspring of mixed Elven sub race parents usually take on the racial characteristic of the father for the most part.”
“You did go to the Imperial Military College, didn’t you? They’re still making new officers do that, aren’t they?”
“Yes, but, I well..,” Kell was blushing furiously. He had come to idolize this legendary officer, and definitely didn’t want to look a fool before him.
“It’s fine Kell. I enjoyed College more than I probably should have as well. What were we talking about again?”
“Why Nymphs are so, friendly.”
“Oh, that’s right. Nature having played a trick on the Nymphs, it gave them the tools to avoid extinction. One, is that they can breed with other races and not dilute their genetic stock. The second is the ninety plus percent dominant birth rate for females, giving them more producers of children. Thirdly, is the highly stimulating physical and personality attributes they all possess. And finally, Nymphs are more ‘affectionate’ than even us Elves, and they have a greater capacity to feel pleasure than do the rest of the races. They need these genetic attributes, for they never know when they are fertile, and so must be more active to insure the continuation of the species.”
“I never knew. It’s kind of sad isn’t it.”
“No, I don’t think it is really. They are the happiest people I know. They seem to always enjoy life. They have no crime, or violence, or dark ambitions. If the slave traders and other predators would just leave them alone, they would have a nearly ideal existence.”
“Of course, Kell, they would be completely unable to resist the depravation of the Shadow Elves and Orcs, if other races did not look after them. That is one of the down sides to their gentle and innocent lives.”
“I see your point, Myst. She does seem to give off a strong need to protect her.”
“That’s part of their innate Earth Magic. It compels a feeling of protectiveness. It also compels desire and passion. It’s the strongest constant magic ability that I know of. They also have the active magical ability to charm someone, but it is not very effective on Elves or other Earth Magic people.”
“How does the charm work,” Kell asked, enjoying having Myst take an interest in him, as well as the topic.
“It’s a sexual charm that leaves the target confused and forgetful after the ‘encounter’ for a few hours, it lets the Nymph escape most predators.”
They rode up the long road; the green mountains in the near distance seemed to rise six to eight thousand feet above them. Around a bend in the highway, they got their first view of the city of Tazco.
The city was nestled into a bowl of a large hill, in the middle of which was a knoll, and upon it was a large cathedral dedicated to the Creator.
The cathedral dominated the city with its two slender front towers reaching up in graceful pink stone work, and its great tall dome in back, covered in bright blue tiles. Before it there was a large round open plaza with a beautiful fountain with figures rendered in bronze. The fugues in bronze were three Nymphs, executed in exquisite detail, reaching up in frolic trying to catch a dove. Off from the plaza, cobble stone streets seemed to meander aimlessly in artistic abandon. Large three or four story white town houses lined the streets, their balconies and gates done in black iron, their roofs in dark red clay tiles. There seemed to be bright overflowing flower boxes, hanging flower pots, stone flower plan
ters, and flower trellises throughout the city. And everywhere, the view of wooded green mountains dominated by a endless crystalline blue sky.
Myst was surprised at this exquisite blend of natural and Elven made beauty. It was obvious why the rich Star Elves had homes and palaces in this garden paradise. He breathed in deeply, the heady scent of blooming flowers wafted over him as he took in the sight.
“It’s, nice.” Kell said, finding himself at a loss for words, settled on obvious understatement.
“It sure is Kell. Never knew the Kushians had such a delightful place...”
“Look! That’s Mount Telatalon, I use to live in the woods between it and the river,” Renna was pointing at a mountain higher than the rest, just up the valley from the city. It looked to Myst like it would have snow on its summit during the two short winter months, even this far south.
“What’s the population of the city Renna,” asked Kell?
“Around six thousand, I think. Maybe a bit more now”
The highway had followed the river, and just before the city it branched off. Left, it continued along the river a short way and then turned up and into the city. Right, the river crossed a quaint covered wood and stone bridge, then turned left also following the river, and heading for the pass over the mountains.
They took the left fork, heading for the city. Just before the road left the river to go up and into the city, there was an elegant inn. The inn was surrounded by a white eight foot wall, in the center of which was a elegant heavy iron gate. It had a large Mission style main building, done in white walls and round red tiled roof. A fountain bubbled in its front courtyard, and a lush landscaped flower garden filled the courtyard with color. The main building was backed up to the river, as were half dozen little cottages, called casitas. Shade trees grew throughout the property, giving a most pleasing and quiet ambiance to the inn. The inn was called Tellaki, or translated from Old Star Eleven as, The Best of All. And it would be the first building the escaped Elf girls would reach if they had got this far, but that was not very likely if they were going over the hill to meet back up to the river, that would take them a few more hours hiking.
Elf World Shadows Rising Page 10