by Joe Kuster
Spotting TJ, she gave a happy squeal and hopped up and down. Grinning ear to ear, she pushed her way through the crowd, nearly bowling over two people in the process and soliciting a grumble as she caused someone’s beer to slosh into their meal.
As he took in the newcomer, his magic did a double-take. It shivered as his eyes openly roamed the woman. A fuzzy feeling slipped over his mind as she neared.
She pulled down on her top, intentionally trying to show as much cleavage as possible, and then blatantly pressed in close to ensure his arm was nestled between her magnificent breasts.
She was only a bit shorter than himself and had impossibly green eyes. Where Bethany looked like she’d spent an hour primping, the pale redhead looked to have barely woken, ran her fingers through her long red curls, and somehow came out absolutely stunning. The relatively simple white dress did nothing to hide her exaggerated hourglass figure and symmetrical beauty.
The newcomer stood on tiptoes to shove her nose in close to TJ’s neck and inhaled deeply. The move gave her visible goosebumps, and she shuddered in response. His nose, likewise, picked up her vanilla perfume, and his senses swooned.
As she spoke, she had a strong accent that seemed to set her apart from those he’d heard, that, and her words nearly stepped on each other with her zeal to get them out.
“Bethany, please introduce me to your friend,” she prompted, still panting from her sprint.
The blonde frowned for a split-second, started to respond, then paused, looking frustrated. TJ assumed there was some breach of etiquette in play.
Swallowing down her first response, she offered, “Abigail, this is TJ. He’s new here.”
“True. Bethany had just offered to help me get my bearings. I don’t even know what this village is called,” TJ said with a small nod of his head.
“Larton,” the redhead said quickly. “Zis village is called Larton, and ze county is Skyridge. We are in ze kingdom of Leogon. I’m Abby, and I too am a traveler here. I just arrived, in fact.” Her green eyes held a palpable hunger as she practically vibrated in place. “I’ve… I’ve been waiting for you for weeks. I, uhm…” She paused to clear her throat. The woman seemed to be fighting with herself and trying to calm down, but largely failing. “Sorry, TJ. Zis is just so exciting.”
Abby turned to Bethany. “Is zis where we… uhm… I forget ze word.”
“Negotiate?” Bethany suggested.
Abby replied quickly, “Yes! Zat is it.”
Turning to TJ, she fingered one of the golden disks that adorned TJ’s shoulders. “A token must be exchanged. For one of zees, you could plunder my…” She snapped her fingers several times, as though searching for a word. Not finding it, she tried, “pleasure holes. I’d love to discuss terms of enjoyment.”
Bethany covered her face in embarrassment. “Tokens? Pleasure holes? Terms of enjoyment? Oh, good grief, Abigail.”
The blonde pressed in closer to TJ’s side, trying to pull his attention her way. “Ignore her, she’s still learning the language. That and she’s… apparently suddenly very eager for her first customer.” Bethany thumbed at the delicate gold braid that connected several of the weighty disks. She seemed lost in thought for a moment, then her radiant smile returned. “Although, if this is what I think it is, for one of these, you could have me, her, and then watch us together. Anything you like, and as much as you can handle for at least a week.”
Abby continued bouncing in place as she faced Bethany. “Yes, yes, yes. We can split him while he splits us. I’ll do all ze things Madam said are extra and ze ones with you. You’re pretty. I like you. Please say yes.”
Bethany’s cheeks turned bright red. She bit her knuckle, trying hard not to laugh at Abby’s enthusiasm and overshare. Finally collecting herself, she answered, “That’s up to TJ.”
Turning her blue eyes on him, Bethany gave him an amused grin. “So, would you like to take this conversation upstairs? I think Abby is going to explode if she can’t show you her pleasure holes.”
Finding that he’d been one-upped and escalated to the point his magic was hammering in his chest, he struggled for words. He’d caught his fingers shimmering as he got excited and had to press down on his power to keep his skin from glowing.
Rachel cleared her voice pointedly, and it was like dumping a bucket of ice water on TJ’s thoughts.
Giving the trio a wry look, she said, “I see you’re already making friends.”
Bethany and Abby didn’t seem put off by the interruption and continued leaning into him as they stroked his arms. As absurd as it was, TJ couldn’t deny it felt satisfying to be the center of their attention.
TJ cleared his throat. “Uhm, yeah… Rachel, this is…”
Chuckling, Rachel replied, “I know who they are. Although you should watch yourself. Remember what I said about needing to go to the city? You’re flashing more wealth than these girls will make in a dozen lifetimes. I’d stay and have food with you, but I need to get my affairs in order if we’re leaving.”
Rachel gave the escorts a stern look, indicating them with a finger. “Two things. First, he’s a friend of the guard. If you cheat him, I’ll know. If you have him robbed, I’ll know. If I get a whiff of something hinky, I’m looking at you first, and I won’t be pleasant about it. Second, he’s a warlock and just killed those monsters at the brickworks. If he wanted, he could kill everyone in this village, and we couldn’t stop him.” She chewed on her lip, then decided to add, “He’s also got mystical abilities that can detect malicious intent. So, he’ll know if you are planning something.”
Both women looked at TJ with wide eyes. Abby licked her lips and seemed to be suppressing an excited tremble.
Seizing on their distraction, Rachel turned to TJ and gave a subtle wink. “I’ll meet you in the common room an hour after sun-up. Have fun.”
Chapter 10
TJ panted as Abby made a nonsensical noise in another language. As a sound somewhere between a whimper and a moan subsided, he pushed into her wet warmth again, but unintelligible words were all that tumbled out. Her body trembled below him as her climax faded. Gaining her bearings, she feebly patted at his chest, wordlessly signaling she was simply too sensitive and exhausted to continue.
Letting her ankles slip from his shoulders, he withdrew from her and turned to Bethany. Unfortunately, the skinny blonde woman was dead to the world and drooling on her pillow.
Seeing that a break was called for, TJ leaned down and gently brushed her hair from her face and gave Abby a soft kiss on the forehead. She gave a tired giggle and made a soothing, melodic humming sound as she closed her eyes.
The trio’s night had been intense, to say the least. The bubbly redhead and the adorable blonde woman had been every bit as enthusiastic as they had seemed. Granted, so far, their conversation had been limited to snippets here and there, but they’d both been surprisingly charming during the short interludes in their energetic copulation.
From what he’d gathered, Abby couldn’t care less about being paid and had no idea how these types of things were supposed to work. Still, she knew what she wanted. If he’d have run into her in the common room and bought her a drink, the night would have gone exactly the same way. Bethany was more reserved and submissive, but rather endearing in her own way. Especially with how Abby seemed to perpetually put her off balance.
After the last session, his heart was still hammering so much it sounded like knocking.
He brushed his open robes out of the way and twisted to the nightstand to grab the small bottle of whiskey he’d left in reach. Finding it empty, he dropped it to the floor. He stretched his shoulders and tugged at his robes. It was awkward to keep them on in bed, but he’d kept it wrapped around him like a cloak to obscure his wings.
Only when the knocking sound progressed to a thundering did he look up to see Rachel slamming her fist against the doorjamb. She was inside the room but pointedly turned away.
“Oh…” TJ mumbled.
&nb
sp; Cursing under his breath, he glanced to the slatted window and realized the sun wasn’t just up, but high in the sky.
Pulling himself from the sweat-soaked sheets, TJ jerked his robes in front of him.
TJ called out, “Shit, sorry, Rachel! I lost track of time.”
Sprinting behind the changing curtain, he hurriedly wiped himself down with the provided soap, basin of water, and towels before he slid his still-damp robes back into place.
He then slammed a strange white chewable tablet into his mouth that caused his teeth to fizz, then spat out the gunk that it sloughed off his teeth as he’d been instructed to do. Bethany had been amused when he’d asked about the tabs. Dental hygiene in his world was chewing on a stick and dropping in with a healer periodically. In this world, the extract from a local plant had that covered.
Finally presentable, he exited the curtain to see a very red-faced Rachel glaring at him.
“I thought they’d killed you!” Rachel hissed. “Your meals were left outside the door. Have you seriously not left this room?”
“Uhhhh…” TJ drawled.
Abby took that moment to mumble, “Mistress… he… he’s… inhuman. We’ve been at it since you left yesterday.”
With that, she slumped to her pillow and closed her eyes, her body glistening with sweat and seed on full display.
Feeling like absolute garbage for standing Rachel up, he quickly gathered the rest of his belongings. He made a point of leaving two small gold disks on the nightstand. They’d haggled over it for a half-hour and ended up with the ladies agreeing to the smallest of his medallions.
After a bit of prodding, Bethany had admitted that it would be roughly triple a month’s wage for each, but in exchange, they’d agreed to ensure he was well taken care of during his stay and upgraded his room to one with a giant bed. They’d also kept him in as much alcohol as he could drink. His magic had given him the feeling that the punishment for rejecting the proposition would have been far beyond the little stabs he got here and there.
Rachel groaned. “So you haven’t slept yet? We had things to do today!”
He grabbed the discarded bedding from the floor and gave the women’s glistening bodies one last longing look. Trouncing the bubbling urges before they could get started again, he tossed the sheet over the pair.
TJ mumbled, “I couldn’t sleep right now if I tried, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
Honestly, TJ had never felt so alive. He’d had to begin spending essence just to suppress the constant glow he’d developed while enjoying the women’s company, but it had just flooded back in a torrent. It hadn’t taken long to figure out that satisfying the oaths would replenish his magic, and the more he leaned into it, the more he got. TJ thought he was full when he’d landed, but instead of thin soup, his essence gained through debauchery was closer to molten metal.
“Rugh… just… even… grrr…” Rachel groaned out.
TJ scowled as he studied her angry expression. “Wait… I thought you knew what we were doing?”
She grabbed his arm and led him out of the room. Sure enough, by the door were three meals, all long cold. He grabbed a chunk of bread with meat on top of it as they scurried out of the room. He slammed it into his mouth and chewed quickly as he was dragged from the inn.
Rachel began, “I did. Or I thought… ugh. But…”
TJ frowned. He’d thought she’d played wingman quite well. She’d even outright lied about him being able to sense falsehoods just so he wouldn’t get scammed. Rachel had every opportunity to object, but she’d only wished him well and sent him on his merry way.
Groaning, he supposed that she’d known, but it was quite a different thing to see it. Much less having to wait outside while it was happening. Or getting so tired or worried that she’d forced the door and gotten an eyeful of their rutting. While also being stood up.
He cringed as he put all that together. He had a feeling that even if it had made his oaths happy, the decision to hire company for the evening was going to bite him in the ass. It seemed like short-term thinking was going to make long-term goals harder.
He pondered that reaction for a moment. Did it really? Was Rachel part of his long-term goals?
Yesterday, he’d been sure he was trying to get powerful enough to find Serina again. He liked Rachel, but he barely knew her. Did he really want more? Or was that just the compulsions working overtime? He’d satisfied the other commitments, but there was one still nudging him in the chest. And how much of that was only because she was a blue-eyed, shorter version of Serina?
Following along at a jog, he gently reached for her arm. She tensed but slowed and leaned against one of the buildings along the plank lined boardwalk. Her azure eyes looked like a hurricane of complicated emotions that he didn’t have the skill to pick apart.
Glancing around at the mostly empty street, he confirmed that they had a reasonable amount of privacy.
“Rachel, it’s my oaths,” TJ admitted.
She didn’t respond other than her eyes narrowing.
“My patron… She… commanded me to do things that she thought I’d enjoy. Like I said, she meant well, but unless I break my bindings, I’m going to be a… well, who I was—a consort. Drinking, screwing, and desperate to find love. I was passed around like a toy by those that could kill me with a snap of their fingers. After long enough, I took on that persona as a way to protect myself, but I didn’t mean for it to become an oath. She did it to save my life, but it’s going to take some adjustment on my part.”
Rachel swallowed and stiffly turned away. “I… see. I guess you being embarrassed about your oaths yesterday makes more sense. You’re not going to force yourself on anyone, are you?”
TJ answered quickly, “No, never. It’s not like that. I don’t know how to explain it, but my magic reacts strongly to sex and drinking. I’m pretty sure I could take on five of those monsters this morning. Just please don’t tell anyone else about what my commandments are. I get the feeling that information like that could be used against me in scary ways. I was a slave to the… others. I don’t want to go back to that life again.”
Grumbling, Rachel grabbed him by the robe and began pulling him along. “Fine. Let’s just get you kitted out for traveling. I’d like to be gone the day after tomorrow. Oh, give me your damn gold. We’ll shove it in my bag. Everyone probably knows you’ve got it on you, but there’s no point in flaunting it. Someone would have to be suicidal to rob me in this village.”
“You still want to go with me? I won’t hold you to that,” TJ said as he pulled the ornamentation free from his shoulders.
Rachel hefted the metal into a leather satchel and shifted uncomfortably under the weight. “You’re buying me chocolate when we get to the city. I want as much chocolate as I can eat.”
“Uh… I don’t know what that is, but sure,” TJ said.
Rachel nodded, then pressed a hand to her lower abdomen. Growling, she straightened, then resumed walking, just more stiffly. At a level that TJ could barely make out, she muttered, “Fucking cramps.”
His magic pulsed and prodded him gently. Having a forehead-slapping level of insight, TJ just shook his head.
“Uhm… Rachel? Would you mind if I touched you for a second?” TJ asked.
Rachel frowned. “Why?”
“I think my magic wants me to fix your, uh, well, I’m not sure how to put it politely. My mother called it the monthly grumpies,” he said.
She spluttered at his description, bringing her hand to her face. She seemed to think it over, then as another wave of discomfort overtook her, she quickly thrust her hand into his.
Feeding her a tiny trickle of energy, he directed it into her lower abdomen. It wasn’t that anything was wrong, but it was irritated, and she was in a surprising amount of pain. Soothing the savage beast turned out to be reasonably simple. His magic seemed to provide an intuitive understanding of her body as it roamed.
Rachel sighed in relief and slumped
her shoulders, but she didn’t release her grip on him.
Glancing inward, his pool hadn’t shifted to any degree that he could tell. The thicker essence he’d earned seemed to go considerably further.
Deciding to see what else he could do, he let his magic drift within her. Old scars slowly faded. A slight imperfection in the curve of her left eye shifted. She had the start of a stomach ulcer, and fixing it was an easy job. Some damaged cartilage in her right knee was regrown, and the tendons smoothed where they had some scar tissue. She had some respiratory irritation from allergies that were quick to fix. From there, he set about repairing muscle tissue that she’d torn during her run to safety.
Perusing her body, he realized that she was incredibly fit. While she didn’t have big bulky muscles, what she did have was dense and limber. He’d taken her comment in the tree about weapon training as bravado, but her body seemed to attest that she hadn’t been exaggerating.
Focusing on her body, he could feel parts where someone else’s magic had touched her. He assumed that it was Gerald’s work. He studied the area on her forehead that had been healed and picked apart his work. It had a grid pattern textured into it. Piecing it together, TJ realized that it was like a net that could stabilize her body. It would seal things to protect it but rely on the normal healing process to do most of the work.
He filed away the technique in case he needed it later. The patch job wasn’t perfectly healed, but it would repair itself over time. Having the energy to spare, he went ahead and finished the job.
After finally having fixed as much as he could, he looked inward again and saw that his tank had barely moved. He supposed it made sense. These weren’t life-threatening injuries, but instead small shifts.
“Better?” he asked.
Rachel bobbed her head, and for the first time for the day, she smiled.
Her voice was a bit dreamy as she replied, “Much. Your magic is… amazing. Gerald’s is like I’m being burned from the inside out, but yours is warm and fuzzy. It makes me feel like I’ve had a little too much wine while being tucked into a cozy blanket. I feel a little giddy right now, to be honest.”