Pyforial Games

by B. T. Narro

  “It has absolutely nothing to do with anything. I’m leaving because Terren’s right; there’s too much risk involved without sufficient reward.”

  Neeko couldn’t help but feel slightly debased. “I would’ve thought bringing back a pyforial mage to teach your people how to use the energy was worth some risk.”

  “Everything changed when Charlotte was killed.”

  There was no retort Neeko could give. Shara hugged the chemist. He seemed surprised by her embrace.

  “We understand,” she told him.

  “Be careful.” He shook Neeko’s hand. “And remember, there’s no shame in changing your mind.”

  Steffen waved at Cedri in the window. She pounded her fist on the wall beside it and mouthed something, then she disappeared from the window and came storming out from the inn.

  “You’re not even going to say goodbye? Too scared I might change your mind? Coward!”

  Steffen showed her a sad look. “Goodbye.”

  She stopped marching toward him and bit down on her lip. “Damn you, Steffen.” She cupped her hands around her mouth as Steffen began to follow his headmaster. “And damn you, Terren! You’re both selfish bastards!”

  More than a dozen people were gawking by then. Neeko and Shara rushed to Cedri, shushing her.

  She focused her anger on them. “Why are you both calm about this? He’s abandoning us.”

  “I know, Cedri,” Neeko said. “But there’s nothing we can do.” He worried for Shara, knowing abandonment was one of the hardest things for her. But she seemed strong, her expression stoic.

  “We can’t possibly ask for more help than he’s already given,” she said.

  “What did they tell you?” Cedri asked.

  Neeko and Shara told her everything, leaving out Steffen’s attraction to her. When a moment of silence finally came and Neeko and Shara had nothing left to say, Cedri glanced at the ground for a while.

  “I need a few hours to myself.”

  “For what?” Shara asked.

  “To think.”

  Alarm crossed Shara’s features. “About what?”

  “You know what.”

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  NEEKO

  Neeko shut the door to their room at Meri’s Stay as he watched Shara dive onto the bed and bury her face in a pillow. He took off his shoes, sat beside her, and placed a comforting hand on her back. They’d been silent during the entire trip from Terren’s inn.

  “What do you think she’s going to do?” Shara asked, her voice muffled by the pillow.

  He hummed to let Shara know he was thinking as he slid his fingers along her spine.

  She turned her face to look at him. “You haven’t a clue.”

  “I haven’t a clue,” he agreed.

  “I don’t, either.” She crushed her face back into the pillow and groaned. “I’m too scared to infiltrate the PCQs. I’m terrible at deception.”

  “I wouldn’t want you doing that, anyway.”

  “But you certainly can’t do it. You would be recognized by Jonen or any number of PCQs there.”

  “I know.”

  “If I were a psychic like Cedri, and I could sense when I was about to be caught, I would go.” Shara rolled to her side and locked gazes with Neeko. “What if I just tell Jaymes about the ambush without either of us going among the PCQs?”

  “That would be fine.”

  His answer didn’t seem to assuage the worry in her dark eyes. “If Jaymes knows about the ambush, that might be all he’d need to fend it off.”

  “It could.”

  She frowned. “But sending someone to infiltrate the ambushers would be better.”

  “It would. But Cedri might be recognized as well. The two mages in Antilith...” He paused, letting the memory of Cedri’s beating sink in. “If they’re there, they’ll remember her.”

  “They were clearly looking for you. That’s their task, and I doubt it’s changed. If the wounds you’ve given them have healed enough, they’re probably searching for you right now.”

  “I don’t know if I’m that important.”

  “You are.” A grimace formed as she squinted hard, as if in pain. She sniffled as a tear squeezed out.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I’m sorry,” she blurted, following with a sob.

  “It’s all right.” He cupped his hand around her head and began stroking her thick hair. Suddenly he realized everything she was feeling. His stomach twisted at the loss of hope, his chest tightened from worry.

  “I wish I knew what Cedri’s going to do.” Shara sounded as if she’d regained control. “If she stays with us, she still might refuse to infiltrate the ambushers, and I wouldn’t feel right asking her to go against her will.”

  “She might join Jaymes and the rest of them,” Neeko said. “With Darri proven to be Charlotte’s murderer, they would take her back.”

  “They certainly would. From my time on the council, I know loyal psychics are valued almost as much as loyal pyforial mages.”

  The repeated use of the word “loyal” made Neeko feel a pinch of guilt in his stomach. He was certain his loyalty had been discussed many times among the king and his trusted advisors, and here he was a deserter of the army. He desperately wanted them to know he was still fighting.

  “But would Cedri really wish to fight in a battle?” Shara asked. “Because that’s what she’d be doing if she was to rejoin the army.”

  “Like her sister, she was a mage before she began training as a psychic—”

  “And all mages are trained for battle,” Shara finished the statement for him. “I see.” She took his arm and pulled him down beside her. “Put your arm around me. It always makes me feel safe.”

  Neeko pulled her close, the warmth of her body quickly putting him at ease. He flipped her hair out of the way and kissed her neck. She reached back and moved her fingers over his scalp, sending waves of pleasure through his head.

  “And if Cedri leaves us?” Shara asked meekly.

  “Then we’ll manage on our own,” Neeko answered with more confidence than he felt.

  “You’re not scared?”

  “No.”

  Truthfully, he’d been scared since they left Norret with the idea of traveling to the Southern capital. It was even worse now. But he could never let Shara know. He would be brave for her.

  “I can’t imagine how I would feel if you’d wanted to quit and go to the Academy with Steffen and Terren,” she said.

  “You wouldn’t have gone with me?”

  “I would have, but I would be unhappy and nervous, and I don’t know how many years I would spend not being able to breathe comfortably, tormented by what we left behind.”

  “I would come to know that torment very well.”

  She turned to face him, their noses touching. “This would be impossible without you, not just accomplishing what we set out to do, but going through it…enduring the trip. I couldn’t even imagine…” She shook her head. “I’m frightened because you’re all I have and I care so much about you.”

  Her plump lips looked as if they needed his mouth on them. She put her hand on his face and drew in a sharp breath as he leaned in and kissed her.

  “Even though it feels like you’re all I have, sometimes it seems like you’re all I need,” she said.

  “I’ve felt that way about you for weeks.” Hearing it from her filled him so full of joy he couldn’t express his feeling with a simple agreement. He needed to kiss her again.

  She pressed herself against him and dropped her leg across his. Neeko’s hands ran up her back and tangled in her hair. Her tongue thrust into his mouth, making him burn with desire.

  As she cupped his cheek and kissed him, pressing her bosom against his chest, he felt like a raging bull trapped in a pen. She pulled away, her lips pursed, her gaze hungry. “Neeko,” she whispered, leaning her forehead against his.

  Just the moment apart was enough to drive him mad. He waited for her to sa
y something else, but she didn’t. Her hands fluttered down the buttons of his shirt, pinching and twisting, rushed. His shirt came off. Hers was next. They kissed as they raced to undo each other’s belts.

  Neeko readied himself for the most maddening thing—stopping when she was down to her underwear if that’s what she wished. But she removed it herself and tugged off his undershorts. He felt his control slipping away as his gaze caressed her bare skin and she looked her fill at him.

  Shara sat up suddenly to kiss him, then pulled him down on top of her. He somehow knew exactly what to do, carefully pushing inside her, his lips on hers and her hands fisted in his hair.

  Her mouth came off his, and she inhaled deeply as she threw back her head. His body tensed as he moved, as though something coiled tighter within him. She clutched at his shoulders and seemed to lose herself to the same feeling.

  Waves of pleasure crashed through him with each new step of their dance. He kissed her, and her mouth greedily came open for him. She writhed beneath him, and he could feel every movement of her body.

  She moaned, and his body demanded release. He picked up his pace as she dug her nails into his back. Her legs tightened around his waist, and he was so distracted by the feel of her he didn’t flinch when her teeth nipped his shoulder.

  Suddenly he was on his back as Shara rose and fell above him, her movements frantic.

  He never wanted their dance to end. There was rhythm, then momentum, and when Neeko felt as if he’d had everything, there was more.

  His whole body ached, taut as a rope about to break.

  Then he came apart, with Shara following him over the edge.

  *****

  Neeko couldn’t summon the strength to lift his head off his pillow. Shara’s head was nestled in the hollow of his shoulder, her skin glistening with a light sheen of sweat. A proud smile played on his lips as she heaved a satisfied sigh.

  “I should be just as scared as I was before…we did that,” she said. “But for some reason I’m not.”

  Neeko felt as though the world could end and he wouldn’t mind. Something was different about him. He didn’t exactly feel older, but it was a similar sense, like he now understood there was so much more to life. It reminded him of the first time he’d moved pyforial energy. All he’d accomplished was a rustle of dirt, but he’d known it was only the beginning of his abilities.

  Shara giggled and pointed to her cheek. “I can’t stop grinning like some simple-minded fool.” She pushed up to see his face. “It’s the same with you!”

  He laughed. “It is.”

  “I feel fortunate…and other things as well…I don’t…it’s so hard to describe.” She watched his hand brush the side of her breast. “I’m starting to believe this is love I’m feeling.”

  “Is that what this is?” Neeko teased. “I’ve been wondering what to call it.”

  Shara batted her eyes and regarded him with a playful smile. “Aren’t you going to say what we’re both thinking?”

  “Yes. We should put our clothes on before Cedri comes back.”

  She whacked him in the chest with surprising force. “You know that’s not it!”

  He feigned confusion. “What, then? Oh, is it you’re ready to go once more?”

  “Neeko! How do you get in these stupid teasing moods? You know what I’m talking about!”

  He tightened his arms around her and took her lips in a gentle kiss.

  “I love you,” he whispered.

  She lit up as if he’d handed her the moon and stars.

  *****

  They’d dressed by the time Cedri knocked on the door. It was well past midday, and Neeko felt hungry enough to eat a horse. He answered the door with Shara right behind him. Cedri shuffled in with her usual scowl, and Neeko shut the door behind her.

  “If you both need to eat before we leave, you should do it quickly,” Cedri said. “I don’t want to be late meeting the PCQs at Sastien Lake.”

  Shara squealed and hugged Cedri to her. “Thank you!”

  Cedri seemed slightly perturbed by the embrace, if the little push she gave Shara was any indication. The psychic’s brow wrinkled as she studied them.

  “Something’s different about you two. You’re both exuding joy like a child after his first bite of dessert.”

  “Because of the good news,” Shara exclaimed. “You’re coming with us and infiltrating the PCQs.”

  Cedri tilted her head. “Do you forget that I’m a psychic? I can tell you’re lying.”

  Neeko felt Shara’s eyes on him as he searched for words to appease Cedri. “We, um—”

  “It doesn’t matter,” Cedri interrupted, and he slumped in relief. “Are any of the potions Steffen gave you stronger than wine? I’m already shaking, and my nerves will only get worse during the long trip there.”

  “There’s nothing to ease your nerves,” Shara replied. “But the potions are helpful indeed. Let me show you and explain each one. Then we’ll eat and leave.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  NEEKO

  As soon as they left Lanhine, Neeko realized they shouldn’t be far behind the Northern army, which couldn’t have left the city more than four days ago. Neeko figured that, on horseback, it would be easy to reach the army before Jaymes led his men and women into Sastien Forest a hundred miles south. Cedri could warn Jaymes without needing to infiltrate the ambushers’ party, and then Jaymes might choose to lead his army around the forest or even straight to Sastien Lake where the ambushers were to meet.

  So Neeko didn’t understand why the two women were in such a hurry, keeping their horses at an uncomfortable trot. He asked Shara, and the answer she gave didn’t please him.

  “For weeks, people on the king’s staff have been accumulating horses in Lanhine. Now each man and woman in the army has been supplied with a chariot or a carriage. Most vehicles are dragged by a cheap charger horse, but that doesn’t matter. It will still save them time and money for food in the end.”

  This meant Neeko and his party would be riding hard for nearly a week. Disappointment came on like a stab from a knife.

  When their horses needed a rest sometime later, Neeko decided he would lift himself with pyforial energy. He needed to ensure Shara was right about the army. He went high into the air and, sure enough, found that the king’s forces looked to be forty to fifty miles ahead of them. Because of the horses and carriages, the army looked twice as large and intimidating as the last time he’d glimpsed it. Taking the lead was what appeared to be a battering ram on wheels, thick enough to break down any wall. The glorious sight filled Neeko with pride.

  The army had already reached Nymre’s Road, a stone-paved highway stretching fifty miles. The Southern roads were one thing even Northerners agreed the Southern kings had done a better job with. Hundreds of miles of paved road connected major cities and provided safe travel for the rich down to the poor. Most of the roads were cambered with drainage ditches along their edges. Some even twisted through hills. Neeko marveled at the concept.

  It was a shame the people of the South were often proud and unkind to those outside their caste, especially Northerners—reprehensible heathens, in their eyes.

  He settled back to the ground. “They’re forty or fifty miles ahead.”

  “I’m envious of you,” Cedri told him with a scowl. “I would trade my psychic ability to do that.”

  He offered a smug smile. Now that he no longer feared he would drop himself, each trip into the air was a thrill.

  Shara had a shy look about her tightened lips. “Could you lift yourself while carrying extra weight?”

  “It depends on how much.”

  “Not much.” She reached around her back and grabbed her other arm. With a slight sway, she looked like a nervous child in that moment. “About the weight of a slender…young woman.”

  He imagined lifting himself toward the clouds with Shara on his back. Unused to the extra weight, he might be unable to keep the energy from slipping out from beneath
his arms. They would tumble through the sky screaming before cracking their skulls open on the ground.

  “It would be too risky to try.”

  To say she looked disappointed was an understatement. “I see.”

  He made a mental note to practice carrying extra weight. He probably wouldn’t ever feel comfortable enough to risk Shara’s life for a bit of fun, but he still didn’t know the limitations of his power. Maybe one day he would be able to share the thrill of soaring with her.

  *****

  It was a grueling trip to Sastien Forest. They rode in silence except for brief moments of conversation. Rationing their food, they suffered from long stretches of hunger, and the weather cooled as spears of clouds drifted across the sheer blue sky.

  The nights were especially windy. They slept huddled in blankets beside a campfire far from Nymre’s Road so bandits would be less likely to detect them. Each night, they used one of Steffen’s potions to tint their campfire blue, and it burned until daylight. Knowing that it irritated Cedri, Neeko refrained from kissing Shara as he held her during the night, cocooned in their blankets.

  But sometimes his lips acted on their own, pressing down on the side of her neck. Other times, Shara would turn and kiss his mouth as if she wished to devour him. These were the only instances when he could forget about his gnawing hunger, as a different urge took over his body.

  There were countless others riding along Nymre’s Road, most traveling in pairs. Neeko and his party kept their distance in case any were PCQs.

  They were two days behind the army when they reached the center of Nymre, where it was time for Cedri to change her course. They brought their horses off the road where they wouldn’t be disturbed as they prepared to part.

  Cedri cupped a hand over her eyes, peering to the southeast. “There aren’t many riders going toward Sastien Lake. I hope I’m not late.”

  “I don’t think that’s the case,” Shara said. “The scroll said to leave one day after receiving it and to ride without haste.”