Unhuman Acts

by Candace Blevins

  “They think I need to have sex with someone without much power, so I can learn to control my own power while...” I shrugged. “I don’t want the entire realm to know every time I orgasm.”

  “And a nice orgasm it was.”

  My ears grew warm, which meant I was probably blushing, but I didn’t look down. “Thankfully, few on the earth realm seem to have picked up on the sexual act, most only got the energy exchange.”

  The Crone poured tea and seemed to consider me. “I don’t believe you’re going to be comfortable having the kind of sex your predecessors had. You are a child of Midgard, not of Alfheim. Don’t step outside your comfort zone merely because your advisors say you should.”

  I hadn’t realized how uptight I’d been about my orders to go forth and screw. And I knew they weren’t really orders, but I’ve learned to take Mordecai’s advice seriously.

  “Thank you. Your words bring me relief. Is there another way to learn to control my sexual energy and my orgasms?”

  “Don’t worry about it, for now. Let it out. Be free with it. Those on Alfheim appreciate knowing their Queen is finding her pleasure, and those on Midgard need the energy you’re gifting them. You’ll figure it out, and my guess is you’ll gain control when your subjects don’t need your energy in the way they need it now.” She shrugged. “If you grow close to someone and wish to have sex with them, you should. However, it should be because you wish to, and not because you feel obligated.”

  “I plan to meet with the highest levels of the army, with the families of those who lost loved ones, and with any soldiers who were injured. I also plan to spend an evening eating and drinking with my guard unit, so I can get to know them better. Do you have advice for others I should spend time with? Cedrotrix advised against any casual time with the Stewards.”

  “I agree with your advisor. Keep your relationship with the Stewards formal, if possible. You should have a monthly meeting with them, where you are provided reports one day, and you meet with them the next to discuss the reports once you’ve read through them. Otherwise, you’ll see them at public functions, and you’ll allow them to rule as they did in your absence. If you disagree with a ruling, handle it behind closed doors. Don’t undermine their authority.”

  I nodded. Unless I was prepared to move to Alfheim, I needed them, and that meant respecting their work.

  “I’m told your daughter is not your biological daughter. Is this correct?”

  “It is, and I understand this means I might have a hard time naming her as my successor, should something happen to me, but to be honest, I’m not sure I want to put this burden on her. She’s going to go out into Midgard and make her own life.”

  The Crone nodded. “The Harlequin energy has most likely made you long lived. Unless you get yourself killed, she’ll likely die before you could hand power down to her. If you want her to be long-lived, you’ll need to bring her here, name her princess, and then let the labyrinth test her.”

  I shook my head. “I can’t talk about Lauren yet. I can’t imagine having to watch her grow old and die while I don’t age, so if I’m indeed long-lived then my thoughts might change at some point, but for now, I’m happy to let her live her life as she should.”

  “I should tell you, most of your subjects expect you’ll spend a century in Midgard and then move here. Once your wolf is no longer Alpha, and your daughter has lived her life and moved on, they expect you’ll move here, with short visits to Midgard to see your grandchildren and other progeny.”

  “Maybe, except I’m not sure how that’ll work if I’m still serious with the Amakhosi.”

  “Time will tell the tale, but I wanted you to understand the expectations.”

  “I appreciate your knowledge and advice. Is there anything I should know that I have not asked?”

  “You should consider spending time with Cedrotrix when she’s experiencing life as a tree. Perhaps a sleeping bag on the ground nearby. Perhaps another option.”

  “Thank you for your time and your counsel.”

  She waved her arms and it felt as if she put us in a bubble.

  “I stopped time. We’re the only two people who can feel the change in energy. It’s important we keep our relationship formal as well, but I want you to know I regret this. I’d very much like to be your friend, if it were possible. It isn’t. We must stay within our roles. Do you understand?”

  “I don’t understand the why of it, but I understand it’s important, and so I won’t try to make it otherwise.”

  She nodded, sat straighter, and waved her arms. Time started back, and I gave her a low bow. “Thank you again, Wise One.”

  I backed out so I wouldn’t turn my back on her, and then walked away without relaxing. My guard met me fifteen feet from the room, and flanked me as we made our way back to the main part of the castle.

  I spent four days in Alfheim. The first night, I was up until nearly dawn, drinking and partying with my guard. I slept a few hours before meeting the injured soldiers, who’d all been healed by then, but I still needed to thank them for fighting by our side. I also attended a gathering with all soldiers and first responders, and had an opportunity to speak. Wearing my crown to his event felt odd, but Zeta had been right about it being important. These men and women had fought for and with their Queen, and they needed to be thanked by their Queen. It was going to take a lot of getting used to, but I’d accepted the title in order to be healed of the demon bite, and now it was my responsibility.

  Most difficult of all was my meeting with the families who lost loved ones. The army had taken care of them as they should — paying for funerals with full honors, and supplying a death payout within days. I was able to show them a drawing of the memorial statue that would be placed near the spot the battle had taken place, but nothing was going to replace their loved ones.

  I trusted my guard unit more after our drunken night together, and we seemed to move between places easier now that we better understood each other.

  What can I say about my night under the stars, sleeping beside Zeta in her cedar tree form? It anchored me even more to this land, and it brought me closer to Zeta. I understood her better. I also got to spend time with her friends — without my crown, because for this, I wanted to be Kirsten. I was learning that wouldn’t be totally possible in Alfheim, but I was determined to try.

  I didn’t have sex with anyone. I was attracted to more than a few of the army guys, but it would’ve been awkward. It wasn’t right, so I didn’t pursue it.

  Chapter 14

  Nathan

  She was gone nearly a week and it about drove me crazy, but I had to let her go. While she was gone, I worked with the lionesses who’d be taking over RaeLynn’s many responsibilities. I also got caught up with some paperwork at Drake, and I had dinner with Cora several times, to make sure she was doing okay. When Kirsten was in China, the two of us had survived because we had each other, but Cora was doing okay while Kirsten was in another realm this time. She had her wolves now.

  Cora was officially on a leave of absence from Drake while she figured out how to be Alpha, but she came into the office for a meeting when Aaron requested. There were still pockets of resistance, and since we were using a whole lot of Homewood personnel to deal with them, we figured Cora would want to be in on it. We were right.

  Kirsten returned while I was off fighting with Cora and about a dozen of the Homewood wolves. We’d gone black, and the control room asked her not to flash to us, so she didn’t.

  I hoped this would give her an idea of how I felt when she was in Alfheim and I had no way to contact her, but since she could check in with the control room, I don’t think it did.

  The following month went better than I thought possible. She was only in Alfheim a few times for daytrips, and was home at night. I stayed at Homewood so often, it became more of a home than my own — I was even given my own closet. I was almost always either at Drake Security, my lionesses’ place, or Homewood. Kirsten worked arou
nd my schedule when possible, and Mordecai did a good job of working around both schedules. He most often stayed with Kirsten at night when I couldn’t be there, but at least once a week, we were all three together. I’m aware she spent a little time in Olympus with him, or he spent time in Alfheim with her, when I couldn’t be with them.

  But somehow, it worked. Also, as the Crone had said, after the first half-dozen uncontrolled orgasms, they began to tone down. I felt them stronger when she and Mordecai were in Alfheim than I did when they were on Olympus or at home, but I always felt them. Logically, I should’ve been jealous, but Kirsten’s energy was so pure, and so joyful, I could only be happy for her.

  After those first half-dozen, my pride no longer caught them, and it’s my understanding that Homewood rarely felt them.

  I’d thought I’d forever fucked up my chances of having Kirsten, but she forgave me. Well, she mostly forgave me. The first time we fought, she threw my past behavior in my face, but I totally deserved it. I’d broken trust, so of course she expected me to turn my back on her and lock her out. I didn’t, though. We worked through the fight and figured our shit out. I can’t even remember what we fought about.

  Two months later, my biggest complaint was still that I had no way to contact her when she was in Alfheim. I’d voiced my concerns multiple times, but a solution hadn’t been found. So, when Xaephan came to me in the body of some poor human he’d swindled into calling the demon to Midgard, I was on my own to deal with him.

  And his first sentence made me go cold inside with fear.

  “Killian escaped. I can’t get to Kirsten, but she’s in danger. I need to protect her.”

  “I can’t get to her either. Can you contact Mordecai?”

  “I cannot. I assumed you’d have a way to contact her.” His words were choppy and his energy was crazy, even coming though the human body he was inhabiting.

  I could only shake my head in frustration. “If he kills her, you’re dead, demon. I don’t care about any fucking ramifications — I’ll see you wiped out of existence.”

  “Threats aren’t helpful. I can’t get to Alfheim. I assume he can’t, but I’d feel better if she knew to watch for him. If you can’t make that happen, I’ll find someone who can.”

  In desperation, I’d contacted Apollonius. In the lead-up to the war, he’d given a few of us a way to contact him without going through the Concilio, in case we’d had information about who’d gone to the dark side within his organization.

  Thankfully, with a little negotiation, he agreed to go to Alfheim to warn Kirsten. If he hadn’t, I’d have had to go to the portal at Booker. T. Washington State Park and try to get to her that way — even though the portal didn’t come out anywhere close to her castle.

  Chapter 15

  Kirsten

  The current Steward family consisted of three adult sons who’d taken over most of the responsibilities of running the Queendom. The father was still the Ruling Steward, but he didn’t rule much of anything these days. One son handled the economy, another handled most of the judicial responsibilities, and the third was great with the PR stuff, which meant most of the Queendom saw him as the person in charge.

  I was in a meeting with the three of them and their father when Apollonius popped into the room and my heart sank to my feet. Something must be bad wrong for him to have searched me out.

  “I apologize for the interruption,” he told us, “but I need a private moment with the Queen.”

  Before anyone could bitch about the interruption, I stood and told the group I’d be back as soon as I’d found out what Apollonius needed.

  We walked out into the hallway and he took me to a realm I wasn’t familiar with. I assumed he’d made his own little personal world, much as I had.

  “Killian is loose. Xaephan went to Nathan to warn him. Nathan didn’t have a way to contact you, so he called me.” He crossed his arms. “The Amakhosi agreed to pay me by offering some lionesses for my use for a month. I hope you find another messenger, because my price in the future will be steeper.”

  It wasn’t in me to argue about the lionesses. I’d learned enough about Nathan to realize anyone he sent to Apollonius would be thrilled for the opportunity to be the plaything of an old god. Also, it seemed an apology was in order.

  “Thank you for notifying me, and I apologize for any inconvenience this caused you.”

  He nodded, put me back into the hallway in Alfheim, and he was gone. I focused on Xaephan and hoped he was still with Nathan, and that he hadn’t gone back to hell. Wherever he was, I needed to talk to him, so I risked it.

  I had no idea where I’d land, so it took me a second to figure out that I’d landed in the dungeon at Drake Security. I punched in the code, got Chance on the video, and told him, “I’m alone and don’t have time to fuck around with protocol. I need Nathan. Now.”

  “Give me an adjective for my clothes.”

  I smiled despite my worry. “Carnivalesque.”

  He nodded and was gone. Five seconds later, he was back. “Nathan’s on his way down, but if you can answer questions while you wait for him, so I can fill in the log?”

  I answered them all for him without him having to ask. “It’s just me. It’s an emergency. Killian escaped. I have about ten minutes max until I have to be back in Alfheim. I just need to let Nathan know what’s going on so I can get back to somewhere that will let me shoot back to a meeting I stepped out of.”

  Nathan must’ve ran, because the door opened a few seconds later, and I flew into his arms. I told myself I did it for him, because I’d worried him, but in truth, I was a little freaked about Killian being loose.

  “I was so worried,” he told me, his strong arms holding me close. “We need to go back to my office. I have a visitor you need to speak with.”

  “You’re sure it’s Kirsten?” Chance asked over the communications unit.

  “I am. I take responsibility for breaking protocol.”

  Chance nodded, and I levitated six inches off the ground so Nathan could pull me along at his speed. I may not be totally human anymore, but I still can’t keep up with most of my friends.

  I sensed Xaephan’s energy before Nathan opened his office door. He’d left two guards in the hallway, but I wondered how the demon had managed to appear in Nathan’s office. It turned out, he was in someone else’s body and didn’t look anything at all like the Demon Lord, though I could sense it was him.

  “He came in the front door and asked to see me,” Nathan told me when I asked how he could show up here when I couldn’t. “He knew better than to try to appear inside, though I need to find out how he knew where it was safe to arrive.”

  “You aren’t the only one with intelligence on the ground,” Xaephan told him. He looked to me and scanned me from head to toe — and it wasn’t even a little bit flirtatious. “I’m here to stop Killian before he causes problems, so I won’t owe you those favors I promised.”

  “I’m not letting you out of them. Stop him before he’s a problem and we’re good, but if he comes after me, or if he causes problems in any way, you’ll owe me.”

  He crossed his arms. “The deal was whether he caused problems or came after you on Midgard. It isn’t in effect should he do something in the other realms, but I’ll stick with you and act as bodyguard no matter where you are, just the same.”

  I shook my head. “The Harlequin can’t have the Lord of Lust following her around as bodyguard.”

  “Then let them think I’m your boytoy for a few days.”

  “No. I must get back to a meeting.” I looked at Nathan. “You can come if you’ll feel better, but my guard is just outside the meeting area, and I’m in with the Stewards. Once that meeting is over, we can figure out how to track Killian down and deal with him.”

  “I don’t want him killed,” Xaephan told us. “I know how he escaped. It won’t happen again.”

  “It won’t happen in that way again,” Nathan told him. “But if he found a way this fast,
it’s only a matter of time until he finds another way.”

  I felt for Xaephan. I didn’t know what I’d do if Lauren turned evil. Xaephan isn’t exactly good, but he isn’t evil. His son, however, had fully gone to the dark side.

  “What do you intend to do to make sure this doesn’t happen again?” I asked.

  “Make the consequences for escaping so dire, he won’t dare try it again.”

  “I think I need more than that.”

  “He’ll be in chains with very little movement for a century, and I won’t be supplying an unlimited source of men and women for him to enjoy. He’ll have to earn his pleasure time, and even then, he’ll be in chains.”

  I crossed my arms. “That’s it?”

  “No. I don’t want him to hate me worse than he already does, but he’ll endure a few weeks of the best torture Helheim has to offer. Perhaps I’ve been too lenient. That is going to change. He knew the deal I made to save his life, and he still...” His jaw flexed. He was hurt and pissed. Probably not a good combination for a Lord of Hell.

  “Okay. I get it. He’s your son and you can’t bear to see him killed, but it sounds like perhaps you’re ready to treat him like the enemy he is. We’ll talk more, but later. Where should we go to capture him?”

  Nathan’s phone rang with Mordecai’s ringtone. I didn’t have my phone with me — there’s not much use in taking it to Alfheim, so it was charging on my nightstand at Homewood.

  Nathan answered it and warned, “You’re on speaker. It’s me, Kirsten, and X.”

  “Killian is on Olympus. Apollonius went looking for him and found him in my backyard. I have him chained in my dungeon.”

  “I’ll send someone to retrieve him,” Xaephan said, looking at the phone. “I know you won’t want Helheim guards at your home. Where should I send them?”

  “It isn’t so simple as that. If you want him back, you’ll owe me twelve favors. Since I currently owe you three, this will put the balance at nine, which means I’ll own you.”