Unhuman Acts

by Candace Blevins

  But then she sat back and shrugged. “Dragon. Aaron. I’m sure he’ll come to us. We’re good.”

  I didn’t sense Aaron, or dragon, but I took her word for it. He was likely in the air, and I’d only feel him if he touched the land or the trees. Sure enough a few moments later Aaron came into our view in shorts, but no shirt or shoes. I assumed he’d flown as a dragon in Faerie, and had only stowed the shorts to change into while he talked to us.

  “Is everything okay?” I asked.

  “It is. Mab is about to release a werewolf from her dungeons. His name is Chase. He came into the realm and caused mischief when he was nineteen. Based on his birth certificate, he’s twenty seven now. He hasn’t had an easy time of it — she’s rented him out as a sexual plaything to anyone who wanted to play with a wolf. His calendar has been quite full, but he seems solid. He was raised in a pack until his mother died. His father pulled them out of the pack and they went lone when he was eleven, and he had no desire to join again as an adult. However, after his experience in the dungeons, and the camaraderie of the other prisoners and even his guards, he tells me that if he can find a pack he’s comfortable with, he doesn’t want to be a lone wolf anymore. I think he’d be a good fit for you. You’ve been looking for someone to live in the farmhouse and act as a kind of permanent sentry. He needs to acclimate back into society slowly, and your spot of land here will let him do that.”

  “Is there a way I can meet him before I decide?” Cora asked.

  “Of course. He can come here with the idea you’re deciding which pack will be the best place for him, without realizing you’re considering him for this one. This way, if you need to send him to another, he won’t feel as if he’s been rejected.”

  Cora nodded. “My day isn’t terribly full tomorrow. Can you bring him in the morning?”

  “I can. I’ll take him to my house for the night, and we’ll drive up in the morning. Is eight o’clock good?”

  “It is. We’ll have breakfast ready for him — you too, if you can stay and join us.”

  “I’ll hang out a few minutes, and I won’t turn down a loaded biscuit, but I won’t be able to stay for breakfast.” He looked at me. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m sad, but I’ll be okay. You know Master James was killed during the unrest?” He nodded. “He left me a few items, and the probate is just now being handled.”

  “I’m sorry. This war was short, compared to others, but the death toll was high — not because so many people were killed in battle, but because society so quickly dissolved into chaos and anarchy. Once people ran out of food, and there was no way to get gas...” He shrugged. “I’m sorry James got caught up in it. I hope you don’t blame yourself.”

  I actually did blame myself. I should’ve thought to get him somewhere safe. Isaac got his family to safety, and they didn’t know about supernaturals. I couldn’t have brought James here, but I could’ve put him somewhere out of harm’s way. I shrugged to Aaron. “I knew he’d come from the generation that believes in taking care of yourself and being prepared. He’s always on top of that kind of thing, so I assumed he’d be fine. I should’ve remembered he’d joined the guns-are-evil club when he’d become a grandfather.”

  And there was no way to find out who’d killed him. I remembered something else I wanted to talk to Aaron about, and I was ready to change the conversation. “I need some advice from you and Mordecai and perhaps Apollonius.” I looked at Kendra. “You’re pretty old, so you might have some insights into this. Did you know Freya? Or are you familiar with what her necklace may have been up to over the last couple of thousand years? I’m trying to figure out who separated the stone and metal — and why?”

  “You aren’t going to like my answer, but Abbott will know more than me. I don’t mind sitting in on the conversation, and it’s possible my memory will be triggered by something. I know who had the stone about...” She trailed off, apparently deep in thought, and finally shook her head. “I don’t know. A thousand years ago? Twelve hundred? Maybe even hundreds more than that. She isn’t anyone you’d know. She lived in what is now either northern France or perhaps Belgium or the Netherlands. During one of the wars where the land and peoples were raped and plundered, the invading army pillaged all the jewels from her castle, and I don’t know what happened to it after that. I don’t even know for certain her claims of having the jewel from Freya’s necklace was true, but I can draw what it looked like.”

  “If it’s been apart that long...” I wanted to say perhaps it’s for the best it stays apart, but I wasn’t sure the necklace should hear me say it.

  What if it’d been too powerful together, but since whoever had owned it couldn’t figure out how to destroy it, he or she had divided it and then reworked the metal? You could obviously melt it, but perhaps they hadn’t been able to burn it up? Thoughts of the one ring and Mount Doom came to me, and I shook my head. The metal part wasn’t evil. It was likely acting in its own best interests, but I’d know if it were evil. Wouldn’t I?

  Kirsten

  I awoke with Mordecai in my bed the next morning. This would never get old. I remembered my first meeting with him — I’d been so damned mad at him, and then I’d seen him and understood why people said he was a god of old, but that hadn’t made me any less angry. He’d grown on me over time, though, and I realized I’d fully trusted him before I’d let myself love him.

  I didn’t just trust him not to kill me on purpose; I also trusted him not to kill me by accident, even when he was taking me right to the edge. And now, I loved him with all my heart. He still had the energy of a god-of-old, but I just saw Mordecai now. My Mordecai. I snuggled into him and asked the question I was afraid to ask because I worried the answer might break my heart.

  “Does my Shīfù’s loyalty lie with me or the necklace? Or maybe even with Freya?”

  “Not with Freya. He’s been married to others since her, and he seems happy alone right now. His life is with his students. As for the necklace, I’m sorry but I don’t know the answer to your question.” He snugged me in a little closer and I closed my eyes. Mordecai’s arms were the safest place on any world or in any realm.

  “It was more powerful when it was together,” he said after a short pause, “but I never considered it evil. My assumption was that it was taken apart for financial reasons, because the two pieces could be sold for more than the one.”

  I shook my head. “Maybe, but that doesn’t ring true for me.”

  The necklace seemed to be paying more attention than normal. I didn’t like it, so I changed the subject.

  Kirsten

  Breakfast with the new wolf, Chase, was interesting. He was a strong wolf, otherwise his time in Queen Mab’s dungeon would’ve driven him insane. He certainly had baggage from his ordeal, but my instincts told me that, for him, what doesn’t kill me makes me stronger was a true statement. Unfortunately, for many, what doesn’t kill them turns them into a neurotic mess.

  Mordecai left after breakfast, and I walked to the spot on our land that matches with the center of the labyrinth. Harrison had helped me design a small, stone, open air building with similar architecture to the small temple on Alfheim. I loved the energy here, and I think the process had helped him deal with his feelings around being held as a slave for so long.

  I valued my friendship with Harrison. The lions, wolves, and imperators were bound together as animal groups rarely manage. Mordecai said this alone would probably keep the dark side from regrouping for at least a decade, maybe longer.

  I meditated for hours, and I didn’t have any answers when I finally walked back to the main house, but I felt better. I’d needed time with my land. The pack’s land. Somehow, both statements were accurate. It wasn’t a competition.

  Chapter 24

  Nathan

  At around eight hundred years old, I’m an infant compared to the powerful, long-lived beings in my social circle, and yet, sometimes I feel ancient.

  If there’s one thing I’v
e learned, it’s that life goes on. No matter what, eventually, you’ll get used to the new normal. RaeLynn went to Asheville, and the three lionesses tasked with her duties picked them up and performed them with the proficiency I expected of my people.

  Mordecai and I decided Kirsten’s consequences were too much for a single session, so we took a three-day weekend to do it. Three long sessions a day with about a two hour break between, and then a seven hour break at night for sleep. Partway through the second day, she was so sore she started crying before we even started back after a break, but we didn’t relent. We couldn’t. She’d have been disappointed with us if we’d let her off the hook. Plus, we all knew we’d need to use similar tactics in the future, so it was important we followed through without mercy.

  Okay, so there were little mercies here and there, and we gave her way more aftercare than was necessary, but overall, we had to be hardasses about it.

  The months passed, and I loved watching her gain confidence and strength in her role. As the spring equinox approached, a convicted criminal in Alfheim called in a clause that required a blood-member of the royal family to carry through his punishment. He was a high-ranking official in a city, and the rules are a little different for that small segment of society. The stewards could’ve done it if Kirsten wasn’t queen, but since she was, the job fell to her.

  Her advisors all agreed she could allow me or Mordecai to whip the man — Jupiter himself had given her leave to change the rules and define what it meant to be Harlequin. But she’d merely reminded us that Master James had made sure she was proficient with a whip.

  The prisoner had been found guilty of abusing his power and taking advantage of teenage boys who interned in his office. Seventeen boys over a period of time, so he was sentenced to seventeen months in the dungeon, and he’d get a public whipping on the first Monday of every month. Each would be one hundred and twenty lashes except the last, which would be seventeen lashes an hour for seventeen hours, and he wouldn’t be released from the whipping post until all had been given. He’d then be tossed in a salt-water pool and returned to the dungeon, where he’d get a daily ration of gruel and water, but no further care other than a daily dip in the salt water pool to keep infection away.

  If he was still alive seventeen days later, he’d be publicly castrated. Finally, a symbol for pedophilia would be permanently branded on his cheek — also publicly — and he’d be released. The branding worked so much better than the U.S.’s sex offender registry. Most likely, the only place he’d find willing to hire him would be a brothel who’d want him to give his ass and mouth up to paying customers.

  Whippings in Alfheim are harsh, and he probably wouldn’t be fully healed from one when it was time for the next. My guess was he had a fifty/fifty chance of being alive by the end of his ordeal, and this was only because the high-elf was in top physical shape.

  Kirsten expertly delivered all one hundred and twenty lashes of his first whipping, and she didn’t show even an ounce of mercy. His back was shredded when she finished, but if anything, she hit harder towards the end. We all felt fairly certain no one else was going to request Her Majesty fulfill their punishment instead of the regular dungeon employees. She whipped him in front of thousands of people instead of the couple of hundred spectators who’d have normally shown up, and she’d been so brutal, his screams and entreaties for mercy had been loud and many — but what did he expect? She’s a loving mother and he’d abused children.

  I could see her exhaustion when she finished his whipping, but she walked to me with her head held high, stood in front of me, and held eye contact with me. It took me a few seconds, but I realized she was waiting for me to turn my back on her again. Instead, I pulled her into my arms and told her, “You did right by his victims. You’ve proven yourself to be the kind of Queen who won’t tolerate his behavior, and you get my respect.” I kissed the top of her head again, aware we had an audience. “I love you with all my heart. I’m here for the long haul. Hug Mordecai too, and then address the crowd before you hand him back over to the dungeon employees.”

  Mordecai

  The days turned into weeks, which turned into months, and before I knew it, we’d made it to the summer solstice. I had things to do in Olympus during the longest day, and Nathan needed to spend time with his pride, so Kirsten was on her own during the day, but we met up with her in time for the late-night festivities. Our hard-headed little red-head knew more of what was expected at these gatherings by now, so she arranged for two stages — one for the band she’d met during the winter solstice, and another for a giant bed. She had lace and netting draped around the bed, and we wouldn’t be spotlit.

  Nathan and I had tweaked the rules before the spring equinox, and we kept them the same for this event. An order or request involving logistics or positioning was seven licks with a strap or cane, while a sexual demand was three minutes of torture to a particular body part. She wasn’t allowed to order us to make her orgasm until we gave telepathic permission. If she did, she wouldn’t get an orgasm from us for three months — during the next equinox/solstice party — but we’d still have full use of her throughout that time. I figured we had at least a year before she issued the order and tested us.

  Lauren was spending the summer at Homewood, and we all enjoyed having her close. She was helping teach summer youth camps at the theater center for her summer job, but her days off were most often spent in the pool. She did a lot of reading, but mostly, she was happy to relax and enjoy her time with her mom and Cora — and with Nathan and me when we were there. She hadn’t opted to come to tonight’s party. She informed us she was being celibate this summer, and none of us felt the need to encourage anything different.

  I knew she’d gotten her heart broken again during the school year. She was figuring out what she wanted in life — did she want to stay single, or did she want to find her own true love? I saw her watching her mom with me and Nathan, and sensed her considering what she wanted. One man? Two? More? Or maybe none.

  The Solstice Ball went exactly as it was supposed to, with food and music and dancing. On this night, Kirsten ordered Nathan and me to the stage, so we were the first to begin having sex instead of waiting for others to begin. I noted her first seven strikes telepathically so both she and Nathan heard, and grinned when her arousal went into overdrive. How had I gotten so lucky? So much power and strength given to a sexual submissive with a masochistic streak. It’s like she was designed just for me.

  Nathan and I allowed Kirsten a half-dozen small orgasms at the start of our sexcapades, but then didn’t allow any until our girl was crazy with need. When we finally gave her permission to order us to give her release, I was once again floored by the energy she poured forth. The human who’d needed her energy storage enlarged was now The Harlequin, with a practically unlimited energy capacity. She wasn’t stronger than me by a long shot, but she was a formidable power.

  Chapter 25

  Kirsten

  We returned to Midgard from the summer solstice party on Alfheim in time for Nathan and me to attend the monthly meeting of the Chattanooga supernatural leaders.

  Abbott no longer attended these meetings. Rather than rebuild his home and a new flock in Chattanooga, the master vampire had moved to Fairbanks, Alaska. He’d taken about half of his vampires with him. Kendra wasn’t ready to leave yet because Eric wasn’t ready to be turned. She remained behind and was Master of the City. She’d leave in the next three or four years, and Marco from New York would take her place.

  Aaron was still running the meetings, with Nathan on his right and Cora on his left. I sat on Nathan’s other side. Kendra sat at the opposite end of the table, the number-two power spot, and it wasn’t just symbolic. She ran the city as well as Abbott. During our illustrious Girls-Night-Out, organized by the women of the RTMC, I got to see how the vampires in the various clubs responded to her. All respected her, some feared her.

  I’d had to think long and hard about the kind of ruler
I wanted to be in Alfheim, and I’d tried to go for the Queen who’s respected more than feared. However, when pushed, I’d understood it was okay to make them fear me so long as it was done responsibly. Don’t cross me and you’re good. Cross me? You’ll regret it. Challenge me? You’ll regret being born. So far, this had worked for me, and I’d only had to pull out the Queen Bitch a few times.

  With the rare exception of a conflicting holiday on Alfheim, I was at Homewood the three nights of the full moon. Cora ran all three nights, and I held down the fort while she was a wolf — and helped with breakfast for the entire pack the next morning. Our kitchen was modelled off Randall’s, so it was huge, with lots of seating space.

  Our family consisted of me, Lauren, Cora, Nathan, Mordecai, and of course Smokey. However, the pack became an extension of our family. Chase lived in the farmhouse, but there were almost always other pack members on the land. The farmhouse bedrooms were frequently occupied with wolves who needed the healing energy of the land. The Alpha helps members individually during times of crisis, but I found myself frequently being drawn to help them, too. I wasn’t their therapist, and yet, I used some of those skills to help them work through issues when I felt they needed it. Some just needed time to let their wolves roam the forest, others needed to talk.

  The August meeting of the supernatural leaders happened to fall two days after the full moon. Most of the meeting was spent planning a one-year commemoration of the end of the battle in October. Aaron had already rented the pavilions and space at the top of the hill through the State Park service, so it was only a matter of figuring out food, times, activities, and speeches. Duke volunteered Matty to design the logo and banners. Aaron volunteered the funds to have everyone’s favorite barbecue place cater the meat and a few sides, but we all knew people would bring plenty of other dishes as well.