by Nhys Glover
I clasped it tightly as Zem rode on. All the while Landor continued his own greedy assault on first one nipple and then the other.
By the time Zem came in an agonised, triumphant cry, I was exhausted.
But I wasn’t finished yet.
Landor replaced Zem, who had collapsed onto the bedding. He lifted me up and sat with me, my legs on either side of him, his butt on his heels. Tenderly, he kissed my bruised and swollen mouth as he eased his cock inside me and rocked with me.
Laric had lost his clothes and now came in to rain kisses on one of my shoulders. They were gentle, loving kisses. Prior, also naked, did the same to my other shoulder. They knew I was tired, but the blissful communion we were now sharing was so different from the passionate storm that had just blown over. It felt like a balm to my overwhelmed senses. I felt tears pricking my eyelids as an exquisite golden glow began blooming deep in the core of me. It was like Landor’s healing glow, and it coloured everything in its golden rays.
As Laric and Prior wrapped their arms around me, Landor continued to rock his cock inside me, building the glow. This was ecstasy. I had experienced it before. It was different from an orgasm, so much sweeter and emotional. Landor licked the tears from my cheeks and kissed first one eye and then the other. I tightened my arms around him as the others closed in around me.
Zem was there then, pressing in behind me, not aroused, but wanting to share the moment. All the while, Landor rocked his cock inside me as lips kissed and hands stroked every inch of my body. We were so close. It had become impossible to tell whose skin touched whose. All I knew was that I was surrounded by love, drowning in love. And when Landor reached his peak and soared off the edge, I flew with him, the ecstasy exquisite and too beautiful for words.
Chapter Nineteen
AIRSHA
The last half moon had been a nightmare. Had I not known Laric was on our side I would have believed he’d used his magic on me again. Since well before the Godling succeeded in releasing The Devourer, we’d had plans for the evacuation in place; since its release, we’d been systematically putting those plans into action.
It had been a monumental task transporting every citizen of the kinglunds and the badlunds up to Highlund. And then there had been the challenge of housing and feeding them all. And planning for the eventuality that we would have to go on feeding them once the world was inundated with water. Crops had been harvested early and transported. Huge silos, only the Highlunders could have engineered, had been hastily erected to contain the harvest. More hastily constructed dwellings along the length and breadth of the plateau had also occupied immense amounts of time.
I realised I was still using the old names for places. But I didn’t berate myself as Flame did over calling The Jayger he. Names didn’t matter, especially in moments like this and in my own head. One day I would start thinking of them by their new names, and when I did it would mean something. Until then… it would be what it would be.
The plateau had once been a green and spacious place high above the rest of the world. Only one large city had been built there. Farmlets divided the rest of the area, but the soil wasn’t good enough for crops, so it had been used to graze small beastlings that provided wool and meat for the city-dwellers.
Now all greenery was gone, hidden beneath row upon row of boxes in which evacuees attempted to make their new homes. Fear as potent as the problematic sewage filled the air and reached right up to me.
From my place in the old king’s palace, I could look down over the plateau with mixed feelings. Part of me was grateful so many had found shelter here. That my government had been so effective in implementing our plan so quickly. Though it was not complete by any stretch of the imagination. There were still so many more people to come. Every day the winding, narrow road that led up to the plateau was filled with people, walking or riding, carrying what few possessions they could bring with them. My heart bled at the hollow look in their eyes.
The other part of me was furious that we had let it get this far. How had my forces not been able to discover the place where the Godling had been hiding? We hadn’t even been able to find their blasted temple. It gave me no satisfaction to know my nephew—the murderer of my father, and the last Godling—had died when the monster was released. He’d deserved that and far more.
Why hadn’t I done as so many of my advisors had recommended, back at the end of the war, and had him put to death? My too-soft heart had brought all this disaster down on us.
Mayhap those whispers had been correct. Mayhap a slip of a lass had no right controlling the world and taking away the power of the elected representatives when it suited her. What use was there in voting in those representatives if she ignored their wishes when it suited her?
They were right, of course. At least on that last point. Giving people the right to elect those who ruled them had been a cornerstone of the Goddess’ government. And it had worked with moderate success until this current crisis. Then the bleatings of those self-important, ignorant fools, who had no idea what we were truly facing, made taking back control a necessity. If they had continued to have their way they would still be debating the issues back at the Capital, while the Devourer lashed our coasts with tidal waves and storms.
I had taken back the reins of government for the Goddess, keeping only a small advisory group—consisting mostly of mages, male and female, including the Chancellor Moyna— supporting me and my husbands. And though I knew it was the only way, and it had proven to be the most effective method of achieving the monumental task we’d been set, it chaffed at me.
What right had a lass barely into her majority to decide the fate of the world?
The answer came as surely as it ever had. Because I was not just a barely-grown lass, I was the Goddess’ human incarnation. Her Wisdom was mine. I did nothing, decided nothing, without Her input. It wasn’t I who held the reins. It was the Goddess who did.
But that didn’t silence the whispers or quash the discontent. There were many who didn’t even believe there was a monster about to drown us all. They saw the ancient stories of the last great flood as being just that, myths created to amuse people around their fires at night. A way to explain the world to our uneducated ancestors. They didn’t believe another flood was about to be unleashed on us. Even though unprecedented storms had beaten at our shores ever since water had reportedly surged out of the side of the mountains, they didn’t believe. Would likely never believe until the wall of water washed over them.
Damage to properties close to the coast had been reported, and most of our fishing fleets and trading vessels had been capsized during those storms. But there was a big difference between a few fierce storms and the complete flooding of all habitable land. Or so they said.
There had also been reports of looting of evacuated properties. Those who either didn’t believe the floods were coming or who felt they had nothing to lose, were making the most of the chaos caused by the evacuations. The troops still patrolled the abandoned areas, but they could do little across so vast an area.
If Flame and her men succeeded in trapping the monster again, it would take many suns, mayhap even tens of suns, to recover.
And if they did succeed and no floods came, what would those whispers say then? That it was all for nothing? That there had never been a threat that required the upheaval of so many? Faith in the Goddess would be undermined; faith in the Goddess Incarnate would be destroyed. It might even be enough for what was left of the Godling’s priests to turn the people back to the ways of the past.
Would my rule be seen as a short, catastrophic break in the long line of Godlings, who had always maintained peace and plenty for their people? Would another man be chosen from the magical ranks to become the new Godling?
Would human sacrifice and castration be reinstated?
Gods, no! I shuddered.
I felt the warm presence of Dark behind me. “You can’t stop can you? Even now, you’re making yourself sick worrying
about what is to come. We have done everything humanly possible. You have done everything humanly—and divinely—possible. It is in the hands of the Goddess and The Five now.”
I nodded and tried to straighten shoulders I only now realised I’d let droop. I couldn’t allow my ever-present self-doubts to consume me. If we were going to keep chaos at bay, if we were going to effectively bait the trap laid by The Five and the Goddess’ Key, I had to remain strong. Darkin was right. Darkin was always right. He was my lodestone, always pointing the way.
“Is the arena filled?” I asked, turning in his arms to look up at his face so far above me. It gave me a crick in my neck to look up at him like this, but it was worth it to be able to admire his handsome, loving face up close this way.
“It is. You can do this. Flame and her men have come up with an audacious plan, and it will work. And when it does, all those people out there will have you to thank for their lives.”
I nodded, not convinced. “Not me. I am just...”
“Stop it!” Darkin said, giving me a little shake. “How can you be this amazingly powerful woman in public and this craven coward in private?”
The shock of his words was even worse than the slight pain of the shake. He had never called me a coward before.
“Darkin, don’t be a bastard!” Rama growled, having entered our new sleeping quarters to hear his brother’s last comment.
“No, he’s right. We all know he’s right. I get like this when it all gets too much. The Goddess chose badly when she chose...”
“Stop!” Dark demanded again, his deep voice filled with frustration. “That’s not what I meant and you know it. She chose the best person, the only person possible, to be Her incarnation. She chose a brave warrior-woman and a loving ruler for her people. Yet you’re human, like we all are, and occasionally in private you let yourself down. And it hurts me when you do. But you would never let your people down. So be that brave warrior now, beloved. We need you!” Dark declared, gripping my shoulders in tight but gentle hands.
I drew in a deep, fortifying breath. I could do this. I was only a coward in private. Only those closest to me ever saw the real me.
“The shadow is winning, goddess. Don’t let it,” Rama told me, coming to my side and kissing the top of my head.
Ah, the shadows! Rama and I knew them well. They ate at us both mercilessly, if we let it. He had been so good at keeping his at bay for a long time now. I wish I was as good at it.
But I wouldn’t let mine win now. If I did, the world was lost. The Goddess was lost. My beloved husbands and childlings were lost. I couldn’t let that happen!
I stood straighter. “I am ready.”
With a tall and muscular husband on either side of me—one so dark, the other so light—I strode out to make my announcement. Moyna had tried to coach me on what to say, but I had shut her down. I knew that, when the moment came, it would not be me who spoke. That at least gave me courage. I was no more than the mouthpiece of a powerful Goddess. I just had to do my part and allow it to happen.
Once before I had stood in the centre of an arena like this one. Then I’d been surrounded by loyal rebels fighting for the Goddess. This time I was surrounded by people who doubted me and even Her. Not only did the Goddess have to issue her challenge, but she had to find a way to reassure these people. All her people!
Though Calun and Jaron joined us as we made the journey to the arena, all four of my husbands remained behind as I stepped out into it. Alone, one small woman, one young lass, walked out to face thousands of anxious people fearing for their futures, fearing for their lives. I had to sustain them.
No, not me. The Goddess.
I pushed my shoulders back even further and lifted my chin. There were so many of them sitting and standing on the tiers that surrounded the arena. I couldn’t see faces, they were too far away. But I felt their emotions roiling off them. It felt like a tide of fear so great it could flood the whole world as effectively as The Jayger could.
I cleared my throat and relaxed, letting the familiar peace overtake me. As I did so, a hush fell over the arena. No voice spoke; no foot shuffled. Every breath seemed to be held. Waiting.
The moment I felt the Goddess enter me, all fear evaporated. Only power and confidence remained. And love. Always love.
“My people, we face our greatest ever challenge. The man who once declared himself Godling, and believed he was the false gods’ favoured son, worked with demented priests to release an unimaginable horror from the underworld where it had long ago been imprisoned.”
It seemed to me that I barely spoke above a whisper and yet from the reactions around me I could tell that everyone, even those in the uppermost tier, heard every one of the Goddess’ words. I relaxed even more and let Her go on.
“That foolish, power-hungry man died when the monster was released, and many more have died since the Devourer began its catastrophic task of wiping all life from the face of the earth. Many more would have died if we had not moved you all to safety.
“But there is worse to come. I will not hide the truth from you, as we hide painful truths from childlings in an effort to protect them. There is worse to come! Yet I will not let this monster win. It did not win eons ago; it will not win this time!
“The Devourer is a fool if it thinks it can win. My champions, our champions—five very powerful and very courageous mages—have found the Key to lock away this monster once and for all. Now they wait to challenge it. The Devourer might consider itself their superior, but it would be wrong. My champions cannot help but win. And once again that monster will be condemned to an eternity in the bowels of the earth.
“So, my loyal and beloved people, take heart. This evacuation was simply to assure my champions the time they needed to bring about the Devourer’s end. Once they succeed, the world will be safe once more, and you can return to your homes. Some may have to rebuild, but know that I will support you. And you will live and thrive through all the generations to come. This is the Goddess’ promise to you. Trust me. Trust my champions! We will triumph!”
As the last impassioned words faded away, the crowd began to clap, a few at first, and then more and more, until the sound was like thunder shaking the stadium. Voices joined the clapping, cheers of encouragement and loyalty.
The deafening response had my heart beating fast in my chest. She’d done it. The Goddess had won them over. And laid down her gauntlet. The Jayger couldn’t help but take it up now, believing as It did that there was no Key any longer. Flame and her men had laid their trap, I had done my part, and now it was up to them. And with the daemon halfling on our side, we couldn’t help but succeed.
As I walked from the arena, while the cheers continued to assail my ears, I looked into the faces of my loyal husbands. Their love was steadfast and I had never doubted it. I’d been given the almost impossible task of becoming the Chosen One of the Goddess, but with the love and support of my four husbands I had been assured I would be up to it. Since then they’d continued to make sure I was up to it, even when I doubted myself.
As each took their turn to hug and kiss me, I knew these men at my side would always make sure I was up to it.
Chapter Twenty
FLAME
I had taken to checking in on the priest I had connected with. I wanted to know when he found out about Airsha’s challenge. It came the next morning when we settled in to make the connection.
I drifted along well-known paths and into his mind. It had become familiar to me now, his mind, like a rancid derelict I’d sheltered in when I lived on the streets. Familiar and yet foul. And never safe. I had never felt safe in that decaying hovel.
The Devourer priest was just breaking his fast when a younger man—dressed in blue robes, but displaying a vitality his older brothers rarely had—entered the room. This one hadn’t been divided yet. Was that all it took to rid them of their vitality? No, my target wasn’t split, yet he had no such energy.
“Brother! Brother!�
�� the young man gasped out. “The Goddess! The Goddess Incarnate has challenged our lud!”
My priest jerked to his feet and grabbed the other man by his robes, shaking and almost lifting him from the ground.
“Tell me!”
The younger man looked terrified then, all excitement gone. “From her new place in Highlund... what they call Highairshan now... she called her people together and made an announcement. She said that the time had come for the monster released from the underworld by the Godling to go back where he came from. Her champions... the Goddess’ champions... were ready to do just that. They were ready and waiting to send it back where it belongs.”
“Doesn’t she know her Key is dead?” my priest said, though he knew the man he held didn’t have the answer.
But the younger man shook his head. “I don’t see how she could. We only know because of our seers. From our informants, we know she has none of her own reliable enough to give her the answers she needs. She is trying to trick our master into a trap when she doesn’t realise no trap exists anymore.”
My priest let the other go. The young man fell to the ground and scuttled back away from his leader, relief showing all over his pale face.
“You are right. She can’t know the Key is destroyed or she wouldn’t be issuing this challenge. This is exactly what our master is waiting for. He can take up the challenge, defeat those puny opponents, and watch as the hope dies out of the eyes of the Goddess Incarnate and her people. Sweet revenge against the bitch who imprisoned our lud.”
I knew this was exactly what we wanted, but I still bristled at the way he spoke about the Goddess. How dare he! But then I remembered what Airsha had said. Getting angry with him would do no good. And though I couldn’t bring myself to love him, I could at least be happy he was serving us so well.
After sunset, as we sat eating fish beside the communal fire, Shardra suddenly fell into one of her visions. I immediately joined her, excited and afraid of what I was about to see.