by Mark Albany
“Naturally, Lord Bailey,” Norel said, smiling as she was handed the documents. The conversation went on, including their plans for standing up a guard and what other fallback plans would be needed, but I zoned out, mind going back to my flesh pressed against Aliana’s, my imagination throwing Norel into the mix.
At one point, I was pretty sure she saw something in my eyes, a look that gave me away, because she blushed and quickly looked away, avoiding my gaze for the rest of the meeting.
When it was finally over, the lord nodded curtly before standing. “We shall be in touch shortly.”
And with that, Norel indicated for me to stand and follow her out.
2
We arrived back at Norel’s estate, the horses quickly being brought back to their stables for water and feeding after having been galloped back. Judging by the sun climbing into the sky, it hadn’t even been two hours since we’d left. Something had been worrying Aliana. I could feel her tension spreading over to Norel and me. She had told me once that sex connected minds among her people, and while I wasn’t an elf and… well, neither was she anymore, there was something there. If it was that connection, well, then all the more reason to keep on doing it, I supposed.
The moment we reached my bedroom, I felt my skin prickling. Aliana materialized, coming out in front of us. There was a haunted, hungry look about her that I hadn’t seen before, which made it all the more interesting that my eyes dropped to what she was wearing.
Which was to say, pretty much the same clothes I’d torn off her the day before. The same clothes I’d always seen her wearing. Did she like the outfit so much that she had spares already waiting?
“How did you get them back?” I blurted out before I was able to catch myself. Both women turned to look at me, almost annoyed at what I’d just said.
“Not the time, Grant,” Norel said before turning back to her sister. “What’s the matter?”
“I know what has been causing problems in the west kingdom,” Aliana said, and for a moment I thought she might be sick. The glow in her horns was lessened to the point of almost disappearing, and her wings were fluttering nervously. “There’s another djinn there. Dark, and powerful, more powerful than I’ve ever seen.”
Norel raised an eyebrow. “That… would explain a lot, actually.”
I narrowed my eyes at her in warning as I tilted my head to indicate Aliana, reminding Norel that this was a sensitive subject. She shrugged in response. I didn’t want to push the issue since this kind of information needed to be shared. Plus, there was no point in angering the two most powerful people I knew.
“As the two of you know, there’s not much in the world that scares me, not truly,” Aliana said, turning and finding a bench to sit on. I moved over to sit next to her, wrapping my arm around her shoulders and pulling her closer.
“Aside from Abarat, a dark djinn is the only thing in the world that makes my skin crawl,” she continued, leaning into me with a small smile of appreciation. “They are merciless, dark and cruel, even regarding their masters. I… remember a time when I went down that path, and I remember what it was like to feel nothing but malice for anything and everything alive in the world. It comes with being as powerful as I am and being bound to only use it for another’s purposes. Until I found Grant and he freed me, I was lost to that way of thinking.”
I ran my fingers through her hair. I remembered the strange kind of glee that had been in her eyes when she first met me, as well as the way she’d reacted to killing Kruger and his men. All while the ring and her bindings to it had still been intact. I wondered just how close she had come to killing me that night. Was that what a dark djinn was supposed to be like?
Now was not the time to think about that, I mused, pulling her closer, feeling her nuzzling gently at my neck.
“What makes you think this could be the work of a dark djinn?” Norel asked, noticing that there was something more to our interactions than met the eye, but wanting to keep to the matter at hand.
Aliana looked up, taking a deep breath. “The way they were describing the magic and how it was felt reminded me of how people said they felt my magic. It’s not conclusive, I know, but I can feel it in my bones. There’s something to this that makes me certain, but I can’t explain it.”
Norel inhaled deeply then nodded. “I’ll take your word on it for now, but I’ll be keeping my mind open about this. There are a great many lost powers in this world, and thanks to Cyron, any one of them could be out there wreaking havoc. I’ll see what I can find without having to head out west myself.”
Aliana nodded and Norel quickly made her exit. I wrapped my arms around Aliana and pulled her closer, kissing her cheek tenderly. There was that connection again. She knew I wanted to know more, not only about this dark djinn but about everything else, but there would be time to question her about it after she’d settled down. Right now she needed me to be here for her in another way, to bring her mind away from the darkness she remembered all too well.
I dipped my head and pressed my lips to hers tenderly. She seemed almost surprised, like she hadn’t realized that our connection told me what she needed. When she realized it she smiled, returning my kiss tenderly, her hands reaching up to thread through my hair and pull me closer.
My hand moved, presenting a familiar unspoken spell that spread from my fingertips and touched lightly on her skin. She wouldn’t have felt the spell itself, I knew, only its effects, which came a few seconds later. A soft moan as our mouths remained locked in the kiss, a shudder, gasp, and a tremor of pleasure as I could feel her spreading her thighs out of instinct.
As we parted from the kiss, her eyes remained closed, a smirk still playing on her pouty red lips. “You do know how to make a woman feel better, don’t you Grant?” she asked in a breathless whisper. As she opened her eyes, they remained hooded with lust. I could feel her hands gripping my clothes, threatening to tear them off if I didn’t remove them quickly.
I didn’t want that. I didn’t want to have to go through the process of getting fitted for them again. Although maybe Aliana could fix them the same way she’d fixed hers.
I stood, pulling off my coat and shirt in quick succession. Aliana didn’t have to do much to undress. A bit of a shrug and her top came down since it was having trouble containing her breasts anyways, hitting the ground without so much as a sound. A quick wiggle of her hips and the bottom half came away as well.
By the time I was finished with my shirt, she’d moved over beside the bed and was looking at me, a coy smile on her lips as she ran her fingers teasingly up her body, a clear invitation.
I approached her once my boots and trousers had been discarded, hungry for her again. She had been right, I was feeling rather insatiable. I picked her up and roughly tossed her onto the bed. She giggled in response, wings fluttering eagerly as she turned to face me, legs parting wide as I joined her on the bed. I was hard and throbbing as I climbed onto the bed after her, but there was something else I wanted first.
I slipped between her thighs but dipped my head, placing light kisses on her hips, her lower stomach, and then lower, twirling my tongue over her lower lips as my hands slipped underneath her, the firm, soft flesh of her ass filling them when I pulled her closer.
“What are you doi— Oh! Oh… Oh fuck… Grant!” she exclaimed, propped up on her elbows as her back arched, eyes rolling back. My spell had delivered the desired effect—she was wet and waiting by the time my tongue found its way into her pussy. I tasted her hungrily, moaning as I slipped it inside her, letting my lips and teeth gently glide over her clit as I fucked her with my mouth.
“Oh gods,” she gasped, reaching down to grip my head, tangling her fingers in my thick hair and pushing me down further to taste more of her. I loved the taste of her wetness and wanted more. It wasn’t too long before her cries had no words, only sounds of pleasure. Her hips were bucking into my face, her hand trying to drag me away from her pussy even as her thighs tightening around my
head and neck told of a different intention. I could see a light sheen of sweat coating her skin, giving it a bit of a glow in the gentle sunlight as she writhed and trembled while an orgasm rocked through her body.
“Please,” she gasped, her eyes popping open as she slowly regained the ability to speak. “Please, Grant, I need your cock inside me. Now!”
I pulled away from her pussy, licking my lips hungrily as I looked up into her eyes. One of my hands left her ass to greedily grab and knead one of her breasts instead.
“Ask me nicely,” I growled in a hungry voice.
She raised her eyebrows, her lips parting for a moment as an aftershock from her orgasm robbed her of words for a moment.
“Please,” she whined, reaching for me, trying to pull me closer to her. “Please… I need to be filled. I need your cock fucking me out of my mind. I beg you…”
I grinned teasingly, moving my body lightly over hers, pausing to wrap my lips around her other breast, sucking and licking at the nipple gently, looking up at her all the while.
“Intriguing,” I murmured, lapping my tongue over the pert, amber nub once more. “But what can I expect in return for providing you with my cock inside you?”
Her eyes were widening with need, a soft pant of frustration heard as I kissed my way up to her neck.
“Anything,” she growled against my ear, letting me feel her teeth lightly pressing into the lobe as I reached down to guide my cock between her thighs to gently rub over her clit. “Fucking anything.”
“I’ll be sure to hold you to that,” I said with a smile, positioning myself over her, pressing her soft breasts against my chest, feeling her pert and erect nipples. Her soft skin shivered beneath me as she reached down to grab my ass, a flicker of pain only enhancing the pleasure as her nails dug into my skin, pulling me closer. I pushed the head into her pussy, groaning and feeling a rush of pleasure as she tightened around me, prompting me to push myself into her in a single thrust, rough enough to shake the bed beneath us.
“Oh gooooodssss,” she prolonged the syllable as I filled her suddenly, her eyes rolling back again as the head found that delicious little nub of pleasure deep inside her drenched pussy. I could feel her almost on the brink again. Not only from how I knew her body so well over these past three weeks, but I could feel the pent-up tension, a result of my teasing, quickly being given an escape. I could feel it, although not quite like she did.
That bridge between us is going to make this interesting in all sorts of delicious ways, I thought, closing my eyes and feeling the rush of my spell on her spreading to me as my hips started pumping my cock in and out of her. A slow, rhythmic pace at first, making sure that every thrust counted, driving into her hard and firmly. But I could feel her needs now, interestingly enough, and as much as she enjoyed the roughness, she wanted it paired with a bit more speed. Thrusting faster meant I wasn’t able to find her pleasure spot each time, but as my hand slipped between us, stroking her clit in time with my hips thrusting, it felt like it didn’t much matter. I could feel her wings pushing her body up to press against mine, letting me feel the silky, firm weight of her breasts bouncing each time I hammered myself inside her until I felt her body tightening around me again.
Feeling the orgasm wash through her pushed me over the edge I’d been balancing on. It was a secondary feeling, but hearing her cries of pleasure joining mine and all the other wet sounds of our sex made it impossible to stay in control. Another couple of quick, rough thrusts into her wet, tightening pussy had my cock twitching inside her. I could feel my cum mingling with hers over and over again until we were both spent. I wasn’t sure how she could have had two orgasms in that quick a succession, but the feel of it had my skin tingling and rushing with all kinds of new and interesting sensations that had me dropping onto the bed beside her, struggling to breathe.
From the startled look on her face as she came over and leaned her head on my chest, I could tell she was almost surprised as I was.
“Wow,” she gasped, licking her lips, letting her tongue lightly brush over my skin.
“What the fuck was that?” I asked, not even sure I needed an answer, only the recognition that she was feeling the same I was.
“Mmm, one of the benefits to having a connection like ours,” Aliana whispered, her eyes closed as she slowly came back down to earth with a smile.
“How is it that the elves weren’t… just doing this all the time?” I asked. I suddenly realized that I’d spoken without thinking again. It couldn’t have been a topic she wanted to talk about as lightly as this.
Thankfully, she replied with a giggle. “Well, it was never quite like this. What you and I have is unique. The way your power grows and reflects on mine each time... I would say that it is unheard of. I’ve certainly never seen the like.”
I smiled, running my fingers through her hair, watching as the sun moved high as midday approached. Having missed out on a morning meal, I would have thought that there would have been a need for food rumbling in me, but it was surprisingly silent. I moved over to the side of my bed, where there was a bowl with some fresh water and a clean cloth. I decided against having the whole bowl precariously perched on the soft mattress and instead dipping the cloth inside, getting it completely soaked before turning back to Aliana, who was studying me curiously.
“What are you doing?” she asked, quirking an eyebrow. I didn’t answer immediately, letting my actions speak instead. I ran the drenched cloth lightly over her bare stomach first, feeling the inhuman warmth of her skin. I was no longer surprised by it. I smiled I moved over her hips and down her thighs, pausing to refresh the rag before drawing it up to her heavy breasts. I could feel her wings flexing and fluttering lightly as I moved up to her neck, coming back down to her shoulders and then all the way down over her breasts again.
“Mmm,” she moaned softly in my ear, running her hands idly over my body. “And you didn’t even need a spell this time.”
I smiled. “I’m not sure if this is the time, but, well, I’m feeling a bit curious about what you knew about dark djinn. I mean no offense, of course, but not that long ago, you were creatures of fables. I’m starting to see now that a lot of our fables of monsters were a lot less imaginary than previously thought. And now we have one wandering about.”
Aliana leaned back in the bed as I kept gently washing her body.
After a long moment, she spoke. “Djinn are almost what you would consider to be mercenaries for hire. I would have said once that they were creatures of darkness and malice, but then I realized that’s what they became over the years. They kill indiscriminately, in very creative and interesting ways. They’re not always bound to trinkets or artifacts anymore, but they can be caught and held captive, turned back into slaves for a master. I think that’s part of what makes them so angry against the world.”
I nodded. I could understand. I had a couple of very interesting deaths in mind for Vis if I ever could get my hands on him, and that was for less than a decade of servitude. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to be used like that for decades, maybe even centuries. Being turned into a vessel for another person’s desires, no matter how depraved or horrifying. I could imagine how that would make any person, of any race, see the world very differently. Thoughts of what could have happened to Aliana if she ended up under the control of someone like Cyron made a shiver of disgust run up my spine.
“What’s the matter?” she asked.
“Nothing,” I lied. I knew she could tell whether I was speaking the truth or not, but I didn’t even want to grace the thought with words. “I think we need some more water. I’ll return in a bit.”
I didn’t bother with a shirt or boots, reclaiming only my trousers as I made my way out of the house to find a source of water. There were a couple of wells spread around the place, and even a small stream that ran through a couple of the gardens that were left open to the sun.
Eventually, I found myself in one of these gardens. It was a peace
ful little nook, with the clear water flowing out from under the walls, making a long curve through the garden and then circling back to hide under the walls again. I had no idea where the source was, but it was fresh water. Lacking any other closer option to get it, I moved closer to the stream and droppedto my knees beside it to scoop it into the bowl directly. Sure, there were probably all sorts of protocols in place to keep someone from doing precisely that, but at the moment, I could care less.
As I scooped up the clear liquid, I realized, after a moment of staring, that the eyes looking back at me weren’t mine. They were a perfect sky blue. As I looked around, I realized the face wasn’t mine either. Elegant aquiline features replaced mine, with pale skin dotted with freckles and long, black hair, flowing like it was moving with the stream.
“Well, hello there,” I heard a voice. Not hearing, not really. It was in my head, echoing around my skull. “Who the hell are you?”
I didn’t answer, still not sure if I wasn’t the one to be asking the very same question.
“I know this connection,” she said with a laugh after a couple of moments. “You have a trinket that bound one of my kind in servitude, didn’t you? Odd to see you here. I wasn’t really looking for you, if I’m perfectly honest. Though you will do just as well, I suppose.”
“You’re a djinn?” I asked. It was hard to wrap my mind around the fact that I was talking aloud to someone that I could only hear in my thoughts, but it almost seemed rude not to answer her.
“Oh, you are a sharp one,” she said with a grin. “Yes, yes I am. Not many know to associate me with that name. Oh… You’re handsome, too. So rare to find both elements in the single person, and in a man, no less. That’s rather refreshing, I must say.”
“What are you talking about?” I asked. If we were exchanging compliments, I wondered if it was my turn to say that she was rather beautiful as well. More of her form was revealed in the water, showing a full, curvaceous form barely contained under black silk robes.