by Dante King
“Win thinks I have let myself run to seed,” Toshiro explained to Cara and I with a smile, picking up his cup, “and I suppose I have to some degree. But what is retirement for if not to enjoy some pleasures?” Here he glared as Win, and his eyes flashed. “And I have not entirely given up my old talents, as well he knows!”
Cara and I both laughed, and I stood up, stretching, enjoying the feeling of the cool air on my skin as my shoulders and back cracked. I’d been sitting down too long. The dusk had turned to evening and then to true night while we had talked. From behind us, all was quiet in the house.
“Well,” I said, “if it’s not rude to suggest it, I think I’ll go to bed. It’s been a long day.”
“Of course,” Toshiro said. “And I think there is a cup or two of this fine saké left in the bottle, so I will just finish this off and listen to the song of the night insects.”
He hefted the bottle with a mischievous look at the disapproving expression on Win’s face. Cara stood as well, smiling at me. We said our goodnights to the old pair. Toshiro smiled, bowed, and said goodnight. Win wished us a goodnight as well, then turned his steely eye on his master again.
Cara and I walked back up to the house. As we stepped into the main hall, I glanced back, taking in the scene. Then I realized that most of their argumentativeness was for show.
In the light of the yellow lanterns, I saw that Win had taken the seat which I had vacated. He was pouring from the bottle, one for himself and one for Toshiro. There was the sound of low voices, and then the clink of two ceramic mugs as the old warriors raised a toast to each other. They both leaned back in their chairs in silence, looking out into the night.
Cara and I returned to our quarters, neither of us speaking but both very eager to be alone again. By the time we were inside the private chamber, my heart was racing, as though I was about to bed a woman for the very first time.
“The night is still young,” I said as I slid the door closed and turned to face Cara. “We were doing something before, weren’t we? I seem to recall your lips on mine, and my hands about your waist.”
Cara’s lips upturned into a sexy smile. “Oh, is that what we were doing? I’d almost forgotten. Shall we resume?”
I laughed as I took her in my arms. Our lips met in a gentle, exploratory kiss which quickly became firm. She let out a soft moan as I pressed a hand to the small of her back, feeling her muscles under my hand. Her hands came up to touch my face and neck, and her mouth was all over mine, kissing me hungrily. When we came up for air, I reached down and scooped her up in my arms. She felt as light as a feather and she laughed breathlessly as I carried her over to the sleeping mat and laid her down on it.
I dropped to my knees in front of her and pushed back the light fabric of the green dress. It slipped up the smooth surface of her long legs, past her full buttocks and then bunched in my hands at the small of her back. She groaned and opened her legs to me as she pulled the dress up and over her head, discarding it and throwing her head back as I dropped my head between her legs.
She was soaking wet and ready for me. My tongue found the center of her pleasure and worked it expertly, the sharp, clean taste of her filling my senses. Her hands were running through my hair. I wrapped my arms around her hips and moved with her as she rocked back and forth.
At some point, I turned part of my attention to the Persona I was wearing. To my satisfaction, it only took the slightest effort to make the entire outfit fade away. I was naked, working Cara to ecstasy with my tongue. Suddenly she bucked against me, and I felt her climax.
I reared up, rock hard, and she sat up and lunged forward to pull me into her mouth. Aside from the prohibition on relations between war leaders, the people of Saxe were not prudish about sex, and there were plenty of women who were eager to take their pleasure with a warrior like me. So, I was no stranger to hot sex with Saxen women, but Cara’s instinct for using her mouth was better than anything I’d experienced before. She worked my shaft with her tongue, her lips, and her hands, and the waves of pleasure rolled through me.
“Now, now, I need you inside me, Leo,” she panted, looking up at me with her lips just inches from my cock. She held my eyes for a moment, then turned around and got on her hands and knees in front of me, her legs spread wide and her glistening sex inviting me in.
I took her round, firm hips in my hands and guided myself inside, and she cried out in pleasure as I filled her. We quickly found our rhythm, and I found that she wanted it as hard as I could deliver. Her head was pillowed on the sleeping mat and her hands were rubbing at her clitoris as we built toward our climax together. Cara moaned and panted with the pounding rhythm and I felt her clench around me as her second climax started.
That was enough for me. Our simultaneous climax thundered through both of us, and the pleasure of feeling my seed pumping into her filled my senses. Then, there came a deepening and widening of my awareness. There was a swirling vortex of blue light joining me and Cara, and I felt strongly the presence of the Ironside Persona, and the Kitsune Persona.
And there were more. In the shadows around the two Personas, there were others whose shapes I couldn’t make out. Were they other Personas? I didn’t think so. It was more like they were spaces where new Personas could go. Spaces in a collection, with Ironside and Kitsune in the center, in pride of place. I saw lines of tall figures, like statues carved of stone, tall and imposing in the shadows. There were mythical creatures, great warriors, and strange beings which seemed neither human nor animal. In one long, shimmering moment, I saw at last the full potential of my power to bind Personas. It was limitless.
The vision passed. Cara turned and reached up to put her arms around me. We collapsed together onto the soft warmth of the sleeping mats. We kissed again, our sweat mixing on our lips and making the kiss salty. She rolled on top of me, then lay her head on my chest, making contented noises as she snuggled in. I reached out and pulled a blanket over us, then wrapped my arms around her.
Chapter Eleven
We slept all night. When I woke up it was very early, and the sun was just climbing over the rim of the clifftop to illuminate the valley outside. I stood, and Cara rolled over and wrapped the blankets snugly around herself, then sat up, yawning. Her hair was wild about her head, and she smiled at me as I walked over to the bowls of water, picked up a cloth, and washed. The cold water made me catch my breath. I felt awake, looking forward to the day.
“Did you see the vision of all the Personas?” Cara asked sleepily as she watched me washing.
I turned my head quickly to look at her. “Yes,” I said, surprised. “Did you see it too? I thought that was just me.”
She shook her head, slowly. “I saw them. Ironside and Kitsune were very clear, but there were others, thousands of others, just waiting to be found. They were mysterious, tantalizing, like faces seen through a curtain.”
I looked at her in amazement. “Cara, you realize what this could mean?”
“No...” she said, then trailed off as understanding began to take shape. “You... you don’t mean... you think I can...?”
“I think this might mean we can share Personas! This must have been what the Keeper was talking about!”
She jumped up from the bed, her naked body confidently on display. In the morning light, she was magnificent. She stood, gold hair artlessly flung over her shoulder, her hands on her shapely hips. I ran my eyes up her long, graceful legs, past the blonde tuft of hair between her legs, over her round, pert breasts, her toned shoulders, and her elegant, pale neck. When I found her eyes, she was smiling wickedly at me, and I felt myself growing hard just looking at her.
I glanced toward the window. “It’s early yet.”
“It certainly is.”
The sun was well over the horizon when we finally made it downstairs. Our excitement at the prospect of sharing Personas hadn’t stopped us getting involved in another session of passionate lovemaking, this time without any magical events at the climax
. When we had both satisfied each other again, we ate the meal of pickled vegetables, crisply fried meat, sweet red fruit, and soft, savory boiled grain that had been laid out for us the night before. Cara dressed in her leathers and weapons again, and I opted for the civilian outfit aspect of the Kitsune Persona.
We went downstairs and out through the main part of the house into the wide courtyard out back. Though surrounded by elegant gardens, the courtyard itself was clean brushed earth. The old servant, Win, was there, and he greeted us cordially.
“I will go fetch my master,” he said. “I am sure you all have much to discuss.”
We were left in the courtyard alone. We were both itching to try our new ability, but not quite sure how to go about it.
“Can you feel the Personas?” I asked.
Cara screwed up her brows in concentration. “Yes, it’s strange, it’s like they are hovering just out of reach of my mind.”
“Reach for one,” I urged her.
“I’m trying,” she said. “I can’t get a grip on it.”
“Which one are you reaching for?”
“The Kitsune Persona.”
A flash of intuition revealed it to me. “No, hold on, perhaps you can’t because I’m wearing it. Try the Ironside Persona instead.”
“Ah! That would make sense,” she said. “All right, I’ll try... Oh!”
It was amazing to see the transformation from an observer’s perspective. White and blue light flashed through her, and her leather armor shivered and transformed. As I had suspected it might, the Ironside Persona manifested in a different way for her than it had for me. It was still a suit of armor, creamy white enameled metal surfaces and gold trim around the edges of the plate, but instead of being a full body suit, it left some of her skin exposed. Her taut belly was uncovered, as were her shoulders and the tops of her breasts. The metal plating was sculpted close to the shape of her chest, just covering her breasts and extending around the tops of her arms. At her hips, a chainmail skirt dropped to protect her hips and high boots reached up to the middle of her thighs, leaving a tantalizing expanse of white thigh uncovered.
On her back, instead of axes, there was a massive two-handed sword and a shield like the one I used, but smaller. Two smaller straight swords graced her belt, one at each hip.
With a laugh of delight, she reached for the big sword and it flew into her hand. She spun, whirling the huge blade in a two-handed grip, then flung it back onto her back and grabbed the two smaller swords. She dual-wielded them through a series of lightning swift cuts, diving across the courtyard and back as she lunged, slashed, and parried.
“It feels amazing!” she said as she came back to me, sheathing the swords. “Shall we swap? I’d like to try the Kitsune Persona.”
“All right, let’s try swapping.” I extended my awareness to the Ironside Persona, and felt her reaching for the Kitsune Persona at the same time. The swap happened instantaneously, with the familiar rush of warmth that came with the donning of the Persona of Ironside. As the Persona took hold of me, I chose the civilian outfit aspect and was pleased to find myself clad in the dark woolen tunic and trousers again. The Kitsune’s civilian robes had been comfortable, but the Ironside outfit was more like what I was used to wearing during my time off back in Saxe, and it felt somehow more comfortable.
Cara’s transformation was remarkable. Where the Shinobi outfit of the Kitsune Persona had manifested on me as a heavy, rather shapeless costume of dark cloth, on Cara it became a skin-tight suit of midnight black. Red runes in a script I did not recognize were woven into it, and slashes of dark crimson cloth outlined Cara’s hips and chest to great effect. The headgear was more shapely, too, showing more of her cheeks.
And then there were the weapons.
For me, the Kitsune Persona’s shinobi aspect had come with the shuriken stars and the tanto blade, but when Cara wore it the weapon roster was different. On her back was a recurve bow and quiver, both of black wood. The bow had bands of deep red at the spots on the top and bottom where the bowstring was fixed in place. The color matched the sleek red bands on her costume.
The shuriken star belt was still in place, slung over her left shoulder. At her left hip, there was a long straight sword in a sheath of gleaming black wood, and on her right, the belt broadened into a potion-holder with many small spaces filled with vials and bottles.
She drew the sword with a lightning quick motion, and the blade whispered death in the still morning air. To both of our surprise, the metal of the blade was as black as the rest of her costume.
“What do you think?” she asked me. She sheathed the sword again, then held her arms out and gave a twirl.
“I think it fits you as if it was made for you,” I said sincerely. “Try removing the headgear. Switching individual elements of the Personas is an important part of their use.”
She concentrated for a moment, and then the tightly-wrapped headgear was gone. The fabric flashed and flickered for a moment, then was gone. Cara’s wealth of fair hair tumbled down, unbound across her shoulders.
“I want to try the ice shuriken stars with a fire arrow,” she said, glancing about. “Where can we go where we won’t endanger the house?”
“You may practice here,” said the voice of Toshiro from behind us. We looked up to see his yellow-clad figure advancing down the steps toward us. He was smiling, and looking refreshed and renewed.
“You’re sure? But the magic, the explosions, it might damage your home.”
He shook his head. “My house is under an ancient enchantment that goes with the land. The furnishings, the contents, even the people inside may be damaged, but the fabric of the building—wood, stones, and slates—all will withstand magical and physical attacks. You need have no fear of causing injury to my home. I am eager to see you display your powers.”
He sat on a step and settled himself to watch our experimentation.
Cara said, “I’m going to try withholding the ice damage first, and just throwing a normal shuriken.” She lifted her hand to the sash.
Toshiro leaped to his feet. “Wait a moment!” he said, sounding excited, then hurried into the house, calling for the servants. A couple minutes later, five servants came out of the house carrying straw-filled practice dummies and a broad wooden board with a target painted on in black and white rings. At Toshiro’s instruction, they were set up at the far end of the yard.
“I’d almost forgotten them,” he said, sounding pleased with himself. “This used to be a weapons practice court, back when I kept my skills in better condition.”
“You were a warrior, then?”
“I was one of the Shogun’s personal bodyguard. But enough of that. Let me see you demonstrate your skills. Don’t worry about destroying the dummies, we can make more.”
Cara slid three stars into her hand. Then she launched them at the board. They multiplied, then thudded into the target rings with beautiful accuracy. Toshiro clapped his hands. “Well done!” he cried. “Try again!”
Grinning at our host’s enthusiasm, Cara took another three stars. “I’m going to try something different, this time.”
She concentrated, then spun her whole body around and flung the deadly shuriken stars. This time, they did not multiply. She flung three, and three hit the board. I leapt to my feet in surprise. How had she done that? But before I could speak, she’d whipped another three stars from the belt and flung them. Again, they didn’t multiply, but that was not all. I smiled in amazement. Two stars were normal, but one trailed a freezing tail of ice behind it and froze the target board when it hit.
Not only had she worked out how to choose whether the stars multiplied in mid-air, she had also discovered how to do what I had not managed to do—she could apply the ice damage attribute to one star in a flight while withholding it from the others.
She turned to us and bowed, satisfaction and pleasure shining from her face.
“You did it!” I said.
“Yes. It’s hard t
o describe how I did it. It’s almost as if the Persona itself spoke to me, and I knew instinctively how to do it. Do you want to try?”
I shook my head. She had walked over to me, and now I put my hands on her shoulders and looked down into her eyes. “No,” I said, “I think that from now on, the Kitsune Persona is yours. The Personas I bind are bound not to me, but to us. I will use the Ironside Persona, because the axe suits my fighting style, but the Kitsune seems almost to have been made for you. Try your bow!”
Her eyes shone, and she leaned up to kiss me on the lips. Then she leaped away—the Persona had given her incredible agility, and she did a backflip onto her hands before springing up onto her feet again. The bow was in her hands, and three black-feathered arrows flew, slamming into the face of one of the training dummies.
She reached for a potion, and a bright yellow phial flew into her hand. She treated the tip of her arrow, nocked, drew, and loosed all in one fluid motion. She had already been greatly skilled, but the Kitsune Persona made her movements nearly as quick as sight.
One of the training dummies exploded into orange flames, and black smoke rose from the conflagration. She pulled a shuriken star, applied the ice magic and flung it into the fire. I expected an explosion, but instead a thick coating of ice wrapped the burning dummy, quenching the flames.
“That was unexpected!” she said.
“You must have to freeze the target first to achieve an explosion. Try again.”
Two more stars flew, thudding into the ice-covered figure. Two new layers of ice expanded rapidly to cover the first, leaving a shapeless, vaguely humanoid lump of opaque ice where the dummy had been. Then, a fire arrow flew from Cara’s bow.
This time, we got the expected result and then some. The thunderous explosion was deafening, and the shockwave from it knocked the other training dummies over and sent the wooden target flying. I braced as the shockwave hit me, and Toshiro leaped instinctively into a stylized fighter’s stance, one open palm raised in the direction of the explosion, the other in a fist at his hip. Cara dropped to one knee to resist the shockwave.