Loyalty Oath

by Edmund Hughes

  “Which road should I take out of here?” asked Jack.

  Reese pointed to the roughest-looking one, which was only visible for a couple of miles before it disappeared into the dense, surrounding forests. It was going to be an adventure, that much was for sure.

  He started the truck up, grinning to himself as he heard the roar of the engine. He shifted it into gear and started forward, driving slowly at first to get used to the weight of the cats in back.

  With both windows down, the breeze rippled through the Hummer’s cab as they picked up speed, doing interesting, hard-to-ignore things with Reese’s thin sundress. Jack pushed the Hummer to the limit, seeing how fast he could get it going while the road was still in a reasonably drivable state. The answer was pretty damn fast.

  He slowed as they entered the dense jungle, paying more attention to the lay of the land. Potholes were common enough in the dirt road to make the flat sections seem like the oddity. The Hummer didn’t seem to mind most of them, its massive tires treating them like minor annoyances.

  There were lots of bugs in the air, and after a couple of minutes, Jack opted to roll up the windows and turn on the AC. Reese seemed content with the silence, but Jack’s curiosity got the better of him.

  “How did you end up working for Mezolak?” he asked.

  Reese didn’t answer right away. Which didn’t seem weird, coming from her. The similarities between her and her cats didn’t end at the striking, vertical pupils. Reese had an aloof air about her, as though she was a stranger who just happened to have a similar goal.

  “He gave me food,” said Reese, after a minute. “He also helped my friends.”

  “Your friends?” asked Jack. “Do you mean your cats?”

  Reese nodded. She didn’t say anything else.

  “That’s it?” he asked. “That’s all it took for you to serve someone like Mezolak? I’m assuming you’re aware of some of the things he’s done. Some of the things he’s capable of.”

  Reese was silent again, and a tension settled on the air that seemed to belong more to Jack, than to her.

  “I’m strong, but not the strongest,” said Reese. “I’m pretty. As a human, and as a cat. There are people and… entities out there that see me as something to have. A trophy, or a pet.”

  “Protection?” asked Jack. “You went to Mezolak because you thought he could protect you?”

  “Me and my friends,” said Reese. “But yes. Mezolak is dangerous, and that’s good.”

  “You could find someone else that’s dangerous,” said Jack. “Maybe someone with a better understanding of right and wrong.”

  Reese shrugged, and Jack let it drop. Mezolak had explicitly given her to him as a thrall. He already noticed he was feeling a little protective of her, and the idea of letting her go back to serving a literal demon after their job was done was out of the question.

  CHAPTER 6

  The road grew rougher, and in a strange twist, it only made the job of operating the Hummer that much more fun. Jack bounced in his seat as he twisted the wheel to find purchase with the tires over a massive pothole. There was a muddy section of road after that, and he picked up speed as he entered it, letting the tires kick up plumes of muck in their wake.

  One of the cats let out an annoyed roar loud enough to be heard over the sound of the engine, and Jack was suddenly glad for the separation between the truck bed and cab. He slowed as the road began to follow the edge of a river, meandering back and forth in a path parallel to the water.

  The hours slipped by. The Hummer was unusually fuel-efficient, though he’d noticed a fuel tank in the truck bed in case they needed it. They drove out of the jungle and into a clearing just as the sun began to set over the horizon. Reese reached over and set a hand on his knee.

  “We should rest,” she said simply.

  Jack nodded. They were still next to the river, which would give them an opportunity to bathe if they wanted to take the risk of whatever might be lurking under the water’s surface. Being out in a clearing would be the safest place for them to spend the night, though he wasn’t overly worried about wild animals with Reese’s cats around.

  “Alright,” he said. “Let’s set up camp. If I work on the tent, will you handle dinner?”

  “Fresh meat?” asked Reese.

  Jack shrugged. “I was going to build a fire anyway. It would certainly be a step up from the dried food that we brought with us.”

  He brought the Hummer to a stop next to a flat section of field and killed the engine. It was hard to keep his sense of adventure and wonder in check as he climbed out of the driver’s seat. He was in South America, chasing a rogue mage who had once tried to kill him. He had to remind himself of the evil intentions behind Mezolak’s request to keep himself grounded.

  Reese spent a few minutes petting her cats before whispering something to each one and sending them off. They seemed totally comfortable heading off into the jungle on their own. For at least a few of them, Jack was relatively sure that it was their natural environment.

  The tent was small, barely big enough for two people, and even then they’d be getting closely acquainted with each other. It basically self-assembled, with Jack only needing to connect a single, flexible pole. The rest of them unfolded automatically, and he had it finished within a couple of minutes.

  There were sleeping bags, too. He stretched them out across the tent’s canvas interior to form a sort of carpet, as he doubted they’d be needing their warmth. Next, Jack found the fire kit and began collecting fallen branches for fuel.

  He looked around the clearing for Reese and spotted her in the water, bathing. She’d taken her sundress off to do it, and Jack felt a flush of voyeuristic heat come to his cheeks as he watched her.

  She had the perfectly sculpted body of a dancer or a gymnast, muscle spread so evenly across her that it almost seemed unfair to other women. Her breasts were larger than they looked in her dress, with light tan nipples that stood out against her pale flesh. She also had tan lines that suggested that she’d worn a bikini for a while in the sun recently. A very small bikini.

  Jack came to his senses and forced his attention back to the fire. He still felt weird about the idea of her being his thrall. It was for real this time. Back when he’d fed off Katie, Ryoko, and even Mira, he’d gone out of his way to use the anti-enthrallment potion to mitigate the effects of his bite. Even with the numerous girls he’d brought back to his apartment, he’d always been careful.

  How loyal would Reese end up becoming to him? Was there any reason not to think that she’d choose him over Mezolak, especially after a few more feedings, once the enthrallment became embedded deep in her psyche? Was it fair for him to ask her to betray her original master, given how evil Mezolak was?

  He had questions, but no answers.

  The fire kit had come with loose, fluffy bits of tinder, along with waterproof matches, a Zippo, and magnesium dust. A child could have gotten a roaring blaze going with that type of setup. Within a minute, Jack had a small, crackling fire that he fed with dry branches. The smoke smelled good and brought a dryness with it that made him notice the general humidity.

  Reese had her sundress back on as she walked into camp, though her body was so wet that there was almost no point. It clung to her tighter than the thinnest silk, and Jack swore he could see the color of her nipples through it, on top of their general perkiness.

  “You should clean yourself, too,” said Reese. “You smell.”

  He shrugged. It was probably a fair assessment. He hadn’t gotten a chance to take a proper shower that morning since they’d left so early. He pulled his t-shirt off and headed over to the river.

  The water was frigid but clean and fast-flowing. Jack left his jeans and socks on the shore but waited until he was up to the waist to take his boxers off. He wasn’t quite as free-spirited when it came to exhibiting himself as Reese was.

  He scrubbed himself off as well as he could with no soap and then pulled his boxers
back on and returned to the camp. There wasn’t much point in getting dressed again until he dried off, so he set his clothing aside and returned to feeding wood into the fire in just his underwear.

  “Mezolak says I should keep you well-fed,” said Reese.

  Jack was sitting on a large rock. Reese walked over and sat in his lap, pulling her scraggly wet white hair back to expose her neck.

  “Right now?” he said.

  “If you want,” said Reese.

  She shifted in his lap, her butt moving against his crotch in a way that felt awesome.

  “Uh,” said Jack. “Sometimes when I feed, I get a little worked up.”

  Reese turned to meet his gaze. She blinked her big cat eyes at him and shook her head.

  “And?” she asked.

  “I just want to give you a heads up,” said Jack. “I don’t like the feeling of taking advantage of people.”

  Reese’s lips turned up into a slow smile. She stood up from his lap, and a devious expression took over her face. Before Jack could stop her, she rushed forward, pushing him hard in the chest. He fell off the rock and landed on his back hard enough to knock the wind out of his lungs.

  “Hey!” said Jack. “What the hell?”

  Reese jumped on top of him, putting energy into a wrestling match that Jack hadn’t seen the billing for. He started wrestling her back after a second, sliding his hands across her to try to find purchase and flip her underneath him.

  “If you’re strong enough to take me,” purred Reese, “then you can have me.”

  She slammed her knee into the side of one of Jack’s thighs, hard enough to make it seem less like play and more like an actual fight. Jack grimaced and tried to grab her leg to hold it still. She was still wearing the sundress, and he felt his fingers gazing across her nude buttocks as he searched for a grip.

  Reese wasn’t playing around. She sucked in a gasping breath as some of Jack’s fingers traced across the inside of her leg. She twisted, and Jack felt her fingernails leaving painful scratches across his back.

  “That’s it!” snapped Jack, feeling himself get a little angry.

  He hadn’t wrestled a girl in any serious manner since he’d been a child, and that had been with Katie. It had felt different back then. Neither of them had been mature, in mind or body, and obviously, neither of them had been almost naked.

  Reese tried to put him into a headlock. Jack leaned forward, lifting her into the air as he stood up. He all but threw her into the tent and onto the sleeping bags, and she let out an excited, hissing laugh.

  Jack was on top of her before she could get back to her feet. He cheated a little, drawing from his vampiric strength as he pinned her arms. Reese thrashed, laughing and hissing with an intensity that made her seem a little less than human.

  “I am strong,” said Jack. “Stronger than you.”

  “Ooh,” said Reese. “Prove it.”

  Jack bared his teeth and sank his fangs deep into her neck. Reese let out a pleasured, squealing laugh and almost immediately stopped resisting. She tasted incredible, and Jack felt an odd respect for the fact that she’d made him work for it.

  He was stronger than her, and she was his thrall. He felt himself drinking her delicious, lavender-scented blood more freely than he otherwise would have. He’d need to give her plenty of time that night to rest and recuperate.

  Her sundress suddenly seemed like an unnecessary thing to Jack. A layer of pointless cloth. He pulled it up, letting his hand explore a few of the places it had grazed over before. Reese’s body was tense and still at the same time, like a kitten being held by the nape of its neck.

  He let his hands run over her breasts, squeezing and appreciating their softness. With a grunt of effort, Jack pulled his mouth back, giving her a respite from being drained of her blood. Reese immediately started wiggling and laughing again. Jack kept her pinned.

  “We aren’t done yet,” he said.

  Reese licked her lips and slowly bucked her hips against him. Jack had to let go of her wrists to pull down her boxers, and he watched her eyes widen slightly as she saw his erect shaft snap into view.

  Reese made a small, pleased humming noise and lifted her arms, letting him pull the sundress the rest of the way over her head. She flashed a quick, mischievous smile, and for a second, Jack thought that she was going to attack him again.

  She didn’t. She spread her thighs wide open and rested her hands on his shoulders, her fingernails kneading into his skin like a cat digging its claws into a pillow.

  He kissed her deeply and thrust forward, entering her with most of his length in a single movement. Reese was unusually tight but clearly turned on. It felt almost like trying to squeeze into a stretchy glove a size too small, and the sensation was gripping in a figurative and literal sense as he started to move.

  Reese was very vocal, but none of the noises she was making sounded like they belonged to a human. It was hot, and a little weird. She made a high-pitched, mewling sound as Jack’s lips pinched against one of her nipples.

  The afterglow of the blood he’d taken from her made each and every movement feel amplified by ten. Jack kissed her lips, her neck, and her chin. He watched her breasts jiggling as he really started to pump into her.

  He pulled her body as tight against him as he could in a gesture that felt like a physical manifestation of his dominance. Mezolak had given her to him as a thrall, but it was up to Jack to really take her. And that was what he was doing, thrusting into her hard enough so that she could feel it. Hard enough to hurt.

  Reese bit his shoulder and dug her fingers into his back. She wrapped her legs around him, hugging him so tightly that Jack had to shift his angle of attack. He let himself enjoy it, pumping faster than he probably should have. He got a little ahead of himself and went a little too far.

  Reese didn’t let go of him as he unloaded in her. The pleasure hit Jack in a massive, gushing, and unfortunately, slightly premature wave. He smiled and pulled back slightly, watching as Reese continued to move against him like a cat feeling needy for attention.

  “Are you finished?” she whispered.

  “No,” said Jack. “I’m just getting started.”

  CHAPTER 7

  Several rounds later, Jack stood outside the tent, coaxing the fire they’d forgotten about back to life. Reese’s cats had returned at some point during their lovemaking, though they’d done a good job of remaining unobtrusive. One of them had managed to catch a fuzzy animal that reminded him slightly of a small, wild pig. Jack had opted to skewer it through with a branch after skinning it, not trusting himself to do much more than that.

  He set up a basic spit and began cooking their dinner over the fire. Reese walked around outside the tent, petting each of her cats and giving them affection in turn. She was totally comfortable with walking around naked, and despite how effectively she’d worn him out, the sight was still more than a little arousing.

  She finished petting the largest of the bunch, the freakishly huge tiger, and then stood up. All of the cats headed back off into the jungle. Jack turned the spit, making sure the meat was cooking evenly, and then walked over to her.

  “Why’d you send them off?” he asked.

  “They’ll keep watch,” said Reese. “Guard the camp.”

  “Are you expecting trouble?” asked Jack.

  In way of answer, Reese tilted her head back and sniffed the air several times.

  “Maybe,” she said. “There is a smell.”

  “Do you think it’s the Order?” asked Jack. “Or maybe Pierce?”

  Reese shrugged.

  “There is a smell,” she repeated.

  The meat was a little overcooked when Jack pulled it off the spit, but still flavorful and fatty. He and Reese ate in relative silence. Jack wondered if she ever ate with her cats before deciding that the answer probably involved her being in werecat form and taking down animals alongside them.

  The wind blew through the clearing, making the trees in the
surrounding jungle let out a whistling hiss. The noise of the birds and the insects was constant in the background, but Jack’s ears couldn’t pick out anything unusual beyond that.

  “Come on,” he said. “We should get some rest while we have the chance.”

  They curled up in the tent together, both of them naked on top of the sleeping bags. Reese licked his face a couple of times before nestling her head against his shoulder. It felt strange, and it was the first time Jack had really fallen asleep with a woman since leaving Lestaron Island. He was always so careful to send the girls he’d bring back to the penthouse home each night, lest they start to get attached.

  Reese was his thrall. He was allowed to let her get attached to him, but it still somehow felt wrong. As though he was leading her on, and letting her get close to him on false pretenses. Which, given her apparent loyalty to Mezolak and Jack’s planned deception, was exactly what he was doing.

  He managed to fall asleep after a little while, but only for a few hours. A loud shout came from outside the tent in the jungle. It was immediately followed by a higher-pitched shout, which gave way to panicked, desperate screaming.

  Jack was up and moving immediately, not bothering to take the time to put on clothes. He ran across the clearing and toward the source of the noise, only slowing down when he made out the silhouettes of Reese’s cats, and the body underneath them.

  “This is what I smelled,” said Reese.

  Jack grimaced as he watched Reese’s cats bite small hunks of flesh off what had once been a tanned man of indeterminable age. He was very much dead, and he had so many gory injuries that it was hard to tell which one had done the job.

  “We didn’t need to kill him,” said Jack. “I don’t even see a weapon on him. And now, we can’t even ask him what he was doing here.”

  “My cats like to kill,” said Reese. “Also, I like to kill.”

  “Well, don’t do it anymore unless I tell you to,” said Jack, sharpening his voice a little. She was his thrall. He didn’t care if she’d gotten into the habit of killing indiscriminately under Mezolak. He did things differently.