Huntress

by Elizabeth Hartwell

  “Perhaps you looked for ways to support your system of beliefs, but is that wrong?” Lance asks. “I—”

  “It’s wrong when it’s hurting my friends and my people!” I yell, turning on them. “Instead of trying to figure out scientific ways to Hunt, we’ve been hamstringing ourselves, fumbling around with one eye closed. We should have been going into this with our eyes open!”

  Lance stands up and steps in front of me, putting his hands on my arms. “Come on, Cerena, have a seat. Obviously, Elizabeth just cracked your head a little. Tell us what she said.”

  I nod and sit down between them on the couch, the words starting slowly. I promised Elizabeth that I wouldn’t tell about Brandon’s lineage, but everything else comes out. I talk about what I learned about Bane, about the other gods . . . I even talk about Sulis.

  “So she . . . what? Convinced your ancestors to just be her lackeys?” Lance asks. “What did they get in exchange?”

  “Who knows?” I reply. “Perhaps the technology wasn’t as good as they claimed. Maybe she blessed them somehow. I mean, that’s what goddesses do, right? Maybe she, fuck, I don’t know. Maybe she cleansed the land around Solace? I’ve always wondered just why it has such a low level of background radiation.”

  “Maybe she gave all the Elders blowjobs,” Lance offers, then shakes his head. “No . . . Elizabeth’s a chick. Scissoring?”

  “Come off it, Lance,” Tym says, but I know what Lance is doing. He’s just trying to make me smile a little. It’s not what Tym does, but it’s how Lance deals with his stress and emotions. And it’s just as natural to him as Tym’s self-control is.

  “No, Lance, don’t come off it,” I interject, shaking my head. “You two, for the whole time I’ve known you, have been good men. You’ve let me be one deluded bitch who bossed you around more than once. A part of me is surprised you put up with my shit for this past week, some ignorant bitch who didn’t even recognize you guys for who you are. You’re both . . . you’re both good men. And fuck it all, I don’t care what the rules or the laws say. You’re both better men than most of the Hunters I know. Better men than . . . my betrothed.”

  I’ve never mentioned Crassus in their presence before, and I’m not surprised when Tym stiffens, but Lance doesn’t. “You are betrothed?”

  I nod, looking at Tym. “It’s a formal thing, really. I . . . Edward is close to this man and looks fondly on him. So before he went into cryosleep last time, I agreed to marry him. We don’t live together, and we’ve only slept together twice . . . but yes, I’m betrothed. Although I really don’t know why.”

  “Meh, I’m okay with it,” Lance says with a chuckle. “Just one thing . . . if you ever do marry this guy, whoever he is, introduce me to him after the wedding night. I want to ask him how he likes my sloppy seconds.”

  I quirk an eyebrow at Lance’s choice of words, but he doesn’t blu allsh at. Instead, he pats my thigh, giving it a squeeze. “Chill, Cerena. Seriously. Listen, I’m going to go get us all some food. Least this place can do for us if we’re on some super-duper secret fucking mission is room service.”

  Lance disappears in front of my eyes, and I blink before turning to Tym. “He did that just to show off, didn’t he?”

  Tym nods. “I suspect to lighten the mood.”

  “And how do you feel?” I ask. “Tym, I . . . how do you feel about all of this?”

  Tym wipes at his lips, nodding as he develops his words, then looks at me warmly. “My whole life, I knew I had to hide who and what I was. Did you know that?”

  I shake my head, surprised. “No. Why is that?”

  “Tyr is not allied with Bane. But in a world where his bloodline is the most aggressive and dominant, it paid to be very careful as to who knew my background. Lance is one of those, because his kind are not only not liked by Bane’s offspring . . . but by pretty much everyone.”

  I laugh, nodding. “I understand. Say, Elizabeth said, and you sort of said as well, that Bane’s connected to both vampires and werewolves. Yet the two sides hate each other. Why?”

  Tym leans into the sofa cushion, his eyes introspective. “I’m surprised. I once thought about why, but few others even care. I would have to talk to a vampire elder or a werewolf pack leader to know for sure, but I suspect one of them is a crossbreed.”

  “Crossbreed?” I ask, my eyebrows lifting. It’s very close to why we were looking for Brandon, so if Tym has any insight, I’d like to know.

  “Bane . . . he and Adonis are twin brothers of similar nature,” Tym explains. “I suspect that one of them impregnated the other’s demigod offspring . . . or maybe two of their offspring got together. For example, take a demon, add a sprinkle of humanity and animalistic nature, and you’ve got a vampire. Or maybe a werewolf, I don’t know.”

  I nod, realizing that Tym’s distracting me. I turn my eyes and look back at him, blinking twice. “And what about . . . my situation?”

  Tym smiles and takes my hand. “We are a team . . . at least until we get this guy Brandon back to Solace. Then, well . . . I know it’d be strange, but I’d like to stay friends if we could.”

  “I’d like that too,” I reply, smiling back. “We make a good team.”

  There’s a kicking sound at the door, and Lance interrupts us. “Hey! Hands are full out here!”

  Time to eat.

  Apparently, it wasn’t planned that Lance, Tym, and I would share quarters. It’s just a simple fact that the Solace embassy in Bane isn’t that large, and so for security reasons, it only has two VIP quarters. With Elizabeth taking up one, that left only one available, and in fact, we’d displaced the three Hunters who are her guard team, making them double up with other Embassy guards for sleep that night.

  I don’t care. The thing I care about is the bed, deep and luxurious and so wide I can’t touch both edges at the same time if I stretch out my arms as much as I can, and sheets that are slightly fuzzy, warm, and soft.

  They help. After dinner, my inner demons started to return, so I excused myself from the guys and got ready for bed. Showering was a beautiful luxury. I nearly moaned out loud when the shower head started doing these little pulses that kneaded the muscles of my neck. I’ve never felt that before, and I will have to figure out how that works when I get back to Solace.

  But now, lying in the dark of my borrowed room, my skin covered by the sheet, I can’t get to sleep. Tomorrow morning, I’m supposed to head out in search of a man who could potentially be the walking end of my species. Not that it seems humans are all that great. We’ve basically lied to ourselves our entire existence, but still, I’ve been playing for Team Homo Sapiens since birth, and I guess I’ll keep going until I see a reason not to.

  Besides, Bane sounds like a real dickhead.

  I toss back and forth, trying to understand why the Elders would lie to all of us and what other secrets they must be hiding, when the door to my bedroom opens quietly, and I still immediately. Underneath my pillow, I reach for my new fighting knife, another little tool that Lance had picked up for me.

  “Chill, Huntress. No need to use that on me . . . yet.”

  I let go of the knife and half sit up, sighing in frustration. In the darkness, I can see him just by the blackness of his body against the midnight blue of the walls, but that’s it.

  “What do you want, Lance?”

  “Me?” Lance says, still moving toward the bed. He sits on the edge, and this close, I can tell he’s wearing some underpants, but that’s it. “Your tossing and turning’s pretty loud. I came in to help you.”

  “And how do you plan on doing that?” I ask, not really interested in the idea of sex. I mean, Lance is good, but . . . fuck, I’m just not in the mood.

  “Oh, I have my ways,” Lance says, reaching out. I go to push his hand away, but he suddenly moves, his hand blurring and finding my side through my sheet.

  “No!” I laugh as he begins tickling me, pushing me back into the bed. I’m laughing, trying to get him off me, but Lance is in
tent on torturing me, it seems. Every time I move, he uses his powers or maybe just his natural playful nature to confound me, his fingertips finding every spot on my body that seems to make me explode with giggles as soon as he touches it.

  I give up trying to play defense and go on the offense, wrapping my arms and legs around Lance and tickling him back. He laughs, and I grunt in accomplishment. “Like that, huh? Better be careful, trickster, or else I’m gonna tickle your ass!”

  “Go ahead . . . maybe I like ass play,” Lance jokes, his fingertips finding my own hips, and I gasp, heat and tickle mixing together. He leans in, nibbling at my neck, and the heat takes over, my moan soft and needy in the darkness.

  “Get this fucking sheet off me,” I grunt as he pulls back, pushing his underpants down. Somehow, we squirm and wiggle until we’re pressed body to body, my legs wrapped around Lance’s hips as he holds me, my hair entangled in his fingers, a prisoner underneath him.

  “How’s it feel, Huntress?” he whispers, licking my throat and sending fresh heat up to melt the worry out of my brain. I can feel his long cock against the inside of my thigh, and already, my pussy’s opening up, my petals spreading to accept him when he wants to take me. Lance notices and pulls my hair a little, laughing as he does. “Now I’m the one who has you captured.”

  “You know I could reverse you,” I mock-threaten but don’t move. Instead, I press my tits tighter against Lance’s hard chest, reaching down and grabbing a double-handful of his bubble butt and squeezing. “I just don’t want to.”

  “Good . . . because I like you just like this,” he says, bringing his hips up higher. I can feel his cock pressing against the entrance to my pussy, slowly being coated in my honey, both of us still, looking in the dim light into each other’s face. “You gonna scream for me?”

  “You gonna make me scream?” I challenge, pulling him in deeper. Lance pushes forward, his long cock sinking into my warm center, and I shiver as the pleasure rolls through my body. “Mmm . . . I don’t know about scream, but I like that.”

  “Then you’ll love this,” Lance says playfully, pulling back and thrusting again. His lips find mine in a kiss that’s just like him, exciting, tantalizing, frustrating, and wonderful as his hips pump in and out of me, our bodies crushed together as he gives me exactly what I need.

  We roll almost to the edge of the bed as I take over again, but Lance isn’t having it this time, pinning me down and lifting up, his arm muscles taut while his hips pump in and out of me. “Oh, no, Huntress . . . you’re not getting me that easily,” he says, his cock speeding up. “Not until you come for me and call my name.”

  Lance holds me down, his hips slapping against mine as he stares into my eyes. It’s still play, but played intensely, seriously, and my body’s quickly overwhelmed by the sensation of his cock rubbing over my G-spot with every thrust. I clench around him, moaning as I throw my head back, my orgasm rolling through me until I’m thrashing, my head shaking back and forth.

  “Do it, Cerena,” Lance says, his cock swelling. “Say it.”

  “Lance,” I moan, giving in to him as he thrusts a final time, filling me deeply. I feel him explode, warmth spreading through my hips as he moans my name in return before kissing me and falling beside me, still gasping, almost panting.

  “Fuck, you’re too much,” he says, cupping one of my breasts. “You know how hard I had to hold back to get you to do that?”

  “Next time,” I tease him, “use your tongue. That thing should be illegal it’s so good.”

  Lance chuckles and strokes my nipple with a thumb. “I’ll keep that in mind. For next time.”

  “Wait,” I ask, shivering as my nipple hardens anew and he pinches it lightly. “Next time? You’re keeping me heated up and saying next time? Don’t make me get my new knife.”

  Lance relaxes and disappears from my bed, and an instant later, I can hear his voice from the doorway. “I know you need more than I can hand out in just one night. Let me catch my breath, and if you still need me after this . . . happiness is just a moan away.”

  Lance walks away, turning on the light as he does to illuminate my room, and a moment later, the doorway to my room is filled with the wide chest, boulder-like shoulders, and chiseled abs of Tym, who looks at me with undisguised carnal desire burning in his body. His cock stands out, and as I look at him, a fresh round of energy fills me.

  “You look better,” Tym says, studying me. “Do you feel better?”

  “Yes . . . but I can use some more cheering up,” I reply. “And you have what I need.”

  Tym climbs on the bed and grabs my leg, flipping me over and grabbing me by the waist. Before I can say anything, he slams his cock into me hard, taking my breath away. “Lance told me how you rode him,” Tym growls, grabbing me and pulling me up until his lips are close to my ear, “and I’ve been staring at your ass too. Now . . . I get my reward.”

  “Then take it,” I rasp, smiling as he lets go to grab my shoulders. My fingers dig into the edge of the mattress as Tym hammers me, his cock stretching and filling me even more than Lance’s, and I drop my head to stifle my cries, moaning his name over and over as pain and pleasure rip through me in electric sheets, jolting me each time his hips slap against my ass.

  “Oh, no, you don’t,” Tym says, pulling me up. “You’re just going to have to stifle it yourself . . . don’t want everyone to know how much you love my cock, do you?”

  I shake my head, tears coursing out of the corners of my eyes as Tym takes me higher, my body throbbing in one large pulse. I can’t let the Hunters on duty know, or the word would get back, but I can’t refuse him as Tym makes me feel things I never thought possible.

  I’m rocked. I’m shaken, I’m worn out as he keeps fucking me deeper and deeper, long, hard strokes of his huge cock that wring the sweat from my pores and make my eyes roll back in my head.

  My pussy clenches, and Tym grunts, his cock exploding deep inside me and pushing me over the edge into another huge orgasm. I’m so shattered that I can’t even moan, my entire body consumed with the pleasure and release of my climax that stops my breath, stops my heart . . . and miraculously stops all my guilt.

  Yes, I was raised to believe in a lie.

  But as I’m lowered gently to the bed and I feel two sets of strong arms wrap around me and two gentle kisses, one on the back of my neck, the other on my closed eyelids, I realize that I’m not my upbringing.

  I will be better.

  Starting with finding this Brandon and making sure he doesn’t fall victim to a fate he isn’t even aware is possible.

  Chapter 18

  Tymond

  Nymph’s Corner is a bit of a misnomer. While there are plenty of nymphs, this is one of three human-safe areas of the city and is in fact controlled by humans.

  “So why didn’t we come in through here?” Cerena asks as we make our way down the street. We haven’t communicated much since leaving the embassy, intent mostly on getting out without being spotted by Bane Security. Lance was able to get out using his special abilities, while Cerena and I used a disguise and a convenient garbage bin, respectively, to escape. Thankfully the bin wasn’t filled with food scraps.

  Still, I’ve got something in my pants now that wants to itch terribly, and I can’t help but reach down and massage my cock as I try and relieve the sensation. It doesn’t help much, and as Cerena catches what I’m doing out of the corner of my eye, she flushes. It reminds me of last night’s activities, and I feel another sensation building in my pants that has nothing to do with garbage.

  “You ever deal with nymphs?” Lance asks, glancing back at Cerena as he leads the way. “No, I can see you haven’t. What do you know about them?”

  “Well, they’re related to fairies, sort of. But . . . smaller?”

  “Not quite,” Lance explains. “Nymphs are smaller than fairies, but they’re smaller than humans, too. An adult nymph is about the size of your average young teenager, and built like one too . . . mostly.”


  “Mostly?” Cerena asks, looking out of the corner of her eye at me. “As in?”

  “Like fairies, their sexual equipment is fully developed,” I explain. “Also like fairies, they are not physically suited for the rough environment of the Scorched Earth. But their method of survival is turned on its head.”

  “What he’s trying to say,” Lance says as we turn the corner and see the first of the ‘nymph houses,’ “is that nymphs don’t get their partners addicted to them. The poor fuckers become addicted to their partners.”

  We pass the first house, a shack that has three nude nymphs in the open window, two girls and a boy. It’s almost disconcerting, the slender limbs, the cherubic faces, and the innocent eyes paired with the maturity between the boy’s legs.

  “Hey, wanna walk on the wild side? Good sweet treats for you to eat,” asks one of the girl nymphs plaintively, and I can see Cerena’s hand tighten on the handle of the knife strapped to her forearm.

  “Don’t,” I advise her, laying a hand on her shoulder. “First, because it would cause a scene. Those nymphs are all as old as we are, regardless of how they look. Second, if you hurt their master, it’ll just hurt them, too.”

  “How?” Cerena asks. “I thought you said they bonded with their partners.”

  “Just the first ones,” Lance whispers. “After that, they’ll do anything for them. Prostitution, drug making . . . it’s what Nymph’s Corner’s all about. The humans in charge here, they’re pimps and dealers who keep the other sections of town well-stocked. I even knew one sick fucker who had his nymphs work as assassins. Nobody suspected them until the poison was in.”