by Dante King
The latch on the door clicked. I reached for my sword, but then saw who it was.
“Vesma,” I said, letting go of the weapon. “Is something the matter?”
“Nothing we can’t sort out between ourselves.”
She closed the door behind her. She was barefoot, wearing only her robes and not the leather body armor and bracers she normally wore everywhere.
“Remember our night at the Resplendent Tears?” she asked.
I nodded and smiled. The Resplendent Tears Guild, a place riddled with the corruption of the Unswerving Shadows, didn’t hold many happy memories, but the night that Vesma had come to my room after dark was one of them.
“This time, we’ll see each other,” she said.
She unbelted her robe, shrugged it from her shoulders, and let it fall to the floor, revealing every inch of her pale, petite body. She reached back behind her head, accentuating the curve of her breasts, and unfastened her hair so that it fell like a dark waterfall down her back.
I started to sit up, but she pushed me back down on the bed, pulled the sheet aside, and lay down beside me.
“It’s been too long.” She ran a hand down my chest, across my belly, and on. I came awake at her touch, nerves tingling as her fingers took hold of me.
I cupped one of her breasts and then moved in to kiss it, tasting the salt tang of her flesh. She let out a quick gasp as my teeth tickled her nipple. She pulled me up and kissed me hard, then pushed me back and swung a leg across me. Our bodies pressed together, and I felt the softness of her take me in. Each of us took a deep breath as we joined together.
She moved against me slowly, deliberately, as we relished every moment. I scattered kisses across her lips, her cheek, her neck, her shoulders, while her hand ran across my chest, tracing patterns only she could see. Our pleasure mounted as we rode that tiny cot together, doing things that monks would never do in these cells.
I ran my hands down her, drawing breaths of delight as I caressed her sides, her back, and on down. I shuddered with pleasure as she moved harder, faster, more urgently.
She leaned down so that her lips were beside my ear. “I want you to take me,” she whispered. “Take me with all the power and strength of the Swordslinger.”
She climbed off me and turned around, revealing the rounded perfection of her ass. I got to my knees and pulled in close behind her. She arched her back, and I gasped in excitement as I slid inside her once more. Then, we were moving together, hot and hard and passionate, building toward a crescendo of pleasure. I watched the curve of her back, the swaying curtains of her hair, the slender beauty of her face as she turned to look back at me, eyes wide.
The pleasure became too much to bear. I gave one last, powerful thrust, and we both cried out as the moment overcame us.
We collapsed together on the bed. Vesma curled up against my chest.
“Now, you really have earned your sleep,” she said.
I closed my eyes, and a moment later, I was lost to the world.
Chapter Seven
I woke in the small, rock-walled room. Light was shining in through the single window, illuminating bare walls and a floor of stone slabs. I yawned and looked up at the ceiling, where cobwebs shifted in a slight breeze. I must have only slept for a few hours because it was still daylight, or, more likely, I’d slept through the day and through the night.
Someone knocked at the door. Half asleep, I responded on instinct.
“Come in.”
At my words, someone shifted beside me. I looked down and saw Vesma curled up on my chest. She smiled sleepily up at me and brushed strands of hair from her face. Then, her eyes widened with alarm as she looked at the door.
The latch on the door clicked, and it started to swing open. At last, my brain caught up with the two different aspects of this moment and how they were about to collide. I hastily pulled a sheet up over our naked bodies.
Kumi walked into the room with the usual confident sway of her hips, long split skirt swaying around her. She looked bright and refreshed, with a beaming smile and neatly tended braids falling across one shoulder and down the curve of a barely concealed breast. A sea breeze seemed to follow her in, fresh, cool, and with a hint of salt.
“Good afternoon, sleepy heads,” she said. “How are the two of you doing?”
I glanced between the two women. While they both knew that they didn’t have a sole claim on me, this was the first time that we’d faced the issue so directly. It was one thing for Kumi, Vesma, or even Faryn to drag me off into a corner where we could have fun with no one looking. It was quite another for one of them to walk in on me naked with one of the others.
If it bothered Kumi, she showed no sign of it. The latecomer to our group, she’d become involved with me knowing that the others were already there. She’d also been the most direct about it, with all her talk about the brides of the legendary Swordslingers and how those ancient figures had made multiple marriages to share their power with the next generation. Even her father, King Beqai, was on board with the arrangement, giving me the Depthless Dream Trident as a betrothal gift.
Vesma, on the other hand, was less open with anything relating to sex and emotions. As Kumi walked in, she stiffened and drew the sheet tighter around her shoulders. Yet the way her eyes wandered across Kumi, there was something more there than just tension or hostility. Affection mingled awkwardly with more troubled feelings.
“Honestly, I’ve only just woken up,” I said to Kumi. “It might be a few minutes before I can tell you how I’m doing.”
“That seems more than fair.” She laughed. “I wouldn’t have interrupted your slumber, but Tahlis is calling for you. He says that he has something important to discuss.”
“Tell him I’ll be there in a few minutes,” I said.
“Of course.” She smiled. “I’ll leave you to it.”
She walked out and closed the door behind her.
Vesma groaned and pulled the sheet up over her head.
“Are you all right?” I asked.
“Want more sleep,” she said. “Or maybe more of something else…”
Her lips pressed against my chest, and her fingers slid down my body. I stirred at her touch, blood pumping, heart beating faster in anticipation. I ran a hand down her side, treasuring the feel of her smooth, taut flesh, and closed my eyes while I enjoyed the scent of her hair.
“Tahlis is waiting for you,” she said. “We don’t have enough time for me.” She suddenly moved down, and her tongue flashed against my manhood. I groaned as she pleasured me, and it didn’t take long for me to reach fulfilment. I heard her swallow, and she looked up at me with hungry eyes.
“You owe me,” she said.
I laughed. “I’ll have plenty of chances to pay you back.”
Vesma sat up, retrieved a piece of leather cord from the floor, and started tying back her hair. “Now, go save the world.”
I reached for my pants. “Are you going to have a problem with Kumi?”
Vesma took a deep breath before looking me in the eyes. She wore a small, reflective smile.
“It won’t be a problem,” she said. “I just need to adjust to it. I’m used to competing for everything, fighting over everything, proving my worth in conflict with others. Kumi’s great, but that part of my brain keeps wanting to treat her as a competitor, to pick a fight over you. Once I get over the need to mark my territory, it’ll all be fine.”
“I like it when you mark your territory. It means I get these midnight visits.”
“Don’t worry about that. I’ll be coming for these no matter what.” She leaned over and kissed me, then lay back on the bed. “Now, clear out. I want to get some more sleep.”
I laughed and picked up my robe. A few minutes later, I was fully dressed and heading out the door, weapons in place and ready for action.
I found Tahlis standing on the open ground outside the temple, looking down the stairs that wound up the mountainside. Six figures were making th
at tiring ascent, all of them dressed in long, brown robes and with weapons at their sides.
“Glad you could take time out from your women,” Tahlis said. “You’re the Swordslinger in more ways than one, aren’t you?”
“Very funny,” I said. “So, what’s the important thing you wanted to talk about?”
“Them.” Tahlis pointed to the approaching figures.
“Visitors from Hyng’ohr?” I asked.
“Where else would anyone come from around here?”
“You tell me. You’re the wise and mysterious one. I’m just your guest.”
Tahlis laughed. “Yes, yes, of course, they’re from Hyng’ohr. In fact, unless my nose deceives me, I know this group. They’re initiates from my guild.”
“The guild that turned against you? So, they’re here to take you out?”
I took hold of my sword and let the channels within me open, ready to unleash the Vigor that powered my Augmenting.
“I doubt it. These were the oddballs, the ones who never quite fit in. They weren’t involved in having me exiled, and I doubt anyone would choose them for an assassination job. If they’ve come this far, then we may have the first recruits to our cause.”
“Why are they here now?”
“They might have heard of a certain Swordslinger and his merry band visiting the city walls. I think you inspired them.”
I slid my sword into its scabbard. “We should invite them in and see what they can tell us about the situation in the city.”
“Eventually, sure.” Tahlis grinned, and his forked tongue shot out to taste the air. “But I want to test them first, see how they’re learning after months without a proper master. You want to help?”
“Sure.”
“You won’t need to hold back. These few are initiates, but they really ought to be disciples by now. I want you to give them everything you’ve got.”
“Everything?”
“Well, maybe not everything. Keep your other sword in your pants.” Tahlis laughed at his own joke. “Seriously, though, you keep them on your toes. Just don’t kill them. We’ll need all the help we can get.”
“Got it,” I said.
“Excellent. I’ll hold them at the top of the stairs while you get around behind them.”
Tahlis walked over to the top of the steps and stood, arms folded, stiff-backed, and expectant.
I looked down the mountainside. Below the stairs, the rock sloped steeply away. The rock face was uneven, with plenty of places that could conceal me from the initiates as they passed, but getting safely down to them would be tricky. I had some experience as a climber, but what I didn’t have with me were climbing shoes, rope, or any of the other gear I would have wanted for such a difficult descent.
On the other hand, I did have Augmenting.
I shot a thorn using Stinging Palm technique. Instead of focusing on large thorns or clusters of them as I did in combat, I made it a single, narrow spike, as hard as possible. It hit the rock face below me with all the power of a shot from a nail gun and buried itself halfway into the cliff face.
Perfect. I fired more shots like that, making a series of foot and handholds down to a crevice in the rocks beneath the stairs. Then, I lowered myself over the edge and climbed down, taking great care with every step. If I slipped or one of the thorns gave way, I would plummet to my doom. But the thorns I’d summoned held strong, and my old skills held true. My muscles tensed as I clung by my fingertips to the cliff face, but soon, I was hidden against the rock while the initiates walked past above me, puffing and panting from their long ascent.
“Where have you been?” Tahlis called out as the initiates neared the top of the stairs.
“In the city, Master,” a woman replied.
I quietly shot another thorn into the rock above me and started pulling myself up. There were some foot and handholds I could use, but whenever one was missing, I created it using my Vigor. Quietly, carefully, I climbed up toward the steps behind the initiates.
“And why were you in the city?” Tahlis asked. “I was here, and you’re my pupils, aren’t you?”
“You were cast out, Master. We didn’t know what to do.”
“You could have tried to stop them casting me out. Or is that too obvious for such a sophisticated mind as yours?”
“We’re sorry, Master. We didn’t know what to do about-”
“Blah blah blah, excuses excuses. You’ve all simply been sitting around braiding each other’s hair and hoping this would go away, haven’t you? Except Fig there, who looks like he’s spent the whole time eating.”
“Hey! You don’t know that! Er, I mean, you don’t know that, oh respected Guildmaster.”
I reached the top of my climb and slid onto the steps behind the initiates, who stood with their shoulders slumped and heads hanging.
“We’re sorry, Master,” the leader said. She was a tall human, thin and gawky, with a spear strapped to her back. “We just… We didn’t… You know we’re not very…”
If this was the most outspoken of them, it was no wonder these guys had struggled to make their voices heard or to find a place in the guild. But they seemed sincerely sorry, and I could see something more than mischief in Tahlis’ expression.
“I believe you, Choshi,” he said. “And I don’t blame you. It was safer to keep your heads down. No point throwing your lives away by fighting at the wrong time.”
“Thank you, Master,” Choshi said as her head lifted. “We want to do the right thing.”
“And so I suppose you’ve come to train with me again?” Tahlis asked.
“We have, Master,” they replied.
“Ha! Bullshit! You’ve come to see the Swordslinger, not me, haven’t you?”
They all shared guilty looks.
“Oh, yes, I know why you came.” Tahlis said. “And your first task is to take him down.”
The initiates glanced nervously at each other and started readying their weapons.
“Where is he?” Choshi asked.
“Behind you,” Tahlis said with a grin.
As they turned, I was already charging up the stairs. The initiates went scurrying up the steps away from me, grappling with their weapons as they ran. They shot past Tahlis and onto the open ground outside the temple. The guildmaster stepped aside, laughing to himself, and let me past to face them.
The initiates had spread out across the open ground, not making any concerted effort to work together or back each other up. Closest to me were a slightly chubby elven woman and a short, dark-skinned human with a pot belly.
The elf flung her arms wide and summoned a Sandstorm, less impressive than the ones Tahlis used, and flung it at me. I dashed sideways, and the blast of sand rushed past before falling uselessly across the top of the stairs.
The human crouched and punched the ground, creating a Ground Strike. A shockwave rippled toward me, lifting earth and stones. The moment before it would have hit, I jumped forward, over the advancing wave, and landed in a forward roll that brought me up only a few feet from the pair.
As they reached for their swords, I flung up an Ash Cloud around their heads. It billowed blackly around them, obscuring their view. The elf started sneezing violently while the human coughed and wheezed. It was clear that neither of them had faced this before from the way they waved ineffectively at the air in front of their faces, trying to disperse the cloud, rather than getting out of it.
While they were blinded, I took my chance. I didn’t want to do these initiates any lasting damage, so I kept my weapons sheathed. Instead of using the sword or the trident, I went in with bare hands and feet.
I went for the elf first. She was a good three inches taller than me, but her movements indicated someone who wasn’t very dexterous. I brought my weight close to the ground and swept her legs from under her with a low kick. She dropped straight down like a felled tree.
The human stumbled out of the cloud and looked at me with bloodshot eyes. I kicked him in his copious
stomach, and he buckled over. As my elbow connected with the back of his head, he collapsed with a drawn out groan.
More Sandstorms hurtled toward me, ripping apart my Ash Cloud as they came. I threw myself to the ground and let the sand blast harmlessly over me, then scrambled back up into a crouch.
Two more of my opponents were closing in. Both were male—a squinting human with long, red hair and a dwarf with piercings through his nose, ears, and lips. The dwarf was swinging a club while the human had his hand out, ready to Augment.
Already close to the ground, I slammed my fist down, and a Ground Strike rippled away from me, more powerful than the one my opponents had used. It knocked both initiates off their feet, and the club flew from the dwarf’s hand.
The last two started closing in to protect their prone allies. I fired three Untamed Torches in their direction, deliberately aiming wide so that I would scare them but not hit them. As I’d expected, they weren’t used to fire magic, and they dashed away and stared nervously at the scorched ground where the flames had struck.
In the meantime, the dwarf had started getting back to his feet. I kicked his club away just as he was grabbing for it, but he snatched my leg instead. Muscular fingers closed around my ankle and twisted. Rather than resist, I went with the movement and kicked off with my other foot. I spun 360 degrees through the air, breaking his hold on me in the process, and lashed out with my foot. The kick collided with his face, and he took a step back, clutching his bloody nose. I landed, grabbed his other arm, twisted, and flung him over my shoulder. He was mostly made of muscle and was a hell of a weight to lift, but I was relying on balance rather than straight strength, and the move worked. He landed with a crash and lay clutching his back.