Chapter 7
CHAPTER 7
Sarah
“ W e’ve been walking for hours,” I whined in my head, “where is your alleged shortcut, Rex?”
“Ahead, shortly.”
A wave of apprehension fluttered through me. But it wasn’t mine and it put me instantly on alert. “What was that?”
“What was what?”
“Why are you nervous about something?” I asked him.
“I don’t get nervous.”
“You can’t lie to me. You’re in my body.”
He sighed for dramatic effect. “You are not going to like the conditions of the shortcut.”
“There are conditions?” What the hell did that mean?
He hesitated for a moment before giving me his thoughts. “We will come upon a cave, and in said cave is a man who does not like conduits. He will not look fondly upon one who has captured his friend, so you will need to let me do the talking.”
I shook my head. “Like hell I will.”
“I said you wouldn’t like it,” he grumbled.
As the trees parted ahead, a cave came into view. It was almost as though the cave shot up from the ground—there was no mountain around it. Inside, a fire made shadows dance on the walls. Vines dangled at the top. Blue smoke poured from the sides of the cave, not floating upward like normal smoke.
“That’s the cave?” I asked Rex in my mind.
“It is, indeed.”
Something about the air nearby felt like static. My mouth went dry. The power beneath my skin slid through my muscles, like a caged animal looking for a way out. Something was not right here, and I had no idea what it was.
“You said your friend is a man.”
“He is,” Rex confirmed.
“What else is he?”
“You are far more clever than your companions allude to.”
“ What else ?” I insisted.
“Tolkabern is a magician.”
I stopped walking. Omen had warned me about them. “I’ve heard conduits and magicians don’t mix.”
Rex laughed. “You mean, since conduits hunted them down like dogs and slaughtered them? Quite right. However, since we are out of better options, I thought some American open-mindedness would let you do this.”
I crossed my arms over my chest defiantly. “Open minds are best left inside their skulls and not manipulated by magic.”
“He will not manipulate you, Sarah,” Rex replied in a soothing tone. “He is my friend. He will see reason.”
I gulped the dry air, because what choice did I have right now? “If I get so much as a whiff of trouble from your friend, I will defend myself in whatever way I think is appropriate,” I warned my companion. “The jem’hora are never far. Keep that in mind, Rex.”
He huffed. “I can hardly do little else, when you won’t let me have control of your mind, now can I?”
“Ready?” I asked him, straightening my shoulders.
“As ever.”
I closed my eyes and let myself step backward in my imagination, letting Rex come forward to take control. He noted a bit deviously, “For him to see reason and assist us, I may need to seduce him with your body, is that—"
“The fuck you will!” I snapped.
He laughed hard. “Merely a jest to help lighten the mood. Here we go.”
Rex walked forward, now fully in control of my body. I tensed, expecting an evil Gandalf or a noseless bald man hunting for a magical child. A chant of, “eye of newt,” or, “one of us, one of us,” in multiple voices. I almost hoped for it. Anything that would give me an excuse to take control back and run the other way.
Instead, as we entered the cave, there were cushions and candles and the smell of mouthwatering food.
Many of the cushions were in rich colors and patterns all along the edges of the cave. Some of the candles were lit, while others were mere decoration. Large cushions were piled together with a few furs—a makeshift bed, I supposed. The cave was large enough to put me in mind of Valor’s cottage, but without the walls. In the middle, a firepit burned brightly as a tall, thin, middle-aged Ladrian man watched the flames.
He glanced at us, and as he spoke, his deep voice crept up my spine. “The fire told me you were coming, dear. It is not often that I get a human here on Halla. Tell me, what brings you to my lair?”
“Tolkabern, it’s me, Rex.”
The other man raised his eyes to mine. They were unlike any I had seen—Ladrian eyes were a shade of brown, violet, or once, I saw them gray. His left eye was solidly black, while the other was purely white. Like an onyx stone and an egg. His golden skin had a turquoise shimmer to it. I would have thought he was bald, were it not for the black hair that appeared like a snake over his shoulder. An animated ponytail of sorts. Both he and the hair snake stared at me. I was grateful the hair snake did not also have eyes.
Tolkabern smirked. “A human woman claiming to be my friend Rex? Now this is an interesting night.”
“Look—look at her aura,” Rex insisted.
The magician’s eyes traced over my body, making me even more uncomfortable. But then his black eye locked onto my face, while his white eye took me in, from my feet up. Slowly, the white eye studied every inch of me. It was like I was naked or exposed in some personal way I could not explain.
Finally, his eyes lined up again and he grinned. “Took a human for a spin, did you, Rex?”
Rex laughed. “Not exactly.”
“Care for some banwine?” Tolkabern offered. “I’ve been amending my brew after you called it dreck piss.”
“Sure, thank you.”
I reminded him in our minds, “We are not here for a drink, Rex.”
But he ignored me when Tolkabern passed him a glass. They drank and it wasn’t all that bad.
“Much better, old friend,” Rex said, complimenting the man’s banwine. “Did you see the split disk game?”
“I couldn’t believe the Cinas won.” Tolkabern scowled in annoyance. “I lost far too many credits on that one. How did you make out?”
“Not too bad, thanks.”
“So, what brings you to the Neck?” the other man asked.
“Shipwrecked,” Rex said. “Can I use your portal?”
Tolkabern frowned. “Are you alright? Your crew—"
“I’m fine, but none of them made it. I’ll be back to burn their bodies, rest assured.”
The magician nodded. “I could see to it, if you would like. It would be no trouble—"
“I’ve got it but thank you. Much appreciated.”
Tolkabern sat back and eyed me curiously. “The portal the only reason you came?”
Rex smiled. “Never. Need blood?”
I blurted in my mind, “ What ?”, which Rex ignored.
Tolkabern leered at me. “It’s not often that I get to play with human blood, though I wouldn’t mind taking her for sex.”
Rex didn’t flinch at the idea. “Another time, perhaps. I’m too busy enjoying her for now.”
Disappointment flickered across the magician’s face. “Very well then. Blood for payment.”
“Of course,” Rex said, offering my left arm.
I shook my head and shouted in our minds, “What do you think you’re doing?”
But it was too late. The magician was too fast with the blade and sliced my forearm, catching my blood in a bowl. He watched it drip, while Rex held me still. As he studied the red puddle, Tolkabern’s smile widened to a frightening grimace.
“You always bring me the best specimens, Rex. What is she?”
“Special. Very special,” Rex replied. “Now, the portal, if you don’t mind. It has been a long night.”
“Anything you want. And if ever you tire of her, do bring her to me, would you?” Tolkabern said, making me shudder inside. “Don’t let those brutes in the fighting pits have her. They have not earned such a prize.”
“I will consider it.”
Tolkabern waved his arm, and it was as though a door opened beside him, which lead to a balcony. “But before you go, could I get a lock of her hair?”
Fuck, no!
“From her head or elsewhere?” Rex asked nonchalantly.
The magician’s strange eyes traipsed over me again, lingering at my crotch. “Her head will do for now.”
Rex nodded once, leaning closer to him. With my consent, Tolkabern used the knife to cut a small selection of hair.
He stared at it, smiling. “Thank you, Rex.”
“I am happy to oblige, Tolkabern. Until next time,” Rex said, walking past the other man and stepping through the doorway.
“Until then,” the magician responded, then the portal closed.
I immediately recognized the view. “We’re on your balcony? At your manor house?” I asked in shock.
“And it only cost you a little blood, sweat, and hair, instead of two days and countless beastly attacks,” he drawled sardonically. “You’re welcome.”
“You let him cut me!” I snapped angrily.
“A small price to pay, don’t you think?”
“What will he do with my blood?” I demanded.
Rex shrugged. “How should I know?”
I let out a groan of frustration. “This is why nobody gets along with you, Rex! No one can trust you!”
“Then I can only imagine you will be glad to be rid of me,” he said. “Let me go.”
I stepped forward in my imagination, shoving him back into the passenger seat of my mind. “I will not let you go until I have a binding treaty between us.”
“Binding?” he mocked. “How could you bind it?”
I jutted out my chin. “If you do not leave me and the conduits alone, then we will be forced to execute you.”
“I told you before, Sarah, you cannot kill me in a way that matters.”
“What does that even mean?” I asked.
But he didn’t let the answer to that slip. Not even a whisp of what he was talking about. I could not read his thoughts on the matter.
“You might as well just give up on the idea of a treaty,” he growled irritably. “Those bitches—"
“The conduits,” I corrected him. “Don’t talk shit about them.”
“They want me dead. So I want them dead,” he grit out. “This is a zero sum situation. There is no treaty that would stop the conduits, nothing they would agree to if it were to limit their authority. That’s what happens when someone gets their first taste of power. They go mad with it.”
I found the conversation interesting. “Is that what happened to you? Have you gone mad?”
“I have always had power. Its effects on me are moot.”
“But I—"
“Are you scared, Sarah?” He cut in, his voice dropping. “Is that why you will not release me? You think I would attack you for this kidnapping?”
“It has to have crossed your mind, Rex.”
“I will not harm you.” His voice became quiet. “I will not let my people harm you. If you release me, I will ensure your safety until you reach Valor’s lands again. After I leave you there, I cannot vouch for your safety, but until then, I guarantee it.”
I shook my head and curled my fingers around the railing securing his balcony. “You went back on your word when it came to the conduits.”
He sighed deeply. “Yes.”
“So why would I trust you when it comes to my safety?”
“Understand, I only did that because they were going to attack me. You saw Augur—"
“I saw you gut a woman you had sex with, Rex,” I seethed angrily. “Explain to me how that is her fault. I dare you.”
Instead, he went silent.
From the balcony, I walked into the manor. I was in his bedroom, I realized. The floors were a cherrywood plank, but the massive bed was some other wood that I didn’t recognize. But its four posters were almost black, like the carved headboard. The bedcovers were as well. No fur on top of the sheets like with the Ladrangs. Windows lined the wall of the balcony. The walls were brick red, with golden crown molding. The paintings on the walls had a similar frame. Even though the room was ostentatious in its size and décor, there was something welcoming about it. Fancy, but still cozy somehow, much like the rest of the manor.
“You have a nice bedroom,” I complimented him.
A clipped, “Thank you.”
“Rex, why did you kill Augur?” I persisted.
He huffed. “You made it plain that explaining my actions would result in your further disappointment in me, so I thought it best to keep my reasons to myself.”
“Try anyway,” I pushed him.
After a quiet moment, he spoke. “Augur was my ally, until that night in the swamp when she tried to kill us with her drecks. To be honest, I was shocked you were na?ve enough to offer them a deal after such an offense. They tried to kill you and you offered to make peace. How could you do such a thing?”
“We only ever make peace with our enemies, Rex. Can’t make peace with your friends, can you?”
To his credit, he laughed. “I suppose I have never thought of it like that.” He paused, as though he were in deep thought. “Through that door to your left is my bathroom and in it, you will find a delightfully oversized bathtub with very hot water, perchance you would like to bathe.”
A hot bath sounded like heaven after everything I had been through. I threw open the door, only then realizing how foolish that was. He could have been lying. There could have been some great beast behind the door.
But it was only the most magnificent bathroom I had ever seen. I gasped at the sight. “How…why?”
“Baths are one of life’s great pleasures. I designed this manor to exceed my pleasures.”
The bathroom was nearly as large as the bedroom, with sinks and mirrors and what I could only think of as a party shower—there had to be room in there for twelve, and benches lined the glass walls. Any metal item was finished in shining copper, while most other items were pale wood. But the showpiece was the tub.
It had eight clawed copper feet, two at the ends and six along the sides. The gleaming white tub was deep enough to drown me and around ten feet long, big enough to fit any Ladrian. He walked me through how the massive faucet worked and once the water was running, I stripped down to get in.
But he stopped me before I did. “You wouldn’t want to forget towels and oils or bubbles, would you?”
I grinned and let him guide me around to all the hidden cabinets of his fantasy bathroom. As I poured in a jasmine oil bubble mixture, I teased him, “I had no idea you were so girly, Rex.”
He chuckled. “There is a great deal you do not know about me. For instance, did you know when you bounce near the mirrors, I can see your scrumptious naked body out of the periphery of your vision?”
Not that it mattered, since we were going to share my body for the foreseeable future. He was bound to see things I wished he would not. But still, I sighed and rolled my eyes. “Pervert.”
“So you do know some things about me,” he said facetiously.
I laughed and carefully lowered myself in the tub. The sizzling water locked onto my sore muscles. It was an effort not to float, at first. But once I warmed up, I let myself float on those steamy bubbles. It was strange. Part of me felt like I should be working on getting separated from Rex, but another part of me was glad to be in the luxurious tub and relaxing. I deserve a little bit of a break, right?
“You do,” he answered, his voice soothing me.
I took a deep breath and let my limbs go limp. Still, I mostly floated.
“You deserve to relieve your stress in whatever ways you want, Sarah.”
Half a smile, and I gently nodded, trying not to splash or sink.
“What do you like to do to relax?” he asked in a low, deep tone.
“Baths are a good start. I had a friend who I traded coffee from the coffeeshop I worked at for the most incredible massages—"
“Was she pretty?”
“ He was handsome. Very strong hands, nice shoulders. Cute butt.”
Rex chuckled softly. “And where did those hands work?”
The heat of the water filled me up, until it became my own. “Mostly my shoulders, but sometimes my hamstrings.”
“When he worked your hamstrings, did his fingers ever wander?”
I frowned. “How do you mean?”
A sensation pressed against my inner thigh. “There, perhaps?”
“That was odd. Almost like I felt fingers there.”
“I imagine that was strange for you.” Rex’s voice held a smirk. “Did your friend ever touch you there?”
“Sometimes, if I had been on my feet a lot.”
“And did his fingers ever trespass any higher than that?”
I laughed and my hips dropped into the water, pulling me under until I propped myself up and giggled, wiping my face dry with a towel. I leaned back against the tub and stared at the ceiling mirror. “No. He was gay.”
“He liked men, not women?”
I nodded. “We were only friends.”
“Had he been interested, though, would you have let him feel his way around?”
It was an intriguing thought. One I had many times. Micah was a sexy man—dark hair, dark skin, a killer smile. “I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about it when I met him. Before I knew about him being gay, I mean.”
“I am given to understand sexuality is somewhat less fluid on Earth than it is for Ladrians.”
“I don’t know,” I said thoughtfully. “I think it’s probably fluid everywhere to some extent.”
“What a pity he didn’t know about your little crush on him,” Rex murmured. “He could have tried something new.”
“I didn’t have a crush on him—"
“Your memories say otherwise.”
“Stay out of my memories, Rex,” I ordered, not liking him poking around where he didn’t belong.
“Cannot help myself. They’re too good.”
“Not all of them.”
“No. Not all of them,” he agreed. “But the good ones are far more fun than the bad ones. Take for instance, that night you stayed here with your companions and all the fun the three of you had…”
Memories of that night flashed in my mind, and my face became hotter than the water. “Stop that.”
“I am merely trying to help you relax, Sarah,” he said, oh-so-innocently. “Or do you not find thoughts of your men to be relaxing?”
“I do, it’s just…you shouldn’t be toying around with those memories. They’re private.”
“You stepped into my memories, didn’t you?” he reminded me. “I’m only doing the same. Besides, I’m glad to know Deacon is not the snobby stick in the mud I had always pictured.”
I laughed too loudly at the thought and slapped my wet hand over my mouth. Then Rex laughed, too. “Why would you think that about him?”
“He’s always so…proper.”
“Yeah, he is.” I thought of that night and parts of me pulsed in reaction. “Until he isn’t.”
“That thing with the belt was inspired,” Rex said in a low, devious tone. “The way he used it like a gag but also reins to keep you where he wanted you—was that the first time he had done such a thing to you?”
My body swelled and shifted, thinking about that night. “Yes.” My voice came out as a moan.
“You clearly enjoyed it,” Rex murmured, his voice lulling me.
“Yeah.” My nipples were hard like diamonds, even under the hot water. It wasn’t the cold that peaked them to attention, but arousal.
“Tell me, Sarah,” he asked, his voice coursing through me like soft velvet. “What nasty things do you let Deacon do to you?”
I tried to keep my wits about me, even while my body craved to be touched. “I don’t…I don’t want to tell you.”
“You don’t have to tell me. Let me show you,” he purred before a series of flashes came to mind.
Images of Deacon and Jac and me, in every twisted combination we had tried. The taste of them, the smell of them, their sounds…my hand reached between my thighs, unable to resist.
When I reached for my clit, I was already swollen and tight there. My hips undulated beneath the water, rocking against my fingers. I had been so tense all day long. I just needed to relax and an orgasm sounded amazing…
“There you go,” he murmured huskily. “That’s what you need. What you want. You deserve this.”
“Go away,” I hissed, annoyed that he was coaxing me a little too much. “Can’t do this with you here.”
“Then let me out.”
That wasn’t going to happen. “No. Just…go away.”
“As you wish.”
Everything went silent and still, and I paused for a moment. “Rex?”
No answer.
I took a deep breath and went back to it, my fingers stroking my clit and my mind conjuring up decadent, erotic memories. Jac’s cock in my mouth, Deacon’s in my pussy, filled beyond what I had ever thought of in my life. The way my body ached around theirs, that pulse, their pulse. Deacon’s hands on my hips, forcing me up and down his shaft. Jac’s grip on my skull, taking my mouth for a ride. Like I was the home of their pleasure. Hearing them erupt in my mind brought me over the edge, emptiness throbbing deep inside of me. Unending, a circle of orgasms linked like a chain. I didn’t want to stop—I couldn’t. It was almost as good as the real thing.
Until I slipped below the water.
I came up with a startled gasp, spat out bath water, and laughed at myself for such an indulgent thing.
“Feeling better?” Rex’s voice was slick with lust.
I wasn’t sure if he had watched me. I wasn’t sure that it mattered, either.