by Dante King
“Let’s take this to the bed,” I suggested as Rami-Xayon frantically worked my prick with her eager little hands while her orgasm came steaming on.
Before we could move, Rami-Xayon abruptly threw back her head and cried out as the first orgasm, accelerated by Anna-Lucielle’s intense Charm touch, rocked her tight body. Anna-Lucielle looked up at me and smiled, the unspoken promise in her eyes suggesting that she’d give me just as earth-shaking an orgasm with her Charm powers. Her hands had slowed but never let go of me, and she used her fingertips to keep the titillation going.
I carried Rami-Xayon, who was still gasping, moaning, and shaking as the orgasm pulsed through her body, over to the bed, then laid her out with her legs spread open. I felt myself shudder, given the stunning view of her dripping wet shaven sex.
“Do what you just did to her nipple,” I said to Anna-Lucielle, “to her cleft.”
“My pleasure.” She got down on her knees, placed two fingers between Rami-Xayon’s folds and started to lick.
Anna-Lucielle arched her ass up into the air and spread her legs apart, giving me a perfect view of her tight pink sex. There was no question about what she desired, so I stepped in and slid my cock into her inch by inch. She gasped and gripped tight fistfuls of the sheets as I stretched her out. She continued working her Charm magic on Rami-Xayon’s swollen sex, and from the way the Wind Goddess was grinding into Anna-Lucielle’s eager mouth, I could tell that another powerful orgasm would be coming along shortly. As I thrusted Anna-Lucielle, my strokes starting out deep and slow but gradually accelerating, Rami-Xayon called up her Wind magic again, and a tiny tornado caressed my balls.
Finally, Rami-Xayon screamed out as yet another orgasm ripped through her, then Anna-Lucielle collapsed forward. Rami-Xayon gently rested her arms around Anna-Lucielle’s head and pressed the other woman into her bosom.
Nothing like the mutual gift of pleasure to iron out the frictions of jealousy.
And it didn’t take long before Anna-Lucielle cried out and shuddered as my pounding sent an orgasm racing through her body too. One of her hands gripped my wrist that was holding her hip tight, while the other squeezed Rami-Xayon’s breast. Then she slid down like a silk sheet and draped herself around Rami-Xayon, and they never stopped nuzzling and nibbling at each other as they enjoyed the afterglow.
After they’d both recovered, we resumed our previous positions, but now that Anna-Lucielle was all dripping wet and readied for my ample shape, I pounded her mercilessly.
With Rami-Xayon’s little tornado working its magic on my nuts, and the delectable tightness of Anna-Lucielle’s sex gripping my cock as I fucked her hard, it didn’t take too long for my own orgasm to come on. All it took was the stimulating movement of Anna-Lucielle’s sex when she came a second time. I whipped my cock out as she collapsed to the bed, and found Rami-Xayon crawling over to claim her prize. With a grin, I let her take hold of me as I emptied my seed into her waiting mouth. She moaned with pleasure as I filled her little mouth, then she fell back onto the bed before swallowing.
“Vance!” Anna-Lucielle said. “I wanted your seed! Don’t you know how much power there is in the seed of a god?”
“Don’t worry.” I smiled. “You’ll get the next one, Anna-Lucielle. Just give me a couple minutes to get the old troll club ready for another battle...”
“Let me use my Charm,” she purred as she stared hungrily at my cock. “You’ll only need a few seconds to get ready then.”
“Go right ahead.” I leaned back and cupped my hands behind my head.
Before Anna-Lucielle could work her magic, there was a hammering at the door.
“My apologies, Lord Vance,” Rollar called out, his voice muffled, “but I thought you’d understand given the urgency of the situation. A Transcendent Sails fleet is coming straight for us.”
Chapter Ten
“Shit, just when things were starting to get fun.” I jumped from the bed and pulled on my pants. “I’ll be out shortly, Rollar. Get everyone on the ship ready for battle!”
“Right away, Lord Vance!” he replied.
I took in the delectable sight of the nude goddesses. “As much as I’d love for you two to stay just as you are, it’d probably be better if you went into battle wearing some protection.”
“I can’t wait to pick this up where we left off,” Anna-Lucielle said with a lascivious smile.
“Indeed.” Rami-Xayon slipped her tight body back into her enjarta suit.
I decided to wear my light armor, which would be more suitable for a naval battle than plate armor. On deck, I found Talon waiting.
“I’m going to go to the other pirate ships and tell the crews to prepare for battle,” I told Rollar and Drok, who were on deck with their weapons.
The Transcendent Sails fleet was little more than a speck on the horizon.
Talon gripped me in her harpy claws and lifted me off deck with a few furious beats of her huge blue wings. I was accustomed to the sensation of flight—both as the harpy and as the passenger being carried by her—but it still stirred up a thrill in me.
I figured I might need some kind of protection from projectiles, so I went to the ship where Captain Jandor and the zombie Crusaders were stationed. Their tower shields were stacked against some barrels on deck. I grabbed one and hooked my left arm through the straps, then cocked the Tree God’s crossbow, which I was wearing on my wrist.
I was going to pay a little visit to the enemy captain before the battle started.
The undead harpy picked me up again, and we made a beeline for the speck on the horizon. I soon discovered that what we’d seen wasn’t the whole fleet but a small scouting force of five warships. I smiled to myself; this would be a perfect test for my new Plague Storm powers, as well as a useful bit of naval battle practice.
I saw the individual soldiers scurrying around on the deck of the leading ship, and they’d seen me too; many were openly staring and pointing. They were more lightly armored than the Crusaders we’d fought in the mountains, wearing mostly leather protection with a bit of chainmail here and there. They were armed with longbows or crossbows and stood around at least a dozen ballistae, giant crossbows that launched massive spears with enough power to punch holes through any hull. Some of the ballistae had harpoons with ropes attached to mechanical winches that were used to haul enemy ships closer for boarding.
In short, these ships were a lot better than mine, and I needed to capture them.
The leading ship’s captain appeared on deck, shielding his eyes against the sun to get a look at me as I hovered slowly closer. Unlike his troops, he was wearing plate armor. A bit strange of an attire for sea, but the Church of Light wasn’t the most practical religion.
His fighters were already nocking arrows and loading their crossbows, and I found myself thanking my good fortune that I had the tower shield. Talon could take a few arrows and crossbow bolts, but I preferred to not turn into a human pincushion. The soldiers raised their weapons and unleashed a storm of arrows and crossbow bolts, but I ducked behind my tower shield. The hail of missiles shattered against my black shield, although a few of them did get Talon. Being undead, the harpy didn’t feel them pierce her flesh, and her power of flight was magical, so a few bolts and arrows in her wings didn’t affect her altitude.
I peeked around the side of the tower shield, took quick aim at the captain, and fired. The little projectile flew fast and true. It thudded home, punching a hole through the captain’s breastplate. He gasped and staggered backward, and as the Tree magic started to infect his body, he writhed and howled in sheer agony. His soldiers dropped their weapons and ran to his aid, but there was nothing they could do for him. His skin turned brown and hardened as his flesh and bones turned to wood and bark. Little tree limbs sprouted in spurts of blood from his agony-contorted face. As he released a bloodcurdling scream, a thick green clump of twigs and leaves burst from his mouth. His face froze in place as tree bark covered it and leaves and branches burst thr
ough the top of his skull.
“Foul fiend!” a soldier cried out. “You will be vanquished.”
“Do you all share that opinion?” I yelled back. “None of you want to surrender and give up your vessels?”
“Never!” a unanimous cry came back.
“What I did to your captain was a mere taste of my abilities,” I said. “Surrender, and you may live another day. Or die. You have until our ships meet.”
I flew Talon back to my ship and found my party—including Anna-Lucielle and Rami-Xayon—gathered on deck, ready for battle. Secured to all their bodies were crossbows armed with grappling hooks that could be fired to pull themselves onto a ship.
“They’ve got some pretty impressive weaponry,” I told them. “But there are only five warships. We might have to sink one or two of them, but I want to capture at least three and add them to this fleet. Ready to kick some ass?”
They cheered enthusiastically, and even Elyse seemed a little pleased with the notion. Was her loyalty to the church giving way to loyalty to me? I sure hoped so, even if it meant Elyse might become a different person than the one I’d met all those months ago. Still, she remained loyal to me and would do whatever I asked. It was a bright, sunny day, and she would be able to use her Light magic to excellent effect.
“Drok want feed people to sharks!” Drok clashed his twin battle-axes together. “Drok want feed people to sharks!”
“And feed people to sharks you will, my barbarian friend,” I said. “But to the point. The advantage they have over us right now is their ballistae. Anyone know what sort of a range they are effective in?”
“They can put a hole in a merchant ship hull from 500 yards,” Rollar said. “At least, that’s what one of their captains once told me.”
“If we give them a clear shot, they’ll put a hole in our hull, and we’ll sink, no question, Captain Chauzec,” Percy said. “And right now, with the ocean so calm, I’d say they’ve got a decent chance of putting a good few shots on target.”
“No point taking that risk,” I said. “Rami-Xayon?”
She nodded. “I’ll create a minor hurricane around them. They’ll have their hands full trying to keep their ships upright, and they won’t be able to aim their ballistae.”
“Just remember we need some of those warships in one piece,” I said.
“If you and I can combine our magic,” Isu said to Rami-Xayon, “I can infuse your rain with my acid.”
“I like the sound of that,” I said.
I walked over to the edge of the ship and peered into the water, where my zombie whale and sharks were swimming alongside us. “Percy,” I said, still staring at my undead sea creatures, “you’ve been a seafarer for decades, haven’t you?”
“Aye, Captain,” he answered. “Since I was a wee lad, I’ve been on boats an’ ships. I’ve spent more nights at sea than I have on land.”
“Have you ever seen the inside of a whale?”
“Aye. I worked on a whaling ship for a time. It’s bloody massive inside there, which you can imagine just by lookin’ at the beast. Crikey, this one is almost as big as our ship, isn’t it? Whales can dive down to the deepest depths o’ the ocean, I’ve heard, and can stay underwater for hours, even though they have to come up to breathe air. They’ve got a pair o’ lungs in ‘em big enough to park a wagon in. Hell, with a whale this big, you could drive a wagon down its throat all the way down to its lungs.”
“I thought as much,” I said, still staring at the whale.
“Vance,” Layna said, looking concerned, “this is... fascinating. But we’re going into battle, how about some focus?
“You’ve got grappling hooks on this ship, right, Percy?” I said, ignoring Layna for the moment.
“Aye, Captain, plenty. We’ve got a few that can be shot with crossbows too, for extra range.”
“Get me a couple of those and load them up. I’m gonna need them.”
“Aye, Captain,” Percy said, and he turned around and started barking out orders.
“Who out of you lot are strong swimmers?” I asked, turning to the rest of my party.
“I am,” Rollar said.
“As am I,” Friya added.
“Me too!” Drok yelled enthusiastically. “Drok love swim!”
I wouldn’t have thought, given how Drok reeked, that he had never even dipped his toes into a body of water, but all the barbarians seemed to be naturals.
“We Arachne are gifted with the ability to swim as fast as we can run.” Layna rubbed her spider legs together.
“And I’ve loved swimming ever since I was a little girl,” Elyse said. “There was a river running through the village where I grew up. I used to swim every day, even in winter.”
“Excellent,” I said. “All of you, grab your weapons and jump overboard.”
They stared at me, mouths agape or wearing confused frowns.
“Vance, have you lost your mind?” Isu asked. “This is a naval battle we’re about to fight, not a swimming race!”
“You just stay on deck and use your acid cloud with Rami-Xayon’s hurricane. But both of you, I’m going to need you to call off your storms when I give you the signal. I’ll send Talon swooping low over your heads.”
“All right,” Isu said uncertainly, “but I still don’t get why you think it a good idea to swim at this moment.”
“We’re not going swimming,” I answered. “We’re hitching a ride. Elyse, we’re going to need you to use a little Light magic for the trip we’re about to take. You can light up that mace of yours, right?”
Elyse smiled, waved her hand across the flanged head of the mace, and it started to glow as if it were a burning torch.
“I can keep this light burning for a long time,” she said. “Energy-efficient.”
“Good. I don’t think our ride will take too long, though. That whale swims fast, I can tell you.”
“Are you suggesting what I think you’re suggesting, Vance?” Elyse said, the color draining from her beautiful face.
“If you think I’m suggesting that we all jump overboard, climb into the whale’s mouth, and go hang out in its lungs while I drive it like an underwater ship to the enemy fleet, which we then board and take over in a surprise attack, after much of the crew has been decimated by the hurricane of acid rain and my Plague Storm magic, then, yes, I’m suggesting what you think I’m suggesting.”
The shocked silence that ensued was shattered by Percy’s joyous, cackling laughter.
“That’s the craziest, most audacious plan I’ve ever heard in all my years at sea!” he roared, grinning like a madman. “And them scurvy dogs in the enemy ships will never see it coming. If I had a whale I could control like a puppet, I’d do exactly the same thing. Your plan’s bloody brilliant, Captain Chauzec!”
“I can’t guarantee that it’ll smell too good,” I said cheerfully, “but don’t worry; a quick swim will clean off whatever slime and muck we get on our clothes. As for breathing, this plan would obviously be suicidal in a live whale, but our ride doesn’t need to breathe. I’ll fill his lungs up with fresh air and leave them full.”
“How will you know when we’re close enough to the enemy ships?” Elyse asked, still incredulous.
“The whale is just like Talon. I’ll be ‘driving’ the whale as if I was the whale.”
“Yes!” Drok roared, jumping up and down with excitement. “Vance plan will work, and Drok can throw people to sharks!”
“All right, are you all as ready as Drok?”
“Hell yes!” they all yelled, even Elyse.
“Good luck, Captain Chauzec,” Percy said.
“I don’t need luck, Percy,” I said. “I’ve got Death on my side; what else is there to fear?”
Then I turned and dashed over to the side of the ship and hurled myself into a running leap. For a few thrilling seconds, I was airborne before I plummeted toward the blue expanse of waves below. A shock of cold hit me as I plunged into the icy water, surrounded by my un
dead sea creatures. I treaded water and immediately threw my mind into that of my whale.
As if the huge leviathan’s lungs were my own, I breathed in deeply through the creature’s blowhole, filling those cavernous lungs to their maximum capacity with fresh air. Then, with the whale bobbing on the surface, I opened its jaws wide. I pulled my mind back into my own body and swam over to the whale’s mouth. As I’d suspected it would, the undead whale’s massive mouth stank to high heaven, with its gigantic rotting tongue, half eaten by sharks, and other slimy pockets of decay. Still, stench aside, it was the perfect vehicle for a sneak marine attack; no vessel existed that could travel under the waves, but with my zombie whale, I’d just invented one.
I gripped one of the whale’s huge teeth and pulled myself into its open mouth. Just like Percy had said, it would have been possible to drive a wagon—a small one, but a wagon nonetheless—down its throat.
When I looked up from the whale’s jaws, I saw the first of my party leaping off the ship into the frigid ocean. Elyse hesitated, waiting until everyone else had jumped overboard, but finally, she too vaulted over the edge of the ship and plummeted downward. She resurfaced after having disappeared underwater for a few seconds. She moved with beautiful grace in the water; all she would have needed was a fish tail, and she would have been a mermaid.
“By the Lord of Light, how I’ve missed this,” she exclaimed as she swam toward the whale’s jaws. “The thrill of the cold, the sensation of gliding through the water... it’s utterly invigorating!”
“All right, gang, join me in the whale’s mouth.”
“That’s not a sentence you hear every day,” Elyse said, smiling as I helped her out of the water and into the whale’s gaping mouth.
Instantly, her expression changed from one of delight to one of revulsion. She gagged and covered her mouth and nose.
“The smell!” she gasped, retching.
“What smell?” Drok asked with a shrug.
