by Sarah Hawke
Mentally crossing my fingers, I reached out through the Aether again. I might not have been able to directly harm Lenara, but that didn’t mean my magic was worthless. I focused instead on strengthening Kaseya, bolstering her muscles and reflexes with Aetheric energy. Within a few seconds, I was confident that I had empowered her just as much as I had accidentally empowered Lenara.
And given those odds, I would bet on Kaseya each and every time.
The amazon counterattacked the moment she realized what I had done, fluidly shifting from a defensive stance to an offensive one in the span of a single heartbeat. Her shield became every bit as much of a weapon as a sword, battering Lenara backwards and forcing her to cede all the ground she had gained. The Huntress didn’t give up, of course—she was every bit as well-trained, and she nearly cleaved off Kaseya’s head with her backswing on three separate occasions.
But after another thirty seconds of skirmishing, Kaseya finally got the upper hand. She slammed the corner of her shield into Lenara’s gut, pummeling the air from her lungs and causing her to drop the sword. Kaseya rushed forward and snatched it out of mid-air, twirled it around in her free hand, and then plunged it straight through the Senosi’s bare stomach.
Lenara collapsed almost immediately, her eyes locked in disbelief at the handle of the sword jutting out of her gut. After another second her head slumped backwards and tilted towards the woman who had killed her.
“He doesn’t even know, does he?” Lenara whispered through her blood-splattered lips. “Ayrael…”
Her head slumped to the side as she sank into oblivion. I had no concept of how long I sat there staring at her corpse before I swore under my breath and glanced up to Kaseya.
“Ayrael? Who is that?”
“It is the name of the woman who attempted to kill Hestiah and I back in Vorsalos,” Kaseya said.
I frowned when she didn’t elaborate, and I was half-tempted to activate my ring and probe further. But right now we had bigger problems, and there was another name I was a lot more concerned about.
Valuri is alive. All this time you could have been thinking of a way to rescue her, but instead you gave up. You need to make this right.
I grimaced and let out a long, slow breath. “We have a serious problem. The Senosi don’t normally travel this far outside Vorsalos, but now we’ve seen two of them in as many days. The Inquisitrix is up to something here in Highwind—something big.”
“I assume the Mage’s Guild will want to know what happened to their people and their supplies,” Kaseya said. “Perhaps they will reward us for the information.”
“Maybe,” I murmured. “Either way, we need to get back to the city.”
Kaseya nodded. “And then what?”
“Then you and I are going to find a way to rescue Valuri from the Senosi,” I said. “No matter what it takes.”
To Be Continued
MARK OF THE HUNTRESS
1
Precious few sorcerers were morning people, in my experience. I didn’t have a precise explanation as to why, though it was probably because so many of us lived our lives on the run. Darting through the shadows and keeping odd hours took its toll on the body, and I used to dread the sunrise as much as an actual vampire.
My opinion had changed since I met Kaseya, however. I could only assume it had something to do with the fact I almost always woke up with my cock in her mouth.
“Oh, fuck!” I gasped when my eyes fluttered open and I saw her red hair bobbing up and down over my waist. As always, her throat was like a furnace; my member had already swollen to its full length.
I could tell from the sweaty beads on her flawless skin that she had been awake for a while now. She never skipped her morning exercise regimen, as far as I could tell, the finale of which was apparently crawling to her Maskari on all fours so she could drain his cock. I didn’t know if this was a longstanding amazon tradition or merely Kaseya’s personal interpretation of her “duties.” Either way, I certainly wasn’t going to complain.
I closed my eyes and placed my hand on the back of her head to help guide her movements. We had spent the last two days on the road back to Highwind after fighting a Senosi Huntress, and other than Kaseya’s morning milking ritual we had mostly kept our hands to ourselves for a change. I had been distracted by my ruminations about the future. Who was this “Ayrael” person the dying Huntress had mentioned? How in the hell were we going to free Valuri from the Inquisitrix’s dungeons in Vorsalos? And perhaps most pressingly of all, what in the hell were we going to do for coin now that our bounty had fallen through?
“Oh, gods,” I stammered. “Here it comes!”
The warning was completely unnecessary, of course. Thanks to the golden collar around her neck, Kaseya already knew I was about to erupt, and our magical bond had deepened to the point where she felt every one of my emotions just as strongly as I did. Her back arched in climax the instant my seed flooded her throat, and by the time my balls had emptied I knew for a fact her quim would be gushing.
My arms collapsed to the side as she eagerly swallowed her breakfast. Afterwards, she diligently cleaned my cock off with her tongue then leaned back on her haunches and smiled.
“Good morning, Jorem.”
I grunted. “It is now.”
She smiled contentedly. “Would you like to bathe in the stream before we depart?”
I craned my neck towards the flowing water snaking through the forest behind us. We were only about ten miles out from Highwind at this point, which was close enough that we could reach the city well before midday. A little delay wouldn’t be a problem, and the thought of watching the water sprinkle over Kaseya’s naked body was more than enough to motivate me for a swim.
“Definitely,” I said.
The stream was bitingly cold, enough that I might have been embarrassed by my wilting stem if she hadn’t just sucked me dry. We took a long, languid dip, and just like I expected the sight of the water dripping from her plump tits was more than enough to stir my manhood back to life. I escorted her towards the base of the nearby waterfall, bent her over a rock, and thrust cock back into her quim where it belonged.
I could barely make out her pleased whimpers over the hiss of the rushing stream, but I knew that every euphoric twinge shuddering through me was echoing through her as well. Our magical bond was truly remarkable—almost as remarkable as everything else that had happened to be over this past week. I had expected to arrive in Highwind with barely a copper to my name, and unfortunately that part was still true. But everything else, from meeting Kaseya to stumbling across a Senosi plot against the Mage’s Guild, had all been completely out of the blue.
A part of me just wanted to stay out here in the forest and fuck Kaseya for a week straight. She wouldn’t have complained; based on the little tidbits I had gleaned about her background, she probably enjoyed the idea of living free in the wild with her Maskari . But then I thought about Valuri, and a knot a twisted in the pit of my stomach.
That Huntress had no reason to lie to you back at the bandit’s camp. Valuri is alive, and she’s spent the past few months being tortured by the Inquisitrix because you were too weak and cowardly to do anything about it.
Grimacing, I grabbed a hold of Kaseya’s hair and slammed into her even harder. She was so perfect I almost felt guilty thinking about another woman, especially when my cock was buried to the hilt inside her tight, eager cunt. But this wasn’t just about sex—it was about proving to myself that I was a decent human being.
Well, maybe not decent . But as long as I was better than the Senosi, that was good enough.
“I want your ass,” I growled, pulling out and slapping her right cheek. “Give it to me!”
I was so certain she would present herself that my breath actually froze in my throat when Kaseya abruptly leaned up and turned around to face me.
“No.”
I blinked. “What?”
“Before we set out for the day, you should practice
that spell you were working on earlier,” she said, stepping out of the stream and back onto the grass.
“But…” I stood in place and licked my lips, painfully aware of the desperate twinging in my cock. “Right now?”
“All warriors must learn how to cope with distractions in battle,” Kaseya said, an impish smile tugging at her lips. “Now is as good a time as any to learn this lesson.”
I sighed and stood. As tempting as it was to order her down on all fours and pump her bowels full of my seed, I decided to play along with her little game instead. For now, at least.
Closing my eyes, I reached out to the Aether. Once its currents began flowing through me, it became marginally easier to ignore both my raging erection and the image of Kaseya’s naked, dripping body. I conjured a suit of spell armor, sheathing my torso in a glimmering mantle of protective magic every bit as strong as a knight’s plate mail. This particular technique had probably saved my life a hundred times over the past five years; I had blunted swords, deflected crossbow bolts, and even absorbed the occasional blast of Aetheric energy.
I had never successfully extended the technique to another, however, though I assumed it was theoretically possible. The key, as far as I could tell, was to create an “echo” of the spell through my bond with Kaseya. I just needed to replicate the same methods I had used back at the bandit fortress with my vision-enhancing technique…
I snapped out my trance when something unexpectedly struck my unprotected leg. Wincing, I opened my eyes and spotted Kaseya holding a handful of acorns. She was desperately struggling to hide a self-satisfied smirk.
“All warriors must learn how to deal with distractions in battle,” she repeated before whipping another acorn at me. “Also, your defenses appear to have some gaps.”
I grunted and scowled. “You’re the last one to complain about not having leg armor. You don’t even—ow!”
She giggled—one of the most pleasant sounds I had ever heard—before kneeling over to retrieve more ammunition. Now I was really tempted to fuck her ass, but I wasn’t about to let her win so easily.
Gritting my teeth, I reached out and attempted to create the magical echo again. She pelted me with one acorn after another, but before she could fling a third I finally solved the puzzle. A surge of power rippled through the Aether, and a shimmering mantle of energy materialized around her body. Her blue eyes widened in shock as she examined the armor.
“Incredible,” Kaseya breathed. “It’s truly weightless?”
“And far more protective than that little skirt you wear,” I said.
Her expression sank. “The Red Sisters have worn leather skirts into battle for a thousand years!”
“Yeah, well, mine will actually protect those long legs of yours. Unless they’re getting in my way.”
Kaseya frowned. “I do not understand.”
Grinning, I reached out and manipulated her spell armor, contracting its joints and tightening their fit around her body. She glanced down in confusion at her arms and legs when they were suddenly rendered immobile, but I wasn’t finished. Strengthening my telekinetic grip, I hurled her towards a nearby tree and pinned her face-first against the bark.
I sauntered up behind her, appreciating the curves of her naked back and ass. She struggled against my magic, but the translucent magical armor held her firmly in place. I slapped her right buttocks hard enough to leave a mark before I nudged the tip of my still-swollen cock into her quim. She might have been even wetter than normal, as hard as that was to believe. Apparently a single night off was all it took to completely reset her libido.
I activated my bond ring at the same instant I thrust all the way into her. Her lust crackled through me like a burst of static electricity, freezing me in place and nearly causing me to erupt right then and there. I had planned on fucking her slowly and gently for a while before I dismissed the spell armor and laid her down in the grass. But as usual, Kaseya didn’t want anything to do with slow or gentle. So instead I grabbed onto her waist and viciously slammed into her as if my cock was a hammer trying to nail her into the tree.
She climaxed twice before I flooded her quim with my seed, and I kept my body pressed tightly against hers for several minutes afterwards to enjoy the aftershocks shuddering through her flesh. When I finally stepped away, I took a moment to appreciate the beads of sweat on her back, the red streaks on her ass, and the trickles of semen seeping down her long legs. She really was mine, in body and soul.
I released my hold on the Aether and dismissed her armor. She backed away from the tree and turned, a coy smile on her face.
“Once again, your design appears to have some gaps,” she said.
“Yeah, well, no armor is perfect,” I replied. “You just have to know where to aim.”
“I see.”
Wiping the beads of sweat from her brow, she leaned down and gave me a long, deep kiss. I seriously considered throwing her down in the dirt and taking her again, but we really did need to get moving if we wanted to reach the Highwind before noon.
“Enough practice for one day,” I said, pulling away and smacking her ass one last time. We moseyed back to the shoreline and got dressed, then out at a brisk pace in the hopes of making up lost time. But we only made it another mile before another acorn struck me in the back.
I turned and glared at her, actually a little annoyed…right up until I saw her bend over a wide tree stump and flick the leather straps of her skirt up onto her back.
“Maybe you’re right—this armor isn’t very protective,” Kaseya said, widening her stance and thrusting out her ass. “You should probably come have a look.”
I did. Twice.
***
We reached the northern gates of Highwind just after midday, and the guards didn’t give us any more trouble when we entered than when we had left. I still had trouble believing how different this city was than Vorsalos. The soldiers back home would have shaken us down and probably demanded a bribe before allowing us entry, especially if we had tried to enter with visible weapons.
“Now we just hope the Mage’s Guild is still willing to pay us something for our troubles,” I grumbled as we maneuvered through the boisterous streets.
“Considering the risks we took on their behalf, payment would be the honorable course of action,” Kaseya said.
“Yeah, which is exactly why I wouldn’t count on it,” I muttered. “But who knows, maybe the world will surprise me for a change.”
We entered the store where we had picked up the original bounty, but the lecherous owner—an old man who had spent our entire last visit leering at Kaseya—was nowhere in sight. In his place was a much younger, much sterner looking man who was also clad in a Mage’s Guild robe. His presence wouldn’t have been so distressing if not for the two Knights of the Silver Fist lurking in the back of the shop.
“Uh…hello,” I stammered, wincing at the nervous twinge in my voice. “We’re looking for Artificer Dieran.”
“I’m sure you are,” the wizard said, gesturing towards the knights. An instant later, the armored men took a menacing step forward and placed their gauntlets atop the pommels of their sheathed swords.
I resisted the urge to turn and bolt out the door. “Is there a problem here?”
“That depends on you and your…whatever she’s supposed to be,” the wizard said, eyeing Kaseya. He might have been the only man we’d encountered thus far who looked at her with scorn rather than lust. “I am Magister Rethon. I was sent here by the Highwind Council to investigate rumors that Artificer Dieran has been smuggling illegal magical goods into the city. He is currently awaiting the Archmage’s judgement inside the Grey Citadel.”
“We don’t know anything about that,” I said, struggling to keep my expression neutral. “He hired us to retrieve supplies from a caravan that had been hijacked a few days north of the city. He showed us your symbol and wore your robes—we assumed he was working for the Mage’s Guild.”
Rethon’s eyes narr
owed. “Really,” he murmured. “And you didn’t consider it strange that he would hire bounty hunters to fetch his cargo rather than asking the guild to retrieve it for him?”
I had found it odd, of course, but the coin had simply been too good to pass up. At least that meant I didn’t have to lie now.
“The old man offered gold—that’s all we were concerned with,” I said. “We’re mercenaries, not investigators.”
“Mercenary work is one thing. Aiding and abetting smugglers is quite another.”
I grunted. “Then I guess we’re in luck, because we didn’t end up helping him anyway. The cargo was already gone by the time we arrived.”
Rethon took a step forward and examined the two of us more closely. He would have been a lot more imposing if not for his unbelievably stupid moustache. He looked like he’d summoned a rat onto his face, set it on fire, and then glued it to his lip for some reason.
“Is that so?” he asked eventually.
“Yes,” I said, debating just how much I should tell this idiot. At this point, I knew we weren’t getting paid; my only priority was getting out of this shop before we were thrown in the dungeon. “Apparently the bandits had already sold everything they’d stolen. We considered trying to pick up the buyer’s trail but ultimately decided to cut our losses instead.”
“Yet you’re still here,” Rethon said. “Did you really expect Dieran to pay you for nothing?”
“Not for the full contract, of course, but I thought he would want to know that the cargo had already been moved,” I said. “We also found the corpses of two guild wizards…presumably the men who were escorting the caravan in the first place.”
The magister’s cheek twitched almost imperceptibly—just enough for me to know that he hadn’t been expecting my answer. “The bandits killed them?”
