by Gillian Zane
“Zeke,” I screamed with the last breath in my lungs. My eyesight went blurry as all the air in my lungs was forced out. The gasoline we had poured everywhere making it even harder to take another breath. The fear rioted through me, fear of dying, fear of snuffing out the life I was shaping inside me. It sped up my heartbeat, making things so much worse, but I couldn’t control it. I didn’t want to die. I didn’t want to screw this up between me and Zeke. I wanted to have this baby with him and make it through this stupid fucking apocalypse. Where the hell was he?
I saw blurry shapes around me. There was slight relief of pressure from around my chest, and I took a deep breath, but it was horrible. All I smelled was gas, making me cough.
“Thank God,” I heard someone say as I gasped and sputtered and realized I could move. There were hands on me. I was pulled to my feet, strong arms around me, holding me up. My eyes focused, and I realized it was Flynn holding me. Liam and Zeke moved around us, Liam chopping with his ax and Zeke spreading the gas all over the plants.
“Can you walk?” Flynn asked, and I tried to take a step forward, every inch of my flesh screamed in pain, but I stood tall and didn’t fall over.
“Yes,” my voice croaked out of me. my throat burned like I had been screaming for hours.
“Set it on fire!” Zeke screamed, and I stumbled to the ATV where I had the matches. I started it back up, trying not to blank as I followed Liam out of the clearing to a safe distance. Then I grabbed for the matches, but my hands were shaking too hard to get a match out.
“Liam,” I called, since he was closest, and he hurried to my side, grabbing the matches out of my hand. He struck the match, his hands held not even the slightest tremor. This wasn’t the first time he had seen combat, and I thanked whoever was listening for letting us finding him.
It wasn’t an eruption or an explosion. It was a snake of fire that led from our feet to the plant, and then once it found the fuel that soaked the ground around the base of the plant, it erupted into an inferno.
“We have to make sure we get it all,” I said, but my voice didn’t carry far. I was still winded. Something twinged in my chest, and there was this stabbing pain like I had a broken rib. Liam heard me, though, and he pulled his balaclava over his mouth and moved into the clearing again, chopping at the vines and throwing them into the inferno. I tried to join him with my little knife, but Zeke hurried to my side and shook his head. “Stay put, woman.”
“Don’t order me around,” I said, my voice a croak. He tugged at my hand and kissed me lightly on the lips.
“We’ve got this. You took down a fucking were-bear or whatever the hell you want to call it.” He grinned, and I laughed loudly at his use of the word were-bear. “I have never seen anyone move like you; it was damn sexy.” He winked and kissed me on the forehead.
“You were pretty impressive yourself, for a plant doctor.” I looked up at him, and the feelings for him that I had been trying to keep in check swirled around us. “I love you.” The world stilled around us as the words uttered had so much meaning behind them. His eyes widened, but then he smiled.
“Knew it.” He kissed me again. “Are you okay, though, is everything fine, is it—” He looked down my body. “Is it okay?”
“Yes,” I nodded because I could still feel that tiny spark of life inside of me.
“Thank the gods.” He pulled me to him in a hug. It was brief, but I could feel myself rejuvenated by it, like his power and mine were intermingling and healing me. He kissed me one more time, and then he moved away from me, chopping with his much bigger knife. He had brought a machete, which was a smart, typical science nerd thing to do. The fire burned; the men moved around making sure every part of the plant burned within the inferno. They yanked the vines down from the trees, throwing all pieces and parts into the flames.
They didn’t leave one leaf, nothing that could take and start a new life, since plants could grow from just a tiny cell remaining. When the flames died, they used sticks and their tools to sift through the mess, spreading the ashes across the clearing. They poured the remaining gas onto the roots and lit that on fire, while Zeke monitored the area closely.
“She’s retreated from it. She pulled back the moment we set it on fire. Now, it’s just a plant and I can control it, but she lost a lot of herself, I can still feel her in there,” he said, his voice full of relief. The roots of the plant were pushed from the ground, exposing themselves to the oxygen that wasn’t good for them. Liam ripped them up and threw them into the fire pit.
I looked around the clearing, feeling a sense of relief and rightness. We had it right. This is how she was getting her power here on Earth. She was actually fusing herself to the Earth. To the living plants that were exposed to her pollen, the pollen that held parts of her. It was an insane move. She made herself weaker as she did it, but something was motivating her to do this. We had to find out why. A noise caught my attention. Flynn. He was bent over in pain. Clutching his legs. He had been injured by the wolf, bitten, and then by the vines. I could feel my strength coming back to me, so I slipped off the ATV and went to him, bringing a med kit with me.
“Something is happening,” he said, his teeth chattering. I pulled at his shirt, lifting it to find the wound. It was a gash of teeth, where the wolf had taken a bite out of his hip. It looked like it was already healing, the wound inflamed and red but not bleeding. Flynn had only been with us a few days, and we hadn’t been able to nail down what his power was going to be. He hadn’t mentioned anything strange happening to him, like I had and Liam. It was the same with Mason and Melissa. I figured it just hadn’t been enough time. I hoped they did have the healing ability already, though, because this was a nasty wound and had a high probability of getting infected.
Liam and Zeke dragged the bodies of the wolves and the one bear, who were humans now, to the fire pit, and I tried not to look as they struggled with the woman’s naked body, and then the big bear man to get them into the fire.
“Get back, Miley, something is happening. I can’t control what I’m about to do.” Flynn’s voice was panicked, and I stepped back. His whole body shook. His skin looked pale and ashen.
“What can I do, Flynn? What’s going on?”
“I don’t kn—” He fell to his hands and knees, a great shiver wracking his body. He grunted and fell onto his side into a fetal position and began clawing at his clothes. “Not right.” His jaw looked funny as he ripped at his shirt and kicked his shoes off his feet.
“Something is wrong with Flynn,” I shouted, and I saw Zeke and Liam head over to us, but stopping short when Flynn began to seize.
“Aren’t we supposed to make sure he doesn’t swallow his tongue or something?” I cried.
“I don’t think this is a regular seizure,” Liam said. He was right, something was going on with Flynn’s skin. It pulsated and moved as if something was under it. With one great heave of his body, Flynn curled in on himself and it looked as if his insides were eating his outsides. I screamed, bracing for an explosion of blood or something nasty like that, but all that happened was a huge black cat stood there, and I mean, huge.
“What just happened?” Liam stepped back from the cat. He looked like I felt, scared shitless.
“He’s one of those were-things,” I said, and the big cat hissed.
“Dude, it’s us,” Liam said, putting his hands up when the big cat looked at him. “Good kitty.”
“Can you feel him, Miley?” Zeke asked. I wasn’t that in touch with the world around me. I was a little distracted by the pain. I balanced myself, pushing past the pain, concentrating to see if I could pick up on Flynn. There he was, it was Flynn. Different, slightly, but still Flynn.
“He’s there,” I sighed and sent soothing thoughts to a very confused Flynn. The big cat stood almost to my shoulders, it was so large, even the panthers in the zoo were only about waist-high. He had gone from a 180lbs man to a 180lb panther, which I knew was a lot bigger than any panther in the wil
d. The wolves hadn’t been larger than normal wolves, and I had nothing to compare to the bear, but it had been a brown bear, which I knew those bears could get huge, but now that it was just a man, it wasn’t like I could figure out what kind of bear he was to compare his size to other bear sizes.
The big cat walked up to me, and I tried not to flinch or show fear as it bumped its big body against mine, nearly knocking me over.
“Holy shit,” Liam said.
I dropped my hand to the cat’s fur and marveled at the softness of its coat.
“This is surreal.” Flynn made a content rumbling sound deep in his chest.
“He was bit by the wolf, right?” Liam asked. “Isn’t that part of the stories about werewolves, you change if you get bit by one?”
“But change into a panther?” I replied as Flynn bumped me again, and this time, I stayed on both feet.
“Maybe this was his power,” Zeke added.
“Can’t wait to find out what Mason and Melissa can do then,” I laughed, kind of freaking myself out about what the future held for us.
“Can he change back, so we can get home?” Zeke asked. I concentrated on Flynn, and for the first time, I tried to send an actual question. The big cat shook his head and made a chuffing sound.
“I don’t think he can.”
“Then, hopefully he can keep up,” Liam looked warily at the cat, “because I don’t think he would fit on one of the ATVs.”
“Keep up, kitty.” I patted Flynn’s head, and he chuffed again, and then hissed at me.
“We’ll come back for his ATV. Let’s just get him home, we’re done here,” Zeke said, and we all agreed, getting on the ATVs. With one last glance at the clearing, I hit the accelerator, and at a fast clip, headed back home a mother-freakin’ panther chasing behind me.
We did it. One down, possibly six more to go, and the gods only knew where those plants were located. But we would find them. I knew we would.
45
I was hovering over Miley. I knew I was being a pest, but it was as if the moment I climbed up that tower to “save” her, everything clicked. She had solidified as my world, and now that she was carrying our child, my world was expanding. If anything happened to her, if anything tried to harm her — well, I would not tolerate that. We were in a war. I knew this. And she seemed to be the de facto General of this war. There was nothing I could do to keep her out of danger, but I was going to damn well make sure I was there to deflect as much as I could.
“Stop hovering, I’m fine.” She slapped at me. She hauled a net through the shallow part of the river that ran through her property. We had been trying to catch fish, since the local grocery store was down to practically nothing as the shipping industry had all but ground to a halt.
“That’s too heavy, give it to me.” I tried to take the sodden net out of her hand and help her install it, even though, I had no clue what she planned on doing with it, hell, I didn’t think she had a clue what she was going to do with it.
“I got it.” She put her hand on her hip and glared at me. She wore the tiniest bikini, and my dick jumped when my eyes raked across her body. It was pink, with little triangles that only covered her nipples, showing off side boob, and bottom book and well, just all the boobs. Then there was the bottom that cut high in the front and high in the back. When she bent over, I got an eye full of ass, and when she turned around, I had the perfect view of that perfect pussy. She had worn this scrap of fabric to torment me. I knew it.
“Put the net down,” I said.
“You’re so bossy.” But she felt it, she felt how much I wanted her. She waded to the shore and dropped the net by my feet.
“You like when I’m bossy.” She smirked at my response.
“Do I?” she teased, jutting her chin out in defiance. The foliage did what I wanted and began snaking around her legs. I watched her face, watching for any sign of fear. I was worried about when my powers would remind her of the mother’s, about that moment in the clearing, and she would resent me for them, but there was no fear.
“I know it’s you, I feel you everywhere, Zeke, I will never be scared or confuse you for her.” I closed my eyes, those words a balm, smoothing away the insecurity. I felt her too. I felt her in everything, but I needed more. I needed to touch. To taste. To enter. I used the vines as my arms, the leaves as my fingertips, pulling off her swimsuit and letting it drop to the floor, using everything in my arsenal, every healthy plant that grew on the banks to explore her body from head to toe. I touched her everywhere, on every inch of her skin, the plants as much a part of me as my own body now, my senses so unbelievably heightened, feelings I had never felt before, senses I had never experienced took me over, and all they wanted to do was explore Miley.
They held her suspended as she writhed and bucked under their exploration. She was lost to the passion, lost to my touch, convulsions seizing her body as little orgasms left her panting. She spoke words but none were intelligible, and still, I had not touched her with one part of my physical body, yet I felt it all. I undressed as I watched her writhe, as I had the vines bound together and form a swing that held her in place.
Vines swirled around her legs, spreading her open so I could see all of her. Her pussy gleamed with wetness, ready and willing for me. Ready and willing for all of me.
“Zeke,” She moaned my name like a prayer.
I had vines shed the unneeded parts and bind together, tight and hard and in the shape of a cock. It entered her and her cries and the feeling of it almost me dropped me to my knees as it stretched and pulsed inside of her. I felt every particle as if it was a part of me. As if it was my own cock.
“Zeke,” she screamed my name again and again, panting from the intensity. I needed more. I stepped forward, pulling out of her with the vines, replacing it with my cock. It was the same, but not, it was more because our flesh was now joined. It was my hands on her breast, now wrapped with my own vines. It was the senses I was used to, instead of the new ones I was just now exploring. Pumping into her, I used her own juices to slather around her ass, reduced the size of the vines, and pushed into her there, entering her in every way. She moaned and bucked against me as I pounded into her without mercy, like she wanted. She wanted me to control her, she wanted to be overtaken, to let everything slip away as I ravished her with everything I had, which is what I did. I held on to that feeling with all of my will, with all of my strength, as she let it all out. As she let me do anything I wanted to her. She was mine, but I belonged to her. Suspended against me, I pumped into her, held against me by the vines that pounded into her and moved sensually against every part of her skin. I didn't know where I ended and she began.
She came hard, moaning my name, bucking hard against my cock, squeezing it as she contracted with the pleasure, forcing my orgasm out of me as her body swallowed every bit of what I had to give. When the last bit of shuddering subsided, my vines retreated, pulling out of her as her entire weight fell into my arms. I held her close like a child because she was so tiny. She was so precious. The woman that carried my child.
I picked her up and carried her into the water, the cold water a shock against our sex heated skin. I walked until the water lapped to my knees, then I slowly sat us in the water so it was to our shoulders, washing away the sex that clung to us. She laughed and held on to me, her head in the crook of my neck.
“I never thought I could feel like this.” She kissed my neck, her small hands seeming so much smaller as I held her like this. She was usually so competent, so amazing and larger than life, but now she carried my child, and I could pick her up like she was nothing, as if I had grown larger. I felt like I had.
“I never even hoped for something like this,” I whispered back.
“I love you, Zeke.” She kissed me, her body shifting, finding me hard again. No one had ever made my body react like Miley did. I had never even hoped I could react to a woman like I react to Miley.
“I love you, too,” I moaned as she too
k me back inside her where I belonged. The world might be crashing around us, there might be gods warring, using us as pawns, hell, fate might have forced us together, but I didn’t care. This was exactly where I wanted to be. Exactly who I wanted to be with for the end of days. Miley Lopez was my gift from the gods, call it fate, or call it luck, either way I called it perfection.
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A Curse of Man & Magic
Book Two Father Sky Series
Chapter 1
