by Jamie Hawke
“I just don’t get it,” I admitted.
“Imagine you’re one with the universe, one with more than nature, but the elements. The air you breathe, the water in your body, and more. Embrace it.”
My frown made it clear what I thought of this, but I tried again… and got my butt kicked again. None of this was coming as easily as I wanted it to. Being a warrior made sense to me, but being one with the water, flowing and attacking like a wave? Fuck all that. Every time I’d played games like Final Fantasy I’d gone warrior. I knew how to hack and slash, what it meant to charge in with a roar and slice my enemies in two.
Another attack came and I did my best to focus on the flow, to feel it and move as they’d told me, but in the end I reverted to my instincts, slamming Red’s sword aside and making a strike that she parried and darted away from.
“You’re still not focused,” Elisa said.
She was right. My mind was on the fact that I wasn’t seeing my family, and everything that had happened since I’d become a Protector. I’d fucking killed my childhood hero—Peter Pan! That shit wasn’t right.
To make it all worse, it was confusing. I was a Protector, in training to learn how to help protect the Myths from my own government. Essentially, they’d stabbed me with some magic blade that made it official, and now I was more on their side than humanity’s. What did that make me? Some sort of enemy of the people, and yet… how often had a large group or government persecuted others who didn’t deserve it? They didn’t understand these Myths, not like I did.
Except I really barely knew them at all. Hence the confusion.
“Let’s give Sharon a turn,” Elisa said, motioning Red out of there. “Let him get more experience against a Legend.”
“Ex-Legend,” Sharon growled, approaching me with claws at the ready. Why was it that the moment I saw her hands, I imagined myself back on that stairwell, her hand on my cock? I gulped, trying to focus, trying to clear my mind, and then she came at me.
For at least a split second, I felt that connection to something bigger than myself. It was almost like before with going into the Fae world and the sensation I’d felt when taking Excalibur to be mine, and I moved with grace and precision. Only, it faltered and I stumbled, the blade hitting magic as it nearly sliced at Sharon’s neck.
She pulled back from that, eyes narrowed with anger, and slashed at my back, tearing my clothes.
“Fuck,” I said, recovering to try again.
“You trying to kill me?” she asked.
“All I’m trying to do is learn,” I insisted.
She nodded, took a deep breath, and repositioned herself for an attack.
“You got this!” Pucky called out from the doorway to the balcony, where I only now realized she’d stepped out for a bit. That sounded like a great plan at the moment. Clearing my head with some fresh air, not putting up with this futile endeavor.
But Sharon was prowling, preparing to strike, and I had no choice but to keep training, keep trying. I wasn’t about to look like a quitter in front of my team. My sword thrust out at Sharon’s side and she pulled back, and without warning Red came in again, slashing for my arms with her sword.
The magic hit and we were both sent stumbling back. When my head cleared, I came to the realization that we weren’t approaching this correctly.
“How am I going to stand a chance against Arthur and Morganna?” I asked, lowering my sword and turning on Elisa. “This is ridiculous.”
“The how is easy—though the fight won’t be. You have us.” She gestured for Sharon to attack, but I didn’t raise my sword.
Not that Sharon cared, apparently. She moved toward me, transforming as she did. No longer was she a petite, crazy-looking lady. Instead, a werewolf stared back at me with glowing red eyes, claws at the ready, and teeth gnashing.
Her advance didn’t catch me off guard, but I was thrown by the way seeing her took me back to the convention center, to Chris. My best friend… and he’d betrayed me. I slashed out, catching her along the arm and drawing blood, and she growled, knocking me back.
“I’m sor…” I started to apologize, but she plowed into me again, the cut already starting to heal. Badass.
Again I swung, this time wanting to test her. I was careful not to go for any lethal strikes, but part of the reason they’d put me up against her was that she could handle it. And, apparently, heal.
Sharon wasn’t the same Big Bad Wolf as the original, but I started wondering if there could be any truth to cutting open the wolf’s stomach like in the fairy tale, and it living—seeing as in wolf form Sharon could heal herself. Trying to figure out what was real from those stories and what wasn’t was a mind fuck in itself, but I was starting to see the hints of what made sense.
She snarled and again I was reminded of Chris’s betrayal. I cursed as I swung my sword, trying to pull on the spirit of water, the flow of the power in this sword, but instead Sharon slammed the blade out of the way, claws going for my throat, and she had me.
I tried rolling with it, but she controlled herself, glow fading from her eyes as she flipped me over and let me fall, my sword clattering away.
Pinning me there like that, she leaned in close and said, “We’ve been here before, no?”
The image of her on the stairwell at the Con flashed into my mind, the memory of her grabbing my dick, and I felt a nudge of blood flow down below. She winked, but I flipped her off of me and recovered before Mr. Boner came out to play.
“Won’t happen again,” I said, charging her for a takedown.
She easily spun with it, slamming me to the ground. I groaned, got up, and went at it again. Slam. My breath left my lungs and I lay there gasping.
After the third time she knocked me on my ass, I stood and kicked Excalibur’s handle, cursing. But it wasn’t the fight or losing that bothered me, and she could tell. Transforming back to normal, she followed me out of the training room and to the walkway nearby that looked out over what appeared to be an old manufacturing room, with various machine parts and conveyer belts.
“You’re not doing so bad in there,” she said, standing next to me. I couldn’t help but notice that her fingers were bleeding at the nails, where her claws had grown from, but were quickly healing.
“I don’t… I mean, at least you all are here with me, but…”
“This is about your friend?” When I nodded, she continued. “It wasn’t his fault. They had his family. And besides, he only gave you up to me, and I like to think maybe he saw something in me that made doing so less of an issue. Maybe he saw that I didn’t really want to hurt you.”
My gut said to trust her, the side of me that had dealt with the shadows after her bite. Part of me felt a connection, though maybe it was a dark connection related to that bite—I couldn’t be sure. Was I supposed to embrace this kinship, or blame her for nearly turning me into a creature of the night? I had no idea, but knew there was way too much going on in my head to decide right now.
For one, I couldn’t forget the way she’d been on the stairwell that first night we’d met, when she’d tackled me and managed to fight the darkness when grabbing my cock. A weird way to fight evil, considering all the church’s views on such matters. I’d since mentioned it to Elisa, who assured me it had to do with intimacy and a human connection. When Sharon could make that bond, she could fight the evil influence of the Fae world.
A glance over at Sharon showed she might’ve been remembering that same moment, because her hand was gripping the cylindrical railing, finger moving along it, as her eyes moved along my crotch.
I cleared my throat. She blinked, saw that I’d caught her, and then turned away—but not before I saw the rosy blush spreading across her face.
“I’m trying to understand,” I said in an attempt to bring the topic back to Chris and his betrayal. “But… Oh, shit.”
“What?” she asked.
“His family, are they…?”
She faced me, embarrassment turning t
o worry. “You can’t go after them. Not when we’re here setting this trap for Arthur and Morganna. Not when they’ve done so much for you.”
“You don’t think they’d let me go?”
“They’d be stupid to!”
I processed that, feeling my chest start to heave and my fingers growing twitchy. “And Chris?” She looked away, even started to turn, but my hand shot out and grabbed her by the wrist. “Sharon… tell me what you know.”
“All I know is how the Legends are,” she muttered, eyes on my hand touching her, an instant calm seeming to take over. For a moment, she hesitated, then put her free hand on top of mine and stared intently into my eyes. “In my mind he was free to go, but I arranged all that… when they find out they can leverage him, which they likely already have, they’ll go after him. Kill him to teach you a lesson? Maybe. Hold him to lure you into doing something stupid? More likely.”
“Then you’re getting me out of here, and showing me where he is.”
“Don’t let them bait you.”
“If his life might be on the line?” I stood tall, determined. “I have no choice.”
27
“Jack…” Sharon’s eyes were wide, pleading, but as cute as that was there was no way it would work on me. “You want to leave here with me, the woman who tried to kill you as far as you know? The woman who was your enemy only two days ago?”
She made good points, but they didn’t negate the need. “Of course not. We’ll bring the team.”
“Where?” Red asked, stepping up to join us, giving me an awkward smile.
“He wants to go after his friend.” Sharon folded her arms and started to smile, as if that was enough to get Red on her side, and in doing so would change my mind.
“And you know where he’d be held if they had him,” Red said, looking at Sharon with a new level of interest.
“What?”
“Yes, this is good.” Red glanced around and saw Pucky and Elisa returning from taking a bathroom break. “Hey, ladies. Sharon has a good idea.”
“What?” Sharon looked lost—the deer staring into the headlights. “No, I…” Seeing the expressions of interest and excitement on Elisa and Pucky’s faces, the Big Bad Wolf deflated, giving in. “We go back to the hideout, the one I know all about, and make sure they’re not holding Jack’s friend. If they are, free him, of course.”
“Better than sticking around here!” Pucky exclaimed.
Elisa, however, looked a little less sure. “We have a lot of training for you,” she said to me. “The sword, your new class—”
“Would both be better utilized against a real enemy,” I countered. “Imagine, me getting my levels up out there, grinding, refocusing my skill trees on the Tempest branch.”
“He makes a good argument,” Pucky said.
“And either way, I’m not about to leave Chris stranded. He might be a prick sometimes, but that prick is still my best friend.”
“You’re not going alone,” Elisa said. “And we’re not going without telling Mowgli.”
“But what if he doesn’t let—”
“No,” she interrupted me. “I said ‘tell’ not ask. If this is important, it has to be done.”
“Just like that?”
Red glanced over at Elisa, then rolled her eyes and leaned into me, conspiratorially. “The thing with her is… she believes that everything in the universe has a purpose, and a reason. So if you feel this kind of conviction, not only does she want to do it for you, but because she believes the universe must be saying it’s the right move.”
“And to ignore that,” Elisa whispered as if it was a very holy topic, “could risk the wrath of the universe.”
I smiled as if she was joking, but quickly saw that she wasn’t.
“Oh, right. But that all means we’re doing it, right?”
“Of course,” Red said with a chuckle.
“Doing what?” Pucky asked.
“Going to save his friend,” Sharon said, not looking happy about it at all. It wasn’t like I could blame her. “Chris.”
Pucky frowned, glanced around, and then shrugged. “Fucking awesome. I was getting bored here anyway. I’ll go tell Mowgli.” She jogged off as both Elisa and I opened our mouths to stop her, knowing she wouldn’t be handling it tactfully at all. Neither of us followed through, though, because this way was much easier.
“Let’s head for the doors,” Elisa said. “I’ll call the car.”
“Not a way we can back out?” Sharon asked.
Red grunted. “You can stay, if you don’t want to be part of the team.”
Sharon followed without another word.
We were already at the door, passing by the guards, when a bashful-looking Pucky and an angry Mowgli caught up with us.
“Whose brilliant plan is this?” Mowgli asked.
I meekly raised a hand.
“You do realize this whole situation is set up around you?” he asked. “If you’re not here, we have no trap, we have no reason for Arthur to come.”
“No bait, you mean,” I countered, even though I was perfectly fine with being the bait. I was more annoyed that he was even trying to argue this.
“We’re going to be fast,” Elisa said. “Don’t worry.”
His mouth fell open, then he laughed. “If Elisa’s on board, I know there’s no talking you out of it.” He glanced around, lowering his voice. “But at least go out the back way. For one, I don’t need everyone questioning why you’re not here. And two, for all we know the enemy might have eyes on us at this point. Keep a low profile.” Then he reached into his pocket and handed me a small green stone that vibrated gently when I took it. “Use this to call for help if needed.”
We agreed, and moved back toward the rear exit while Mowgli had a car go around to meet us. As pissed as I was at Chris, what he’d done made some sort of sense. Maybe I would’ve done the same in his situation. Probably not—I would’ve gone after whoever had threatened my parents and seen them punished. At least, the new me would.
For now, I would simply focus on the fact that I had a friend who was in trouble, and I was on my way to save him.
The driver followed Sharon’s instructions of where to go, from her position in the front passenger seat as we threaded our way through lines of city traffic onto a highway where the traffic was barely moving, before it cleared and we were off again.
“Having fun?” Pucky asked out of nowhere.
“In general, or right at this moment?”
“I mean with all this—it’s like nonstop action, no? Obviously not when we’re stuck in traffic, but you know, fighting, fucking… fighting, fucking… It’s kind of our thing.” She grinned, then blew me a kiss.
Elisa laughed, while Sharon looked at me with a seductive curiosity. Red, as always, tried to look uninterested but was glancing my way out of the corner of her eyes.
“You’re asking me if I like fucking and kicking the ass of bad guys?” I laughed, not really sure how to answer that except to say, “Fuck yes.”
“Thought so.” She shrugged. “I honestly can’t see how anyone would want to spend their life behind a desk, or out working construction or something. I mean, those are both great, for people who need to make a living. But give me fucking and fighting any day. Only fucking you, of course, and only fighting the bad guys.”
“Of course,” Elisa said with a grin. “I imagine the whole part about risking their lives would turn off most people from this lifestyle, but…”
She cocked her head, unfolding her legs and then folding them in a way that gave me a perfect view of downstairs—no panties, apparently.
“You’ve seen Basic Instinct, I take it?” I said after taking a heavy breath.
She shrugged. “You know, I was starting to think I didn’t get all your references and obsessions, so… figured why not. Couldn’t sleep, and it was on some list of great movies.”
“What happened?” Sharon asked from the front seat, apparently having not seen,
but I didn’t say anything. Elisa only smiled at me.
“Well, I’m ready for action of every sort,” Pucky said, changing the topic. She was at my side so she could’ve seen the show Elisa gave me, but I wasn’t sure.
“In here?” Elisa asked, glancing around.
I chuckled, thinking she was joking, then adjusted in my seat when her expression became serious. “Honestly, I might need a bit of a break…” I hated to admit it, but was pretty sure my dick was swollen and anything involving the little guy at the moment would hurt as much as it would feel good.
She frowned. “I’ll just have to take it out on the enemy then. With fighting, though, to be clear.”
“We’ve got time,” Red said. “Just… don’t let the driver see you.” She must’ve noticed my look of confusion, because she added a circling motion with her finger, then pointed at Elisa. “Don’t be selfish. Help her out.”
“That’s not necessary,” Elisa said, but her eyes were looking at me with anticipation.
Hell, they’d helped me out plenty of times, and if she was feeling the need enough so that she’d watched the movie and not worn panties, I was happy to do my part.
“We don’t want you getting distracted in there,” I said, repositioning so that I could reach over with my left arm, hoping Sharon and the driver wouldn’t notice. Red and Pucky both watched, eyes following my hand as it slid up Elisa’s thigh. She uncrossed her legs and my hand caressed her, feeling how moist she was, and then I slid a finger in.
She bit her lip to stop from moaning, moving her hips with the motion as I started fingering her, then went for the clit.
“Everyone okay back there?” Sharon asked, glancing back.
“Yeah, just… imagining the fight,” Pucky said, glancing up and trying to look innocent. “You know, mental preparation and all.”
“Yeah, we’re totally the meditation types,” Red said with a scoff, eyes not leaving my hand as my middle finger caressed Elisa. “Not you?”
“Oh, it’s… something I could try,” Sharon replied, turning back to watch the road. The driver, at least, kept driving. No comment, even if he did notice something.
