Wraith King

by Jack Porter

  And still, I didn’t draw my sword. I should have. Every ounce of logic I possessed told me to protect myself. But there was still something about the Hellhound’s eyes that held me back.

  There was a gaping wound in its neck, and from the looks of it, whatever had caused it had just missed the animal’s jugular. An arrow stuck out of its ribcage, too, lodged in the bone.

  It was going to die. No way could it survive from such massive injuries. Even the effort to stand seemed to take more than the Hellhound could manage for long, because after a minute of staring me in the face, it sank back to the ground in defeat.

  I should have killed it. Instead, I cautiously rounded the animal, watching those bared teeth, knowing that if it wanted to, it could still rip me to shreds. Carefully, I reached out and placed a hand on the shaft of the arrow. The Hellhound watched me with narrowed, intelligent eyes, but it didn’t move.

  I’d always been a dog person. Cats were okay, but I’d grown up with dogs, and the only reason I didn’t have one now was because of my long working hours at the office. The Hellhound wasn’t a dog, but it reminded me a little of a wolf hybrid a neighbor had kept when I was a kid. The animal had been skittish and intimidating. Next to this Hellhound, though, the wolf hybrid seemed like a newborn puppy.

  With a deep breath, I pulled the arrow from the bone with all the strength I could muster. The hound yelped and then scooted away. I backed away, too, afraid it would attack out of pain.

  “Easy,” I said. Dropping the arrow to the forest floor, I slowly untied the water skin from my belt. Since there was nothing with which to catch the water, I cupped my left hand and poured water into it.

  The animal’s nostrils flared, and the look in its eyes turned eager.

  “I won’t hurt you,” I said. “I swear.”

  Aware that any sudden movement might cost me my hand, I extended it as far as it would go. The Hellhound raised its head, sniffed, and then lapped the water away. When it was gone, I poured more water, which the animal drank as well.

  With each handful of water, the beast’s eyes looked less dead. It became more alert, and its ears twitched at the forest. By the time it finished drinking, my skin was empty. The Hellhound seemed to understand this because it pulled away again. Then it snarled, causing me to back away. It rose slowly, backing further away with its fangs bared. When it had put enough distance between us to be satisfied, the Hellhound turned and walked off.

  Once I was sure it wasn’t going to turn and attack, I made my way back to the horses. The column of elves continued on.

  Syn and Ilana looked at me reproachfully.

  I shrugged. “Had to piss,” I said. Both females narrowed their eyes, obviously mistrustful of this, so I added, “Got turned around in there. Went too far off the trail.”

  Ilana scoffed. “Many dangerous things lurk in the forest. It’s a good thing you weren’t attacked by something.”

  Syn raised her eyebrows at me. Could she smell the Hellhound? It didn’t matter, did it? The animal wasn’t going to bother us in its condition. Hopefully. After giving me a strange look, Syn turned her horse and trotted it up to the head of the line where Nya was riding.

  Ilana handed over the reins to my mare, and I mounted, this time with less struggle. As we joined the column, she said, “Nya and Syn were about to send out a search party for you.”

  I raised an eyebrow in surprise. “They were?”

  Ilana smirked. “Yes. What were you doing in there?”

  Turning my eyes front again, I said, “I told you. I took a piss and got lost.”

  Something about the way the succubus sat her horse told me she didn’t believe my story. It was a lame one, but I didn’t have anything better. And I wasn’t ready to share the fact that I had helped a Hellhound. It was the enemy, after all, even if it was just a poor creature, a slave like everything else that followed the Wraith King.

  We lapsed into silence for the remainder of the journey. With so many horses being led, we didn’t arrive at Castle Blackhold until dusk, when the red sky was fading into a deep blood color. A horn’s call welcomed us, and one of Nya’s guard answered it.

  Without anything being said, the city gates opened for us to lead in our dead.

  35

  In my chambers at the castle, I bathed and then fell naked into my bed. But I wasn’t to be allowed sleep.

  With a sharp rap on the door, Nya entered. She had also bathed and was now dressed in a simple white dress that fell to the floor. It opened just above her navel, displaying her toned abs and the inside mounds of her breasts. The dress was fastened to her with a simple gold chain around the neck that held it in place. “If you wish to honor the fallen,” she said, “the ceremony begins at midnight.”

  I sat up wearily. “I’ll be there.”

  The beautiful elf moved to the bedside and sat on it. Once again, I was struck at how little she cared that I was completely naked. I hadn’t even covered myself with the bedding.

  “How is your injury?” she asked.

  “Fine,” I said. “Sore but not terrible.” I had washed it and found it was mostly a scratch on my right side. I had been very, very lucky.

  “In the morning, have one of the Healers tend to it, to ward off infection.”

  I nodded, wondering if that was all she had come for. “Is your sister Alayna very angry?” I asked.

  Nya smiled grimly. “To the contrary, she is pleased that the mission was a partial failure. All it does is reinforce her stance on the matter and shame those who aided me.”

  Hot anger washed over me. “But no one else aided you. If they had, the entire mission could have been different. We might be celebrating the Wraith King’s death tonight, as well.”

  “You are correct, of course, but Alayna will use every opportunity she can to undermine my leadership.”

  “What can she hope to accomplish?” Momentarily forgetting my nudity, I shifted on the bed. When Nya didn’t seem to mind, I moved closer to her so I could see her face.

  “In the short-term?” she asked. “She can breed ill will toward me. In the long-term? That is unclear. My position is for life, just like hers and the other rulers’.”

  “Would she ever attempt to kill you?”

  Nya laughed. “She would never dare to challenge me herself. We both know I am the stronger of us. If she wanted me dead, though, she could certainly arrange it. But come, Jon, let’s not talk of such things tonight. This is a time for celebration.”

  I shook my head. “I still don’t understand why you celebrate death. Where I come from, we grieve, sometimes for a long time.”

  Nya propped her foot up on the bed. “There is grief, yes, but only because we are not able to follow the fallen. They are in a better place now.”

  “Where?” It wasn’t hard to imagine a better place than Hell, considering this is where humans thought they went for punishment. And maybe they do, I thought, and that’s what the wraiths really are.

  Nya’s eyes searched mine. “According to tradition, they go to the White Lands and become Light Elves instead of Dark.”

  She shifted until she stood on both knees on the bed. Then, she raised her dress, gathering the material around her hips. I caught a glimpse of her, and she was wearing nothing underneath. Her shaved slit was bare to the air, on display for me to see.

  “Do you want me, Jon?” she asked.

  36

  Already, my cock stood at attention. The elf was very beautiful, and I would have been a liar if I told her no. “Yes,” I half-croaked.

  She hovered over me, moving until she straddled my hips. Then she paused with her lips an inch from mine. For a moment, we felt each other’s breaths on our mouths.

  I really loved this part of Hell. If it was meant to be torture, it was the best kind. A city full of dominant females didn’t intimidate me in the least. It also helped that they were so beautiful.

  And horny, apparently. Or maybe I was just the flavor of the month. For the moment,
I didn’t care.

  Moving my hands up to her waist, I felt the strong curves of her body. When the elf didn’t protest, I ran my hands down her thighs, which she still had bared to me. Inching my fingers up, I watched her eyes as I dipped one into her entrance.

  The elf’s nostrils flared, and her eyes flashed.

  Seeing that she liked it, I dipped another finger in, then found her bud with my thumb and began a slow rhythm. Her entrance was already wet, but it was also warm and seemed to eagerly take my fingers like it wanted more. Still hovering over me, Nya closed her eyes and breathed harder. Her breasts, which were now in my face, heaved up and down with the rhythm I set. I leaned forward to use my tongue to trace a line from one edge of her dress to the other, over her perfect mounds, not quite able to touch her nipples, but excruciatingly close. Nya let go of the edge of her dress and put her hands on my shoulders to steady herself.

  “Do we have some time?” I asked. Midnight could be now or in an hour, and my sense of time here was so screwed up that I didn’t know.

  “Yes,” she breathed.

  Pushing her forward with my other hand on her chest, I kept up my stroking as I put her on her back. Nya complied, her head now hanging off the end of the bed. I spread her legs wide and sank down between them. “You deserve some attention,” I said. “Do you want it?” I paused with my mouth above her slit, letting my warm breath wash over her. She was perfection. Pink and soft and wet. And she smelled sweet and ready.

  Nya’s hand went to my hair, but instead of pushing my mouth into her, as I expected, she pulled it away. “I’ve never had a man,” she admitted.

  I looked up at her, and she’d raised her head to look at me.

  “When you say ‘man,’” I said, “do you mean human or any male?”

  “Any male,” she answered.

  I frowned. “I don’t want to pressure you.”

  She laughed. “I’ve been with female elves, though. Most of us have. And I’m the one who came here tonight. Men from your world are strange. And I’ve heard tales from the village women that even there, usually the women are more forthcoming than a man.”

  “Your Grace,” I said with a smile. “I assure you that I am different from female elves.”

  “I hope that you are,” she said wickedly. “In fact, I have heard that you are.”

  Then she let her head hang back over the bed and urged me to continue with her hand in my hair.

  “From whom?” I asked.

  “Syn, who else?”

  “I suppose that was never going to be a secret, was it?” I pulled my fingers out of her entrance.

  Nya moaned and wiggled, seeking more contact. “She is not to ever keep secrets from me, no. But I asked her.”

  “And what did she say?”

  “I’m not telling you. I want to find out for myself.” The elf pulled my hair until it hurt. “Now shut up, human, and taste me.”

  “As you wish, Your Grace.” I touched her bud with the tip of my tongue, teasing her with my proximity. Nya quivered in anticipation, and her nails dug into my scalp. “Ilana was right,” I said. “You really need someone to take the edge off, don’t you?”

  Before she could reply, I planted an open kiss just below her clit, letting my tongue venture inside her. She was sweet and strong and sensuous all at once, and it didn’t take me long to explore all of her pussy with my tongue. The elf writhed on the bed, crushing my face to her.

  And I obliged, giving her the best oral job I’d ever given, even to Ilana. By the end, I had two fingers firmly inserted inside her, massaging her G-spot without mercy. My tongue swirled around her bud and lower lips, but then I sucked directly on her clit, making her cry out.

  She panted and sweat, but she didn’t come, so I drew it out, alternating between long and slow, and fast and hard. Bringing her just to the brink, and then pulling back.

  Without letting up, I continued my attack of her pussy until she begged to come. That turned me on so forcefully that I thought I would explode, as well. Although my cock was painfully squished between my body and the bed.

  “Keep begging,” I said, taking a breath. “I like it.”

  “Please, Jon,” she said breathlessly. “I can’t take it anymore.”

  “Yes, you can,” I said wickedly, and then with my free hand, I ran my fingers down below her pussy to her other hole. Stroking it, I felt her tighten and then relax as she moaned anew.

  “Fuck!” Nya said. “Jon, release me!”

  “No,” I said. Continuing my exploration of her body, I circled her anus as I continued fucking her with my fingers and tongue.

  “Please!” she screamed. Her body jerked with the beginnings of her orgasm, and I slid my pinky finger inside her butt. Both of her hands dug into my hair then, but she didn’t pull away. A good sign. Then, I took as much of her in my mouth as I could and sucked hard, fucking both holes with my fingers.

  The elf came with a cry of ecstasy that rivaled Ilana’s the night before. I continued sucking and fucking until Nya shuddered over and over. Her come dripped out of her, mingling with my spit and soaking the bed.

  A light sheen of sweat covered her body and mine. And as I eased off her pussy and eased out of her holes, she took great ragged breaths. Her breasts moved up and down beneath her dress, and I regretted not getting to see more of her.

  Yet.

  I moved my hand up to pull her dress away from her right breast but had forgotten the chain holding it in place.

  Nya laughed and let go of my hair to reach around her neck and unfasten the chain. I ached with anticipation, my cock throbbing for release even though I’d had plenty the last few days. Finally, I was going to see her large breasts. Touch them, taste them.

  And then a bell rang, loud and clear over the city. Deep and stone-shaking.

  Nya dropped her hands with a sigh. “It is time.”

  37

  Damn.

  Damn, damn, damn.

  I wanted to attend the ritual, of course, but only after I’d spent more time with Nya. Despite that, I found the clothes the servants had laid out for me—a shift similar to the one Nya wore, only without the ornate chain. Instead, a simple cord held the long garment in place. It felt surprisingly comfortable, and as we walked solemnly to the castle yard, I found myself wishing I could wear something like this all the time when we weren’t near a battle.

  Ilana joined us as we descended the tower staircase. She wore the same type of dress, too, as did everyone else in the castle. I couldn’t help but feel that Nya and Ilana looked best in theirs, however.

  I also could have sworn that Ilana looked at Nya before smirking at me. Then, she put on a somber face, and we joined the rest of the castle’s inhabitants in the courtyard.

  The dead elven warriors had been dressed in the same white garments that we were, and they were laid out in long rows upon low funeral pyres. Others watched over the pyres with burning torches.

  Nya led us directly to the gathered rulers, but instead of joining them, she turned her back on them, took my hand, and walked with me to the nearest pyre.

  And then she began speaking in a foreign tongue. It was beautiful and terrible, just like her, and I found myself almost hypnotized by the words even though I didn’t know what they meant.

  When she finished, she smiled, and the guardians with the torches began to sing. The notes were high and shrill, but then they were joined by the crowd in a melody that sought to break my heart. I listened, transfixed, as they sang for a long time. Turning, I saw that everyone had joined the same song.

  Everyone except myself, Ilana, and Alayna.

  The High Ruler wore a look of anger and defiance, as though she didn’t agree with the proceedings and wished to express her displeasure. She caught me looking at her, and I turned, but not before a cruel smile played over her lips.

  When the song at last ended, the guardians lit the funeral pyres, and the beautiful elvish warriors’ bodies were engulfed in flames. Instead of t
he red and orange fires I expected, though, the funeral pyres burned blue. The light danced on the black stone, making it seem like we were underwater.

  And then I smelled it. A heady, sweet fragrance blew through the courtyard. When I inhaled, it seemed to lift all my problems off my shoulders. In fact, I felt more like I was floating rather than standing.

  “They say that the elves use a scent that is as old as Hell itself,” Ilana whispered beside me. “Before this land was called Hell.”

  I blinked, trying to stay focused in the haze. “This place had another name? What was it?” I whispered back.

  “We don’t know. But before the Wraith King came, these lands were beautiful, lush, and green. With rivers and blue skies and plenty for all.” She sighed deeply, watching the nearest pyre. “Now they are but a memory.”

  Standing a few feet away, Nya stood with the other rulers, now, her arms linked with two of them. They wore looks of happiness and peace on their faces. Only Alayna remained aloof from the proceedings. She stood with a haughty expression away from the other rulers, her eyes on the flames. Nya kissed another ruler on the cheek, and they held each other close.

  Despite the peaceful look on their faces, I caught a small glimpse of the strained look in Nya’s eyes before she turned her face back to the fire. She had gambled and lost.

  I felt her deep sadness, and it became part of me, perhaps infused into my body from the song and the fumes. As they drifted over the courtyard, I lost focus on everything but the shifting blue and black shadows. Of the succubus’ scent beside me, and of the surreal feeling of floating over the ground.

  Wanting to cry and laugh and sleep and dance all at the same time, I reached out for Ilana, who took my hand. At some point, the funeral fires burned low and the elves disassembled. Ilana led me back to my chambers, where we made love and fell into a deep, contented sleep.

  It was the last good night’s rest I would have for some time.