"Oh gods," I breathed. "Oh yes…" With a cry, my desire flew over the edge, into one, long orgasm that washed over me so hard I thought I might drown in pleasure.
Saff followed, thrusting harder into my curled fingers until the warmth of his cum squirted out into the lake water.
Huon followed a few moments later, grunting and thrusting. One hand gripped my hip, the other held my breast so hard it almost hurt.
He gasped and sagged, breath in ragged pants.
He slipped out of me and both men moved in closer to hold me while my heart slowed to a normal pace.
"Well, that was nice," Saff remarked.
Huon chuckled softly. "Very nice," he agreed. "I'm glad we had this little talk."
I smirked and socked him on the arm, sending a spray of water at his face. "You're incorrigible."
He grinned. "That's all part of my charm."
I socked him again, then wriggled free of them both and swam a couple of metres away.
"Well, if the water was safe to drink, it no longer is," Khat remarked. He sat on the lakeshore, licking his paw.
I blushed slightly. "I'm sure it's still fine."
He lowered his paw to the ground and blinked at us. "Excuse me if I don't. Now, if you're done rutting, I think I've found something."
8
"A trapdoor?"
I had dressed and wrung out my hair. It sat plastered to my head, but at least I felt clean, regardless of what Khat might think. The mimicat had led us through a break in the trees, to a copse.
Here, the grass lay in patches; green here, brown there. It reminded me of a chessboard, but not so uniform. That was fortunate, I felt like enough of a pawn as it was.
The door lay in almost the dead centre of the copse. A ring of green grass surrounded it like a target.
"You know they're called trapdoors for a reason right?" Saff remarked.
"Because it's a trap?" Huon suggested.
"It's not much of one," Ash reasoned. "No sensible fae would miss it, sitting here in the open as it is."
"Sensible being the keyword here," I muttered. "I don't think even a troll would be stupid enough to go down there."
Silence fell.
"You're going to suggest we open it, aren't you?" Saff looked toward Huon.
Huon tapped his fingers against his lips. "We could stand here and speculate all day about what might be in there, or we could just open it."
"After you." I stepped back, my hands raised to ward off anything which might leap out.
"You're usually the first one to jump into potential trouble," Huon said.
"Do I need to remind you it's called a trapdoor?" I planted my hands on my hips. "It could be full of screamspinners." I shuddered.
"Or worse," Saff agreed.
I turned to him, eyes wide. "Worse? What could possibly be worse?"
He shrugged. "Fae-eating snails?"
I blinked. "I beg your pardon?"
"Fae-eating snails," he repeated. "You know, snails that eat—"
"Yes, I guessed what they might eat," I replied hotly. "Don't tell me, they do it really slowly, so their food suffers, while covered in slimy goo?"
He grinned. "Sounds about right."
"I don't think there are such a thing," Ash said slowly. "However, you should all stand back. I will open the door."
"Why you?" Huon asked.
"Summer prefers not to," Ash replied. "You are king and shouldn't put yourself in harm's way more than necessary. Khat has no hands."
"Yes, thank you for the reminder," Khat said sarcastically.
"What about me?" Saff asked.
Ash turned his dark-eyed gaze toward Saff. "Because you might fall in."
Saff raised a finger as if to argue, then lowered it. "Good point. Safe distance it is."
We all stepped back and Ash crouched beside the door. He pushed back the grass that grew around the edges.
He spoke as he worked. "There's a lock. It's rusty." He tugged at it. "It's still good enough not to disintegrate on touch. I'll use a little magic."
The lock clicked and he removed it and placed it aside.
"All right, now for the door." He grabbed onto the handle—a plain circle of steel—and tugged.
In spite of the potential danger of the situation, I couldn't help but admire his muscles and the way they bulged as he strained. From the choking sound coming from Saff's direction, he noticed as well.
"Do you need some help?" Saff asked, his voice higher than usual.
I bit back a snort and glanced toward Huon. He wore a slight smile on his face, but looked impatient. I knew him well enough to know he too wanted to step in and help. Standing back to watch had never been his thing. Well, not in this type of situation.
Ash looked up at Saff, a thoughtful expression on his face. "Perhaps you could take hold of the end and give it a tug."
Saff swallowed audibly. "I can do that," he squeaked. He cleared his throat and got a grip on the other side of the door. He bent his legs and heaved. His face turned as red as his hair with the exertion.
"Is it heavy, or stuck?" I peered around Saff's shoulder. I couldn't spot anything while would serve as an impediment to the door opening. I assumed it must be more solid than it looked, until Ash let the handle go and sat back.
"I think it's fastened shut with magic."
"Well, that's seals that then," Saff said. When we all turned to look at him and groan, he added, "No pun intended."
"Sure it wasn't," I said. I pulled a face at him, which he responded to by sticking out his tongue and wiggling it.
"I'm surrounded by children," Khat said sadly.
"I know the feeling." I gave a mock heavy sigh.
Khat flicked his tail back and forth, then addressed me in my own voice. "You fae are such a lot of frivolous flittabouts, I don't know how you haven't all gone extinct. Oh yes, screwing in lakes."
I raised my eyebrows. "I've never said the word flittabout in my life."
"You just did," Huon pointed out.
"Says the king of frivolous flittabouts," I said. "Literally and figuratively."
"I rest my case." Khat exhaled heavily, flopped down and rested his head on his front paws. "If I had hands, I wouldn't need your help."
"Well, here you are." Huon shook his head. "Fighting amongst ourselves isn't going to help anyone."
"That's the first sensible thing anyone has said since we met," Khat said.
"Ash and Summer have both said plenty of sensible things," Saff said helpfully.
"Exactly." I nodded. "Now, are we going to use magic to open this door, or are we going to take the hint and leave it the hells alone?" What were the chances it had anything to do with lesser magic anyway?
It might just be a door.
In the middle of a copse.
Deep in the forest.
Leading nowhere in particular.
I rubbed my forehead. "We're using magic on this thing, aren't we?"
"Yes." Huon nodded. "Yes we are. You can stand further back if you like."
I thought for a moment. "I don't know. Blasting the shit out of things is one of my talents, remember?"
"This is not a rose petal," Ash pointed out.
"It's just wood." I stepped closer and eyed it.
"Wood and magic. Higher magic." Ash rose to his feet. "Tampering with it could cause blowback."
Saff opened his mouth, but closed it again when I gave him a look.
"Not everything is about sex," I said.
He blinked and was silent for a moment. Then he said, "Yes it is, if you think about it hard enough. Again, no pun intended."
"I don't agree." I tilted my head and tried not to smile. "I think that pun was intended."
"I tend to concur," Huon said with a mirthful nod. "He definitely meant it."
Saff gave us a cheeky eyebrow wiggle and shrugged. "My point stands." He looked surprised, then grinned. "Now that, I really didn't mean."
I shook my head. "Meanwhile, w
e have a door to open." I looked down at it and frowned. "Would now be a good time to remind you I think this is a really bad idea? I mean, who would leave a door just lying around here?"
"Pre-fae civilisation?" Saff suggested.
I couldn't tell if he was joking or not. "I don't think a door would last long enough to outlive a single fae, much less predate any of us."
"Unless magic was involved," Huon reasoned. "Which it clearly is."
"The king is correct," Ash said. "The right magic could preserve an artefact far beyond its usual limits. It's possible this very spot has something to do with the loss of lesser magic."
"But Khat said it involved a cave in the mountains, and a bunch of screamspinners." I gestured toward the mimicat.
"I also said it was just a theory," Khat said. He scratched his ear with a back paw. "While I also don't think opening the trapdoor is a good idea, we're here now. If nothing comes of this, we can continue toward the mountains."
"Unless we die here," Saff said helpfully. "In which case we won't be going anywhere after this."
"Thank you for that observation," I said dryly. "This is where someone suggests we split up, isn't it? Two of us stay here and three go on, or some such?"
"No." Huon shook his head. "Whatever happens, we stay together. All of us." He looked at us, one after the other, even Khat. "We're stronger in a group, with all of our magic. And for the record," he fixed Saff with a frown, "none of us are going to die any time soon."
"Ahhh, you're a seer," Khat remarked.
Huon scowled at him. "No, I'm an optimist."
"A seer would be more useful," Khat said.
"I'm sure it would, but I can't help that," Huon said curtly.
"Evidently." Khat's ears twitched.
"I hope you have something more useful to contribute than a few snide remarks." Huon narrowed his eyes at the mimicat. "Because we have Summer for that." He waved toward me.
"I'm not sure if I should say thank you, or be offended," I remarked.
"See?" Huon said. He flashed a smile at me. "You can thank me later."
I rolled my eyes. Fed up of all the chatter, I stepped over to the door.
"What is that?" I squinted.
"What is what?" Ash asked.
I pointed. "There's a symbol of some kind on the middle of the door." I stepped lightly onto it for a better look.
"That looks like a rose." I touched it lightly.
Light flashed and the world disappeared.
9
Shit.
Somewhere off to the right water dripped. At least, I hoped it was water.
I sniffed and smelt nothing worse than dank and stale air.
Gradually, my eyes got used to the dark. A sliver of light from up above my head penetrated the gloom. It wasn't much in the way of illumination, but at least it wasn't pitch dark in here.
Wherever in the hells here was.
"Is anyone there?" I called out softly.
My voice echoed back at me, twice as loud and lower pitched.
If I didn't know better…
"Who's there?" I took a tentative step forward. The ground beneath my feet was hard, but smooth. Stone, but not natural stone. I felt out in front of me with the toe of my boot and found a straight join.
Paving of some kind. Not a cave then. That didn't mean I wasn't surrounded by screamspinners.
"Who's there?" A voice asked. It copied my tone, but it was definitely not an echo.
"I asked first," I replied. Before the voice could respond, I raised my hand and magiced up a little light.
The voice hissed. A shape, easily as big as me, scurried into the shadows. I caught a glimpse of eyes before an arm was thrown up to cover it.
"Too bright!" The voice was hoarse, but undeniably male.
"Um, sorry, let me turn it down." I closed my hand and reduced the amount of magic in the spell. "Is that better?"
The shape lowered his arm. Most of his face was obscured by a hood, but his eyes shone in the dimmed light. They looked huge, as though he spent all of his time in the dark. Given where we were, it wasn't much of a stretch to assume he had.
"Who are you?" I asked.
"Remington," he replied. "Fletcher Remington."
"That's not a fae name," I remarked.
"No, it's not," he agreed. He pushed his hood back.
I stared for a moment. "Oh sweet fucked up gods, you're human!" Shrunk down to the same size as me, but human nonetheless.
He gave me an awkward bow, his hand pressed to his chest. "Indeed I am. And you are…"
"Summer," I supplied.
"That's not a fae name either," he pointed out.
I snorted. "Don't you start."
"I beg your pardon?"
I waved my hand, making the light dance across the floor. "It doesn't matter. Where is this place and what are you doing here?"
"I stopped counting how long I've been here after the first year," he said, "and I still can't answer the question of where this is. As for how—" he shrugged. "Probably the same way you did."
"The trapdoor that lived up to its name." I sighed.
He nodded. "It seems to be a portal to here. Without light, I haven't been able to explore too far. Just enough to find a pool to drink from, and mushrooms to eat."
"Just mushrooms?"
"Yes." He rubbed his bearded chin. "I don't suppose you brought a hamburger?"
"A what?" I asked. "Oh, that meat thing humans eat in the human realm?"
"I'd make do with pizza," he added.
"I have bread and cheese," I said, "but there's more of that when we get out of here." There had to be a way out. I hoped Huon had the sense to keep himself, or any of the guys from following me.
I waited. None of them appeared.
"I don't suppose you know how far we are from the trapdoor?" I asked.
Before he could answer, I raised my hand toward the ceiling. The faint light source was a crack in the stone, a neat, even line. I saw no sign of the trapdoor.
"I don't know," Fletcher replied. "I haven't seen it since I've been here."
"I'm guessing you don't know where here is?"
"Not a clue," he replied. "If I had to speculate, I'd say we're in the mountains. The floors are paved, but the walls are just stone."
He was right. I ran my hand across one. The surface was rough, but even, as if someone had carved a passageway through the rock.
"No point calling for help then," I mused. "There are other tunnels leading from here?"
"Yes." Fletcher nodded. "One going that way, up toward the water and mushrooms. Another goes the down other way. I only made it a short distance before I fell down some stairs. After that I came back and stayed around here."
"So we pick a direction and head that way." I rubbed my forehead. "If we're in the mountains, then down is the way we need to go to get out."
"In theory," he agreed.
I frowned at him. "You don't agree? What is a human doing in a cave in the fae realm anyway?"
He hesitated before answering. "A friend brought me. When the veil shut between worlds I was stuck in this realm. I decided to explore."
"And then you got stuck here. Is getting stuck in places something you make a habit of?"
He snorted. "It's usually something I avoid, if I can help it. Apparently magic happens."
"That it does," I agreed. "All right then. Unless you have a better idea, we're going down."
Silence fell for a moment.
Fletcher cleared his throat. "Is something wrong?"
"No. I was waiting for a friend of mine to make a joke. Then I remembered he's still out there." Assuming Saff was still near the trapdoor.
"Ahhh. I can make a joke if it will make you feel more comfortable," Fletcher offered.
"Would you?" I was feeling disconcerted by the whole situation. I didn't mind the dark, but this much of it was oppressive. Without Huon, Saff, Ash and even Khat, I was more than a little bit lost.
"Um,
sure. Let me see… Going down sounds like a great idea." He sighed. "Sorry, I'm out of practice with innuendos. I haven't had anyone to talk to for so long."
I gave him a pat on the arm. "You did fine. I appreciate the effort anyway."
"I'll try harder next time."
"Not too hard though," I said. "If you try too hard, it won't be funny."
"I'll bear that in mind, thank you."
"You're welcome. Now, do you have a bag or anything, or can we get going?"
"I carry everything I have in my pockets," he replied.
"All right then, let's go." I raised my hand toward the tunnel and started walking. "How far down were the stairs?"
"Not far, but it's hard to tell. I was going slowly, taking my time in the dark."
"It's good to go slowly sometimes," I agreed.
"You're much better at innuendos than I am," he said.
I laughed, but stopped when it echoed back at me.
"I think I see stairs up ahead." I lowered my hand and peered into the gloom. The tunnel disappeared down into further darkness. "How did you not go crazy in all this darkness?"
He laughed bitterly. "Who said I haven't?"
"You seem pretty sane to me," I replied. "You don't even smell bad."
"I washed in the underground pool, back there," he said. "Thanks for noticing. I figured I should keep clean in case I got a visitor some day."
"That's very thoughtful of you," I told him.
"Thanks," he said again. "I figured someone would come and bring light. And here you are."
"Why did you figure that?" I stepped to the top of the stairs and peered downward. I couldn't see the bottom, but there had to be one.
"Because I haven't found any bones here."
I stopped dead. "What did you say?"
He repeated himself. "Why, is that a bad thing?"
"I might mean people got out," I said slowly, "and it might mean something ate the bones."
"Something?" he echoed. "I don't want anything to eat my bones. Well, apart from a pretty girl."
In spite of my growing fear, I smiled. "See, that was a good one."
"You can't see me, but I'm blushing. Now, do I want to know what in the fae realm might eat bones?"
Shimmer (Summer's Harem Book 1) Page 5
