“How?”
Fizit lifted her head. Her eyes were flat and hard.
“Because I’m a fuckup,” she hissed, her words harsh.
“But-” Meg started.
“The pirate ship didn’t destroy the Constitution!” Fizit shouted, springing to her feet, her tail lashing hard enough to smash her stool against the wall. The wood splintered with a crunch. “Somehow, one of those conspirators had a detonator. We thought the bomb was hidden elsewhere, but they got it on the ship. They confessed! If I had tortured the fuckers, we might have learned this days ago, not-”
Meg stood. She turned and walked from the room. Fizit followed her.
“What are you doing?” Fizit asked.
Meg didn’t respond. But she did stop a guard and yank a sword from his belt. The guard gaped in shock, stammering. “L-Lady?”
But Meg was already heading for the stairs.
The two women walked out of the palace and started for the dungeons. As they walked, Fizit stopped asking Meg where she was going – it was becoming increasingly obvious what their destination was. Fizit, though, was trying to think of how to explain this to the kids. Marion, it’d be easy. She was half-lizardfolk, half-elf. She wouldn’t be mature enough to understand words for years. Maybe longer, considering the slow childhood of the elves. But her little Brax, he was already learning basic math. But he had only known his father for... for…
Fizit closed her eyes.
Meg, meanwhile, was focused entirely on the sword in her hand.
“Meg! Fizit!”
The two of them stopped, turning to face Tethis. She was jogging towards them, her short legs making it harder than it should have been to navigate the dusty streets of Babylon. Even at night, there was quite a bit of foot traffic, and Tethis had to swing several wide curves to reach them. Gasping heavily, she put her hands on her knees.
“What?” Meg snarled.
Tethis looked shocked. “I think I know how to begin work on curing Liv, I just need to check some books and... why do you have a sword?”
Meg closed her eyes. “Because some motherfuckers just blew Liam up. With a bomb. Like cowardly-” She clenched her jaw. “So I am going to hack them apart until every last one of them is a bunch of bloody chunks. And then I am going to curl up in a corner and cry my heart out. But only after they’re chunks. Got it?”
Tethis looked confused. “Liam’s not dead.”
“The watch station saw the ship explode,” Fizit said, her voice tight. “It looked like the magazine went up. The whole-”
“No, I mean, he can’t be dead,” Tethis said.
Meg opened her mouth – but then Tethis held up her hand.
“No, no, I’m not just being optimistic! Before he left, I put a spell on him!” She looked from Meg to Fizit. “Remember? When you tried to have me assassinated?” She glared at Fizit. Then her glare softened as she looked down. “He thought it was a silly precaution. He knows how much effort it takes, but-”
The sword clunked to the ground. Meg dropped to her knees, then slumped to the ground, sprawling in the street, as if she had fainted. But Fizit saw that her hard mask had cracked, and she was holding her hands over her face. She sobbed quietly, curling up on herself. Fizit knelt down, looking at Tethis.
“The spell, it just... sustains you, right?” she asked.
“Yes,” Tethis said. “So long as his brain is intact, the spell sustains it – keeps it in stasis. Any healing spell will...” She snapped her finger. “Bring him right back.”
“How long should it last?” Fizit asked.
“Years!” Tethis said.
Fizit closed her eyes. “We have time.” She whispered.
Meg shuddered. Her wings had covered her, wrapping around her like a blanket. Now, they drew back. She hissed: “Yeah. Unless they roll him into the ocean and he gets eaten by a shark.”
Fizit clicked her jaw. Then she stood, her hand clenching into a fist.
“Come on. Let's get to work.” She paused, thinking.
“First thing we can do?” Tethis asked. “Is get Meg’s inner ear fixed.”
Fizit looked quizzical. Tethis snorted.
“Do you really think that Liam can be in the hands of pirates and she won’t immediately go off to kick their asses?” she pointed out.
Fizit nodded slowly. That was a point she was not about to argue.
Six
Kailey and Quinn stood in the drippy cave, the sounds of the jungle muted by the thick blanket of vines that hung from the cave mouth, and looked at the nearly decapitated body of Liam Vanderbilt.
The Morrigan’s Kiss was sheltering in the overgrown lagoon of the island, hidden from the constant spying eyes of the watch stations. The crew were busy at work changing the rigging of the sails, covering the cannons with tarps, and repainting the ship. The carpenter was knocking away at the figurehead, trying to change her shape as well. The idea was that they wanted to look as different as possible from the ship that had sailed from Melos – but Kailey knew that that wouldn’t last.
Eventually, the watch stations would identify them and keep them tracked, day and night.
Hell, she remembered the stories of the War of the False God. Babylon had dropped a small city on part of Purgatory they didn’t like. What would they do to a ship that they decided to erase. She imagined a vengeful bomb dropped from the sun, hitting her ship like Zeus’ very own thunderbolt, and shuddered.
“So,” Quinn said. “We have the world’s most valuable hostage.”
“Yes,” Kailey said.
“But he’s dead.”
“Also yes,” Kailey said.
“That’s bad,” Quinn whispered.
“Yes, again,” Kailey said.
“What’s the plan?” Quinn looked at her lover. The instinct for flight was clear in Quinn’s eyes. Run, sell the ship, change their names. Kailey bit her lip, reaching out to ruffle Quinn’s hair gently.
“I could... bring him back to life?” Kailey suggested.
“As a zombie? That won’t fool anyone!” Quinn hissed.
“Okay, okay,” Kailey said. “Okay. They don’t know he’s dead. We can send a message to the watch stations with a fire and a tarp. We flash them a message in the clear that we have Liam. Alive!”
Quinn nodded. “And when they ask for proof?”
Kailey bit her lower lip. “We...uh...” She snapped her fingers. “We cut off a finger!”
“We...what now?” Quinn asked.
“We cut off a finger to show them that we have him, and we send it to them via a messenger ship!” Kailey grinned. “Or a valk merc!”
Quinn brightened. Then she shook her head. “No, that’ll reveal us just as fast. They have Tethis. The world’s finest healer. She’ll check when the finger was cut off, and they’ll be able to tell he was already dead. I’ve read all the books on the circulatory system, it-”
“Then we heal him!” Kailey said, snapping her finger. “We heal him and it’ll make it seem like he’s alive while we cut the finger off.”
Quinn rubbed her chin. “That could work.” She sighed. “I’m not the best healer. But...” She gulped. She started to make the passes, her fingers waving and her voice muttering. She brought magical energies into the cave – filling it with a pale glow. Then she touched her palms against Liam’s chest.
And Liam jerked up, his eyes opening. “Whazup?”
Quinn screeched like a banshee and Kailey kicked Liam as hard as she could. Her blow slammed right into his balls and sent the chair he was tied too pitching backwards. He sprawled, groaning quietly.
“Ow. Jesus. God. Why?” he gasped, a low, shuddering gasp. “Why... why did... why did you kick me in the balls?”
“How did that happen?” Kailey whispered.
“You kicked me...” Liam hissed through gritted teeth.
“I don’t know!” Quinn whispered, walking slowly forward and looking down at Liam. His neck bulged with the tension of his muscles, his jaw taut. Q
uinn put her fingers on her temples, rubbing them in slow circles. “His neck healed. Expected. Yes. But he should be dead! His soul should be drifting apart!”
Liam lolled his head back, gasping quietly. “Ah, fuck this is like when Alex Rasgon threw a remote control at my junk. Jesus.” He hissed.
“Who?” Kailey asked.
“Nothing,” Liam said, breathing slowly out. “Okay... okay...” He blinked, then looked up at them. Kailey bit her lower lip, considering. Her eyes drifted from his confused eyes to the scar-tissue on his throat, to his broad chest, to the kilt that had flipped up and slapped against his belly. Her eyebrows shot into the stratosphere.
“Maybe if his soul had some kind of... magical buffer around itself, to keep it rooted,” Quinn started, her fingers still rubbing her temples. “And there were additional backup spells that maintained the vital humors of his body, keeping them in balance even after he died. But the exsanguination alone would have left him completely without bilious humors and... and... and...”
Kailey had taken hold of her chin and gently angled her head down.
Quinn’s eyes went wide.
Her mouth worked silently.
“By Sif’s pendulous titties,” she whispered.
Liam coughed, softly, craning his head up as he saw where they were looking.
“Um. I’m married?” He grinned, weakly. “So, um, maybe-”
Kailey sat down on his chest. Her thighs spread as she put her palms on his shoulders. She arched her back, grinding her cunt against him through the thin, silken fabric of her shorts. Her fingers were soft and gentle as they stroked his muscles. They were thick and hard and just touching him, she could feel a deep, vital power radiating through him. Her tongue darted along her lips as she purred quietly.
“Lord Vanderbilt,” she husked. “I believe we have a lot to talk about.”
Quinn shifted around to stand above Liam’s head. She rolled her hips as she walked, and Kailey could see Liam’s eyes widen as he caught a glimpse up Quinn’s skirts. His mouth parted and his tongue slipped along his own lips, moistening them unconsciously. Already, Kailey could feel the hardness behind her, growing more and more erect. She longed to look backwards, to confirm what her instincts said was behind her.
But no…
No…
This was something she planned to enjoy. Her voice remained husky as she leaned forward.
“For instance,” she whispered. “Your watch stations, they will make our job very difficult.”
“And what job is that?” Liam’s throat worked as he gulped. Quinn slowly knelt down. For a moment, her trajectory almost made it seem as if she was about to sit her pussy right down on Liam’s face. But at the last moment, she swung back, so that she merely sat above his head. Liam’s eyes flicked up, then back at Kailey. He squirmed, trying to wriggle free from the bindings tied around his wrists.
Even dead, Kailey hadn’t planned to take any chances. She was very glad of that now as she grinned and leaned forward, so that her lips almost caressed his lips.
“Selling you back to your home city, of course,” she purred, quietly. “For quite a sum. If you give us a cipher for your watch stations, it’d make everything much simpler.”
Most men, when she said something in that tone of voice, would have turned to jelly. The part of them that hadn’t turned to solid bronze, of course. But Liam closed his eyes, clenched his jaw, and murmured, “You’re out of your fucking mind.”
Kailey grinned. She had a trick of her own. She breathed in and out – drawing in the powers of her riastrad. She felt her blood start to boil. But rather than the combat rage she was used too, all of this heat seemed to pool in her cunt, moistening her lips enough that slick rivulets started to drip along Liam’s chest, making him seem almost oiled. She crooned and ground against him as her body grew and grew, until she was only a head shorter than him. This meant that her knees were resting to either side of his chest, and that her breasts were easily larger than any he’d ever seen, she was sure.
She scooted back and felt the length and thickness of his cock slot into her asscrack as if Liam had been born to fuck her. Kailey grinned, wickedly, reaching backwards as she put her fingertips gingerly against his cock, pressing him against her ass harder. She rocked her hips as Quinn started to slowly work her fingers into her sex. It was a subtle accompaniment, more heard than seen by Liam - his eyes were entirely focused on her - but the wet, hot, slick sounds of Quinn’s fingers slipping into her sex, the musical sounds of her quiet, gasping moans...that was all the music that Kailey needed for this most primal of dances.
“Ooh, you’re playing hard to get?” Kailey grinned. “If you tell me the basic ciphers for your watch stations, you get this...” She rocked up, then pushed. When she rocked down, the thickness of Liam’s cock slid between her thighs, pressing against her aching sex like a sword pulled from a blacksmith’s forge. Red hot and steel hard. Just the way she liked it. She started to roll her hips forward and backwards, like she was on a swing. Her juices sluiced along his cock, dripping from his balls.
“Ahh.” Liam rolled his head back. Despite his bravado, he was rocking his hips back, grinding desperately against her.
Quinn chose that moment to pounce. She had been working herself with an almost frantic speed, her thumb rubbing her clit, her fingers finding the places deep inside of her that she knew as well as the back of her hand. Quinn had had no eyes for anything but where Liam’s cock and Kailey’s pussy met – and Kailey knew from long experience that nothing to Quinn quite as quivery and moist and hungry as seeing Kailey in this position.
Dominant.
In charge.
On top.
Quinn spread her thighs wide and stayed over Liam as she came and came hard. Her head rolled back and she mewled loudly. “Kailey!”
Her juices flowed past her green fingers and her cupping palm. It pattered and dripped onto Liam’s face and his tongue darted out of his own accord, tasting her juices as if he had gone weeks without drinking. Liam’s cock surged against Kailey and Kailey... drew away. Drew back. She left him so that only the very tip of his cock was pressing against her sex, feather gentle.
Liam whined in the base of his throat.
“Thiiiink about it,” Kailey whispered, her hands going to her breasts. She squeezed them, her fingers circling then pinching her breasts. She tugged on her nipples, biting her lower lip. It stung slightly, but she knew that men went wild when they saw her demonstrating how large and perky they were. She lifted her breasts, then let them drop – and jiggle. And settle. Her voice was a quiet purr as she continued: “A tiny little cipher and you can slide every inch of this dick into me. Into my pussy. My hot. Goblin. Pussy.”
Liam groaned, his eyes closed to slits. But even as he struggled against her, he couldn’t help but watch as she played with her titties.
“I’ll be any size you want,” Kailey breathed. “Big. Small. I can be the tightest fucking pussy you’ve ever slid into...”
Liam hissed. “Come closer,” he whispered.
Kailey leaned forward, grinning. She let her whole body plaster itself against his chest. Her fingers slid from his shoulders to the floor of the cave behind him and she wondered, just how horny he was, to not notice the rough hewn cave under him. But then again, her fingers found that the floor was actually quite thick with a dark gray moss. Either way, her ear pressed almost against his lips.
Liam breathed in a shuddering gasp.
Then he whispered.
“I’d tell you...if I hadn’t noticed you looking at my dick like a wolf looks at a steak.” He smirked.
Kailey smirked, tamping back the sudden jolt of real lust that exploded in her body. She stood, casually, rolling one shoulder as some smoke trailed from under her hair.
“Let's see how you feel about that tomorrow,” she whispered, huskily. Then she took Quinn’s hand and walked away, letting her riastrad fade. As she shrank, she whispered as softly as she could, trying to
move her lips as little as she could.
“Whatever you do.” She looked at Quinn out of the corner of her eye. “Don’t show you’re horny.”
The two of them emerged from the cave. They walked away, heads high, strutting as if they owned the world. Then, the instant they had gotten out of sight of the cave, Quinn and Kailey reached for one another. Kailey shoved Quinn against a tree, her mouth fastening to her mouth. They kissed, and reached, and caressed at the same time. Quinn’s hand found her breast, while Kailey’s fingers plunged into Quinn’s sex. Quinn’s free hand squeezed Kailey’s ass, then down between her thighs.
Kailey took two thrusts and a single caress of Quinn’s thumb – finding and rubbing her clit before she was biting down on Quinn’s shoulder hard enough to almost draw blood.
The two girls sagged to the ground, shivering and gasping.
“I can see spots...” Quinn whimpered.
Kailey sprawled back on the jungle loam. Her thighs spread wide and she twitched, bucking her hips as if a phantom cock was thrusting into her. As her waves of orgasms faded, she breathed.
“This is going to be a fun week.”
***
Liam lay on his back, his arms still bound behind his back, his cock hard as iron and laying against his belly. He sighed softly.
“That could have gone better,” he muttered.
The low, throbbing ache of his balls had, fortunately, been replaced with the low, throbbing ache of desire. But since the goblinesses were well and gone, he had little that he could do but wriggle against his restraints. It was a sad thing...but a tiny sliver of him was actually rather happy. Yes, he was far from his loved ones, his family, his children. Yes, his city might even now be falling into turmoil – the bomb had been missed by Fizit, who knew what else had slipped by under her snout.
But…
But…
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