by Tom Gallier
Alex paused to wonder if it was possible to have them both at once. Would they kiss during a threesome? Would they do more?
“From the look on Alex's face, he just went there,” Thaleia replied, and then rolled her eyes with a sigh. She pointed at a nice, thick carpet before the balcony. “Magic carpet. I thought we could use it to escape to your ship.”
He knew about magic carpets. Or flying carpets, since as far as Alex knew they only flew. But he never really thought about them much. He didn't recall ever seeing anyone flying on a carpet since leaving Kandos, but figured only sorcerers and witches could operate them. Then Thaleia pulled a silver circlet off a shelf and sat it on her head.
“Shall we go for a ride?”
Alex looked at Tiana and they shrugged. The princess gave them a smug, superior look and knelt at the front center of the carpet. She waved them over and had them kneel behind her.
“I'd rather stand,” Tiana grumbled.
“You can, but you'll fall off,” Thaleia said. “Do what you want.”
“Can we just leave?” Alex asked.
Thaleia nodded. She closed her eyes a second, and the carpet slowly lifted up. They eased forward, passing out of the chamber and flying over the balcony. Alex's stomach lurched. He got all tingly when he looked down the side of a cliff to the sea crashing on rocks. They were a lot higher than he remembered.
“You've done this before,” he said.
“I have three magic carpets of my own,” she whispered. “Shhh. Let me concentrate.”
Turning to Tiana, he asked, “Do you have a flying carpet?”
“I have a flying ship,” she sneered.
They began circling the tower as they lifted higher and higher. Soon the sound of fighting reached them. Pirates and castle guards were still fighting atop the tower? Alex struggled to understand how that was possible. Were the pirates foolish enough to just fight through them and then leave foes behind them?
“Ha-ha!” Tiana laughed. “Look! Treasure chests. My boys have looted Kalis' treasury! We got the princess and a fortune in treasure.”
Alex saw Nakato leading the pirates atop the tower. It was a fierce fight. A second later he spotted Lord Kalis leading his men. Most of the treasure chests were already on Wraith. Lord Kalis and his men were pressing the pirates too fiercely for them to disengage long enough to scramble back aboard the ship.
“Hurry, Thaleia! Land on deck,” Alex cried. His blood was up and he needed to join that fight. “They need our help!”
They passed about ten feet above the fight. Kalis shouted orders to attack the ship. Tiana cried out, jumped to her feet, and leapt off into the fray with sword in hand.
“Tiana!” Alex cried, and caught himself before he jumped into battle, too.
He didn't know why he wanted to join the fight so badly, but every fiber of his being wanted to swing steel and destroy his enemy. Alex barely contained himself until the carpet landed softly on deck. Then he charged the railing and tower fight.
Most of the pirates were on the ship at that time. Kalis' was leading his men in a piercing attack through the pirates and straight at the ship. Some of the pirates aboard Wraith panicked, and severed the grapple lines.
Wraith was ripped away from the tower by the strong winds.
“No!” Alex cried, eyes on Tiana as she went down under charging castle guards.
Chapter 30
“Man the sails! Helena, keep us at this height!” Alex called. “We have to come back around to the tower as quickly as we can.”
Despite being a magical creation, Wraith was still a slave to the winds. They could track into the wind, but it would take time. First, they had to regain control of the vessel.
Alex was far from a sailor, but he knew enough to take charge for the brief time it would take to return to the castle. Once Tiana was back on board she'd be in command. His only thought was to rescue the stranded pirates battling for their lives.
The pirates, led by the first mate, got the sails they needed. Frustration at how slowly everything went consumed Alex. Thaleia followed him around as he paced the main deck.
“Hurry!” he shouted.
Men and women were running everywhere, busy with ropes and sails. They knew what they were doing. He understood that, but the instant gratification 21st Century American deep within wanted it all to happen NOW. How were people there satisfied with how slow everything moved?
“Dragon!” was called down from the crow's nest. “Off port!”
Alex was standing behind Thaleia and Myrrine at the time. He rushed over to the port side and stared at the huge beast. It was mostly grey. The spine spikes were blackest black, but the dragon's scales turned lighter and lighter gray to the belly, which was almost white. The monster's eyes glowed fiery red and fire puffed out of its vicious looking mouth.
Lord Kalis was riding it.
“Man the ballista!” Alex commanded. “Helm, get us back to that tower!”
The ship was slowly turning around. Alex rushed over to his ballista. Naar and Myrrine were waiting, looking eager. The ballista was already loaded and ready. He felt a little thrill, too.
“Hey, Abdul, want to bet again?” Myrrine asked.
“Always!” he said. “Same wager as always?”
“What are they wagering?” Thaleia asked Alex.
He hesitated to tell a princess the crass nature of their bets. Pretty much every bet between a man and a woman on that ship involved a sex act. Then he remembered what Tiana said about Thaleia's bad reputation in the courtship game.
“Sex. Specifically, oral sex,” he said. “If his ballista kills the dragon, she goes down on him. And vice versa.”
Thaleia looked surprised. She looked at Myrrine who grinned back, and then glanced at Abdul. The princess shrugged. Alex's eyes dropped to her tits when they jostled before him enticingly. She noticed where he looked.
“But, there isn't a loser like that,” she said, a tiny knowing smile playing with the corners of her lips.
“That's the beauty of our wager,” Myrrine said, wagging her brows. “Everyone wins.”
The princess caught Alex's eyes and grinned roguishly, “Do you want to make a bet like that with me?”
“If I kill the dragon you will go down on me?” he asked.
She nodded. “And you have to go down on me if you fail to kill it.”
“Yes,” he said. “Now I don't know if I want to kill the dragon or not. Which way do I want to do it most?”
Thaleia laughed.
“Hey! I care,” Myrrine cried. “I want to win.”
A fireball streaked at the ship and hit a sail, which burst into flames. Fortunately, only that sail caught fire. Fire was a bigger issue on a flying ship than on an ocean sailing vessel due to the water to put out the fire being so far below. Wraith lost her fire witch before he joined the crew, and hadn’t found another yet. Fire witches could stop fire as easily as they started them.
“Was that magic or dragon?” Naar asked.
“Magic,” Thaleia said. “The dragon's still too far away.”
Alex looked across the deck, and to the tower off in the middle distance. The fight was over. All he saw were castle guards. A chill rippled through him. He failed Tiana. She died fighting before he could get Wraith back to the castle. At least, he hoped she died fighting. Capture would mean a much uglier death.
“He's coming in on our side!” Naar cried. He turned to Thaleia. “Princess, do you want to make the same bet with me?”
“Oral sex?”
“No, regular. I get to be on top if I win,” he said, grinning wickedly. Lizardmen wicked grins were twice as wicked looking. “You get to be on top if you win.”
“Eww,” she said. “I'll take that bet.”
“What?” Alex cried, looking at her incredulously.
“You might have saved me, but you don't own me,” she said.
“Too late anyway,” Naar said. “We have a bet.” He looked at Myrrine. “She'll be
the first princess I've ever fucked.”
“You won’t be my first Nagu,” Thaleia said.
“Okay,” Alex said, cutting them off. Thinking about Thaleia with Naar was messing up his head. Why did she take that bet? But he forced himself to focus on the dragon banking out in front of him. “He's almost within range.”
Alex really wanted to send a bolt through Lord Kalis' heart. But that wouldn't stop the dragon from continuing the attack. He could kill Kalis and still lose the ship.
“Kill the dragon,” Alex muttered. “Kill Kalis.”
“As a commoner, you really shouldn't refer to him so familiarly,” Thaleia said.
“Sure, whatever you say, Thaly,” he said. She gasped. He grinned. “Point to me.”
“You're an insolent barbarian,” she replied. “Why do I want to have your baby?”
Alex did a double-take on her. Baby? But then Kalis and the dragon were there. He swung the ballista to lead just a little…
“Shot out!” Alex cried, pulling the trigger lever.
Thunk!
Abdul released a second later.
Thunk!
Then the other two ballista.
Thunk! Thunk!
Alex watched his bolt streak straight at the dragon's heart. The great beast twisted just right, and the bolt ricocheted off its side where the scales were thicker. Abdul's bolt struck it in the right shoulder, and the other two bolts missed.
Naar started cranking the ballista back. Myrrine loaded a bolt the second it was ready. Alex aimed and fired, sticking his bolt midway down the dragon's tail when the beast veered away at the last second.
“Aaagh!” Alex cried in frustration. “I want that dragon dead!”
“Alex, are we still going back to the castle?” Helene asked.
His heart skipped a beat. Tiana was gone. She was wild and crazy, but so passionate. He didn't want to give up on her, but what were the chances she was still alive? Alex couldn't risk the ship and crews' lives for a slim chance.
“No. Helm, make for the Broken Isles,” he said.
“What about me?” Thaleia asked. “Aren't you taking me home?”
“Not aboard Wraith,” he said. “Pirate ship. Remember?”
She stared back at him as if he spoke another language. Alex might risk life and limb for her, but he didn't think the crew would agree to it since she knew they were pirates. And as soon as they arrived with her, the Kandosian authorities would figure it out, too. Wraith's crew wasn't going to die for her.
“The dragon's back!”
All four of the starboard ballistas released their bolts. Alex looked to starboard, but didn’t' see a dragon. It was banking to their rear. It didn't take long to figure out Kalis was going to attack from a direction they had no ballista.
“Swing the ship around to port!” he cried.
It wasn't going to happen fast enough. Grabbing a ballista bolt, he charged up the sterncastle stairs. The big barbarian threw that bolt with all of his strength. He was aiming at Lord Kalis, but it fell a little short and hit the dragon a glancing blow off the snout.
The beast reacted out of instinct, ducked and made to fly under the ship. Alex knew Lord Kalis would regain control of the dragon quickly and come back at them from either the undefended bow or stern.
So Alex pulled his sword and jumped off the ship.
About one second after jumping it occurred to him what he'd done. If he missed the dragon, he would plummet hundreds of feet to his death.
Lord Kalis looked shocked for a heartbeat, then swung his blade up and around to keep Alex away. The barbarian parried that swing, and then seized hold of the nobleman's wrist before he flew past and to his death.
“Ugh!” Lord Kalis cried.
He tried to shake Alex off, but the barbarian hung on for dear life. The nobleman was almost jerked out of his saddle, but the safety strap held. Alex was swung around to slam into the dragon's hard, scaly side. Then Kalis heaved with all his might, trying to break free, but pulled Alex back up behind him instead.
“Let go, you filthy barbarian,” Lord Kalis growled.
He switched the sword to the other hand, and then tried to stab Alex. The barbarian parried, and tried to slice open the nobleman's neck. Kalis barely got his sword back to fend off that attack. The dragon turned upward sharply. It was all Alex could do to stay on the monster, which he did by throwing an arm around Lord Kalis' neck.
“Surrender or die,” Alex demanded.
“To surrender is death,” he countered, managed to get his blade around and thrust into Alex's ribs. The bone deflected the thrust, but Alex's side felt like it was on fire as that long blade grated across his ribs. “Let's see if you can…fly!”
Lord Kalis slammed an elbow into his wounded ribs. Alex's hold slipped, and the dragon turned around so sharply, now heading back down towards the ship, that the wounded barbarian flew up and away from them, before beginning his plummet.
“Aaaiiieee!” he cried, seeing dragon, ship, and sea below him. It was impossible to see which he'd hit first. The dragon spread his wings to slow and avoid a ballista bolt. Alex instantly knew he would miss the dragon's head by a foot or so. “Hai!”
Alex brought his sword down on the dragon's neck with all of his might. If he was going to die, then so was Lord Kalis. The thick scales resisted just enough to jolt his arms to the bone, pushing him slightly away. But he struck in the perfect place, too.
“Yes!” Alex screamed.
The dragon's neck was half severed off. Alex felt the blade bite into the spinal column, though it didn't slice through. It was enough. Alex turned to fall down backwards and watched the dragon writhe and ineffectually flap his enormous wings. He smiled knowing Lord Kalis was about to go down into the sea strapped to a dying dragon.
“Ugh!” he grunted when he struck something that gave.
Suddenly, Alex was engulfed with canvas. He was pushed away into another sail, on the mast in front of it. He saw ropes, dropped his sword, and desperately grabbed for them. His hands slipped on them, burning him terribly. He had to release, and then he hit several other things, before landing in a heap upon the main deck.
“Oooooh,” he groaned, before blackness pulled him down.
Chapter 31
Someone was kissing him on the forehead. Alex's eyes opened to find a beautiful pair of boobs just inches from his face. They were Thaleia's sun-kissed breasts. She sat back on her legs and regarded him with a smile.
“Welcome back from dreamland,” she said. “You don't have a fever, and as best we can tell you don't have any broken bones. There is that nasty wound on your side, so you still need to stay in bed for a day or two.”
Bed was a stack of furs below decks. He could see the hammocks his crewmates slept in, but they put him on the floor.
“Why am I here instead of in the captain's cabin?” Alex asked. “Why hasn’t Qinny healed me?”
“Qinny?”
“The ship’s witch doctor.”
“Oh, was she a friend of yours?” Thaleia asked. She grimaced. “I’m afraid she didn’t make it back to the ship. Sorry.”
She indicated his bed while he struggled to process what he’d just heard. Qinny gone? Tiana lost? They might’ve saved the princess, but at what cost?
“You’re here because Nakato was voted captain by the remaining crew after Tiana's capture,” Thaleia said.
It took his groggy head a moment to comprehend. Nakato wasn't going to let him have the captain's bed. Worse, Tiana’s loss left his mind reeling. The beautiful pirate might be blood-thirsty and crazy, but she was good to him. He felt a connection and loyalty to her. There had to be a way to rescue her. And Qinny if she survived.
“She's captured? Are you sure?”
“That's what Nakato says,” she replied. “I wasn't there, so cannot say with authority.”
“Is Kalis dead?”
“Lord Kalis' fate is not known,” she said. Thaleia shrugged. “I assume he's dead, but he had magic. A
nything's possible with magic.”
The crew was fiercely loyal to Tiana. If they weren't too far away, he might be able to convince them to go back for her. After all, they'd done pretty good against Lord Kalis and his castle the first time. Plus, Alex couldn't imagine him having any more dragons.
“How long have I been down here?”
She shrugged. “Not long. I've barely had time to get you tucked in and comfortable.”
A princess thought that was comfortable? She'd love 21st Century American beds then. Thaleia might not even have anything as luxurious as a cheap bed and cheap sheets by his other world standards.
Since little time has passed, they might even be in sight of Tal Keer. It shouldn't take too much to convince them to turn around. They had to act quickly, before a very angry Lord Kalis had time to focus on Captain Tiana.
“Help me topside,” he said.
“Why?”
“I have to get this ship turned around and back to Tal Keer so we can rescue Tiana.”
She sighed and shook her head.”They've already discussed it. The vote was for Nakato and against Tiana. It was pretty one-sided, too.”
“Why would they turn on her?”
Alex never heard a single unkind word against Tiana. Indeed, everyone praised her. He thought they loved and adored her. She was fun and fierce. Mostly, they all agreed she found the most and richest ships to capture and loot. Tiana put more money in their hands than any of her predecessors.
“It's not so much turning on her as being happy with what they looted from Lord Kalis' treasury,” Thaleia said. “No one wants to die trying to rescue someone who might already be dead. They like Nakato, so are satisfied.”
He gawked at her. That was incomprehensible.
“They are pirates,” Thaleia said, rather firmly and with a scowl. “They only care about themselves.”
Alex felt all of the wind knocked out of his sails. He struggled to imagine a world without Tiana. What would he do? And then Thaleia's hand stroked his bare chest. Her fingers trailed down, down, down.
His eyes got big, and she graced him with a sultry smile.
