by James Hunter
“That’s all a load of bullshit, Asteria. I don’t hate you. If anyone messed up in that fight, it was me. I shouldn’t have taken that javelin. Trust me, Myrina already read me the riot act. But I’m not sure I could’ve stood there and let her die. You guys have become my friends, my best friends.”
Those words made her face brighten. “Best friends?”
“Yes. Though if you’re gonna bear out and maul me, let me know. Dying by bear is like number four on my ‘Ways I’d least like to die by’ list.”
That wonderfully crooked smile split her lips and the twinkle was back in her eyes. “I will not eat you, though I do wish to devour you. At least one part.” She cocked an eyebrow and let her gaze rove up and down my body. “But for that, I would not use my teeth—unless that would please you.” And before I knew it, she was swimming over to me. I backpedaled a bit but there was nowhere to go. With a light shove, she pushed me back and down against a stone bench ringing the pool’s interior, then draped herself over me. She wriggled around in my lap, adjusting her position just so—i.e., the most awkward and sexually compromising way possible—then stared deeply into my eyes.
She pulled in close. “Forgive me?” she purred, lips only inches from my ear.
“Nothing to forgive,” I shot back, my head spinning and dazed. “You’re awesome, Asteria. Over and over, you’ve helped me, saved me, made me laugh.” I knew I was rambling a little.
She pulled back just a tad and pressed her finger against my lips to stem the tide of my words. “No more talk. Prove that you have forgiven me.” Her eyes were half closed. “Kiss me.”
My heart pounded like a jackhammer, I couldn’t breathe, my whole world had been reduced to her face, her body, so close to me and warmer than the water of the hot springs. Her scent was strong, so familiar to me that it might have become my favorite smell ever. The pull to kiss her was magnetic. I couldn’t stop it or myself, and more importantly, I didn’t want to. Before I knew it, our lips met, and she sighed, but that sigh turned into a growl.
Abruptly, she latched onto me, shifting her body to straddle me as she slipped her fingers into my hair and clenched down. Our kiss turned into something more, something animal, as she pressed her hips into me. I felt myself slipping over the edge, ready and willing to join in her lust. Some part of my brain nattered that this was a terrible idea—that it was best to keep things professional—but I shoved that voice into a small box in the back of my head and locked it away.
I was an adult, she was an adult, and it was obvious we both wanted this—why fight what was natural?
Besides, this wasn’t the Marine Corps, where fraternization was taboo, and I wasn’t simply First Lieutenant Jacob Merely. Not anymore. I was the god of war, and I needed to own who I was just as I’d done back in the battle against Praxidike and her hell-spawn minions. The godstone burned in my chest with approval, and I gave in, embracing this new part of myself and everything that came with it. I lost myself to Asteria—to her roaming lips, her long silky legs, her wriggling hips. To the feel of her breasts and the wicked caress of sharp claws against my skin.
It was fucking amazing.
After about half an hour, we just sat there together, her legs draped over mine, her face nuzzled into my chest as I held her. And though I thought I should feel guilty about what had happened, I didn’t. Not even a little. Not only had the sex been fantastic, but Asteria was amazing. Maybe there would be fallout with my other Amazons, but if so, I’d deal with it as it came. I also owed Phoebe a supreme debt of gratitude—she told me that I thought too much, and she’d been dead-on.
That was the best brainless decision I’d ever made. Hands down.
“You are better than I expected, given your prudish ways,” she murmured, tracing a finger down my belly button. “But I think a little more practice would not go amiss.”
I grinned, but gently grabbed her wrist before her fingers could descend farther. “As awesome as that sounds, we have a lot of work to do, and I need you. Like in an Amazon-warrior capacity.” I paused. Smiled. “But definitely later.”
“Fine,” she said with a mock pout. “What is it you need me to do? Tell me, War God, how I might best serve your every need.”
Yeah, her phrasing was definitely not helping me stay focused. All sorts of lurid images immediately went skipping through my mind. “My plane,” I finally said, trying to keep things from getting wildly out of hand. Again. “I need to find my plane. But it’s buried in the waters somewhere off the eastern beach. Any chance you can become some kind of sea animal? Maybe track it down for me?”
She grinned and pushed away, cutting gracefully through the water—I was immensely sad to have her go. A moment later a splash of water smacked my face. I blinked the water away, and when I could see properly again, there, in front of me, was a squid filling up the pool to overflowing. Tentacles snaked around me and one brushed my face, the suction cups soft on my cheek.
Then Asteria pulled herself back into her human shape, the eight limbs morphing into four. “Yes, Jacob Merely, I can become any animal on Earth. Come, we will go and find your plane.” She climbed out of the pool, offering me a goofy grin before turning into a winged horse. She pawed at the ground, then plodded out into the open, stretching her wings as she moved. Once in the clear, she took three giant steps and leapt into the air. Seeing her flying, I felt myself smiling.
Reluctantly, I pulled myself from the inviting hot springs and jogged up the path, away from the pools and toward my gear.
Loxo eyed me as I approached. She smirked at me, a knowing look painted across her face. “You seem relaxed, War God. And are those claw marks I see?” She arched a brow, her smirk growing into a wide, wicked grin. “I am assuming things went well with Asteria?”
“Yep, great. Fine.” I blushed furiously as I scooped up my belongings and slid everything into place. Having awesome sex was one thing, but talking about it afterwards with a smoking hot woman while naked was definitely a fifteen on the ten-scale of awkward conversations. “But we should probably get moving. Work to do and all that.” I strapped my breastplate on and popped the helmet back onto my noggin. “Also ...” I faltered. “Can we maybe keep this whole thing between us for now? We’ve got a lot on our plate, and I wouldn’t want to complicate things.”
Loxo practically beamed. “It will be as you say, War God. Though I plan to speak to Asteria in great detail later.”
I cleared my throat and patently ignored her comment. I was not going to take the bait. “Hey, on an unrelated note, Loxo, can you swim?” I asked, trying to shift the conversation.
“Indeed I can,” the Huntress replied.
“Cool. I’m going to need your eyes. It’s high time we find my jet.”
THIRTY-ONE
Sea Centaur Scuffle
Wind slapped against my face as we cruised high above the trees, banking left then angling right. Though I didn’t have reins to hold onto, the bony plates along Asteria’s back held me in just fine. Loxo, however, didn’t have the same luxury. The Huntress sat precariously behind me, her chest pressed into me, her arms wrapped tightly around my stomach to anchor her in place.
Fly to the eastern side of the island, I told Asteria.
The Beastiamancer answered me, her internal voice oddly horse-like. Yes, fly there, over the ocean, but ocean not good to drink and nothing to eat. Ocean is no good.
You’ll think differently when you are a dolphin, Asteria.
Dolphins do not eat grass, so dolphins are dumb.
I chuckled softly as I squinted against the biting wind, absently scanning the trees below for any sign of enemy forces. Not that I expected to see much. Praxidike was stupid-good at hiding it seemed.
We circled around the northern mountain, staying high up and well out of arrow range, before drifting down over the ocean. The waters were crystalline—with just a slight green tint to them—and the visibility was outstanding. From here, we could easily see the sprawling reefs and deep
crevices scattered across the bottom. Jagged rocks rose from the surf off the coast, like giant fangs jutting up.
We cruised over the water as I searched for landmarks. Despite the clear waters, the process wasn’t nearly as quick or easy as I’d been hoping. Still, I was having a pretty good time. Flying out in the open was the absolute bee’s knees—the sun was warm against my skin, the salty scent of the ocean was welcome, and I didn’t entirely mind having Loxo clinging to my back. And after a half hour or so of circling over the waters—checking and double-checking—we hit pay dirt.
Well, Loxo did, anyway. There, War God, she sent me through the messaging system. I see a metal-winged chariot. Not reef and not rock.
I didn’t see anything but coral and waves rolling under us, but I trusted her eyes.
Loxo handled navigation from there. Asteria, the chariot is three plethrons from the shore, about a plethron from the northernmost rocks.
I had no idea what a plethron was, but Asteria nickered in reply and wheeled around sharply, heading to the coordinates.
And then, before I really knew what in the hell was happening, the shifter changed in midair. Her wings shuddered, the feathers disappearing into the flesh even as her limbs grew longer and longer. In seconds, the wings were fins. But that seemed like small potatoes compared to the other changes her body went through. The bony ridges holding me in place simply melted away as her body bloated and expanded, coarse hair giving way to slick, rubbery skin. Her head likewise expanded; blunt teeth for chomping grass morphed into bristly baleen plates perfect for eating krill by the bucketload.
In less time than it would take me to tie my combat boots, Asteria had gone from winged-mount to an enormous humpback whale. Which was badass to the max. Unfortunately, she made that transformation fifty feet from the surface of the water. Needless to say, we crashed toward the ocean like an incoming meteor. Loxo hooted and whooped behind me, while I just kinda felt like vomiting everywhere. I like flying. Love it, even. But falling abruptly without safety equipment is another thing entirely.
But Asteria—ever the skillful professional—calculated the impact perfectly. The lady was a fucking genius. Water gushed up and over her long, wide body, but somehow she compensated, using fins and flippers to prevent Loxo and I from being swept unceremoniously into the drink.
Careful, Jacob Merely, Asteria’s voice filled my head, so big and powerful and wise. She sounded like a force of nature given life. You are in armor and you will not float. Loxo, however, is wearing the skins of animals, and she should be able to swim rather gracefully for being a walking kind of creature.
Loxo winked at me. She had heard the whole thing. She left her longbow and quiver of arrows with me, but did take her spear. Then without further comment, she dove over the edge with a flash of legs. Down, down, down she went. With the helmet on, I contacted her. Do you see it, Loxo?
I do. Would you like to take control and look through my eyes?
I recalled Myrina’s experience, so I was careful to ask, Is that okay with you? I wouldn’t want to do anything you’re not cool with.
Yes, Jacob Merely, I trust you. Besides, I quite like the idea of you being inside me—even if it is only in my head.
My cheeks burned like a bonfire. She was the worst, and though I knew she liked me, I was sure she was doing it just to tease me. She was totally that kind of woman.
Ignoring her jab, I concentrated, pushing my mind deeper into hers through the mental link, just as I’d done with Asteria and Myrina during our brawl against Stheno. I could feel my own body fading into the background like white noise, while Loxo’s senses seemed to sharpen and resolve. Last time I’d done this, I’d stopped on the brink, allowing Asteria and Myrina to see through me. This time I pushed just a touch harder. Not so hard that I would take the wheel, but hard enough that I was able to climb into the passenger seat.
Suddenly, I felt what she was feeling.
Her lungs straining for breath, the brine blurring her eyesight, the sting of the salt. The water cool on my skin ... well Loxo’s skin, though it was hard to tell where she ended and I started. Sights came next, and sure enough, there below me was my jet. Colorful fish poured from the cockpit, swimming up in a school, then breaking apart as a silver-finned predatory fish came prowling through the waters. Far off to the east, I saw the flash of a movement—an enormous shadow. When I focused, though, whatever it had been was gone.
That’s it, all right, I sent. Come up for air.
I pulled back from her mind, losing the connection as I became aware of my body once again. A heartbeat later, Loxo broke to the surface, breathing hard.
She grinned at me, dark eyes dancing, but then the smile vanished as something pulled her under.
Panicked, I reconnected. Foreign senses invaded me, including a starburst of brilliant pain as images swam inside my head. We were under attack. Fucking sea centaurs, though these were different than the ones we’d battled against back at the falls. They had semitranslucent equine bodies, but instead of horse legs they moved along on lanky, ropelike limbs covered in thorny barbs, which swayed and flailed in the water. And instead of human faces, each had the head of a pulsating jellyfish.
And thanks to the pain filling Loxo’s body, I knew their tentacles were electrified, which added a whole new level of oh shit to the equation.
Loxo convulsed as raw electricity flowed through her body, and though she was somehow—miraculously—managing to hold her breath, she didn’t have long.
Asteria! Sea centaurs! Loxo is in trouble!
I retreated into my own body—time to get busy. I opened my eyes, scrambled to my feet, and grabbed the bow, quickly nocking an arrow. Centaurs sped up from underwater to slash at Asteria’s side with their barb-covered tendrils. I let an arrow fly. My first shot drove into the soft tissues of a jellified head, ending the creature in a blink.
One down, five to go.
Jacob Merely, remove your breastplate. I will change shape and deal with these abominations of land and sea.
I hurried to comply, shaking the breastplate free while Asteria changed form beneath my feet. I drew the War Blade from my sheath as Asteria’s body disappeared and water rushed up around me. I wasn’t the best Marine on the planet, but I was a strong swimmer—I’d passed first class swim qual, and had gone through the dunk tank on more than one occasion. Still, I had my heavy-ass sword in one hand, plus combat boots and an armored linen kilt dragging me down.
Not exactly ideal.
For a second I fought to keep my head above water, kicking my legs back and forth, back and forth, then decided that wasn’t the best play here. Loxo needed help, and that meant I needed to be down below the surface, hooking and jabbing. The godstone flared in approval of my plan. Against my better judgment, I took a huge lungful of air and dove, latching onto my breastplate—letting the heavy bronze draw me down. One of the centaurs was on me in seconds, whiplike tentacles lashing out.
I struck with my sword, the War Blade slicing through the waters with supernatural ease. The weapon sheered through groping tendrils and continued on into the creature’s head, killing it on the spot.
Loxo was still in trouble, convulsing madly as more electrified tentacles wrapped around her. I was worried she would try to breathe in her agony—if she did, it would be over. I could heal her wounds, but I doubted I could heal drowning.
I let my shield drop, paddling toward another centaur with blade in hand, but Asteria beat me there. Instead of a whale, she now bore the form of a massive shark—a creature straight out of a nightmare, almost as big as a whale. I remembered seeing something similar on a PBS nature show growing up—ancient sharks of the deep. She was a megalodon. Her massive jaws snapped shut, biting the sea centaur in half. Then, with a powerful thrust of her tail, she whirled around and ripped through a second creature.
I strained to see, but the blood was so thick in the water it was next to impossible.
My lungs were burning, and as much as I w
anted to fight, it was time to go topside for air. I kicked my legs down, paddling with my good arm, but something brushed across my bare shoulder blade, opening a jagged wound in my skin. Tentacles flashed out, wrapping around my arm like a constricting python. Abruptly, electricity sizzled through me and I couldn’t do anything but writhe from the blast. I thrashed and bucked, desperately trying to use the sword in my hand, but it was fruitless.
The raw power running through me felt like getting hit by a hundred Tasers all at once, and my limbs simply refused to obey.
But then, just as quickly as the pain had come, it vanished.
The reason was obvious: a huge tentacle, the size of a tree, was coiled around the ambushing centaur, squeezing him so tightly that blood leaked out like a ruptured soda can. Super gross. Another monster tentacle joined the first, ripping the creature’s head from his shoulders, while a third gently—lovingly, even—wrapped around me, propelling me upward toward delicious, awesome air. I gasped as my head broke the surface, gulping greedily as I stared at the monster Asteria had become.
She was a colossal squid, like something straight out of Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.
Other jellyfish centaurs swam toward us from the east, but they took one look at the shifter and promptly turned tail and retreated. Apparently, they were smarter than they looked.
I tore my gaze away from the fleeing centaurs as Asteria pulled Loxo above the surface—her eyes were hazy, and blood leaked away into the water, but she was alive and breathing. I pulled up my combat interface and used my new Healing Touch for the first time. If I healed her on contact, the miracle cost a measly eleven points. At a distance, the cost jumped to twenty-two, but it was worth it. The Huntress gasped and shuddered, her numerous lacerations pulling closed, then vanishing.
Asteria held us aloft in her strong tentacles and swam toward the breaking surf, where I’d woken up just days before. Boy, that now seemed like a hundred years. The giant squid set us gently ashore, then headed back into the waters, disappearing without comment.
