by B N Miles
“I know how to help,” she said. “I’ve heard of your kind before. You saved me, and now let me start trying to repay that debt.”
He looked at her, and in that moment, he would’ve done anything she said.
Anything to stop the screaming in his skull, the pulsing pain, the wild madness that threatened to rip him apart. He leaned heavily on her, and his spear fell from his fingers as she drew him away from the smoking remains of the field and into the forest.
23
Cam let Miuri take him away from the field. He couldn’t think, could barely keep his legs moving. His mind was a monster in itself, a caged animal trying to rip itself free from his skull. He wanted to touch that power again, wanted to burn the whole world to ash, and would do it if only Miuri would let go of his arm. He’d burn the whole forest and never stop, let the power take him and pull him under its embrace, drown him into quiet.
But Miuri didn’t let go. She moved through the underbrush gracefully while Cam stomped along behind her. He saw she had a long, curved dagger at her belt, and her sword sheathed alongside it. She carried no other weapons. Her leathers were stained and dirty from fighting, splattered with wolf blood, though it didn’t seem to mar her perfection.
Cam stumbled through the bushes as she tugged him along. Eventually they came to a grouping of trees in a tight circle around a small, empty space in their center. She slipped through them, drawing Cam in with her, and turned to face him.
She was beautiful. It hit him in the chest, how perfect she seemed, how light and airy and graceful. Her lips were full and pouty, her hair golden and downy, though slick with sweat from the fighting. She had deep green eyes, almost too sharp in the dark, and her cheekbones were high. Her pointed ears jutted out from her hair and Cam was tempted to touch them, but held back. Her pale skin almost glimmered in the golden twilight sun.
She smiled and tilted her head as Cam leaned up against the rough bark of a tree, leaning his head back against it, letting the bark dig into his scalp. The little bit of pain made the screaming in his skull quiet just a touch, enough to think.
“What are we doing here?” he asked.
“Privacy,” she said. She tilted her head. “I understand you Humans like privacy when you make love?”
He blinked at her, startled. “What?”
She began to unlace the leather armor at her side. She wore a chest piece with overlapping leather plates that hung down in a short skirt. It covered her shoulders and upper arms, and looked worn but well cared for, despite the blood. It was similar to his own set, though he had no skirt. She let out a sigh and hurried, her fingers moving quickly. He stared at her, his heart racing, unsure of what he’d just heard. “I’m not sure if I’m saying it right,” she said. Her voice had a hint of an accent, something heavy that made her sound like she had porridge in her mouth. “Making love? Or perhaps fucking is the right way.”
“Fucking? I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He shook his head, trying to clear his mind, but his skull was still a mass of screaming angry desire.
“You’re experiencing the Need,” she said. “I’ve heard of it before. I met one of your kind, during my travels with my father, and he told me about it. After he used the power, it would drive him mad unless he released whatever was left in his body.”
“I don’t… understand,” Cam grunted. “Power? Need?”
She shrugged. “That’s what he called it.” She took off the top of her armor and let out a breath like she was releasing a burden. She dropped the chest and arm sections onto the ground, revealing a low cut tunic that was tight in the chest and looser toward the bottom. It was a light forest green with a leaf motif stitched into either side, the needlework precise and elegant. Cam felt a stab of desire pulse through his body as her breasts heaved with every breath she took. She stepped closer to Cam, staring into his eyes, head tilted to one side.
She was shorter than him by a few inches and willow-slender. He hadn’t noticed that. When she walked, she seemed like a mountain, like she owned the world around her. But without her armor on, alone in their little secluded haven, she seemed small, soft.
The Need screamed fury and violence at him.
“He told me you need to release it,” she said, stepping toward him. She touched his face. “If you release it, you can think again. That’s what he said.”
“How do I release it?” Cam whispered, but he thought he knew already.
The Need was telling him. Was screaming at him.
Take her. Fuck her. Taste her. Maker her body your own. Fill her with your magic, your seed. Ravage her until she screams your name.
“Fucking,” she said. “Sex. Lovemaking.” She smiled. “It’s okay. I know we don’t know each other, I know the fighting just finished, but it will help you. And you’ve already helped me. And I’m afraid if we wait, it will only get worse.”
She reached forward and touched his armor. He groaned as the Need reached a horrible shrieking peak. As she began to unlace it, removing the leather straps, he reached out and grabbed her hair. She let out a little gasp as he pulled her against him and kissed her hard.
She tasted like sweat and earth. Her tongue darted into his mouth and she moaned softly as he kissed her. She was different from Key, kissed different, tasted different. The memory of Key was distant though, just a speck in the screaming hurricane that was the Need.
Miuri pulled back and smiled up at him, her fingers moving faster. She got off his chest and shoulder pieces, pulled them down, then dropped to her knees in front of him. He grabbed her hair and pulled her head back. She gasped again, grinning up at him, and he kissed her before releasing her. She unlaced his shin pieces and tossed them aside before standing and unlacing her own.
When she was finished, most of their armor was on the ground, and they wore only their woolen tunics and breeches. Her clothing was elegant, form-fitted at the top, flared slightly at the bottom, the pants smooth and tight but comfortable. His clothes, by contrast were dirty, worn, torn and stained in a few places. He felt exposed, but it didn’t matter anymore. There was nothing in this world aside from Miuri, her body, her lips calling to him.
She pressed herself against his chest and kissed his throat. He grabbed her hair and kissed her back, her cheeks, her lips. He drank her tongue and his other hand slid up to tease her breasts over her tunic. She moaned and seemed to like it. Under normal circumstances, he never would have been so bold, but he couldn’t stop himself. There was no control anymore, nothing reigning in his animal side.
There was only the Need, and now he knew how to sate it, how to quiet its scream.
Miuri reached down and unfastened his breeches. He realized he was rock hard when she slid a hand down his waist and let out a little delighted moan. She took him in her hand and stroked him, kissing his lips, and he growled as he palmed her breasts. She dropped to her knees in front of him and tugged down his breeches the rest of the way, releasing his cock, taking him in both her hands.
She stared at his shaft then took him into her mouth. She growled and shivered with pleasure. She could barely fit him as she worked his tip, tongue licking around as she slid him further into her mouth. He groaned and grabbed her hair, pushing her deeper. She gagged and gasped, looking back up at him with a smile, stroking him faster.
“This will help,” she whispered. “You saved me in that battle. You saved my life. What’s your name again?”
“Cam,” he growled.
“Cam.” She whispered the name like she was savoring it. “I’m yours now, Cam.” She took his cock into her mouth again and sucked him hard and fast. He growled and barely heard her words, barely heard anything but the sound of her saliva on his thick shaft.
He couldn’t take it anymore. He pulled her to her feet and turned her, shoving her against the tree. She gasped as he unbuttoned her tunic top. He let it spill open, revealing her firm breasts and hard, pink nipples. They were full, round, larger than Key’s. He licked her nipples
, sucked them hard, then unfastened her breeches. She helped him as she shimmied and let them fall down her hips. He kissed her lips, hungry for her, as her bottoms fell to the ground.
His fingers slipped between her legs. He found the mount of her pussy, perfect and slick, soaking wet. He grunted as he teased her and she moaned. His Need wouldn’t let him wait much longer, but he wanted her to feel it, enjoy it. He rolled his fingers along her slit.
She let out a little moan as he grabbed her hips. Her ass was thick and gorgeous as he spread her and pressed his tip against her soaked spot. She gripped the tree and he reached up to tease her breasts. “Cam,” she whispered. “Please, I want it.”
That was all he needed. He sank his cock deep inside the Elf girl’s pussy, as far as he could take her, filling her to the brim, stretching her out along his thick shaft. She gasped and threw her head back. He grabbed her hair tight and held it as he began to stroke in and out, making her gasp with every hard thrust. Her ears turned a pretty shade of pink, flushed and strange. He marveled at those ears, at her body. She turned to look at him over her shoulder and he cupped her breasts as he fucked her.
The animal inside of him took over. The Need wouldn’t let him go slowly or gently.. He tore into Miuri, fucking her rough, filling her with his rock hard shaft. She gasped and pushed back against him, moving her hips along, gripping him hard with her tight pussy. He moaned as she worked and rocked her body. He pinned her hard against the tree and tore into her, fucking her wild and without mercy.
She took every inch, moaning his name with every stroke. He kissed her hard, bit her lip, pulled her hair. He took her and owned her, the Need pushing him further and further. Sweat dripped down her beautiful body, along her gorgeous skin, and he felt himself working toward his peak. Pleasure grew along his body as he fucked her, over and over, making her breasts bounce.
He teased them, worked her nipples, and cupped her heavy chest. She begged his name, over and over again, and he knew he couldn’t last much longer. She threw back her hair, gasped his name as he pressed against her, heedless of anything else in the world.
The orgasm hit and nothing could have prepared him for the flood of magic and pleasure that tore through his body.
It was like lightning struck them both. Miuri gasped and moaned his name as pure bliss tangled itself around them. He pumped his seed deep between her legs and the magic that was trapped in his body released around them, wrapping their bodies and minds in a pleasure and a bliss he didn’t think was possible.
They flew together, their bodies intertwined, their minds connected on some distant level. The world went black then burst into a rainbow of color, everything shimmering bright and perfect, Miuri’s pussy clenched down on his thick cock, her body trembling in his arms.
And slowly the orgasm passed. He gasped as he came back to himself. Miuri slumped against the tree, breathing hard. She let out a moan as Cam stepped backwards, sliding himself out of her. She laughed, turned around, and slumped down onto the ground, her legs spread open.
Cam stood there for a moment, cock still half hard, staring at the Elf girl he’d just slept with.
He didn’t know her, didn’t know a thing about her. Now that he could think clearly, he was half horrified, half thrilled by what had just happened. She was gorgeous, incredible, her pussy pink and slick with his seed, her body shimmering with sweat. Her breasts were large and her nipples were still hard, and her lips hung open as she stared at him.
“I didn’t… know that part would happen,” she said.
“Which part?”
“The end. The orgasm. Oh my goddess, it was…” She laughed, shaking her head. “I’ve never experienced anything like that before.”
He smiled, tilted his head. “I haven’t either.”
“Cam,” she whispered. She closed her legs and bit her lip, a little pink rushing down from her ears to color her cheeks. “How do you feel?”
“Clear,” he said. “Clear, like… I can think.” He crouched to pick up his breeches and pulled them on. “You called that the Need? My father mentioned something about the challenge of using magic, but he never… he never went into detail about it.”
She let out a little sigh and stood, her body lean and slim. She picked up her own trousers and began to dress as well.
“My family met a shaman years ago in a little village not far from here. We spoke at length and he told me a few things about what he does.”
“And what we just did…” He trailed off, looking away, recovering more of himself.
“He said it was a way to clear the leftover magic from your body,” she said with a shrug. “To quiet the Need. Seems to have worked, didn’t it?” She laughed and shook her head. “I didn’t know it would feel so good. I just thought…”
“Thought what?”
“That I was helping you. I didn’t know I was helping myself in the process.” She finished dressing and bit her lip, crossing her arms over her chest. “I hope you don’t think less of me.”
“Less of you?” He picked up his tunic and pulled it on.
“For sleeping with you like that. I just… I could see you were suffering, and you’d just saved my life.”
“I don’t think less of you,” he said, his voice soft. “You saved me, you know.”
She shook her head. “The Need would’ve faded on its own after a while.”
“How long?”
“Days? Weeks? I don’t really know, he never told me that much. But I could tell you were suffering.” She tilted her head, a small frown on her lips. “Was that the first time you touched the priori?”
He grunted. “Yes,” he said. “My father tried to teach me, but it never… it never worked.”
“Until today.” She smiled. “Lucky for us all.”
Cam nodded, buttoning his tunic. “Miuri, thank you for what you’ve done.”
She giggled, girlish and light. It surprised him. “Don’t thank me,” she said. “I owe you everything. I’m in your debt, Cam. You have me now.”
“Have you… now?” He shook his head. “I don’t understand. I only did what I had to do.”
She took a step forward and reached out. He didn’t pull away as she touched his cheek. “To my people, risking your life for the sake of another is the highest form of honor there is,” she said. “You did that for me, and now I’m in your debt. You have me, all of me, if you want it. You have my sword and my knife, my power and my life.”
Cam stared at her and slowly touched her hand. He moved it down off his cheek and held it in his own. “You don’t owe me anything. Your people came and saved mine. If you all hadn’t shown up, I don’t think we would’ve survived, even with my magic.”
She tilted her head and shrugged. “Maybe, maybe not.” She took a deep breath and slowly let it out. “We should go back.”
She pulled her hand away and walked over to her armor. She picked it up and began to put it back on, stooping to work on her shin pieces first.
“Right.” He hesitated. “What’s going to happen now?”
“Now, we’ll talk,” she said. “We’ll figure out what to do next.” She finished putting on her shin guards and began to work on the chest and shoulder plates.
Cam nodded and got to work on his own armor. He felt like he was waking from a dream, like all that fire, all that magic had been someone else the whole time. And the man that had taken the beautiful Elf girl standing a few feet away had been an entirely different person.
But it was him. He knew it was him. He could still taste her on his lips, could still feel the lingering buzz of the orgasm that rang through the air between them.
He tried to focus on the problem in front of him. “And the wolves? How many were there?”
She frowned and stared across the trees. “The Weres will be back,” she said. “That group… they were just the tip of the spear. More are coming, Cam. We’re going to need your magic in the days ahead.”
He stared at her for a long momen
t before turning away. He began to lace up his own chest and shoulder pieces, her words echoing in his mind.
They would need his magic.
More of his magic, more of the Need. More of that horrifying, screaming desire to rip into woman flesh or to touch more of the power.
He wasn’t sure if he could handle more of that, but he knew that if the wolves were still coming, he’d do whatever he had to.
24
They left the privacy of their tree circle and headed into the forest. Miuri walked ahead, gliding along like the ground was nothing to her. Cam followed, stomping over the underbrush, and he kept losing sight of the beautiful Elf girl as she flickered between trees. She was only feet away from him, but she seemed to flicker and blend with the trees and the light, slipping into the few shadows and disappearing from his sight as she glided back toward the battlefield.
It was disorienting. She looked back and smiled at him, tilting her head to one side, and seemed to melt into the trees behind her.
“How are you doing that?” he asked.
She laughed. “Doing what?”
“That… thing.” He frowned. “Like you’re… becoming a part of the trees.”
“Oh.” She laughed again and became solid, like her body flipped back into place. “I don’t even realize I’m doing it sometimes.”
“What was that? Some kind of magic?”
“It’s what Elves can do,” she said and hurried ahead.
He wanted to ask more but he couldn’t think of any words. His head was heavy and his body hurt from small cuts and bruises. The smell of charred flesh wafted over toward him, and he could see the smoke rolling through the trees. They found the field together, coming back out of the forest where Cam had first found Miuri, and he stared at the sight before him.
Bodies littered the ground like leaves. Men, women, even some older children still clutching axes were strewn about. His body spasmed as the horror of the scene finally broke though and hit him like a wave, making him take a single step back toward the safety and quiet of the forest. Miuri stepped forward and stooped to pick something up.
