by Auryn Hadley
"They don't really care anymore. Keep trying."
"Our soldiers don't really like it much either, Rayna," Blaec said.
"They don't know anything else. Take the bodies of your enemies, and I don't think a whole lot of people will care. Fuck," she grumbled, throwing her hands in the air, "the grauori do it, and no one seems to give a damn. How much are you going to bend to what humans want of you before you start asking for something back?"
Blaec stepped closer, forcing her to look up at him. "Why do you care?"
"She needs it," Rayna said. "It's so good. She's craving it."
Zep pushed between her and Blaec. "Rayna, are you still linked with her?"
"Yeah."
"Fuck," Zep mumbled, storming over the hill. "Sal, let her go," he demanded as he made his way to her side.
Out of sight of the others, Sal looked up, her face bloody. Jase knelt beside her. Together, they ripped at the body of a young man. Her eyes were wide as she looked at him.
"I can't stop," she said. Jase just growled.
"Let Rayna go, Sal," Zep said again.
"Oh," Sal whispered. "I forgot. They taste so good. You want some?" Her voice sounded slightly drunk.
LT, is Rayna still linked?
Yeah.
Sal's drunk on human. Tell me when she lets go. "Sal," Zep said grabbing her shoulder. She growled, and Jase snarled at him.
"You fucking bite me - either one of you - and I'll beat the shit out of you. Damn it, Sal. Let. Her. Go." Zep grabbed Sal's face and turned it to his. He stared in her eyes, refusing to blink. "Let Rayna out of the link, Sal. She can't do it without you."
Sal smiled and nodded. "Ok. Here."
She's out. Cold.
"Zep?" Sal asked as he turned to leave.
"Yeah, demon?"
"I can't stop."
"It's ok, baby. I don't love you any less when you play in your food." He smiled at her, and stepped to her side, leaning down. "I love you, Sal, just like you are," he whispered in her ear before he kissed her head. Looking over, he grinned at Jase. "You too, little brother."
Jase lifted his head and swallowed, reaching his hand deep inside the thigh for another fistful of flesh. He paused as if thinking, but Zep shook his head. "No, bro, it's all yours."
He didn't wait for them to respond. He could see it on their face. They had the same desperation as a starving man, and he couldn't bear to make them stop. Instead, he turned, heading back to the group on the other side of the hill. Rayna rested against Shift's chest, clutching her head, and the Blades clustered close around.
"Dinner's on, guys," Zep said.
Heads turned to him, and Blaec glared. "Not funny," he almost growled.
Zep shrugged. "I'm not being funny, sir. There's at least twenty up there. Sal and Jase are pretty well into one. They're both in maast, right?"
"Yeah," Blaec said.
Zep crossed his arms over his chest and smiled. "She's drunk on it, and he's happy. Rayna's right. You may not want to fess up to it, but look at them." Zep gestured at the rest of the Black Blades. "Sal's orders," Zep said to them. "Go eat."
Audgan shrugged and pulled a dagger from its sheath. "Fuck it."
Geo and Razor followed him. Risk looked at Tilso, and his lover nodded. "I know, babe," Tilso whispered. "It's not for me, but it's ok."
"LT," Zep said before he could stop them. "You can't sit there and want to have everything good about the iliri, and deny the one thing we all know most. We're your prey. Nothing else quite does it for you either. I'll hit the entire country with a memory if that's what it takes. And deny it all you want, but you feel it, too."
Blaec growled and leaned into Zep. "I said no."
"Back off, guys," Shift whispered to the humans. Slowly they all moved away.
Zep held Blaec's eyes. "Don't care, sir. I win, you eat some. You win, I'll pull them all off."
"You're challenging me?" Blaec demanded.
"Yeah. This order is out of line. Just this one. I'm challenging it. You need a fucking human to keep your asses iliri, then so be it." Blaec growled, and his lips pulled back showing his nearly human teeth. Zep didn't even flinch. "Bring it," he said.
Blaec hit Zep in the sternum with no warning. Zep staggered back, but Blaec was on him. They rolled across the ground, hands flying, and the Devil Dogs all jumped to their feet, looking around.
"Leave it," Arctic growled.
"You heard him," Pig ordered. "We just got a damned close-up of how the Black Blades really work, I think."
Neither Shift nor Arctic were willing to look away. Both waited for the outcome of the fight. Their attention was locked on the struggling men as if their life depended on it.
Arctic said softly, "Finally. Took a damned human to bring it out of him."
Shift's lips curled into a smile. "No. He's iliri. He gets it."
Zep threw Blaec onto his back and shoved his forearm across his neck. "Yield, LT. It's just on this," he panted. Blaec struggled, and Zep pressed harder. The leader of the Black Blades gasped against Zep's arm, but Zep shook his head. "I can still hear your mind. Yield, or I choke your ass out and win."
Suddenly Zep relaxed, lifting his arm from Blaec's neck. "I yield," Blaec said again, this time, so others could hear.
Zep rolled off him and flopped onto his back. "I submit to your leadership, man, but you're fucking eating some."
"Fuck you," Blaec snarled. "I've tried to keep us civilized."
"You've tried to keep us human," Zep countered. "We're not talking about this tonight. You're blind with anger. You lost. Hold up your end of the deal."
Shift stood and walked to Zep's side. "Close your eyes, brother."
"Thanks," Zep said before Shift grabbed him.
"I owe you one," Shift said, releasing him.
Zep lay there, sucking in long deep breaths for a moment, but both Shift and Arctic walked over the hill. When Zep opened his eyes, there was nothing but humans around him. The Devil Dogs looked nervous. Zep sighed and headed over to do damage control.
"What did she do to me?" Rayna asked.
"Knowing Sal, it's probably whiplash in your mind," Zep told her. "She dropped you too fast. She get pretty intense in there?"
Rayna nodded. "Yeah."
"Guys," Zep said to the soldiers around him. "I'd prefer this doesn't become a deal. They need it. None of you can understand unless you've been linked with an iliri when they taste humans."
"Risk dreams about it," Tilso said softly.
"They gonna go feral?" someone asked.
"Nah," Zep assured them. "It actually works the other way around. Only thing keeping Cyno sane for a while there was when I let him sneak it. LT hates it."
"No shit," Tyr said. "This is kinda freaking me out a bit, Valcor. Gotta be honest."
Zep shrugged. "You don't get one part without the other. We need to let them eat their kills." Zep paused, dragging a hand over his face. "You don't understand what it's like for them."
"Show me," Pig said.
"I can't package memories for shit, man."
Pig shrugged. "Show me. I can take it."
Zep nodded and thought back to Sal's reaction when they'd been attacked in the barracks. He closed his eyes and tried to wrap it up, remembering every nuance of the sensation. Finally, he got the memory sealed and passed it to Pig, aware of how crudely he dropped it in Pig's memories.
Pig's eyes widened, and his head snapped back. He said nothing for a long moment, then, "Wow. That's insane. That's a meld?"
"Yeah, with Sal. The others aren't that intense."
"That's from when she ate the guy in the barracks?"
Zep nodded.
"And you felt that?"
"Yep. She was shielding me, too. That burning desire in the background? That's her maast." Zep chuckled. "I'm not sharing what that's like when she's not shielding it."
"It's amazing," Rayna whispered. "There's no fear." She giggled. "I never knew I was scared before. I mean, I always
said I was aware, but not scared. No. With her, I can see the difference."
"Yeah," Zep said. "You want to kill one more, hit just a little harder. You just need more."
Rayna nodded. "Exactly. I don't get the desire like you do, I don't think. I feel sexy, there's no other word for it, but I don't want to jump on her or anything. I just feel very alive."
Tyr chuckled. "Well, there goes that idea."
Rayna laughed and tossed a handful of grass at him. "Keep dreaming. Oh, and guys, I'm fucking the King."
The group fell silent. Zep, however, laughed.
"That's going to cause problems," Pig said gently, but Zep shook his head.
"Nah, Pig. Actually, it solves a few," he said.
"She's not a noble. We just got citizenship. Ray, you're on a fine line."
"No," Zep insisted. "This is Anglia. She's a soldier, which is almost as good as a noble to half the population, and better than a noble to the rest. She's human, she can guard his back, and she's an elite, which looks real fancy."
Rayna shrugged. "What he said."
"What if it gets serious, Ray?" Pig was truly concerned.
Zep held up his hand, showing Rayna he had the answers. "Then she marries him. It's allowed. No kids? That's fine. Ilija's brood is from Dom's sister. Jarl's a good soldier, too. Fucking impressive actually. He's the heir, and none of us really want to see him replaced. A mutt, a slave, and a bastard's son, Pig. The three of them are damned proud of that. Jarl was a bastard for many years. Sal fixed that shit. There's nothing in Rayna's way."
"Risk said it's more of a problem that he's not with anyone," Tilso added. "People are starting to wonder which way he leans."
"What did Blaec mean when he said he didn't want to give away the ending?" Rayna asked.
Zep laughed. "He saw what happens between you two. Doesn't sound like it's a fling from the way he phrased it, either."
Rayna smiled. "I really like him."
"Yeah. We all kinda do. We gonna be ok with this?" Zep asked, waving his hand at the iliri behind him.
Pig sighed and lifted his hands, at a loss. "It'll take some getting used to."
"Yeah. I'd like to get the army used to it, too. If we can ease you all in, then it may be possible," Zep explained.
"I'm not gonna watch it again," Ferro said, "but dead is dead."
"If Ray's right, Pig, and they need something..." Lausk said.
"They have to," Rayna told them. "It's that intense of a need for them."
Lausk shrugged. "Then they have to. Look at Ray, she's fine. She was alone with Sal how long? And she's fine. They aren't going to turn on us, man."
Rayna wrapped her arms around her knees, looking at her friends. "I damned near had to force feed her the first bit. LT's trained them too well. She was losing her mind up there, and dragging me with her, and all I got was how good it smelled." She looked up at the men around her. "We really do smell good enough to eat."
"Yeah, we do," Zep agreed.
"Hell, she's fucking him, and he's fine," Ray pointed out. "They don't kill their friends. They just want to eat their enemies, and I see nothing wrong with that. It's that much less to bury."
A noise made them all look, and Sal staggered over the hill with a huge grin on her face. "I'm so full," she sighed as she staggered and fell into the lap of a Devil Dog. She laid her head against his leg and giggled. "You smell like cinnamon and leather. Which one are you?"
"Joevar," he said quietly, his body tense.
"K. I'm so full." Sal giggled, and every Devil Dog just stared at her in amazement.
"She's drunk on it," Zep whispered.
"Is she going to kill me?" Joevar asked.
"Nooo," Sal said. "I like you. I'm thirsty."
Joevar relaxed, a smile coming to his face. "Lift your head, Sal. I have water on me."
She giggled and lifted her head. To get her weight off him, she had to grab his arm to steady herself. Joevar pulled a flask from his hip and opened it, passing it to her.
Sal smiled and looked at him, her eyes not truly focusing. "Do I have blood on my face? I don't want to get it on your thing."
A few of them chuckled. Sal was covered in blood, both from the fight and from shoving her face in her meal. "No," Joevar assured her. "You're fine, Kaisae. Go ahead."
"Ok," Sal mumbled, tilting the flask up and sucking back long drinks. She gasped for air, then drank again. "Thank you," she told him, pressing her head against his shoulder. "I didn't know they were so salty. It made me thirsty." She held out the flask to him as she cuddled into his arm.
Joevar took it and sealed the lid, looking over at Sal.
Zep chuckled, smiling at her fondly. "Sal?" he said.
"Mm?"
"You're scaring them, demon. You can't eat a man then tell another he smells good."
Again, she giggled, pushing against Joevar playfully. "I don't eat cinnamon," she laughed. "You all smell like cinnamon."
More of them were grinning now, and Zep tipped his head to the drunk girl. "Joe, I don't think she's leaving."
"Uh uh," Sal said, pushing closer to him. "He's soft." She patted his chest. Her hand thumped against the resin armor, proving he was anything but. "Joevar, I'm so full. I'm just going to close my eyes, ok?" She sighed. "Watch my back," she whispered as she went limp against him.
Joevar grabbed her and eased her into his lap, looking up at Zep. "Valcor?"
Zep shrugged. "She asked you to watch her back, Joe. She's never asked that of anyone but a Blade. Not even the Shields."
"She's so little," Joe whispered as he adjusted her against him. He smiled down at the sleeping woman in his lap, unable to help himself, and brushed blood-tangled wisps of hair away from her face. "I get it Zep," he said across the camp.
"Yeah," Zep said. "From the looks of ya, most of you get it now. This is what we get to see. Not drunk." Zep paused, thinking. "I've only ever seen her drunk once, actually. Takes a lot for her to let her guard down."
"She's vulnerable," Rayna said, explaining what the men were thinking. "They all going to be like this?"
"Fuck," Pig whispered. "Deus, Calban, go grab water. A few more of you, too."
"Good idea, Pig," Calban said as he climbed to his feet. "How many Zep?"
"Nine of em, including Sal."
"Something to remember," Pig said, looking at Zep. "And from the looks of her, I guess the rest of them are going to be stupid in a bit, too?"
"I have no idea," Zep told him. "They've never been able to gorge before. Pig, she was in a frenzy, and now she's passed out on some guy's lap."
"Valcor," Joevar said, "I'm not trying for your girl."
Zep waved him down. "I'm not worried about ya, man. You just don't get it. She doesn't like to touch humans. She barely even touches Dominik. You all smell like Devil Dogs, though, and she thinks of the Dogs as safe, so, you get a demon in your lap."
"What's with the cinnamon?" Tyr asked.
"Oh!" Rayna said, knowing the answer. "It's the resin we use. Same place made all of our blades and gear. It reminds her of cinnamon."
He shook his head in awe. "Pig, we gotta link in with them, so this shit makes sense."
"I can do that," Sal said dreamily. She lifted her arm and gestured. Zep felt his mind blend seamlessly with that of both the Black Blades and each of the Devil Dogs. With little more than a wish, Sal linked every one of them together.
Over the hill, the Blades paused, some sitting in groups, others pulling their faces away from their meal. Sal's trick had just made both groups aware of what the other was doing, and neither had expected it. Zep watched the Devil Dog's eyes grow wide, and he felt them. Just meters away, the Blades all snarled, reaching for their weapons.
"Calm the fuck down," Zep ordered. "Sal linked you. All of you." He focused on that thought and how the shock was merely because none of them had expected it. A moment of confusion slid across their minds from Arctic.
"Smell that?" Rayna asked. "The sweet thing? That's us.
Humans."
"Cinnamon," Pig whispered. He pulled his dagger, and sniffed at it, the scent penetrating all of their minds.
"Yeah," Zep said. "Sal, baby?"
"Mm?" she murmured. "I love you, Zep."
"I love you too, kid, but can you close this down? Your timing sucks."
"I thought he wanted to know what it tastes like?" she asked, cracking her eyes open.
Zep felt Audgan. He cut a thin strip of meat, grinning as he speared it with his knife and brought it to his lips. He inhaled the scent, then took a polite bite, savoring the flavor. Zep could feel it across his tongue and through his mind. He knew he wasn't the only one. The sweet taste mixed with a tingle that the humans' minds could not describe.
"Sal?"
"K." She dissolved the link, leaving the Devil Dogs sitting in shocked silence.
"See?" Rayna asked, motioning to Sal.
"Shit," Tyr breathed. "That's a lot to take in at once. Sight, sound, smell, taste..." He rubbed his hands across his face to clear his mind. "You fucking see in the dark?"
"Most do," Zep corrected.
"Rayna's right," Ferro said, his voice barely more than a whisper. "They need that."
Pig motioned for them to be calm, turning to Zep. "That's going to be hard to explain."
Zep chuckled. "Yeah, I know. I've been trying to make people understand for years."
"I just have one question," Pig continued. "I can see what you mean. I can learn to deal with them eating their kills, but what happens later? What happens when we end this war?"
"I don't know, sir," Zep said softly, having never dared to think that far before. "I don't fucking know."
Chapter 57
Somehow, they'd gotten the Black Blades back to the camp. Blaec had been the most amusing. Having finally succumbed to his desire for human meat, he'd been unable to contain his need. As a result, he was so intoxicated that Pig and Zep had to carry him back to his tent. Others, like Audgan, had a tolerance to it and were merely tipsy. Joevar had carried a sleeping Kaisae back proudly. Thankfully, all of the iliri were friendly drunks.
"I need two Dogs to help watch the Blades camp," Pig said. "Volunteers."
"I'm good Pig," Zep said. "I can keep watch with Hwa."
