Dark Offering

by Elizabeth James

  Jarl approached the water and dipped his toe in. It was icy cold. He hesitated. Was it too cold? Well, it wasn’t too cold for Arlen, so he stepped in and shivered as the water went up to his ankles.

  “This is freezing,” he said to Arlen.

  “What temperature would you prefer?” he asked, and Jarl laughed.

  “Warmer than this.”

  He felt a pulse in the notes in his mind and his feet were no longer cold. He stared at the water in surprise. Was it changing temperature? It began to grow warm.

  “Stop,” he said. He didn’t want to get burned. Another pulse passed through him and he hesitantly stepped further into the water. It was perfectly pleasant. “Did you really make the water change temperature?”

  “No,” Arlen said. “The planet adjusted your perception of it.”

  “What?” Jarl asked, staring down at himself. The planet had invaded his mind and body and changed him? He felt violated.

  “You’re part of our planet now,” Arlen said. “She controls you to some degree. You’re still free. If you wish, you can break free and return to feeling the water as you did before. I just thought you would appreciate this.”

  “I do,” he said slowly. “I just… didn’t expect a planet to be able to influence me so easily.”

  “Her music is powerful,” Arlen said simply, then took his hand and led him until the water reached their waists. The current flowed against them but it was easy to stand without being swept away. Just a little further, though, he could tell that the pace picked up and he would have trouble remaining in place.

  “This is as far as we should go,” Arlen said.

  Jarl nodded and sank down in the warm water so that it covered his shoulders, then dunked his head under and ran his hands through his hair. He proceeded to clean himself thoroughly and to his surprise, Arlen helped. He remembered that he had cleaned himself and Arlen this way in the pond last year and blushed that Arlen still remembered how to clean a human body. He didn’t have soap but the water was good enough for now. He would have to come up with something to stay clean but he would worry about it later. Right now, he just wanted to enjoy the warm water and the feel of Arlen’s hands against his body.

  Arlen’s hand slipped between his legs and he gasped, clutching Arlen tightly. Arlen stroked him gently, firmly, and Jarl melted against him, unable to fight. It felt so good and the water was just the right temperature and he could feel himself getting hard.

  “This is good, right?” Arlen asked softly, and he moaned and pressed against his creature, wishing he could kiss him properly. Instead, he kissed his neck and licked the droplets of water that had splashed there. “In the river?” Arlen asked, his hand sliding back to Jarl’s opening. He gasped, but the question brought some sense to him.

  “No,” he said. They were too close to the current and he had never done it standing up before, so he wasn’t sure how it would work. They might fall into the river and get carried away, and even though the water was deliciously warm, he knew he wanted to be on the bank with solid ground under him. He led Arlen back and was suddenly aware of other creatures nearby, watching him curiously. His arousal quieted and he hesitated before stepping out of the water.

  “Is there any way they could stay away while we do this?” he asked uneasily. “I don’t want them watching.”

  “They’re curious how this works when you’re not being forced into it,” Arlen said.

  “Well, they can get their own human,” he muttered, and Arlen chuckled. He felt a pulse and then the creatures faded back into the woods. Arlen wrapped his arms around his waist and pulled him the rest of the way onto the shore. Jarl looked around for somewhere soft to lay. There didn’t seem to be any good places but the ground should be soft enough, he supposed. There was soil that turned into gentle grass after a few feet, and it was nearly ten feet before the undergrowth led into tall trees. They had enough space. He took Arlen’s hand and laid down, pulling the creature over him with a blush.

  He slid his hand down Arlen’s chest and paused at his belly button. Arlen smiled eagerly as he kept going and stroked Arlen’s massive cock. It started to get hard in his hand and he shifted as heat swept through him. He wanted this. He and Ender had been having sex regularly but somehow it wasn’t enough. He needed it with Arlen to satisfy him. The soil was soft beneath him and he could feel the prickle of grass against the back of his neck as he leaned up and kissed Arlen’s shoulders and neck, clinging to him with one hand while stroking him below with the other. Arlen’s hands were just as bold, one caressing his chest over his heart and the other reaching between his legs. He gasped as Arlen’s hand made contact and whimpered, already on fire. He bent one leg to give Arlen access and the creature slid his hand back to his opening.

  “Slowly this time,” Jarl whispered. “With your finger first.”

  He felt delicious heat slide through him as he said that. He had never requested something during sex before. He had wanted things, but never been bold enough to say it because he always assumed his partner knew better. He always assumed his partner had more experience and would know what he wanted. This time, though, he knew Arlen knew nothing. He could tell Arlen anything and the creature would think it normal. His heart pounded heavily and his chest clenched at the possibilities.

  They were still dripping from the river and it helped slick him up as Arlen carefully slid his finger inside him and Jarl moaned softly from the pleasure. He entered him slowly, clearly relishing the experience with a slight smile. His fangs were exposed but he was enjoying himself and Jarl could feel his increasing arousal against his side as Arlen lay beside him and fingered him. Then his finger brushed against something and Jarl jolted in shock. Arlen stopped instantly.

  “Did I hurt you?” he asked, already pulling his finger out.

  “No,” Jarl said quickly, reaching down to grab his wrist and keep him in place. “That felt good. Incredibly good. Nothing has ever felt so good. It just surprised me.”

  Arlen’s lips curled and his finger slid back in, and in seconds he had found that spot again. Every time he pressed against it, Jarl’s chest grew heavy and his cock twitched, and soon he was desperate for more.

  “I want you,” he murmured, trying to offer himself so Arlen would have no choice but to take him. Instead, Arlen bared his fangs in a grin and slid two fingers into him. He whimpered and spread his legs wider, eager for every sensation as his creature gently stretched him and kept sparking against that place deep within him that made him moan. His fingers were so much longer than a human’s finger, he thought almost deliriously. This felt so incredibly good. He wanted nothing more than to lie here with Arlen feeling him and he let the pleasure wash over him. Then Arlen withdrew his fingers and he sighed in disappointment. But there was no need, because Arlen just grabbed his leg and pulled him into position to enter him fully.

  He braced himself for the entry but Arlen had relaxed him so well that it was smooth and he grinned in relief and pleasure as his creature finally entered him and he felt complete in a way he hadn’t before. As Arlen began thrusting against him, he clutched at his shoulders and tried to pull him tighter. Arlen’s hands curled around him, keeping him in place as he thrust harder. Jarl let out a cry as Arlen’s cock hit that spot inside him and he nearly came. He gasped and struggled to contain himself. They were just getting started; he couldn’t come yet.

  Pleasure blurred and Arlen’s movements seem to sync with the rhythm of the planet inside his head and suddenly the planet’s melody moved in time with the creature’s movements and Jarl’s cries were part of the music, his indrawn breaths the pauses, and everything pulsed with the force of their love. The music was reaching a crescendo and suddenly it was too much for Jarl, too much physical pleasure and the rhythm pounding through his head, and he felt his body explode. The music surged and he felt Arlen come inside him, then the music began to slow and fade into the back of his mind. He drew in a shuddering breath and opened his eyes to see Arlen
’s smile. Arlen kissed him and pulled out, then kissed him again. He felt limp and completely spent.

  “Again?” Arlen asked with a saucy smile, and Jarl couldn’t help but laugh.

  “I wish,” he said. “I need to recover first.”

  “This is different, then,” Arlen said, and he blushed as he remembered their only other time together when he had demanded time after time after time, desperate to offer his body to the creature.

  “Only once,” he said firmly. “But… you did enjoy it? It was enough?”

  Arlen rolled onto the ground next to him and pulled him into an embrace, cradling his head under his strong chin.

  “It was perfect,” he said. “The planet moved with us. Did you feel it?”

  “I heard it,” Jarl said. “That didn’t happen last time.”

  “No, it didn’t,” Arlen said. “You didn’t belong to the planet then. Do you think every time will be like this?”

  “I don’t know,” Jarl said, then backed up slightly to look at him. He smiled cautiously. “There are other ways to do it, you know.”

  “Other ways?”

  “I could be on top,” he suggested, wondering if Arlen would allow a suggestion like this. After all, Arlen didn’t know what was normal or what was taboo and scandalous. None of his partners before had ever allowed him on top, even the one time he had been bold enough to ask, but maybe Arlen would.

  “You wish to enter me?” Arlen said with a smile. “You can. I’m sure I would enjoy it just as much.”

  “No, that’s not what I mean,” Jarl said, though he was a little surprised. He would have to keep that in mind for the future. Maybe he would want to try that someday. But it wasn’t what he had meant to imply. “You would still be inside me,” he said cautiously. “It’s just… I would be on top of you, moving on you.”

  “I will do anything with you,” Arlen said. “But you’ll have to show me what you mean. I’m not sure I understand.”

  “You’ll… you’ll try it?”

  “Anything to please you,” Arlen said, kissing his cheek. Jarl’s heart leapt. He hadn’t rejected it, and it seemed like the creature meant it. What other fantasies had he pushed aside because he was afraid to ask? He had so many desires and had buried so many of them because they didn’t align with what he knew proper sex should be. Ender had been by-the-books, but one of his earlier boyfriends had been willing to experiment with him a little bit. That boyfriend had taken him from behind, a thrilling experience he longed to repeat with Arlen. There were so many things he could try with a willing partner and he shivered in anticipation. But not right now. Right now, he was spent.

  They lay cradled together in the wet soil and sparse grass until the sun was high overhead, then Jarl sighed and went back into the river with Arlen to clean. He washed his clothes as well and stared at them. He didn’t especially want to get back into them but they were all he had. Arlen went to the nearby tree and pulled cloth out the way he had a year ago, draping it around Jarl. Was it better to dress like this, or should he keep dressing like a human? His clothes offered far more protection than this draping cloth, but they wouldn’t last long. He wouldn’t wear them, he decided. But he wrapped his belt with his gun around his waist and tied his bag and canteen to the his belt as well, and he stepped into the boots that offered vital protection against the forest floor. He wasn’t fully dressed as a human, but he also wasn’t fully dressed as a creature. He was between, which was an accurate assessment of his position here in these woods. But he did tuck his clothes in his empty bag in case he changed his mind later.

  “So what else do you do during the day?” he asked Arlen, who laughed.

  “I will do that every day with you, and every night,” he said. “But we need to get to the nearby plant to get you food. The humans have never found it and it should be ripe.”

  “Only one plant or a patch?”

  “One plant,” he said. “Perhaps humans found it but since it was so limited, they’ve never come back. But one plant is all you need.”

  “I’ll need to store the pods somewhere safe,” he said. “Do you have a home or something? Where do you live?”

  “We travel,” Arlen said. “We have no colonies or homes the way you do.”

  “Would you consider having a home?” Jarl asked, thinking of how difficult it would be to constantly travel. Maybe the creatures had no problems with it but he would feel unattached and dissociated without somewhere to call home. “Is there a cave or something where we could stay most nights, where I could leave things and be safe?”

  Arlen considered. “There are several caves around. Most are occupied by other animals but I could request that they give us space.”

  “I don’t want to share with an animal,” Jarl warned. He didn’t know what kinds of animals Arlen meant but he didn’t want to share space with a dangerous beast who might kill him the moment Arlen turned his back.

  “Then I’ll kill the animal,” Arlen said. “We will make it our home and other animals will know not to go near.”

  “You would kill another creature of this planet?” he asked in shock.

  “All animals die,” Arlen pointed out. “It is the rhythm of this planet. All animals kill. Even us creatures who feed on humans kill others sometimes. It is the way of our world.”

  “And things will kill me, too?” he asked uneasily.

  “You have the planet’s blessing right now,” he said. “But you will have to learn to survive out here. I’ll teach you to protect yourself,” he added with a smile. “I saw some of the tools you humans have in your colony when I visited you and many would work for defense.”

  He looked around and Jarl became aware of creatures nearby. At least they had stayed away while they had sex, he thought with relief. Then he remembered how their lovemaking had altered the very music of the planet and blushed. Maybe they hadn’t been alone. Had everyone connected to the planet felt that, or just him and Arlen?

  “Fill up your canteen,” Arlen advised, gesturing to the river. “The path to the plant will take much of the day and we won’t have access to water while we walk.”

  Jarl obeyed, taking off his boots and wading out just enough to get water from the depths that wouldn’t have sand in it. He rubbed his feet dry on the grass before pulling the boots back on and looking around.

  “Which way is it?”

  “I’ll have to teach you to sense such things,” Arlen said, then pointed. “But for now I’ll lead you. Let’s go.”

  Chapter 18

  The pollen pods were ripe when Arlen finally brought Jarl to the plant. He collected them in his bag and felt a flash of remorse that he would never be doing this for the colony again. He did look forward to being able to eat the pollen whenever he wanted, though. At the colony the pollen was reserved for certain members of the colony who needed its nutrients most, and everyone else subsisted primarily on other, less satisfying food. Another way the colony had discriminated against people without him even noticing, he thought. The plant ought to have enough to last him the year if he were careful and Arlen had said there were two other plants they could go to over the next week to harvest to be safe. The plants were in season for three weeks and he needed to get enough to last him the rest of the year. The colony grew much of its food, but the plants they used weren’t native and there was no way he could grow anything out here in the woods.

  The sun was setting as Arlen brought him back towards the colony with his pods in tow. They arrived at a small clearing with a large rock in the center and Arlen gestured to it.

  “For now, this can be our home,” he said. “The other creatures will stay away from this clearing and other animals will, as well. For the night at least. You can leave your things here safely tonight.”

  “Thank you,” Jarl said, setting down his bags and water canteen. He sat down and leaned against the stone, feeling worn out. He trained all year for the five days of the peace and usually when it was over, he rested and recovered.
Today, though, had essentially been a sixth day of the same strenuous activity and he was exhausted. As the sun slipped beyond the horizon, he felt the wind rise and the music surged through him. He turned to Arlen, who was waiting for him, and offered his heart without thinking. Arlen placed a hand on his chest and Jarl took a deep breath and regained control. The music lessened in his mind. He needed to look at the moon, he thought, and started to look up.

  Arlen laid his hand over Jarl’s eyes and he started in surprise.

  “What are you doing?” he asked as the wind rushed through the clearing. “I need to look at the moon or people will die.”

  “Not tonight,” Arlen said, tightening his trip on Jarl. “You cannot interfere tonight.”

  Jarl tried to yank his hand away but Arlen pinned him to the rock, hand completely blocking out all light. In the distance, he heard a scream. He struggled harder.

  “You have to let me go,” he begged. “They’re going to die. The humans are going to die.”

  “You cannot help them tonight,” Arlen said. “You must let this happen.”

  “No,” Jarl cried, elbowing him hard to try to loosen his grip.

  Arlen slammed him to the ground unexpectedly, twisting his arm behind his back while keeping his eyes covered. He suddenly felt the presence of other creatures around him and tensed. Were they going to kill him? Had they just lured him out here to kill him? He remembered what the oldest woman had said about the planet saving him for a worse fate. What if she were right? What if they had allowed him to survive just to lessen the colonist’s fears of the planet and now the planet was going to take all of the humans at once? What if Arlen had been lying to him all this time, just waiting to betray him? He struggled against Arlen’s arms and against the music in his mind and against the creatures he could sense nearby, trying to free himself so that he could protect the other humans. But no matter what he did, the music rose louder to drown out his efforts and he was completely helpless against them.