The Use

by D. L. Carter

  “The purpose of this Ritual is for Far Seeing and locating that which is lost,” he whispered and pointed toward his book. “The posture you see there.”

  The sketch he pointed out illustrated a woman kneeling with a man behind her. Halidan glanced at it and away, blushing, and would have retreated except Eioth came up behind her, his arms came around her and brought her tight against his chest. He brushed one hand over her hair and pressed a kiss to the nape of her neck.

  “Trust me, Halidan. All will be well. I must ask you to hold off your pleasure for as long as possible. I will tap your right shoulder when the Ritual is done and you may stop chanting. Then we shall take pleasure of each other.”

  “What makes you think I'll experience pleasure?” muttered Halidan, huddling against his body. Away from the fireplace she was intimately aware of just how chilled the room was. She pressed closer to his warmth, her arms crossed her chest and hands fisted beneath her chin. “First timers often don't.”

  Eioth's laugh was just a puff of air against her skin. “Believe me, you cannot imagine the pleasure I shall give you.”

  He released her and stepped back long enough to drag his robe off and toss it aside. She had a brief glimpse of a pale muscular torso, slim legs and a heavy, thick erection jutting out toward her before he drew her into his arms. His erection was caught between their bodies, a heavy heat pressing against her buttocks. She closed her eyes tight even as Eioth’s hand wandered freely over her breast, belly and thighs.

  “Trust me,” he whispered, then he murmured a phrase in High Elven.

  His hands moved over her skin with a firmness she found she needed, else she would flee the room. Wherever he touched, her skin went to flame and she was trapped between the hunger for more and wanting to escape the sensation. With each touch the fire grew, spreading, filling her body to its greatest depths and farthest reaches. Eioth held her away and began working his way down her body pressing kisses along the length of her back, moving around to her belly to kneel between her legs. He paused at the apex of her thighs to flick his tongue across her most intimate flesh. He lingered there until her knees weakened and body writhed. Her hands alternatively beat at him to drive him away and clutched him tighter, and still the flames grew. With a fingertip he caressed her from knees down to her feet, fire trailing in his wake and she began to weep.

  Rising he shook her gently by the shoulders.

  “Begin the chant,” he said and bent to torment her breasts with his mouth while his fingers slid down her belly to part the lower folds and drive her further into madness.

  Halidan screamed and tried to arch away, but he held her fast.

  “Chant!” was the command.

  At first her lips could not form the words or force out sound. With her second attempt she managed half a phrase before gasping. Eioth gave her a little shake all the while fracturing her mind and will with the touch of his fingers.

  Finally the words came, tumbling from her lips like a fountain. Again and again she recited words that made no sense to her fevered mind. The sound echoed through the chamber filling it, filling her. It seemed that the chant was all that was holding her sane as Eioth turned her and pressed her down to kneel facing the map. She bent, supporting her weight on her hands as Eioth parted her nether lips and slowly invaded her, inch by tortuous inch. The chanted words became shouts, the rhythm matching the advance and retreat of his body. She clung to the words, to the pressure of his hands on her shoulders, to the warmth of his thighs behind her as the speed of thrust and chant increased.

  Tears leaked from her eyes to splatter on her hands and still the pressure grew, the fire burned along her skin. If this was pleasure she needed to escape it.

  She knew the instant the spell caught. One breath she was kneeling, clutching at the floor with all her strength, staring down at the map as Eioth thrust into her. The next she was flying, rushing through the night air. The fierce sensations tearing through her body were distant now, for which she was grateful. Then the world below distracted her.

  It was no longer a flat map beneath her hands, but solid earth and stone, trees and roads and valleys. She saw the lights of a town pass underneath, quickly replaced by cultivated fields. The words of the chant echoed in her ears, binding her to her distant body and she was certain that the sound would wake the world beneath her, yet nothing stirred. Eioth's hands still gripped her shoulders, his body entering and withdrawing, sending waves of fire through her blood.

  She could feel, like ice shards or fire sparks, her orgasm building, threatening to cascade over her. Gasping, she concentrated on the chant, letting the words ripple from her tongue and pushed the sensations away. Eioth's thrusts changed, slowing and their flight over the world slowed. He increased the beat, and she almost shattered, the orgasm postponed through will alone. Tears leaked from the corners of her eyes and fell to the ground below. Eioth shook her and she resumed the chant.

  They passed over a road that widened and curved up into a bridge. Below them lay an island in the center of a wide circular lake. Serenity Lake, Halidan's education supplied. Created by magic and joined to the rest of the Empire by eight bridges. Covering the island from shore to shore was the capital city of the Empire, the Hub of Harmony.

  They followed the spiraling roads until they were diving down into a huge building. It mattered not that the doors were shut, they passed through without pause. Inside was an echoing, empty chamber and then another set of doors.

  Eioth's rhythm slowed again and they approached the door at a walking pace.

  The first thing she noticed in the next room were nine thrones. Eight were arranged in a circle around a black, eight pointed compass set into the white marble floor. The ninth throne was raised on a three-tiered dais between North and North East. This too they flew past, although they traveled at barely more than a crawling pace now. Behind the thrones near to the walls were marble pillars no taller than a man's waist.

  Eioth and Halidan dipped down and halted beside the pillar nearest to the highest throne. Their point of view shifted, tilted and descended, behind the pillar and down to the floor. There Halidan saw a circle of gold set with four colored stones trapped sideways between the pillar and the wall. Before she could be more than simply puzzled by what she saw the spell shattered and they were back in Eioth's Ritual chamber.

  “Enough, we are done,” gasped Eioth.

  Winding his arms about her torso he seized hold of her breasts, caressing, kneading even as his hips thrust harder, faster, filling her, driving her, riding her. Halidan's fists clenched as the orgasm struck.

  Arching her back she howled her ecstasy to the sky, the chant forgotten. Eioth pressed his face into the curve of her neck as he shuddered and thrust one last time, then they fell together to the floor.

  Tremors she could not suppress passed through Halidan as her fevered body tried to cool itself on the stone floor, but with each movement her sensitized skin protested demanding she move away. She tried to lever herself up while the palms of her hands seemed to scream, clenching in agony. Chest heaving, she struggled to find some way to relieve the pressure, the pain in her body. There was nowhere to go, no way to avoid it, no escape from her own skin. Her hands moved weakly over her belly, fingernails scraping as she tried to free herself from her body.

  Eioth lay gasping. Never, never in his life had he experienced such sensation! His pleasure had torn through his body like lightning. No other woman, no other act had pleasured him to this degree. He reached out to Halidan intending to draw her into his embrace, but she slapped his hand away.

  He levered himself up onto his elbows and smiled at her. Pleasure still shook her. Her eyes were closed and she whimpered even as tremors passed down her limbs. Her clawed hands moved restlessly over her body.

  “Halidan? Tell me again that first timers do not experience pleasure.”

  Her eyes snapped open and her lips tightened as she writhed on the stone floor.

  “Help me,�
� she whispered. “It hurts. It hurts.”

  “What?”

  “Everything hurts. Help me.”

  The whimpers became gasping cries of pain, which became shrieks. Her body arched up from the floor. Tears flowed and still her body shook.

  He didn't bother with a page turner. With his naked hands he seized the Essay and flipped through the pages heedless to the damage until he reached the section on Preparatory Baths. He reviewed the ingredients and activation chant – he hadn't made a mistake.

  Then, on the next page he read.

  Chapter Thirteen

  The Care and Maintenance of the Sex Magic Partner

  When using activated skin of the prepared Sex Magic partner to raise power during Sex Magic remember to deactivate the skin as soon as orgasm is achieved. Failure to do so results in discomfort for the Sex Magic partner.

  The Uses and Complexity of Sex Magic

  Eioth knelt beside Halidan. Her breath was hissing through her teeth in sharp, tearing gasps her jaw was so tightly clenched.

  Discomfort! No! Say rather, screaming agony. Except she was no longer screaming. She was gasping, struggling for air.

  Eioth didn't take time to swear. Seizing Halidan's hand he recited the words that dismissed the spell. In that instant she shivered, her eyes rolled up and she lay limp and still.

  With a shaking hand Eioth felt for her pulse and breathing, then almost collapsed himself.

  She lived. Her skin was shock chilled and pale and her muscles lax, but she lived still. Not even pausing to replace his robe Eioth lifted Halidan, carried her to his bedchamber and placed her on the narrow cot wrapping the thick blanket tight around her chilled form. She lay where he put her, boneless in sleep.

  After checking one more time that she still lived, Eioth hurried to the Ritual chamber and collected the water and fruit juice that he'd prepared not knowing what their state would be after the magic. Returning to the bedchamber, he climbed under the blanket and stretched his body alongside Halidan's, giving her his warmth. He had been correct that first day. She did fit neatly in his arms. Her head tucked under his chin, her curves and softness filled the empty places beside his body and in his lonely heart. For a moment he regretted giving up her first sexual experience to the Ritual. The sensations had been too intense and the chanting, too distracting. Both of them had been lost in the magic and while he could remember and enjoy the sensations of the joining he was aware that something special had been missed. If it hadn't been for the demands of the magic he would have taken his time, enjoyed arousing her, exploring her, and if the Elements had been kind, she would be recovering now and preparing for a long night of loving instead of collapsed and wounded.

  Still, he ran his hand down the curve of her waist to rest on her hips and pressed his lips to her forehead, there was tomorrow night and all the nights to follow for further exploration.

  Halidan remained as one unconscious or stunned for all of ten minutes and her return to consciousness was as sudden as her leaving. Kicking out with both feet and thrusting with all the power in her arms she pushed Eioth out from under the blanket and onto the floor beside the bed.

  “Hurts,” she whispered. “Thirsty.”

  Eioth was on his feet in an instant. Taking up the water glass he held the cup to her lips. Her hand trembled as she tried to take the glass. Eventually it was necessary for Eioth to support both her chin and the cup before she could take a little water into her mouth, and on her second attempt she was able to swallow. Falling back on the pillow she lay with eyes closed and body limp until she recovered enough to repeat the attempt, this time with the fruit juice.

  Eioth attempted to run a soothing hand over her hair, but she slapped him away.

  “I hurt,” said Halidan. “Everything hurts. Even my eyelashes hurt. How can that be?”

  “I am so very sorry, Halidan. I delayed a moment too long in dismissing the spell. You will recover soon. Only rest. Tomorrow you will be well.”

  She turned accusing eyes on him. “You did this to me.”

  “I admit it. As I said, my apologies. The pleasure I had with you overwhelmed me and I delayed ending the spell.”

  Halidan's lips turned down and she lay with one arm flung over her face.

  “If that was pleasure you may keep it. I never wish to experience that, again. I thought the authors were exaggerating the overwhelming nature of the sensations, but they understated the case. I thought I was dying.”

  Eioth grinned. “It is often described so. I am glad I gave you pleasure.”

  Her eyes snapped open and she tried to rise.

  “If that is pleasure, then I cannot tell the difference between it and pain. Agony. It hurt so much, too much, and then it wouldn't stop.”

  His smile faded. “It was your first time . . .” he began, uncertainty coloring his thoughts. What had he done?

  “It wasn't just that. I could barely feel you enter me the sensations were so intense. It was my skin. It felt as if I were on fire. True fire. I was burning. I couldn't bear it. If it were possible, I would have torn off my own skin to escape it.” She went to pass a hand down her torso and stopped. “It still hurts. The sheets feel like steel wire rubbing on me.”

  “Oh, Elements,” moaned Eioth and rising ran into the Ritual chamber. He returned in a few moments flipping through the Essay with his bare hands.

  “High Lord, the book. Your skin oils will damage it.”

  “Halidan, ever the librarian.” Eioth sat beside her on the bed. “Even in your current state you are more concerned for books than yourself.”

  He worked the page turner out of the binding and wasn't surprised when Halidan flipped a corner of her blanket over his naked lap to protect the cover.

  “What are you looking for?” asked Halidan after Eioth had read several pages.

  “An idea of what went wrong. The spell itself was successful, but I am certain you should not have felt pain. The baths are supposed to increase your pleasure.”

  “I hardly think the Elements are concerned with how much joy I take in sex,” muttered Halidan.

  “Oh, this is not Elemental magic,” said Eioth, absently. “It is a new branch I have only just started working with . . .”

  This time Halidan managed to sit up and stare at him. Her silence took on a quality that had Eioth's tongue drying and cleaving to the roof of his mouth.

  “A new branch of magic?” demanded Halidan, her voice becoming shrill. “What sort of magic is it? How many spells have you done? Is this another one of your new experiences?”

  She snatched the book from his hand and read the title.

  “Sex Magic? Sex Magic? I have never heard of such a thing. What have you done to me? What was in those baths?”

  “Halidan, peace . . .”

  “No. No peace. You will explain yourself immediately or I will save Tribel the trouble of driving you insane and strangle you myself!”

  She closed the book and slapped it against his chest with enough force to send him tumbling off the bed a second time. Then she leaned against the wall, the blanket pulled up over her breasts.

  Aware that he was still naked from the Ritual, Eioth considered retrieving his robe, but changed his mind when he saw Halidan's unhappy face. Seating himself on a storage box he recounted finding the book in an old library and spending the duration of the processional exploring its contents.

  “This is why you hired me,” declared Halidan, color flooding her pale face when he was done. “You wanted to do magic with me.”

  “Not entirely, no, Halidan. I was lonely and wanted companionship and you must admit I needed a librarian.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “Those were your thoughts when you first saw me, were they? Here is a woman who looks like a librarian. Is it a special ability of yours to be able to tell a person’s profession from looking at them?”

  “No,” Eioth sighed. “My first thought was that you were beautiful.”

  Her scowl deepened.

&nbs
p; “I cannot trust you. Nothing remains as you say. First I am a librarian and before I am even used to that idea I am to be your intimate companion. Then I am to consider myself your Lady without benefit of Ritual or oaths. Now I find your true intent all along is for me to be used for magic!”

  “Halidan . . .”

  “Take the spell away!”

  “I dismissed the spell.”

  “No. No.” She rubbed irritably at her skin. “No, the baths. I can still feel it in my skin. I want to have another bath. I need to wash off those things you used on me.”

  Now Eioth hesitated. He caught Halidan's wandering hand, brought it to his lips and kissed it.

  “Halidan, the baths are not meant to be removed. Such expensive ingredients cannot be found as often as magic might be needed. The intent is that the skin is permanently changed and always ready for magic.”

  Halidan went deathly pale and she thrust his hand from her. Staggering to her feet she glared down at him.

  “You have stolen my skin! My skin?” Halidan swayed on her feet, the sheet wrapped around her body slipped and she tried to catch it. When Eioth extended a hand to aid her she snarled and slapped it away. “Do you have any idea the degree to which I despise you at this moment? How much I loathe the very sight of you?”

  Eioth paled. “Halidan, let me explain. It doesn't harm you . . .”

  “How can you say that? You have taken my skin, claimed it for your magical usage as if I were no more than a candle! If you had taken a knife and cut it from my bones to make into a rug it would be no less than you have done.”

  “Halidan, no, your understanding is incomplete. It was necessary for the raising of power and now the spell is done your skin is your own unt . . .”

  “Necessary! I understand very well. It was one thing for me to consent to lie with you. I had some idea what was involved and knew it would require me to give up my body for your touch. It had been my thought that this would be a temporary gift and I would rise from your bed still in possession of myself. But, no. What you have done goes beyond anything to which I would ever give my consent. You have taken control of my skin! You hold in your hand the power to control the shell of me, the container of my soul. At your command, I shall experience pleasure or pain and I cannot escape! You have lessened me, degraded me, made me a tool! A knife! A shoe! Nothing.”