She spread her legs for him without a word, and Keaton was inside her in an instant. Her expression shifted to one of satisfaction, with a little bit of love in it, even. This is what all of the harem slaves ultimately wanted. He was giving her a chance to take his seed properly, and perhaps bear him a child, a bastard, a chance at a life with more comfort and meaning.
Keaton took Tania by the waist and slammed his cock into her, thinking about Ariexa so intently that he was all but shouting the Metal Queen’s name. Tania moaned and moaned, and Keaton’s cock pumped into her with rhythmic, animalistic ferocity.
Keaton was the Metal Chosen, the Lord of Margellis and the surrounding countryside and coastlands. He could have the Metal Queen put to death, if he wanted. He could force her into service in his harem. He could do anything he wanted. It was his city by name and blood right. And she was his spirit siren, even if he’d taken her from his father prematurely.
He thrust faster into Tania, the pleasure forcing him back into the moment. The big breasted slave was kissing his neck, and his impulses surged. He pulled out of Tania and mounted her instead, noting the pleased, seductive smile on her face at managing to steal him away.
He watched the slave’s big breasts bounce up and down as he ravaged her tight cunt. She moaned and dug her fingers into the bed, writhing with pleasure. Keaton kissed and licked at her nipples, groping her breasts, right up to the point where he felt himself reach and pass over his limit.
His back was to the door when it opened, and the pleasurable daze of his orgasm kept him from hearing the footsteps approaching the bed until the new arrival was within a couple of feet. Keaton turned just as Ariexa cleared her throat, and he felt his heart skip a beat.
“…Ariexa,” he said, feeling dumb.
“If you’re preoccupied, I can return later?” Ariexa wore a short dress of dark black, making her look even paler than usual. The bottom third had slits cut into it, allowing tantalizing sections of thigh and buttock to be exposed when she took wide steps.
“Slaves!” Keaton bolted upright, swinging his hands to the side and carelessly slapping the naked women about. “Get out! Get out, now!”
“Keaton…” cooed Ariexa. “Put on some pants. We can speak outside this chamber, without needing to disturb the good ladies.”
She smiled at them, and then nodded across the room to where Keaton’s discarded clothing lay. He bumbled over and hurried to pull on his trousers, feeling as though he was seconds away from watching her take off in front of him again.
Ariexa waved the two hall guards off outside the harem chamber. She leaned against the wall with her arms crossed, one of her legs lifted slightly, as if inviting any male passerby to make an attempt at taking her, right there and then. Keaton walked over to her and leaned forward, attempting to give her a kiss. She dodged, granting him cheek instead of lips.
“Keaton,” she said. “I only came to let you know that I must tend to a… pressing matter, tonight.”
“We were going to have our time together,” said Keaton. “What of that? Do you just disregard the fact that you told me you’d be in the palace tonight?”
“I know,” said Ariexa, her voice appeasing. “You are my master, Keaton. I would never do anything that went against your interests.”
Keaton shook his head, feeling his emotions surging, the same ones he always felt around Ariexa, carried over from childhood into his life as an adult.
“I came to you because of your strength,” whispered Ariexa. “You’re so much stronger than your father was, even in his prime. You’re better in every way, and you took me for your own as much as I chose you.”
She gestured him forward and pulled him into a hug, cradling his head against her breast.
“Just be strong for tonight, Keaton,” she said. “You aren’t done rising yet.”
Keaton nodded, feeling her warmth as she wrapped her arms around him.
“Okay,” he said. “I will.”
“It will be ours, soon enough,” said Ariexa. “All of the realm. All of Faldion. For you and for me.”
CHAPTER 15
Kai and Sky’s lodgings for the night came with a meal delivered to the door, and the two of them ate in a hushed, awkward silence, still affected by the events in the bed. Kai frowned, feeling a strange mixture of emotions as he contemplated the limits of his newfound luck.
Selene could be anywhere in the city, and it was worse than just that. Kai thought of what her treatment must be like under Terrion. An unimaginable number of horrible circumstances could be affecting her at that very moment, and yet Kai sat in an expensive room, eating steak and roasted vegetables.
“What’s wrong?” asked Sky. She ate her food on the far side of the long oval table, watching him with a pensive look on her face. Kai shook his head.
“I don’t deserve any of this,” he said. “And I’m wasting time. I should be out looking for Selene, tracking down a lead.”
Sky’s eyes flashed from yellow to a more intense orange. She set the knife she’d been using to cut her food down and looked at him plainly.
“You’re being stupid,” she said. “You’ll be exhausted tonight, after the spirit essence I took from you.”
“That doesn’t matter,” said Kai.
“It’s not going to help your little girlfriend if you get yourself killed in the process of rescuing her,” snapped Sky. There was an edge to her words, emotion tinting them as they fell upon the air.
“I’m not going to get myself killed!” Kai’s frustration flared over, coloring his voice. He took another bite of his food, letting his knife clank against the plate as he cut the steak.
“Kai,” said Sky. “I don’t mean to question your emotions or your motivation when I say this, but you should stop and consider what you’re doing.”
Kai stared across the table at the blonde haired girl, intent on letting her finish her thought completely before tearing it to shreds.
“You’ve been given a new start,” said Sky. “You have money, clothes, and lodgings. You have me, and everything that comes with that. If you wanted to, you could declare yourself outright. A dozen of the smaller cities in the realm would jump at the chance to host the newest of the Chosen.”
Kai glowered at her.
“That’s assuming that the One Master doesn’t name me as a heretic,” said Kai. “Which he would.”
“You don’t know that.”
“It’s beside the point!” Kai slapped his hand down on the table, shaking the plates. “I’m not leaving Selene to a life of slavery! It’s not an option!”
“It is an option,” said Sky, a tad bitterly. “You’re just too foolish to consider the reality of your situation.”
Kai gritted his teeth, feeling a sudden urge to fling the rest of his meal across the room. He’d just managed to calm himself down enough to take a breath when a noise came from outside the room’s window, loud enough to draw his immediate attention.
He stood up slowly and walked over. From where their room was on the third floor of the building, they could see across the city and into the desert lowlands to the south. The night was young, and the stars and moon were out, illuminating several dozen tiny, silhouetted shapes on horseback moving across the sand.
“Those are… raiders,” said Kai. Sky walked over and took up a spot next to him, squinting at the figures.
“Horselord barbarians,” she said. “Interesting. I didn’t think that they came this far north.”
“The never did before,” said Kai. “My homeland, Meridia, used to serve as a buffer on the other side of the Firecrack Desert. When it fell and my people were forced out, the nomads took control of the region, including the desert.”
Sky didn’t say anything, scanning the scene carefully and considering what was about to happen. After a couple of silent seconds, she pointed to a pair of figures on foot, separate from the raiding party.
“There,” she said. “It looks like those two are making a stand.”
“It’s the Fire Chosen, Mekalonius, and his spirit siren,” said Kai. “It has to be.”
The horseman were closing the distance toward the Fire Chosen, drawing within a hundred or so feet and moving across the last stretch with sickening speed. A tremor began to run through the floor underneath them, shaking the building. Kai frowned, and Sky nudged him with her elbow.
“He’s the Fire Chosen?” she asked. “Why would the Fire Siren be able to shake the ground?”
Kai shook his head.
“I don’t know,” he said. “I don’t think-”
The ground directly underneath the frontmost raider exploded into a pillar of blindingly bright molten lava, bursting up into the air and scattering white hot melted sand in the direction of the rest of the horsemen. For a moment, the features of the city’s two defenders were fully illuminated, Mekalonius, a wizened old man with tufts of grey hair, and his spirit siren, an attractive, red haired young woman wearing little more than her undergarments for clothing.
The raiders faltered back, but not quickly enough. Mekalonius stalked forward, sword in hand, to finish off the man wounded by the initial explosion as he writhed on the ground, body aflame. The spirit siren of fire directed the pillar back down, arcing it through the air like a massive, molten snake, and crashed it into the center of the retreating raiders.
Kai heard the screams, loud enough to carry all the way across the city and through the glass window. He watched as one or two of the most courageous barbarians collected themselves for a final pass toward Mekalonious. The Fire Chosen was a skilled swordsman, even on foot, and he cut the horse out from one of them and parried the spear thrust of the other.
The red haired woman stood back from the action. She guided the pillar of lava back down under the surface of the ground and focused on the tiny fires it had created, most of them fueled by the bodies of the fallen invaders. She held her hands up like a mystic performing a ritual, coaxing the flames to pulse brighter, which in turn, spurred the burning men to scream louder.
Several of the horsemen managed to break away, galloping off into the desert at speeds that must have been unhealthy for the animals carrying them. Mekalonious did battle with the only man left fighting, slashing his sword and meeting his opponents spear attacks.
The barbarian lunged forward, attempting to run the Fire Chosen through. Mekalonious whirled, cutting the tip from the spear on his first turn and then seizing the weapon in his free hand on the second. The man let go of his weapon, preparing to throw himself forward into what would have been a desperate last stand. Mekalonious had his sword at the man’s neck before he could attempt it.
The spirit siren of fire continued burning the bodies until there was little more than charred black remains left of most of the men and horses. She focused on them with a strange intensity, a stark contrast to her master, who was in the process of making sure the prisoner he’d taken was truly disarmed.
Mekalonious walked over to her, dragging the captured barbarian with him in a head lock. The two shared a few words and a quick kiss, and then headed back toward the city.
“I’ve never seen any of the Chosen actually fight before,” muttered Kai. “That… that was unbelievable.”
He turned to look at Sky, and saw her watching him expectantly, her face empty of emotion.
“The Fire Chosen and his spirit siren are easily powerful enough to take on a small army,” she said. “Do you understand now, Kai? Do you understand, master?”
There was a sarcastic edge to the last question. Kai frowned at her, feeling suddenly aware of how little he really knew about the girl.
“I don’t understand,” he said. “And I’m not sure I want to.”
CHAPTER 16
Kai spent a few minutes absorbing what he’d seen out the window, and then immediately headed for the door. Sky’s comments had managed to get under his skin, and he didn’t want to think about what it meant for his future. What he wanted was to find Selene.
“Kai,” said Sky, as he started out to the stairs. “Don’t. Stay here. Rest for tonight.”
Kai turned around. Sky was standing in the corner of room, all of her shrouded in shadow except for her eyes, violet in color.
“No,” he said. “I’ve had enough. No more wasting time. I came here to find Selene, and that’s what I’m going to do.”
“On your own?” asked Sky. “Do you think you can just walk out into the street, and call for her?”
Kai glared at her, feeling a bit of his concern for Selene transition into anger.
“You can do whatever you want,” he said, bitterly. “I’m finding her, no matter what. Make your own choice.”
Sky stepped forward, scowling at him, but said nothing as he turned to head back out of the room. She followed after him in silence, and Kai didn’t look back at her until they were out on the street, headed deeper into the city. Sky shook her head at him, rolling her eyes, and pointed in the opposite direction.
“I have a guess at where the best place to start looking would be,” she said. Kai nodded, and she continued. “There’s only a single brothel in town that can legally buy and sell slaves.”
Kai thought for a moment and then frowned.
“How do you know that?” he asked. “Didn’t you say you’d lost your memory?”
“Not all of it, as I’ve already explained several times,” said Sky. “Do you want me to show you where the place is or not?”
Kai nodded, and Sky started walking. Last Port was an active city even at night, though in a qualitatively different way than during the day. The people fell into two categories, either having enough money to carry a lantern about with them, or going without. Those who went without were shadowy figures, their intentions obscured.
The sandstone streets were still warm, most of the day’s heat having soaked far enough into the ground to hold into the first hours of the night. The stars were clearly exposed and the moon was nestled into a corner of the sky.
“Even if he doesn’t plan on selling your friend to the brothel, the owner will still probably be able to tell you something,” she said. “I doubt he’d stop by the city without saying hello.”
“It’s better than searching for her blind,” said Kai. “Thank you.”
Sky exhaled sharply and shook her head.
“I still think that this is a waste of time,” she said. “But I might as well make it into a slightly more efficient waste of time.”
She led him forward, back toward the outskirts of the city, to a medium sized building within eyesight of Last Port’s docks. It was made of sandstone with mud crafted extensions on either side, and the scent of cannias root incense came from within.
Sky held her head with confidence as the two of them entered the dimly lit brothel. Several attractive and scantily dressed women sat at tables in the center of the room. A small L-shaped wooden bar cut off the right hand corner, and a man stood behind it, tending to several people ordering drinks.
An older woman stepped out from behind a curtain divider near the back of the room. She was older than most of the girls, but no less physically stunning. She wore a tight, low cut black dress and had a live snake coiled up the length of one of her arms.
“Hello,” said the woman. “Can I help you with something?”
Sky started to answer, but Kai set a hand on her shoulder and shot her a look. He got the sense that he would fair far better in getting what they wanted from her, even if only due to the fact that he was the one that wanted it most.
“Perhaps,” said Kai. “My name is Kai. May we speak in private, for a moment?”
“Of course.” A thin, amused smile spread across the woman’s lips. She had a small mole on one cheek, and stood in a way that always kept her large breasts on full display. “You may call me Mistress Varella. Please, follow me.”
She beckoned to Kai and led him into the room she’d come from. It was a small chamber, with a single table and cushioned chairs. Mistress Varella ges
tured for them to take a seat, and they did. Kai tapped his fingers on the table and smiled, trying not to look as outside his comfort zone as he felt.
“What might I interest you in today?” asked Mistress Varella.
“I’m looking for somebody,” said Kai.
The woman laughed. The snake on her arm slithered along with the movement, sliding up and around Mistress Varella’s neck and down to the arm on the other side.
“Everybody that comes here is looking for somebody,” she said. “Please, take your pick. All of the girls in the waiting area are open for business.”
Something in the woman’s tone and demeanor brought a flash of memory into the forefront of Kai’s mind. The way she spoke of the girls was casual, almost bored, as though they weren’t living, breathing people in her mind any more.
“The girls?” said Kai, feeling his anger get the better of them. “The slaves, you mean?”
Mistress Varella’s smile didn’t waver, though her eyes flickered with hard coldness.
“Some of them are slaves,” she said. “But they have it better here, under my roof, than most of the poor freeman in the city.”
“Do they really?” asked Kai. Underneath the table, he felt Sky flick him hard in the knee with her finger.
“Slavery is something that occurs on a spectrum, young man,” said Mistress Varella. “As you can see, I’m a pacter. Would you call my bonded creature, Sin, who I saved from a meaningless life of jungle subsistence, a slave?”
The snake on her arm slithered again, moving across Mistress Varella’s chest. She shuddered slightly, not in disgust, but out of cool pleasure, from the connection of the blood bond all pacters took to achieve symbiosis with their bonded beasts.
“It’s not the same,” said Kai.
Mistress Varella smiled.
“Then what of her?” she asked, gesturing to Sky. Kai started, looking over at Sky and then back to Mistress Varella.
“What?” He shook his head, a nervous tickle running up his spine.
“I can tell from the eyes,” said Mistress Varella. “Oh, I’ve been in this business for a very long time. You may treat her as an equal, and I can only guess at your… unique circumstances, but I can see it. She is yours, as much as those slaves on display in my parlor are mine.”
Sirens of Faldion: The Final Bond Page 8
