by Cheever, Sam
I couldn’t help wondering if the goddess of love would condone having the king of deception living within her beautiful walls.
Knowing what I did about the horny goddess, she’d probably be okay with it as long as he agreed to sleep with her.
That was exactly the kind of rent Nerul would be happy to pay.
I forced my mind back to the business at hand. Aside from the logistical problem of taking Nerul and his evil minions down without destroying Olympus and angering the gods, I had other concerns.
Aphrodite’s castle was rumored to be saturated with lust magic.
Lust magic!
And me with my Settling up around my ears.
“I’m not comfortable with this,” I told Dialle for the hundredth time.
“Do you want to stay on the dragon while I take him down?”
I could hear the smile in Dialle’s voice and it pissed me off. “Oh sure, yuck it up, bud. You’re not the one with a permanent horny on.”
Dialle leaned around to give me an are you kidding me? look. “Astra, my love, do you watch the show? I’m a guy and a devil.”
I rolled my lips. He had a point. “Oh yeah. There is that.”
He kissed my shoulder and my happy place clenched in anticipation, warm cream trickled into my panties. I was in a bad way. It had been hours since I’d had sex and my body thought it was way past time for a little nookie-rama.
Not a good way to walk into a lust-drenched castle and do battle with a skunk of a royal devil.
“Just stay close to me,” Dialle instructed. “If the problem rises to emergency levels, I’ll do my solemn duty and frunk you senseless on the spot.” He sighed dramatically. “I’ll just have to take one for the team.”
I snorted in a very unladylike way. “You’ve been around me too long, bud.”
He chuckled. “Not nearly long enough, my love. You know, you could just stay in kick-ass mode. That seems to work too.”
“Yeah. I’ll just think demolition and destruction the whole time I’m in the castle. That should keep my Settling at bay.”
“That’s my girl.”
* * * * *
Aphrodite’s castle was on the outskirts of Olympus, tucked in a semicircle of rolling green foothills with a fork of the Hoh River forming a picturesque backdrop.
We approached the castle from the mountain side, flying over acres of flower beds, dense tree growth and a particularly interesting shrub formation, shaped like an enormous dick in full ready mode. The fat tip of the shaft pointed toward a large rose bush. The metaphoric meaning was not lost on me.
Dialle and I snickered as we flew over that.
“Where are Nerul’s guards?” I asked Dialle.
He frowned. “Look carefully at the ground, Astra.”
I squinted and noticed a slight shimmering quality to the grounds below. “Ah. There it is.” The grounds of Aphrodite’s castle were covered with a masking spell. “An Olympian alarm system.”
He nodded, glancing toward Gerch, his right-hand—erm—devil. He motioned Gerch forward and Gerch nodded, lifting a heavily muscled arm above his head to motion the warriors forward. “Can your dragon mask herself?”
“You mean Glynus, the Queen of the Blacks?” I knew as I said it that I was wasting my time. Sarcasm was just one of those things the Royal Devil didn’t do.
“Yes.”
Zing! Right over his head. “She’s not a pet, you know.”
Dialle shrugged. Anything that wasn’t devil or royal was a pet to him.
I frowned, realizing that included me.
“Gerch will engage the enemy while we enter the castle, kill Nerul and rescue your sister.”
Slam, bam, thank you ma’am.
“Sounds too easy.”
Dialle’s hand, which had been resting on my thigh, slid to cover my happy place and I gasped. “It has to be. I’m tired of wasting time on this drivel. You and I have a date we need to get to.”
I closed my eyes and leaned my head against his chest as his firm, insistent fingers engaged a lovely, circular pressure on my throbbing clit. “I love a man who has his priorities in order.”
Chapter Seventeen
Marked
Our Lady doth a fightin’ go, into the lust abyss,
Will darkness find our randy lass, as she searches for her sis?
The sounds of fighting filled the air behind us as we neared the opaline walls of Aphrodite’s castle. Glynus headed toward the tallest tower, where Nerul’s guards lined the edges, shooting old fashioned, wooden arrows at Dialle’s men on the ground. They didn’t even glance our way. Glynus was still cloaked, all but invisible to the guards on the roof. If they squinted they’d be able to see a slight shimmer on the air where we were.
But they were too busy trying to take out Dialle’s warriors.
Is it time yet, mother Tweener.
Go for it, Tadpole.
Glynus would not be able to retain her cloaking once she started sending columns of fire toward Nerul’s men. I’d told her to hold out until we were almost on them.
Her first shot sprayed one whole side of the castle, taking out at least twenty of Nerul’s guards.
Do a flyover, Tadpole, we’re gonna drop off.
As soon as Glynus fired on the guards she cloaked herself again, dipping quickly to avoid the slew of arrows that followed. She swung around to the other side of the castle and sprayed that line of guards with fire, and then swept over the roof and dropped low enough for Dialle and me to jump to the roof.
She shimmered away as a new line of guards took aim. Dialle and I lifted our hands and fired power arrows at them before they could let loose.
I cloaked myself with a power bubble just in time to avoid becoming Swiss Tweener cheese from the arrows of another group of guards across the roof. That group soon found itself dealing with Glynus, and Dialle and I took advantage of her attack to disappear down the stairwell into the castle.
The stairs spilled us out into a hallway that was thick with Nerul’s guards. Dialle released a spray of power that took out the front edge of warriors as we ran down the hallway, but as he killed the first wave, the next wave just filled the breech.
I fired behind us, cleaning up any guards coming from the other direction.
It didn’t take long for us to get into a situation where we were forced to use hand-to-hand combat. Our opponents closed us in at the center of the long hallway and we couldn’t fire on them without suffering from the backlash of power.
Dialle and I went back to back and I pulled metal.
With a long, deadly knife in each hand, I faced a growing wall of soldiers.
The snick of metal against metal told me that Dialle had drawn his sword.
I plowed into the oncoming wave of Nerul’s men, knives flashing. While I fought, I shuffled my mental drawers and contacted my sister.
Multitask, thy name is woman.
Darma?
Astra! Where the hell have you been? I’m dyin’ here!
I sliced the thick red throat of one guard and plunged a knife into the chest of the one behind him. They both fell at my feet, barely missing my pretty boots. Thick red blood splattered the soft leather. “Shit! Always with the boots!”
I cleaned the top of the splattered boot on the dead guard’s uniform and stepped over the bodies, lifting my knives just in time to trap a sword driving toward my chest with them.
We just found you. Can you tell me where you are in the castle? Jerking the sword from the red guy’s thick fingers, I threw it to the side and plunged both knives into the center of his chest, yanking them sideways before jerking them back out. He dropped in a boneless heap at my feet.
I told you, I’m in a tower.
A thick red arm slid around my throat and jerked me backward, tightening to cut off my air. I reached up and sent a power arrow into the guard’s throat. The arm around my throat loosened and I turned, driving my knife into his chest up to the hilt. I watched the light fade from his ey
es before jerking the knife free. “To Hades with you fool, for God hath tired of you.”
I ducked as another sword drove toward me and, missing me, plunged into the dead guard’s chest instead. Spinning around, I kicked out at my next victim and sent him sprawling. He bounced on the floor once and skidded toward Dialle, landing against Dialle’s leather-encased calf.
Dialle glanced down and sent a pinpointed power arrow into the guard’s head, killing him instantly.
Can you tell me which tower you’re in?
A tall one, Astra.
If I plunged my knife a little too forcefully into my next victim, I think you’ll understand. Fighting for calm, I gritted my teeth and said, Darma, we’re fighting off a large number of Nerul’s guards trying to get to you. It isn’t fun and it isn’t easy. I swear, if you don’t get more helpful really quickly, I’m going to pop out of this castle and leave you here. Spending eternity with you is probably a worse punishment for Nerul than death anyway.
Brief silence followed my threat, wherein Darma was no doubt trying to decide if she could get one more jab in before I blew. Apparently deciding it wasn’t worth the risk she finally said, All right, Astra. Don’t get your bra in a twist. I know I’m on the top floor of whatever tower I’m in. We climbed to the top of the stairs when he brought me here. The room I’ m in is very opulent, more so than the rest of the tower was. So maybe it’s the tower where he has his rooms. I don’t know. The last time I looked there were two guards on the door and two at the stairs. That’s all I know, I swear.
Fine. We’ll get there as soon as we can.
He’s coming, Astra, and he has blood in his eye. I have to go! Hurry!
I quickly finished off the guard I was fighting and turned to Dialle. “Darma’s in trouble, we have to find her fast!
He sliced his sword across two guards’ throats in one smooth swipe and shot a power arrow into a third. “Where is she?”
I looked around, happy to see that some of his men had joined us. I’d let them finish the fight while we went to get Darma. “She’s at the top of one of the towers. We need to split up and search every tower. How many are there?”
Dialle cocked an eyebrow at me. “I counted ten as we flew in.”
“Good lord.”
“I understand Aphrodite finds towers sexy.”
Sighing, I looked around. “That woman finds earthworms sexy.”
“Well worms and snakes could be considered phallic…”
“Bleurgh!”
I spotted Slayer and my aunt fighting down the hall. “I’ll take a couple of towers and I’ll send Slayer and Myra to search a couple each. Will you take a couple too?”
He nodded and I shuffled my mental drawers to tell Myra and Slayer what I wanted them to do.
Then I grabbed Dialle’s hand and we ran toward the center of the castle, where I knew there must be a central space that fed all the tower staircases.
Away from battle, the lust magic in the castle started to work on me. My skin became so sensitized I could feel the soft fabric of my clothing shifting against it, and every nerve ending expanded with expectation. My nostrils flared under a musky scent that I recognized as lust. The heated air throbbed against my skin like a giant vibrator, creating an answering pulse in my pleasure core.
My nipples hardened and my panties grew damp. I found myself staring at Dialle’s delectable buttocks as we ran. My mind started to cloud under the magic, my feet faltered and I finally stopped, overwhelmed.
I leaned against a wall, breathless.
Dialle stopped too and looked at me. I was both relieved and alarmed to see an answering passion in his beautiful eyes. He reached for my hand and pulled me into a dimly lit alcove.
“Astra.” He cupped my chin in one large hand and stepped closer, until he was standing a fraction of an inch from my face, his heated aura pulsing against mine. As I inhaled his indescribable musk, the world receded to the background. The sounds and cries of battle were a distant clash, muted to almost nothing as his heartbeat sped up to match mine.
His scent swept over me, infusing me with such longing that my knees went weak. His black gaze swirled with a hunger to match mine. Dialle lowered his head and covered my mouth with his own, his hot tongue striking out to slide between my lips, lightning quick, and then retreating. “Can you feel it, Astra?”
I moaned and my mind went blank as my body roared to life. I immediately forgot what I was supposed to be doing. I knew there was something. But for the life of me…
When I spoke, my voice was husky and breathless. “Feel what?”
He nibbled my bottom lip, following it up with a lingering swipe of his tongue. “Lust. It’s everywhere. I find everything in this place exciting…sensual.”
I gulped. “Battle lust,” I croaked out. “It’s just the adrenaline rush from battle.”
“Nay.” He took my hand and slid it down his chest, over his flat belly and lower, to the spot where his sexy leather pants bulged enticingly. “’Tis lust, Astra…for you. Do you know how sexy you look when you fight?”
I couldn’t help myself, my hand started moving on his hard cock, rubbing it in sensual strokes that made his breath quicken and his eyes roll closed. “I need…” I gulped hard because I didn’t know what I needed exactly. I needed him for sure, but I also needed to do something. Something much less sexy than what I was currently doing. If only I could remember what it was.
Dialle’s talented fingers slid into my pants, easily breaching the soft fabric and plunging between the wet folds of my happy place.
My mind melted. I dragged him closer, claiming his lips in a savage kiss, and gave myself up to the sensations he was creating with his hot fingers. I was home. This was what I needed, what I craved, what I couldn’t live without.
Dialle was all I needed. I didn’t need anyone else to make me happy…
Anyone else?
Just like that the mood died. Like a bucket of ice over my head memory returned and I knew what it was I needed to do. I shoved him away with a sound of regret. “Stop! I can’t do this now.”
He groaned and leaned toward me, placing his hot, soft lips against my throat. “Make love with me, Astra. I need you.”
I shoved him away, panicking under a new wave of mind-clogging lust. “I have to get Darma. Then we’ll play. I promise.” I sent him one last smoldering look and ran.
I ran hard and fast, running from myself as much as from him.
Cursing my sister, I entered the circular hallway that fed all the tower stairwells. Without thinking, I dived into the nearest stairwell and flew up the stairs, my mind swirling with a single thought—get my sister and then find Dialle.
I didn’t slow until I reached the top, realizing that, if I did, my body would have time to recoup and recharge. I knew as soon as I surged out of the stairwell that it wasn’t the right one. There were no guards. But I searched the rooms at the top of that tower anyway, just to make sure.
Finding nothing, I ran back down the stairs.
Back in the circular hallway, I plunged into the next stairwell. A few minutes later, with the same result, I ran back down the stairs. By this time my heart was pounding so hard I thought I might pass out and I could barely breathe. But still I ran. I was terrified to stop running.
Astra! Finally! I thought you guys would never get here.
I stopped in the middle of the third staircase. What do you mean? Who found you?
You didn’t send him?
I bent double, gasping for breath. Darma! Answer my question!
Emo. Emo’s here. And he has the jerk pinned. He’s going to kill him.
“Shit!” I started running again, completely panicked. My mind kept replaying Emo’s expression the last time I saw him. He was on the edge of embracing his devil completely. If he killed Nerul, he would be lost to me forever. Darma, listen to me, you have to stop him. Whatever you do, don’t let him kill Nerul.
Are you crazy?
No! I’m not. I
f Emo kills Nerul he’ll be lost. He’s fighting his devil right now and killing Nerul with anger will send him over.
Darma sighed. I could picture her crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at me, shaking her head in disgust. It’s very complex in your world, Astra.
Despite everything I barked out a laugh. Tell me about it.
Okay. I’ll see what I can do. But hurry.
Groaning, I ran harder. As I neared the top of the stairs I heard voices. Relieved that I seemed to have found the right tower, I cloaked myself in a power bubble and ran faster. I didn’t have time for stealth, so I opted for a full-on frontal attack.
The two guards at the top of the stairs turned as I thundered toward them and brandished their swords. Seeing them armed only with swords, I didn’t even slow as I dropped my shield and swung my arm, slicing both of their heads off with a power arrow and leaping over the bodies as they tumbled noisily down the stairs.
The guards at the doors looked surprised, but were no better equipped for my arrival than their headless buddies. A heartbeat later I was stepping over their bodies to open the golden doors.
I opened them to the sound of crashing.
The tableau that awaited me when I opened the doors would have been funny if I weren’t so terrified for Emo. Dressed in a flowing, sleeveless white gown that plunged low between her pale breasts and puddled around her feet, Darma stood next to a huge bed with a large figurine in one hand and a lamp in the other.
Across the room, Emo had Nerul pinned against the wall at the end of a sword, blood dripping down his throat from the razor-sharp tip of the weapon. Rather than looking frightened, Nerul’s dark eyes sparked with humor.
Emo looked pissed. “I’m glad you’re here, Astra. Now you can tell your sister that I’m not the enemy. She nearly beheaded me with that last urn.”
He was surrounded by broken glass and debris and one cheek was bleeding from a large cut.
I looked beyond the anger and saw that he was suffering from his Settling. I could tell it was getting harder for him to hold his devil in check. He held himself rigidly, as if he were fighting for control. That and the frantic flickering of his eyes told me he was in a bad way.
