“Yank it.”
Huckly opened his eyes slightly to look at Scor. He licked his fingers in a way Jinady had to admit was sexy, and started pulling on his cock.
Scor fixed on Huckly’s hand. His pelvis pounded against Huckly’s ass.
“Fssst! Come for me, boy.”
“Mmm, Scor.” He rubbed his balls with his free hand. “Ain’t going to be able to walk tomorrow.”
Huckly closed his eyes. His body started to convulse. He tipped back his head. “Oh! Oh shit!”
White splattered from the head of Huckly’s cock as he yanked furiously.
Scor started to pound into him faster. He flared back his lips to show gritted teeth. “Oh yeah. Umph!” He rammed in deep and held still a moment.
Huckly squirted a second gob of cum on his stomach. His eyes were closed. “Yes, yes! Come inside me! I feel it! Ohhh ahhhh!”
Scor pumped in and out once more. His eyes were closed. “Mmmph!”
Huckly removed a shaky hand from his red member. He looked at Scor.
Scor’s body shuddered a final time. Huckly made a sound.
“Damn you’re so good,” Scor said. He pulled out and laid on top of Huckly. They kissed.
“Better than Rowan?” Huckly asked.
Scor spoke without malice. “Watch it.”
Jinady stole through the woods until he was too far away to be detected by Scor and Huckly. He stepped out to the brook. He had an erection, but wasn’t sure if he wanted to do anything about it. Figaru might have sent him to the show to get him primed for a fuck.
He took off his pants and knelt in the cold water until he shrank. Then he filled his water skin with a restless sigh.
Huckly didn’t return to their wagon for another hour. Jinady woke from light dozing by his humming. He settled on the mat and fell asleep at once.
He really is a whore, Jinady thought. He expected him to skulk in shame.
Eban tried to wake Huckly up the next morning, but Huckly kept batting him off. Figaru came by the open wagon door with Major.
“Let him sleep,” Major said.
Jinady exchanged glances with Figaru. Figaru kept his dark eyes fixed on him as Major continued.
“The women are going to go to the brook to bathe. Figaru will guard. The rest of you stay where I can see you. Anyone who tries to spy on them will get the lash.”
Jinady wanted to tell Major to go to hell. He’d never signed up for whatever little army they had. He was further annoyed that Figaru was gone with the women during breakfast. He owed him an explanation.
Scor walked in the direction of the brook with an empty skin. Jinady eyed him.
“Scor,” Major said.
Scor stopped but didn’t look back.
“Don’t make my life difficult.”
Scor turned partway back at him. “You gonna lash me, little man?”
“I won’t be the one to do it.”
“Pssh.” Scor dropped the skin and changed directions.
Eban took a seat near Jinady again. It seemed Eban preferred his company to Huckly’s. Jinady leaned toward him.
“Do you think you know me well enough now?” Jinady whispered
The smaller man smiled. He went into the wagon and gestured Jinady to follow. They closed the door.
“Getting curious about us?” Eban said.
“Curiosity is what you’re left with once the fear is gone.”
Eban smiled again. His white teeth gleamed. “Glad to hear you’re not scared anymore. You never had a reason to be, but of course, you wouldn’t know that at first.”
Eban stretched out and propped his arms behind his head. “Right, so one of the ranks you can go after is to become an ‘Available.’ You’re making yourself available to those incubi who don’t have mates.”
Like Huckly. Jinady was transfixed.
“Figaru doesn’t have a mate, and he doesn’t use Availables.”
Jinady frowned. “Doesn’t he…feed?”
“Sure. With other demons. That’s where Scor comes in.”
Jinady balked. Figaru was having sex with Scor?
“Where Figaru came from demons and people live in peace. He thinks of our demons as criminals...as scum. He somehow knows if a demon has murdered or raped a human. If they have, he kills them. Even if they haven’t Figaru still doesn’t give them any respect. When Figaru’s wife died—“
Wife?
“—he hibernated, fasted, hibernated some more. Tried to deal with his grief without disgracing her memory. But he couldn’t starve. We battled Scor’s tribe in a mission. It’s the first and only time Figaru took a prisoner. Major said he expected it, because he’d seen Figaru build a cage in his home.
“I was surprised Figaru picked a Reever. They’re as smart as humans, but violent and cruel. I guess Figaru wanted to have the worst of the worst for a slave. Scor was his prisoner for almost two years.”
“He’s not anymore?”
“He wouldn’t be free like this if he was. Figaru’s housekeeper Rowan made friends with Scor. He got Figaru to uncage him, and then to let him move around the settlement a little. It wasn’t like he could get out with the swan shards around the borders.”
Swan shards.
“Scor started to make himself useful. Taking down trees, hauling, turning soil. The settlers trusted Scor before Figaru did. Sure he was crass and surly, but so are a lot of the men.
“Rowan begged Figaru to let Scor go on missions. There was a lot of turmoil. Figaru wouldn’t even consider it. So Rowan and Scor secretly built this wagon. Then Rowan led Scor into the army camp pulling it. They forced Figaru’s hand. There was no way he could turn down that kind of resource—not when the whole army had been dazzled by Scor’s ability to transform.
“Scor saved two soldiers lives on that mission. After they got back he told Figaru that he wasn’t going to be his ‘little pet’ anymore. He’d proven himself. He should be allowed to stay in the settlement as one of us.”
“Figaru let him go?” Jinady asked.
“It’s foggy. They had a fight. Figaru nearly killed him. I saw Scor towards the end, beaten half to death.”
“Dear God!”
“Rowan had come to Scor’s side. He was on the ground covered in blood and dust, barely conscious. No one thought he would survive. Figaru went over to him. We were sure he was going to finish him off but he just knelt down and said, ‘You’re free.’”
“We tried to bandage him up as best we could. He’s still got that gash on his face Figaru gave him after setting him free.”
“I don’t understand,” Jinady said.
“I don’t really either. I have a theory that if Figaru had just let him go, Scor wouldn’t have kept in line. If you give Scor and inch he’ll take a mile. You have to watch out for him.” Eban stood up. He opened the wagon door. “We all think Figaru went too far though. There had to be something else going on.”
After Eban went out, Jinady stayed in the wagon, lost in thought.
Chapter 4
The others didn’t get a chance to bathe after the women. Major briefed Eban and Huckly outside Jinady’s window.
“Figaru senses a succubus a few miles away.”
“Just one?” said Huckly.
“So it seems. Probably an admirer, but we can’t be too careful. Stay alert.”
Jinady fumed. Every moment people said things he didn’t understand. His ignorance kept him an outsider. The women probably knew more than him.
Scor galloped at a faster pace through a dense forest that led to a rocky path and then a flat road. The ride was smooth enough to sleep through. When the road curved Jinady saw that Figaru was further back than usual.
Once again, the wagon stopped at midday. Rather than getting out, Huckly, Major, and Eban got food from the back compartment and ate in the cab. The wagon started to move again as Major withdrew into the women’s cab.
“No break today.” Eban said. He gave Jinady a lump of rye bread and hard cheese. �
�Lord Figaru thinks it’s best we try to get to the ruins to camp.”
“Who’s in charge here? Figaru or Major?”
Huckly gave him an annoyed look. “Lord Figaru, of course.”
Jinady wasn’t riled enough to tell Huckly off. Of course.
Even with less bouncing, Jinady’s tailbone began to ache near dusk. Eban’s eyes were heavy as he marched beside the wagon.
They passed a dilapidated wooden frame on the side of the road. There was too much vegetation covering it to determine what it had once held up. A short distance more and he saw a well made out of clay brick. One side was caved in. Further down they were flanked by a crumbled stone wall that bordered the wilderness around them. On one side a rusted gate hung from its hinges. Beyond this hundreds of decaying structures came into view.
Jinady became uneasy. They were in the remains of a village. People had built a wall to keep the demons out. Now those people were gone.
He looked away. He’d been trying not to think of his home. He’d grieved during the early months he spent with the Caldra. That was all he could do. He couldn’t return to his original home. He didn’t know if there was anything left to return to.
Now there might have been a chance, but he didn’t want to fathom it. He didn’t want the old wounds pulled raw again. He was thrust into a new life he’d found bearable. Still, he suffered with the memories of his old home.
Jinady wept quietly into his hands.
There was a soft clopping of hooves. Jinady looked up at Figaru. He was no longer embarrassed to cry in front of this demon.
“What is it?” Figaru said.
Jinady’s response was instinctive. “Nothing.” He was secretly happy when Figaru didn’t give up.
“The people here weren’t consumed by demons. We moved them to the settlement decades ago.”
The words lifted his spirit.
“I’m not crying for these people. I’m crying for my own. I don’t know what happened in the fortress after the Caldra took me away.”
“I see,” Figaru said. “We may have encountered your fortress. The record-keepers in the settlement will know. If we haven’t, we can make it a mission.”
Jinady looked at him. His tears had stopped but his face remained anguished. “I’m scared to see what’s left.”
“You wouldn’t have to go. Though—it would be helpful.”
“I’d be more scared not to go.”
Figaru made the beginnings of a smile. It gave Jinady a pleasant shiver.
The demon stopped keeping pace with the wagon to retake his spot behind it. As the distance increased between them Jinady felt a strange pang. Figaru made him feel as though everything would be okay.
In the deep interior of the village, they came across the remains of a small castle. They entered the courtyard through an ivy-covered gateway. Its stone barrier was mostly intact.
Jinady disembarked before Scor had transformed. He held his breath, but then he realized that the poles would have crashed to the ground if Scor transformed while he was still reined. Figaru removed his harness with Scor’s pants draped over his shoulder and a water skin tucked in his belt.
Jinady edged near the side of the wagon to eavesdrop.
Scor transformed and donned his pants. Figaru gave him the skin. Scor drank.
“If you don’t want that virgin, give her to me,” Scor said.
“Didn’t Huckly sate you?”
“So what? It’s always feast or famine.”
“Will you see to my needs instead?”
“Pssh.” Scor spit on the ground. “Don’t start crying about your needs now. You’ve got nine Availables begging you to stuff their cracks. You make them feel like shit when you turn them down. You think it’s wrong to use mortals like that but you’re the one who started the ranking system. You convince them they’re doing this great, noble service but now that you’re single we see the truth.”
“I’ve told the Availables who offer themselves to me why I can’t accept them. You’re making your own assumptions. You’re wrong.”
“Oh yeah?”
“It’s fine for a willing mortal to have sex with a tempered demon. I’m not capable of taking a mortal so casually. I love their kind too much. Once I have them in my arms I’ll never let them go.”
Jinady’s heart fluttered.
“If they aren’t meant for me it will cause us both turmoil,” Figaru said.
“We all get like that sometimes.” Scor sneered as he spoke. “You go with the ones you can’t lose your head over.”
“That never stopped you.”
Score smiled wickedly. “Heh.”
Scor drained the rest of the water skin and shoved it into Figaru’s chest. Figaru took it from him.
“Go ahead and starve to death,” Scor said. “I’ll write on your tombstone: Stupid fuck was too sentimental to lay a whore.” He marched away.
Figaru finished seeing to the poles and harness. He seemed unperturbed.
Stone benches circled a dry fountain in the courtyard. The top sculpture had been broken off so the basin could be used for a bonfire. The char of past fires stained the marble black. A thriving dogwood filled one side of the yard and the wagon fit in the other. A densely overgrown castle arcade walled the north side. To their south was the stone wall with a crumbled parapet and open gate. The yard was only thrice as wide as the wagon. Dogwood branches poked Jinady as he sat on the stone bench.
Huckly, Major, and Eban collected dry brush for the fire near the gate. Jinady rose to help them. Figaru strode a few paces toward them.
“Stop.”
They froze and looked back at him.
“Come away from the gate.”
Major came alive. “Quickly men! You heard him.”
They retreated to the stone benches. Figaru was transfixed on the gate. Scor came out from the back of the wagon where he’d been scrounging for food. Everyone stared at the gate.
Two minutes of silence passed. The first sound was so faint Jinady couldn’t be sure he’d heard anything. A few moments more and the footfalls were clear. His heart started to race. A small green hand plucked a berry from the ivy on the gate.
Damn it.
A green female came into view. Jinady recoiled though she was forty yards away.
“Oh God,” he whispered.
Eban took his hand. He spoke softly. “Don’t let her frazzle you. If she were a threat Figaru would have already killed her.”
Save for her dark green skin and black claws, the succubus looked exactly as Jinady believed human women looked. She seemed to be the same age as him (though he was unclear about how demons aged). She would have been beautiful if not for her squinting, angry eyes. She had long, billowy red hair, and small breasts with black nipples. She wore a heavy skirt of layered fabric. One smooth thigh was exposed where her skirt was tied at her hip.
The succubus didn’t seem to notice them as she absently picked berries and let them fall to the ground.
“Looks like a virgin,” Major whispered.
Jinady swallowed. “How can you tell?”
“Women’s nipples get fat after they have a baby,” he said. “Sometimes their bellies show it too.”
“Why is she…?” Jinady had some inkling but it was all still alien to him.
“She’s in heat,” Eban said. “Not like an animal —but she knows she can conceive.”
“She’s risking her life coming this close to Figaru,” Huckly said. “She can sense how powerful he is, same as he could sense her from a mile off. Figaru could kill a dozen of her kind and more. She’s hoping he’ll take a fancy to her instead. They want strong fathers.”
Their explanations seemed to be nervous chatter. All the men were tense as bow strings.
“Figaru.” Jinady’s voice was louder than their previous speech. “Just grab her and do whatever. Get her away from us!”
“Be patient, Jinady.” Figaru stood closest to the succubus. He didn’t take his eyes off her as
he spoke the calm, lucid words. “This isn’t an animal. She was a mortal woman once. She’s come in peace, and she’s terrified of me.”
Jinady clung to Eban’s hand with both of his own.
“She hasn’t picked him yet, either.”
Everyone but Figaru turned to look at Scor. He leaned against the wagon with his arms crossed. His pose was the most relaxed of any of them.
“Figaru ain’t the only incubus here,” Scor said.
“She’s a spider, Scor,” Figaru said calmly. “She’ll drink you afterwards.”
“She’ll try.”
The succubus turned toward Figaru. She looked down after meeting his gaze, then coyly eyed him.
“I’m not scared of you,” the succubus said.
Jinady’s heart skipped. That horrible creaky witch voice haunted his dreams for months after they’d attacked the fortress. He’d never heard a succubus speak before. Only shriek. Hearing level words made the voice even more evil.
Figaru set off in her direction so suddenly all the men flinched. The succubus’ face changed to horror. She stumbled back the few steps she’d made into courtyard.
“No!” She screamed.
She grabbed a rusted metal bar at the gate and toppled to her knees. For a moment her body was trying to take flight from Figaru, but her arm anchored her. She was forcing herself not to run away. Her face crumbled into tears as he got closer. She held her free arm up to block him.
“Please! No!”
Jinady thought by her cries that Figaru might really kill her. When he reached her he plucked her up. She yelped. Figaru cradled her as he strode out of the courtyard.
Jinady released the breath he’d been holding. He took a step to the side so he could watch them through the gate. The succubus was unmoving in his arms. She had one hand braced on his shoulder. They went out of view.
“Phew!” Huckly said. “I can’t stand them things.”
Eban tugged for his hand back. Jinady realized he was still squeezing it.
“Oh.” He untwined his fingers.
“Figaru will chain her up away from us when he’s finished,” Eban told him. “He makes a blood chain that will break after one day.”
Huckly stared through the gate. Jinady wasn’t sure who he was talking to. “That was sure sexy, wasn’t it? I wouldn’t mind having him sweep me away like that.”
Incubus Master: Complete (Yaoi) Page 4
