Empath Rising

by Archibald Bradford

“No shit! That was a fucking DRAGON! I almost think we should take Paul’s initial advice and book it the hell out of here!” Erica breathed and nervously tongued at his hair a few times.

  “Well, it’s good that you didn’t, you really don’t have a chance of getting away if she wants to find you. You lot best get that milk to market, I’ll show the Aegis where I keep the good linins.” Paul went back inside.

  Their trip to the market proved to be just as eventful.

  After the usual hubbub with selling Milly’s milk, they browsed the various stalls to pick up a few sundries. It seemed that every time they got home they found something new that the cottage needed, in this case it was some proper cutlery. Add to that the fact that Ophelia was used to running an entire orphanage and so thought of a few things they didn’t.

  As they made their way through the market however they ran into a familiar figure: the unscrupulous Thaddeus Kirk.

  Ophelia flinched as the man accosted her.

  “Ah! Mistress Ophelia! A grand day to you, and I see you brought your little friends with you today.” He had snagged her by one arm and sneered at Milly and Nameless; “Don’t think I haven’t forgotten how rude you were to me before kids, I had hoped that we could do business together!”

  Nameless glared at him, and Milly was clearly ready to start swinging.

  Between the two Erica learned everything she needed to about the man.

  “Let go of her you shitwank!” Erica hissed at him, tail puffed up and claws extended.

  “Now now, no need to get upset little kitty! Ophelia and I are old friends!” His grip on her arm was clearly too tight, although she didn’t complain.

  “Mister Kirk, our business is concluded. Leave me and mine in peace!” She told him, her musical voice shaking somewhat.

  “That’s just the thing you see, the building would have covered your debt to me, but due to some zoning issues I won’t get nearly the value you promised out of it, so you have come up short it would seem.”

  His threatening smile was as greasy as his hair.

  “Debt, what debt?” Nameless asked.

  “Oh, the little lady didn’t tell you? See without a full complement of children in the orphanage she wasn’t able to cover all of her expenses for the last couple years from government funding alone, so she came to me for help and I happily obliged. I do so love children you know.”

  “I-it’s not my fault that the zoning doesn’t work for you, now please, let me go!”

  His smile was gone now, though he kept one wary eye on Milly whose face was getting dangerously red.

  “Relax folks! It will be an easy fix: just start bringing me the cow’s milk instead of that old bastard and your debt will be squared away in no time.” He cast a look at Erica; “Alternatively your little pussy cat could work off the debt for me, she seems the type.”

  Milly had heard enough and was about to lunge for the man when several people screamed from behind him and a sudden familiar boom echoed around the market.

  Dust rose from the ground and the slimy man whirled in time to witness a massive green gauntlet grab him by the top of his head and lift him aloft. In shock he lost his grip on Ophelia and clung desperately to the Dragon’s hand, blood trickling from his greasy hair where her claws pricked into his skin.

  Her glowing eyes bored into his, and he couldn’t help but void his bladder at the terrifying visage of the monster.

  “You have erred gravely, cretin. This man and his bond-mates are under my protection. Your life is therefore forfeit.”

  She made to crush his skull and he screamed hoarsely at the incredible pressure she exerted with a simple flex of her fingers, blood flowing freely now.

  “W-wait! Please, don’t kill him!” Nameless cried out.

  The dragon paused without relaxing her grip at all and regarded him, her gaze curious as Thaddeus wailed from the insane force on his skull.

  “This degenerate put his hands upon your mate, and yet you plead for his life?”

  “Y-yes, he may be a d-degenerate but I don’t want his blood on my hands!” Ophelia squeaked.

  “It won’t be. It will be on mine. Yet I understand your concern.” She nodded at them and gave a huff, a small puff of smoke coming out of her mouth; “My lady is much the same way, indeed it is her gentle nature that I love so dearly. I therefore will not fault you for yours.”

  Her grip relented somewhat as her gaze turned back to the now whimpering Thaddeus.

  “This man and his mate just saved your life. Whatever debt you imagine was owed has now been paid in full. Indeed I daresay it is you who now owes them, though I do not think your life is worth over much.”

  With that she dropped him to the ground.

  “Remove yourself from my sight, should I see you again I will not spare you a second time.”

  Head bloody and woozy from the crushing force, he was unable to get his wobbly knees to support his weight, so the sobbing Thaddeus scrambled away as fast as he could on all fours.

  The market was suddenly quite empty.

  “My lady rests as we speak, but she is most eager to make your acquaintance. Should your errands be completed then I shall escort you back. I also wish to purchase some of your milk. Goodman Fletcher tells me that it is a wonderful restorative and may do her some good.”

  Milly swallowed.

  “N-no need to purchase it, you dealt with that horrible man to protect my bond-sister, so I will gladly give it to her, it is the least I could do.”

  “Mmmm, honourable. You have my thanks, gentle cow creature.”

  With that she whirled and stalked away on the balls of her taloned feet, her muscular tail sweeping behind her as she prowled through the vacant market.

  Even if their errands were not complete, none of them would have dared to say otherwise.

  Nameless soon found himself alone in Paul’s kitchen, sitting across from a woman who was almost exactly the same height as he was. Her hair was white and wispy, and although her features made her age indeterminate, something about her bearing told him she was older even than Paul.

  “Hello Nameless. My name is Sadie.” She broke the silence after regarding him for almost a full minute.

  “Um… hi?”

  “I imagine this all must be a bit much. I understand that just a week ago you were living a very different life?”

  “Yeah, you could say that.”

  “And yet I sense that given the choice, you would say that your life is greatly improved?”

  “Of course! Life with Milly and Erica and Ophelia, it’s incredible!”

  She let out a soft chuckle at his enthusiasm before her tone turned serious.

  “Erica was the Tenebrae correct?”

  He nodded.

  “Would you mind if I examined her stone?”

  He considered her request for a moment, and indeed it was a request. He had learned that when it came to the heartstones of monster girls there was a great deal of trust in who was allowed to handle them.

  But Miranda clearly held great respect for the Lady Essig so he handed her the vibrant green stone.

  She took it and examined it for a few seconds, then smiled.

  “You have been good to her, for her to have recovered so quickly. I cannot tell you how wonderful it is to meet you. You didn’t know who she was when you tried to save her?”

  “No, Milly had told me about her sister, but by the time I brought her out of the darkness I didn’t even know who I was…”

  The lady drew in a sharp breath, her hazel eyes wide.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Um… I don’t really know how to explain it… it was like, she was in so much pain, and my own baggage was holding me back from reaching her, so I just cast it all off to go after her.”

  She winced at that.

  “You… are a very lucky young man. What you did, was all but suicide.”

  “Wh-what?!”

  “You threw away your own psyche, your own perso
nality. Tell me, how did you get it back?”

  “She, she helped me find my memories again after she bonded with me.”

  She nodded at that.

  “Indeed, so very fortunate. What you did…please, don’t ever do it again! There is a better way and I would be happy to teach it to you!”

  He nodded eyes wide.

  “It is actually a simple thing, you were sort of half right in your method. You do need to cast aside your own ‘baggage’, but you need an anchor to hold onto your personality. The best anchors are the hearts of those bonded to you.” She handed him back the stone; “You can sense her love for you easily enough, all you need to do is visualize the light of her heart in the darkness and you have your anchor.”

  He closed his eyes and like she said it was very simple, soon he could see all three of his girl’s hearts. The colours of their stones reflected in his mind.

  “Most of being an Empath is instinct, there is really very little to teach. The anchors are one lesson, though I think given another chance you might have figured that out on your own. Otherwise it is a matter of will, and of love. To save a girl from the darkness you have to be a beacon for her, to draw her out. And to do this you have to have the will to endure her pain.”

  She sighed somewhat mournfully.

  “Sadly, my own strength has faltered of late, the darkness we encounter in these girls takes a toll on us, even if we don’t feel it for many years. I don’t have the will that I used to. I have seen too much pain, too much of man’s cruelty. I could aid you, but I no longer have the strength to save a girl from the darkness alone.”

  “Will you ever get better?” His eyes were wide, emotion clouding his throat at her obvious sorrow.

  “Time will tell. In the meantime I can teach you what little you can’t learn from your own instincts so that you can take up the slack.” She looked worried for a moment and then sighed again; “That is, if you are willing to?”

  He was surprised.

  “Why wouldn’t I be?”

  “Heh, good answer. But just because you have the gift doesn’t mean you have to use it.”

  “Um… I think it does though. How could I have this power, the power to save girls like Erica, and not use it?” His earnestness moved her.

  “Again, well said. And I am eager to teach you, but I’m afraid before we begin your lessons the Aegis requires a service of me. It seems that a certain Flutterby broke the law when she bonded with you?”

  His throat went dry suddenly and he could but nod.

  “I have to examine her heartstone, and have a conversation with her, to make sure that her infraction was indeed a minor one. You can stay for it, but I must insist that you not interrupt.”

  Again he nodded and soon Ophelia was invited in and sat down with them.

  Wordlessly he took her hand as he handed her stone to the elder Empath.

  What followed was much the same as the interview that Miranda conducted, though many of the answers Sadie gleaned merely from holding Ophelia’s stone and feeling her reactions.

  Her questions went far deeper however, asking about specific milestones of his life and focusing especially on how Ophelia held herself back from comforting him when he was treated poorly by the other children.

  There was a very tense moment when they talked about the deaths of Sophie and the others, it had been an accident when they had drowned and Ophelia had tried to stop them from going swimming. But given her bond and the way that the girls had treated him Sadie was concerned about her role in the events.

  Fortunately the ability to read her heartfelt remorse at the deaths of the three girls exonerated her from blame. It was nevertheless a disturbing thought to have to entertain.

  At last Sadie pronounced her judgement, which was again much the same as Miranda’s: she could have handled it better but was now free to be with her bond-mate.

  He couldn’t help but pull her into a firm hug after that, while Sadie smiled and waited for the pair to compose themselves.

  “It is good that the air has been cleared for you two, and now I strongly advise you to have sex as soon as reasonably possible.” They both blushed brilliantly at that; “Nameless is right, I think, that you were beginning to fall into the darkness. Neglect, even benign neglect, can be just as toxic for a girl as other darker emotions. For a bonded girl to resist it for as long as you did is truly remarkable, and the best thing to do is move forward. Given that the tension between you two is quite palpable I think a thorough love-making session is just what is needed to put the past where it belongs.”

  Her well-spoken words almost made her blunt instructions more shocking to Nameless, though Ophelia recovered quickly enough.

  “Thank you Lady Essig, I assure you, my man will not be safe from my affections much longer.” She gave him a coy look out of the corner of her eye.

  The lady chuckled warmly.

  “Good, though I do still need to talk with him regarding his abilities. There are certain pitfalls to avoid when dealing with Tenebrae…”

  __________

  Sometime later Nameless and Ophelia found themselves in their bedroom.

  He had learned everything that Lady Essig had to teach for now, and had taken her advice.

  Erica and Milly were more than on board, at first they had meant to excuse themselves but Ophelia stopped them.

  “You are my bond-sisters, we will be together for the rest of our lives and I cannot help but love you for all that you have done for our mate. I want to share this with you. I want you to join in as our Master makes love to me. Also, I do believe the three of us owe our man a tandem blowjob?”

  Nameless almost passed out at her words, Milly blushed and giggled, Erica licked her lips hungrily.

  “Ophelia, you are the naughtiest butterfly I ever met, are you gunna take his load all over your pretty face?”

  “If that is what he wants…” Her eyes demurred to the floor.

  “That is sooo hot! I want to help make that happen!”

  The Katje took Ophelia into a surprise kiss, her tongue wildly grappling with the other woman’s while one hand groped unashamedly at her breast.

  It seemed to Nameless that Erica was being especially aggressive, but he chocked it up to the excitement of the moment.

  Ophelia didn’t. She made a mental note to speak to the girl privately later.

  Meanwhile, Milly was gently massaging Nameless’s erect tool though his jeans.

  “Is that what you want Master? To spray all of your stuff onto her face?”

  He groaned as Milly began to undo his pants.

  “Gah, Milly! That would be…”

  Ophelia pulled away from a panting Erica.

  “I think… if we are going to go down on our man, it might be easier if he was flat on his back, since the three of us seem to all be of different heights.”

  The others readily agreed and soon all four were naked on the bed, Nameless’s head was propped on a pillow, he looked down into three sets of adoring eyes.

  The hunger that greeted him was more than a little intimidating.

  Seeing as Ophelia was meant to receive his load, she had taken the center while Erica was on his right and Milly his left. The girls on the side had their hands on Ophelia’s back, her wings folded down as they caressed her.

  Left to right: blue, purple, green, he looked into each set of brilliant eyes and couldn’t help but begin to sweat at what was about to happen.

  His erect tool rested against his stomach, the girls combined weight was on his legs, their faces hovering over him, their breath tickling his sensitive flesh.

  “Are we going to make him say it again?” Milly whispered.

  “Girls, please suck my cock again, suck my cock and make me cum all over Ophelia’s face.”

  He wasn’t about to let them drag it out.

  Ophelia smiled, Milly laughed and Erica pouted.

  “It’s more fun when you squirm.” She muttered as Ophelia’s hand found his ba
lls, kneading them delicately.

  “Perhaps kitty, but I have waited so long for this night that I don’t think I could play any games, if that is alright with you?” Ophelia was deferential, not wanting to offend the Katje.

  “R-right! Of course!” Erica blushed a bit, taken aback by her sincere request.

  “Then pleasure him, Ophelia, pleasure our man.” Milly said with a smile.

  Obligingly the Flutterby ran her tongue from her working fingers and up the length of his rod to his head, Erica’s hand joined in to hold him upright to Ophelia’s waiting mouth.

  She took her time, swirling her tongue around his glans, her violet eyes hooded with the long awaited pleasure.

  With aching slowness she wrapped the very tip of his cock with her lips, giving just half his head a long sucking kiss. Ophelia propped herself up on her elbows, using her hands to hold back her blue-black hair as she brought her mouth lower.

  Erica meanwhile began to stroke him, taking her cue from Ophelia’s slightly bobbing head.

  Nameless could tell she had a very different method compared to Milly and Erica, as much as he would enjoy fucking her mouth like he had the other girls, her leisurely technique soon had his toes curling. Same as the hand job she gave him, she soon set a measured pace, bringing him just halfway between her lips before withdrawing slowly.

  She spent a great deal of time placing sucking kisses on the head of his cock.

  Milly and Erica’s faces were right beside hers, cheek to cheek. She popped off of his rod after several purposeful bobs then indicated with her tongue that she wanted Milly to take over, with one hand on Ophelia’s back Milly stretched the other up to finger at his nipple while she followed Ophelia’s lead and took his erection between her lips at a glacial pace.

  Nameless was panting now, the show before him would have been enough to get him off even without the added sensation. While Milly continued to suckle at him Ophelia had turned to Erica to share in a much less aggressive kiss, and the wet noise of their lips mingled with the squeaking coming from Milly’s intense suction on his cockhead.

  “Ah… so good, my loves, so good.”

  After a few more glorious bobs, Milly’s lips made an audible pop as she leaned her head back, licking at his head until it was Erica’s turn to take him into her mouth. With her stroking hand she guided him to her own lips and kissed him with a smoldering look in her eyes.