by David Burke
Kyle didn’t know how she managed to sound so damn sultry, without making it seem over the top. He almost felt the waves of desire rolling off of her. There was not the slightest doubt in his mind that she wanted him. Sexuality was just oozing off of her.
Hilde was gorgeous, with a beauty that was so perfect, it was beyond mortal limits. Nyda was soft and inviting and had a strangely alien beauty. The other women in his life each had their own appeal, but Meeka was something else, and it felt like he’d been remiss in not noticing it before.
Not usually clumsy with his words around a pretty woman, Kyle found himself strangely speechless. He forced the first stupid thing that crossed his mind out his lips, “So, right. Where are my manners?”
Then he closed the distance between them in a couple of quick steps. He leaned forward, placing his hands on the desk, one on each side of her legs near where the slits up the side of her toga revealed a great deal of delightfully creamy skin.
She snapped her fingers and the guards stationed on the deck closed the door after first pulling the curtains shut. She smiled at him and he almost drowned in the look of unbridled lust that flittered across her face.
“There. Now we can have some privacy… unless showing off is your thing?”
Kyle shook his head. His thoughts were cloudy. He could feel essence at play, but it was different. Not at all like how Lady Sorengaard had reached out to him. He didn’t know if he would be able to resist it—or for that matter, why he would even want to.
“You’re doing something to me,” he said accusatorily.
“Not yet I’m not. That will come soon enough. But for now, I just need to know if you choose to be with me of your own volition. I promise I will make it worth your while. I have just the thing to properly reward the man who saved my life.” She drew her words out, enunciating each syllable in a way that came across dripping with dark passion.
The pressure on his head eased a bit. He was used to this, in an odd way. Women had been throwing themselves at him for a long time. When he’d first made it to the majors, he was the cute, young phenom. But it got much worse after he won player of the year, and worse again after he’d signed his first multi-million dollar extension.
Women only wanted to be with him for all the wrong reasons, it seemed. They always wanted something from him. Sometimes it was the fame of being associated with him. For others, it was just the money.
That wasn’t quite true, there had been some girls who’d wanted to actually give him a chance, but he had always been too focused on his training, on winning. He even made it a point never to drink too much around a beautiful woman.
One of his batting coaches had said it best, “Clear heads prevent alimony.”
It was a crass way to think, but there was a good reason the front office staff gave presentations to the new players each year about how to avoid getting entangled with the wrong woman. For some guys, it was all about dodging the crazy ones, but for Kyle, even more dangerous were the calculating ones.
He shook his head to clear it and stepped back. Then he began to pace around the room. He needed not to be staring at her, if he hoped to clear his head. “If I understand what you are saying, then that is quite the offer. But, forgive me for presuming…” He paused and took a breath. “Given our positions, it seems a bit uneven.”
“Oh, silly boy. I don’t care that you are a slave. I think of you more as a valued part of House Avarda. You saved my life and you will win us honor and wealth in the arena. As you rise, so too does House Avarda. And trust me when I say your training outfit doesn’t hide much. It is clear that you are indeed… rising.”
“I just can’t… not now. Not if you meant it when you said you wanted me to do this of my own free will,” he managed to get out.
“Most definitely. That is a critical part of what I need from you. If you aren’t ready for me, I can wait… for a little while, at least. Though I’m not really the patient type. Besides, you should have heard the things I’ve been offered from some of the other noblewomen who saw you fighting at the arena. You are in high demand, my gladiator—many of them have offered me small fortunes to rent you just for a night,” Meeka said.
“So… is it going to come down to that?”
“No, not really. Normally, I don’t mind sharing, but I think I will make an exception with you,” Meeka all but purred at him this time.
It was still difficult to think clearly, but Kyle forced himself to move back a bit and the fog lifted a little. He needed to keep some space between them.
“If you want to win my good will, it will go a long way if you let Nyda start spending time at the training hall,” Kyle replied.
A scowl crossed Meeka’s face, just for a moment, before it disappeared as though it had never been there. “Bringing her up again? You are lucky I’m not a jealous woman.”
She shook her head. “Tell you what. I don’t care if you have your fling with the little elf. What I do care about, is that you agree to give yourself to me. I can wait until you are ready, but I want your word on it. And surely, you must know I’ve never had to beg a man, let alone a slave, for anything in my life,” Meeka said.
Kyle thought about it for a minute.
Would it really be that bad to promise to spend a night with her? Heck, she wasn’t even technically asking for a whole night, but rather a simple, passionate, assignation. Hilde was always pushing him to bring more girls into his bed, if they could be useful in some way. Certainly, the head of a powerful noble house had to be useful. He wasn’t even committing to a time frame.
“Sure, I will agree to that—as long as you let Nyda come around more often—and we have an understanding that you will free me when the time is right. Just like I will be with you, when the time is right.”
“Pfsh, I don’t care about the little laws about slavery. As far as I’m concerned, a man is defined by his actions, not by what people call him. That is how I have always lived my life.” She tilted her head to the side. “I thought you were the kind of man who would appreciate that. We likely have far more in common than you think. And I’m sure you will enjoy this more than you realize.”
“We have a deal then?” Kyle asked and without thinking about it, held out his hand.
Meeka looked at his hand for a second and then understanding seemed to dawn on her. She reached out her much smaller hand to grasp his. When she did so, he felt a small but sharp pain. He pulled his hand back and noticed there was a small cut across the center of his palm. His enhanced healing was already closing it up, but he looked at Meeka and lifted an eyebrow, as though to ask what gives.
She held up her hand and her mouth was agape. “Oh, I’m so sorry. Did I cut you with my nail?”
She held up her hand and he realized that she’d had her nails done. They were rather long, and all looked quite sharp. He hadn’t noticed that before, but then again, he had been distracted by her more tangible assets to spend much time checking out her fingernails.
There was a small drop of blood on one of the nails that she brought up to her mouth.
“We wouldn’t want to stain the carpet,” she said as she not so subtly sucked the drop of blood off of her fingertip. “Now, we have a deal.”
Kyle was struck with the feeling all over again that he was completely missing something. It was just as bad as when the assassins had attacked. He felt like he’d just played a ball game and lost, but couldn’t figure out what the score was.
To cover up this awkward feeling, he said, “Um, unless there is something else, I really should go and get ready for the dungeon. That sounds like too good of an opportunity to be late for.”
“Oh, trust me, there are other, better opportunities you’re missing out on.” Her grin was positively wicked. “But sometimes, anticipation is a pleasure all its own. I will make sure your little elf is assigned to duties at your training center. Do be a good boy though and put her to good use… consider it practice fo
r the main event.”
After that, Lady Meeka turned and walked back around the desk. It was clear, even as she sat down, that he was being dismissed. She didn’t even look up as he exited, having already started digging into a pile of paperwork.
Chapter 13 - Invisible Battles
The dungeon ended up being almost six hours outside the city. Based upon their need to be back for the challenge team matches, Kyle figured they would scout the entry to the dungeon tonight and then hit it tomorrow. They would only really have one day to handle as much of the dungeon as possible. Depending on how large it was, that might put them in a bind, or it might be nothing at all.
This was vastly different from going into a dungeon in a game though, since this was a matter of life and death. Kyle realized that for all the excitement he had about what he perceived to be a gaming element, he really didn’t have any idea what to expect. Somehow though, that brought a rush of exhilaration.
It was the desire to test himself against a new challenge.
Lady Meeka had sent a hundred guards and eight mages, including two healers, with the gladiators. Kyle wondered if this was a response to his turning her down, even if he had finally agreed to a deal. As he thought about it, though, it only made sense. Baseball teams had huge numbers of support staff to take care of the ball players. The ball players were the assets and the owners had huge investments in them, so owners didn’t want to risk that investment.
Kyle and this team represented a similar investment for House Avarda, not just in financial terms but also in honor. They would lose a great deal of face with the other noble houses if this team fell flat on their faces, let alone if they ran away. They’d even sent along an additional ten slaves to make sure they had fresh food and camp was properly maintained.
Best of all, Nyda was one of those slaves.
Lash must have been very persuasive to get Lady Meeka to allow them to risk themselves in a dungeon. Still, he was glad for it. He felt better once they’d gotten outside the city. It was strange, but the air seemed cleaner in some way. There was an extra spring in his step out here and the closer they got to the dungeon, the better he felt. In fact, once they were within a couple hours of it, he could sense where the dungeon was without having to be told. It was like some invisible hook reeling him in.
He would have to ask Hilde about it later, but for now she was hidden behind a veil of fire and air that turned both light and sound away from her, so she might have been standing next to him, but unless a person bumped into her, they would never know she was there. Well, that and maybe if they were a mage of sufficient skill. Then, they might detect the distortions in the essence, but since most of the effect was done with raw essence, mortal casters would be less likely to notice it.
They were finally setting up camp and he had pulled the tent out of his storage ring. He was already in love with this item. He wasn’t able to set up the over-sized tent on his own, but he had Nyda there to help him. He was happy to talk to her again and, after some initial awkwardness, they began talking like the friends that they had become when she was giving him language lessons.
Kyle could tell that there was something bugging her, but he tried to ignore it for now and keep the conversation light. Just like he was ignoring the glaring looks that Kierra was giving the little elf. It seems he was correct about her new take on him, but it was just another obstacle. Women always seemed to complicate his life.
“Have they been treating you well?” Kyle asked after Nyda told him about the duties she had been performing at the estate.
“Well, it isn’t as good as being free, but if I have to be a slave, it is much nicer to be out working in the vineyards than it is to be cooped up inside the house. Certainly better than what House Sorengaard had planned for me,” Nyda responded.
“Yeah, that would have been a bad deal,” Kyle agreed. The Sorengaard family who had owned Nyda after her capture, had intended to use her as a reward for their fighters who performed well.
She seemed startled by his response. “Oh! I didn’t mean to imply I would have been unwilling to perform for you.”
Kyle softly tapped the side of his head with two fingers of his hand as he said, “We already talked about that, didn’t we? I don’t want you to come to me out of some sense of obligation. That isn’t how my people work—or more importantly, how I work.”
“What?!” She stomped a foot. “I guess the beliefs of my people don’t matter, then?” she demanded.
Kyle loved how she could be meek one moment, but then show the fire that burned within her the next. It was one of those subtle things that he had come to appreciate about her. And but one of the reasons that she was so desirable to him.
“No, that is hardly fair,” he replied. “How am I supposed to prioritize between the differing customs of two different peoples? In my country, if I were to accept what you are offering, I would be taking advantage of you.”
“And amongst my people, we believe that you are abandoning me to fret here alone with this great weight upon my soul. I need to balance those scales before I stand before Lige in the afterlife, or else I will be found unworthy and condemned to eternity in Dod’s cruel hells. You tell me, then… which of these is more important?” Nyda actually sounded a bit angry this time.
Kyle could only shake his head.
He had just gotten a lecture from a drop-dead gorgeous elf about how not letting her give her body to him was going to condemn her soul to eternal torment. It was almost comical, considering the many times his grandmother had lectured him about the other side of the same coin—about balancing what she called ‘the momentary pleasures of sin’ against the state of his immortal soul.
The funny thing was that he couldn’t write it off now as though he didn’t believe in God or gods. He had learned in Verden that there was more to life than what he had expected. Who was he to say there was no afterlife? It definitely required a bit more thought.
“I have to believe there is a way to balance the scales without what you are suggesting. And, before you get upset with me, it isn’t that I’m not interested in you, it is that I want us to be together because you want me—not just because you need to get right with karma. Just give me a little time to figure this out,” Kyle replied.
Nyda stood, fists clenched at her sides, hiding her face behind the maroon veil of her hair.
“Thanks for helping me set up the tent though. And I’m really glad that you are at least safe and well taken care of. I promise that when I leave, I will take you with me. That is if you want to come,” Kyle added.
“And then I will owe you even more,” Nyda snapped as she threw the essence light she had been setting up on the ground and stomped out of the tent.
All Kyle could do was shake his head.
He had been so glad to see Nyda and, at first, she had seemed to be happy to see him. It soon became apparent though, that everything he said was putting her on edge. It was something he was familiar with, unfortunately. Sometimes, when a girl really liked him and even, he really liked her, but his drive to win kept him from giving her the time she wanted, things ended up like this. It often got to the point that, no matter what he said, it was the wrong thing.
As she stormed out of the tent, Kyle grinned. At least she wasn’t trying to get him to accept her ideas about how she could repay what she called her ‘life debt’. Looking around, he saw that he had enough open space, so he simply waved his hand. Out of his storage ring came the king size bed—complete with sheets, pillows, and thick bedspreads.
Hopefully, Hilde would like it as much as he did. Not that he had much time to think about it. Soon, Lash was calling out to all of them.
“Gather round team. We need to get moving.”
Kyle and the others came out to where Lash stood with two other men. One was the head of the guards tasked with ensuring their safety and their return. The other was the head of the mages.
When they’d assembled,
Lash continued. “Our team will be going in to scout out the first part of the…”
The guard captain next to her suddenly spoke over her. “Not so fast. These slaves are under my authority. I have to make sure they don’t escape, so I will have my men check inside first.”
Lash turned on him. “Don’t you mean that it is your responsibility to make sure they get back safely? Trust me, though, if there are monsters inside this dungeon, you’ll want them going in first. Your men would only be so much fodder to monsters.”
The guard captain laughed. It was an ugly little bark. With a sneer, he said, “That’s what's wrong with your kind. You gladiators, with your flashy little costumes and fights. You’re worse than adventurers. Real fighting is a soldier’s business.”
