by Sharon Green
"The rest of you are rejoicing because you don't know any better," Arbon returned, bleakness staring out of his eyes. "Achieving a Blending ought to be the greatest day in a man or woman's life, not something you've been forced into to feed a madwoman's insanity. You have those other three under such tight control that they don't have any idea how much you've stolen from us, but I do."
"Why do you always have to see everything in such a negative light?" Honrita demanded, suddenly very annoyed. "Our Blendingmates there might have never had the chance to experience this marvel if not for me, and there's no guarantee you would have found four other people to accept you either. Why can't you see this as the opportunity you might otherwise have missed?"
"Well, for one thing there's your mention of four other people," Arbon said, his tone unrelenting. "You keep ignoring the point, but a proper Blending has six people in it, not five. And how do you expect to take over an entire High Blending when their Sight magic user will probably See the danger and get at least him or herself out of harm's way?"
"I love it when you criticize my plan," Honrita said with an honest laugh. "That tells me you really believe that it will work, and what you're trying to do is talk me out of putting the plan into motion. But you're wasting your time, you know. We'll be getting started first thing tomorrow."
"Do you mean we've reached the time when we get to strengthen our bond?" Kadri asked, eagerness clear in her dark eyes. "I've really been looking forward to this, but I was beginning to believe it would never happen."
"It had to wait for the proper time," Honrita told her, ignoring her own faint feelings of nervousness. "Now that we've Blended for the second time, we can get on to strengthening the bond. And since you've been looking forward to the time so eagerly, Kadri, you can be the one to go first."
"Do I also get to choose who I go first with?" Kadri asked, the archness she'd obviously been trying for coming across more ludicrous than sensual. "I really would like the choice, Honrita."
"Now, Kadri, you know there isn't supposed to be any kind of favoritism in a Blending," Honrita chided with a gentle smile. "These are our brothers, after all, and we'll be sharing ourselves with both of them. I've written Stelk and Arbon's names on these slips of paper, so you and Seeli get to choose one of the slips each. Then, afterward, you'll switch partners."
"But what about you?" Kadri protested, sincerely concerned with cooperation now that Honrita had taken a tighter grip on her mind. "Your bond needs to be strengthened the same way ours does."
"Yes, dear, but someone has to wait so it might as well be me," Honrita said with the same gentle smile. "You and Seeli have worked hard for this, and I really don't mind waiting."
"Let me translate that for you," Arbon said to Kadri just as the heavy woman's face took on a look of adoration. "Our great and generous leader over there is afraid to lie with a man, so she's going to use you and your skinny friend as sacrifices. If you two come through the experience without having hysterics, she might manage to get her courage up and try the same."
"Don't be silly, Arbon," Kadri answered with a small laugh while Honrita fought with a stab of hatred for the horrid man. "She knows as well as we do that our Blending won't be as strong as possible if we don't strengthen our bonds, so of course she'll do the same. She is the one who most wants us to succeed, after all."
"I'm willing to put silver on the very strong possibility that your idol will suddenly decide that we're strong enough without her having to strengthen bonds," Arbon said with a vicious sneer in Honrita's direction. "Is there anyone foolish enough to bet against me?"
Stelk, Kadri, and Seeli moved uncomfortably in their chairs as they exchanged glances, but none of them said anything. Honrita was so furiously embarrassed that she was about to scream at Arbon, when the truth forced its way through to her. Arbon was filled with more anxiety than contempt, which meant that his comments were supposed to have infuriated Honrita. Arbon was still trying to ruin her plans, and his own plan had nearly worked.
But "almost" is simply another word for failure, Honrita realized as she calmed herself. The man didn't want their Blending strengthened, but he wasn't the one in charge. Honrita was in charge, and it was about time she proved that to him again.
So rather than speaking, Honrita reached out to Arbon Vand. Once she had the proper hold on him, she rose from her chair, walked over to him, and bent close to his ear.
"Isn't Kadri an incredibly beautiful woman, Arbon?" she murmured to the man who wasn't being allowed to resist her suggestions in any way. "Her face is flawlessly lovely, and her body is the sort of slender delight that's you've dreamed about for years. And she's just said that she's willing to lie with you! Isn't that what you've been waiting to hear?"
"Yes, yes it is," Arbon answered hoarsely, his breath beginning to come more heavily. "I've been waiting forever to give you my love, Kadri. Come with me now to my bedchamber!"
Kadri looked surprised as she glanced at Honrita for permission, which a smiling Honrita quickly gave her with a nod. Honrita had meant to use the slips of paper to see which of the women would lie with the more attractive Arbon first, but that procedure had now become unnecessary. The Fire magic user disliked Kadri more than he did Seeli, so it would be Kadri he sported with first.
Honrita let Arbon get to his feet and offer his hand to Kadri, who took the hand and stood before following the man out of the sitting room. Honrita paused a moment to make sure that Stelk and Seeli would wait quietly and patiently while she was gone, and then she followed Arbon and Kadri to his bedchamber.
Arbon's desire was easily fanned and inflamed by Honrita's talent, and by the time he and Kadri reached his bedchamber the man was actually panting. He led Kadri inside and would have closed and locked the door, but Honrita intervened to make him forget his intention. She had to see what would go on between the two, and no one would know about her watching unless she chose to tell them.
The man pulled Kadri close and kissed her, but the kiss didn't last very long. The two stood close to Arbon's bed, so Honrita moved quietly to a chair not far away and sat. By that time Arbon was already helping Kadri out of her clothes, and the heavy woman was making small sounds as if she were in some sort of pain. But the way she tore at her clothing said it wasn't really pain that she felt, and Honrita was able to confirm that in her mind. There was something else, something Honrita didn't understand, but she fully meant to understand.
Once Kadri stood completely unclothed, Arbon removed his own clothing. During his disrobing Arbon had urged Kadri down onto the bed, so when he was completely bare he moved quickly to the bed and knelt across the heavy woman. The sight of his inflamed manhood had caused Honrita to gasp softly, but taking her gaze away from the pair seemed totally beyond her. There was a terribly compelling quality to what was being done…
Kadri had been whimpering where she lay on her back on the bed, and the sounds strengthened when Arbon finally came to her. The man spent a brief moment kissing Kadri again, but the frenzy in his mind made it impossible for him to hold off for any significant amount of time. He ended the kiss, put himself between Kadri's legs, and then positioned his manhood directly in a line with Kadri's womanhood.
Honrita had no true idea of what the procedure entailed, but when Arbon thrust himself inside Kadri so hard that the Earth magic user cried out, Honrita was appalled. There had been actual pain for Kadri, and now Kadri made sounds of distress under the kiss Arbon had begun as his hips moved hard and fast. Arbon's mind was lost to physical delight, but Kadri was extremely distraught with what was being done to her.
Honrita found herself abruptly on her feet and on her way out of the bedchamber. The emotions in the room were far too intense for her to cope with, most especially since her own emotions were nothing but a jangled jumble. Kadri had wanted to lie with men, but when the dream became a reality Kadri had wanted it to stop. If Honrita hadn't had the woman under such tight control, Kadri would probably have used her Earth magic to
cause harm to Arbon…
It took a moment for Honrita to realize that she was back in the sitting room. Stelk and Seeli continued to sit where she'd left them, aware of nothing but Honrita's command that they wait. Honrita returned to her own chair and fought to calm herself, an effort more easily decided on than done. The struggle took a number of minutes, but once it was over Honrita discovered that certain decisions had also been made.
To begin with, there would be no other attempts to strengthen their Blending. On the few occasions Honrita had thought about physical love, she had pictured it as something wonderful that brought great pleasure to those who indulged. What Kadri had felt had not been wonderful, however, even though Kadri had been openly looking forward to the experience. What the same experience would be like for someone - like Seeli - who faced the idea with trepidation was too terrible to be considered.
So there would be no more of that sort of thing to dismay the members of Honrita's Blending. She shifted in her chair as she wondered if she should have interrupted Kadri's suffering, even though the damage had already been done. But Kadri had been very insistent about wanting the experience, so the woman deserved to reap the fruits of her error. From now on, Kadri would know better than to insist on something Honrita was uncertain about.
But at the same time, Honrita knew that Arbon had to be made to believe that he'd lain with all three of the women. Anything less and the man would become even more insufferable, an outcome Honrita refused to consider. No, Arbon had to believe an untruth, but that would hardly be difficult for Honrita to arrange. As he'd already had his way with Kadri, allowing him two more encounters with her while thinking he had different women would see to the matter.
Honrita smiled as she realized that her problem was solved. Today would be used to quiet Arbon's endless objections, and tomorrow they would find and take over the first member of their puppet Blending. After that it would hardly matter what Arbon thought. As soon as Honrita was in full control of her puppets, she would look around for a more … manageable Fire magic user…
Issini Randos looked around at her Blendingmates and wondered if they were as nervous as she felt. Their entity had apparently put some sort of "net" around each of them, but they didn't yet know if the net would work the way they wanted it to. Rather than simply assume that they would have no trouble, they were now about to test the matter.
"All right, here we are, walking into the palace," Driff said as the six of them actually walked through the warehouse. "We have no idea that a hostile Blending is waiting to ambush us one at a time, and even if we did we would hardly know which of us would be chosen first. Whatever happens is going to be a complete surprise - "
Driff had been talking to distract them all, and the distraction had worked. Suddenly it was no longer Issini but the entity who stood - hovered - in the warehouse, facing another entity that had obviously touched one of its flesh forms.
This entity is well aware of your presence, the entity containing Issini and the others said to the other. Your flesh forms seem well hidden, therefore must this entity search for them. There is a bit of data… Ah, yes, now the memory returns. The trail of dust…
The entity almost smiled to itself at the use of the phrase "trail of dust." Actual dust had very little to do with the matter, nothing beyond a faint similarity to the true state of affairs. All Blending entities were … tied to their flesh forms, in a manner of speaking, the faint connection perceived as a line composed of what resembled dust motes. The connection was so visually faint that it needed to be consciously considered in order to be found.
Therefore the entity consciously searched for the trail, finding it after no more than a moment's questing. It took only another moment before the second entity's flesh forms were discovered sitting behind a distant stack of crates, and then the entity was gone and Issini was back.
"That wasn't hard at all," Edmin said with surprise in his voice. "First how quickly we Blended, and then how fast we found the other Blending's bodies. No one ever mentioned how easily that could be done."
"The lack of comments could be because no one ever tried this before," Kail pointed out, his own voice sounding pleased in the dimness of the warehouse. "And did anyone else notice that we had no trouble seeing in all this gloom?"
"Why should we have had trouble?" Driff asked, also sounding pleased. "Our entity doesn't use eyesight, after all. And now that we know our plan will work, we have to get ready to go to the palace as soon as our … sentries send the word."
"A distant watch with Blending entities," Idresia said, and Issini could see her shake her head. "They'll be able to see any other entities close to the palace, and as soon as they spot one we'll be sent for. How will we know that it's the enemy they'll find, and why can't they take over the entity as soon as it shows itself?"
"Har, that's an easy question to answer," Issini said to Idresia. "Those are Middle Blendings doing the watching, not Highs. If they turn out not to have enough strength to best the enemy entity, the enemy will be warned instead of caught. And even besides that, what will we charge them with? Hovering near the palace isn't anything like a crime."
"Okay, so Arbon and I will finally find out which of us is stronger," Idresia conceded with a sigh. "It's just that he's a decent person, and became something of a friend. I really hate the idea of hurting a friend."
"But you're not going to be hurting him, you'll be helping him," Edmin pointed out as he moved to her side to put an arm around her shoulders. "We agreed that he can't be doing this voluntarily, so in effect he's been enslaved. If you were in his place, wouldn't you want to be freed even if it took pain to free you?"
"Yes, I would, so you're absolutely right," Idresia agreed, now sounding startled. "I hadn't looked at the problem like that, but now I can see it. Thanks for helping out, Edmin."
"My pleasure," Edmin returned, patting her shoulder before reclaiming his arm. At one time Issini would have felt a pang of jealousy seeing Edmin being so attentive to another woman, especially since she knew just how attractive Edmin found Idresia. But ever since they'd become a Blending, Issini knew for a fact that Edmin found her just as attractive as he found Idresia - and Asri. And Issini had to admit that her feelings for Edmin had spread to include Driff and Kail. It was amazing what Blending was able to do to ordinary emotions…
"Let's thank the other Blending and then go back to the kitchen and have a meal," Driff suggested as he also put a gentle hand to Idresia's arm. "We don't know when we'll be called, so we ought to be ready."
That was the best thing they could do, so they walked to where the members of the other Blending stood brushing the dust and dirt from their clothing. Now that it was too late, Issini realized they should have offered the other Blending members chairs or at least blankets to sit on. But the Blending members didn't seem to mind that they'd gotten dirty while helping out. They knew that they would not be the ones who had to face the enemy Blending, and their relief over that fact outweighed a bit of discomfort.
They took the other Blending members to the kitchen with them for drinks, and afterward Issini helped to make a meal for just their six. The other Blending members had gone home for their own meal, and had had no need of being reminded to stay away from the palace. The word had been passed to every Blending, Middle and Low, that was in the city: stay away from the palace until word comes that it's all right to go back.
The rest of the day dragged on, but nothing in the way of word came from the Blendings watching the palace. After dinner they started a six-handed card game, but their usual enjoyment of the game was obviously missing. After only a couple of hours it became clear that no one had any interest in continuing, so they separated to go to bed.
Oddly enough, they broke up into their original pairs that night. No one had said a thing, but Edmin came over to Issini and smilingly offered her his hand. She took the hand with her own smile and stood while Asri did the same with Kail, and then they all went to the sleeping quarter
s that had been arranged in the warehouse for them. The house that Driff had originally found for himself and Idresia would have been too small for the six of them, and they'd been looking around for something larger when the problem with the enemy came up.
Issini enjoyed Edmin's lovemaking as much as she always did, but afterward sleep wasn't as easy to find as it normally was. Edmin tossed and turned for a time as well, but eventually Issini drifted off.
The next morning Issini and Edmin walked into the kitchen to find that breakfast was already prepared. That was something of a surprise, and Idresia smiled wryly at them.
"I woke up early and couldn't get back to sleep, so I came out here and made breakfast," she explained. "For a little while I was afraid that the food would get cold, but not anymore."
Idresia's nod caused Issini to turn, and there stood Kail and Asri in the doorway. With Driff already seated at the table, that meant they were all up early.
Breakfast was a fairly quiet affair, with everyone else as sunk in private thoughts as Issini was in her own. They lingered over second and third cups of tea while Issini wondered what they would do to occupy themselves during the long hours of the morning, and suddenly Driff sat up straight.
"Yes, I do understand, and I thank you," Driff said to the empty air. For an instant it was Issini who didn't understand, but then her heart began to race.
"That's right," Driff said as he looked around at the rest of them. "One of the Blendings on guard just told me that there's an entity hovering near the palace. It looks like it's time we got moving."
"Yes, it's them," Asri confirmed, her gaze unfocused. "It's not a false alarm."
They were all on their feet instantly, and Issini couldn't keep from smiling her relief. No matter what happened during the confrontation, at least the waiting was over.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Vallant finished the meal that Rion had prepared, and sat back to digest it in comfort. The others were also finished eating, and Lorand gazed at Rion thoughtfully.
