"We were an advanced race. We were exploring the universe and meeting a few of the races among the stars. That is what separated out people initially. Some did not believe we should put our resources towards such endeavors."
"And before the civil war did you have other wars among yourselves?" Giselle inquired trying to compare them to the experiences of Earth.
"No" Dagaa shook his head. "We were a united people and had been for countless millennium."
"Ah okay. So my people were not so. We had only begun to travel in space, having only visited our moon and sent unmanned probes to other close planets. We did not have much of your more advanced technology. However from day to day we use more technology, for small things. Where you cook and heat with fire, we use machines for example."
"Yes, from what I understand we were once that way too. In the last few centuries many resources have gone towards the war effort. We've only held onto the things we desperately needed like ships and comms. The war has taken much from us." Kagan waved his hand about.
"When I first arrived, I thought you were some odd mash up of some ancient and futuristic race. This explains it. War does this, stripping a people of everything." Giselle nodded in understanding. "My people however are sadly accustomed to war. Even now I imagine numerous portions of my planet are squabbling. Where your people knew peace for thousands of years before your civil war, we fought. Over thousands of years we have learned many tactics."
Giselle never considered herself a warrior and yet she apparently came from a race of people that had battle each other for so long that it had become entrenched into her make-up somehow.
"How much do you know about these methods?" Kagan asked in interest.
"Well I have never led anyone into battle if that's what you are asking." Giselle laughed. "I studied history which I guess pathetically enough was more a history of conquest." Giselle felt disgusted as she thought of how much the history books concentrated on the dates and names of those who subjugated other races. She'd never really thought of it like that till now. "Your methods, the way you position your men in battle, is much like we did in the old days. You tend to form densely packed lines on a narrow front. It allows for easy decimation of the front line."
"Warriors meet head on till one attains victory. It is the honorable way to do battle. Only a coward strikes an opponent in the back." Dagaa stated.
"Yes I agree to a certain extent. But you cannot look at waging war on a grand scale the same as you would an honorable fight between two warriors." Giselle tried to explain.
"We will not be dishonorable as Vigdis was." Dagaa countered vehemently.
"War is not honorable. It is by its nature the very opposite. I am not saying kill the innocent. I am saying you must learn to attack his armies in more ways than just going in head on and duking it out. The goal is to finish this right?" Giselle tapped her fingers. This was hard, she wasn't a general. "You must use strengths and weaknesses to your advantage. Vigdis tried to make you weak with his attack to bring you to where he was strong."
"Yes I can see that now." Kagan took Giselle's hand and brought her fingers to his lips.
"We had a man in our ancient times, a scholar in the art of war. I was studying him when I was taken from my home." Giselle replied as she stroked Kagan's stubbled cheek. "His methods were even used in business and trade as means to approach an adversary."
Kagan and Dagaa looked intrigued.
"For example there is no honor in crushing Vigdis' army when severing the head will do. You remove his people's support and you will have your victory. The best offense is foiling Vigdis before the battle even begins and lives are inevitably lost."
"Yes but how?" Kagan shook his head. "This is the problem Vigdis is constantly surrounded by an army of his men and his people are too afraid to go against him."
Giselle understood that. Vigdis has killed a village of his own people without blinking an eye, of course they were afraid.
"I don't know. I don't have all the answers. I just know that going to meet him in battle as things stand will end in a Pyrrhic victory at best." Both warriors tilted their heads in confusion. "It means you may win but the amount of loss is tantamount to defeat."
"This is why we are going instead to Nazario." Kagan stated.
Giselle breathed a sigh of relief. The worry that Kagan would get himself foolishly killed had been gnawing at her.
"Little warrior we leave tonight for the city. As we travel, you can tell me more of this scholar's teachings and the knowledge your people have gleaned over the centuries."
Giselle nodded as Kagan and Dagaa made preparations to head to the decimated city.
She hadn't expected to have the discussion they just had. She recalled that Kagan had wanted to discuss something more personal with her till this nasty business got in the way. Giselle needed to understand where she stood in Kagan's society. She felt like she was in some sort of limbo. Kagan and even Dagaa seemed to value her opinion, and she was an equal behind closed doors, but in open company it was different. She had to walk on eggshells for fear of bringing shame on Kagan. That sucked hard.
More importantly Giselle wished she knew what she was to Kagan. She wanted to be more than a beloved pet that he fucked in the privacy of their tent and gave more leeway than others believed prudent. She wanted something more. Giselle may have lost faith in ever going home, but she had held on to the aspiration that she might somehow find a special connection with a kindred spirit. She felt such great potential in the spark that blazed between Kagan and herself. There was a thread of hope that she let bloom inside telling her she wasn't the only one to feel that way.
Kagan quo Rordan
Kagan felt awful leaving Sabin behind with the soldiers camped along the border. Despite his guarantee they would send for him in a few days the child was distraught at being abandoned. Kagan just couldn't bring himself to let the boy witness what they were marching into, not after what had happened in Sabin's village.
Giselle's eyes had watered as she hugged the boy practically breaking him. Kagan would've considered leaving Giselle to tend for the boy but he trusted no one but himself and Dagaa to treat Giselle kindly, and they both were making this trip.
"So tell me more about this scholar who wrote about war." Kagan asked after they had ridden in silence for a bit, the sun drifting low on the horizon.
"I do not recall verbatim but there are some key things I have gleaned. As the commander you must consider several things before going into battle; is it right morally, is the timing right, what is the disposition of the battlefield who are your leaders and how do they lead the men." Giselle replied as she sat in front of Kagan on his manx.
"Very logical." He replied considering the basic points.
"I think so and I don't doubt that you do these things. I think though that breaking the reasoning down and defining its parts is much like training with a sword. You must understand it fully and practice doing it so that in the heat of the moment it is second nature."
"Well then let us assess the situation. The Vidya Cadi bagan battling the Scelus Cadi over isolationism and use of resources. Scelus Cadi possess many of those resources and chose to break away rather than follow my ancestor who believed we couldn't seclude ourselves to this small section of the universe."
"No, it seems other species have found you anyway."
"Yes and now we have become dependent on their goods as we fight our civil war. The Scelus Cadi are putting themselves in the very position they abhorred." Kagan explained.
"The war puts you all at greater risk from people like the Jurou Biljana who care only for profit. They sold Vigdis that awful weapon and couldn't care less of the repercussions on the Cadi."
Kagan nodded in agreement.
"You have fought a long and protracted war. It has weakened your people putting the whole of the planet in jeopardy." Giselle continued. "Whose to say when you have no more profit for their products and slaves that the Jurou Biljan
a won't start harvesting your people to sell elsewhere."
Kagan's arms tightened around Giselle. She was right. They were at grave risk, not just from the enemy they knew but the ones they wouldn't even see coming till it was too late.
"This must come to an end all of it, not just this one battle but the war as a whole. What was once a disagreement has morphed into something else entirely. Where Vigdis ancestors had honor and reason Vigdis quo Carnager is a power hungry tyrant." Kagan shook his head in disgust.
"Then that is what you must use against him. You know your enemy well. That is an advantage a strength. Vigdis was swayed by anger, lost control and lost his men the other day. I am certain his people must be sick to the breaking point of his cruel rule. They probably only need a gentle nudge to be swayed to see reason." Giselle spoke as she snuggled back into Kagan.
"Do not fight to beat Vigdis fight to win his people." Kagan summarized.
It was a sound concept. There was no real tangible reason that the Vidya Cadi and the Scelus Cadi fought each other anymore. Kagan reasoned. Was it possible to bring the people together to finish this?
What's more were his own people just as sick of fighting that perhaps they viewed him in a similar fashion. Granted Kagan was not cruel or dishonorable in battle, but he waged war none the less. Could he really hold himself up to a higher standard? He would be just as culpable if some cruel opportunistic species like the Jurou Biljana came knocking on their door.
Kagan lifted Giselle up and shifted her to face him. Her legs wrapped around his waist as she put her long arms around his neck. Kagan looked into her large blue eyes as he rubbed her back.
"How did I get so lucky to come across such a treasure?" Kagan asked squeezing her close.
"If I recall you stole me in the dead of night." Giselle looked up at him through shuttered lashes.
"Who knew such a foolish venture would reap such rewards." Kagan smiled.
Giselle reached down between them and stroked the flesh of his stomach before venturing lower.
"What are you doing?" Kagan practically choked as he became erect in her grasp.
"I want you." Giselle whispered.
Kagan looked at the warriors riding not more than ten feet away on either side of him. He looked down noting Giselle was mostly hidden by the cloak he'd wrapped around them to keep her warm. The men saw nothing but her head resting against his chest, but still Kagan felt they were completely exposed.
Kagan gritted his jaw as Giselle stroked and rubbed him till he was rock hard in her hands. She took a swipe of the seed that leaked from his shaft and brought it up to her lips. Kagan watched in shock and awe as Giselle trailed the moisture across her lips then followed it with her tongue.
Kagan repressed a growl he didn't realize had escaped till a warrior nearby glanced at them. Giselle the troublemaker yawned and snuggled into him as if she were sleepy, yet the entire time beneath the cape she teased him. Giselle rubbed her wet cleft against the base of his cock as her little fingers tormented his crown.
Kagan looked from warrior to warrior and seeing that none were paying attention in the waning light he gripped Giselle's behind and speared her with his shaft.
Giselle bit into his pectoral muscles to repress her cry. The pain was a glorious contrast to the glorious writhing wet channel that gloved his manhood. Kagan had to cough just to cover the moan they both made. Kagan couldn't thrust into her tight welcoming body, not while surrounded by his men. The motion and sounds would betray their wanton act.
"I'm going to let Idris go for a bit since it's open terrain." Kagan said to his fellow warriors then goaded his manx to go faster.
He instantly felt how the change in gait bounced Giselle against him shoving her stretched cleft further onto his shaft. Giselle's blunt little teeth bit harder only to release on a gasp. With each bound Kagan felt the head of his shaft shove at the mouth of her womb. It made Giselle quiver in his arms.
It felt wonderful and yet he wanted to explore all the possibilities the moment presented. Kagan leaned forward impaling Giselle deep as he encouraged Idris to run. The fluid motion caused him to rub along the entire length of her slick writhing channel instead of the rapid barrage at a slower pace. Both were amazing yet different sensations. Giselle was panting as quietly as she could manage her face pressed against his chest.
"Perhaps we will stay this way till we reach Nazario." Kagan husked into Giselle's ear.
He more than enjoyed being enveloped by Giselle, she was as vital as breath or water. Maybe it was the conjugo mark that had done this as it had so many warriors before him. All Kagan knew is that he wanted the moment to go on for as long as possible because what waited for him at the end of this ride was nothing but heartbreak.
Giselle
"He's killing me." Giselle thought as Kagan rode with her impaled on his cock.
The way the manx shifted strides changed their position causing Kagan to abrade against her in a new and exciting way. As the striped beast ran the giant warrior sensually stroked in and out of her, his pelvis rocking into her clit. Then just as she was close to climax the devil would make the manx slow to a maddening walk where he held her impossibly still. Giselle wanted to wiggle and rub against Kagan for relief as she panted in need.
Kagan let her cool down and come back from the cliff of ecstasy only to do it all over again. Giselle bounced on his cock rough and hard. She was so damn close.
"Don't you dare!" She snarled as she felt Kagan attempt to slow down again.
Giselle bit into Kagan's pec as she ground against him seeking sweet release. She tightened her pelvic muscles gripping the steely invader that brought her such pleasure. Kagan gave in. His hips curled impaling her deep with each jostling stride till Giselle stiffened up and came with the force of a bomb detonating. Her teeth sunk into Kagan's chest as she repressed her cry of ecstasy. Kagan grunted as his seed spurt into her quaking channel.
Giselle awoke to the sounds of lamenting. She poked her head up from where it rested against Kagan's chest beneath the cape. What greeted her was a devastating sight. A score of men had surrounded Kagan, along with twice as many women and children, all expressing their gratitude and their woe.
Atop the manx Giselle had a good view of the field. The fog was lifting as the sun rose. A staggering number of bodies were lined up outside a looming city wall. Row upon row of dead were laid out. Another wagon full had arrived just as they approached.
Giselle stared in horror. She looked up at Kagan to see he too was looking on the sight with revulsion and anger. The muscle in his jaw was so tense she worried he'd break a tooth.
The warriors of the city had halted their grim work to greet Kagan and his warriors. Words were exchanged but Giselle was too struck by what she saw, she couldn't quite focus. Giselle looked at the women. They looked much like the men but more graceful and far more expressive. Their gentle faces were awash with a mix of devastation, gratitude and exhaustion. Giselle noted they too were assisting as best they could. But that left the women with the saddest task, moving the poor lost children. She couldn't fathom moving sleeping angel after sleeping angel.
Giselle choked on a sob and Kagan rubbed her back as she gripped him tighter. It wasn't right that so many little ones, like Sabin, were cut down so senselessly. Giselle stared numbly noting the sheer mass of Toufik bodies that also accounted for the dead. For every man woman or child alive there appeared to be fifty dead.
Giselle only realized Kagan had dismounted with her as her feet touched the ground. Kagan caught her before she stumbled. A male who looked tired to the point of collapse approached Kagan.
"Grainne" Kagan placed his fist against his chest and bowed.
"Daimio Thank you for coming." Grainne choked out. "Jolana my mate will see to your needs. You must have ridden through the night."
"And Grainne it is plain to see that you have worked through the night. You and I will discuss what lays before us as the army helps tend to our kinsmen. We will s
et up shifts and everyone will get some much needed rest." Kagan told the harried male.
Grainne sighed looking like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.
Dagaa didn't need to be told what to do he already had the men paired up with the survivors to continue with the arduous task of emptying the city of its unfortunate occupants.
"Jolana can see to your pet." Grainne suggested and Giselle looked from Grainne to his mate. They looked similar, then again all the Cadi had black hair, dark eyes and red skin.
"Her name is Giselle." Kagan replied.
Giselle tapped on his arm and he leaned into her.
"I can help with the children." Giselle said as she noted the sad task. She could bear part of that burden.
"Are you sure?" Kagan asked looking concerned.
Giselle nodded.
"Giselle would like to help. Find me if you need anything." Kagan said to Giselle and Jolana before departing.
Giselle looked to the tall lithe female. Jolana looked back at her with mixed emotions. On one hand she seemed surprised as all Cadi that Giselle spoke and was permitted to be clothed. That expression was mixed with an assessing glance that was attempting to categorize what kind of creature Giselle was. But what overwhelmed all of it was sadness and exhaustion.
"Jolana I may be small and strange to you but I am stronger and smarter than I look. How may I assist you?"
Jolana's eyes widened. "We are preparing the little ones to meet Kali." The woman choked out.
Giselle followed her to a wagon where one of Kagan's warriors had taken over unloading the dead. Jolana attempted to take the form of a small child but was halted by another warrior from the army.
"No disrespect Marita but we will lay the little ones out, I can see you are tired. If you and the other females will assist the monk in preparing them."
The Warrior's Pet (Cadi Warriors Book 1) Page 14
