by Maya Nicole
"Move." Raphael pushed some guards out of the way and fell to his knees next to us.
With no other words, he ripped open Kage's shirt, revealing a back marred with scrapes and gouges from the birds, but also long lines of silvery scar tissue.
I met Nico's eyes over Raphael's head and then turned my attention back to what Raphael was doing. He moved his hands across Kage's back, his hands glowing.
A hush fell over the forest, as if every creature and demon within a mile radius was waiting. The skin began to knit together.
I nearly fell back onto my ass and Raphael grabbed my hand.
"Where'd they go?" I heard someone ask from behind me, but I was so focused on how my skin seemed to spark and come to life, that I didn't pay the murmurs around me any mind.
The energy flowed into Raphael's hand as he continued to heal Kage, which seemed to be going faster now.
My eyes went to Raphael's face, which was drawn in concentration. His eyes were creased in the corners and seemed to glow almost golden.
He was beautiful.
Raphael let go of me and then stood, those around us starting to talk in hushed whispers. I stared down at Kage's healed back. Not just healed from the aspen wounds, but completely void of scars.
"Nico." I met his eyes which held a look of wonder and fear.
Kage groaned and moved to get up. Nico and I gripped his arms and pulled him to his feet. He looked around, confused, and then down at the ground where his shirt had slid off. His eyes widened and he started shaking his head, backing away from us.
"Kage, it's okay." I put my hand on his arm. "Calm down." My hand tingled and a faint purple light shimmered across the skin and moved to Kage.
He took a deep breath, his shoulders falling and his eyes returning to normal size.
I pulled my hand back and examined it. What the hell was that?
"Sammy, I need your help over here," Raphael called from near a tree.
I turned and found Val and Amari staring at me, their hands entwined. Val's mouth was twisted and his face was pale. They both had already healed from whatever wounds they had, the small splatters of blood on their arms the only signs they had been pecked.
I fucking hated black aspens.
I jogged to where Raphael knelt next to a guard that had his hand over his eyes. Bile rose in my throat as Raphael urged him to remove his hands.
"Breathe, Sammy." He put his hands over the man's empty eye sockets. "Put your hands over mine."
I cringed, but did as he asked. I felt the pull of the power that now had a home inside me. Raphael's hands went blindingly white in a flash and then went back to normal.
"Jesus Christ," he muttered, pulling his hands away.
My jaw dropped at the fresh pair of eyeballs staring back at us, shock written across the man's face. He lifted his bloody hands to feel them through his eyelids and then looked between me and Raphael, trying to figure out what had just happened.
I stood and stumbled back. Now I was helping to grow back eyeballs? I rushed away from the group and hurled into a bush. A hand touched my back and rubbed in small circles.
"We need to get moving. This area isn't safe." Val's voice was a soft caress on my frayed nerves. "About thirty minutes ahead is our first stop."
I stood straight and Val held out a water canteen. I took a swig and rinsed my mouth out before taking a long drink. The warm water helped ease the swirling that was still happening in my stomach.
"Everyone just saw what happened."
Val looked away. "It will be fine."
He didn't sound so sure.
Chapter 10
Kage
I could still hear the beating of my heart in my ears as we stepped into the inn of the village. It would be the only ‘friendly’ stop on our way to the village we were headed to.
Nico stepped up to the desk, his shoulders back and his face masked of any emotion. This wasn't his home village, but the predators could smell him a mile away.
Amari flanked his right side and Sammy his left. Together, they were a united front against the weasel at the front desk.
"What can I do for you?" He narrowed his eyes at Nico and leaned back in his chair, propping his feet on the desk.
"We need three rooms, all next to each other."
The weasel snorted and a grin spread across his face. "We reserve the right to refuse service."
Nico's fists clenched, and I looked over to Raphael who was staring off at nothing. Since the bird attack, he had been quiet and distracted by his thoughts.
"You would turn paying customers away?" Sammy put a hand on her hip.
The weasel's beady eyes took in Sammy and then stopped on her breasts. Something stirred inside of me. I wanted to strangle him with my rag.
She cleared her throat and his eyes snapped back to hers. "I only have one room. Take it or leave it."
"We'll take it," Nico growled, stepping forward and sliding some coins across the desk.
"You're one coin short." The weasel smirked.
"I gave you five, which is the price on the sign outside."
"The price is six. You have four extras in the room."
"You scheming mother-"
Amari stepped forward and yanked the weasel halfway across the desk by the collar of his shirt. "I'm feeling a little famished. What do you say we step outside and you help me find a snack." Amari grinned as the weasel began to shake. A thrill shot threw me seeing the weasel put in his place.
His trembling reminded me of how I trembled when I was scared. I even shook ever so slightly now, standing in this new place with new people all around. Not to mention all of us would be sharing a room.
Then there was the whole fact they saw me without my shirt on, which meant they saw my scars. My face flushed at the thought, and I started backing toward the door.
Val grabbed my elbow and shook his head.
He didn't understand. I needed to get out of there before I freaked out.
Trying not to draw attention to myself, I yanked my arm hard and spun toward the door. I could have gone invisible, but was weak after my run-in with the black aspens.
I made it outside and ran along the front porch of the inn and around the corner to the alley where I stopped and put my hands on my knees. I needed to clean so I could regain some of my strength and calm down.
"Are you okay?" I gripped my knees at Val's voice and sucked in air. I shook my head. Clearly he could see I wasn't fine. "What can I do to help?"
When I didn't respond, he leaned against the wall next to me. I continued sucking in air until my heart calmed enough that I could stand up straight.
"When I was younger, I used to have panic attacks." I glanced over at him. He was staring straight ahead at the brick wall in front of us. "I don't know if you know much about vampires, but we start needing to drink blood when we hit puberty, which was when I was eleven."
I shut my eyes and leaned my head back against the side of the inn.
"The first feed is always the worst." His voice was unsteady and I opened my eyes to find him cringing. "They picked one of the servants who had offered, and when I bit into her, it was the sweetest thing I'd ever had in my mouth."
"Doesn't s-s-sound so b-bad."
Val went quiet and stared at me, unblinking. His eyes darkened and I gulped.
"I couldn't stop, Kage." He shook his head and looked away. "I went into a bloodlust and drained her dry. For years after that, I freaked out anytime I had to feed. That's why I mostly drink from cups to this day."
"Do you d-drink from Amari?" He nodded. "Sammy?"
"Only once." He looked down at his feet, his expression pained. "I shouldn't have."
I pushed off the side of the inn. Val might have made a stupid move with the council, but he had a big heart.
The room we were given was filthy, and I immediately set to work cleaning it to prepare it for the six of us. There was only one bed, but Amari and Val had gone out to the camp where most of the
guards were sleeping to grab bed rolls.
The only reason we were staying in an inn in the first place was so that I could regain some of my strength. It was a risky move, but Sammy insisted she be there with me.
I could go a few days without cleaning with no ill effects, but if I was injured or didn't replenish my stores, I lost some of my abilities. My invisibility usually went first, along with being able to walk through walls. Then, because I was weak, the speed with which I could clean went away.
The magic I collected while cleaning was what kept me alive; something food couldn't do. It was my sustenance. Without it, I would shrivel up and die.
Sweat poured off me as I hastily wiped all the surfaces with my rag, which collected maximum dust and magical particles. Raphael, Nico, and Sammy sat on the edge of the bed watching me in fascination as I sped around the room like a madman.
"Do you think we should stop him?" I heard Sammy ask. "He might hurt himself."
"I can sense the energy pouring back into him. Even though we healed him, we couldn't heal that part of him. Maybe if you slept next to him..." Raphael lay back on his forearms.
I saw Nico shake his head vehemently out of the corner of my eye as I stood on a chair and dusted the top of the armoire. It hadn't been cleaned in a while and the burst of energy that entered my body made my dick spring to life.
Shit.
"Absolutely not. Last time she was completely drained."
Raphael said nothing, but the tension ratcheted up a notch in the room, and not just because I was trying to figure out how to hide my boner from them.
I looked down and willed it to disappear, but there it stood, ready and waiting. Waiting for what, I wasn't sure. Even if I had the courage to do anything besides kiss Sammy, there were four other men staying in the room.
I wasn't going to have four sets of eyes witness my first sexual experience in forever. I knew what I was doing, but I was certainly a bit rusty after not being with a woman—or a man—in a while.
I must have been standing still for too long because Sammy stepped into view, her eyes almost level with my dick.
Where was a hole? I needed to crawl into it and spend eternity hiding.
I didn't look at her and moved the rag in my hand to the front of me. "S-S-S-S-Sorry." I shook my head at the incredibly long stutter that left my lips.
I had been doing so well with my nerves lately, even though things were a bit tense. Sammy and the others brought me a sense of comfort I hadn't felt in a long time.
"You don't need to apologize. Come down from there. You've been standing up there for a solid ten minutes." She held out her hand and I eyed it wearily. "Surely there’s no dirt left."
I put my hand in hers and jumped down from the chair. Raphael and Nico had moved to the small table and were looking at a map.
"Let's go get you cleaned up, okay?" Sammy kept a tight hold of my hand and led me to the bathroom.
I should have hated that she was treating me like a child, but I kind of liked feeling I was being taken care of. Usually, I was the one taking care of everyone else.
The bathroom was a small space, and I took a deep breath. I did not do well in tight spaces. Hell, I didn't do well in any space.
She took the rag from my hand and folded it with the utmost care before setting it on the counter. I licked my lips. Her folding technique was beyond sexy. Especially when she put her hand on top of it once she set it down to reassure me it wasn't going anywhere.
"Do it again," I whispered. I couldn't resist the sudden desire to see her fondle my rag.
She cocked an eyebrow in confusion but then looked back at the rag. She grabbed it and snapped it out in a way that made me suck in a shaky hiss of air.
"You like that?" A hint of a smile played at the corner of her lips. I nodded, my eyes not leaving the rag in her hand.
She took a step toward me and I backed into the counter, bracing my hands on the edge of it. I looked at her lips and then met her eyes. Her eyes darkened as her pupils dilated.
"A brownie's rag is his most precious belonging." I whimpered as she brought it up to her cheek. It had already cleansed itself of dirt and was perfectly white again. "What are you doing with my rag, Samara?" I whispered.
A confidence flared inside of me as she held my rag with such high regard. I wanted her to strip her clothes off and rub it on her body but stopped myself from telling her that.
"Kage?" She ran it down the side of her cheek and then across her full lips. My cock was so hard it felt like it was going to burst through my pants. "That asshole weasel didn't give us any towels or washcloths."
I moaned and pulled my bottom lip in between my teeth. She was killing me and she didn't even know it.
"Is this too much?" she asked gently, backing toward the shower. I shook my head and she smiled before turning on the faucet.
She held her hand under the spray and steam started wafting out of the shower. I stood as stiff as my dick as she turned back to me, handed me the rag, then took of her shirt.
Her breasts were just as magnificent as the night before, when Nico had called me into the bedroom. She was not ashamed of her body, which was more than I could say for myself.
"Take off your shirt, Kage."
I shook my head, my eyes darting to the locked bathroom door. She stepped in my line of sight and grabbed the hem of it. I let her pull it off and looked at the ground.
I didn't want to explain the scars on my back. They were from centuries ago when the master I had chosen had turned on me and used me as his stress relief.
"Look." She grabbed my chin and forced me to look over my shoulder at my back. My smooth back.
I gasped and looked back and forth between the mirror and her. "H-how?"
She wiggled her fingers in front of me. "Magic."
I wanted to stare at my back longer, but my attention was back on my rag, which she had grabbed and was now holding close to her exposed skin. I had only heard stories of the pleasure it could bring when used sexually. Now I knew it was true.
"I..." Words failed to form as she trailed it up her stomach and to one of her breasts. She ran it over her peaked nipple and I licked my lips. I wanted to hold the rag and do that to her while my free hand cupped her other breast.
I wanted my lips on hers.
Brownies weren't overly sexual demons, but with her, I felt a yearning I had never experienced before. I hardly ever got a boner, but lately with her around, they were becoming frequent.
"What's on your mind, Kage?" She stepped closer, and this time I didn't step back. "Don't be afraid to ask for or take what you want. You can have it all, if you want."
Her chest hit mine, her nipples rubbing across my skin. I shut my eyes and savored the skin to skin contact that was so foreign to me, yet felt so right.
"You saved me from those birds today." She slid a hand up my chest to my cheek. "I owe you my life."
I shook my head. "You don't."
She smiled and looked at my lips. "Then let me give you something else instead." She brushed her lips over mine, and I practically melted into a heap on the floor.
My hands unconsciously wrapped around her, pulling her closer, and I deepened the kiss. Her hand was moving the rag over my chest and I groaned against her lips.
The kiss we had before was nothing compared to this one. This one was hot and laced with desire. She pulled back, breathing heavily, and looked at me in question.
"The shower might get cold." I managed to get out.
A grin spread across her face and she backed up a step before putting the rag in between her teeth and then taking off her pants. She stood naked before me, and all I could focus on was how her teeth bit into the damned rag.
When I didn't move and just continued to stare, she stepped forward and reached for my pants. I grabbed her wrists and stopped her, my fingertips feeling like they were on fire against her skin.
I released her and took the rag from her lips. "Get in the shower."
My hands were shaking, but there was nothing more I wanted than to see her standing under the spray of water, the rivulets of water running down her smooth skin, beading on the mounds of her breasts and skimming over her plump ass.
She looked taken aback by my command but stepped into the shower. I threw the rag onto my shoulder and stripped out of my pants. She watched me and wasn't shy about taking in my length.
What I lacked in recent experience, I made up for in the dick department.
I climbed into the shower and she moved so I could stand under the water. I moaned as the hot water fell over me and took the rag from my shoulder.
I grabbed her shoulder and turned her back toward me. I started at her neck and slowly moved the rag across her skin in small circles. My dick throbbed as my body was fed energy.
"Is it taking from you or just your skin?" I didn't know how her new power worked. I didn't want to be siphoning it from her.
"It feels good. I'll stop you if it does something weird."
I ran my hand over the curve of her ass and followed it with my rag. She braced her hands against the shower wall. I stifled a groan as I lowered to my knees behind her and ran my hand and the rag over her ass cheeks and then down her legs. I left the rag on the floor and then trailed a finger up the inside of her calf, to her knee, and then stopped just shy of her inner thigh.
"Don't stop." She widened her legs and moved her feet back, leaning against the wall more and sending her ass straight toward my face.
I stared at it for a second before pressing my lips to it. I moved my hand up between her legs and she gasped. The side of my hand hit her wet heat and she widened farther.
"Sammy..." My voice had suddenly gone raspy. I slid my hand back and forth between her folds, and she rocked back and forth over my hand as her breaths deepened.
"Get your rag, Kage."
I nearly came right there.
I picked up the rag and slowly ran it across her slit. Energy coursed through me and I bit down on my lip.
I spread her with my fingers and pushed one into her, along with the rag.
