Guardian

by Jack Porter

  My entire body sank into the frame, which wasn’t meant to hold a being my size, and Layla rolled into me, moaning in pleasure. “Oh goddess, I may never leave this room.”

  “I know what you mean. It feels like I’m lying on a cloud. I can’t believe I ever took a real bed for granted.”

  “Mm,” Layla responded, moaning again as she snuggled into her pillow. “I hope you don’t mind if I knock off early. The crystal can wait just a little longer, can’t it? Even if it’s just a few hours.”

  “Of course, Number Two. Get all the rest you need. I’m pretty beat too, and tomorrow is plenty soon to activate the crystal.”

  I said it, but as soon as she half hazardly slipped out of all of her clothes and pressed soft breasts against my chest, hooking a leg around my hip, my body took notice. I was instantly hard, remembering our first night of passion in the tent and then how she’d pleasured herself while watching the other girls and I going to town on one another.

  Rolling over, I caught the scent of perfume coming from the soap she’d used and kissed her forehead. She didn’t stir. Already asleep, I thought. I couldn’t blame her. She and the other girls had pushed their limits today, and I knew Megan and Piper were sleeping just as soundly—healing their minds and bodies in this sacred shrine.

  Eventually, after counting as high as I could go, and thinking about creepy crawly legs in dark tunnels, my erection went away.

  Thoughts of Hannah drifted to the front of my mind. I hoped she was okay. The darkness had said she was sleeping. I hoped it was filled with pleasant dreams.

  It wasn’t long after that the sound of Layla’s soft breathing lulled me into my own sleep that was deep and dreamless.

  Well, it was dreamless until Hannah appeared.

  Thirty-One

  Hannah rested before me with her knees tucked up to her chest. Her chin rested on her bent knees and she seemed to be contemplating something. She was a version of her full goddess self. I knew this because she was completely naked, and more of her features had changed.

  Her pale green eyes, which rose to look up at me in disbelief, had become wider, flecked with brown and gold, and punctuated with a sharp ridge over her eye that could only be described as hawk-like. Where her hips began to curve into the fullness of her ass, tail feathers, as beautiful as her wings, fanned out behind her.

  “Dexter, is that you? Are you really here?” Her hand reached out to touch mine. Long, black, and razor-sharp talons took the place of fingernails, but they were gentle against my skin as she touched me.

  I shivered. It felt real enough. “Depends,” I said. “Where is here?”

  Hannah stood, and I noted she was as tall as a two-story house against the quiet backdrop of a snowy landscape and the impressively sized waterfall at her shoulder. It took me longer to notice that change, though, because I dwarfed her in the same way I had before the changes began.

  “Why are we so big?”

  “This is the full extent of the transformation. It takes a while, but we’ll all be this size eventually.” She sucked in a breath. “Your eyes are glowing with power. It’s breathtaking.” She paused, cocking her ear as if listening to something. “You must have fallen asleep on holy ground. The spiritual link is stronger there.”

  “Yes. We are resting in the shrine you passed a couple of days ago.”

  Hannah shook her head sadly, and her next words were uttered as if her mind was somewhere else, as if she was distracted. “My body is still in the long sleep Zavier put me under. Have you learned about Zavier yet? He’s the one who is controlling this host, which he’s infected with the darkness. Zavier is who we should be worried about.”

  “Er, I thought it was just his dark magic that was released?”

  “Zavier has been sleeping, for a very long time. And now, when his dark crystal was broken, he awoke. He’s the one controlling the darkness. He has been all along.”

  “But that means…” I clamped my mouth shut, realizing that Layla would be horrified if she knew that not only had she released the darkness when she broke the crystal, but also a god.

  Had Yua somehow known this, and simply kept it to herself? I didn’t remember her telling me about Zavier sleeping, but perhaps she hadn’t thought it important.

  “Why does Zavier want you?” I asked Hannah, almost afraid to know the answer.

  “I… I don’t know, Dex.”

  “What else can you tell me? What direction do we need to go to find you?”

  Hannah’s gaze came back into focus, and she looked around again. “I see no places until he stops to rest for the night. Like a long stretch of dream in between the dreamless sleep. What you see now is where we are in the physical world, something I am able to pluck from the host’s slumbering mind.”

  I took a hard look around, trying to burn the landmarks into my brain. Then I spun a slow circle until I found Yua’s shrine. I could just see the peak of the mountain to our immediate west. “That’s only a couple of days' walk from where we are.”

  “Yes, the physical limitations of Zavier’s host is slowing him down. He’d leave the host dead in the snow if he didn’t need it to tote my body to a safe place. One he thinks you can’t find. But giving life to a man that has been long dead is taxing his magic greatly. Zavier has been asleep too long, and he can only draw strength from the magic you yourself pull from Kain’s crystal. Then he has to twist it into his own. That keeps him weak in comparison to his true full power. But soon that luxury will end, and somehow, he’ll be able to pull from his own magic again. And when that happens...” she trailed off, looking worried.

  “If you’re asleep, how do you know all this?”

  “The others tell me. They talk to me sometimes.”

  “Where are these others now?” I asked.

  “They are faint even to me, but every day they get stronger. I think I’m going to be put with the rest of them. As for why we can see each other—I don’t know. It could be because you have my crystal. We are linked through it and through our bond made while our crystals were worn.” Despite herself she gave me a sly grin so there would be no mistaking what bonding she was talking about, then she continued. “The others still have their crystals but you haven’t made any connection with them yet. They can feel you though, like knowing the sun is coming up before you feel the rays on your skin or see the lightening of the sky. They are drawn to you the same way I was drawn to my crystal.”

  “That’s how I’ve been tracking you so far. I can feel your presence, but it’s faint.”

  She nodded as if it all made sense. “Good, you’re coming into your full power faster than expected. This is promising. The others think you have a decent chance at stopping Zavier and bringing balance to the island again. They said the more you use your crystal, the more connected to the island you’ll be. You might even begin to feel their crystals before making contact.” Hannah smiled proudly. “And we’ll grow with you. My crystal will take longer because it was already claimed, but soon I won’t need to be within a certain proximity of you to fly.”

  I wanted to ask more about these others, but there were more pressing questions, and I didn’t know how long my physical body had been asleep. Dreams passed in odd time spurts. I could have hours, or seconds. “How do I defeat the darkness? How do I wake you once we catch up?”

  “You have to push Zavier’s magic out of the host body. He will fight back so you’ll need help. How many crystals have you found?”

  “Besides yours? One. Layla’s. And it was just today, she hasn’t even transformed yet.”

  “That may not be enough. But it’s better than you taking on Zavier alone. Bring Layla into her power. We act as vessels for your magic, so you don’t have to hold it all alone. Fill her up with magic and she can help push Zavier’s magic out of the host. And out of me.

  Nodding thoughtfully, I said, “I think I can do that. I did it once yesterday. With a bird.”

  Hannah listened again. “This is good. You’
re doing well, White Guardian.”

  One of my eyebrows rose in question and she added sheepishly, “That’s what they call you. You have to admit, it has a ring to it.”

  I chuckled. “Yeah, it does. Yua calls me that too.”

  It was Hannah’s turn to quirk an eyebrow. “Yua?”

  “She’s a monk at the shrine we’re staying at. She can purify Zavier’s power too, though it takes a greater effort.”

  “She has a crystal?” Hannah asked.

  “No. Just enough spiritual power on her own.” I put my hand to my chin. “This is just a theory, but I think the shrine she’s staying at, the one built by Zavier and Kain, has been seeping into her for the last three hundred years.”

  Hannah seemed more confused by the minute, and I shook my head. “I’ll explain it all when we find you.”

  She smiled, eyes twinkling. “I look forward to it.” Then her smile dropped, and an earnest plea took the twinkling’s place. “Please, hurry Dexter. I don’t know where Zavier’s host is taking me, but the others tell me it’s dark and unbearably cold. I don’t want to go. I’m afraid of dark places.”

  “Shh,” I said, reaching out and pulling her into my chest. She felt solid against me, as if this were real and the shrine, all a dream. “As soon as I wake, I’ll transform Layla, and we will come for you before the host even knows what hit him. I won’t let him put you in that dark place. And if what you’re saying is true, there are others that need to be rescued. Tell them I am coming for them too.”

  After a moment Hannah sniffled and smiled sadly up at me. “They thank you for the thought, but this place—they say it’s beyond your reach.”

  “I’ll find them,” I said again, firmly. “What kind of guardian would I be if I left these—”

  “Goddesses,” Hannah interrupted. “They’re like us. They all have crystals.”

  “Right. What kind of guardian would I be if I left these goddesses to rot in—” My tongue went dry. “—wait, goddesses? How many of them are there?”

  Hannah closed her eyes. Her mouth moved as if she was talking, but I couldn’t hear what she was saying. When she opened them again, there was blatant surprise in her eyes. “There are six of them.”

  Six? I closed my eyes and did the math in my head. “Yua said there were eleven crystals total on the island. That means if everyone in our group gets a crystal, even Yua, only one will remain unclaimed.”

  Hannah nodded, partially to me, partially to the other goddesses who seemed to be speaking to her again. “You’ll need all of us. As your power grows, it will become too much for your body, and no matter how big you get you can’t possibly hold it all. That is what the goddesses are for. To help keep the power of Kain.” She paused. “Have you been feeling tired after using your crystal for an extended amount of time?”

  “Yes, I have,” I said, realizing it was the truth.

  “I bet that only started happening after I left. The energy flowing through you is too much. It’s eating up your body’s ability to handle it all now that I’m no longer there to absorb it.”

  “I see,” I murmured. “Is that why Zavier needs the goddesses? Is he collecting the crystals to twist them dark and use you girls as his energy holders?”

  Hannah shook her head. “They don’t know.”

  “That’s okay. They’ve done more than enough. Thank them for me. Now I feel like I understand better what I’m supposed to do. And as soon as I wake up, we’re coming for you Hannah,” I promised her. “Whenever you feel scared, think on that. Remember that every second that passes is a second that I am closer to you.”

  Determination filled me. I was torn between wanting to wake up now to go to her and staying here at her side so I could be sure she was safe.

  “I know. I trust you, Dexter.” Hannah stood on her tiptoes to kiss my mouth. I bent to meet her halfway. Her tongue was hot and danced perfectly around mine. She deepened the kiss and I felt her naked body against mine. She was moaning as she hitched a leg up onto my hip, trying to pull herself closer.

  And just as I thought this was going to lead to a rather pleasant happy ending, Hannah stumbled back, gasping, “Oh no.”

  “What’s wrong?” I asked, but from the way her body started to fade away like a wraith, I had a feeling I already knew.

  “The host is waking up. The others are saying the dark place is nearby. Find me, Dexter. Please find me.”

  “I will, Hannah.” But she’d already flickered out, and I didn’t know if she heard those last words or not as I spiraled back into the dark abyss, knowing no more.

  Thirty-Two

  “Captain? Cap? Dexter!”

  I awoke with a snort. I was back in the shrine. Full daylight shone directly into my eyeballs. “Number Two? Goddess, my head is killing me. Close those blinds, would you? It feels like I haven’t slept a wink.”

  As soon as the words were out of my mouth, the dream of Hannah in her full goddess form came flooding back. Maybe the reason I felt like I hadn’t slept, was because I’d been conscious in some form or another. Did this mean it had all been real? Or was it some made up trick of my mind?

  No, I decided, that was really her. The feel of her kiss had been too real. The way her pale eyes pleaded with me still stung my heart.

  That meant time the clock was already ticking against us.

  “Oh, it can’t be that bad,” Layla teased. She lifted her fingers and pushed against the bulge under the covers before grasping it firmly. Her fingers couldn’t close the girth of my cock, but it throbbed enthusiastically under her expert grip all the same. “Your lower half is wide awake and raring to go.”

  Well, now I was wide awake too. “What about your lower half?” I trailed a finger down her neck, along her collarbone, in between her breasts and all the way down to the core of her. She let out a moan when I found her pleasure point.

  “Shall we give our lower halves what they want?” She purred, tightening her grip on my cock as I moved my finger in a way that caused a spasm to race through her. “Could get dangerous if we make them wait.”

  “Agreed,” I growled when she pumped me three or four times, eliciting my own desires. I wanted nothing more to rip the clothes Yua had given her off. So I did, shedding my own clothes as well and discarding them on the floor.

  “I want to activate my crystal,” Layla said timidly, her voice scaling high and breathless as I brushed the pads of my thumbs across her nipples, perking them up. “But I’m not sure how.”

  “I’ll show you,” I murmured, reaching out to pull her close into my chest. Layla’s soft warm body was a jolt to my system. My dick strained, demanding to be inside her, but I held myself back, knowing that couldn’t happen yet.

  Layla kissed me, leaning her full weight into my much larger body. Her bare pussy rubbed up against the tip of my cock and I didn’t have to fit inside of her to know she was soaking wet and ready for me. I trailed kisses down her neck and found her breasts with my mouth. I teased the left and right in equal spurts until she was moaning and rocking her hips, begging me to pleasure her in a way that only I could.

  When I thought I could take no more, I changed our positions. Picking her up, I carefully lay her on the bed and brought my lips to her center. I licked her, relishing in each shudder and moan she had to offer.

  When she was close, I pulled back. She closed her thighs around me and moved them in a way that brought me to the very edge while pushing herself over it. She shuddered and cried out her orgasm and clung to me, pulling me down so we could kiss. I nibbled her lower lip and sat up again to look at her.

  Goddess, she was beautiful. Her dark hair was longer now, past her shoulders, and there was lean muscle she didn’t have until the island. I thought she was sexy before we’d crash landed here, but now seeing these changes in her made my heart race and my body stir crazy. She had a look in her eyes that was wilder and more seductive than before.

  Our crystals began to glow. I came all over Layla’s lips, breas
ts, and stomach, and the change was immediate. There was no pain with her transformation like there had been with Hannah, only a flutter of blue-white light and a tingle of warmth between her body and mine.

  She grew to match my size. Russet fox ears with black tips sprouted upon her head. A matching tail curled around to cover her thighs and pussy, leaving only the smallest amount of dark moist curls peeking out from under it.

  I sucked in a breath when she smiled. Her canines were chiseled to a point. Adorable. I wanted to run my tongue over them to find out just how sharp they were.

  She looked up at me with slightly larger eyes than before. They were the same molten liquid color of hickory brown, but they were accented with black and red markings as if she’d applied some exotic eye makeup.

  Even though I had just found my release, this new version of Layla had my manhood standing at attention again. She took notice and tested the control of her new tail. She wrapped its soft fur around my dick and began pumping it.

  It felt amazing.

  Needing more of her, I reached down to stroke one of her fox ears and was rewarded when her back arched up and she let out a sensual sound, as if I’d just rubbed one of her breasts.

  “Do you like that?” I asked.

  Layla stroked my cock faster with her tail. “Y-yes. They’re so sensitive. Do it again, please?”

  I did, with both ears this time, and she bucked her hips up. “Goddesses save me. I can’t believe I’m horny again already!”

  “Me too,” I replied. My heart picked up speed as I realized something. We’re the same size now. I could fuck her properly.

  My blood was like scalding fire through my veins. I gently brushed her tail aside, which elicited another small pleasure sound from her, and rubbed my cock against her hot center.

  She writhed, desperately trying to fit me inside her. I obliged. She was so tight. How long had it been since I’d been inside of her? Far too long for my liking. And it showed as I thrust myself into her soft heat with abandon, no longer worried about hurting anyone. We fit perfectly, just like our first time in the tent at the ruins.