The Academy Volume One

by Maxine Mansfield

  Briar set her hairbrush on the tiny nightstand beside her cot. She fashioned a tidy braid for sleeping, and yawned widely. The muffled, even breathing of her dormitory mates already slumbering reminded her of the late hour. Her muscles ached with fatigue, and her eyelids drooped.

  Days started early at The Academy, and with the amount of studying she had, they ended late.

  Blowing out the candle and relishing the fragrance of wildwood, she let her mind drift to Uthiel and the promise of what was to be tomorrow.

  A smile graced her face as she climbed between the sheets.

  The day had been truly exhausting. No sooner had Briar’s head hit the softness of the pillow and her eyes closed in slumber, than a thick, cool mist formed. It swirled about her in the darkness.

  Her skin crawled with the knowledge she was now dreaming, and she wasn’t alone. A sense of being watched seeped deep into her soul.

  “Who’s there?” The sound of her own voice echoed in her ears.

  Then she heard it again. The distinctly hoarse raspiness of breathing.

  Briar searched for the source of the sound and asked once more, louder this time, “Who’s there?”

  “I am called Carnelian by my kind, but then, what’s in a name? A name isn’t what defines us. It’s simply a word.”

  A warm breeze bathed Briar’s face as the answer to her question came from everywhere and, at the same time, nowhere at all. Even with the warmth surrounding her, Briar shivered. Though the voice was without question female, it still invoked fear.

  She strained her eyes once more to see something, anything. “Show yourself.”

  “Now is not the time, half-elf, half-human female. Someday, for certain, but not this night.

  “For now, you need only know this: Our destinies are now and forever intertwined―yours, mine, and the paladin’s. Of that you can be assured.

  “Sleep well, Healer. Sleep well, and learn.”

  Chapter Five

  He was late. Briar sat in their Healing the Soul cubicle, wringing her hands.

  The strange dream of the night before had left her edgy and with more questions than answers. Mainly, in what ways were her and Uthiel’s destinies intertwined with the being in her dream?

  Because she had no doubt the voice belonged to a real-life, flesh-and-blood creature. Even hours after the strange dream had ended, Briar had the oddest sensation someone or something was watching her, breathing on her, waiting.

  And what of her virginity problem? How would she remedy that if Uthiel didn’t show up today? Had he changed his mind about helping her?

  Mr. Chamman was already introducing today’s demonstration, and even though Briar knew she should be paying attention, her mind raced. Could something have happened to Uthiel since she’d last seen him?

  Briar forced herself to calm her nerves and listen to her instructor. She was jittery because of the dream―just a silly, stupid dream―and she wasn’t going to allow it to make her crazy one more minute.

  “Yesterday, class, you observed Oral Stimulation Seduction. Today, I have a real treat for you. Krindol Soulmender, a renowned dwarf paladin, and a very good personal friend of mine, has graciously agreed―along with the lovely Alcolate, Xiella―to demonstrate a similar but slightly more advanced form of this seduction technique.”

  The door swung open, and Briar was taken aback as a strange couple walked in. Short and stocky best described Krindol, a red-headed dwarf with a knee-length beard. Xiella, on the other hand, was a statuesque dark-elf. Her navy-blue skin and short, spiky, snow-white hair were in striking contrast to that of her partner.

  They took their places on the platform and the lights dimmed.

  This time, the door flew open with such force it slammed into the wall. Uthiel rushed in and slid to a stop in front of Mr. Chamman.

  “Ah, Mr. Stoutheart. Late again, I see. Disrupting my class is becoming an irritating habit of yours, which I’m sure you’ll be correcting in the future. Please take your seat quickly and quietly.”

  Uthiel hurried to the cubicle and sat beside Briar on the bed.

  “Where’ve you been?” she whispered.

  He looked irritated as he turned and faced her, and the left side of his jaw twitched. “Finding a place to take care of your problem. Where else would I have been?”

  He might as well have slapped her. Briar’s heart sank into her now-roiling stomach. He had made her virginal state sound like such a horrible inconvenience. “I’m sorry, Uthiel.”

  He granted her a small smile and softened his tone. “It’s all right. Really, it is, my lady. I’m the one who is sorry. I just hate being late to anything.”

  His smile and words were so genuine, they melted her heart. Briar gazed intently into his blue eyes, so lost, she almost missed what he was saying.

  “…and I’m pretty sure I’ve found the perfect spot for your deflowering, my lady. Right now, though, let’s relax and watch the demonstration. There’s no need to worry about our other plans. There’ll be time enough for them later.”

  Uthiel placed his arm about Briar’s waist, and she snuggled up against him.

  Krindol the dwarf dropped his robe and Briar gasped. The man’s member hung below his knees and was as wide as one of her own arms.

  Alcolate Xiella knelt before him. Briar held her breath as she watched Xiella’s pink tongue snake out and lick the length of the dwarf’s cock from the tip, up the shaft, to the springy, bright red pubic hairs resting against his belly.

  Just when Briar was sure Krindol’s cock couldn’t grow any larger, it did. The dark-elf, Xiella, took the pink head of it into her mouth and suckled noisily, popping it in and out of her dark blue lips.

  Briar watched, enthralled as the protruding veins running the length of the thing pulsed. The dwarf rocked back and forth on the heels of his hairy feet.

  Inch by glorious inch, the shaft disappeared as deeper and deeper into the acolyte’s dark blue throat the dwarf thrust. Xiella’s eyes closed, and her hands fisted around the base of the dwarf’s cock. A look of pure bliss graced her face.

  Sudden moisture between Briar’s legs made her uncomfortable, and she squirmed against the throbbing, fighting her own need to be touched.

  Uthiel slid his hand up the hem of her tunic. “Did you remember to turn off your protective force field?”

  She managed a nod.

  “Then allow me to relieve your discomfort, my lady.”

  Briar forgot to breathe as Uthiel slid his hand up the inside of her leg. She didn’t dare take her eyes from the demonstration before her, but willingly opened her thighs to him.

  Her head fell back of its own volition and she watched the couple on the platform through half-open eyes. Briar’s nostrils flared as long, strong fingers found and stroked her sensitive nub. Her breathing came in short gasps as a single finger entered her pussy and a thumb continued its slow torture of her tender clit.

  She caught herself rising to meet his finger as it probed deeper and faster. Not daring to look at his face, she matched the rhythm of the beautiful Xiella. As the woman suckled the huge cock, Briar rode first one finger, then two.

  Faster and deeper Uthiel’s fingers caressed her while his thumb circled and stroked the length of her folds.

  Briar’s eyes glazed over and the room faded away. Nothing existed here except the sensation of his touch upon her tender membranes.

  With each down stroke, her clit quivered and her body convulsed. With the upstrokes, she shivered.

  Never had anything felt so exquisite and yet at the same time, so like torture. There was somewhere she needed to get to, and she had no idea how.

  Her voice was a plea for help as she whimpered, “Uthiel, I can’t, I don’t know…oh, yes, there, right there…please, please help me.”

  His chuckle reverberated against her skin, sending tiny shockwaves of pleasure all the way to the marrow of her bones.

  “Just let it happen, my lady. Relax with it.”

  Wa
s he crazy? There was no relaxing when every fiber of her body was wound tighter than a taut bowstring and screaming to be let loose. Stars formed behind Briar’s eyes.

  Somewhere in the distance, she heard the dwarf bellow his release. At the same moment, she found her own.

  Her very first one.

  It started as no more than a tickle in the back of her throat that became ripples in her belly, then grew into a throbbing in her core so intense it rocketed into an all-out implosion centered on one small spot nestled between her legs, before finally shooting up and outwards.

  Her consciousness floated on air as wave after glorious wave of convulsing pleasure rolled over and through her.

  Finally, as the last little twinge died away, Briar lay back, spent and satisfied.

  ****

  “Shhh!” Uthiel put his finger to his lips as he glanced back at Briar. “Take those shoes off. They make too much noise and, trust me, we don’t want to get caught here.”

  Briar did as she was told and followed Uthiel.

  Down one hallway, around a corner, up an elevator, two more hallways, and three right turns later, they stood before a door.

  Uthiel drew a passkey from his pocket and inserted it into the lock. The door opened with a whoosh and Uthiel beckoned Briar to enter.

  “I borrowed the key to this room from a spiritmaster friend of mine. First years like you aren’t allowed in mood rooms. Being an upperclassman, if I get caught in here with you, it’ll be my hide for sure, but it’s the perfect place for our purpose today.”

  The totally empty room had a bare, tiled floor and cold, metal walls.

  This place, perfect? It was on the tip of Briar’s tongue to ask when Uthiel smiled at her and walked over to a panel recessed in the wall.

  “Watch this,” he said and flipped a switch.

  In less than a heartbeat, the room changed.

  It became a lush, green valley facing a beautiful waterfall. A narrow, swiftly flowing river ran from the base of the waterfall and along the entire length of the valley.

  Above her, a cloudless blue sky stretched on and on toward infinity. A misty spray wet her face, and she heard tropical birds singing. The scent of wildflowers teased her nose as the lure of berries growing nearby tempted her tongue. The grass below her feet was as soft and welcoming as any carpet she’d ever stepped upon.

  Uthiel flipped yet another switch, and the room turned into a vast desert. Red sand shifted into mounds as a hot, dry wind blew without ceasing. Palm trees swayed in the middle of a small oasis, offering welcome shade from the blazing sun. A tent, striped with bright greens and reds, and strewn with silky, golden pillows and soft, blue carpets beckoned.

  Briar bent, scooped up a handful of warm sand and let it sift through her fingers. It felt real. “This is the most amazing room I’ve ever seen.”

  Uthiel smiled, “You may choose whichever theme you wish for your deflowering, my lady.”

  Briar grew warm all over and couldn’t quite meet Uthiel’s eyes. “Then show me all of my choices, kind sir.”

  In the blink of an eye they were on a beach, and a warm night wind blew. Above them a single full moon shone brightly in a cloudless, star-filled sky. Below, gentle waves bubbled forward as they licked and teased at their toes. The white foam of the water cooled Briar’s heated skin as, somewhere in the distance, birds sang lullabies of love.

  Suddenly the scene changed and they stood in a high mountain valley. Snowflakes swirled and darted quickly downward, stinging Briar’s cheeks as they fell. A bone-chilling wind blew. White, so much white. The entire world hung suspended in ice crystals. Off in the distance, soft light poured out of a stone cabin’s windows, and a welcoming plume of smoke beckoned from its chimney.

  It was certainly beautiful, just like a painted picture she’d once seen, but it also looked stark and lonely. Briar’s breath came in frosty puffs of air and she shivered as she shook her head at Uthiel.

  Uthiel flipped another switch. As the ground fell away beneath her, Briar lunged toward him for balance even though he stood across the room.

  They were high up in the heavens above Albrath. The stars were so close she could almost stretch and touch them. Soft, billowy clouds cushioned her feet. Mist swirled. Distant planets clustered around a central sun as the three moons of Albrath rotated around the planet below. Meteors flew through the star-filled sky on a regular basis, and weight had no meaning. Time all but stood still. Briar gloried in a feeling of immortality.

  She smiled at Uthiel, but again shook her head.

  Another flip of the switch and Briar gaped, awestruck. Majestic trees surrounded her. They were taller than the tallest buildings she’d ever seen, and bigger around than her own modest home back in her beloved Dak Forest.

  The smell of pine filled her nose and, for a moment, she was homesick. The damp forest floor tickled her toes as the roar of untamed water from somewhere behind her dominated the air.

  Turning, her heart skipped a beat. Before her stretched a wide ocean, its waves crashing furiously upon the rocks far below. The sky turned angry and fat drops of warm rain pelted down in earnest, plopping as they landed on pine needles. Roaring thunder shook the ground, and lightning streaked across a furious sky.

  Briar turned excitedly toward Uthiel. “Here, oh please, let it be here.”

  Uthiel nodded. “So be it, my lady.”

  ****

  He gloried in the fact she couldn’t seem to take her eyes off of him as he walked steadily toward her.

  Rain plastered his hair to his face and neck, and he knew from past experience how he would look: dark and dangerous. Girls always went for the bad boys.

  He replaced the easy smile he usually wore with a serious look of determination, and his cock hardened even further as he watched Briar shiver in anticipation.

  In the space of six heartbeats and two breaths, he stood directly before her. While never breaking eye contact, he lifted his tunic over his head and dropped it to the ground. His boots came next, followed by his breeks.

  He smiled teasingly, “A bed for my lady?” He beckoned toward his discarded clothing.

  She was beautiful. That was the only word Uthiel could think to describe her.

  Even soaking wet, her long, thick, auburn tresses hid the mysteries of her pale creamy skin. Her moss-green eyes, so full of passion, glowed with a trust Uthiel prayed he’d be worthy of. Her slightly pointed, half-elf ears practically twitched with excitement while her lush lips quivered slightly.

  Uthiel grinned as Briar looked down the length of his body and her cheeks pinkened. He grew painfully hard under the perusal of her gaze.

  He wished with all his heart he could alleviate the touch of fear he saw invade her gaze when she looked back up at him. Not sure how to help her relax, Uthiel did the only thing he could think to do.

  He took a step closer, leaned in, nuzzled her neck, and sighed with pleasure, no more than a breath away from her skin.

  ****

  Briar’s knees almost buckled.

  She couldn’t look at the makeshift bed. She couldn’t take her eyes off the man standing so close his every breath sent shivers racing down her spine. Muscles―corded, smooth, and bulging―rippled with his gentle laughter and begged for her touch. Her fingers itched to do just that.

  She watched in fascination as his already large cock proudly grew even bigger under her scrutiny. She gloried in the knowledge she had this effect on such a beautiful man. At the same time, it scared her to death.

  Briar gazed into Uthiel’s eyes, and shyness mixed with a touch of fear overcame her. She whispered, “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.”

  Uthiel wrapped his strong arms protectively around her. He placed his lips against her ear and his own voice trembled slightly as he murmured, “Do not fret, my lady. Though I am by far no expert, I’m certainly not a novice. Allow me to do this for you.”

  Her eyes locked with his and, until her tunic slipped over her head, she didn’
t even realize Uthiel was undressing her. She smiled with complete trust. “Then I leave myself in your very capable hands, Paladin.”

  The warm rain poured, pelting her tender skin as lightning illuminated the dusky sky. Thunder shook the surrounding trees to their very roots as Uthiel lifted her into his strong, comforting arms and laid her gently upon his discarded clothing.

  He came over her, cocooning her with his warmth, and spoke with gentle reverence close to her ear. “I can’t help but cause you pain in this, Briar, and for that I beg your forgiveness. But first, allow me to give you pleasure. Much, much pleasure.”

  Was that thunder, or her heartbeat? Blood coursed faster and faster, heating her skin to a raging fever in every spot Uthiel touched, and he had still only kissed her face. Why, then, did she shiver?

  Chill bumps popped up on her arms and down her legs. How could a simple touch make her feel as if she were going to fly apart into a million pieces?

  His lips found hers, and Briar melted into him as their tongues teased, danced, and explored. He tasted of sweet apples and sunshine, fine wine, and hot lust.

  Deeper and deeper she fell under his spell, until she wasn’t sure where she ended and he began. Finally, his lips left hers and, for a moment, aloneness enveloped her.

  A heartbeat later, she moaned as Uthiel found a sensitive spot on her neck behind her left ear. He nibbled, licked, and teased until Briar quivered involuntarily. She knew her reaction pleased him as his chuckle reverberated through her skin.

  “Ah, yes, that’s my lady.”

  Had she heard his words, or felt them?

  Time slowed then stopped as he trailed kisses along her collarbone to her breast. When he took one pebbly hard nipple into his mouth, Briar gasped and couldn’t help but rise toward him. It tickled and she caught herself giggling.

  He suckled harder and a moan escaped her lips as a deep throbbing started in the center of her breast and journeyed along her belly to land squarely in her pussy. She ached―not a painful ache, but a needful one. Unable to help herself, she pleaded.

  “Please, Uthiel, I need…oh my…I don’t know what I need, but I need.”