by Aaron Crash
He stripped off his shirt and then locked eyes with Tessa, who was writhing under Aria’s sure hands. He nearly lost it when Mouse gripped him hard and sucked him harder.
“Not yet, boy,” Mouse admonished. “We have to show them the main event. You know what I like to do.”
He did. He got down on his back not bothering to mess with his pants. No time. Their need was too great. Mouse stripped off her tights and skirt to stand naked on the blanket. The fire cast shadows across her small, muscled body.
Aria and Tessa got a little closer, only a couple of feet away from Steven’s head. Tessa was on her hands and knees, her breasts dangling. She still had her shirt on, bunched around her neck, with her pants snagged around her remaining boot. Aria smiled at Steven below and Mouse above.
The petite blonde went and straddled him. Her eyes were on Tessa, who had her ass in the air, with Aria behind her, doing wonderful things to the barista with her fingers. Watching the two women, Mouse slowly slid herself down on top of him.
He was completely inside her. And Mouse was giving them a show. She pulled on one of her nipples. “I like it on top... that’s how I like it. I like to pound myself on him until I come.”
That was what she did, working herself up and down on Steven’s shaft, until she cried out, “Kiss him, Tessa, kiss him while Aria licks you.”
Tessa shuffled over. Her lips found his. Steven reached to feel one of her big tits in his hand. Mouse was going at it, rising and falling, rising and falling, and still she didn’t forget her performance. “I like this. I like you both getting turned on by us. Let’s get him there, Tessa. Let’s make him feel good.”
Tessa moved forward until Steven could suck on her nipple while she sucked on his.
One stroke, two strokes, three strokes, and Mouse grunted. “Yes, yes, he likes that. I can feel it. It’s working, oh, it’s working. For him and for me.”
The Animus around them was so powerful, Steven could hardly believe it. It was Tessa, she’d become a dynamo of mystical energy, giving, receiving, spreading it through them all. Mouse sank herself down completely and gave herself over to her orgasm. Steven couldn’t hold back. Her energy poured into him as he poured himself into her. And yes, he was stronger, refreshed, refueled.
Mouse eased off him, and Tessa’s mouth curved into a smirk. She kept her eyes on Mouse, crawling forward and dipping her head, sucking on him while he sucked on her. Aria helped with her fingers, easing them in and out of Tessa’s sex. It was the barista’s turn next. Her skin glowed from her orgasm as the Animus filled her.
It was so hot, he never got soft. So he was ready when Aria spun, chest on the blanket, her shapely ass in the air. They were all sweating now, from the roaring fire, from the sex, from the life in and around them. When they did feel the cold air, it felt like a blessing.
Steven took Aria from behind. Tessa came around and offered herself to Aria, who was more than willing to share more pleasure with the barista.
Mouse came up to him, to kiss his neck, whisper into his ear, and touch his chest. Before long, both he and Aria were given more Animus.
The fire crackled and popped sparks up into the sky. He didn’t much smell the smoke, but he smelled his three wives, their perfumes, their skin, their musk. It was beyond delicious and put another fire in him.
Tessa was the last to feel his thrusts, and he kissed her mouth while Aria kissed her, and Mouse rubbed his back and goaded him on. He didn’t need much encouragement.
He never did get his pants off. Pulling them up, he noticed a Coca-Cola lying half-buried in the dirt around them. The familiar red and white pattern triggered the ghost of a memory, but the full recollection didn’t come to him right away. What was it? Why did that can mean anything? It was just litter.
Aria threw more wood on the fire and stretched. “Yes, that is what we all needed. And thank you, Mouse. Maybe we can do this again sometime.”
The petite blonde laughed. “Maybe. Not sure my heart can take it. I haven’t done the group thing in a long time, and as you know, I swore I’d never do it again. But this felt different with you, with Steven, and of course, Tessa, who could make friends with the devil himself.”
“Only if he was nice,” the barista said with a laugh. “I don’t do mean people.” Then, ever the sensitive one, she noticed Steven’s preoccupation with the can. “Steven, are you okay?”
Her voice seemed to come from far away. “Yeah, maybe. I need to cast a Divination spell. Give me a minute.”
Mouse collected her tights and skirt, but she wasn’t putting them on. “Go ahead, my Prime. You have plenty of Animus, Mister Three Times in a Row.”
“Magica Divinatio!” Steven called out into the night. Black mist poured out of his eyes for a minute. The harsh daylight pained his eyes. It took a second for them to adjust. The sun burned his skin.
He stood on cracked asphalt. It might’ve started out as a six-lane highway, but it had been eaten away down to four. The rest of it was thick yellow weeds. He was on the alternate Earth, Gaia Beta, and yes, there had been a soda can, but it was for something called Nozzza-Cola, three Zs. He was in the vision he’d had during the Carlo Bart Baxter fight.
His father stood there in the black suit, the hot wind blowing the salt-and-pepper hair from his face. His beard split into a smile. “Almost time. It’s the wolf door. But once you commit, you can’t go back. The door must stay shut lest the demons find our reality.”
Steven should’ve had a world of questions, but he couldn’t think of a single one.
“Can you feel it, son?” Stefan Drokharis asked. “Do you know what’s missing?”
Steven closed his eyes and reached out with his mind. The yellow weeds around him were devoid of Animus. They were as dead as Denver in the distance. The Rocky Mountains were equally destroyed, the evergreens mere bones, having lost all their copper-colored needles.
Everything had been destroyed at its most basic level.
Chapter Ten
STEVEN, LOST IN HIS vision, couldn’t believe the devastation. Then again, why else would the Alpheros have fled and hid? There was a reason Rahaab had been so frightened of the Zothoric that he’d murdered his own brother, Icharaam.
The wind changed and the stink hit Steven. He grimaced. In the air, in the distance, insane gibbering floated over the blasted landscape. Smoke drifted from the top of the half-eaten Wells Fargo building, where his secret Aerie was. Dragons were there. Steven could feel them. Their Animus was the only energy around for miles.
His father’s face froze as his suit became smoke to drift away in the breeze. In seconds, his body was gone, but his voice drifted in the wind. “This is what the Zothoric do to worlds. You must bring weapons. You must bring allies. You must embrace your destiny.”
Steven tried to call out, but the stink made him want to close his mouth. Darkness had fallen over the landscape. Clouds blocked out the sun. No, those weren’t clouds, they were flying monsters. Then the black, the stink, the wasteland was gone. He was someplace else.
A gas station on a highway, a Sapp Brothers, eclipsed by a blinding blizzard, the winds as furious as the snow. Was it in the past, the present, or the future? This Earth or another Earth? There was no way to tell, but the place seemed important.
Another gas station, this one awash in rain, the Shell sign bright yellow and gleaming red. A man walked barefoot away from the pumps and headed down the street toward a café, a place called Twede’s, which supposedly had the best cherry pie in all of Washington state. Or that was what the sign claimed.
The barefoot man was a Dragonsoul, and on his neck was a complex dragon tattoo in faded green ink. Steven had seen that before, in the jungles of Bali, on a statue. Later, he’d seen it again on Uchiko’s teacher, someone called Niwashi, which simply meant “gardener.” Steven couldn’t see his features, but oddly enough, he could smell him: cardamom, cloves, nutmeg.
The man took a left and walked to a freeway entrance. There, he put out a
weathered, veined hand and stuck out his thumb. He was a dragon, he could fly, so why was he hitchhiking? And who was he really?
Steven didn’t know, but he had to tell Uchiko that her former teacher was in the United States and making his way east.
The vision faded and Steven blinked. He was back with Tessa, Aria, and Mouse around the fire, which had burned low. Tessa and Aria were both dressed. Mouse, in her True Form, all fifteen feet of her, stood over them. “I think I should put out the fire, and we should get going.”
“Yes!” Aria said quickly. “I do not want to spend another night in the Orange Crush. I have a bed waiting for me, in a nice hotel. I happen to be a Dragonsoul princess, after all. I am accustomed to certain comforts.”
Tessa laughed. “And I am a barista, and I like to cuddle. But we’ll do it your way, Aria. Besides, we need to get back to our people. Zoey must be really jonesing for Steven by now.”
Steven motioned to Mouse, who breathed cold down onto the flames, icing them over. He thought of the blizzard he’d seen, outside the gas station. It was in their future, he knew it.
They piled back into the Orange Crush and took off down I-76. So late at night, there was very little traffic.
Tessa sat next to him while Aria and Mouse snoozed in the backseat.
“Read anything interesting?” he asked.
“Not sure yet,” Tessa replied. “This is all in really archaic dragon script, so it’s hard to understand much. And it’s kind of boring. It has that whole dude begat dude begat dude stuff, this guy did this, and that guy did that. What about you? Did your vision give you anything interesting?”
Steven grinned. “Battle world this. Mysterious Dragonsoul that. And I think we’re going to be hit by a blizzard, and there’s a gas station that seems important. A Sapp Brothers. I’m thinking it’s going to be another fight.”
Tessa shut off her phone and closed the book. “I miss fighting. It’s terrible to say that, I know, but I can’t help it. Getting the Animus from Dragonsouls is addicting. That’s the Dragon Slayer talking. Lucky me.”
They sat in silence for a moment. Then Tessa spoke. “Okay, maybe the book did help me a bit. We humans kind of got Arthur Pendragon somewhat right. Arthur was a dragon, and I think he might be related to someone named Attur Dro. He was one of Icharaam’s sons, and he buddied around with someone named Mynn Lyrr, who was distantly related to Mathaal, though the Alpheros weren’t much interested in winning any father-of-the-year awards. And they didn’t exactly have Escorts. That came later. The Alpheros just wanted to bang us humans. Attur Dro and Mynn Lyrr were heroes though. This was all well before the Egyptians. Like way before. Attur Dro and Mynn Lyrr were the first ones to search for the Holy Grail.”
“What do you think the Holy Grail is?” Steven asked. “Do you think it’s really going to be a cup important to Christianity? Or do you think it’s something else?”
Tessa reached out and took Steven’s hand. “I’m not sure. The human legends come close, but they’re always just a bit off from the truth. I’m hoping once we swim to the bottom of that lake you saw in your vision, we’ll know more. The Elf Queen must have included clues there. We just won’t know until we get there.”
They lapsed into silence. Aria, though, leaned forward. “My father told me stories of Attur Dro, a hero who went all over the world with his Magician, Mynn Lyrr. In one story, Attur Dro killed a vicious Dragonsoul who was eating humans. In another, he helped a Dragonsoul widow find food. He had a magic helmet, a cloak, and an orb which gave him unlimited power. Mynn Lyrr was his trusted friend and a great Magician. They were the best of friends.”
“Like us.” Tessa touched his hair.
He leaned into her caress. “Like us.”
When they got into Ogallala, Zoey was there in the lobby. She threw her arms around Steven and held him close for several long moments while Aria checked in. Then Zoey pulled Mouse into a bone-crushing hug.
The bear girl finally let her go. “I missed you guys so much! Sabina was great, though. She told me stories while we drove, and we played Divination games. I’d think up something from my past, and she’d guess it. She’s sleeping. And the twins...those girls.” Zoey shook her head, rolled her eyes, and sighed. “They said something about staying in a Fairfield Inn being beneath them, since they only stay in category five places or higher. I have no idea what that means, and it’s best not to ask.”
Steven had to laugh at how chatty Zoey was. Mouse still looked half asleep, but she was awake enough to give Zoey a hug. They then carried their stuff into their rooms. Mouse wanted her own, and Aria and Tessa stayed together, which left Steven with Zoey. He was tired from driving in, but when he held her close and kissed her, he felt fresh passion fill him. And she was more than ready.
Again, his Dragonsoul libido was there to save the day. He left her satisfied and both fell fast asleep.
Names swirled in his head. Icharaam. Attur Dro. Arthur Pendragon. All three were warriors with a vision of a better world.
Mathaal. Mynn Lyrr. Merlin. Magicians. All were scholars, powerful but troubled.
What about Rahaab’s offspring?
Steven didn’t know. He woke when the telephone next to the bed rang. It was Chazzie. “Good morning, sleepyhead! This is your favorite Wayne girl. Sorry, Pru, but you know it’s true. So, my Prime, it’s snowing like hell, but I can’t stay another night in this hotel. Oh, and say hello to Uchiko.”
A muffled sound came over the phone before he heard, “Konnichiwa, Steven-dono. I stayed the night with Chastity and Prudence. They were very kind to me.”
That surprised Steven. What now?
Chazzie came back on the line. “Yeah, we saw Uchiko outside and invited her in. See? We are team players. Best wives ever. By the way, you are going to marry us, right? Did we talk about the wedding vows? Sabina has some ideas.”
Pru said something, but Steven couldn’t hear it. “Anyway, come to breakfast. If they don’t have a waffle maker, I’m out of your Primacy! See, this is why you haveta marry us. We’re fickle. What’s that, Pru? Yeah, good point. I’m fickle, while Pru loves you forever. Anyhoo, come on down.”
Steven planned to do just that. Until Zoey grinned up at him. She was naked, warm, and cuddly, and her bright blue-green eyes were so cheery. Her wild frizzy hair smelled like honey.
How could he say no to her? He couldn’t. Though after he finished, she kissed him and murmured, “If you marry the Waynes, you have to marry me. And Aria. And Sabina. And Mouse.”
Right then, that seemed like the best idea ever. However, he noticed Zoey didn’t mention Tessa.
MORDRED WAS HAVING deep dish pizza at La Tavola Ritonda when the call came in. Victor Nutgrass had stayed over, while the others had left to begin the invasion. However, an attack didn’t seem necessary at this stage of the game. Or so it seemed.
La Tavola Ritonda was down on the mezzanine level, with good views of Michigan Street and Lake Michigan. Wood, brass, soft lights, candles, and laughter, it was a good restaurant, good enough for the likes of Morty Flint and his cronies. For Mordred, it was too loud and too happy, and he suffered through meals there because it was expected of him. He had a role to play, and as long as people thought he was inviting, friendly even, they might never suspect who really was. It was fine. Yet the theater didn’t exactly agree with him.
He and Victor were in a private booth, in the back, with a view of the dark lake.
The Carolina Prime ate half a piece of pizza before pushing it away. He leaned in close to Mordred. “I confirmed with Robert Stains. The United States military have satellite images of the Drokharis Aerie in Cheyenne, and it’s been destroyed. Novak, Boaz, & Jessup are already in the process of transferring the Primacy over to the Yellow Ronin, who is now the most powerful Dragonlord on the planet. It seems someone else murdered our problem.”
Mordred had heard differently. He’d called Spider Finger.
He’d only ever seen the mysterious Dragonsoul in person o
nce, in the concrete basement back room underneath a Southie brothel. Spider Finger had kept his right hand hidden. He’d put his left hand on a half-burned folding table underneath a lamp so the light could shine down on his pinkie, which had the extra joint.
Spider Finger offered up information in return for favors. Mordred had agreed. The secretive entity gave Mordred his cell phone for emergency calls only.
Mordred had called about Steven Drokharis’s untimely death. Their conversation had been short.
Spider Finger had answered, “He’s not dead. You should probably take care of that. He’ll be at a gas station in Nebraska. I’ll text you the information.” Click.
Mordred wasn’t used to people hanging up on him. He didn’t like it. And he didn’t like that Spider Finger seemed to be changing his story. He’d had Zuzanna try her Divination magic, but of course, she hadn’t gotten much. Nothing on Steven Drokharis. And only a little flash of something in Denver, but that could be anything.
She had seen Paanga Komang in Washington, walking in the rain.
Victor’s people had seen the same thing. Why would Paanga Komang be visiting? Why was he alone? And why did they keep seeing him in his human form? Mordred didn’t know, but Paanga had always been odd. Mordred had never met a dragon so divided and dangerous except for Mathaal, during those tragic last days.
“We have three tanks for this attack,” Victor said. “They’re decommissioned M1 Abrams, but they work. I have a good source on getting military equipment.”
“Stains?” Mordred asked.
Victor nodded. “He’s the president’s special liaison to the Dragonsoul community, but he’s been willing to do some extra things for me. For a price. He has a certain moral flexibility.”
