“It wasn’t meant to be. It’s meant to be a warning. Don’t be too cocky this time.”
“Her story is so awful. Am I being gullible? Colby was a bastard, and I’m the only one that didn’t see it. What if she’s just playing me for a free ride to Denver?”
“Yeah, you can be too trusting, but in this case I’d go with your gut. Her eyes don’t lie, and I was watching while she was getting settled. Whatever else she is or isn’t saying, no one fakes those kinds of scars, and they certainly don’t put cigarette burns on their own backs.” He gave me a pat on the shoulder. “Just be careful. I think she’s had a tough life, and she does need our help, but girls that survive like she has tend to be tougher than they look. She may be the damsel in distress now, but there might just be a bit of dragon lurking in the shadows. You never know.”
After one more quick hug, he stood up and made sure his lute was at just the right jaunty angle. “Alas, Archer Olivia. A herald’s work is never done. I serve at the pleasure of Her Majesty.” He stopped then, and tossed me a small insulated bag. “Ah, yes. I nearly forgot. The Lady Kat sends you lunch, and sweet kisses.” He wickedly blew me a kiss over his shoulder as he strolled away.
I took my lunch break while the queen had her more official opening court. Apparently, because the turnout had been so much higher on Fridays the last two years, they’d actually planned a few events for today. Berto, still serving as herald, made the announcements.
“Queen Gwendolin welcomes you to the Sylvan Faire, where Humans, Fairies and people of like mind gather in a spirit of companionship and celebration. The archery tournament begins today. Those interested should gather at the appointed place upon conclusion of court. At the request of our kin from up north, this year shall also include what is loosely called a sheep-stealing contest. Your ‘sheep’ may be any creature of your devising that will fit into a cube of one foot to a side. Larger or smaller creatures are not permitted. All beings will post a sheep keeper sign at the entry to their camp to indicate participation in the festivities. For those that wish, Korembi and Razaini will be running a creature workshop at their encampment, site seventeen, after lunch. All are welcome.”
There was much excitement at this announcement, though some of the old timers looked decidedly unhappy. “No good comes of such things,” said Oaken, one of the druids that regularly attended. “It starts in good fun, but hard feelings soon follow.” He shook his head, but didn’t add anything else. Aspen, the youngest of the druids, had been starting to look excited before Oaken spoke up. Now she looked a little downcast. I guessed she wouldn’t be joining the sheep-stealing festivities.
Berto, meanwhile, continued with his announcements. “If you attended morning court, you are aware that there is a stone soup tonight at the pavilion. Bring your own dining gear and beverage of choice, and something to share in the spirit of community. You should plan to assemble at the hour of five.”
“Which means we’ll be lucky to eat by six,” grumbled a young man in leather armor and carrying an impressive-looking axe.
Ignoring the interruption, Berto added, “There will be a bardic tonight. We will begin to assemble at the hour of seven, or at the conclusion of the stone soup, whichever should come first. Bring your talent to share freely with friends.”
It may have been nerves or a lingering hangover, but the longer Berto spoke, the twitchier I got. My ears felt itchy and I swore the sun was scorching my eyeballs, even under the pavilion roof. Hangovers were supposed to get better over time, not worse. I gave Berto a little wave to get his attention before he headed off on another errand.
There were a few other miscellaneous announcements by the cook and the nice lady trying to organize children’s activities, and then court was dismissed.
Thankfully, Berto saw my wave and came back over to me. “Hey Olivia, what’s up?”
“Could you please do me a huge favor? I’m still doing penance, but could you bring me some allergy meds and my sunglasses? The sun is killing my eyes today. Yes, I know, I drank too much and this is my just punishment for overindulgence, but I’m dying here.”
At this point his nursing training took over and he got all serious on me. “How much water have you had to drink today? Not enough, I’m sure.” He opened his flask and handed it to me. “Start on this and I’ll get more water at camp. Your eyes do look a little red. I’ll be right back.”
The flask was empty and I was ready for more water by the time he got back. My eyes were closed, but I could hear him walking up. I could just tell it was him.
“Here you go.” My glasses were pressed into my hands.
I didn’t even open my eyes until they were in place. “Ah, that’s better.” Sunglasses didn’t go with the look, but the dark lenses were a blessed relief today. I downed my allergy pill with most of a chilled bottle of water. Hopefully that would help with whatever else was going on. “Thanks, Berto. You’re the best.”
“You know I am, sweet thing.” He gave me a wicked smile. “But alas for you, I am taken. I’m off duty now. Do you need anything else before I go watch my husband be oh-so-manly at the archery range?”
“Nah, I’m good. Thanks.”
“I brought our feast gear. Since you’re going to already be here, I thought you could claim us a good spot when it’s time to set up for the feast.” With that, he handed over a mid-sized wicker basket. “Drink plenty of water and stay out of the sun for now. Later, my lovely.”
* * * *
The sun was still too bright, even with my dark glasses on. The day felt off. The air almost had a faint metallic tang that jangled the fillings in my teeth. The sky was filled with huge, low hanging clouds. They kind of reminded me of the clouds in one of those alien invasion movies, right before you saw the alien ships for the first time.
Good thing doing my part of the dinner prep was fairly brainless, because the last few days had really thrown me off my game. Colby, Kat, and now a stray teenager. My father would be spinning in his grave, if he knew. Of course, he’d have planted Colby in a grave of his own. That thought made me smile. Cordelia, though, was very much alive, and she was going to freak out all over me. I could feel it. According to her, I’m supposed to stop playing dress-up, get a real job, find a nice young man, and settle down—preferably in that order. Sometimes she forgets she’s my big sister and not my mother. And what was with my damn ears already? The itching was making me nuts. The allergy pill obviously wasn’t helping, so I peeled off the ear tips and tucked them into my belt pouch. Maybe it was the adhesive.
The aromas from the soup pot were delectable, and I was starting to get hungry. Sir Tarly was heading toward the cooking area and came directly over to me. “Her Majesty is pleased with how you carried out your tasks with good grace. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.”
Since it was getting close to dinner, there was no point in going back to camp to change, and while Berto was probably overreacting about Derek, I decided to take his advice for once and not go off alone. I took our feast kit and picked out a table with a decent amount of shade. Bless him, Berto even came back to help me with our set-up. “Mikah is taking a quick sponge bath before dinner and he said I was too distracting. Here I am, to help you instead.”
We were putting the finishing touches on our feasting spot when Berto whistled under his breath. I gave him a sideways look. “I’m gay and married, not dead.”
I looked up and saw Kat and Mikah, and almost didn’t recognize the young woman walking with them, holding hands with Kat. Tessa was stunning. She was wearing one of Kat’s forest green bodices, laces pulled tight to give her some truly amazing cleavage, with a matching skirt that really set off her caramel skin. Her hair was sprinkled with gold dust and styled back to show off perky little cat ears. Whatever magic she did with her eye makeup made her eyes smolder.
Berto nudged me and murmured, “Close your mouth Olivia. You’re starting to drool.”
Hastily, I looked over at Kat, who winked at me and smiled—
if anything, she looked pleased at my ogling. There was a fresh love bite on her neck.
With only a minor amount of shuffling around, we all took our seats—Kat, Tessa, me, and Mikah, with Berto on the end.
I leaned over and whispered to Tessa, “Wow, you look great. I’m glad Kat always brings more garb than any one person could wear.”
The smile she gave me in return made me warm all over. “Kat helped me with the bodice. I couldn’t have done it without her,” she said.
My mind was telling me that she was a teenager and a damsel in distress—and what about Kat?—while my body was saying, Shut up, she’s hot! Given Kat’s fresh love bite, I was pretty sure Kat had more than just helped Tessa with the bodice, too.
As folks were settling into their places, I glanced around to see if I could spot Derek’s group. I was glad to see that he and his crew were on the far side of the feasting area. It took me that long to notice all of the fanciful creatures adorning the tables. The Trolls had a cluster of what looked like plush baby dinosaurs with brightly colored feather mohawks. A few of the Elven types had little dragons perched on their shoulders. I couldn’t quite see how they were fastened on, but they looked amazing. Even Derek’s crew had an assortment of colorful small wolves and sheep.
Kat told me, “They’re for the sheep-stealing competition. No one trusted leaving their sheep at camp over dinner, so everyone brought them along. Korembi and Razaini did an amazing job at their sheep-building workshop. They even gave out all of the materials for people to use. Of course, they brought the compys with them, already made.”
“The what?”
“Compys—you know, the little tiny dinosaurs? Proper name Compsognathus.”
I stared at her like she’d grown an extra head. “How on earth do you know what they are and what their proper name is?”
“Oh, I didn’t. Korembi and Razaini told me. They’re paleontology professors at the university in Wyoming. The rest of their group is all grad students. This is their fun event to start the summer, and then they’re all off to their next dig. You should see the mascot they have in their camp. It’s a giant raptor skeleton.”
“Velociraptor? Like in those old dinosaur movies?” I asked.
“No. Velociraptors are actually the size of a dog, according to Korembi.” Kat held up a hand just over knee height to illustrate. “The ones in the movie are the size of Utahraptor—around seven feet tall. That’s the skeleton Korembi has.”
“Cool. I wonder how they get it in their car?”
Unfortunately, our little conversation was interrupted by the not-dulcet tones of Sir Mehmet. He apparently hadn’t recognized Tessa earlier with actual clothes on, but now he was staring right at us. “Hey! What are you doing over there?”
Well, that certainly got everyone’s attention. The assemblage was staring at him like a bull in a china shop—sorry, I couldn’t resist.
Tessa’s shoulders drooped a bit, and then she glanced at me. She lifted her chin and glared back at him. “I’m sitting where I choose. And you know what, Derek? I don’t choose you. You could say I’m mooooving on.”
“You ungrateful little bitch! I brought you here, and I’ll tell you where to sit!” He actually took a few steps toward us, and people were moving to intervene when Wendy used her mom voice, which was way more serious than the queen voice. “That’s enough! Sir Mehmet, I have indulged you enough today. We all play the roles we choose, but you don’t own anyone, costumes to the contrary. Take one more step in that direction, and I will radio the rangers to escort you out. Am. I. Clear?”
For a second I thought he was going to come after us, right in front of everyone. One of his friends whispered urgently in his ear as she pulled him back to his own table. Augra stuck out in Derek’s group since they didn’t have many women who weren’t slave girls, and she tended to be imposing. Right now, we owed her one.
Conversation was subdued for a bit, but quickly got back to normal as food was brought out and regular dinner chatter picked back up. Everyone was talking about the sheep-stealing today. It sounded like it had been a lot of fun, with only a few incidents of overzealous sheep procurement. The barbarian-adventurer types apparently took their sheep-stealing very seriously. I was kind of sorry I missed it, and made a mental note to talk to Korembi later. Maybe if I asked him nicely, he’d let me make some kind of critter so I could join in tomorrow.
Somehow I ended up with the sun in my eyes again. Even with those freaky clouds, it was insanely bright, and it brought back my headache with a vengeance. I even felt a little buzzed, and I’d had nothing but water all day. I muttered, “I swear it must be a full moon or something. Leo can’t make it. Mooohmet is a bigger idiot than usual. My freaking ears will not stop bugging me. And what is with the sun today? Did someone turn it up to eleven?”
I felt cool fingers on my neck first, rubbing gently, and then warm breath in my ear. Tessa whispered, “Thank you for letting me stay with you. I’m very grateful. I don’t know how I’ll ever make it up to you. I’d be happy to give you a real massage after dinner, to help you relax.”
In case her words left any confusion as to her meaning, the soft kiss on my ear and cool fingers trailing up my thigh removed all doubt. “Kat said I could stay in your tent. I hope that’s all right with you.”
I assumed her question was rhetorical, because I couldn’t think straight to answer. I wanted to push the plates aside, lay her back on the table, and ravish her right there. What on earth had come over me? I’m not normally a ravish-someone-in-public-at-dinner kind of person.
Tessa had the softest lips. She tasted like raspberries and sin. I was vaguely aware of Kat on her other side, nibbling on her ear and kissing her neck. Someone was tapping me on the shoulder and wouldn’t go away. I finally had to breathe. “What?” I snapped.
It was Mikah. “I don’t know what the two of you are trying to prove, Olivia, but you should probably stop making out with Tessa at the table.”
Oh my god… When did my hand get up her skirt like that? Thank god for the long tablecloth. What was wrong with me?
“I don’t know what’s going on with you tonight, but if you keep it up, Sir Mehmet is going to have a cow.” Mikah looked horrified as soon as the words left his lips. “I cannot believe I said that. We’re all switching to water.”
“I haven’t had anything but water all day. Just ask Berto,” I hissed back at him.
I tried to extricate myself from Tessa and her garments as subtly as possible, and return my attention to dinner. She pouted a tiny bit, taking my hand and sucking long and slow on one of my fingers. “Later then…”
The queen talked about the day’s activities after the feast, but honestly, I couldn’t remember a word she said. I wanted Tessa, like I had never wanted someone in my life. I couldn’t seem to see anyone but her, and it was all I could to do to keep my hands to myself. Court ended and Mikah threw up his hands. “Hurry up. Go. We’ll clean up.”
Tessa sashayed up the road to our camp, and it was like she had an invisible leash attached directly to my clit. She smiled over her shoulder at me, and for an instant her eyes flashed crimson red, right before she disappeared into my tent. I could hear the soft sounds of clothing dropping to the ground. I may have left a trail of clothes across the middle of our camp. All I know is that I was already naked when I reached her.
Her eyes were hypnotic. She was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. I fell to my knees and buried my face in the cleft between her legs, drowning in her sweet honey, licking and sucking at her. I stroked her perfect, delicious cheeks and explored up her inner thighs, my hands slick with her fluids. She rode my lips all the way down to the bed. She fell on her back and opened herself wide to me, moaning loudly when I slid my fingers inside her, keeping rhythm with my tongue.
I felt kisses on my neck then, and naked breasts pressed into my back. Kat purred into my ear, “You didn’t wait,” and nipped at my throat, marking me.
She licked at th
e tiny wound, teasing me with her tongue. Something cool and hard pressed against my ass, and then the head of an enormous dildo pushed into my eager pussy, filling me. Kat rode me hard, reaching around to pinch my taut nipples while I drank from Tessa like a madwoman lost in the desert.
Tessa’s hands convulsed in my hair, and Kat took me with a steady rhythm, one hand on my breast and the other playing my clit like a master. Tessa cried out, pulling me into her so hard I couldn’t breathe. Kat gave one last thrust and moaned loud in my ear. I screamed deep in my throat as I lost myself in my own orgasm.
We collapsed in a warm pile, still breathing hard, and I heard “O Fortuna” on my phone in the other room. “Cordie, not now!” I muttered. I willed her to leave a message, but the damn phone kept ringing—and then finally, blessed silence.
Chapter Six
Code Zombie
The zipper opened on the tent, and a bundle of clothing sailed through the small opening, landing with a soft thump. “You ladies might want to get dressed,” said Mikah. “I would be surprised if we didn’t get some company from the Beast Lords tonight. You were putting on quite a show at dinner.”
The fog in my head cleared, and the feast came back to me in painful detail. Now I wished I could forget dinner entirely. I couldn’t believe we did that at dinner, in public, with children present. “Forget the Beast Lords—someone’s mom or dad is going to kill us first.”
Kat slowly pulled out of me. I couldn’t help but stare at the size of her jet-black strap-on. I had no idea she had such interesting toys. I was going to be lucky if I didn’t walk funny for the next week. Tessa languidly pulled me over and kissed me deeply before she pulled Kat close and kissed her just as thoroughly. “That was amazing. I hope we do it again soon.”
Still a little shaky, I gathered my own clothes from the pile, and yet part of me wanted Tessa again. Kat looked a little unsteady too, but her lips curved into a sexy smile. On the other hand, Tessa positively glowed with vitality.
Forging Day (Crucible of Change Book 1) Page 5
