by Sam Ryder
“Lydia?” Hannah said, moving around me.
The woman put down her book next to the mat and looked up at us. Her vibrant green eyes seemed to shine against the backdrop of her pale skin and red hair. “Hannah,” she said. She shifted her gaze. “Gehn.” She looked at me, and I had the distinct feeling she was looking inside my soul. “Cutter. You made it. I was getting worried.”
How the fuck did she know our names?
Before we could ask her anything, however, she said, “Sit, please. Gehn, tell me about your dreams. I’ve been having flashes of them myself, but they tend to be distorted.”
This was already the weirdest experience of my life, but I had the feeling it was only going to get weirder. Still, there was nothing for it. We sat on her mat in a semicircle, our legs crossed. I felt like we should all hold hands and conjure the spirits of the dead or something.
Gehn was directly across from Lydia, avoiding eye contact.
“Why won’t you look at me?” Lydia asked.
“I’m just a little nervous,” Gehn replied.
“Don’t be. Now tell me about your dream.”
Chapter 30
Dream Reader
Gehn carefully explained her dream, doing her best not to leave out any details.
“Almost every night, I dream that I am standing next to this man, Cutter. And Cutter is wearing several pieces of armor on his body. He wields two guns, one in each hand.” Almost sheepishly, she gestured to the one holstered at my hip and the other clasped to her thigh.
Nothing unusual so far.
“Standing next to us are dozens—maybe even hundreds, it’s hard to tell—of other armed people. Some are human. Others are Enders. Everyone is armed and watching Cutter to see his next move.
“We charge the city of Rome, guns blazing. Humans from the Rising retaliate, firing on us. There’s tremendous bloodshed on both sides.”
Lydia stared at Gehn intently, her eyes narrowed. She seemed fully focused.
“You’re not scared of the carnage,” Lydia said.
I turned to Gehn, expecting her to refute the statement, but she shook her head. “No. I’m excited by the violence. It stirs something inside me. I want to be a part of it, except I don’t need a weapon. I am the weapon. I am terrified, but not of the blood or death. Of myself.”
Lydia nodded, as if she expected the response. I stared at Gehn, but she refused to meet my eyes. I knew from before that she feared what she was capable of, but this felt like a whole new level. I’d never had such insights into the mind of an Ender, but then again, when it came to the Rising, I knew I was capable of inflicting plenty of violence too. Were humans really any different?
“We storm the city,” Gehn continued. “Bodies collapse, piling up. Soon, we’re having to jump over walls of corpses because they are in heaps, blocking the streets. We reach the city center, not far from here. We stand in front of Atticus’s fortress. Cutter raises a gun over his head, shouts at the top of his lungs, and we all run to the fortress. That’s when I wake up.”
Lydia bit her bottom lip. “You dream this every night?”
“I do. It’s the most vivid dream I’ve ever had,” Gehn replied. Shit. I didn’t know her dream was a nightly occurrence. I felt like a jerk for not knowing and never thinking to ask.
“Remove your hat,” Lydia said.
“Why?” Hannah cut in, her protectiveness for her sister seeming to seep from every pore.
“Hannah, it’s okay,” Gehn said, tugging her top hat away from her scalp. Locks of silky black hair tumbled free, but that’s not what caught everyone’s attention. Her horns were glowing, stark white in the shadowy basement.
“Yes,” Lydia said. “You are the one we’ve been waiting for.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Hannah asked.
Once more, Gehn quieted her sister, this time with a gentle hand on her arm. “Let the woman speak.”
Lydia’s eyes had never left Gehn throughout her description of the dream, but now they flitted to me. “Everything is your choice,” she said. “And you have not yet made up your mind. Thus, the future is in doubt. That’s why Gehn always wakes up before it’s over. You must decide, or we are all doomed.”
I took a deep breath. My heart was racing for some reason. Something about this woman’s words seemed to cut deep inside me. It was the answer I was expecting. “I’m just one person,” I said.
“And yet you’re the key. Gehn has been prophesied about. She is the chosen Ender, the one who, with you, can unite the races and rise against the Rising.” I didn’t ask for any of this, but that didn’t mean I could run from it. I didn’t even know what I wanted, which, I suppose, was this woman’s point. But I did want to take down the Rising.
“I have made my choice,” I said. “I want to destroy the Rising.”
“Those are just words. Your heart does not lie, nor does Gehn’s dream.”
Frustrate was building in my chest, and I could feel Hannah’s and Gehn’s eyes boring into me. I wanted to contradict her words, unmask them as lies by a con artist who didn’t know shit. But she was right. I hadn’t fully decided what I would do. One foot was always back at The Last Stop, pulling over a bar stool as I ordered my usual drink.
“How can I lock in the future?” I asked. “And when does the war start?”
“I’m not a prophet,” she said. “I’m a reader. I can tell you what dreams mean, but I can’t come up with new visions for you. But I can say that the war has already started, moving like a slow-burning fuse toward an explosive end.”
Well, shit.
“Good luck,” Lydia said, putting an abrupt end to the conversation.
“Thank you,” Gehn said, “for everything.” I could tell how much she meant it—she’d probably been struggling with this dream for months, and now she knew why she could never see all the way to the end. It was because of me. Dammit.
“How much?” Hannah asked, drawing out her clinking bag of coins.
“I don’t want your coins,” Lydia said. Though she didn’t finish the statement, it implied there was something else she wanted as payment.
“We must pay you for the information you gave us,” Hannah said. “What do you need? Food? Clothing? We will visit the market as soon as it opens and bring back whatever you want. Make us a list.”
Lydia shook her head. “I have few needs these days,” she said. “But I could use warmth in the cold of night.” She bit her bottom lip again, and this time it sent off a very different signal than when it meant she was thinking, analyzing. Her eyes met each of ours in turn, smoldering.
Was she talking about what I thought she was talking about?
She slipped the strap of her dress off one shoulder, then the other. The fabric barely rustled as it fell away, pooling around her hips and revealing small, rose-bud breasts, perky, piercing the darkened room. Whoa, I thought. Her body was slim and firm, sexy as hell.
I glanced at Hannah and Gehn to get an idea as to what they were thinking. Hannah, as usual, looked up for anything. She crawled across the space to Lydia, touching the tight skin of her abdomen, her fingers creeping up and cupping her breasts. She kissed her, softly at first, but then Lydia responded and their lips roamed over each other’s. Somehow I’d found my way into the beginnings of an orgy. I wasn’t one to wait on the sidelines, so I slid over, pulling Hannah’s tank top over her head as she lifted her arms to oblige. Miles of soft, smooth skin awaited me, and I kissed her neck, her back between her shoulder blades, lower.
I expected Gehn to do what she’d done before, when she’d taken Chuck for a walk, but then suddenly she was there, running a hand under the stubble of my chin. Her lips found mine and I was undone. Our tongues danced, flashing in and out as we tasted each other. I can’t even remember which of us managed to work her dress over her shoulders, but suddenly it wasn’t there anymore, but her skin and breasts were. I dipped my head lower and kissed them, alternating from nipple to nipple which seemed
to excite her. The room brightened as her horns glowed even whiter, drawing the attention of the other two gorgeous women in the room. They pulled apart, surrounding us. Lydia kissed one of Gehn’s nipples while I took the other and then we turned toward each other and kissed too. Her tongue was like fire, wet and warm and probing. I felt someone, Hannah I think, unbutton my shirt and pull it away ferociously. Someone else, Gehn I guess, worked on my belt and pants, and then they were gone too. I cupped Lydia’s twin breasts, playing my fingers over the erect nipples. Speaking of erect…Hannah dragged my underwear down and teased my penis, which was at full mast now. Gehn joined her with her mouth, her tongue roaming up and down my shaft, licking off any drips that had escaped thus far in our foreplay.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Hannah stand and pull her jeans down, revealing her shaved pussy. She stepped closer and I pulled away from Lydia’s lips, offering my tongue to her, entering the folds between her lower lips, stimulating her clitoris. She moaned, touching her own breasts, which were beautiful and full under the glow of her sister’s horns. Speaking of which, Gehn had moved around behind Lydia, pulling her dress the rest of the way off, so none of us wore a scrap of clothing any longer. Gehn’s tail roped around Lydia’s abdomen as she touched her from behind, making the dream reader arch her back and bite her bottom lip harder.
Hannah pulled my chin away from her, dropping back onto all fours and easing me onto my back. She straddled me in reverse, cowgirl style, slipping my dick into her moist vagina. Then she began to ride, her ass pressed against my midsection. I held her hips firmly with my hands and helped her ride, up and down, up and down, watching my shaft vanish and reappear as she slid against it.
“Oh,” she gasped. “Oh. Holy fuck. Cutter.” I lifted her higher and faster, speeding up the friction, which only made her tone louder. “Fuck me, Cutter. Fuck me!”
Oh, I was. She screamed louder and louder, until finally she flopped down, spent. I was only getting started. Gehn replaced her sister, riding facing me, her horns glittering, her tail flicking around her shoulders. She leaned down as she slid me inside her, allowing me to lift my head up slightly to taste her tits. They tasted damn good, slightly salty from the sweat of the hot day we’d left well behind us. She began to gyrate her hips, grinding against me and stimulating me further. I was getting close now, but I needed to man up, so I thought cold shower thoughts and clung to the precipice, reaching between us to probe with a finger, speeding up the process, touching her in all the right places. Unlike her vocal sister, Gehn was silent in her pleasure, which was instead written all over her expression, her eyes wild, her horns brightening more and more, until at the penultimate moment they shone like the sun. She gasped and rolled off, leaving my still-erect penis waiting for the final conquest.
Lydia, naked in the moonlight, was on all fours, looking back at me, a question in her eyes. Do you have what I need?
Fuck yeah I do.
I crunched my way up to sitting, then shoved to my knees, running a finger along the other two women as I passed them. They looked content and happy, staring at me with appreciation, still stroking their breasts and clits. I took position behind Lydia, who was still looking back at me between locks of bright red hair. I grabbed her hips, lifting them slightly to open her up, and then slid myself inside her. I immediately felt the explosion coming, but once more held back—there was work to be done. I thrust against her, slowly at first, which drew a soft, low moan from her, but then faster, which increased the pitch of her cries. Her small but round ass slapped against me and I looked around her to enjoy the movement of her perky tits.
The vision was spectacular and almost caused me to lose my shit, but I managed, once more to hold back. It became even harder when I felt Hannah press her breasts against me from behind. Harder still when Gehn positioned herself underneath Lydia so the dream reader could read a lot more than her dreams, slipping her tongue inside her and eating her out.
Still, it was clear Lydia was getting close and I was determined to end when she did. I pumped harder and harder and just as her cries reached a crescendo, I released my payload inside her, groaning in ecstasy and holding it for a few, glorious seconds before pulling out.
“Whoa,” was the most I could say in that moment.
Our visit to the dream reader had been everything we’d hoped for and a helluva lot more.
Chuck whined from the doorway, where he’d been waiting patiently like a good boy.
Hannah kissed my neck while Gehn extricated herself from under Lydia, who had collapsed on top of her after her orgasm. Lydia rolled over, revealing her slim, attractive body. “Come back when this is all over,” she murmured, eyes closed.
“Sounds like a plan,” I said. Gehn was already dressing and I knew Hannah and I should do the same, though the temptation to crash here for the night was tempting. But we couldn’t. We needed to keep moving, make our next move and see where it led. If anything, action, like the unbelievable orgy I’d just participated in, would take my mind off Lydia’s revelation that it was me who was holding us back.
I had to figure shit out, and I wouldn’t accomplish anything sleeping the night away, even if it was with three beautiful women.
I stood up and dragged my clothes back on. Gehn was already finished dressing, making short work of pulling her dress up while Hannah took a bit longer due to having both a top and bottom to work with. Lydia made no move to dress, and I drank her naked form in one last time before stepping through the basement door and climbing the steps. Until we meet again, I thought, a silent farewell as we left the house.
But before I could open my mouth and ask what we should do next, a half-circle of six large men surrounded us, pinning us up against the door as soon as it had closed behind us.
“What the hell do you want?” I asked, forcing bravado in my tone though I’d been genuinely caught off guard. Casually, I stepped in front of Gehn and Hannah, putting my bulk between them. Chuck growled at my feet, but I calmed him with a pat on his back.
“People have been talking about you folks,” the middle guy said, licking his chops.
People, I thought. More like Elias. It would be a smart move on his part. Spread rumors, get people all riled up, flushing us out of hiding.
Hannah raised her wrist. “I’m a First,” she said. “I’ve lived here my whole life. Leave us alone or pay the consequences.”
The man’s voice was like that of a snake. “What about your companions?” he asked, gesturing to Gehn and me. “Don’t see no fancy bracelets on them. And take off that hat.” The last was said directly to Gehn, who was doing her cowering thing, gripping the back of my shirt like a lifeline. I could feel her nails digging slightly into my skin.
I lowered my head and twisted it to the side. “Gehn, keep the hat on,” I whispered. “Just run as soon as I—”
I spun back around, whipping Alpha out of her holster and pulling the trigger twice in short succession—BAM-BAM!
Two of the thugs to our left went down hard, while the others scattered, shocked by the ferocity of my attack. Hannah had taken my advice and was already on the move, launching herself off the top step and onto the street, while Gehn seemed frozen in place, so I grabbed her hand and pulled her after her sister. We sprinted through the gap Alpha had created for us, Chuck leaping behind us.
“We’re leaving Rome—now!” I said.
Footsteps pounded behind us and I knew the men had recovered from their surprise. I’d seen the weapons holstered at their hips. They’d thought we were easy prey, so they hadn’t drawn them before—intent on having a little fun with their bare hands. With two of their number dead on the street, they wouldn’t make the same mistake twice. Which meant evasive maneuvers were necessary. Hannah realized the same thing, ducking into an alley ahead of Gehn and I. Still running hand in hand, Gehn and I followed her lead, cutting sharply off the main thoroughfare just as we heard a shot. The bullet whistled past and chiseled off a chunk of a building. Gehn, with he
r long Ender legs, picked up the pace to run at my side, one hand clamped tightly on her hat to prevent it from blowing off.
I glanced back. One of the larger men was in hot pursuit, faster than the others, his gun arm pumping at his side. We couldn’t seem to lose him, although we cut down another narrow side street before taking another right, ensuring he couldn’t get a bead on us.
“Keep running!” I shouted just as we turned another corner. I wrangled my hand from Gehn’s grip, shoving her forward so she’d maintain her moment. Then I spun around and stopped dead in my tracks, lowering my shoulder.
The big man rounded the corner at full tilt, expecting to find us halfway down the street. Well, he was two-thirds correct, Hannah and Gehn putting plenty of distance between us. His eyes widened to dinner-plate size when he saw me doing my best impression of an NFL linebacker, throwing my shoulder into his abdomen, knocking the wind out of him and using his forward momentum to flip him over my head, sending him crashing to the ground.
For good measure, I stomped on his face with my boot, and his eye socket crushing beneath the blow. He wailed in pain. I was tempted to fire another shot into his chest to finish him off, but was worried about waking up more of the locals lest we end up with a mob on our hands as Elias had promised.
Plus, I heard more footsteps—more goons catching up to their speedy friend. I took off down the street, stopping briefly at an intersection, scanning left and then right. The women had gone right and, much to my chagrin, were waiting for me to catch up.
“There are three more,” I said as I reached them. “Leave them to me. You have to get out of the city.”
“Fuck that,” Hannah said in the tone of hers that brooked no argument.
Dust kicked up as two of them rounded the same corner I just had, doing the head-on-a-swivel thing until their gazes landed on us. As expected, they were both armed.
“Fine,” I said. “You want to help?” I handed Alpha to Hannah. “Here. Gehn has my other gun. Cover me.”
