Official Reckoning

by Mark Albany

  I scowled at her over the cast iron pot that hung over the open fire. “You’ve just gotten a little too used to the food prepared for you back at the palace, forgotten what it’s like to have to conserve your resources, making as much food with as few ingredients as possible.”

  Braire grumbled something under her breath, which told me that she knew I was right but didn’t want to admit it. I grinned in triumph before I turned my attention back to the water that had just started boiling.

  “You know, back when I trained to be a familiar, I had a lot of time to read about the various military tactics,” I said, just to make conversation. I was sure that the three women with me, with their collective battle experience, knew a great deal more than I did about the logistics of running an army. All I had was book learning. “Of course, Mas… Vis didn’t like my mind wandering from the subjects that he wanted me to read, but I got some done anyway, and more during our time back at the palace. Most of the armies, human armies, anyway, preferred having oats in their stores instead of wheat or barley, mostly because it is a food that can be shared between the humans and their horses, since most of the warhorses prefer to be grain-fed instead of pasture.”

  To emphasize my point, I poured about two handfuls of oats into the boiling water and stirred it as I added some salt. When I looked up, the three sisters were staring at me oddly.

  “What?” I asked, quickly defensive. “It’s just what I’ve read.”

  “I wouldn’t know, really,” Aliana said, looking at the other two. “Elves don’t usually use horses, so our caravans were usually supplied with other provisions. That said, I guess it does make sense.”

  “And I do remember most of the supply trains we intercepted carried oats in them,” Noral pointed out as she laid out a couple of sleeping mats. “We always wondered why. I guess you’ve just answered that question, though. It’s because the humans decided to have the same meal as their horses.”

  I narrowed my eyes at the suspiciously judgmental tone of her words. “I thought you lot respected all manner of wild beasts as though they were your own kind.”

  “Sure,” Braire interjected with a shrug. “That doesn’t mean I’ll drop down on all fours and eat grass with them, though.”

  “No,” I said, “you’ll drop on all fours for another reason entirely.” I grinned as Braire tossed me a dirty look, then turned my attention back to the food I was preparing and added some spices to the quickly-thickening broth as well as the chunks of dried and salted meat that remained from the stores that we brought from the palace.

  The smell of the cooking food quickly silenced all sorts of complaints about my choice of words, although I could tell that Braire’s mind was already turned toward the subject of why she would be on all fours. I filled four bowls with the thick, savory stew that hadn’t taken more than a half hour to prepare. When paired with the dark bread we still had, it was a simple yet filling meal, and I found myself leaning against a tree behind me once we were finished, smiling.

  “Well, I’m not ashamed to admit when I’m wrong,” Braire said with a smile as she sat next to me, pulled my arm over her shoulder and tucked herself in, laying her head on my chest. “Simple as that meal was, it is refreshing.”

  “I’ll take the compliment,” I admitted with a smile, gently playing with her hair as Aliana and Noral joined us, although not quite as close as I would have liked. They settled against a tree just three or four feet away, cuddled as close together as Braire and I were.

  “What else can you tell me about what happened back in the old days?” I asked, still playing with Braire’s hair. “I mean, aside from the war itself, there isn’t much record left, especially on what the elves were like. Those that I’ve spoken to seem rather reluctant to broach the topic.”

  “And with good reason, I suppose,” Aliana said softly. “It wasn’t exactly a pleasant time for our people. And yet, I suppose, there were good times, pressed in there occasionally.”

  “What about the three of you?” I asked as I looked around at them. “You keep saying that you three aren’t sisters, and yet you seem to have known each other for so long that you might as well be bound by blood. How did the three of you meet?”

  “That’s fairly simple,” Noral said with a smile as she ran her fingers over Aliana’s wings. “Elves were divided into factions, groups that were selected from birth by our elders to fill roles that were required for us to thrive. Assassins, soldiers, farmers, mages. The three of us were selected from our generation, chosen to be trained in the mystical arts, magic in general. The three of us were all that remained of our group in the end. During that training, hellish as it was, a bond formed that was thicker than blood.”

  Aliana chuckled. “I remember Mistress Pawyel. Crazy bitch who thought she could make the three of us the next Trinity Sighting.”

  I wanted to ask what that was, precisely, but as they seemed caught up in remembering, I didn’t want to interrupt. I knew the three well enough to know that the times when they were willing to share from their past like this were rare. They were talking, and I didn’t want to say anything that might change their minds.

  “Right!” Braire said with a chuckle. “Mistress Pawyel. I’d forgotten about her. We used to put snakes in her bedding to make sure that she was too tired to train us the next day, so she would send in one of the younger instructors.”

  “It wasn’t always successful, though,” Aliana pointed out with a chuckle, running a finger over Noral’s cheek.

  “The times that it was, though… Ah, those were the best days,” Braire replied as she grinned and pressed her cheek into my chest.

  “Anyway,” Noral said, trying to regain control of the narrative from the two. “Once we were finished, we decided that we would always stand together. Through thick or thin, through the best and the worst, we would always be with each other.”

  “Hasn’t been without its bumps,” Braire said with a small smile. “I needed a break from the two of you after about a century and a half.”

  “You wanted to try and bond us with your snake!” Noral sounded annoyed.

  “It was a joke!” Braire laughed. “I couldn’t have made that more clear. Everyone knows that the magical bonding between elves and other animals aren’t going to be the same as an elf’s bond with each other. Or humans, as we’ve found.”

  I couldn’t help a soft laugh.

  Braire looked up at me. “What’s funny about that?”

  “Nothing,” I said. “Well, a great deal, but that’s not what I was laughing at. I guess I’m a bit jealous, is all. The three of you have so much history together, so much time between you. So many stories to tell. Whereas all of my stories… Well, at least one of you were present for the ones of worth.”

  Braire tilted her head as she leaned up to look at me, a small smile on her lips. I already knew what was on her mind as she pressed her body to mine, her hands open wide, fingers splayed open on my chest.

  “What?” I asked, although I already knew the answer and leaned forward into her with anticipation.

  “Well, I’m sure that among the four of us, we could always start making new stories,” she whispered, although I was sure that Aliana and Noral could hear what she said, not only from the bonded connection.

  I nodded. Warm tingling rushed down my spine as her right hand moved lightly down my torso, her left slid up my side then curled under my shoulder and found the back of my head, where she played with my hair. The combination of feelings was suddenly all that I could focus on, and left me wordless for a few seconds as her hand moved lower and lower.

  “What… What kind of stories did you have in mind?” I asked, having to speak around the catch that suddenly appeared in my throat.

  “The kind that should probably be kept between us,” Braire said with a soft chuckle, her hot breath on my ear as her fingers slipped underneath my clothes. She pushed my trousers down a little to allow her hand a bit more room as her fingers explored underneath. H
er nails gently dragged over my bare skin as she pressed her lips to my neck. One hand played with and lightly tugged my hair as her other hand found me slowly growing harder.

  Her fingers boldly wrapped around my cock and her fingertips toyed with the sensitive skin, her thumb lightly rubbing the head. I felt her smile, her lips pressed to my neck as they were. Through the bond, I felt her growing more and more aroused, as evidenced by the way her breathing quickened and her chest pressed harder into my side.

  A long way away from the experimental pleasure that she’d shared with me when we were first together, I thought with a smile as I turned my head to place a light, tender kiss on the crown of her head, then pulled her closer as my right hand slipped between us. She brought her left leg up, allowing my hand to glide underneath her skirt. Her pussy was already drenched as my fingers played between the lips, finding that delicious nub of pleasure. She gasped and shuddered against me as I heard what sounded like a very uncharacteristic giggle escape her lips onto my skin.

  I couldn’t focus very well either, of course. My cock quickly hardened in her hands as she slowly stroked it, timing it to match my fingers between her thighs.

  The sound of crumpling fabric caught my attention. I looked up to see Noral standing over me. The sound that had caught my attention was her long, flowing robes dropping from her body to the ground, thankfully distant from the fire, giving me a clear, privileged view of her fully-naked body over me.

  I drew a deep breath. My heart started to pound harder and faster against my ribcage as she stood there, seeming to enjoy how entranced I was with the image she presented.

  It wouldn’t remain an image for long, I thought as I licked my suddenly dry lips, but I could enjoy it as such all the same.

  “Kneel,” I growled, my voice a good deal thicker than it had been when I last spoke. A spike of sensation rushed up my body as she smiled and slowly acquiesced. She dropped to her knees, already knowing what was on my mind so that I didn’t even have to say it as I watched her kneel between my thighs, her firm breasts pressing lightly against them as her hands moved to the ties of my trousers and quickly undid them.

  Her fingers trembled slightly as she did, her anticipation easily visible as she pulled my trousers down to reveal my fully-erect shaft in Braire’s hand.

  Noral smiled and licked her lips before placing an almost reverent kiss to the tip, her tongue lavishing attention on it as Braire refused to give up her control of it. I drew a shaky breath as my head dropped back to the rough surface of the tree behind me. At any other time, the irregular bark would have been enough to distract and annoy me. Not tonight.

  I moaned softly, unable to keep quiet as Noral took my cock deeper into her mouth, sucking enthusiastically as Braire’s hand fell away, her focus drawn more to my hand as my fingers slipped inside her. I could tell that she noticed my left hand running down her back and casting spells on her body that made it more sensitive, more pliable, drawing out her arousal until she gasped, her body tensing. Her nails dug into my chest and neck.

  “Oh… Grant,” she gasped, her lips still pressed to my skin. Her body convulsed with a powerful, delicious orgasm. I felt it, and the fact that it was shared between the four of us made it that much more intense. Wave after wave of pleasure cascaded through her body until words were beyond her, leaving her without any choice but to fall back against me to recover.

  I smiled and took a moment to bask in her pleasure before withdrawing my drenched hand from her pussy.

  My left hand dropped away from her as well, and came down to gently stroke Noral’s hair as she bobbed her head on my shaft, taking more of it in each time she went down.

  I turned my attention to Aliana, who hadn’t come over to join us, although from what I saw, she wasn’t holding back from enjoying what she was watching. She was still dressed, but her right breast was out of her clothes and the fingers of her right hand toyed with and squeezed the nipple, pain perfectly contrasted by the pleasure stemming from her fingers between her thighs, toying with her sex as she watched us.

  With my right hand, I wordlessly indicated for her to come over. At this point, words weren’t needed, and in fairness, I wasn’t sure if I was in a position to say anything of worth, anyway. Soft moans of pleasure were all I could manage as my left hand started to play tricks with Noral’s mind as well. She stiffened, her lips still wrapped firmly around my cock, but the pleasure that rushed through her body made it difficult for her to focus, and her rhythm faltered.

  Just as well, I thought. My fingers curled around the back of her head and drew her back down to take me in again. Her moans grew louder as I muffled them again and again, the head pressed lightly against the back of her throat. She pushed down harder and took me deeper until her chin gently nuzzled against my balls, her nose pressed to my hip.

  She held herself there as long as she could before drawing back with a gasp. I gave her a second to breathe before I pulled her down again, roughly fucking her mouth as the pleasure in her body started to crest.

  My attention turned back to Aliana, who had dropped down opposite Braire, her eyes on my still-glistening fingers. As she leaned in for a taste, I pulled my hand back and shook my head.

  “Off,” I gasped, pointing at her clothes. She smiled coyly and bit her bottom lip as she gestured with her fingers and, as if on command, her already immodest attire dropped away.

  “How industrious,” I commented and let my eyes wander very boldly over her body as she leaned in to take the fingers that had been inside Braire into her mouth and firmly sucked on them, toying at the digits with her tongue while she eyed me.

  Whether the sight alone was too much for Noral to bear or she was already on the edge, I wasn’t sure, but her screams of pleasure vibrated around my cock as she came with it still buried deep in her throat. My left hand gripped her, holding her in place as she shuddered, not giving her a moment of rest from the pleasure until she could take no more.

  She pulled away, her eyelids fluttering as she tried to pull herself together and finally let herself drop at my side, panting for breath.

  “My turn,” Aliana whispered seductively. I gave her an incentivizing slap on the ass as she pulled herself on top of me and straddled my hips, one hand on my shoulder as the other reached down between us, took hold of my cock and pulled it between her thighs. She moaned softly as the drenched head pressed against her pussy and she slowly dropped onto it.

  Already stimulated by not one, but two orgasms shared from Braire and Noral, I was already on the brink. Aliana slowly started to ride me. Her hips pushed forward and then back, then picked up the pace once she was more comfortably settled. Braire, already somewhat recovered, reached up and grabbed one of Aliana’s heavy breasts as she picked up her pace.

  “Grant… Oh yes… Grant, please…” Aliana whispered, her eyes closing. The heat emanating from her body pushed against mine. Apparently, I wasn’t the only stimulated one, and I only realized that she was just as on the edge as I was when she finally collapsed and dragged me down with her.

  It hit me with a shock as my hands gripped her tighter and pulled her closer as my hips bucked into her, filling her with my cock and cum as I leaned in and pressed my lips against her breasts, not in a kiss but just breathing as I pulled her closer still, trying to make the moment last while I panted against her.

  Finally, I dropped back, head hitting the tree behind me. This time it was distracting. I reached up to stroke the sore spot, only to find that Aliana had beat me to it, kissing my cheek tenderly as I laughed.

  “I’ve said this before, and will say it again,” Aliana grumbled softly, her lips dropping to my neck as she remained where she was, perched atop me. “I absolutely adore this form of replenishing our magic.”

  “Agreed,” I said, still struggling to catch my breath. My power was brimming again, but my body was in dire need of rest. I leaned back, a bit more gingerly this time as Aliana laid her head on my chest. Noral had already fallen sleep,
with Braire not far behind. A massive yawn tugged at my jaw as I found a comfortable spot against the tree.

  My last thought as sleep overcame me was that we should probably set up a watch, someone to make sure we weren’t interrupted. Although I had to assume that the vision of four people, two of them naked and the other two partially so, would be enough of a shock for any unwanted visitors that they’d wake us up.

  3

  This…wasn’t like any other dream I’d had.

  That was the first thought that entered my mind when I found myself looking over our campfire, watching Aliana, Noral, and Braire fast asleep around me, almost in a protective circle. I inhaled, and realized that the cool evening air wasn’t touching me as much as I thought it would have. Everything was comfortably warm, just the way that I would be if I were lying down next to three gorgeous women.

  I looked around, watching the world as if through thick glass or a fogged mirror, something that required me to focus if I wanted to see clearly.

  And somehow, all of this felt familiar. More and more so. I gently drifted upward as my eyes moved there, drawing me slowly out from under the tree cover, up into the sky, high enough to see over the trees and into the countryside below. The forest covered most of the land around me, as far as the eye could see, but there were pocket openings here and there. Larger around farms, where I saw fields that were already being harvested this early in the fall. Stacks of smoke rose from campfires, larger if there were small towns, burning fires to ward off the chill.

  A chill that I still thought I should feel. I looked down at myself. My body hung aimlessly above our little camp, so far up that all I could really make out was our campfire, which was burning low.

  My eyes roamed. I always thought of myself as having trouble with heights, but there was no sign of it here except the exhilaration, a sort of freedom that I felt as my body seemed to fly in any direction I looked.