Conway's Curse (4 page)

“You’re not cursed, Conway,” Tion said, watching the dust dragons stage a counterstrike against the armed sweat army. He looked up at Marvin. “How will you know when this person arrives? Did Herb’s witch give you a description?” Tion leaned against Conway’s bulk. “Maybe that’ll prove to Conway that she wasn’t talking about him.”

“Oh, his name is all the description we needed, and it wasn’t Conway,” Em said, her eyes shining with Romance as she leaned her bulk against Marvin. “Wylde the Wandering Warrior Wizard. Has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?”

Two sprites and a human each groaned in three-part harmony.

Tion,
Kail, and Conway stayed at the inn for more than a week, exchanging odd chores and work for room and board. Tion was delighted to find a reed pipe in Conway’s reluctant pack, and after a brief wrestle, the pack relinquished it. Conway turned out to be a fair hand as a musician, and he earned more than enough pocket change the first two nights to buy the sprites clothing more in keeping with their size. By the third night, the music and the sprites’ natural abilities for dance had enough ale flowing that Marvin gave them all a stipend.

By tacit agreement, they agreed to wait a while, “Just to see if Wylde comes,” Conway had said. Kail balked, flatly refusing to believe in the myth, although he put up very little actual argument. Privately, Tion supposed Kail’s willingness to remain had more to do with free ale than any altruistic foolishness. Tion himself had his doubts about the veracity of the wizard, but he simply could not ignore the wistful face Conway often wore whenever he caught the human looking at him too closely.

Tion
untangled himself from Kail and sat up sleepily. The knock that had awakened him came again. “Come in,” he called out. Light spilled into the room as the door opened, followed by the lamp that cast it, followed by the hand which held the lamp aloft, and finally followed by Conway, who closed the door behind him.

“I’m sorry. Did I wake you?”

Kail muttered groggily beside Tion and rolled over. Tion rubbed his back for a few moments. “It’s okay, lad. What’s wrong?”

Conway sat down on the edge of the bed that all but dwarfed the two sprites. He set the lamp on a small table and folded his hands in his lap. After a long moment he spoke, and his voice was barely a whisper. “I’m scared.”

Tion snugged the blanket around himself and Kail. “What of, Conway?”

“Listen.” He tilted his head toward the far wall

Tion turned his head to look out the window. The moon was beyond his view, but he could still see the barest touch of silver shimmering in the stirring leaves. “What is it? I don’t—”

A faint howl sounded from what might have been deep in the forest, well beyond the open square of the village. To Tion, it sounded somehow forlorn, and yet at the same time, angry. “The woof?”

Conway nodded, his eyes wide in the fluttery lamplight. “It’s been doing that for the last hour or so.”

Tion patted the human’s arm awkwardly. “Try not to think about it, Conway. The moon isn’t quite dark yet, and even if it was, according to Marvin we’re safe enough as long as we don’t go into the woods after dark.”

“I know, but….” Conway shivered hard enough to rouse Kail briefly.

“Is he still here?”

“Hush, Kail,” Tion said, rubbing Kail’s bare back again. “He’s concerned about the woof. Go back to sleep and I’ll take care of it.”

“What, is he afraid? He’s three times our size, for crying out loud,” Kail grumbled and rolled over to peer at Conway. “What’s he got to be afraid of?”

Conway hung his head, evidently ashamed, and Tion elbowed Kail in the ribs, hard. “The same thing anybody is afraid of, Kail, no matter how big or small they are. The unknown.”

Kail protested loudly, rubbing his ribs, but when Tion began to argue with him, Conway held up his hand. “No, he’s right, Tion. I shouldn’t be afraid. Granny told us kids stories of weres and buggerts and trills and all sorts of things that live in the woods, so it’s not like they’re all that unknown.” He took a deep breath and stood. “I should go back to my room. I’m sorry I woke you.” Conway lifted the lamp and turned away, but not before Tion saw a shine in his eyes.

“Conway, wait a—”

Kail interrupted him. “Get back here, Oaf.” He sat up and rubbed green ire from his eyes. “You don’t get to waltz in here, wake us up, then disappear without making amends.”

“What do you want me to do?” Conway asked, confused.

Kail rolled his eyes and looked at Tion. “He really can’t be that dumb, can he?” Before Tion could reply, he turned to look at Conway. “You stay here and keep us safe, dummy. You are as big as a house, after all.” Mock irritation dripped from his voice and briefly stained the quilt that covered the bed before it evaporated. Kail pushed Tion over and scooted out of the way to make room. He patted the empty space between them. “And since you didn’t have sense enough to stoke the fire, you can keep us warm too.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want—”

Green fire flashed in the dim room as Kail growled.

“Best do as he says, Conway,” Tion interjected. “You know how he gets.”

Conway nodded and came back to the bed. He set the lamp down and stripped quickly before climbing gingerly over Tion. As he settled back, Tion drew the quilt up to Conway’s chin and slipped his arm across the human’s broad expanse of chest. He could feel Conway’s rapidly beating heart slow down just as Kail’s hand met his beneath the covers. Tion clasped it and felt his own heart all but burst with love and pride for his partner. The glow it produced bathed and mingled with similar light from his bedmates, and he settled back happily into the crook of Conway’s arm. Kail did the same, and Conway sighed deeply.

“Thanks, guys.”

Kail squeezed Tion’s hand, and the mutual glow brightened. “Go to sleep, Oaf.”

“Yes, Kail.”

“
Why
did you do it?” Tion asked. Conway had risen early to stack firewood for the kitchen as part of his daily chores, leaving the sprites to start their day a bit later.

“Do what?” Kail asked, nipping at Tion’s right ear.

“Don’t be an ass. You know perfectly well what.” Tion rolled on top of Kail and ground their hips together. Kail wrapped his arms around his partner’s waist and held him close.

“Yeah, I know,” Kail replied, burying his face against Tion’s neck. “But I was hoping you wouldn’t ask.”

Tion raised himself up on his forearms and stared down into his partner’s face. He arched his back and slowly slid his dick along the length of Kail’s stomach. “Well, I am asking, and if you want this to be anything more than a reminder of what you’re missing, you’ll answer.”

Kail shuddered and grabbed Tion’s butt. “Okay, I’ll answer!” he said, laughing. “Just don’t leave.”

Tion relaxed against Kail’s chest with a sigh. After a long moment of silence, he said, “Well? Are you going to tell me?”

Kail nodded silently, biting his lip. “It’s because I realized he’s braver than I am.”

Tion lifted his head, surprised. “What?”

“Don’t rub it in, Tion,” Kail grumped. “It’s just that he admitted he was afraid, which is more than I’ve been able to do.”

Tion lay his head back down and snugged his arms along Kail’s body. “Do you have any idea how much I love you right now, mister?”

“Hopefully enough to fuck me into the middle of next week,” Kail said… hopefully.

Tion lifted his head again, surprise written in large letters across his forehead. “Wait, what? You want to catch this time?”

Kail nodded, kissing the letters away. “Yeah. I’m feeling all girly right now.”

Tion laughed. “I’ll have you know it takes a real sprite to take it up the ass,” he said, planting kisses along Kail’s body as he worked his way down. Tiny roses sprang up on Kail’s chest and stomach, and he laughed. “That tickles,” he said as he brushed them away.

“Does this?” Tion settled himself between Kail’s legs, pushing them apart to make room. He bent his head and enveloped Kail’s dick with the heat of his mouth. Kail’s back arched, and Tion swallowed him down.

“Oh! I… ah… no!” Kail cried as Tion licked and slathered his partner’s straining dick. His head bobbed, alternately sucking and blowing cool air, making Kail buck and writhe.

“I didn’t think so,” Tion said, pushing Kail’s knees to his chest. “How about this?” He tilted his head to snuffle Kail’s balls out of the way before lapping at his partner’s pink, inviting hole.

“Oh, shit, no!” Kail cried out and grabbed his knees, opening himself wider to Tion’s attention.

Tion snorted with laughter as he opened the little jar Kail had used on him the night before. “Bad choice of words, Kail.” He slathered pale blue cream on his dick and spread the excess across Kail’s hole, sliding a couple of fingers in and out as he teased his partner’s southern sentry into submission. “Are you ready?”

“Are you kidding?” Kail spread his legs wide, and Tion settled himself closer. When the head of his dick touched Kail’s colorful pucker, his partner gasped, clutched at his arms. and wrapped his legs around Tion’s waist. “Fuck me, Tion. Fuck me into next week.”

Tion pressed his advantage, sliding himself slowly into Kail’s body. Kail clutched harder and snarled. “Get in here, Boy. I’m not a fucking virgin.” Lust suffused his skin as he dug his heels into Tion’s ass, begging him forward.

Tion snapped his hips and slammed his dick home. Kail shuddered and bucked as Tion thrust himself in and out, almost to the point of escape before slamming home again. Kail spread his knees and dug his heels into the cleft of Tion’s ass, driving him deeper. Tion settled his weight against Kail’s stomach, capturing and compressing his dick between them.

The rhythm they set pummeled the bed to creaking protest, punctuated by Kail’s grunts each time Tion’s dick rang the bell buried deep inside his body, and Tion felt the jerky spasms clutching at his cock that signaled Kail’s imminent release.

“Wait for me, Kail!” Tion cried out, flexing his butt faster. He felt color spread out from his hips and his chest, pale in the early morning light, and saw Kail’s color do the same. When their combined glow deepened to a dark rose, both sprites howled out their release, each clutching the other as they rode out the combined lovequake of their mutual reward.

Just as their bodies inevitably relaxed and Tion collapsed atop his love, someone screamed downstairs.

Tion tensed, but Kail held him close. “Never mind. It’s just Tildie, the cook. She probably saw a mouse.” Tion grinned and relaxed. Tildie’s fear of mice was a legend quickly learned. He kissed Kail’s cheeks and chin before centering on his lips.

They were still kissing when the door burst open and Conway charged the room. “It’s the woof! It’s the woof!”