Authors: Casey Moss
“I
wasn’t going to bother you about your
Hyzendro
.
In fact, I have good news. A contact found Hope, had a woman call me. Hope is
safe and sound. I’m leaving today and, until Hope is enlightened, I’ll be out
of contact. Can you handle the situation here?”
“Sure
can,” Tavis replied with a hearty, congratulatory slap to Alden’s shoulder.
“You go get your girl.”
Alden
bounded down the steps. Tavis went to Faith’s room and knocked on the door.
When no answer came, his concern grew. He cracked open the door.
Faith
was asleep on her bed, looking angelic, cute, nothing like the sex kitten she’d
been in his dream—their dreams—the night before. He sat beside her on the bed
and moved a long lock of her hair from her face. She appeared to be in a deep
sleep.
Thinking
she was still caught in the dream world, he placed a hand on the top of her
head and positioned the pads of his fingers on specific points above her ears.
With his other hand, he put his index finger on the point at the top of her
nose between her eyebrows. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. The floral
scent of the lotion she liked to use filled his nostrils. He pictured her as he
had seen her in his dream the night before and took another breath, hoping he
could work some magic again.
****
Dolon
entered the great room with a heavily laden tray in his hands and stopped.
In front of a casement window near the
fireplace sat Zya.
She had her back to
him, an elbow on the sill, her face resting gently in her hand. She seemed to
contemplate the desolate desert outside. He was relieved he’d been able to get
to her in time, before Mabuz defiled her and changed her to the point of no return.
Too many women from various clans had already been caught, captured and lost to
the Caesachapel Clan and their chauvinistic and domineering ways.
Zya
couldn’t go that route. Her soul would be massacred. She’d become a shell of
her former self.
He couldn’t,
wouldn’t
, allow that to happen to her.
He only hoped the
mind spell he cast on the prince, Mabuz, his father the king, and the rest of
the guard held long enough for him to break the enchantment binding Zya.
Clearing
his throat to gain her attention, he proceeded
into
the torch lit room. She rose from
her chair and directed her attention upon him. He noted how she observed each
move he made as he walked in, placed the tray on the table, and strolled over
to her.
Zya
stood confidently, her chin up, shoulders back, regal. Her gold and ecru laced,
ankle length dress glared in opposition to the dark walls of the great hall.
Her hair was pulled back from her face and pinned in place on top of her head, accentuating
her almond-shaped hazel eyes. The long locks not put in place fell in thick
ringlets down upon her bare shoulders. She would have made a great queen if
that had been her lot in life. Queen though she wasn’t,
neither
in the real world, the Statiochapel Clan, and
most assuredly not in the
Caesachapel Clan, nor would she ever be, he bowed before her anyway.
“Mabuz
and his followers will be detained for quite some time.” He straightened. “I
have been sent here with your dinner and to see to your comfort.”
“How
nice,” her voice oozed contempt. She faced the window.
“Comfort?
You can make me comfortable by getting me out of here. I am so tired of being
kept prisoner, of looking upon the wastelands out
there,
feeling like my energy is being sapped at every opportunity.”
“I
thought you said you’ve been treated well.”
She
glanced over her shoulder and looked at him like he was crazy, then went back
to the view. “Just because I’m treated well doesn’t mean I like the situation.
It seems all I know any more is this room, that bedroom and Mabuz’s lecherous
advances.”
“Advances?
I hope you don’t mind me being
forward, but I have to ask. Has Mabuz entered you?”
She
spun to face him, her mouth gaping open, eyes wide. “What is it with you men
here asking if I slept with anyone? No. I haven’t. I’m still a virgin, and before
you ask, it is the same here as it is anywhere else. Got it?”
“Got it.
But I do have one more inquiry.”
“What
is it?” she uttered with a sigh of annoyance.
“Has
he tasted your blood?”
A
look of horror passed over her features and a hand flew to her chest and patted
the area over her heart.
“No, of course not.
God, no.
Ick.”
“Good.
Try not to let that happen. Has anyone else here or in other realms tasted your
blood?”
She
shook her head. “Look, I said it feels like my energy’s been sapped, like I’ve
been drained, but not my blood. Should I be concerned about something?”
“No.
No worries. You don’t seem worse for wear. I believe I’ve come to you in time.”
“Okay,
if you say so.” She looked back out the window and lightly banged the pane with
the heel of her hand. “I wish I could open this and feel the breeze that’s been
blowing out there.”
He
stepped up behind her and viewed the outdoor scene over her shoulder. Tendrils
of dust floated to and fro on the air. Out in the distance, a handful of dust
devils swirled, picking up small rocks and other bits of matter, and hurled the
items elsewhere on the desecrated landscape. “The breeze out there is one you
would not want to feel. It’s dry. The air contains tiny crystalline particles
that when breathed in scratch and scrape against delicate membranes. See how
they cover their mouths?” He pointed at the crowd below. “They’re protecting
their breathing passages. Not only that, but the heat makes breathing even more
difficult.”
“Oh,”
she said sadly. “Then I guess I shall imagine I’m looking upon a sea.”
“Are
you from an area with water?” Of course he knew the answer, but he wanted her
to think, to remember her true self on her own. Only then could he help her
break the spell she was under.
“Yes
and no.” She shook her head. “That doesn’t make sense. On the one hand, I sense
I grew up and lived near water my whole life. On the other, I know I was land
locked. Like I said before, all I really seem to know is this place and that letch.
Why? Am I supposed to know another place?”
“Yes,”
Dolon and her
inner voice
replied
together.
She
closed her eyes, appeared to concentrate for several moments,
then
opened them.
“Nope.
Nothing.
I’m here. That’s all I can see. So what’s for
supper?”
At
the table, he lifted the cover off the platter. On the tray lay a huge fish
filet, vegetables and cheese. They sat at the corner of the table, he at the
head and her on the side. As they ate in companionable silence, he observed her
nibble on the meal.
Goddess,
how I love this woman
.
She
put a piece of cheese back on her plate. “You know, for some reason, I feel
like I’ve known you for quite some time. You look familiar, though I don’t
believe I’ve met you before. I’m comfortable with you.”
“I
like you, too,” he offered and took a sip of wine.
“Have
we met? How can we have known each other? After all, you are new to the service
of the king, right?”
“In service for the time being.”
Her
eyebrow rose at that statement. “You’re a spy?”
“Don’t
say that so loudly,” he reprimanded in a harsh whisper. “The walls might have
ears. I don’t need my status announced to the world.”
“There’s
no need to fear I’ll give you away,” she grated quietly back, pushed herself
from the table and went to the cold fireplace. She picked up a poker and drew
in the ashes. “I’ve had a sense that all is not right here in this place, this
supposed palace, and if you’re here to make things right, then who am I to stop
you?”
“I
agree. Something is amiss here, and I will put things right, which includes
you.”
He
sat cross-legged on the large animal rug in front of the fireplace. She sat
next to him. In a bold move, he put his arm around her bare shoulders and
caressed her arm with his fingertips. She sank in to him and rested her head on
his shoulder. He crooned a few lines of a song. The foreign words, though
harsh, seemed melodic with the way he intoned the phrases with a lilt of
sadness and longing.
“What
you just sang was beautiful, but what were you saying?” She nuzzled closer to
his chest.
“Let
me see if I can translate it.” After a few silent moments passed, he spoke,
“Beloved.
Beautiful.
Mine. Remember this through all.
They will create the future. Through them will be the many.
Beloved.
Beautiful.
Mine. I beg of you remember these words. No
matter what happens in the coming days do not despair. O’ do not despair.
Beloved.
Beautiful.
Mine. The
Messiah will come. All will be healed.
Beloved.
Beautiful.
Mine. Brother will love brother, cousin embrace
cousin.
Beloved.
Beautiful.
Mine. All will be as it once was.”
****
All will be as it once was
, her
voice
chimed.
She
tilted her head and gazed at him. His beautiful green eyes gazed back. Her soul
burst with love. She
had
known him
once and neither the place nor the time mattered in this moment. She slipped
her arms around him, stretched slightly and lightly brushed his lips with hers.
When she pulled back, he brushed a stray strand of hair away from her face and
placed it behind her ear, then cupped her cheek.
Each
leaned toward the other in harmony. She savored the feel of his lips, the way
they caressed, the way they glided smoothly against hers. Again in perfect
accord, each parted their mouths and deepened the kiss. He embraced her, fit
her snugly to him. She was aware of each place his body touched. Contentment
eased her muscles. His lips pulled from hers again. Only a feather’s touch of
connection remained. She sighed happily.
In
an easy move, he had her in his arms and stood. As he carried her to a
wing back settee
,
she claimed his mouth again. When they sat upon the red piece of furniture, her
tush on his lap, she felt the extent of his arousal. She slipped her tongue
into his mouth, tasting the dark berries, oak and spice of the wine he had
drunk. She shifted on his lap.
He
pushed her away. His shoulders heaved several times,
then
steadied as he appeared to catch his breath. She tried not to be disappointed
that he ended their kiss and held her away at half an arm’s length.
“Could
you try something for me? Could you try to picture that beach you spoke of
earlier?”
Again
she closed her eyes and attempted to bring an image of another place to her
mind. Gradually a vision of a beautiful sea and beach appeared. Her mental eye
glanced behind her. Steep cliffs rose from the edge of the sand with green plateaus
here and there.
“Open
your eyes, love.”
A
cool breeze with a subdued, tangy scent of salt graced her. She opened her eyes
and found the two of them sitting on the beach.
“The palace?”
Dolon
smiled. “We are no longer there. You have successfully controlled a change.
Mabuz no longer holds power over you.”
“Oh,
thank God!” She threw her arms around Dolon, pushing him onto the sand near the
edge of the water.
She
held his face in her hands and resumed the kiss, which he had interrupted
before they found themselves in the new location. As her tongue played with
his, a warming cloak of wild abandon enveloped her body. She wanted to be naked
on the sand with him, the sun’s rays covering them like a blanket, the cool,
tantalizing breeze whisking away the by-products of their heat of passion, as his
large hands played with her breasts and explored her crotch.
Moving
the folds of his toga away, she slid her hand into the shorts he wore
underneath. His cock was full and heavy on her palm. She rimmed the shaft with
her fingers. He moaned into her mouth. Enjoying his reaction, her body
responded in kind with the hardening of her nipples and beads of moisture
dampening the cleft between her legs.
She
broke off the kiss and moved down his body, grabbing the shorts and pulling
them down his taut, toned legs as she went. She tossed the piece of clothing to
the side. His erect penis swayed in the air. She gazed upon his face. He moved
his hands behind his head to prop it up and smiled at her.
Focusing
again on his long, thick shaft, her nerves fluttered with excitement. She bent
down and took his cock in
to
her mouth. She ringed his cock with her hand and, as she sucked on the upper
portion, her hand followed her bobbing motion on the lower portion. She let the
dick slide from her mouth, her tongue snaking out, licking the underside and rimming
the ridge of the mushroom head. An innate need to pleasure him took hold of
her. She massaged and caressed the shaft with her mouth, then moaned around his
dick. The cock pulsated. She drew harder on it.