Chapter 14:
Vohan
Despite Olena’s curse, or perhaps because of it, the memories of Cheri’s smiling face had hung over Adrian like a cloud for the last several days; all he ever thought about was how she should be there with him.
Or that he should be with her.
He did what he could around the village to try to feel useful, mostly busywork that the Amazons gave him to keep him occupied given that they were far more capable to attend to their various chores.
Most days he wandered listlessly, trying, and failing, to find a reason to keep going beyond simple revenge.
Carrying a stack of towels to the hot springs for the use of the bathers there, he came upon Alcaia on her hands and knees next to several frames of rough wood.
She was molding stiff clay into solid rectangles almost large enough for Adrian to lie down on, pressing the substance as tight as she could around the wooden structures.
After he set the towels down on the covered shelves beside the water he looked to the dozens of bowls of clay kept warm in the shallowest part of the spring.
“What are you doing?” He asked dully.
He wasn’t curious, not really.
Alcaia frowned as she took in his expression, gauging his interest as she paused in her work.
“I am making Vohan. When we eventually find the men responsible for our losses, as I have sworn we shall, we will need protection.”
He blinked as his fog of grief lifted slightly, his natural curiosity raising its head and his brow furrowing as he puzzled out her intentions.
“Ceramic shields? To combat the heat of lost-tech weapons?”
She nodded and smiled at his interest, glad to see he still had some life left in him, if only for the moment.
“We learned much from the Valkyrie, but this is something we were taught by the Golems, long ago. The clay is stubborn though; we would not normally do this in the winter...”
“I don’t understand, won’t it be too brittle? Not to mention heavy?”
She chuckled.
“Yes! And no! The wood inside gives it structure and after it is fired we reinforce it with layers of cedar bark and strips of leather. They are not meant to last forever, though in truth nothing is.” Her smile faltered somewhat as she dwelled on her fallen warriors, but she shook it off as she continued; “We use them for mobile cover, setting them on the ground and bracing them as a bulwark against our foes. A human could not carry one, but the Saenga are strong.”
“I’ve never heard of them.” He mumbled as he considered one of the odd shields.
“It is not a tactic we employ often, even during the ancient conflict. We prefer to stay mobile, to attack rather than defend. But when your enemy chooses where and how your battle is to be fought you must adapt. Hopefully we won’t need them, but I will not see any more of my people die due to my foolishness.”
Though still drowning in his own grief, Adrian was a good man, and he opened his mouth to comfort her, to tell her it wasn’t her fault, but the words died on his lips when he saw her face close off with a mask of determination.
Somehow he knew she would not appreciate it.
The stoic woman had long since accepted the responsibility of leading her people, the good and the bad.
“How can I help?” He said instead.
She smiled at him but shook her head.
“There is not much left to do beyond shape and fire them, both things requiring the strength of an Amazon I’m afraid.” The corner of her mouth twitched as if she were hiding a smirk, and her words turned artless; “If you are looking for something to do though, Olena-Elda was asking after you.”
He frowned at her suddenly disingenuous behaviour, feeling very distinctly as if he were being set up in some way.
“Right, I’ll… go and see what she wants then?”
“That would be best. Thank you, Aegis.”
She waved him off with one clay-covered hand before setting back to her task.
Puzzled, but with his curiosity still piqued, he went in search of the Witch.
In the end though, it was she that found him.
“Oh good, you’re not curled up in a useless ball.” Her voice sounded close behind him, causing him to flinch; “I have a job for you.”
Though he frowned at her brusque address he set it aside when he noticed something off about her; she seemed… keyed up somehow.
“How can I help?”
He had been cautious of the Witch before she had cursed him, a healthy stance to take given that she could dissolve his bones with a single spell, but afterwards his caution gave way to gratitude and even affection.
She was dressed as usual in her sarong and woolen shawl, her bare feet in the snow making him marvel at her resilience even as he once more had to keep his eyes off of her mostly exposed chest.
There was silence between them for a long while as he waited for her to explain whatever it was she needed help with, while she in turn measured him with her eyes.
Finally she spoke again.
“Tell me, Adrian, why are you afraid of naked women?”
“Uh, what?”
“Every time you’ve caught even a glimpse of my skin, you turn away. I would have thought that someone in the Aegis would be more comfortable with nudity.”
“I’m not- I mean I am!” He planted his face in one palm as he worked to articulate himself better; “It isn’t considered… polite for men to ogle women.”
“Strange. I’ve always thought it was rude not to.”
“Where are you going with this?” He asked without raising his face from his hands.
“We’re going to have sex.”
He froze at her words, for a second he thought he must have misheard her.
It took him a second to moisten his suddenly dry mouth enough to speak.
“What… the hell?”
With her request, or rather, demand, her keyed up behaviour suddenly made perfect sense. He could see the signs now that he had missed before: the arch of her brow, the slight flush in her cheeks, her shallow breathing…
And though he had been making a point of not looking, her hardened nipples were plainly visible through the holes in her woolen shawl.
“But we hardly know each other! And I identified the bodies of everyone I love barely a week ago!”
“What better time to celebrate life, than when confronted with so much death?” She shrugged dismissively.
“I can’t believe we’re even talking about this right now.” He said airily.
He could feel the heat of her she was so close, so he turned to face her, surprised at his own body’s reaction to the mysterious Witch.
But whatever urges he had were quickly smothered by the image of his poor Truffle, looking at him with such adoration in her eyes that it made his knees weak.
“I-I can’t, I’m sorry but I just can’t. I’m… not grateful for what you did for me.” He paused and gave her a meaningful look so that she knew the opposite was true; “But I’ve only just said goodbye to Cheri, I can’t even begin to think about another relationship, right now.”
Her eyes lit up and her response was surprising: she laughed at him, low and rich.
“It’s just sex Adrian. I find you attractive, and it’s been awhile. The Amazons are all too fearful of me to really enjoy it. But if you feel that your bond-mate would disapprove of me, then I won’t press the issue.”
He frowned.
“You saved my life, she wouldn’t disapprove of anything. But that’s not the point.” He planted his face in his palm again.
She reached her hand up and touched his cheek with surprising tenderness, drawing his gaze to meet hers before speaking seriously.
“Even with my curse upon you, your mind is still clouded with thoughts of death. I can see it plain as you can see me. If the men who killed your Truffle were here now, you would throw yourself at them, hoping that they would end you too. Us having sex serves two purposes: one to remind you of what it is to be alive, and the other to get me off. As I said, it’s been a while.”
He chuckled humourlessly at her phrasing, but in the deepest parts of himself he knew she was right about him wanting to die.
“So what, are we supposed to just, go somewhere for a quickie?” He asked harshly.
“Yes. The Amazons have lent me one of their huts. We can go there, right now. No one will bother us.”
His mouth fell open as he tried to repudiate her.
But once again his body betrayed him, with Cheri he had sex basically every day, often multiple times, and now that he had been without that for several weeks his body naturally craved the release the Witch was offering.
Once again he saw his Truffle’s face, only this time she wore an amused smile, one delicate eyebrow raised.
Why are you hesitating?
He could hear her words in his mind, and he nearly laughed out loud at the familiar tone.
Something in his posture must have communicated this shift to Olena, because very abruptly her hand was on his groin, feeling his girth through his pants.
Despite the sorrow wreathed around him, his loins stirred at her touch.
“I can work with this. Can you?”
He and Cheri had often toyed with the idea of potentially finding him another bond-mate, but even without one they had often taken other men and women into their bed; casual sex was as commonplace within the Aegis as stars in the night sky.
The last of his inhibitions melting away, he gave a single nod of acquiescence to the forward Witch.
She smirked and took his hand in hers to lead him to one of the snow covered huts near the edge of the village.
A few of the Amazons spotted them, but there was no judgment in their eyes, though a few had to turn away to hide their smirks.
When they entered the low ceilinged hut, the first thing Adrian noticed was the plethora of bottles, vials and random items on the table against the back wall.
“You travel light.” He said awkwardly.
With a shrug she began to tie back her hair.
“Do I need to suck it to make it hard for me?”
His breathing halted at the blatant offer, her words alone were enough to make the act she was suggesting unnecessary.
He hesitated for one brief moment until she moved closer to him.
“It’s just sex Adrian.” She reiterated, eyes filled with erotic promise as she leaned in to plant a single kiss on his cheek; “And I am very good at it.”
The heated promise in her words was enough to set him off, his hesitation replaced with hungry need as his arms gripped her shoulders and he pulled her close to kiss her.
Though initially surprised, she quickly matched the hunger of his lips, her arms wrapping around his neck and one leg curving around his as she pressed her groin to his, feeling his hardened cock through his pants.
His hand slid up her sarong and gripped her naked ass as he moaned into her mouth, his heart pounding in his ears as he squeezed her flesh tight.
Not wasting any time, and despite the weakness of his leg, he lifted her off her feet while she wrapped her own legs around his waist.
But he couldn’t hold her for long and she knew it, so between desperate kisses she said a single word.
“Table.”
Without delay he hobbled the two steps necessary to bring her to the table, letting out a moan as she shifted her face to his neck and lavished more kisses on his skin.
He dropped her on the table as gently as his passion would allow, but a number of vials tipped over and rolled around on the surface.
Inevitably there was a nasty crash as one of the larger ones found the edge.
Her kisses stopped for a moment as she murmured a question.
“Big green one? Cork stopper?”
“I think so?”
“My grandmother. It’s fine, she’d want to watch anyways.”
Despite the craziness of her words, he was too horny to care, especially when her lips began to graze on his neck.
“Ah fuck.” He moaned as his fingers frantically worked to undo his belt.
“We will.” She murmured into his ear as her tongue pulled the lobe between her teeth for a quick nibble; “Very soon.”
His trousers undone, he roughly pulled them down along with his underwear to free his cock. She adjusted her hips on the table to get the angle right and within seconds he was fumbling his cock head between her wet pussy lips, his hands shaking with urgency.
Suddenly he was deep inside her.
They shared a moaning gasp at the initial thrust, the deep hunger within them finally settling now that it was being satiated, both of them able to languish in the moment.
One of her arms reached over his shoulder, while the other reaching behind her to keep herself propped up as she leaned slightly away from him and shrugged off her shawl to expose her breasts to his hungry gaze.
Still fully inside her, he reached one hand up to palm her breast, delighting in the soft weight of it and giving it a healthy squeeze.
Then their eyes met, and he pulled out until just his cock-head was inside her, only to immediately plunge it back in as rapidly as he could.
Her eyelids fluttered with the sensation and she brought her other arm around to wrap around his neck, bringing their faces together so that she could kiss him again, her tongue sliding in to explore his mouth.
He pulled out and thrust again, this time she let out a little grunt into his mouth from the sudden movement.
Then he did it again.
And again.
Each time he thrust into her he could feel her body react to him, her inner muscles spasming around the length of his intrusive cock, all the while she encouraged his efforts with her tongue’s work in his mouth.
His pleasure came in waves with each thrust, until he had regained the earlier urgency and began to rapidly drive himself into her. Soon it was one steady rhythm of his cock sliding in and out of her.
Dimly he felt dull pain in his injured leg and shoulder but it wasn’t enough to slow him down.
Unable to keep up the pace and still kiss her, he pressed his face into the crook of her neck and ran his tongue over her silky skin.
Far too soon though he felt his finish approaching, and he did everything he could to delay the inevitable, including slowing the pace somewhat.
But she would have none of it, one hand dropped down to grip his naked ass tight and pull him against her as her thighs and calves lifted higher to urge him on.
“Do it.” She whispered in his ear, the rapture in her voice enough to satisfy any hazy concerns he had regarding her pleasure.
So he let himself go, plunging his cock into her tight slick heat with wild abandon as she began to let out sharp cries with each breath.
It was her cries that set him off, suddenly he let out a hoarse grunt and was cumming deep inside her, his hips spasming with each wave of agonizing ecstasy.
While his cock flooded her she found her own release, her whole body locking up against his as her breathing halted, her eyes and mouth wide from the overwhelming sensation.
She stayed like that for nearly ten seconds before letting out a deep gasping moan to vocalize her orgasm, though spent and sensitive he helped her along by thrusting into her to enhance her release.
Once her paroxysms faded, she planted a little peck on his nose, then held him close, their bodies still coupled as his cock softened inside her.
They stayed like that for a few minutes, until their bodies mundane needs called to them and he pulled away from her to sort himself out.
She dropped her hand down and between her legs, coming back with fingers coated in his cum.
“Thank you. Intent is everything.” She said simply.
“Huh?” He responded with great intelligence.
Her eyes began to glow eldritch green again and her magic suffused his seed on her fingertips.
With an absent wave of her hand, she cast the green energy at the broken bottle and the ashes on the floor.
Within a few seconds the bottle had repaired itself, and then the ashes flowed back inside with a dry rasp before the stopper squeaked into place.
He watched her magic play out, bemused that she could do such a thing with his cum, but in the end he felt… empty.
As much as he appreciated the woman before him, and as much as he had certainly enjoyed the sex, she wasn’t his Cheri.
She picked up on his souring mood quickly and let out a resigned sigh.
“At least I got off.”