Fury's Mantle Page 7

  “Harder,” Tam gasped, letting go of the chairs and leaning forward to hold the back of my head. He thrust himself into my mouth and. I began to suck hard, and cupped his balls in my hand, giving them a gentle squeeze.

  “Do that again,” he ordered, and I obeyed.

  “I’m going to come,” Tam said, tensing.

  I gave one final lick and he came in my mouth. I swallowed the salty fluid, feeling it race down my throat. But before I could lean back, he reached down and lifted me to my feet. He placed his hands on my shoulders and walked me backward toward the bed, his gaze locked onto mine.

  “How do you want it?” he growled.

  I caught my breath. “I want to ride you.”

  A delighted smile upticking the corner of his lips, he swung around me, then languidly stretched out on his back, stroking his cock. “Am I your stallion?”

  “You’re my everything,” I said, climbing across the massive bed on my hands and knees. I straddled his pelvis, then leaned forward to kiss him, my tongue tasting his, my breasts rubbing against his chest. He reached down to finger me, stroking me as I stroked his chest with mine.

  Looking up at me, he whispered, “You are so beautiful. My Fury. My fire. I’m your moth, circling your flaming spirit.”

  I rose up, cupping my breasts. “Taste me.”

  He slid down between my legs till he was beneath my sex. I lowered myself as he leaned up, his tongue tasting me, swirling in circles. The hunger within me grew, my desire spreading through me like a vining plant, tendrils seeking out every nerve, every trigger to send me soaring. I closed my eyes, my breath heavy, as he continued to stroke and lick me, nipping me with his teeth at one point so that I screamed, but the scream was grounded in pleasure as well as pain, and the echo of it was lost into the corners of the room.

  I leaned down, crawling backward, and he took my breast in his mouth, sucking hard, nipping just hard enough to send me into another paroxysm of desire. My body burning with hunger, I once again straddled his pelvis and lowered myself onto his shaft, driving down with a slow, deliberate speed. His girth parted the lips of my vaj and I groaned as he thrust upward, holding tight to my waist, filling me deep and spreading me wide. I paused, focusing on the feel of him inside me, then began to move, swirling my hips as I rose and fell on his cock, my sex slick from my growing need.

  And then, he rolled me over, moving between my legs, grinding deep, looming over me with those luminous eyes, his gaze drilling deep into my core. I cried as he moved inside me, feeling all the boundaries between us fall. The walls tumbled down and there was only Tam and me, only our love and our passion and the undying promise of our life together.

  “Fury, never leave me. You’re my queen. You’re my goddess.”

  I began to cry. “Love me. Just love me forever.”

  And in the sudden hush between us, I came so hard it hurt, and after he kissed me, Tam went on loving me through the long autumn afternoon.

  Chapter 5

  THE NEXT MORNING we gathered outside of UnderBarrow. Thor had agreed to take us in his chariot, and we were making ready to leave. I gazed at Tam and for a moment, my heart wavered. I didn’t want to leave him, but I knew that I needed to go.

  Hecate was standing beside Thor, talking to him in low whispers. I wasn’t sure what they were discussing, but she had insisted on attending the meeting when she found out I planned on going.

  I turned to the others. We were geared up, ready for travel. Zed, Wheel, Fortune, and Shawna were with us. I had thought of taking Len, but I didn’t want Shevron to worry even more. She was standing back, watching the proceedings, her gaze fixed on her brother. I wandered over to her.

  “You know he volunteered, right? I didn’t order him to go.” I didn’t want her thinking that I would compromise her brother’s mental health. Shevron had helped Jason take care of me growing up, subbing for the mother I had lost. And finally, she had forgiven me for leaving him behind in the realm of Chaos, and also for encouraging her son to enter the Guard. But push a mother bear too many times and eventually she’d strike back.

  “I know.” She crossed her arms, watching him. “I wish you could order him to stay behind, but I know that he has to go. I don’t know why, but he has to go with you.”

  “Are you afraid he won’t be able to handle it?” I paused as she cast a veiled look my way. “If you think it would endanger either him or the rest of us, tell me.”

  Shevron was as tall as her brother, and so pale she kept out of the sun as much as possible. Her hair was lighter than his—a shimmering platinum—and her eyes were brilliant blue. She sighed, then shook her head.

  “I don’t know, to be honest, Fury. I don’t know what’s going on. Last night it was like he had taken some sort of upper. He was so hyper I was worried about him. Even Aila noticed. She asked me—in private—why her daddy was acting so strangely. Elan and I discussed it but she hasn’t a clue either, and when he’s in a mood, prodding him about what he’s feeling isn’t the best choice. He’s never turned violent—in fact, I don’t think he has a violent bone in his body. But he can blow up like nobody’s business, and I get worried he might turn his anger on himself.” She let out a slow breath. “He’s never been right, not since…”

  “Since he was lost in Chaos. You can say it.” I had long given up defending myself for my choice. It had been either leave Jason, or risk the Elder Gods of Chaos breaking through the World Tree. I had made the only choice I could.

  She nodded. “Yes. I wonder what he saw out there that scrambled him so much.”

  I hesitated, then said, “Maybe it isn’t what he saw, but the confusion that comes with that realm. When we were on the Tremble, it was much the same, I think. Stay out there long and you go mad. Everything moves and changes, nothing stands still and there are times when what you see makes no sense. Even though we were only there a few days, I still remember the confusion.”

  Shevron turned to me. “I blamed you for so long, and I know you think I still do. But I finally understand. I’ve had a long time to think about it. You didn’t have a choice.”

  “No, I didn’t,” I said. “It was leave your brother, or risk the world. I made the only decision I could.”

  “Well, then. I guess there’s no way to know what would have happened if he hadn’t been trapped there.” Shevron scooted closer to me. “Fury, keep an eye on him. I don’t trust this sudden desire of his to go with you. He’s barely wanted to leave his home or shop for the past eight years. Something’s happening and I’m not sure what.”

  I placed my hand on her shoulder. “I will. I promise.” Then, seeing Tam motioning to me, I added, “I have to go now. But Shevron, remember that Jason is a grown man. He makes his own choices. I could forbid him from coming, but…I think maybe he’s trying to step outside the cocoon he’s made for himself.”

  “I get it,” she said, then waved me on.

  I headed over to Thor and Hecate, who were standing with Tam.

  A steady, persistent drizzle misted down on us, and the ground was wet but not yet muddy. I shivered, my legs catching a draft that passed by. I hadn’t put on my cloak yet, mostly because I knew that once we were inside Thor’s chariot, I was planning on just leaning back, draping it over me like a blanket, and snoozing.

  “So, Thor tells me that he’s outfitted his chariot with a little more comfortable interior,” Tam said, sliding an arm around my shoulder. Damh Varias gave him a dark look, but Tam ignored him. Even this was too much of a display, according to the Bonny Fae traditions, but given I was headed out on a dangerous mission, I ignored Damh Varias’s look as well.

  “Really?” I turned to the thunder god.

  He was a hulk of a man, nearly seven feet tall. His muscles had grown muscles, and his shockingly blond hair spilled down his back. His beard was copper, and he wore snug jeans, a muscle shirt, and a leather jacket decked out with a massive amount of hardware. He also carried Mjölnir, a ham
mer that was—for all intents and purposes—more weapon than any of us ever really needed.

  Thor laughed. He was a good-natured sort, especially considering he was a god. He was eating a roast beef sandwich, the scent sharp with the tang of mustard, and the aroma set my mouth to watering even though I had already eaten a perfectly respectable breakfast.

  “Yes, indeed. Since the lot of you went to sleep the last time we traveled, I fiddled around with my chariot and put in some cushions and blankets. Also spare water jugs and pound cake. You can never have enough pound cake.”

  Thor had developed a taste for lemon poppy seed pound cake. Shevron had confided in me that she sent at least three pound cakes a day to his office.

  “Cushions are good,” I said absently. Then, turning to Hecate, I said, “Can we have a brief chat before I leave? I want to ask something. Also, where’s Queet?”

  Right here, Fury. Queet’s voice echoed on the breeze. We used whisper-speak, which few others could even hear. He whipped around me, buoyed up by the breeze, and whirled as a fall of leaves came flying past.

  You’re excited, aren’t you? Admit it!

  Yes, all right, I’m excited. It’s been awfully quiet lately and I haven’t had much to do.

  Hecate had assigned Queet to me when I was young. My spirit guide and I hadn’t always gotten along, and he had been downright surly part of the time, but he was always there when I needed him, and he always had my back. However, since we had settled in at Willow Wood, he had become positively sedate.

  Hecate walked me over to a bench where we sat on the edge, trying to keep from getting our asses soaked by the puddles of rainwater. She reached out and took my hand.

  “This is a dangerous mission. You have been training regularly, but you haven’t been out on the road for a long time. Are you sure about this?”

  I considered her words. She wasn’t soft on me like Tam. If she expressed concern, there was a reason. After a moment, I answered.

  “Yes, I’m certain. There’s a reason I have to go. Even Jason’s going and you know that he would never have volunteered if he didn’t think it was important. Well, I mean since…” I paused. Hecate had helped me bring him off the plane of Limbo, but it had been a harrowing experience and one I didn’t like thinking about.

  “Yes, I know. Do you think what Tigra said made a difference in how you’re viewing life now?” Hecate always knew exactly what questions to ask.

  I nodded. “Definitely. The realization that we’re truly on our own hit home. I suppose I’ve been wondering if we were just a pocket of the world cut off from civilization, but now I know that we are civilization. Unless there’s a miracle out there, this is as good as it gets. So we’ve got to start from here if we want to work our way up. Gaia didn’t leave much, did she?”

  “She left far more than she did the first time. But remember, if humans hadn’t forgotten—or ignored—her decrees, if Lyon and the corporations hadn’t gotten greedy, and if the artifacts from the Weather Wars had been destroyed instead of being hidden away in a foolish idea to use them one day, none of this would be happening. This wasn’t Gaia’s first choice.”

  “I realize that,” I said, choosing my words carefully. “I wasn’t blaming her, but Hecate, she did unleash the tsunami.”

  “No, she just helped it along. The quakes Lyon set off unleashed it. But none of that matters now. The only thing that matters is that it not happen again. Anyway, I want you to be cautious. You’re no longer just Fury, the Abomination fighter. You’re a queen, and you have a kingdom to look after.”

  I squeezed her hand, smiling at her. “I’m first and always yours, Hecate. I’m bound to you, and I have never, ever regretted that. I’m bound to your will. What you would have me do, I will do.” Even as I said it, a very small part of me prayed she’d never ask me to leave Tam. That would be the ultimate test of loyalty.

  “I know that. I’ll never ask you to do anything that isn’t absolutely necessary,” she said, as if reading my mind. “But I do ask you to be cautious. And whatever you do, don’t forget about the lycanthrope attack. It goes far deeper than a few rogue mutants. I don’t know all the facts, but there are rumors on the wind—and they do not bode well.”

  “Will you tell me what they are?” Forewarned was forearmed.

  “No, because they are simply that as of now. Rumors. And it never does well to let unchecked speculation make the rounds. I don’t wish to add confusion to the picture. Or to cloud your judgment. You may come across the truth quicker than I can, and I don’t want anything I say to obscure actual fact from gossip. So go, but be careful, and don’t tarry too long in the city of ghosts. It’s never good to walk among the dead too long, or to breathe in the stench of decay. And that is all Seattle is anymore—a memory cloaked in decomposition and pain.”

  She walked me back to Thor’s chariot where the others were waiting. I crossed to Tam and slid into his arms for a good-bye kiss. The hell with decorum. I wasn’t leaving without his arms around me, and without meeting his lips with my own.

  “Be careful, love. Come back to me.” He leaned his forehead against mine.

  “We’ll take care of her, Your Majesty,” Elan said, standing at attention.

  “I know you will,” Tam said.

  Thor motioned for us to gather ‘round. His chariot was a thing of beauty. Hooked up to his two goats—Tanngrisnir and Tanngnióstr—it was the size of a large van, at least on the outside. Rich cherry red in color with bronze accents and wheels, Thor’s chariot could carry up to fifty people inside. Or a whole lot of goodies.

  The two goats, who were as immortal as their owner, were capable of returning to life each time they were killed, and Thor had roasted them many times over. Our first winter here, they had fed a number of people each night as we struggled to sustain ourselves.

  “I want to stop at Wyfair,” I said before entering the chariot. “I want to ask if the Frostlings have heard anything of the lycanthrope attacks.”

  “Will do.” Thor motioned for me to enter the chariot.

  I ducked my head, bending over to step into the enclosed chassis of the vehicle. Zed followed behind me, then Hans and the others. We settled ourselves on the new cushions, and I slid my cape over me like a blanket. Thor was right, the inside of the chariot was far more comfortable. It was a magical space. I had my suspicions that we were in some sort of tiny dimension that was only accessed via the thunder god’s chariot, but I had never asked. Once we were going, though, we traveled fast and furious, though it felt like the gentle rocking of a boat from inside.

  Thor peeked in the door. “Ready?”

  We nodded. If we had forgotten anything, it was too late to get it now.

  He slammed the door, and Jason cast a light spell so that we could see. A moment later, the chariot began to move.

  I leaned back against one of the cushions. Travel in the chariot made me sleepy for some reason, though I wasn’t sure why. Maybe it was the sensation of rocking. Maybe it was the inactivity, in an enclosed space. Maybe it was just that I never seemed to get quite enough sleep. Whatever the case, I leaned against Elan’s shoulder and closed my eyes. Within minutes, I was fast asleep.

  “FURY, FURY? WAKE up. Thor’s slowing down.”

  I blinked, yawning as I sat up and stretched. My head had somehow landed in Elan’s lap, and my feet were on Jason’s lap. I squinted in the dim light and gratefully accepted the water bottle that Zed handed me. I took a long drink then wiped my mouth, handing it back.

  “How long was I out?”

  “Who knows. We never have been able to figure out time inside of Thor’s chariot,” Jason said with a laugh. “I suppose we’re approaching Wyfair, unless something else has put a halt to our journey.”

  Wyfair was the village of the Frostlings. The creatures had come into being long ago, the product of a marriage between the ancient Fae and ice elementals. However they managed to merge their bloodlines, they were bot
h powerful and mystical, and they lived a step outside of our world, while still maintaining their place in it. The Frostlings made me feel like a dust speck on a kitten’s nose.

  A moment later, the chariot pulled to a stop and Thor opened the doors.

  “We’ve reached Wyfair. Something’s wrong, Fury. You’re going to want to see this. All of you.” Thor sounded worried, and when a god was worried, it was never a good sign.

  We crept out of the chariot and I saw we were on the outskirts of the village. Hidden within the woods, the city was created out of what looked like ice, but over the years I had come to realize that the material was actually a form of crystal—shatterproof and as solid as the rocks from which it was mined. The buildings weren’t see-through, but more mirror-like, reflecting those who passed by.

  Wyfair was a small village, and many who passed right by it never saw it. The Frostlings had a way of disappearing from the radar screen when they wanted to. But now, there was a stillness to the village that made me stop. Though the Frostlings moved silently, there had always been the feeling of life to them—a vibrant, magical feel that quivered in the air. But now? There was only the sound of the wind in the trees, of the birds singing their rain-songs in the surrounding forest.

  I glanced over at Thor. “I can feel it. What’s going on?”

  “I don’t know. I thought I’d fetch you all out here before we go in. Better forearmed than taken by surprise.”

  Nodding, I rested my hand against my leg, on my whip. I had never drawn a weapon in the village, and I was hesitant to go in armed, but if Thor felt there was something wrong, we needed to be prepared. I turned to the others.

  “Be ready with your weapons, but don’t show them until we find out what’s going on. The Frostlings are very testy about such things. Understand?”