Dire Prophecy Page 8

  Shala left as silently as she appeared.

  I shooed Allo from my lap, where she had gathered while Shala was present, and sat beside Argon.

  I don't know when I first decided to take the next step, but it was even before our fight with the demons. Now, I had no clue why I waited, except some residual stubbornness from my old life. Argon was ready, and I was ready. I didn't know why it took a kick in the butt from a god to get me to take the next step.

  I raised her hand to my lips and opened myself to her. I sensed worry and nervousness, but eagerness, too. I knelt beside her on the floor, retook her hand, and asked her to marry me.

  Argon knew what this meant to me, and she blossomed, whispering words of love and encouragement. I was overwhelmed by the depths of her feelings for me and astounded at how closely my feelings paralleled hers. I lifted her into my arms and carried her into the bedroom.

  I was a little nervous about how my new body would perform, but there were no doubts about our binding. Shala was right; we were compatible. We were more than compatible; we were head over heels in love with one another. It had happened quickly but was impossible to deny as our minds touched throughout the days.

  I knew Argon had masked the depths of her feelings to avoid pressuring me. Fortunately, for us both, I couldn't hide my emotions and thoughts from her. Argon had known I was coming around.

  I kissed her softly and then more urgently as we clung together. I couldn't stand any separation and quickly stripped out of my clothing before racing to help her remove hers. By the time I removed her top, Argon had flung her pants and underwear onto the floor.

  My tongue joined hers in a primal rhythm of giving and taking, while one hand caressed her breast. Her pelvis pushed toward mine; Happy and the Boys leaped out of their cave.

  "Not yet love," I whispered in her mind. "This is your first time, and we have all night."

  A wash of calm love flooded our connection. It didn't remove the urgency of my feelings, but it did allow me to exercise some control.

  My hungry mouth blazed a sensual trail along her neck before latching onto her swollen breast. This left my hand free to pursue alternative delights.

  For a moment, I hesitated, unsure about whether my hand and digits would be welcome to explore Argon's womanhood. Until her hand grabbed mine and practically dragged them to her moist opening.

  One good thing about having our minds linked together, one never had to worry about whether your partner liked something. Her enjoyment of my mouth on her breast almost made me lose control. The sensation echoed seductively on my own breast, and I noticed my own breast harden in response.

  Argon shared a ghost thought that both shocked me and sent me higher, "You know fathers help suckle the babies for the first few months?"

  She didn't have much time to pursue the thought as my fingers triggered her first orgasm. The intensity of her feelings flooded my brain, I could no longer wait, and I knew with every fiber of my being that she didn't want to wait either. She urged me with her pelvis and her lusty mind to fill her completely.

  I nearly lost it when I plunged into her hot wet opening.

  I wilted immediately as I felt her pain and feared something was wrong. "I'm so sorry, so sorry." I blindly assumed I understood Jaloan sex, had I somehow mixed up the plumbing?

  Argon would allow no recriminations, as she wrapped arms and legs around me. She held me tightly against her body and wrapped me in love with her mind. She kissed me fiercely while letting me know it was all right.

  "I thought this was an old wive's tale meant to frighten younglings from having sex," she sent. "I find it funny and a bit wonderful we are both physically virgins at this point. Let us begin again. I have a good idea of how to move forward. It just caught me by surprise."

  Argon rolled me onto my back and straddled my waist. Happy and the Boys had disappeared into their cave, feeling a bit grumpy and too shell-shocked to come out and play.

  Argon kissed me intensely, tongues dueling and pulsing to a primal beat, I felt coursing through our mental connection. She abandoned my mouth but traced a sensuous tongue down my neck before licking my breast. When she closed over the nipple I was not prepared for the sharp pulse of sexual tension it precipitated.

  The stray thought that my Jaloan breasts were more sensitive than my old ones slipped quietly through my bond. This caused Argon to concentrate her considerable talents on my breasts. I wasn't ready for orgasm, but my earlier doubts had vanished in a cascade of feeling. I could even feel Happy and the Boys making a tentative reappearance.

  While Argon shifted her mouth to my other breast, her hand became very interested in Happy and the Boys.

  She stroked his length, and within seconds, I cried in sweet pain as she took his length into her mouth and began to move.

  I could feel her excitement build despite my own sweet agony as she continued the primal push and pull. My hands grasped her head as I pulled her tighter toward me, frustrated I couldn't reach more of her.

  Sensing through our link, I could take no more she slid up my body and kissed me deeply before pulling herself up and impaling herself on me.

  God help me, but I lost control. I could no more stop my orgasm than I could stop the tide. I knew I hurt her, but I couldn't stop the juddering of the moment.

  Argon's warm slack mouth returned greedily to my lips, pulling me out of my anguish. I could feel Happy twitch deep within her as she began a sensual movement, urging him for a second dance.

  For a brief instant, my physical release and shame had blown out our mental bond, but as her motion gained momentum, her happiness filled me. A whirlwind of lust, euphoria, and pleasure swept over me, held together by a cocoon of love.

  Argon shared her experiences during the moments when I blacked out emotionally. While she felt an initial sharp pain, a paroxysm of joy followed as our mind meld clicked into place. My shame about losing control and hurting her had blinded me to the completion of our meld.

  We lay together, minds as deeply penetrated as we found our bodies. I wrapped my precious mate in my arms and rolled her over, unwilling to hog the foreplay for myself. I knew she was sore so the strokes were gentle and echoed the penetration of my tongue. I knew when my magic found the right spots to stroke in sympathetic rhythm. I knew we were truly one when she arched in orgasmic release moments later. This time I followed.

  We slept, twined in bodies and minds.

  It wasn't long before Allo joined us on the bed.

  ◆◆◆

  Chapter 6

  I woke up refreshed and ready to rumble. I knew I should wait for Argon to get up but I needed to move. I wanted to wake her with a kiss and caress, to renew our physical intimacy but I was loath to wake her. It had been a wonderful but very rough night, and she needed time to heal.

  I reluctantly slid off the bed, careful to minimize any disturbance. From her mental signature, I knew Argon slept soundly, and I went to the bathroom and grabbed a quick shower. I even used the special connection to douse Happy and the Boys in their special pouch.

  Argon was still sleeping when I returned. Allo remained on the bed; she had barely moved when I got up.

  Watching Argon sleep, my natural curiosity raised its ugly head. I had never really looked at a naked Jaloan female before.

  I eased the blanket off her. Her beauty entranced me, and I felt a stir in my loins, but first I intended to satisfy my curiosity. She had shifted onto her back after I left the room and I was free to stare.

  Her breasts were slight bumps with tiny nipples. I could not reconcile this vision with my memory of last night when they had easily overflowed my cupped hand. Another Jaloan mystery.

  No belly button. I didn’t have one either. It raised questions about babies, but I was sure Jaloans had it figured out.

  The soft down surrounding her femininity echoed the creamy color of the fur on her head. I couldn't help myself and began to stroke the downy softness. The down extended onto her muscular
thighs. My hand had a mind of its own as it slid between her thighs and coaxed them to open. Her slit was still red, I assumed from last night's shenanigans, but I reminded myself it might be that color normally. Her womanhood had no obvious sex organ, but she did have a retracted leathery hood.

  Feeling slightly guilty, I withdrew from the intimate perusal and slid the light blanket back over her.

  I went into the kitchen to make some chee. It didn't taste like coffee, but it was hot and carried a caffeine-like punch.

  I felt Argon wake up and offered to share a shower, but she declined. Our close bond made it clear it was more the size limitations of the shower than any desire to avoid togetherness. Her female parts were still very sore, and she walked gingerly to the bedroom to dress.

  I followed her into the bedroom, sat on the bed, and watched her dress. Watching her sent a surge through my loins, that Argon felt as well. She smiled and came over to hug me. Both of us felt the need to touch and reaffirm our closeness.

  I shared my early morning peek at her privates, and she cuffed me on the head. Her thoughts chastised me, but in a teasing way. She sent, "Not fair; I would have enjoyed a peek show, too."

  I assured her we would explore each other whenever she was ready.

  The mental bond was raw and demanded close physical contact.

  Argon cuddled in my lap while we ate breakfast. At this rate, we were not leaving the building today. We were even hesitant to separate when Shala returned.

  Shala was pleased to see signs of our mind meld. The goddess eased Argon's physical discomfort and quickly healed her injury. "I'd have removed that obstacle if I was aware of its presence. I should have scanned you ages ago."

  This caused Shala to review our health completely. She stopped several times for both of us before declaring us as healthy as she could make us. When asked about what she had fixed, the goddess just waved us off. "If you can stay alive as a warrior, you will not die during the coming century from old age."

  "Now let us see what the mind meld has given you to work with," Shala added.

  Shala started with Argon. I used my copilot monitor to follow along with Shala's exam.

  Argon only had the styles of magic she began with, and her containers looked the same to me. Mind melds only increased each container’s maximum potential. Argon had explained we would have to practice each of our magics every day to reach our caps. She had said it typically took years of effort to cap.

  Or, one could enlist the help of a god. Shala dove in and stroked Argon’s existing magics until they capped out.

  Argon gasped as this sudden infusion threatened to overwhelm her. I was in awe as I watched her tame the wild new potential and make it her own. I wondered how long it would take her to fill the expanded containers with new magic.

  Shala expressed satisfaction with her acolyte.

  "Now you have that under control, let's see what new powers you have," Shala twisted magic and several new containers appeared in Argon's power center.

  As expected, Argon now had containers of fire and earth magic. I could sense my happy warrior's eagerness to test drive these elementals. "Tired of those wimpy air balls and want something with a little more stopping power?" I sent.

  Argon laughed. "I don't think wimpy will describe my new airballs, but yes it will be wonderful to have new weapons."

  The new container of flesh magic was a surprise. While significant healing magic could bring back the dead, most mages had little to no flesh magic to spare for non-family. Those with significant magic in this category were rare. I knew how lucky I was to have a partner who could now heal.

  Shala coaxed Argon's new magics to expand to their cap, with the new containers growing exponentially under her touch.

  I sensed Argon's eagerness to embrace my lava magic.

  Shala also detected a new type of magic in Argon's repertoire. She confessed she didn't recognize it.

  "I suspect you received this new magic from Steve's former world," Shala told Argon.

  Shala shifted her attention to me; although I initially resisted her invasive mental touch.

  It was my turn, I reminded myself, trying to relax at the invasion of my inner being. I was aware of my new power sources and knew I could use some help bringing them online. Argon settled in as my copilot, reminding me she had already been through this.

  I monitored Shala as she accessed my power center and sensed her surprise at what she saw there.

  "You are more powerful than I imagined," said Shala. "Channeling this much magic will be dangerous to you and to Argon. But it has the potential to be even more deadly to our enemies."

  She stroked my magics and caused my force and mind magic containers to nearly triple, but these were dwarfed by the containers now available for earth and fire.

  A wave of dizziness overwhelmed me. Argon reached out with her mind to settle me. I stroked her helping touch with my own, feeling her glow in response.

  "I will place limits on your earth, and fire magic which can be lifted by Argon as your training expands," Shala advised, touching my core magics. I felt the dampener settle into place and noted the containers for those magics were still large but not as big as before.

  Shala then twitched her magic, and my power center lit up with untried magics.

  The air and water magic containers were new and untried. I had expected to gain access to them through Argon.

  The two other new buckets were similar to Argon's. One was flesh magic, and the other was the unknown power.

  Shala capped my magical containers of air, water, and health magics. They grew as I watched. "I will not set limits here," Shala told us. "But I urge you both to practice these new magics right away. This will now be easier because you each share the same magics."

  I felt the rumble of a growl from Argon as my warrior mate communicated her eagerness to tap into her new lava magic.

  Shala reminded us to make haste in our preparations but to be cautious in relying on our new skills. She directed her words at us both, but I knew they were aimed mostly at me.

  "I have seriously depleted my personal powers, first by the summoning and now by helping expand yours so I will be recovering over the next few weeks. Contact me at need, but until I have rested, I will be much weaker than normal.”

  “Shala, Jamal and I were worried during the demon incursion at the gates,” said Argon. “Is there some problem we should be aware of?”

  “Events are moving more swiftly than I had expected,” Shala said. “Not the apocalypse, but unexpected events in the shadows. The demons you encountered were much stronger than the norm. That is not a coincidence but I cannot see the linkage. Stay alert and train hard.”

  And then, she left us alone.

  Despite our enthusiasm, we actually didn't have a lot more magic to play with, except for our new elemental magics and some health magic. For the first time, I truly appreciated how slowly my body generated new magic. I also understood why comparing containers between individuals was ill-advised. While we would eventually fill our newly sized containers with the trickle of new magic, it might take a day or two.

  "Let's go practice anyway," Argon enthused, racing to don her armor and gather her weapons. "We have more magic right now than we had at any time yesterday. We will just have to get used to this."

  I was right behind her, and within moments, we teleported to our desert battle area. We spent several hours practicing with our new elementals. Argon was thrilled with my lava gun spell and copied it eagerly. While she quickly mastered the art of tossing fire and rock balls, lava really rocked her boat.

  I conjured waves and tornadoes. I kept expecting my new spells to fail due to lack of magic as I watched the containers drop lower and lower.

  We 'ported back home to work on our mind magic and have some lunch.

  We sat intertwined on the couch as Argon demonstrated creating and managing mental barriers. At first, she slowly stripped down to her vital core, shedding all of her
mental barriers as I monitored and embraced her. Through our bond, I felt her shy embarrassment as she laid her soul bare. I caressed and embraced her physically while mirroring the gesture mind to mind.

  What was meant to comfort, soon expanded to mutual arousal. Argon was stronger than I was and pushed aside the longing with a teasing promise for later. "First, we train and then we pleasure," she reminded me.

  Banishing arousal from the equation made it easier to concentrate on technique as she slowly rebuilt her defenses. It was soon my turn, and I realized my thoughts had been readable for anyone with even a modest amount of mind magic.

  Argon assured me she'd have built a mind shield for me before we went out amongst other mages.

  Argon led me through the intricate spell work needed to build a solid line of defense against mental manipulation and abuse. I learned how to turn layers on and off, to detect invasive probes, and to form an impenetrable shield against any offensive mind magic. By the end of the session, we had also created a joint new shield, which provided us with a safe space where we could be fully open with one another to the exclusion of all others.

  When this exclusive shield clicked into place, Allo began running frantically back and forth between us and screeching

  Argon recognized what was wrong immediately, opening our shield and calming Allo.

  Allo was no longer just Argon's familiar; the meld made her mine as well. While I still didn't understand the whole familiar thing, we adjusted our overall mind shields to provide a safe space for the three of us.

  We then formed a new barrier that included Allo but excluded all others. This satisfied the fla but left me uneasy. I left the two of them alone in the kitchen and went to use the facilities, withdrawing enough to allow them some privacy, even as the three-way barrier remained in place.

  Clearly, managing protections, privacy, and intimacy was going to take a lot more practice. Just because I could share every thought and feeling didn’t mean I needed or wanted to.