Shadow Dagger Ch. 16

"Yes?"

"My mistress, Istas, wishes to speak with you in her tent," the woman said shyly. She was a petite thing, barely coming up to his chest. She wore a loose dress of white and had white beads braided throughout her long hair.

"Uh..." Ashford replied nervously. He looked over at Jon. Jon was frowning at him. "I don't think--"

"Please," the woman begged. And to Ashford's great embarrassment, she prostrated herself on the ground before him. "She told me to beg you until you agree."

"I think you better go," Jon said.

He was looking around at the tents surrounding their camping spot. The army had given them space to be by themselves but were close enough to watch them. Ashford could see several people watching him closely.

"Ok!" Ashford told the girl urgently. "Just please get up!"

She rose smoothly from the ground and beckoned Ashford to follow her. "This way, Ashford Caulston. I will led you to my lady."

"Don't do anything stupid!" Jon called after him.

Ashford didn't think that was possible. He tried his best to calm down as he followed the girl through several rows of plain brown tents.

The rows stopped suddenly, leaving a huge clearing on the rocky soil. Several large tents dominated the clearing. One in particular caught Ashford's eye.

It was the biggest tent he had ever seen. He could see a fire roaring inside and the shadows swaying on the walls. He heard music and laughter.

"Whose tent is that?" he asked the girl.

"That tent is the Chieftain's," the girl replied. "He hosts his lieutenants tonight. They feast and drink to his victory tomorrow."

"He seems very confident."

The girl bowed her head. "It is so. The Chieftain is a great warrior. Pardon me for saying this, Ashford Caulston, but you're friend will die tomorrow."

"We'll see," was all Ashford said.

The girl led him to the opposite side of the clearing from Sazon's tent. A rather large, four-sided white tent was staked to the ground. Ashford swallowed.

"My mistress awaits you within," the girl said, bowing.

Ashford held out a shaking hand and pushed back the tent flap. He ducked inside. He saw that the ground was covered in dozens of thick rugs. There was a brazier in the back of the room that heated the tent nicely. Several silk cushions lay scattered on the ground. But none of these things caught his attention.

It was Istas, standing up and bathing from a bowl in the center of the tent. She was completely naked.

"Oh, Ashford, you've arrived. Good." She spoke over her shoulder as she rubbed a wet cloth over her neck.

The water cascaded down her smooth back. Her ebony skin gleamed in the firelight. Her legs were thick and muscular and curved very nicely where they met her back.

"Istas..." Ashford said. His mouth opened and closed several times.

She dropped the cloth into the bowl and turned around, completely unashamed of her nudity.

Ashford could only gape. Her breasts were heavy and her nipples were dark and erect. Her stomach was flat and lightly muscled and she had no hair between her legs.

"Do you like what you see?" she asked teasingly.

Ashford shook his head, trying to clear the cobwebs from his mind. "Uh...Istas...this isn't right."

She stepped closer to him. Ashford could hear the pounding of his heart in his ears.

"Too long have you denied me, Ashford Caulston," she whispered.

She held his eyes with her own. He couldn't break her gaze if he wanted to. Her dark eyes shone with her passion.

"If your husband-"

"My husband respects that my body is my own, to do with what I want," she said immediately. "I give him the same respect. Still, you struggle with this. This is how we are."

She stepped even closer. Ashford could feel the heat of her breath on his cheek. He could count the number of eyelashes.

"He would still kill me," he whispered hoarsely.

"He would have to defend his honor," she said, agreeing. "But you are a powerful man, Ashford Caulston. That is why I am here now."

"I'm not a warrior like Sazon."

"No, you are something more," she purred. "I saw how you killed Ferzon. I had never seen so much power."

"I did what I had to do," Ashford said harshly.

He tried his best not to remember that. The man had been crazed with revenge. Ashford, or another Magi, had killed his son during the war.

"And you were right to!" she said, her eyes blazing with her passion. "You established your place among our people. No one dared to challenge you again. Not after you melted the sand beneath Ferzon's feet and held him in place with the glass you created. Not after you whipped the sand against him so fast that you shredded his body. And you did all this withwords! What is Sazon's sword against your tongue?"

"Istas, please, I don't want any trouble."

"Do you know how many men fought over me?" she asked, ignoring Ashford's plea. "The Desert Blossom my people call me, for my white hair. A once in a generation rarity. Sazon killed every man who sought me. That is why I chose him."

"He is a good man," Ashford said carefully. He didn't like that look in her eyes.

"I care nothing for what kind of man he is. I only care for the way he inflames my passion with his victories, with hispower. Now, I see a man before me with more power than my husband will ever know. And he denies me!"

She jabbed her finger into his chest, driving him back. Ashford stumbled back and fell to the rugs beneath him. Before he could move, Istas had pounced on him and straddled his waist.

"Grab my breasts," she commanded him.

Ashford shook his head, trying one last time to get out of the situation. Istas hissed and grabbed his hand and forced it onto her breast.

Once there, Ashford couldn't remove it. The flesh felt so warm under his hand. And soft. Her nipple pressed hard into the palm of his hand.

Slowly, as though time had slowed down, Ashford saw his other hand rise up and squeeze her other breast.

Istas throw back her head and moaned as Ashford massaged her breasts. He couldn't stop now. He was a dead man but his mind had given in to the demands of his cock.

For a brief moment, he thought of Sophina. He thought about what Jon said about her. He knew in his heart that he could never win her. So he did what he did best; he let her go.

He snapped his head up, as quick as a snake, and brought Istas' nipple to his hungry mouth. She shuddered in his arms.

"Yessss," she hissed, grinding her body against his crotch.

Ashford sucked and pulled on her nipple with his teeth. Her breasts were so deliciously heavy in his hands. When he sucked long enough on one nipple, he switched to the other.

He squeezed her breast in his fist to fit all the flesh he could in his mouth. He sucked and pulled hard. He let her breast go with a popping sound and pinched her nipples. They were as hard as steel.

He held her breasts in his hands and licked between them. He licked his way down her stomach before shoving her down on her back. He knelt over here and kissed her vigorously. She moaned against his mouth and wrapped her legs around his waist.

They kissed for several minutes before Ashford broke the kiss to stand up. Istas eagerly sat up and grabbed the bottom of his robe. She wasted no time in standing up and pulling up his robe.

Ashford raised his arms and she took it off and threw it to the side. He was left only in his smallclothes.

Ashford assisted her in taking those off or she would have torn them off his body. As soon as she discarded them, her hand shot down and grabbed his cock.

"My warrior," she whispered in his ear.

She quickly dropped to her knees and Ashford wished he had something to hold onto as she took him inside of her mouth. His knees buckled and she grabbed his thighs to keep him from falling. All the while her mouth was busy in swallowing most of his length.

"My God," Ashford whispered. His eyes rolled up in the back of his head as wave after wave of pleasure assaulted his brain. He had never had a woman do this before.

Her fingers trailed teasingly along the inside of his thighs as she busily worked on the head of his cock.

Her mouth then trailed down his cock, sucking and biting as she went. Ashford almost collapsed when he felt her mouth engulf the heavy sack swinging below his cock.

She must have felt him tense because he looked down and saw her smiling as she twirled the sack in her mouth.

He couldn't take it anymore. He had to have her or he would explode. He reached down and pulled her up by the arms.

She laughed. "Take me," she commanded.

Ashford was happy to oblige her. He picked her up and settled her down on some silk cushions near the brazier. He lay on top of her and kissed her breasts. She reached down and grabbed his throbbing cock.

"Show me your power," she grunted as she guided his cock into the warmness between her legs.

Ashford moaned out loud as he buried his entire cock into what felt like the fires of hell. The walls of her tunnel contracted rapidly as he slid in all the way. It felt as though she was trying to squeeze out the power he possessed.

They both moaned as their bodies repeatedly slapped together. She ran her hands through the stubble on his head and bit his ear hard.

He roared and increased his tempo. The fire from the brazier was adding to the heat of their bodies. Soon, they were both slick with sweat.

Their bodies made wet sucking sounds each time they came together. The wetness from the inferno inside of her felt like a raging torrent. Ashford couldn't last much longer.

"Show me your magic," she begged him. Her legs clamped tight around his back and her nails dug into the flesh of his ass.

Ashford concentrated for a moment and opened himself up to his magic. Women knew to request this when they had sex with Magi.

Ashford didn't mind so he built up the unfocused force of his magic and concentrated it to the length of his cock. He felt the current of magic in his body move along his veins and into his cock.

"Oooooohhhh," Istas moaned as she felt the magic stir to life inside of her.

Ashford gritted his teeth and held off the best he could. Their bodies were slapping together at his fastest speed possible.

The cushions were tossed aside by their lovemaking. He dug her slowly into the rugs beneath them as he pounded her over and over.

Several times he felt her shudder underneath him as the magic did it's job. Unfocused magic was famous for overloading the pleasure receptors in a person's bodies. She wordlessly screamed and dug her nails more and more into his flesh.

Finally, he couldn't hold it off any longer. Sanity was restored to him in the instant before he erupted. He couldn't finish inside of a non-Magi.

So at the last moment he roared and pulled out his cock with a wet, sucking sound and shot his seed all over her stomach and breasts.

She shuddered even harder than before when he withdrew. Her back arched into the air and her toes spread stiff. When the ropes of his seed hit her, she gasped and fell back to the floor.

"By the God," she moaned. Her hands ran over her stomach and her breasts, spreading his seed over her flesh. Her body glistened in the light of the fire.

Ashford collapsed next to her. His mind was blissfully blank for the next few minutes.

She turned over to face him. "Tell me again that you're not a more powerful warrior than my husband," she purred.

Ashford had to chuckle. "If he finds me here, we're going to find out one way or another."

She rose up on her elbow and frowned. "He will not come back here tonight. No doubt some servant girl will see to his pleasure this night. And I don't like how you fear him. You should be the one to challenge him, not your friend."

"It wouldn't be fair to fight him with magic," Ashford said.

He was tired and the God knew he should probably get back to the tent he shared with Jon. But it was so comfortable here.

"Death is not fair," she replied. "You are more powerful than my husband. You should lead us and take me as your wife."

"I'm not here to stay," he said carefully, afraid of angering her.

It didn't work. She hissed at him and rolled up smoothly to her feet. Ashford sat up and admired her body as she walked over to the bathing bowl. She picked up the cloth inside and began washing her breasts.

"Why did you come?" she asked as she bathed herself.

"Why did you?" Ashford shot back.

She turned back around to face him. Her face was blank. "My husband said the goddess commanded him to bring the entire tribe here. As to why, you will have to ask her."

"I intend to," Ashford mumbled. He stood up and grabbed his smallclothes. It was only when the silence stretched out that he realized what he said.

"You mean to see the goddess," Istas asked, amazement and incredulity in her voice.

"Forget I said that," Ashford grumbled.

Way to go, Ashford. Just give away our plan to anybody who will listen. Stupid! This is what happens when you let your cock take over.

"Your friend intends to take control of all the tribes, not just this one," she guessed. Her voice was pitched with excitement. "Can you two really pull that off?"

Ashford looked at her and studied her carefully. She stood naked in front of him, her chest heaving with excitement. Her eyes shone and she was looking intently at him.

I've already said too much, Ashford decided. He picked up his robe and pulled it over his head.

"That's what we're hoping."

"You do this and your name will be sung for generations," she said wonderingly.

"Not mine. Jon's," he corrected her.

Her eyes narrowed. "I will not let you give credit to this friend of yours."

Ashford laughed. "Try to stop him. I wouldn't recommend it, though. But don't worry; both of us will hold great power soon enough. More than I want."

"Then it's decided," Istas said suddenly. "If your friend kills Sazon tomorrow, you will take me as your wife."

Ashford would rather go to bed in a pit of scorpions but he didn't tell her that. He barely managed to mumble something before quickly ducking out of the tent. He stumbled into the night.

Tomorrow was going to be a very interesting day.

***

Evelyn watched the sunrise from her bed. The day dawned warm and bright as the sunlight poured through the windows and flooded her room.

The sunlight turned the tears on her cheeks into molten gold.

Evelyn figured she only slept for a couple of hours at most. But when her mind finally allowed her to sleep, she dreamt of Daminus. It was more of a memory, really.

He had held her, wordless, while they napped during the middle of the day. The sun had been bright that day, too. The curtains had been pulled back to warm them as they slept.

Another tear flowed down her cheek and hit her pillow. Before she discovered she was pregnant, she knew that dream would have driven her mad with grief.

Now, however, it was just bittersweet. She even smiled a little as she wiped her eyes and sat up in bed. She would need that dream to get through the day.

Her wedding day.

The thought had kept her up for most of the night. She was terrified. It wasn't until she fell asleep that she realized it wasn't the marriage she feared.

She understood the reasons behind why she had to get married. Political marriages were very common and weren't always about love . She would do almost anything to protect her child's future. It made sense.

No, what she feared, and what caused her great embarrassment, was what had to happen after the wedding. She knew she could survive getting married again.

Daminus would understand that. And she knew the child in her womb had saved her from the sure death that awaited anyone who lost their soul-mate.

But the thought of physical intimacy with another man so soon after Daminus' death made her nauseous.

Reynar had promised to find a way out of it but he hadn't told her anything since then. And tonight was when the marriage was suppose to be consummated.

If Reynar couldn't find a reasonable solution, she would just have to find the courage to go through with it.

The thought made her ill and she clutched her stomach. For a brief moment, she thought she felt something move.

It was the first confirmation she had yet experienced that she did indeed carry Daminus' child within her. Tears threatened to pour down her cheeks again. Her child moved inside her!

A knock rang loud on her door. "My lady, are you up?"

"Come in, Eve," Evelyn called out. She got up and threw on her robe.

Eve walked into the room. "I'm here at dawn, as requested, my lady."

"Thank you," Evelyn said. "I wanted to get an early start."

"Very smart, my lady. I believe your dress should be delivered shortly. You should see it, my lady. It's the most beautiful dress I have ever seen."

No sooner had she spoken then there came a knock on the door. Eve opened it and several women walked briskly in, trailing a long dress behind them.

Evelyn gasped. Three women walked in carrying it in their arms and still the tail end of the dress hung down!

"My lady," one of the women said, bowing her head. For some reason, her eyes were red.

Evelyn reached out her hand and ran it over the dress. She gasped again. "What is this cloth?"

"It comes from the King's personal stores, my lady," one of the women answered. It sounded like she had a bad head cold. "Nobody knows where he gets it from."

The dress was simply stunning. It was so white it made all other white cloth look gray. Countless leaves of gold twined, danced, and flowed along the length of the dress. The leaves were so expertly sewn that they seemed to actuallymove, as though ruffled by a gust of summer wind.

The fabric flowed through her fingers like water and was somehow smoother than silk. Yet when Evelyn tugged it, it felt as tough and durable as steel.

For the briefest of moments she felt her baby stir suddenly inside of her. Golden runes seemed to flash along the dress for that brief moment.

Evelyn shook head and the vision faded. Somehow she knew that magic was used to produce this cloth. She had never seen anything like it.

"Tell Oberta she outdid herself," Evelyn whispered in awe.

Evelyn looked up when only silence greeted her words. It was then that the red, puffy eyes and the congested voices finally registered with her.

"What is it?" she asked, her heart filling with dread.

One of the women bowed her head. "My lady, I hate to bring you this news on your wedding day, but Oberta passed away last night in her sleep."

Evelyn didn't know what to say. She had barely known the old woman but somehow her death greatly affected her. The dress was too beautiful to be made by mortal hands. Surely the God would have blessed Oberta with unending life.

"I'm so sorry," was all Evelyn could offer them.

The women sniffed and wiped away tears. They were all middle-aged but they looked like lost little girls who just suffered the death of their mother.

"She died happy," one of them said. "This dress was her greatest creation. She worked on it for a week straight, my lady. She hardly slept. I thank the God that she managed to live long enough to meet you, my lady. She told us after that meeting that you were so beautiful and would do the dress justice."

Evelyn bowed her head. It was all too much. "Will you do me the honor of helping me fit into it?"

The women smiled and bowed their heads.

***

Reynar stood at the window at looked out at the palace grounds. It was a chaotic harmony down there. Various tents and chairs were being arranged for the wedding feast.

Kids laughed as they darted between legs and chased each other. Voices yelled and laughed and buzzed with excitement. Everywhere he looked he saw women sewing and men sweating. Cooks and kitchen maids ran everywhere. Bags and bags of food were being unloaded from countless carts.