Steampunk Harlots Ch. 22

"Excuse me," one of the people huddled against the wall spoke up. "We bury our dead at sea by sending them out on their boat and burning it. Maybe it's asking for that."

The creature hissed at the person loudly but the tone seemed to lack the menace of its earlier hissing.

Despite not being certain, Liddy spoke up. "Alright then, if it wants justice and peace for those wronged. I say we arrange some mass funerals for the dead outside. As a licensed merchant captain, I am placing all of you people under arrest as conspirators. You will handle the dead and see to the proper funeral. Afterwards, I will take you all with me to the capital to face formal charges were the extent of your guilt will be determined. Will that settle you?"

Liddy wasn't sure if the thing would understand anything, but it quietly observed as the survivors were taken away. It followed but kept its distance as Hope and Vile stood near it to observe it. Hannah went to find Leira standing at the edge of the river that fed into the sea.

"Skipping the part where I stupidly ask how you are feeling," she started. "What do you need right now? Some alone time?"

"I was always warned not to walk up the river and look for where I was tossed in. But fuck that. I am going. Someone to keep my ass out of trouble would be nice, though."

"I would be happy to keep a careful eye on your ass."

Leira smiled and started walking down the edge of the river with Hannah after she had waved to someone to let them know where they were going. Hannah did indeed take the time to admire Leira's bum as it swayed while she walked.

****

Inky had her girls supervising the prisoners as they gathered up the dead. Aware that some might not have done anything wrong but that if they were behind the man who had, that was good enough. The man himself was being treated by Hope so that he could live to see justice later on. Vile approached her softly, still surprising Inky with how timid she could be sometimes.

"What's wrong, love?" she asked putting a hand on her arm.

"I'm sorry."

"For what?" Inky asked confused.

"For making you yell at me like that."

The statement hit Inky in the gut like a hammer. She had been a slave so long that Vile thought every raised voice at her meant she had done something wrong. Inky broke into tears immediately and embraced Vile tightly enough to pull her face to face.

"You did nothing wrong. I yell at everyone in combat because I need to be heard. You gave us time to get back into line. I was going to order everyone to fall back, since sending you out was too risky. Also, I didn't quite realise how far you can jump. At most you got carried away and didn't notice we were back in position. Oh, girl, you don't ever have to feel sorry for trying to protect me."

Vile held her lover in her arms and shed a few tears of her own. Neither noticed they had been watched by the creature that seemed to evaporate a bit more.

****

Conna escorted one of the prisoners past them, deciding to bother Liddy instead of interrupting the tender moment.

Liddy was in the lounge reading over her merchant's licence fine print when Conna walked in, "Yes, Conna? What is..."

Liddy trailed off as she realised the man walking behind her had the feathers of some exotic bird and Conna saw the spike in her arousal instantly. She left them together.

"Oh, well now, how did you end up here?" Liddy asked, getting to her feet and greeting the Emberborn with a soft handshake.

"When people started going missing, our village sent a group to go looking for them. I was the pack animal. Only one left when everyone else died. I really had nothing to do with any of that."

"Oh, sir, I can understand that. Please, relax. We do not allow slavery on this ship so consider yourself a free person. Let me help with that collar."

As she removed it, Liddy could see the bald ring around his neck where the feathers never grew due to the constant friction. Liddy opened a window and tossed the collar into the water.

"There, much better. How do you feel?"

"Confused, rather exposed actually." He confessed as he felt his neck for the first time without the familiar binding of the collar.

"Then come, some place more private might be more comfortable," Liddy explained, as she took his hands and lead him into her bedroom.

In the room, Liddy sat him down on the bed, "There was a farm where your people were bred. We took it over when my own girls were taken there. Now it is a free city and safe haven for your kind. When we get to the capital we can arrange passage for you. Nobody will come after you and you can find your own happiness there."

He was stunned, to say the least, either because he couldn't keep his gaze into Liddy's eyes or because her chest was being pushed out and his glance shifted downwards. Liddy smiled as he did so.

"Of course, if you are looking for some short term happiness, then I am happy to satisfy you."

The man's feathers ruffled a bit in confusion, "But you are human. Why would you even want... do I even have a choice?"

"Of course you can choose! Choose to have some fun or relax on your own. Whatever you want is yours to have. I am simply saying that you can have me if you want."

The door opened and Cat walked in, stripping out of her muddy dress. "Liddy, I need a dress. Mine all reek of sex and this..." She paused, having gotten the top part off and was about to push it the rest of the way off. "Or, I can come back later," Cat stood there, bare breasts with a tad of mud on them, still unsure if she should finish pushing down her dress.

"You can have her if you prefer. Or, if you still aren't interested, I can show you out and I will have some fun with her. Maybe make her earn whatever dress she ends up borrowing."

"I..." he paused. "Both?" he asked in the tone of a man going for broke.

Cat pushed her dress down all the way, with only a thin white lace hugging her hips and covering her womanhood. She walked over to the man and took his hands to place them on her breasts. He felt them and gripped softly as he marvelled at the experience. Liddy leant forward and turned his head to kiss him, thankful he lacked a beak or other inconvenient bird trait to keep her tongue out of his mouth. Catherine helped him take off his shirt and trousers as Liddy stripped off her dress and pulled him onto the bed. They could both see he was plenty hard and Liddy greedily took him in her mouth. He moaned deeply as the expert tongue teased his shaft as it slid deep inside. His own tongue began to find work on the breasts in his face, and received a pleased noise from Cat as he put his feathered hand between her legs to explore.

"How long has it been since you have seeded a woman?" Cat asked, since Liddy was busy taking a quick breath before refilling her throat with the man.

"Never, not quite," he mumbled, "I mean, always had to avoid that. Our kind needs to be careful about that. A long while, regardless."

"You can seed us both if you want," Liddy stated, desperate to speak after a few hard gasps.

He took that to mean immediately and he pulled Cat down, his fingers moving the lace out of the way, and impaled her with his shaft, slick from the saliva Liddy put on it. She didn't let up and kept her tongue busy on him as it plunged into Cat over and over. A strange squawk sounded and Cat felt him burst inside her while Liddy cleaned up anything that leaked out.

"Sorry I, it's been so long since..."

"No worries. Enjoy the joy freedom brings. This isn't over." Cat smiled as she got off him.

As she did so, Liddy took him down her throat a few more times quickly before moving over to Cat and licking hungrily between her legs. Cat motioned for him to straddle her chest so she could take a turn with him in her mouth. Although softening, he positioned himself so that he could feel the noble woman's lips close around him and taste herself. Cat used one hand on his ass to help control his thrusts in her mouth, while the other played with her own breasts as Liddy worked her mouth all over between Cat's legs. She felt Liddy taking small breaks to bite her thighs and tease before getting back to work, bringing Cat to the edge of climax again. However, she went too far and Cat moaned deeply, unable to arch her back with the man on top, and clasped her hands on her breasts.

Her work done, Liddy climbed up and pulled him back to slide his shaft between Cat's breasts and pressed her own to his back, feeling his feathers tickle her. Liddy thrust her hips against him so that he would thrust between the lovely breasts in rhythm with her. Satisfied he was hard enough, Liddy rolled onto the bed beside Cat and spread her legs. Putting one on his shoulder and pulling him towards her.

He shifted over to Liddy, where she put her other foot on his shoulder. Taking himself into his hand, he aimed right where Liddy was wet to receive and slowly pushed inside. With her legs up high on his shoulders and close together the push inside needed more force, much to the pleasure of Liddy.

Cat straddled Liddy's face and grabbed her feet to bring his head to her breasts. As he picked up the pace of the thrusts into Liddy, he bit and licked the breasts in front of him. His increased speed had Liddy gasping while being smothered between Cat's legs.

"Oh, so close again... where..." he struggled to even attempt to ask.

"Inside her, deep as you can, don't hold back one drop," Cat encouraged.

Liddy squealed in delight at being seeded again by an Emberborn, and felt her body clench down on the man sliding in and out of her. She made the penetration slide smoothly in with her flowing juices and moaned hard the instant she felt the burst inside her as the man squawked again. Although less than his first load, Liddy was happy to have it inside her as his thrusts slowed and Cat got off her face to lay beside her. He felt Liddy taking her legs off his shoulders and wrapping around his hips to pull him closer. Collapsing on top of her, with Cat right beside him stroking the feathers on his head, he was at a total loss for words as he tried to speak.

"Hush now, relax. You were wonderful," soothed Liddy as she felt him softening inside her.

****

Foxy rolled her eyes after she heard things finish in Liddy's room. The fascination Liddy had with Emberborn was odd to her, but she found herself wishing she had been there to enjoy it. Her body tingled with desire, lamenting having to keep guard instead. Of course, she knew how important it was to keep her weapon ready to use on the monster on the pier. The bubbling mess of blackness watched as small fishing boats, full of as many corpses could be loaded on them, were sent out onto the water. Juno stood at the edge and would fire at the ship after the current took it out. The Emberround igniting the lamp oil they had poured on the bodies and the whole thing went up in flames. It took hours for the prisoners to complete their work, and the whole time the monster continued to evaporate until it was a blob of blackness floating at eye level. As the last ship burnt to ash on the water it was almost gone. Before anyone could ask why it wasn't gone, Hope came up from behind it and closed a metal lock box around it.

"What's that?" Laurel asked, slinging her rifle over her shoulder.

"It's a reliquary box. It used to contain sacred artefacts, but those were lost when the old empire looted the temple. I was using it for some other things but it's warded and air tight. So I figure I can contain what's left of that thing in here for a while now."

"I see..."

"Well, we didn't have anything else left to do to appease this thing, so it's best to not let it wander and latch onto some other betrayal. I will turn it over to the church after we offload the prisoners so maybe it will be gone by then."

Inky rounded up the prisoners onto the ship as they carried the man Leira had shot and Hope had saved. Hope took the box to place under her bed until they arrived at the capital. Liddy was on deck resting, keeping an eye out over the abandoned fishing village, waiting for Leira and Hannah to return.

****

"So what's your plan?" Hannah asked as they approached what looked like a small village straddling the river. "I'm following your lead on this."

"Wait, does that mean I am in command? Because I have no fucking idea what I am doing beyond getting here and... well, I don't know..."

"No worries, Leira. That's pretty much every officer in every military ever. You are really good at this command thing."

"Aren't you and Inky officers? What about Liddy?" Leira smiled at the reassuring joke.

"She and I started in the common ranks, so we don't count. Also, Liddy is a civilian."

"So what do proper officers do when they don't know what to do?"

"Order someone to do it for them and take credit for the hard work. At least that's been my experience."

"Alright then, consider yourself under orders to find my parents."

Hannah gave a simple salute, and once they arrived in the village she approached a man in his later years who would likely be too old to be Leira's father himself.

"Excuse me, sir, a word," Hannah greeted politely.

"Oh my..." the man mumbled as he looked at the woman in the sexy dress and cradling a trench gun under her breasts.

"I'm right here, you old goat!" the man's wife shouted as she drove an elbow into his side.

"Blast woman, I know you are. The young lady has a very big gun and I noticed it," he replied, trying to defend himself. "Yes, miss, what can I do you... for you..."

His wife huffed at his fumble.

"I'm looking for some people, may have lost a child eighteen years ago. I know it was a long time ago, but I had hoped a man in his prime might recall."

The wife fixed a wide-eyed look on Hannah.

"Oh, hmmm... well, I am not sure. Some of our folk were little ones back then, but lost? I can't recall any childless...

"They wouldn't be childless," the wife interjected. "Memory and mind like a rusty trap. Miss, if it stops you from fogging his mind with your improper appearance, you want to see that house there." The older lady pointed out a home across the river, over a stone bridge. "They had twins, but said they lost one in the river trying to bathe it. Never were quite right after that day. Some say it was grief but I have my doubts."

"Thank you kindly. Exactly what we were looking for." Hannah bowed, showing off some cleavage and offering a wink to the old man.

The two of them left the married couple as the wife smacked the husband upside the head. They walked over the bridge and found a man chopping wood out front.

"Think maybe they didn't mean to drop you in the river?" Hannah asked before they got too close to be noticed.

"Doubt it, but maybe. Either way, it's what happened. I owe them for either being fucking stupid or trying to kill me."

Leira trotted softly towards the man, trying to keep behind him, and picked up a hefty piece of wood. Hannah watched as the mermaid brought it down on his head. The man landed with a thump and swearing. She wasn't strong enough to kill him with just one hit or even knock him out. Though, when she picked up the axe he had been using, she became a threat.

"What the bloody blasted fuck was that for?!" he shouted, angrily turning over to look up at who struck him.

"Ever throw a baby in the river?" Leira asked with venom. "Maybe because it wasn't normal? Gills and scales and all that!"

His skin turned ghostly pale as he finally saw Leira. Although she wasn't dressed particularly provocatively, none of the girls really owned anything 'modest' and she was showing enough skin that her scales reflected a lot of light. Her hair turned midnight black and streaks of red would shift in and out.

"It was an accident!" he yelled with his hands up to defend himself and surrender.

"Liar!" Leira shouted as she swung the axe, taking a chunk out of his left hand. "You couldn't handle having an Emberborn so you threw me in the fucking river!"

He howled in pain and grabbed his bleeding hand. Someone, who may have been the sheriff, ran towards the commotion and screaming. Hannah didn't bother asking as she slammed the butt of her gun into his gut as he tried to run past her. He tumbled over coughing and looked to see Hannah warning him not to get involved, using the other end of the gun.

"Stop!" A woman yelled, approaching from the other direction.

The young woman moved slowly as a man tried to stop her but she persisted, protectively holding onto her large belly. Leira stared at the pregnant woman as she approached. They paused to stare at each other while the man tried to put himself between the two.

"I think..." she started, "I'm your twin sister."

Leira dropped the axe and walked closer while Hannah moved to make sure the axe stayed out of anyone else's hands.

"Do you know what happened?" Leira asked, her hair shifting into several colours as she struggled to find the right feeling.

"Mother told me before she died, neither of them knew what to do with... with you. Father took you out and came back alone. I don't know what really happened. I asked but he never said. I don't think he even really knows."

Leira sneered and turned around, "That's not good enough. Hannah, make him tell you."

Hannah knelt over the man and drew out her bayonet. The sudden realisation of her intentions sent him into a screaming fit as he begged her to not hurt him. His pleas of ignorance sputtered out until she placed the blade between his legs. At this, he relented.

"Please, no! Alright!" he shouted, earning a pause from Hannah. "I did it! I didn't want us to be seen as freaks because we had a monster. It looked like a wailing fish so I threw it in the river. I saved us all the suffering of raising one of those!"

Everyone was silent at his confession. The crowd that had drawn to watch, the sheriff, everyone. Leira shook her head and walked away. Hannah got up and followed, slowing as she passed the sheriff.

"He needs to be arrested for attempted murder," she ordered as she passed by.

"Not a crime if it's one of those."

Hannah stopped, turned around, and gut shot the sheriff. Then, walked back over to Leira's father.

"It may not be official law now, but it is best if everyone just started considering the Emberborn to be people!" she explained for everyone to hear. "So, for the crimes of attempted murder and accessory after the fact, I am summarily executing these men!"

Her second shot took the prone man's head off. She paused and searched the crowd for anyone who might take issue. Then she settled on Leira's sister.

"I will come back here someday. If I find out that child you are carrying is Emberborn and you aren't the most loving parents possible for it, I will kill you both and take it someplace safe."

Hannah turned away after her warning to rejoin Leira, who had stopped on the bridge when she heard the shots. It wasn't until they were well on their way back to the coast that Leira spoke up.

"Why did you do that?"

"Because they deserved to be punished. And because people need to know what they did was wrong and that there are consequences to their hate. Maybe they didn't deserve to die, but you can't change people with messages of tolerance. Also, you deserved to have justice without the guilt of doing it yourself."

"I don't know what to feel about all this."

"Take your time, deal with it as you go."