COF 07

“Poisoned, is that all?” Lenneth said nonchalantly, eyelids fluttering as her eyes rolled back in her head. Her body teetered tottered forward, and if not for the support of the wizard’s arms, she would have ended up on the floor again. It was a good thing she had passed out, for the helpless look in Lezard’s eyes would surely have frightened her.

Scooping her up in his arms, he allowed a brief, pain filled smile to cross his face, as she wrapped her arms around his neck, nuzzling her face against him. Good Heavens but she was hot! He thought to himself. The poison was quickly taking effect if her skin was already this warm. There was no time to lose, Lezard knew that. A bite from a manticore’s tail was deadly if not treated immediately. How long had it been since his beloved had received the bite? It couldn’t have been more than a few minutes, but those minutes could make all the difference between life and death. He ran down the hall, as though he had wings, clutching the wounded valkyrie securely in his arms.

Already her sunkissed face had turned pale, the color stripped from her cheeks leaving them white. Sweat beaded on her brow, and she was so hot against his skin. “Hang on…” He pleaded with her. “Don’t you die on me!”

Up the stairs and through the ruined door. No time to stop and seal it with magic, no time to find Zepher and bid him stand guard. The Valkyrie needed him, and she needed him now. He rushed to the nearest bedroom, which happened to be his own. He ran towards the bed, thankful his room was clean and clutter free. Lezard pulled back the coverlets, and gently laid her down on the satin sheets, knowing the cold material must feel pleasant against her warmed skin. “Valkyrie…” He murmured, detaching her arms from around his neck. “Where did it bite you…”

“Erm…” She murmured, seeming to react to the questioning tone of his voice. But no answer came.

“Please!” He grasped her shoulders and shook her, but it did little more than cause her head to flop back and forth, bonelessly. He eased her back down on the pillows, and stared at her. Seeing the bloody patches on her dress from the various wounds gave him no clue as to where the bite was. It just reminded him that he had more injuries to address as well as get rid of the poison. He licked his lips nervously, and reach for the front of her dress. His hands hesitated over the bodice, his palms brushing against the tips of her breasts. He resisted the temptation to caress those perfect globes, and moved his hands to her upper arms. He began tugging the sleeves down off her arms, the gray material sliding down her body with ease. Once her arms were free, he quickly yanked down her bodice.

Lenneth stirred, her head tossing to the side as her breathing intensified. She was vaguely aware of her dress being removed. “No! Stop!” She tried to slap him, weak though she was, it was nothing more than a love tap, lacking any real force behind the action. “Defiler of souls!” She cried out, her skin goose pimpling as she was revealed to his appreciative eyes, clad only in a white shift. She rose up, trying to hit him again, only to fall back to the bed, weak as a kitten.

Lezard ignored her cries, concentrating on lifting the hemline of her shift. Already down to her knee, the veins protruded, large and discolored with infection. Purple and green crisscrossing each other as the poison spread throughout her body. Further up, he raised the slip, revealing her thighs, flashing a hint of panty. Ordinarily he would be thrilled at such a sight, but now he was more concerned with the wound high on the inside of her thigh.

Feeling the necromancer’s hands on her thighs was enough to spur the ill Lenneth into action. She kicked out with her legs, getting him in the stomach. With a groan he hunched over, the wind knocked out of him. She tried to hit him again, then settled for clawing at his face, her nails sliding over the glass of his spectacles, seeking purchase on his skin.

“THAT’S ENOUGH!!” He bellowed, grabbing her wrists with his hands. He pulled her up hard and against his body, staring into her eyes, which were bright with fever. “I am trying to help you!” He said through gritted teeth.

“Don’t touch me…!!” She howled, writhing against him. He couldn’t help it, the feel of her body moving against his caused delicious shivers to tingle all the way down his body, to his groin. Feeling his arousal only caused her to trash around all the more, trying to get a knee up between them.

“I would leave you be, if not for the urgency of the situation.” Lezard told her, trying to ignore how it felt to have her squirming in his arms. “Now sit down!” He pushed her back down, pinning her to the bed, underneath his body.

She lay still for a moment, panting heavily as she gazed up into his face. She looked frightened and near tears, her chest heaving up and down as she took in panic breathes of air. It broke his heart to see her like this, so terrified of him, and what she thought he was trying to do. If only there was another way!

Suddenly she relaxed in his embrace, turning her head to the side so she would not have to look at him. “Fine.” She said in a voice empty of emotion. “Do what you will.”

Lezard blinked, not having expected this reaction. Warily, he released his hold on one of her wrists, than the other. He started to back down off of her, when she suddenly lunged at him with a wild scream.

“That does it!” Lezard said, grabbing her by the hair on the back of her head. He held on tight, his free hand going to encircle both her thin wrists in his much larger grip. “I have had it. If you won’t let me do this willingly, I will have to restrain you!”

“Noooooooo!” She struggled, trying to get free of his grip.

“Yeeeeeeeees.” He mimicked her cry, his patience long at an end. He pushed her up against the bed railing, situating his body so that he sat on her legs. Letting go of her hair, he still kept the grip on her wrists, reaching for his belt. She let out a gasp, and he growled in impatience. “Damn it! I am not trying to rape you!”

“I don’t believe you!” Lenneth whispered, still trying to pull her hands free.

“I can see that…” He sounded sad when he said that. “Which is why it’s necessary for me to do this…” He twined the belt around her wrists, leaving enough of it’s length, to tie them over her head to the bed railing.

“Now…” He shook his head, feeling weary to his bones, their struggle had been brief, but to him it felt like an eternity had gone by. He prayed her stubbornness wouldn’t lead to her death. He placed his fingers on the infected thigh, he could feel her shaking beneath him, a slight tremor as she tried to repress her fear. He leaned over the wound, pulling it open with his fingers, as he stared at the infection. This is gonna be gross. He thought to himself, trying not to grimace as he placed his lips to the wound.

Lenneth let out a gasp of surprise, blue eyes wide with shock as she stared down at him. What is he doing?!

He moved his lips almost as though he was kissing her injury, lips fastened wetly on the skin, tongue probing just before he puckered up, and began sucking loudly. She jerked, feeling a stinging sensation where he sucked. His hair rubbed against her, feeling more fine and silken than she would have imagined a human’s could be. The hair rubbing motion felt nice compared to the sucking, and it wasn’t long before he pulled away from her leg, and spat on the floor, a burbling blue liquid.

“Poison.” He said in reply to her look of questioning, before returning to her leg. This time his head ended up cushioned between her legs, his head moving as he sucked long and hard against her flesh. It formed a bobbing rhythm, causing his hair to move back and forth across her skin, causing her to giggle without meaning to. He looked up, and spat out more poison. Confusion in his eyes, until he realized his hair was tickling her. With a mischievous look in his eyes, he returned to her wound, the feel of his hair against her making her squirm as she tried not to laugh.

She jerked at her bonds, as he sat up, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. His lips and chin were tinged with blue, and with a frown, he spat once more for good measure on the floor. It wouldn’t do to save her life, only to end up swallowing some of the poison into his own body! He shook his head, shuddering from the taste. “Erg…” His eyes held a look of disgust in them. “Manticore poison is so foul tasting.” He realized Lenneth was staring at him, her eyes wide with confusion as he moved off of her.

“Now what…?” Lenneth asked warily, and jerked again, testing the strength of her bondage.

“Now…?” He calmly pushed his glassed back up his nose with one finger. “I have to see to your other injuries…”

“Will…will you untie me first?” She asked breathlessly, pulling her knees up to her chest.

“I don’t know if I should.” He said uncertainly. “Are you going to overreact again, or do you believe me when I say I am trying to help you?”

Lenneth blushed, and lowered her eyes modestly. “Y…yes…I believe you.”

“And you’ll allow me to treat the wound on your back without a fuss?” The wizard prompted.

“I will…”

“As long as I have your word that you will not over react…” Lenneth nodded. “I want to hear you promise me that you will behave.”

“I give you my solemn word.” She promised, and that seemed good enough for him. “That’s a good girl.” He smiled, and leaned in to give her a quick kiss on the cheek for her obedience. She jerked back, and gave him a dirty look. “I’m only promising to let you tend to my injuries. Nothing else.”

“I haven’t asked…” He smirked as he untied her from the railing. “Yet.”

“Why do you do that?!” Her temper flared up. “Say such things. Can’t you behave in a more…courteous manner.”

“I could…” He closed his eyes, head cocked to the side as though he was thinking about it. “I am…to the best of my ability. Forgive me Lady Valkyrie…I’m not used to being around other people…I sometimes forget and speak out of turn.”

“Just don’t do it too often.” She said, all prim and proper.

“I’ll try…” Lezard watched her rub her wrists, marks of the belt on them. “I’m sorry I had to do that.” He took hold of her right one, and placed a kiss on her pulse point. He was pleased to find it speed up at the touch of his lips. Lenneth pulled away, not saying anything. She felt more than a little foolish, since it was her own fault he had to tie her in the first place. But how did he expect her to react to him removing her clothes. She blushed bright red, remembering she was only clad in the thin shift. She hastily pulled down the hemline, and Lezard had the good grace not to laugh at her sudden modesty.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

Lucian looked up from the imprint in the ground, hearing Freya call out that she had found something. The blonde Goddess’ voice had been high pitched in excitement, but now a dismayed sob followed that jubilant cry. Practically tripping over his own feet, he lurched towards her, Platina! was all he could think of. His mouth was dry, and his eyes felt thick with tears.

In his urgency to reach Freya, he beat Hrist to the Goddess by a few seconds. “What did you find…” He trailed off, as he heard crunching sounds, and glanced down. “No…” The land was burnt black, ash and embers spread out in a circle, the blast pattern converging to the center of a small untouched space, just large enough for one person to stand in. “What does this mean…?”

Freya merely shook her head, mute as she stared down at the mess. “Tell me!” He grasped her by the shoulders, and gave the Fertility Goddess a hard shake. “What does this mean?!”

“By Odin’s eye!” swore Hrist, her face grim as she walked around the perimeter of the blast zone. “This cannot be…”

Lucian dragged his eyes away from Freya to glance at Hrist. The black clad valkyrie was kneeling down, running her fingers through the ash. She watched the darkened powder slide through her fingers, like sand slipping through an hourglass. “You know what this is?”

“I don’t know!” Freya cried out. “I’ve not seen something like this in all my life!”

“I have.” Hrist said, one hand hovering over the hilt of her sword.

“You have?” asked Lucian, not sure if he should feel gladdened at the news.

She nodded. “Yes, once…in a time long ago…at least in mortal’s terms.” Her eyes darkened. “When that nefarious undead ghoul kidnapped my youngest sister.”

“You mean Brams?! Brams took Lenneth?!” Lucian gaped at her. “Why would he?!”

“I don’t know…” Hrist admitted. “He should be content with just holding Silmeria…”

“Perhaps he sought to garner himself a greater bargaining chip…” Freya murmured.

“Bah!” Hrist threw up her hands in disgust. “Who would dare barter with him, after such a betrayal! He goes too far this time! Silmeria is one thing, taking the ruler of Asgard is quite another.”

“But we don’t know for sure if Brams could have done this…” Lucian pointed out. “It’s all speculation.”

“No! You know not what you speak of mortal!” Hrist hissed, her sword reaching out to lift the dress out of the circle. It’s back was stained with soot, no longer pristine white. “The vampire lord is capable of generating a demonic essence much like the one I sense.” She flung the dress at Lucian, who caught it, without really seeing it. “It is time I settle the score with him.” She turned and walked briskly away.

“Hrist, what are you going to do…” Freya hurried after her, Lucian remaining behind, holding onto Lenneth’s dress. He crushed it to his lips, and inhaled, taking in the scent of her, which still lingered on the material. Platina…

——————————————————————————————————————————————————

Lenneth slowly undressed part of the way, allowing the shift to slide down to her waist, as she removed the remains of her bra. When the manticore had clawed her, it had shredded through the back of it, rendering it useless. Tossing it on the floor, she quickly held the shift up to in front of her breasts, and sat back down on the bed. Blushing furiously, she made sure her back was to him, before she told Lezard to turn around. The Valkyrie was glad she could not see his face as he approached her, sure he would be leering at her vulnerable state. She tried not to jump when he touch her lower back, still not quite trusting him. She didn’t know how to feel about these latest developments. Except for getting a little rough with her when she struggled, Lezard had been gentle. He hadn’t tried to rape her, and aside from a few chaste kisses, he hadn’t tried to touch her anymore than necessary. It left her feeling conflicted as to his true intentions, and she clutched the shift against her tighter.

Lezard stared at the smooth expanse of her exposed back, the slip pooling down around her hips, revealing soft curves and the indent of her buttocks. He reached out with a shaky hand to touch her skin which was near flawless. Flawless except for the three claw marks of the manticore, which he discovered when he lifted her hair away from her back.

“What’s wrong?” Lenneth asked upon hearing his shaky intake of breath.

“Nothing, nothing!” He was quick to assure her. “It’s just…I fear this may leave a scar…”

“A scar!”

“It is not certain” He replied, his fingers tracing the air over the claw marks. “They may heal completely, they may not.

“Can’t you use magic to fix me?” Lenneth asked hopefully. She hated to hear the begging tone in her voice, having been reduced to vanity’s fear.

“I…I cannot. I do not know the spells of healing.” Lezard said, glad she was facing away from him. He did not want to see her face crestfallen at his words.

“You’re a necromancer.” She said softly. “You deal in death and destruction.” It was good to remind herself of this.

“Yes…” He agreed, placing a wet cloth against her injury. She winced, and cringed away from his touch, pain flaring up on her back when he tried to wipe away the blood. “I mainly specialize in spells of offensive power, though I know some very basic light spells…perhaps they will be enough…”

“Perhaps…” Lenneth said, not daring to hope.

He worked quietly, cleansing the wounds with soap and water. It stung, and made Lenneth hiss in pain, but she held herself still, quietly suffering under his care. He padded it with thick gauze, a brown bandage being used to hold it in place. “This is all I can do for you right now…”

“Perhaps if you take me to a doctor…”

“A scar won’t mar your beauty in my eyes.” Lezard told her. “However, a doctor might help you…to leave me…”

“Selfish!” Lenneth cried out, sliding off the bed, whirling around to face him. She was beautiful in her anger, standing there nearly naked, eyes flashing, body trembling in her suppressed rage. “You are cruel and evil!”

He reeled back as though she had slapped him. “After all I have done for you, you still hurl insults?!” He reached up and held his head as though he had a headache. “I’m not as cruel as you think dearest…if you truly need a doctor I would take you to one!” She opened her mouth to reply, but he held up his hand. “Enough!” He bellowed, causing her to cringe. “Enough…” He repeated more softly, rubbing at his forehead. “It has been a long day, and I tire of these arguments…” He walked towards the door. “Stay here…get some rest…your fever has not yet gone away…”

She let out a scream, and threw a pillow as the door closed behind him.