Happy reading!
The Feri Light
Chapter 6
'Whatever you think you saw Your Majesty, it probably isn't real. The forest has a way of confusing the mind,' Keene said when he noticed me staring at nothing. 'Let's hurry and get back to camp. We've only about an hour before it gets completely dark.'
I followed him in silence. Of course he didn't know what I'd heard. I didn't tell him either. From what I gathered he grew up in the woods so I figured he knew what he was talking about.
When we reached camp, Caleb had already dug the fire pit and lined it with stones. While Keene went to fetch water from the stream, I helped Caleb light the fire.
'Where did you go after Feri Court? Wren told me you'd left but he didn't say where.' I asked Caleb. He paused mid-task.
He stared absently into the flames and lowered his head. He added the piece of wood I gave him to the burning pile. 'Before I was taken into slavery, I grew up in Sea Port, a city by the coast in The Sear, with my aunt and her daughters. When my mom died she took me in and raised me as one of her own. She was always kind to me, so I wanted to see her again.'
He fell silent.
'Well. Did you get the chance to see her?'
'No,' he said adding another piece of wood to the fire. He then turned to me. 'Her house had been looted and was standing in ruin. One of her neighbors told me she died five years ago.' I saw tears in Caleb's eyes. 'She died alone in her house.'
That was sad, very sad, poor woman. 'What about your cousins then?'
'The youngest married a shifter and now lives in Holl. The other two are still in the city and work in a brothel. According to the neighbor, Aunt Gale threw them out of the house when she found out...'
'Found out what?' I asked curiously because he was shaking like a leaf.
'When she found out that her daughters were the ones who sold me into slavery.'
I hunched down and wrapped my arms around Caleb. He didn't sob but I could feel his body shake. I suspected more from rage than grief. It was one thing that he didn't get to see his aunt and another to learn that his cousins betrayed him like that.
He stayed in my arms for a short time, then jumped to his feet and pretended to be busy as Keene came into view.
'Tsk, shifters and their stupid pride,' I said to myself.
By night fall the temperature had dropped a few degrees, although, the forest floor was still a bit warm. The fire we had going also added to that warmth.
After I'd eaten a few bites of grilled meat the brothers brought back from the hunt I snuggled against Wren on the furry blanket in front of the fire.
It took me a while to fall asleep with all the various noises that came with the night. When I finally closed my eyes I was jolted awake by the sound of footsteps.
'Where the hell have you been?' Kane hissed.
'Around.' Came the terse reply.
'That's the second time you left camp in the middle of the night without an explanation. You're supposed to be guarding us not skulking around the forest like some wildling.'
'What makes you think I wasn't doing just that?' Keene hissed back.
Kane grunted. 'You may have my brother fooled but not me. Know that I have my eyes on you, asshole.'
'Whatever.' Keene brushed passed him, went and picked up all of his belongings and went over to the base of a tree a few feet away from us. Evidently he was annoyed.
'That hag is going to get us all killed,' Kane muttered as he sat back down. Straining my neck, I gazed through the fire to see him empty the content of his mug into the fire.
Annoyed, I repositioned myself on the fur next to Wren. I was tired and sore and in great need of some rest.
The next morning I woke to find the fire had died out, the horses gone and by the feel of the cold spot next to me, Wren was gone too.
Strange! My companions wouldn't leave me here all alone. Wren loves me. He wouldn't just up and leave without ... My brain was a little slow to comprehend, but even stranger, I didn't hear any birds or other noises the forest usually produces. I quietly got to my feet and scanned the camp.
Something was very wrong here.
"Wren. Wren. Can you hear me?" I thought of him as I voiced the whisper. If he is anywhere out there, he would hear it.
"Hello." Came a grave voice.
Startled, I quickly looked around. I saw no one.
"Don't be frightened. I mean you no harm. I'm just here to talk."
'That voice, it reminded me of the Nereii people. Oh shit! The intruder is communicating telepathically,' I thought out loud.
"That's right," he said with a sneer.
I swallowed down waves of panic while trying to breathe to remain calm.
'What kind of sick joke is this? Show your face, you coward,' I angrily shouted.
A long minute passed and nothing happened, not even a sound. Then suddenly, a boy around eleven years old stepped out of the mist. And with a wave of his hand, the mist disappeared and sunlight streamed through the forest canopy brightening the campsite.
'Better?' The boy asked.
Perplexed, I watched him closely. Long, straight, platinum hair, clean leafy green tunic, brown leather pants, barefooted, he looked like any other boy his age, well, except for the eyes and voice apparently. His eyes were intense and green, like one who was wise beyond his years. And as for the voice, it belonged to a man, not a mere boy. Yet, I felt that this creature in front of me was no man.
Is he an elf? I debated.
He closed the distance between us and stopped right in front of me with a smug look on his face.
'Let me satisfy your curiosity, Your Majesty. I can't be an elf because those stubborn idiots sealed their own fate when they refused to join the rest of us in the fight against the Northenders in the First Slave War. They all perished in their foolishness. If by elf you mean pixie they were all expelled from this world by the Feri after they accidentally created the gene responsible for the darkling mutation. They are harmless, but always up to mischief. The last I heard some were in the human realm up to the same old tricks. Good riddance.' The little man paused when he heard my thought. 'Yes. The Northenders were not responsible for those vile creatures. That's why darklings are on this side of the fence instead of the Northlands.'
I couldn't help but wonder why this strange creature was interested in me. Is there a sign above my head saying "Feres Idiot King"?
He chuckled. 'Your Majesty, my name is Devlin. I'm an Elfin. Like I said before, I mean you no harm.' He thrust a small hand forward as if expecting a handshake. I was taken aback by the gesture. No one in Targeten uses handshakes as a form of greeting. At least not anyone I know.
He looked at me with a frown. 'Isn't that how you greet an acquaintance where you're from?'
'Yes, but you took me by surprise,' I shyly replied.
'Phew. For a minute there I thought I messed up. Who could blame me, your mind is a minefield,' he said with humor.
'Hey. Stay out of my head,' I firmly said to which he grinned mischievously.
'Why are you haunting me?' I asked.
'I've been assigned as your tutor. Sorry it took me this long to finally reach you. I've been detained. I'll be helping you with your powers.'
'No offense but I already know how my powers work.'
Devlin laughed.
'Your Majesty, permit me to say this. You're wrong. You've barely scratched the surface of what you're truly capable of. Believe me I've been witness to a great part of it.'
I fidgeted and looked around while gathering my thoughts. How is he going to help? Do Elfin's have similar powers as Feri?'
Devlin was quick to answer my doubts. 'True, my powers are different from yours but I assure you I'm quite capable of teaching you.'
'If what you're saying is true, then prove it.' I had to see it with my own eyes to believe it.
He grinned and then morphed. When he was done, I was looking at a mirror image of myself. God! The resemblance down to the smallest detail was uncanny.
'Not only do I have your features now but I have your powers as well. Come let me show you.'
Without using any feri-light he engulfed us in a bright golden light that felt like feri energy and we were teleported to a flower field.
'That was amazing! How did you do that?' I said in awe.
He flashed me a grin.
'Easy. Once I had replicated your body I used your inner core.'
'What's the inner core?'
He gave me a surprised look.
'Wow. You really are clueless, aren't you?'
What could I say? I grew up away from this world. All my powers I only discovered in the past few months I learned them on my own, mostly by accident. So if I was clueless, it wasn't my fault.
'Rightly put. Well, don't fear. I'm here now.' He moved next to me and wrapped an arm around me resting a hand on my shoulder. He placed his other hand in the middle of my chest where the medallion rested.
I shuddered. The touch was too intimate and it felt weirder knowing the person doing it has my face.
'The inner core, also known as your life-force, is the bundle of energy inside you that's keeping you alive. It is also the source of your power. Every living being has one yet somehow yours and that of your kind burn brighter than the rest of us. When you learn to access yours, the application will be amazing. You will be able to teleport without the aid of feri-lights, and manipulate the life-force of lesser creatures among other things.'
'Oh!'
Suddenly, I was overwhelmed. Questions were popping in and out of my head.
'I hear your questions but let's not get ahead of ourselves, shall we. Everything will be explained in due course. Now let me show you why we came here.'
Devlin scanned the field until his gaze rested on a stag feeding on the lush green grass in the distance.
'You see that stag over there. How about I summon it closer so you can say hello?'
I didn't know what he was talking about, so I shrugged. 'Is that one of my powers?'
Devlin didn't answer. He just raised his arm in the stag's direction and said, 'I summon you, creature of this world, to stand before me.'
Straight away the stag stopped grazing and started galloping towards us. It was coming in so fast that I flinched when it halted abruptly.
Panting, the creature stood still before us. It was as big and as muscular as a horse. It lowered its head heavy with a massive pair of antlers so Devlin could pat it.
Once again I was in awe.
'How did you do that exactly?' I asked.
'I connected with its life-force and then I urged him to obey. You saw how I did it and I want you to do the same.'
'Do, as in right now?'
'No. I will grace your dream again in two days time. And when I do, I expect you to have mastered this new skill.'
'But..?'
'No buts. What I have to teach you will take time but you and I both know that time is something we don't have.'
I supposed he was right. The barrier is crashing and the Northenders will be here soon. I have to be ready when they come.
'Now that's the spirit. I have to get you back now before I'm missed.'
Puzzled, I asked, 'missed.'
'I'll explain at a later time. Now go.'
Bright golden light filled my eyes and the next thing I know I was waking up in camp on the furry blanket I fell asleep on. The fire was still going and Wren's gentle smile greeted me with an appreciated cup of warm herbal tea.
'That must have been some dream?' Wren said sitting back down on a log set by the fire.
'You have no idea?' I said more to myself that to him.
The forest was still dark. Because of the birds' raucous morning greetings I knew dawn was quickly approaching.
'We had last watch. Why didn't you wake me?' I asked crawling towards Wren.
I straddled his lap and gave him a passionate kiss.
'Mmm. I've been dying for you to do that all day yesterday,' he said into the kiss.
I glimpsed at the others. They were fast asleep. Good.
Grinning, I stood up, pulled down my pants. While Wren struggled to get his cock free, I found the lubricant I carry in my bag for dire situations like this. I quickly lubed Wren's phallus and straddled him again.
I sighed with pleasure as his cock slid into me.
Wren wrapped his arms around me and sought another kiss. He moaned in my mouth as I leisurely ground my body against his.
'That's it baby, make us feel good.'
He tongued my jaw, chin and neck. Meanwhile, I massaged his shoulder blades and nape.
He playfully jerked his cock inside of me which earned him a groan from me. He did it a few more times before I started giggling.
'Shush. You'll wake the others,' he whispered.
'Then stop teasing me.'
It took a pleasant time for me to reach climax. When it finally hit, I gripped at Wren's torso and shuddered against him. That in turn pushed Wren into his own climax. Panting, he coated my bowels with his cum.
'I love you atsa,' I whispered in his ear.
'I love you too Rye.'
'And I love you too guys,' Caleb said with a snicker. The lustful gaze in his eyes was unmistakable.
'Are we having sex for breakfast?'
Wren laughed out loud and I joined in.
...................................................
End of chapter 6