Shadowborn

Chapter Thirteen: Baits and Lures

I felt the sharp spike of fear just before I heard the scream. It was a piercing shriek that sent every bird in a half-mile radius scattering to the winds. Serena and I were sprinting before it died out, though I made sure to shout at Yen and Rastra to stay at the back of the caravan. This could very well be a trap.

Worried stares followed us to the front where Jezal stood comforting a trembling Mai that had her face buried in the artificer’s shoulder. Even as I ran past I could see the poor girl was trembling from head to toe. It had been her scream we’d heard.

Pierce, Fel, Sola, and Korey were kneeling over the body while a half-dozen others watched. It was maybe fifteen feet from the road in a depression in the ground that hid it from the view of the caravaneers. With how much crimson stained the snow around the body, I suspected Mai’s nose had led her to investigate.

The body itself was in a bad state. I saw at least one ear of a Nekomata and the stump of a tail, but most of her features were hard to make out. Predators had shredded the body rather thoroughly, and entire chunks of the body had been torn away. From the struggle marks in the snow, slowly being covered by this morning’s lazy fall, I was sure the poor soul had been alive when the predators had found her.

Fel and Sola both looked like they might vomit, as did many of the others. Only Pierce and Korey seemed relatively unaffected by the gore. I knelt down next to the body and they didn’t say anything. There was only so much I could tell with how little of the body was untouched, but I pulled out a dagger and used it to prod and lift parts of the body anyways.

The flesh on her remaining wrist was rubbed raw. Manacles, likely. What little clothing remained was little more than rags of cheap, dirty fabric. No sign of shoes, but the bottoms of her feet weren’t raw. She hadn’t traveled far enough to damage them. She hadn’t been dressed for travel, especially in this cold weather. Then I saw the deep clean cuts on the outside of her thighs, and bile rose in my throat. I heard retching behind me, but I didn’t look to see who it was.

“What are you thinking?” Pierce asked me.

Fel snorted. “Who cares? Some idiot Neko got lost and eaten. Throw some snow over her and lets be on with it.”

I ignored him, looking to Pierce. “Wait for me by the treeline. We’ll follow the tracks and make sure the animals that did this aren’t still nearby.”

“I’ll go with you, I suppose,” Sola said reluctantly.

“No,” Pierce and I said at the same time. He looked at me and inclined his head, so I said, “this could easily be a trap or distraction. It’s smartest to leave as many fighters behind as we can just in case. The rest of you should get moving, we’ll catch up.”

Fel stormed off muttering about a waste of time, and Sola followed him not long after. Pierce headed towards the tree line with a curious expression, and I turned back to the crowd. I took a second to find the one I was looking for. Serena was a few feet away, her hands on her knees, throwing up for a second time.

She tensed when I put a hand on her shoulder, but relaxed when she saw it was me. “First body?”

She tried to use her hand to wipe her mouth, but it was still gauntleted so she only succeeded in nearly hitting herself in the face. I offered her a cloth from my storage, and she nodded gratefully. “Yes. I’ve never seen something so horrible. The poor thing must have been so scared.” She shivered.

“I need your help.”

There was still a pretty strong undertone of green in her face, but she squared her shoulders. “I’d gladly put down the monsters that did this.”

I appreciated the sentiment, but I shook my head. “Me and Pierce are going to take care of things. I plan to take Rhallani, and I need someone I trust to watch over Scarlet while we’re gone. Can I count on you?”

Her expression was a mix of annoyance at being relegated to babysitter and relief that she wasn’t having to go after the predators. “If you think that’s the wisest course of action, I’ll defer to you.”

I was glad she didn’t argue. It didn’t take long to track down my two lovely servants thanks to the large armored golem. Scarlet was the same as always, though I noticed Rhallani stood with her hand on the smaller girl’s shoulder when I approached them. “What’s going on?” Rhallani asked.

“Corpse by the road,” I told her. In as few words as possible, I brought her up to speed. She didn’t look thrilled about going hunting, but she didn’t argue. I looked at Scarlet. “You’ll be staying with Serena. Do as she says until I return. You have my permission to protect yourself, her, and this caravan if attacked.”

“This one will behave,” Scarlet promised solemnly.

Giving my thanks to Serena, I led Rhallani towards Pierce with the golem in tow. He didn’t say a word as he fell into step beside me with Rhallani trailing just behind, and I started following the fading tracks of whatever had killed the Nekomata.

I waited until the caravan was out of sight before speaking. “The Neko wasn’t just an unlucky traveler.”

“No,” Pierce agreed. “It was a lure.”

Rhallani’s hand covered her mouth. “What? Why? How can you tell?”

“She showed signs of imprisonment,” I explained, “and someone hobbled her so she couldn’t escape. Left her alone and bleeding until the scent of her blood attracted whatever it is we’re hunting.”

She looked as disgusted as I felt. “What could she have done to deserve such a thing?”

“Most likely? She only died like that because she’s Nekomata.”

Pierce raised a brow, but said nothing. Rhallani stumbled over a tree root and I stopped to catch her. “Who would do something so cruel for such a reason?” Her voice trembled with a note of fear.

I wished I didn’t have to tell her such a horrible truth, but fate seemed determined to remind me that the world was a very shitty place sometimes. “Beastkin have very strong smelling blood, and Nekomata have the strongest of the subraces. In the early days of the war, Grimsbane would have his spies drop trails of injured Nekomata leading from dangerous areas to populated ones out of his control. The scent of their blood would attract predators, and he’d use their deaths to lead those predators to populations to weaken them before attacking.”

I felt Pierce’s eyes on me the entire time. There was surprise in them, but not at the information. We’d worked hard after the war to make sure information like that was tamped down. It came from a time where Nekomata slaves were used the same way in hunts for large and powerful creatures, and we’d wanted to put a stop to the practice.

“You think someone is trying to lure predators near the caravan?” She shook her head in. “That’s barbaric.”
“It’s the most likely scenario. That, or they’re just trying to catch any travelers in their net.” My money was on a different option, but I wanted to be sure before I voiced that thought.

“You didn’t mention this to the others,” Pierce noted.

“Neither did you,” I argued. He made no move to deny he’d already known about the baiting. Half of them wouldn’t believe us, the other half would probably freak out. No sense in doing so until we had more information.

“I get why you pulled me, but why the Arelim?” He asked with a jerk of his chin.

“She’s going to help me take them out.” I returned the longsword to my hip. “You’re going to stay far enough back to watch, but not close enough to horn in on the experience.”

He snorted. “Need a babysitter, do you?”

I didn’t bother looking at him. “You wanted to know what I’m capable of. This is me showing you.”

He didn’t respond to that. We were likely moving towards sleeping predators, so I banished the golem. It would make too much noise, and I could re-summon it easily. We picked our way through the trees for about an hour. The tracks were growing fainter, but I’d been on enough nighttime hunts that I could still follow the traces easily. Wolves, unless I was mistaken by the shape of the prints. Two at least, maybe three or four if they were marching in file.

They led us to a small ravine where a single blightwolf sat outside a low cave. Pierce cursed, but I wasn’t surprised. I’d been expecting just that, actually. “Change of plans. You two head back and alert the caravan, I’ll make sure they don’t come after us.”

“No,” I told him, loosening the blade in its sheathe, “this changes nothing.”

“That’s a blightwolf, boy, and they rarely move alone. Hell, it’s probably the same one that nearly ate you before we met.”

“Not likely. I killed all three of those.”

He froze. “They killed your party, then?”

“Never had one. Now shut up and watch.” I started forward and Rhallani followed. A quick touch to her hip and one of my shadow tendrils was coiled around her waist “Like the bandits, keep the golem near you. I want you close enough to get experience, but not to put you in too much danger.”

She nodded. “You really killed three blightwolves on your own?” she asked.

I grinned at her. “Scary cursed sword, remember?”

That didn’t seem to make her feel any better, but she didn’t say another word as I tossed my cloak aside and approached the wolf. Its ears flicked and one sickly green eye opened to look at me. It rose and let out a low growl. I conjured two more tendrils, one on my left shoulder and the other from the wrist holding the sword. I willed the second tendril to thin itself as much as possible and wrap around the length of my blade until every inch of metal was covered in its inky blackness. I covered my hand and forearm for good measure. I tested its sharpness, pleased to find it felt just as sharp on my thumb if not more.

I sighed when three more blightwolves stalked out of the little cave behind the first. My stats boosted from [Horde Slayer]. “It can never be easy, can it?”

They fanned out to flank walking low on their haunches. I stood, waiting for them to make the first move. Two lunged at me, but my tendril whipped out to intercept one while I swung my blade at the other. The first sank its teeth into the tendril, but I willed it to wrap around its snout then pierce into its neck as an anchor. I struck at the other, catching its nose with the tip of my blade before jabbing the tip into its shoulder. Bright green blood sprayed and sizzled on the snow around us, but my shadows were unaffected. Just as I’d hoped.

Using my tendril, I yanked myself towards the muzzled wolf. It thrashed, trying to pull itself free, but the shadow had a strong hold on it. I swung my blade upward and cut deep into the wolf’s throat, then brought it down on its back. The blade bit deeper than it would have normally thanks to my shadows, and the back half of the beast went limp.

I kicked it away, freeing the tendril in time to whirl at the next attacker. I used the tendril solely for offense and found it had about double the reach of my longsword. It swiped at another of the wolves without me needing to direct it, which gave me the opportunity to throw myself back at the one I’d wounded. It snapped at me, ripping a chunk of fabric and flesh off my thigh, but I slammed the pommel of my sword down on its shoulder. I heard something snap, but the momentum of the beast’s body knocked me to the floor. I rolled, using my tendril to push off the ground and launched myself to my feet.

Two more rushed at me, but I conjured another tendril below the first one on my shoulder. Two tendrils whipped in unison, keeping the wolves at bay. They snapped at the black whirling protrusions, but they didn’t bite down like the first one had. Seemed they’d learned their lesson.

One tendril, the last foot of its length long and thin like a blade, scored a lucky hit on the eye of one wolf. Seeing my opening, I hurled myself into its blind spot and hit it with three quick strikes. I felt one of my tendrils twisting behind me and willed it to widen into a shield just before another wolf slammed into my back. I hit the ground and fangs sunk into the arm with the tendrils, but one had wrapped around my flesh to protect me from the teeth. The other stabbed it again and again, growing slightly thinner with each strike. I knew it was running out of mana fast, so I conjured yet another tendril at my hip. I was burning through mana, but I’d expected that.

My newest tendril stabbed into the wolf’s belly, and it must have hit something important because the beast yelped and recoiled. Freed from its weight, I stabbed my blade behind me. It hit flesh, and I cursed when a spray of acidic blood hit me. I rolled out from under the bloodied beast and it limped away. Blood poured from its injuries, especially the long jagged gash in its belly, and it collapsed into green-stained snow a few steps later. I felt my [Horde Slayer] passive fade, which meant it and the wolf I’d paralyzed were probably both dead. That left two.

I baited them in, and one launched at me. I let it clamp its jaws around my tendril-wrapped forearm and used its own weight to drive my blade into its body. I missed its heart, but over half of my blade was lodged in its body, and my arm wasn’t the only thing wrapped in a tendril. Even as the tendril on my hip wrapped around my torso to protect me from the claws of the wolf where it tried to rip into me, I willed the tendril on my blade to leave the metal behind and strike out into the flesh and bone surrounding it.

I used the senses gained from connecting to the tendril to worm towards its heart. One well-placed pierce later, and the wolf went limp. Unfortunately, using the tendril that way revealed the metal to the highly corrosive blood that coursed through the monster. Barely a second later I felt a good chunk of blade snap off in the beast’s body while I struggled to extract myself from under its corpse.

There was a flash of fangs when the last wolf launched at my trapped face, but it disappeared in a blur of gold and blue. The golem, its blade still in its sheathe, slammed into the wolf. The beast tried to sank its fangs into its attacker, but it only got a mouthful of metal and stone. The golem, unbothered by the attack, wrapped its arms around the wolf and began to crush the beast into its chest. It began to thrash and yelp, but the golem just kept tightening its arms.

Around the same time I managed to extricate myself from the body of the third beast, managing to only recieve a few burns for my efforts, I heard a crack accompanied by a pained howl. The golem held it tight even as I walked over and used the remaining mana in my tendrils to put the beast out of its misery.

[Level up!]

[Blight neutralized]

I ignored the notifications for now and arched a brow at Rhallani. She shrugged. “You said to use the golem to protect myself. The wolf can’t eat me if the golem is holding it, right?”

I just shook my head and walked over to ruffle her hair. I pulled her into a tight hug and she clutched me back tightly. I could feel the tremble in her limbs. “You did great. Thank you.” I kissed the top of her head and checked my status.

Health: [157/200]

Mana: [70/120]

I’d neutralized the blight quicker, too. Did that mean I’d simply gotten a smaller dose or was I stronger this time? Hard to tell. I felt cool fingers on my bare flesh and looked down to see that, though my tendrils had protected most of my flesh, my outfit had mostly melted away form the waist up. Already the adrenaline was beginning to fade and the cold was creeping in.

“I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to watching you fight for your life like that,” she said softly.

I kissed her again. “Guess it’s a good thing I leveled, then.”

She flashed me a smile, then ran to grab my cloak without me asking. Around then Pierce approached us with an awestruck look on his face. “Not sure I’ve ever seen anyone fight quite like that, I’ll admit.” Then his eyes took in the scars on my exposed flesh and widened further.

I held up the half of the blade in my hand. “It was sloppy. I should have done better.”

“Against four blightwolves? You should be dead, so I’d take the win.”

Once again, I couldn’t help but notice how he talked about them. Like they were a higher threat than normal. I’d killed seven now thanks to my unique resistances and skills, but something was bothering me. I pulled a fresh shirt out of my storage and donned it, and it wasn’t until after I’d thrown my cloak over my shoulders and we’d started the journey back that I asked the question that burned at me.

“Pierce, how common are blightwolves in this part of the country?”

Unsurprisingly, he seemed to understand exactly what I was asking. “Not near common enough to warrant seven in as many days.”

I was afraid he’d say that. “Safe to say they’re the target of the lures.”

“Safe to say,” he agreed.

I could tell that Rhallani burned with questions, but they must have been relating to something she didn’t want to discuss in front of Pierce. We spent the rest of the walk in silence, and I took the chance to take care of my level up. Even number, which meant a new skill.

Of my current options, three were appealing to my situation. [Cursed Existence], [Armor of Shadows], and [Dark Senses]. I’d need all three eventually, the only question was which one mattered the most right at this second. [Cursed Existence] would help me wield the cursed blade, but right now I wanted to keep that hidden safely away. No need to draw attention to myself. [Armor of Shadows] is just the kind of defensive skill I needed right now, but in the end I needed to be able to see threats coming.

[Dark Sense] was the best option. Something or someone was stalking me, and I needed to be ready for when they finally caught up. So long as I was traveling in a group, a surprise attack at night would be our enemies' most likely tactic. I’d survived more encounters than I’d care to admit because my enemies thought using the night would be an advantage, only to realize I’m more deadly in the dark than the light.

I took the skill, but thanks to the bright snow all around I didn’t feel any change. I’d explain it to Rhallani later. It took us less time to get back to the road than it had to track down the wolves, but by the time we reached the body of the Nekomata the caravan had moved on.

I summoned some shovels from my storage (Never go adventuring without them, you never know when you need to dig up buried treasure. Or a grave.) and started to dig. Nobody said a word, but Rhallani grabbed a two shovels and gave one to her golem. Even Pierce took one, and together we dug deep enough into the hard, frozen ground that we could at least give the poor woman some kind of burial. It was on the trip back that Rhallani grabbed the hem of my shirt and pulled me back from Pierce before telling me that her skill had activated when she’d seen the corpse. Whoever was after us, the Neko’s fate was tied to them.

I felt immensely sad that nobody would ever know what happened to her. I didn’t know her name, and I doubted I ever would. Just another nameless corpse on my journey that would haunt me. For a moment, I found myself hoping I was right and that these men were after me. That would mean I get a chance to repay them for what they’d done to innocents like the Nekomata. I just hated that things were going to get worse before they got better.

# # #

Once we caught up, we told the others our agreed upon story. With Pierce in the lead and some mauls from my storage we’d dispatched the blightwolves. Everyone seemed shocked we’d taken them on without much more than a few scrapes on my part, but everyone pretty much attributed that to Pierce. I wasn’t going to correct them. Not yet. If there were any eyes on us, I wanted the others to be somewhat dismissive of me. That might give me a chance to do some damage before our enemy realized I was a threat.

The rest of the day was a somber one, but nobody complained when Korey upped the pace a little. Jezal took the reigns of the wagon while Mai curled up into her side with red-rimmed eyes. I couldn’t help but notice that Serena kept stealing glances at me, but they were so quick I was never able to guess the meaning behind them.

Whatever it was that bothered her, she didn’t bring it up that night when we sparred. I didn’t want to bother with new lessons until she got a hold on the ones I’d started, but she already showed considerable improvement over yesterday. She was as determined to improve as anyone I’d met, and she took every bit of criticism as a personal challenge to improve.

Afterwards, Korey and Mihrel brought bowls of stew for me, Rhallani, and Scarlet. They offered no explanation and I asked for none. I’d seen Pierce talking with them earlier, and I knew he’d vaguely mentioned that I’d be invaluable if more blightwolves showed up. As far as they were concerned, some food was a small price to pay for my aid when they needed it.

Once we’d eaten our fill, I left Scarlet with Serena once again and took Rhallani out into the woods. Last night had been amazing, but I figured I could do better after she’d saved me during the blightwolf fight. Once we were out of the light cast by the campfires and there were some trees in the way, my senses started to heighten. She clung to me when we reached the point of near-total darkness, the only light coming from the moon and stars through the canopy above.

I led her with my arm wrapped around her waist since I could find my way so easily in the dark. I could feel the creak of every nearby tree while the wind whispered through the trunks. I could sense every root and rock below my feet as if I already knew it was there. I could hear the rustling of her cloak, the swishing of her skirt, and the wetness between her thighs. I could smell the arousal coming off her in waves, and I could only make it so far.

Her heartbeat spiked in excitement when I pulled her close and kissed her deeply. Just like my hearing, my touch and taste were likewise amplified. The flavor of her lips was stronger than anything I’d eaten since I’d woken up. The feel of her slippery tongue was all I could focus my mind on. Her hands roaming my body drowned out all the sound in the forest. Then she squealed in delight when I spun her around and pushed her forward, keeping an arm around her waist and guiding her hands to the trunk of the nearest tree.

I could practically taste her arousal on the air when I flipped up her skirt. I could sense her arching her back, presenting herself to me. I slid her panties to the side and ran a finger down her slit, and she moaned. My ears and nose hadn’t deceived me. She was gushing.

In the near-pitch black, the waves of pleasure that were amplified by my skill nearly made me cum on the spot when I slammed my hips into hers the first time. I could feel her every fold and ridge. Every drop that dripped down her legs. Every millimeter of hot, silky flesh that pulsed and writhed around my member. Every quiver of her inner walls felt like a velvet soft hand caressing my length. I started moving, but I only lasted about three pumps before I was unleashing my load into her depths.

I felt her cum at the same time, but once she’d recovered I could tell she was confused. “Ren?”

I leaned into her and placed a kiss on the back of her neck with an embarrassed laugh. “Sorry, love. I wasn’t ready for all the sensations that came with my new skill.”

She reached back and ran her fingers through my hair. Another sensation made a thousand times better by an amplified sense of touch. “New skill? Is it sex related?”

With a chuckle, I briefly explained [Dark Sense] to her, never leaving the incredibly soft embrace of her pussy. By the time I was done, I was already starting to grow inside her again. She must have felt it, because she started to slowly rock her hips.

“So,” she said, turning her face towards me while she used the tree to push herself back into me over and over, “you’re telling me that when it’s pitch black, you’re hypersensitive?”

I groaned and started rocking my hips to meet her thrusts. “For now. I’ll get used to it. Hopefully.”

Now that I was in more control, I could feel each and every shift in her body and breath. I took note of every time I hit a spot that made her gasp, quiver, or clench, and I started attacking those points mercilessly. I wrapped a hand around her throat and turned her head so I could kiss her while applying gentle pressure and I felt her clench around me like a vice. I fucked her through the orgasm, keeping my other hand on her hip for leverage. I could hear her nails digging into the bark of the tree, which made me pick up the pace.

“Oh-hh-hh-hh-fffu-uu-uu-ck,” she panted between thrusts. “I think—I’m going—to really—like this—skill.” She clenched around me again when I hit a particularly sensitive spot. “So-oo dee-ee-eep,” she cried. The fingers in my hair clenched tight and her mouth opened in a silent orgasm. I let the spasming walls drive me over the edge and let loose. I fucked her hard and fast the entire time I was painting her insides white, and I heard the spray of liquid hitting the ground and the tree in front of her.

Her legs buckled, but I wrapped an arm around her to keep her from falling. I let myself slide out and wrapped Rhallani up, kissing her slowly and softly until she was able to stand on her own again. “It’s not the reason I took it, but it’s definitely a nice bonus.”

“I never knew it would be so different in the dark,” she admitted. “Not knowing exactly where your hands were going and not being able to read your expressions was… very hot.” I slid her panties back into place, trapping my spunk inside her, while she hung off me happily. “Back to bed then?” she asked.

“You go on and get some sleep. I want to stay out for a bit and test the limits of this skill.”

She refused to let me go until after I’d let her explore my mouth thoroughly. She groaned when I pulled away. “I don’t know if I’m going to make it to the next town. You don’t think we could convince Serena to let Scarlet stay with her for a night so you can properly fuck me into a puddle, do you?”

I couldn’t help but laugh. I summoned a lantern and lit it, then handed it to her. The light banished most of my senses, but it was only a lantern so some of them remained. “Go get some sleep, I’ll join you in an hour or two.” I sent her off with a smack on her ass, and she smiled at me over her shoulder.

I relished in the feeling of my senses growing stronger with every step she took. I’d felt blind since I lost this particular skill. Well, this tree of skills, at least. I hoped I could get it to evolve again, but that would mean a lot of fighting in the dark. Considering how used to having companions I was growing, I wasn’t sure how much of that I wanted to do.

Once it was just me and the faint starlight filtering through the canopy, I sat down next to a tree and closed my eyes. Just like I remembered, I could strain each of my non-sight senses in turn. I put my hand to the tree behind me. I could feel everything for well over two hundred feet, down to the mice rutting in their burrow a dozen trees over. It was overwhelming, so I was forced to focus my attention in specific directions. Once I reached my limit of how much I could take, I switched to smell. Scents overwhelmed me. Flowers, herbs, animal shit, trees, dirt, snow, the musky smell of the bodies of all my companions. Once that was finished I tried taste. Less useful for now, but I could still taste the things around me not unlike a snake might. Then I moved on to hearing, and it felt like my head was being ripped in two.

Every nocturnal animal skittering through the underbrush, some predators, some prey. The ever so faint swish of feathers and the scrape of talons on bark. The terrified squeal of the grouse when some shadow in the night snatched it from the ground. The huffing of the wolf—normal ones, not blightwolves—while it scented a rabbit. The sound of hips slapping coming from Fel’s tent accompanied by Sola’s moans.
I tried to steer my senses away from the camp. Voyeurism was never my thing. That didn’t mean I could afford to ignore it, though, so I swept over every once in a while doing my best not to take in any words that weren’t for me.

I did this for the better part of two hours, just as I’d promised Rhallani. I didn’t get any useful information, but I was slowly getting the more extreme end of my new skill under control. Like controlling my tendril, it would take some time to grow fully accustomed to the extra input. On one of my final passes with my hearing, I paused at Scarlet’s voice. It was muffled, but I hadn’t gone far from our tent to rail Rhallani. It was the closest one to us, so I could make out the words.

“This one has a request,” she said.

I know what I said about not being a voyeur, but my curiosity regarding Scarlet was simply too great. Plus, the fact that she’d reached the point where she was comfortable making requests of any kind made me happy. We were already making progress.

“Of course, Scarlet,” Rhallani responded. I heard the shuffling of fabric and I figured she was repositioning in her bag.

More ruffling fabric accompanied the following pause. Then, “this one does not wish Rhallani to take on the full burden of our master.”

Well now I couldn’t possibly stop listening. “What are you talking about? What burden?”

“Sir uses your body. This one will offer its body as well. This one does not like you sacrificing yourself to protect it.”

Rhallani made an adorable hum, then more fabric on fabric. In my mind’s eye, I could practically see her shifting so she was sitting face to face with Scarlet. “You’ve got it wrong. I’m not sacrificing anything, and he isn’t using me. I sleep with Ren because I love him, not because he’s my Patron.”

Another pause. “This one… does not understand.”

“Ren isn’t like your previous owners,” Rhallani explained. “He won’t do anything to you or me that we don’t want him to.”

“You wanted him to rape you in your sleep?”

Rallani made a choking sound. “I didn’t know you were awake for that!” She cleared her throat. “I wasn’t asleep at all, and I’m pretty sure that jerk knew the entire time. And it wasn’t rape because I’d already told him I wanted him to do that to me. He gave me plenty of chances to stop him, and I know if I’d said even one word in fear or pain then he wouldn’t have laid a hand on me.”

Damn, I’d have to be much more careful arround Scarlet from now on. I would have sworn she was out cold when I looked at her, and I wasn’t often so easily fooled. “Then,” Scarlet continued, “the seed in you now? The scent of his hand on your throat?”

Okay, I’d have to worry about her senses as well. The thought of Rhallani burning to write what we’d both just learned in her notebook made me smile. “Both of those were accompanied by one of the best orgasms I’ve ever had. He didn’t grab me hard enough to hurt me, and he didn’t do anything I wasn’t desperate for him to do.”

“You like the pain? Of sex?”

A sharp intake of breath. The sound of a Rhallani revelation. “Sex isn’t supposed to hurt. Well, aside from the first time. Or if you’re into that, I suppose. But normally, sex feels good. Very good. Almost as good as after when he holds me in his arms and I feel like everything is right in the world,” she said dreamily.

Rhallani is a cuddler. Already kinda knew that, but I’d make sure to mark it down for later as well. Scarlet made a sound in the back of her throat. “Do you think that Sir will every touch this one the way he touches you?”

I could practically hear the mischief in Rhallani’s voice. “Do you want him to?”

“This one does not know.”

More rustling. The almost imperceptible sound of flesh on flesh. Rhallani had grabbed her hand. “Do you like how this feels?”

“This one… does not hate it. That frightens this one.”

“It’s okay to be afraid,” Rhallani said. “Like I said, Ren isn’t going to do anything to you that you don’t want him to. Someday, when you’re ready, I know he’d love to have you in his lap so he can hold you tight and run his fingers through your hair, but he won’t do it until he knows you want it.”

“And if this one never wants that? Will Sir replace me with another who will?”

I felt a slight shock hearing her refer to herself. She wasn’t as far gone as she pretended. There was still a scared girl in there, and I was impressed by her strength. “Of course not!” Rhallani said immediately. “Ren would never do that. It doesn’t matter if you never let him lay a hand on you, he’ll take care of you and make sure nobody ever hurts you like that again for no other reason than it’s the right thing to do.”

“He did not want this one,” she argued. “You claimed this one behind his back, and he was forced to take this one in.”

“I did what I did because I couldn’t stand the thought of leaving you in that horrible place for even another second. If I’d have gone to Ren and asked him, I know he’d have felt the same. All I did was save you another few hours of pain and suffering.”

There was another pause, then more ruffling. “This one will not keep you up any longer. If you do not wish it, then this one will not attempt to give her body to Sir.”

“I want you to do what you want to do,” Rhallani told her. “If you want him to touch you more then that would make me very happy. If you don’t, then that’s completely fine, too.”

Just when I though the conversation was over, Scarlet whispered, “Good night, Rhallani.”

I returned my senses to their normal enhanced levels and slowly made my way back. Scarlet was making clear progress, and faster than I’d have hoped. I just needed to make sure I didn’t betray the hope she’d just barely begun to feel.

The lantern was out by the time I got back, but I no longer needed it to undress and slide into the bedroll beside Rhallani. No sooner had I settle down than she rolled over to face me and nuzzled into my body. Then, in a soft whisper, she said, “Scarlet is afraid you’ll get rid of her if she doesn’t offer you her body.”

I wasn’t sure whether to kiss her or smack her, but I knew she wasn’t bringing it up for my sake. With my new senses, I could tell the exact moment Scarlet stopped breathing. “Well, if she brings it up again, then tell her that’s a foolish fear to have. She’s a part of this strange little family now, for better or for worse, and what she is or isn’t willing or able to do has no effect on that.” I pressed my lips to the top of her head and I felt her lips curve into a smile against my chest. “We’ll find a place for her eventually, and it’ll be a place that makes her happy. I’m more than willing to wait for as long as it takes.”

I wasn’t sure how Scarlet would react, but I was pleased by the slight speeding up of her heartbeat before it calmed and her breaths fell into a deep rhythm. It wasn’t long after that Rhallani drifted off as well, but I was up for a good while longer just listening to them breathe.

I cared for Rhallani more than I’d cared about anyone in a long time. Already I was starting to care for Scarlet and Serena, too. That scared me, because along with that affection came fear. It had been so long since I’d really cared for someone that I’d forgotten how visceral the fear of something happening to them could be.

When I finally forced myself to close my eyes, it wasn’t the Nekomata lying dead and mutilated in the ditch I saw.