Galin (9 page)

“Please don’t do that, I beg of you. I’m not
going to cause her any trouble. I just want to make sure she’s all right.” Michael
said nothing. “Please, I beg of you. Don’t take me from Kip or her. I want to
watch over him. I need to protect them both. I love the young man…I think I
have loved him from the first. But to not see him, keep him safe…I won’t be
much good to anyone if I am constantly worrying for him.”

“She will not benefit from your interference,
Galin. The woman has been through enough without you causing her more
heartache.” Galin nodded but said nothing. All he could think about was how his
heart was beginning to ache as well. “I will see what it is that I can tell you
concerning Markum. But as far as Dusty is concerned, you are to keep your
distance from her. Even talking to Kip about her, sending messages back and
forth like school children, will not help her. Will not help either of you.”

After Michael left with the promise that he’d
be back, Galin sat in the darkened kitchen and thought about the rest of his
stay with Kip. The boy and he were going to leave this house someday, and he
could hardly stand the thought. The longer he sat there the more…he supposed
the term would have been depressed…he became. He was depressed about spending
his next few decades without her.

~~~

Dusty tried her best not to think of Galin
and the fact that he’d just left her like he had. She thought she’d been doing
a great job of it to only remember the night about sixty times an hour instead
of all the time. He had left and that thought kept rolling around in her head. He’d
left her. And he’d not been back once to see…well, to do anything.

She knew that her being a virgin would be
disappointing to him. She had no experience in what to do to please him, and
even though he’d come, she knew that having a climax was not always that satisfying.
She had been satisfied, of course, but she was sure he was slightly bored with
her. Dusty turned when someone knocked on the door to her office. She smiled at
Dan when he spoke.

“I see you’re all moved in downstairs. If you
don’t mind me saying so, it looks better than I thought it would. Being a place
where you use colored pencils and such. Your staff seems to be pleased as
well.” They were too, and seemed to love the new digs. “I have a few more
things to finish up in this area, then you’re on your own.” He moved to the
wall where large bulletin boards had been installed, with wipe off ones as
well.

“You did an amazing job. I love it. And I
think that the staff would have your baby too if you’d only look their way.” He
laughed. “But seriously, thank you. And I wanted to thank you for having your
men help me move as well. I don’t know what I would have done once they told me
I was finished there.”

She’d gone to pick up the last of her things
from the old building when the new landlords, two men really, had met her at
the door. They had told her that they were taking everything for cleaning fees,
meaning, like she had thought, there would be no deposit coming her way. They
had also called the rental company and had those items removed as well, so that
all of her files and papers were strewn all over the floors. They’d not even
put them in any kind of order, just dumped the drawers out and walked over them
when they needed to get around.

She was trying to reason with them when Dan
had shown up with about a dozen men and women. In less than an hour they had
her things boxed up, the mess cleaned up, and a check in her hand for the
deposit she’d had to put down when she’d opened for business five years ago. She
didn’t ask how he’d managed that, but was grateful for the extra money. It had
gone a long way to filling out her otherwise empty checking account.

“They had no right to do what they had done,
and we simply showed them the error of their ways.” She laughed when he did. “I
did nothing that most wouldn’t do for you had they been there. You’re a
wonderful human, and Kala and Judith have done nothing but speak your praises
since they have met you.”

She doubted it. In her experience most people
would move on rather than get involved. Dan helped her move the desk where she
wanted it, then he helped her hang a display of one of the large advertising
campaigns she’d worked on, as well as several smaller ones she was just as
proud of. She looked around the room, smiling.

“You look good here.” She nodded and hugged
him to her. He held her for a few seconds longer then looked down at her. “I
need to tell you something.”

She backed from him, thinking that something
had happened to Kip, and reached for her jacket to go to him. But Dan put his
hand on her arm and she stilled. Whatever he had to tell her couldn’t be good,
but she had a feeling it had little to do with her nephew.

“He is fine.” She nodded and sat when he asked
her to. “The man, Markum. Have you been told much about him?”

“Only that he’s trouble and that he hurt Kip.
I know that the protectors are watching us very closely and that everyone is on
alert. Do you know more than that?” He nodded and she leaned back in her chair,
suddenly more afraid than ever before. “Are you going to tell me that Kip is
going to be hurt by him?”

“You both will be. But you will die if you
are not careful.” She nodded and felt her mind seem to freeze up. He was on his
knees in front of her when she realized she’d zoned out for a few seconds. “I
need for you to take extra precautions as much as you can. He is not a very
nice…he is evil, and will do evil things to you if or when he captures you. Do
you understand what I’m telling you?”

“And what do you suppose I should do, Dan? In
the event you didn’t notice, I don’t really have a great many skills to fight
against someone evil like him.” Dan put out his hand, and in in the middle of
his large palm was a medallion with a long gold chain. “What is that?”

“It’s magical. And it will protect you like
nothing else can. You must wear it at all times and never remove it. Kip has
one as well, and he too has been warned about taking it off. It will give you
extra strength to care for the both of you should he take you.” She didn’t
touch it, but stared at it before speaking again.

“Galin has a mark like this on his right
shoulder. And so do all of you, right?” Dan nodded but said nothing more. “Is
he all right? Galin, I mean, is he all right? He sort of disappeared from my
life and I feel…I’m sort of lost without him.”

“He is well. Because he has lain with you, he
is being punished by being kept from you.” Dusty had a feeling that Dan
shouldn’t have told her this, but he smiled at her. “You’ll be able to speak to
him should you want to, but it will seem silly when you cannot see him. Trust
me when I tell you, he is near you all the time when Kip is close at hand.”

“He’s still watching over Kip?” Dan nodded again
and stood up behind her. He was putting the chain around her neck when she thought
of something else. “I was wondering about if I were to have a baby by him. We
didn’t use…we just…there was no protection when we had sex.”

“Sadly there will be no child from this
union.” She nodded and felt a bit depressed by it. “You will keep this on? You’ll
keep watching even though you are being protected by the others? The wolf and
the panther that you have working for you, I have warned them as well to keep
an extra eye out for you. They will know before you that someone with ill
intent is around.”

That had been something she’d known in the
back of her mind, but neither of them had told her. Then a few days ago, both
Dale and Paul had come in her office and confessed, she supposed would be a
good term for it, that they weren’t human and they would keep an eye on her.

“I will.” He sat in front of her. She looked
at him and felt tears threaten before she spoke again. “I thought that I’d
bored him or something.”

“You did not.” Nodding, she got up to put the
rest of the things she’d brought from home on her desk. “There are some
supplies that we’re to bring to you. I found them in the other building when we
were working there. Things that you can use. Judith is making me a list of
things that she wishes for you to have as well.”

Dusty turned to look at him, glad for the
sudden change of subject. “You found them, or you went and found them?” When he
didn’t answer her she turned back to what she was doing. “I’m beginning to
think that I’ve been bamboozled into this building and job for Judith. Am I
right?”

Dan laughed. “She does have a way of getting
what she wants.” He stood up when several men walked in loaded down with boxes.
“She has wasted no time in getting you settled in with things she thought you’d
need.”

They put the things in the room next to her
office, which was going to serve as a supply cabinet for the entire building.
She was just locking the door, making a mental note to tell Denise that they
were in there, when she turned to Dan. He looked like he knew what she was
going to say and smiled at her. She took a deep breath to tell him what was on
her mind.

“Don’t gloss over the truth to me again. If you
know something or hear something, or even just have stuff for me, just tell me.
I want you to be my friend.” He nodded. “Can you please thank Judith for me?”

“I shall, but I think you’ll get to do that
yourself. She is coming down the hall now. With Kala.”

They both turned when the two women walked
in. Kala was told to sit down and she did so without argument. The poor woman
looked ready to fall over, exhausted.

“You are going to go to dinner with us. I’ve already
had someone go to the school and pick up Kip. He’s such a wonderful young man. I
might adopt him myself.” Judith sat down. “And before you get your panties in a
twisted knot, you should know that Riss and Agon are going too, so you won’t
feel ganged up on.”

“I think she can hold her own with you.” They
all looked at Kala. “You’re pushy and bossy, but I think that Dusty is going to
stand up when she needs to most and knock you on your fine ass. Me, however, I
am going to just sit here and be ginormous and wish that I could have my babies
now instead of in four months.”

“You have four months to go?” Dusty flushed
hotly when she realized how loud she’d been. “I’m sorry, but I thought you were
ready to go at any second. And did you just say babies?”

“Four.” Dusty sat down and tried to think
what it would be like to have four babies. But Kala laughed. “You should have
seen the look on your face. It was both full of panic and terror at the same
time. What do you think Riss is going to say when he finds out about them all?
I’m taking bets, and most are saying that he already knows. I don’t think he
does.”

“You’re going to tell him before you pop
them, right?” She was assured that telling him was on her list of things to do.
“I can’t…four babies. Then four toddlers, and then teenagers? I don’t think I’d
want to be in your shoes when it…well, hell when it comes to buying shoes. Do
you know what they are?”

“All boys. And they’ll be like the rest of
us. Magical.” Dusty nodded and thought of how safe they’d be if some evil prick
came gunning for them. When Judith laughed she looked at her.

“I can read your mind, remember?” Dusty had
already figured out a couple of days ago that she needed to curb her thoughts
when around these women. But she still didn’t know how she felt about that. “I won’t
hurt you when I look, but there are times when I get the real answers instead
of the ones you think I want to hear.”

“I….” Dusty thought of speaking with her in
her mind and was surprised when she felt the connection.
I’ve been so
worried about you guys since I brought this jerk here. The babies will be all
right, won’t they? I would never forgive myself if anything happened to you
guys, and worse if it happened to someone, a lot of someone’s, that are so
innocent.

They will be fine. We all will. The power of
working together and knowing our enemy makes things so much better. And you
didn’t bring him anywhere. He was here before you were a part of this family.
She started to tell
her she wasn’t a part of anyone’s family when Judith cut her off.
You are
now. As soon as we took you into our confidence and told you who we were and
what we were, you became family.

As they moved out of her new office she
thought of Galin again and wondered if he ever thought of her as his family. Shaking
her head at her stupidity, she got into the car and let them take her along.
Kip was already at the restaurant when she got there. And she knew immediately
something had happened. The look on his face made her want to pull him into her
arms and hold him. She knew that keeping him safe was nearly impossible in a
situation like this, but she would try.

“Can I tell you later? It’s not that bad, but
I need to wait until later.” She nodded and he hugged her. It was the first one
he’d given her without being asked for it since he’d moved in with her. “I want
steak for dinner.”

And throughout the entire meal she kept a
close eye on him and the rest of the group. Dusty was suddenly afraid for all
of them. Because no matter what they said, she had brought this on all of them.

Chapter 7

Markum hurt. Badly. He’d been abused daily
for the past several days and he was sure that he looked it. His mirrors, like
most of the reflective things he’d had in his room, had been covered by him
after the first day. The sex wasn’t that bad, but it was painful. And his
lordship took great pleasure in giving him as much pain as possible.

Today had been particularly bad. At the first,
anyway. He’d been summoned for his punishment and had been held down while two
woman had sucked his cock but not let him release. He has hurting so badly with
the need to come that he said nothing when his lordship had taken him into his
mouth. The heat alone was enough to make him shrivel a little, but the pleasure
of being sucked off by one so good at it had Markum coming down his throat in
seconds. Then the tables had been turned and he’d had to suck his lordship’s cock.

He had a thick, long cock. Everyone who had
seen it wondered how a man so well-endowed ever got his cock into anyone. But
when he’d flipped him over, after several minutes of Markum sucking him off,
and entered him, Markum knew what few others did. His lordship’s cock was an illusion
and was no bigger than anyone else’s dick. When he slammed into him from
behind, Markum had been so disappointed by the feeling that he’d actually
turned to see if it was the same cock. He’d been hurt badly for his curiosity.

“You’ll keep your mouth shut, or so help me
the next time you come into this room, you’ll be dead.” Markum nodded and said
nothing as he was fucked harder for his indiscretion. When he came, his
lordship called for a whip and beat him harshly for over an hour before he left
him. Five minutes later Markum was being picked up by one of the guards and
taken to his room. It was there that he finally got fucked by the cock he
wanted. The guard was full of surprising ideas when it came to sex. The man had
left him not only satisfied but actually looking forward to more of the same.
Markum was nothing if not practical.

Now he lay there alone and his body was
slowly healing. He knew that by morning he’d be mostly healed, but it was
taking him longer and longer to do so. The more abuse he endured, the harder it
was becoming to recover from it. And he was sure that was his lordship’s plan.

He looked up when he heard the ding of his
monitor. It was the only way he’d been able to keep tabs on the boy and his
aunt, as he was no longer able to simply go to the other realm and spy on them
himself. By installing a monitor that watched only them he’d been able to keep
better track of them, but there were still long periods of time when he would
not have a clue where they were.

The boy was with his aunt. Going to the
monitors on the wall, Markum pulled up the first view and stared at the people around
the table. Most of them he knew and a couple he did not. But he almost didn’t recognize
either the kid or his aunt. A week had made a great difference in them both.

She looked…well, she looked as if she were
glowing. And the boy looked like he’d just been laid. He watched them interact
with the others, laughing and smiling. It was enough to make him ill. The
longer he watched them the more he wanted to go to their world and murder them
both. No one could be that happy all the time without some sort of magic to do
it. Humans were generally, in his opinion, a very sad lot. But just as he was
going to turn off his monitor, he saw it.

“Mother fucking shit.” He paused the view
twice to make sure he was seeing it right. “Mother fucking monkey balls. They’re
dressed.”

He’d seen the chain twice, of course, but
never put it with a medallion. Now it seemed that someone from higher on the
food chain was trying to protect them. Markum started to go and tell his
lordship and paused.

“He’ll take me again.” While the thought of
sex normally excited him, he looked down at his body. Markum suspected what he
looked like beneath his robe and went into his room to look at his body. Pulling
the drape off the mirror, he looked at himself fully for the first time since
his punishment had begun. It was much worse than he’d thought, and a good deal
more…the scabs on his body would leave large scars that would mar his otherwise
perfectly formed body.

In a few words, Markum knew that he looked
like raw meat. His chest was so red and wounded he could see his ribs. Several
of them were burned as well, leaving his bone showing through the muscle so
that he resembled a skeleton. His arms were also burned, and he’d had to tie
some of his skin to his arm or have it flap at his chest, hurting him more. His
legs looked like he’d been stripped of all his skin except for the parts right
over his knees. And even those looked like he’d been dragged behind something
moving fast and his flesh peeled away. But it was his face that looked the
worst. Oh, his lovely face.

His left cheek was burned and nearly gone.
His teeth and gums were visible and his tongue, when he wanted, could poke
though the opening and wiggle. It was burned as well and he tried his best not
to remember how that had happened. His left eye was there but it was milky and
dead for all intents and purposes. He’d wondered lately why he’d been unable to
focus on things and thought it was a trick with someone’s magic, not his eyes. Markum
turned to his right and looked at his face from this angle. It was sickening to
see how so much fun could leave one so damaged. His hair was completely gone on
this side, as was his ear. In addition to the burns and open wounds, his face
leaked pus from his eyes, and he thought that some of that even had worms in
it. Markum was a mess. No woman or man would find him attractive. Nor, he
feared, would anyone want to have sex with him in the other realms.

Wrapping his robe around him again, he made
his way to his bed and lay down. Now that he’d gotten a better view of his
body, he was more depressed than ever. As he lay there thinking of his woes and
issues, he thought of the woman and his plans for her when he finally got her
and the boy. And he would, it was just a matter of time now.

She was going to help him to gain favor with
his lordship. A beauty like her would have him salivating for her, and Markum
would gladly hand her over. For a price. There was a great deal to be had for a
virgin, and more when she was as beautiful, by human standards anyway, as this
woman was. Markum thought of her naked and tied to his lordship’s bed when he
returned with her. His cock, sore and battered, actually stirred. He was
frightened that if he had that happen much, it would surely fall off and he’d
be in really bad shape.

“She’ll be laying there with all her glory
spread before him. Her pussy will be wet with her juices and her nipples will
be peaked hard and stiff for him. The moment he sees her he’ll grow his thick
cock from his body and take her hard and fast before spilling his seed into her
belly. I shall be there to watch this, too. Helping her to accept him in all
his glory.”

Markum had come up with his plan when he’d
seen her in the shower. She’d been washing her body with a large sponge, and
all he’d been able to think about at the time was his hand being the sponge and
touching her the way it had. By the time he’d come five times just watching her
clean herself for her daily activities, Markum had come up with the idea that
she could save him. Then after his lordship was finished with her, Markum would
take her to his bed and fuck her until she couldn’t stand, much less move. He
looked down at his raging cock and wondered if the thing ever hurt enough not
to stretch from his body.

Markum closed his eyes and thought about the human’s
pussy, and felt his cock grow harder. He’d never had a human before and
wondered how much better it would be with one. He was thinking of licking her
deep with his tongue when he felt someone take him into their mouth. Looking
down, he nearly cried out when the pleasure bitch from the throne room moved
over his body so that her hot body was over his face.

She wasn’t like the human, he was sure of that.
Her pussy was that of a woman, of course, but she also had a cock to be a
pleasure source for whoever wanted her. Markum played with her until she came,
then tossed her off him. She stood staring at his cock like she was starved.

“I’m sore and you wish to make me hurt more.”
She shook her head and licked her lips. “I want you gone from here. You’ve
gotten your pleasure, now get out.”

“I wish to give you some as well.” She
grabbed his cock and fisted her small hand over him as she moved to her knees.
“My body can heal yours if you would let me.”

Markum was deep into her throat when she
cupped his balls. Even as sore as he was, he could feel his balls tighten to
his body, readying for his release. As soon as she rammed her fingers up his
ass, she bit down into his dick so hard that he thought she’d bitten his cock
off. But he felt the power of her bite, her magic as she began to heal him. His
coming this time, hard and quick, nearly made his eyes roll to the back of his
head, never to return.

When she let him go, Markum stared at her.
She’d healed him. No small feat, either, for as badly as he’d been hurt. When
she started to stand, he reached for her and asked her why she’d done it.

“He had no right to harm you.” Markum wasn’t
sure what to say, as no one in all his life had ever thought he was in the
right of anything. Ever. “You will heal so much faster. When he comes on you,
it will burn slightly but not into your skin. I will come back…if you please, I
will come back every night to help you should he be too harsh on you. You have
given me pleasure before you took your own. No one, not even another pleasure
bitch, has done that for me.”

Markum nodded and watched her go. He felt as
if he was going to make it now and got up to look into the mirror again. All
his wounds were healed, and the best part, he thought his dick looked bigger
too. As he started to dress, he thought about going to the other realm and
getting the girl and boy now, but decided that he’d wait for a few more days.
No sense killing them so quickly now. Markum went to bed with a new sense of
worth and slept the sleep of the dead.

~~~

“How much longer do you think to have him
suffer?” Boss looked up from his paperwork when Michael spoke. “He is not
paying as much attention when they are in the same room as I would like. I fear
for her.”

“I have others looking in on Kipling when
they are together. It is why I have two watching them both, her and Kipling, at
the same time. And you worry too much.” Michael nodded and sat down. Boss
waited, knowing that there was more to this unannounced visit than his concern
for Dusty. “She is…I think that the medallion you have given her is going to
keep most of the demi-gods away, but I still fear for them. Is there more I
should know?”

“There is. You know that I do not tell you
everything, Michael. Your mind could not take it all in.” Boss waited, trying
to think of how to tell him of his plan without upsetting the man. Lately it
had been a battle not to share as much as he wanted for fear of making the man
upset. And Michael upset was a gloriously wonderful thing, but dangerous for
most. “She may be hurt very badly before this is finished if he does not do
something soon. I almost hate to do it to her, but she will be stronger for it.
They both will. Galin must…he loves her, but knows it not as yet.”

“She is strong now. I fear for the person who
tangles with her. I do believe she is stronger than the other two women. Scary
too. Did you know that she can do things that…her mouth is most caustic as
well?” She was but Boss said nothing. “I would hope that there is soon to be a reckoning
between her and Galin. He is not looking well at all. I see worry lines where
there were none before, as well as his rest is not peaceful.”

“As I have said, he is in love with the girl
but does not know it as yet. I do feel for him. When it hits him he will not
take it lightly. His love for her and Kipling will be more than you can imagine.”
Michael still sat and Boss decided to change the subject. “Did you hear how
Riss took the news of his children? It was wonderfully funny. I do not believe
I’ve seen a person, human or otherwise, who turned that particular shade of
green. I think I might use that color for something someday.”

Boss laughed when he thought of it. They’d
been sitting at one of the tables in the great hall on the training yards when
Riss put his hand over his wife’s belly. He had a look of pure horror on his
face when he felt the child move violently beneath his hand. He looked at Him as
if to ask Him if it were human or not. Instead of answering him, Boss had
looked at Kala.

“It is past time you told your husband of the
child you carry. It is going to be enough of a shock to him to find out what it
is, much less what it will look like.” Riss had stood up so quickly that he
nearly had knocked Kala from the chair. “Or I can tell him.”

“The baby is…it is not well?” Riss sat down
again and pulled Kala into his arms. “It matters not what is wrong with him. I
will love him as much as you do and we’ll be happy together.”

“There is nothing wrong with any of them.” Riss
had nodded at Kala, then frowned. He asked her what she meant by any of them. “Yeah,
you heard me, any of them. All four of them.”

“Four? You are having four children?” Kala
nodded and Riss stood up and backed from her. “Four is a great many children at
one time. How will that be…? What will…? I am not prepared to be the father of
four children. Perhaps it would be best if you were to have only one.”