Hunters descent, p.29
Hunter's Descent, page 29
“Ah, the Bottom-Dwellers.” Ylana sighed and stared into the flames.
“What about them?” Ruri asked when she didn’t seem likely to elaborate.
“They weren’t hurting anyone,” she said. “Not really. That land has been barren for decades. The worst they did was force the last few herders off it before they could die from their own fool stubbornness. It wouldn’t have hurt the king to leave them to their own devices, but he and the Jaeger refuse to suffer the wrong kind of fae to live in our lands. Worse yet, they couldn’t conceive of a way to kill them in more than meager numbers. Until your Hunter showed up, that is.”
“I was afraid it was something like that.”
“They came in on their own as well,” Ylana said. “Though whether it was from your world or one of the adjacent fae realms, I don’t know.”
“But we do know for sure that the hodag came from my world, right?”
“That we do.” She sat back and looked Ruri over with a critical eye. “You don’t look near sturdy enough to take on whatever else might be lurking near one of those porous places. I hope you plan to take someone with you.”
“I’ll manage on my own,” Ruri said. She wasn’t going to be alone. “I can defend myself, if need be, but it’s unlikely whatever is there will even notice my presence.”
“If you say so.” She pointed at Ruri’s mostly empty bowl. It shuddered once, twice, then Ruri let go and it floated from her hands back over to the cauldron. “You’re going to need something to coat your bones, then.”
The bowl dipped out more stew, then made its way back to Ruri’s hands. She applied herself to its contents again. They chatted between bites of delicious meaty goodness. Ylana was a charming hostess and she had a wicked sense of humor. As they grew more comfortable with each other, she took more opportunities to skewer Ruri with it. She laughed loudest when Ruri turned the pointed comments back on her. She was in the middle of a loud guffaw when someone knocked on her door.
They didn’t wait for her to answer, opening it right away and sticking their head through. Geffron looked askance at Ruri, then over at Ylana.
“The king has announced the new heir,” he said. He paused, licking his lips nervously. “It’s the Jaeger,” he finally said.
Ylana’s face hardened between one instant and the next. She gestured at Ruri’s bowl and it pulled itself from her grasp.
“You’d better get on looking for that portal,” she said. “The realm is about to get very uncomfortable for a great deal many more people.”
* * *
Receiving the fae was long and tedious. Mary Alice found herself in the same trance she used while on a stalk. It worked fairly well for this kind of situation. She could mentally disengage as she needed to, but when the king or the Jaeger said something that required a response, she could zone right back in. The night grew longer and longer, and still this or that Tuatha felt the need to come up and pay their respects to King Connall and especially his new heir. Very few of the other varieties of fae felt moved to do so. They chose to hang back and drink while shooting glances toward the throne when they thought Connall and the Jaeger were occupied.
The celebration grew steadily more raucous, the edge to the fiddles more desperate, and still Mary Alice’s feet twitched to join the dance.
“We no longer require your presence, Lady Malice,” the king finally said. “There are things we must discuss with the Heir before tomorrow’s trip to the Heart.”
“Thank you, Lady Malice,” the Jaeger said. He smiled gently at her. “You’ve done well this night. I expect you’ll do well tomorrow. The Huntmaster is expected to be present at major court functions and the coronation of a new heir is one of the most important. There are of course exceptions should you be leading a hunt, but I would counsel against scheduling one tomorrow.”
“Of course, Your Highnesses.” Mary Alice bowed her head, nodding to both of them. They smiled at her form of address. They weren’t offended, not that she could tell, but she was going to have to get the forms down.
It was a relief to get away from the king and to stop having to watch everything she said. The music called to her blood. Ruri had said not to stay out too long, but surely it hadn’t been more than a few hours. There was no harm in finding the members of the Wild Hunt and spending some time with them. She was their leader now. She owed it to them to get to know them.
Her mind made up, she made her way over to the pool with the loudest revelers. Sure enough, Lord Regin stood head and shoulders above the fae carousing around the source of gentle light. Other specks of light congregated there too. They whirled and spun through and past the dancers, only to return seconds later. The party had progressed far beyond any state she’d previously witnessed. Most of the hunters were missing at least one major article of clothing. Some were completely nude, the moon and starlight painting their skin until it looked as though it glowed from within.
They weren’t only dancing on their feet either. As Mary Alice made her way closer to the center of the group, moans of passion and guttural groans of release reached her ears. Men and women were tangled together all around her, some in groups as large as six, and in all configurations of genders. Her gaze landed upon a fae woman with her head buried between the thighs of another fae woman, their skin so bright Mary Alice could still see their outlines for a second after she looked away. The eroticism of the scene coupled with the pull of the music had her own arousal building.
Maybe it was time to go back to the room and find Ruri. No, she’d made the decision that she would spend some time with her hunters. She had duties to attend to.
Mary Alice wended her way through the dancing fae, giving herself over to the music for a brief period. She dipped and whirled from one fae to another until her legs screamed for a rest. Panting and laughing, she pushed her way to the edge of the pool. When she looked down, she discovered that her jacket was gone and her tunic was unlaced almost down to her belly button. Her arousal had built to a fever pitch. Judging from the noises she heard in the corners of the dark, no one would mind or even notice if she added to them.
She loosened the ties on her pants and slid her hand down the front of them. Her fingers tangled in her hair, the strands wet with her desire. She couldn’t stop her gasp when her fingertips skated between the folds of her labia then gently contacted the tip of her clit. Pleasure arced from her fingers into her center. She stroked once, twice, her hips twitching with each rub over the sensitive button that was the focus of her entire world. The music swirled around her, urging her to greater heights. She touched herself more forcefully, matching the tempo that pulled at her insides. Her center tightened, the universe narrowed down to a single slice, and she was in the middle.
She added another finger to the mix, running the tips on either side of her clit, doubling the sensation, coiling the tension in her center into a ball of hard, aching arousal. She panted, stroking herself faster, building to something amazing. The music promised her release would be like nothing she’d ever experienced. It pulsed around her, wrapping her up, demanding to be let in to please her as only it could do. Mary Alice put her head back. She bared her breasts to the crescent moon and inhaled deeply, pulling the wild notes inside her.
The undulating rhythms matched her heartbeat and then elevated it, sending it tripping wildly in her chest. Mary Alice placed a hand on her bare sternum, marveling at the strength of her beating heart. Her clit throbbed to the same beat, and her fingers twitched, grazing the pulsing organ tip. She moved her hand to her nipple, circling then squeezing it in rhythm with her heart, in rhythm with her clit, in rhythm with the universe and the music that all demanded the same thing. They wanted her release. They needed her release. They would tease and taunt her and send her ever higher until she could fly no more and would have to come crashing back down to earth, to this realm of sensation and chaos.
And beauty.
She grabbed her nipple and twisted, biting her lip and groaning in the back of her throat against the pain that mixed so deliciously with the pleasure until one blurred into the other and she could no longer define the edges of either. She twisted it again and cried aloud as her clit jumped beneath her fingers. She ground down on it with her fingers, but they weren’t up to the task. They taunted when they should have taken. She pushed her hand further into her pants, rubbing the flesh of her palm against the swollen center of her pleasure. That was more like it. Twisting her nipple again, she ground down on her clit, chasing the pressure she needed and taking it for her own. The music caressed her insides, pulling her higher as she pressed harder.
The fiddles wound to dizzying heights, the drums pushing her forward. They demanded. She demanded, and when it all came to a head, she took. Her pleasure exploded from its prison of tension, obliterating everything else before it. She drank it in until she could consume no more, then released it outward. It scattered across the landscape, taking her with it.
She came back to herself on her knees in front of the glowing pool, one hand down her pants and the other cradling her breast gently. She stared unseeing at the sky before realizing those were real stars she was seeing, not just the sparkles of her release behind her eyelids. The music had stopped, though she still heard the sounds of the faes’ passion around her. There were softer murmurs too. She wasn’t the only one who had just come.
A roar split the air behind her. “Huntmaster!” Lord Regin cried.
“Huntmaster,” the hunters responded, those who weren’t otherwise occupied.
Mary Alice smiled dreamily. Part of her supposed she should have felt some embarrassment or shame over her display, one that seemed not to have been particularly discreet, but she felt nothing of the sort. She felt whole and sated. Well, partially sated. She could definitely go another round, but not on her own. There was somewhere she needed to be.
“Hunters,” she said as she got back to her feet. She turned to face them, not bothering to do up the laces on her shirt or pants. Why should she? They’d seen far more than the curve of a breast, and she’d certainly left nothing to the imagination about what she was up to. “Have a wonderful feast. I’m off after my own quarry.”
She left to the thunder of their approval. The hall was alien to her eyes when she stepped into it. The guards were still there, and none of them acknowledged her as she sauntered half-clad past them. It wasn’t until she made it to the chamber she and Ruri shared that she realized she hadn’t needed Mracek’s services. She’d navigated her way there unerringly, without thinking of it much at all. She’d had a destination and she’d gone there as if she’d known this castle all her life and it never changed configuration on its own whim. That was interesting, but not what she desired most. Ruri lay beyond the door, and she needed what her girlfriend could give her.
Chapter Thirty-Four
It was barely past sunrise when Ruri tucked the note under Malice’s combat knife. The note said she was going for a ride and would be back later. It was vague enough not to give away her intentions, but she hoped it would keep Mal from worrying as to her whereabouts. She let herself out, taking care to drop the latch with as little sound as possible.
As early as it was, the castle buzzed with activity. It was a big day, she supposed. Apparently, even the fae with their near-infinite lifespans didn’t see a coronation regularly. She was happy to be anywhere else than to be a witness for the Jaeger’s big day. It wasn’t something he’d earned, of that she was certain. If everything else worked out, though, they’d be out of there soon enough.
She had to stop to ask for directions more than once to get down to the courtyard. Even when she tried following a scent trail through the castle, she ended up in odd places. She’d caught the smell of the stables at one point but had ended up in a massive library of floor-to-ceiling books that was at least three stories tall. As tempting as it had been to stay and poke around to see what the fae kept in their libraries, she’d kept going.
It took a bit of doing, but she eventually found herself in the courtyard. She stopped in the Wild Hunt’s armory to arm herself with a brace of javelins and a couple of wicked knives as long as her forearms. The kids were up and seeing to the mounts. Jermayne nodded to her as she passed by, and Shejuanna gave her a tired wave. They knew something was up as well. So far it didn’t seem that any hunters had come down to claim their mounts, but the air of tense anticipation had permeated even down to these halls. She left without claiming a mount for herself. Ruri was after a more run-of-the-mill beast today.
“I’ll be right with you” came Geffron’s harried voice from the back of the horse stables when she stepped in. Two Tuatha de Danaan were waiting around. Neither looked particularly happy about the delay. One sat on a low bench and tapped his fingers rhythmically on rude wood worn smooth, the other stared off into space chewing at her lower lip, a tiny crease between her eyebrows.
Geffron appeared from the back with a pair of tall, matched horses in tow. Golden blond with chestnut mane and tail, they jingled as each step set to ringing the dozens of tiny bells that festooned their tack.
Geffron gave her a harried look. “Horses at the back with no names over the stalls are free for anyone to use,” he said on his way past. “Dress it with any tack hanging on the wall opposite.” He smiled at the two Tuatha. “Lord and Lady DeMeere, Shallan and Tristan are ready to go.”
Ruri made her way deeper into the stables. She wandered among the stalls before finding those that were unclaimed. There were many of them, and she hesitated before choosing one at random. Those stabled back here were definitely of a lower cut than the two she’d seen Geffron bringing out to the impatient fae. Her chosen horse was a little shorter, with a shaggy coat, one that would resist being brushed until it shone. A shock of coarse mane flopped in front of her eyes, and she flipped it out of the way to view Ruri as she moved closer.
It had been years since Ruri had dealt with horses. They’d been a way of life on her parents’ farm, but after she was turned, horses would take one whiff of her then lose their minds from fear. Hopefully that wouldn’t be the case. She might as well get some use from Reese Corrigan’s damn bracelet.
The floppy-maned horse bent down to sniff at her proffered hand. She twitched an ear, then snuffled it more closely.
“I don’t have any treats,” Ruri said. “Sorry about that.” Hopefully the shaggy mare would forgive her. It wasn’t freaking out, so that was a plus. Ruri perused the available tack, then got down to the work of saddling the horse. She was hesitant at first, but muscle memory a century old helped move her through the process with steadily increasing confidence. In less time than she would have believed, they were ready to go.
“Thank you,” she said to Geffron as she led her horse toward the front of the stable. “I may be out late, so don’t worry if I’m not back until sunset.”
“Do what you need to do,” he called over his shoulder as he disappeared back into the bowels of the stable.
As she passed through the front, four more fae waited for mounts. A crowd of fae and their animals were already collecting in the courtyard. It was time to make her way out of there before she was remarked upon. A few more enterprising fae were already heading out through the heavy gatehouse, and she joined them. As soon as she passed under the portcullis, she cut to the east, following the trail the Wild Hunt had taken the only time she had joined them. She paid little attention to the tall trees and rolling plains as she and Floppy cantered toward their destination. The tall trees grew progressively shorter and sparser, while the grassy areas became wider and the gently rolling terrain steepened into hills. The area was familiar, and Ruri knew she was on the right track. Without a host of riders to slow them down, they made good time and it was only a few hours later that they found themselves in the bowl that had contained Ylana’s home.
The house was gone, leaving only the stacked stone foundation. A lush area of wildflowers and mushrooms grew up in front of where the wall had been. Butterflies and dragonflies hovered over the wild patch of vegetation. With a start, Ruri realized it was about the size of Trajan’s body. So that was what they’d meant when they’d said the realm would reclaim him. She carefully steered Floppy around the patch. The mare eyed it closely, but Ruri made sure she didn’t nibble on the luscious clover that sprouted from the center of the jumble.
The house had been there, and the hodag had come through the dip in the hills. Ruri turned Floppy and headed back out of the depression. She retraced the steps of the Wild Hunt until the point where they’d picked up the hodag’s trail. Fortunately for her, the hodag had been a large, none-too-careful animal. It was easy to track, even without the benefit of her wolf’s senses and experience. Its claws had left deep rents in the sod, and she was able to follow it quite a way from where the Wild Hunt had encountered it originally. She shuddered when she saw the boulder with long scrapes and chips wrapping around it. The hodag had been an impressive beast, and they’d been lucky to have come away from it relatively unscathed.
She tracked it back for over an hour, as best she could tell by the track of the sun in the sky. A watch would have been nice, but she didn’t have one of those. Mal’s phone was managing to stay charged somehow, but the time displayed on it never changed. Her skills at telling time with the sun were a little rusty; the wolf was the one who generally remarked on the sun’s position in the sky, and she refused to associate that point with the numbers of a clock.
Traces of the hodag grew fainter and fainter the further they got from Ylana’s cottage. It had been a few days, and anything less than the largest and most obvious signs of its passage had been reclaimed by the land. That wasn’t surprising, but it was straining the edge of Ruri’s tracking abilities, which were considerable. When she lost the tracks altogether, she pulled Floppy to a halt and jumped down.
“Are you going to stay put if I drop the reins?” she asked the horse.
