Planet of the Dino-whores Ch. 03

Zara closed her eyes. In her mind's eye, yes, she was with him, replacing Hunter Haux. Despite having her eyes closed, she saw it vividly, in glorious color. She was arching underneath him, Blade's hands gripping her hips. Only for a moment in her mind, a moment wouldn't hurt, and it meant nothing to her. It was a moment of pleasure, a guilty pleasure, nothing more. And it brought her to the precipice- that glorious moment before the end, balanced precariously at the edge of climax and relief, and then she over.

The dam burst, releasing the flood, and Zara bit back her cry of pleasure. Her eyes flew open, and the world spun.

On the beach, Karh Blade chanced a glance towards the tree and Zara. Hunter had her eye closed below him, small purrs of pleasure slipping through her throat, lost in her own private paradise. Karh saw Zara squirming on the ground, one hand deep in her pants, another hand clenching a handful of her auburn hair.

Yes, Hunter Haux was attractive, pretty, slim, and eager, but Zara was the most beautiful and enticing woman Karh had ever known. Her beauty was only matched by her intelligence and cunning, and this is why she had proved such a challenging adversary.

It was also why Karh wanted her. Her, above all others.

Yeah, and if he wanted her so badly, why was he thrusting in and out of the woman below him while Zara sat alone, pleasuring herself? First, Karh had his reputation. Part of this reputation involved not turning down gorgeous women when they propositioned him, and Hunter Haux had cleaned up very good. Karh had more notches scratched into the hilt of his dagger than he would dare admit to the likes of Zara. A woman like her would never end up a mere notch for some spaceshitter like Blade.

He looked down for a moment, and it was her he saw under him: Zara. Her lynx eyes gazed up, and she nodded, "Yes, oh yes, I've needed you for so long."

It was not the first time Karh had imagined this; perhaps it had something to do with the relationship of the predator and prey, of finally meeting an opponent who was an equal. She had hunted him for so long that she had become a part of him. It didn't hurt that Zara was also mouthwatering: shiny auburn hair, athletic yet curving body, strong and intelligent face, eyes like that of a tiger.

And seeing Zara in the shade of that tree, obviously in the throes of wild, unbridled lust, proved the end for Karh Blade. He pumped into Hunter Haux, her fingers like claws digging into him, and her mouth opened in an astonished cry as her own end was met. Tears leaked from the corners of her eyes, and she shivered like a leaf caught in a harsh autumn breeze as Karh erupted, his own mouth flying open, a sharp cry bellowing out.

They came together, each lost in his and her individual world of thought and pleasure.

***

The three-horned beasts rumbled, legs like trunks working scaly muscles as if impatient to be used. The room smelled of feces and sweat, not unlike the stable of Eternian cats Henrik had worked in as a boy. Only these monsters were at least three times the size of those cats and twice as loud. The beasts kept bellowing as the women yanked their reins, urging them forward from the messy stalls. The mere sight of these creatures awed him and cast icy slivers of fear through Henrik's gut. The worst part of it all was when he noticed the saddles on each beast and realized what they were for.

"Do not fear. You will ride with me, slave. Hold onto me tight, and your chances of death will be diminished," the Queen said. If the statement was supposed to inspire confidence, it failed terribly. When Henrik had agreed to murder Zara, Karh Blade, and the other woman, he hadn't realized it was going to be so much trouble.

The Queen sauntered off to bark and hiss orders at some trainers struggling with their horned charge, and the Captain of the Guard turned to face Henrik as if she had been waiting for the opportunity to speak to Henrik alone. He felt a little strange as he looked at her. She wore a helmet made from the head of a giant serpent, and it felt as though the eyes of the dead snake were staring at him. The serpent's long fangs draped each side of the Captain's face.

"Betray us, and you will know pain," the Captain said. Her eyes were like hard sapphire stones, and something about her struck Henrik as not quite right, not quite altogether there. Henrik's mind searched for the word and found it: psychopath. It seemed to fit the Captain as snugly as her skintight, green-scaled armor.

"I don't have much of a choice," Henrik replied, meeting the Captain's glare. She didn't frighten him. As long as he remained the Queen's consort, the Captain couldn't touch him, no matter how much bitter hatred she might pepper her threats.

"Smarter than you look, man," she spat the last word as if an insult. "Just leave Karh Blade to me."

With this, the Captain of the Guard grabbed the reins of one of the beasts and pulled herself hand-over-hand to the saddle. She slipped out the gladius strapped to her back and held it over her head. The blade gleamed in the light cast from torches.

"Prepare to ride!" she yelled, and a cry echoed from the riders as they climbed onto their perches. Henrik felt his heart pumping in his chest, felt the rush of adrenaline make his head a little dizzy, and then someone had his arm and was yanking him. His head craned up on his neck, and he saw it was the Queen. Her face was all teeth, lips pulled back in a reaper's smile. He swung up behind her, and he wrapped his arms around her armored waist.

"Forward!" the Queen cried.

When the three-horned beast under him reared back and started pounding forward on elephantine legs, Henrik did his best to not piss his pants.

***

"My parents had money, didn't know what to do with it. They at first considered making my hair purple. Guess what they wanted to name me," Hunter said, tracing invisible lines on Henrik's chest with her index finger.

"What?" Karh's eyes were closed, and the tips of his toes dipped into the pool. He was not yet over the sensation of sex. Hunter's voice washed over him; in a way it seemed to calm and soothe, whispering his heart rate to normal.

"Violet! Can you believe the processes that must have transpired within their thought organs? I was almost relieved when the Supreme Dictator had them liquidated."

Karh's eyes popped open.

"So, Blade," Zara said, walking over. Karh could have kissed her for interrupting his conversation with Hunter Haux after the last turn it had taken. "Did you manage to smuggle any goodies other than the charge you destroyed half of the lizard-worshipping ladies' Coliseum of Death with?"

Karh pushed himself up on an elbow. Zara didn't seem put off by his and Hunter's nakedness; she took a seat on a large, grey boulder next to the edge of the pool. Perhaps she wanted to demonstrate that seeing Hunter and Karh together had no effect on her. Zara leaned back and stretched like a yawning cat, the sunlight warm on her face and arms. Karh, however, felt suddenly uncomfortable; he reached up with one hand and found the hem of his pants.

"There should be a pack here, ah, yes."

He seemed to find what he was looking for and held up a bulky brown bundle. Something inside of it clattered metal on metal. He winked and tossed the pack over to Zara. Then he started to slip into his trousers.

Zara's eyes brightened as she pulled out a blaster. She gripped it, then bounced it, testing its weight in the palm of her hand. She spun the blaster on her trigger finger. Caught it so that the barrel pointed at Karh's chest. Spun it, caught it.

"Beautiful," Zara said. "How did you manage?"

"Made friends with one of the guards. Well, friends until she tried to melt my face with one of those things," Karh replied, watching Zara's adept handling of the blaster. His comment seemed to interest Hunter. She moved to a sitting position, her hair brushing her shoulders.

"Which guard?" Hunter asked.

"Lorna."

Hunter's back went straight. Her nipples hardened on her breasts, and her hand went to her mouth in the universal expression of surprise.

"Lorna, the Captain's second?"

"Yes, she said she was second in command. Why?" Karh said. Hunter's reaction had piqued his curiosity, and he wondered what she knew.

"At one time, Lorna was the Captain of the Guard. When we crashed, she caught us in the jungle. She became interested in everything about us, our weapons and customs. She apparently fell in love with one of my men. He was a prisoner. She snuck him out, kept him hidden in her room. When her sister found out, she turned in Lorna. The man was flayed to death and thrown to the beasts. Lorna was demoted. Her sister became Captain of the Guard, and I guess as an apology of sorts to Lorna, she made Lorna her second."

Karh let this knowledge fall into place like the missing piece of a puzzle. This explained Lorna's sexual expertise and the murder of her sister if not why she wanted Karh dead so much. He traced the scar under his chin with his finger, letting his thoughts gel into words and form in his mouth.

"Well, I've gotten the better of her twice now, so I wouldn't worry," Karh said, his eyes drifting over the calm blue of the pool and the frothy spill of stream emptying into it. Hunter's hand settled on his shoulder, and Karh turned to look into her one eye.

"No, Karh. She's insane. That'll only motivate her to come after you. She can't handle being bested at anything. She destroys anything that she can't beat. She's had it out for her sister ever since..."

"She killed her. She killed her sister," Karh said. He felt the blood turn to ice in his veins.

A splash at the other end of the pool attracted their attention. It took Karh a moment to register what he was seeing. A crocodile. A forty foot crocodile. All thoughts of Lorna quickly drained out of him, only to replaced with images of teeth, big giant teeth, massive jaws opening up to swallow him like a black hole.

"I think it's time to leave," Zara said. She caught her spinning blaster and holstered it in the belt she had pulled out of Karh's pack while Hunter and Karh were talking.

A crack like breaking bone echoed behind them. They turned towards the sound. Karh saw the trees first, splintered and cracked open like crab legs. Then he saw what stood between the trees- Vanitoth, regarding its surroundings with black eyes. Upon seeing them, it bellowed a nerve-numbing roar. Drool dripped from its blood-stained lips.

Karh swallowed, felt a lump the size of one of Jupiter's moons in his throat.

"This can't end well," he croaked.

~to be continued~