A Dangerous Legacy Pt. 20

"You're min a strange mood."

"I want to ride you." Sure I was in a strange mood, nothing on my life made sense, so why should I?

He lifted me from the table and took my place, erection bobbing eagerly as he held out his hand. "Quickies are fine and good, my love, but you owe me, sweetheart."

I knelt astride him, feeling my pussy ache and flow at the sight of his long cock. "Owe you?"

"Three hours of bedroom calisthen-ICS!" He finished on a shout as I sank down.

After that I couldn't speak, and neither could he. We joined hands and I rode him fast and hard. I was desperate for an orgasm suddenly. The closer I got the further my mind floated from my body and my worries receded. There was only his cock spearing me deep, fitting to the end of me, his hard body beneath mine, and the sound of our panting breaths.

Then he was coming, swelling, locking us together, and those beautiful artist's fingers curled around a breast, squeezing my nipple, and stroked my clit. I came like a rocket, squeezing him between my thighs, my body wanting to move but he felt so good, so deep, so hard, spurting into me.

I screamed and he pressed on. Three, maybe four climaxes came one after the other. I couldn't count and by the time he let me collapse on him I couldn't say my name. Julian laughed at me but when he cupped the back of my head and locked our lips together he moaned first.

"I think," he panted out when we parted, "I was just ravished."

"Well, I have enough Viking in my bloodline that's pretty nice."

He laughed with me and I used magic to clean us both, and get us dressed. Rudely I wanted a cigarette, but I remembered to ask him before lighting up. Julian merely nodded and raised a blonde brow, smoothing his long bangs back.

"Anna, it's going to be all right."

"Is it?" I conjured up an ashtray and cast another spell to not stink up the spa.

He leaned back against the wall and folded his arms. "Just be open and honest with us. Loving you is as new to us as loving us is to you."

I folded my legs under me, occupying the leather recliner in the corner I assumed was for consultations. "Yeah, but you loved a queen before. Sigrid."

After a long moment Julian's eyes found mine. "She was nothing like you."

I couldn't help but bristle. Funny how after everything that had happened, all that I had become, I was still insecure deep down inside.

"Anna, Sigrid knew all her life she would be queen. She hungered for it. Power was everything in those days.

"By the time we came to her for the test, she had buried six children. She had fought in battles, repelling invaders, killing sixteen. She traded in slaves after her first husband died. When we came and she passed her test and ascended, she killed her second.

"I did love her, yes, in my own way, but Sigrid was a hard woman. She had been cut like stone and unable to see the world outside her quarry. She was not smart, she was not sweet. She was passionate and volatile.

"You are her descendant and there is passion to you, Anna, so much. It is the volatility that scares us. Sigrid was doomed from the moment she was born. We knew she would not be a great queen, nor rule long. In fact the only remarkable thing about her reign was how long it has been since... since you came along."

In his story he had been far away, but now his eyes came back to me, to the present. "Before, with that long ago queen, we knew it wouldn't last. And we prepared for that. We knew what freedom we might find. But now, with you...Anna, I don't want to be without you."

With magic I made the cigarette, smoke, and ashtray disappear and rose. He watched me, guarded, and at long last I finally got it. "Julian, I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. Here I've been going about like a bull after a red flag and I didn't get it. I get it now."

"Do you?"

I stopped in front of him and brought my hands up to his arms. "If I die, everything I've dreamed of, all the things I've taken the first few steps toward reverts. You and your brothers will be left alone, handed over again to Alessandra, and the backlash against my motions will enslave wolves deeper. You have more to fear than a broken heart."

"I have fared the best in captivity, but it has been anything other than pleasant. Pierre... Andre... they would not survive it."

I pulled him to me and held him. Ridiculous as it was with how much taller he was, I still felt like I had to comfort him. Now I knew the panic they felt. And once more, I felt like a child in the emperor's robes. In just hours I would have to kill in the name of what was right, soon I would conceive a child in the same band of honor.

But for now the calm before the storm did not belong to me and my childish reticence. It belonged to the men, the three big bad wolves who were all that remained to remind me of my humanity.

***

Life was unreal. Time travel was mind boggling. In one day I had met with Kenneth, seduced Julian, spoken with my wolves at length letting them know the plan, and gone into the future. Now Malachai and I were back, and arguing.

"I have no problem signing the goddamn treaty but I just got through assuring my lovers I would hide nothing from them!"

I had never seen his temper really fly before, but I sensed I was close when his glare made me stop pacing. "You foolish girl, you may promise your lovers whatever you want, such is pillow talk and we all enjoy that game, but this is the future of our world! This is the past, the future, everything! We cannot tell another soul!"

"I can't lie!"

His glittering eyes narrowed. "Whatever claim you believe they have over you is false. The claim your throne holds over you is this: the duty of any ruler is to protect his or her people. Sign the goddamned treaty and let the events unfold as they must!"

"No. Mal, you and I both know this is for our own selfish reasons."

"Yes and no!" At last, his temper broke. The day we'd had was well past twenty-four hours but thanks to time travel it was just before dinner. "For the love of- Anna, it is more than rare when the truest desires of the ruler are the same as the people.

"You know as well as I do that if we share what we know with your lovers or mine, your council or my advisors, if we share this with anyone else we can alter the course. You saw as well as I did: two paths. The righteous shrouded in secrecy, or the wicked., cloaked in openness. Which path would you lead your people down?"

He hadn't shouted, had barely raised his voice yet his temper was impressive. I actually felt hesitant, and bit off my instinctive sarcastic reply. We ended in a staring contest that stretched a long minute until I caved into instinct.

"One would think you of all people would choose the wicked path."

He sat back down at his desk. "Anna, my magic is tied to the earthier things. Yours is all sunshine, rainbows, and puppy dog tales, but mine is blood and desire. That is the magic. With or without it I am a leader of thousands of people who depend on me to protect them from the outside world, to keep them safe. I would never risk their future happiness for even my own. That is what it means to rule, little girl."

"Christ, one more 'little girl' and I will remind you of our age difference, you stuffed shirt pedophile!"

He threw his head back and laughed. Deflated by his sudden humor I sank to the chair I'd been given and waited for Cackles the Clown to stop.

"Oh, Anna, when this is all behind us I do hope to call you my friend."

Well that completely took the wind out of my sails. "Er, me too?"

"Sign the treaty and your wolves will understand."

"And if they don't?"

"Then we can let your wolves and my dragons decide on our punishment. I dare say you'll get off light. You gave my lovers back their ability to transform. They have not stopped singing your praises."

I toyed with the old fashioned pen he'd handed me. "How come... why..." I sighed, uncomfortable asking him my question but I had to. "How come you didn't do that for them?"

"I couldn't. At this very moment I could not."

"Then why was I able to?"

"My guess that is part of what comes next. Once we leave here we will appear seconds later to our compatriots, but it could possibly be years of magic gathering to us. Are you prepared?"

"To go on a time-travel killing spree? Sure, ready as I'll ever be."

He muttered something about the word childish under his breath before raising his pen. "Then let us sign this damn document, and summon Lukash."

"The best seducer in the sorcerer stables, can't wait to meet this guy."

"Do not get to close. We are summoning him to seduce queens."

I was stalling. Our trip to the future had been once more a combining of magic. What we saw were actually two lines of fate. A decision about to be made would give us two paths and we saw them both. Malachai and I had agreed the correct path, but the next trek through time we were about to take would change not only our world forever, but us.

And our dragons and wolves could not come with. They would never understand what we were about to do. No one but Malachai would ever understand. The thought of that bond, along with the deeds, was something to dread, but a necessary evil.

I signed, and then he did. As he'd explained earlier I signed in my blood just as he did, and then we laid our palms on the treaty and swore our honor of intent upon our lines. The magic seemed to swell and our familiars were jumping with excitement.

Everyone was outside his office, and I meant everyone. Kenneth and a sullen Alessandra were talking to Horus while the Council and the dragons grilled one another. The sorcerer advisors were with my wolves save Jerry who was with Lukash, the summoned sorcerer.

"It is done. I will summon Lukash." Malachai seemed to be trembling, and I understood the feeling.

One stroke of the pen and we had sworn it: no more war, no more genocide, no more barriers in magic. All that and more, but the details would make no sense to anyone until we took the next step.

Suddenly the door opened and a man walked in. I used the word man loosely because I was pretty sure this one was a walking wet dream. A nudge over six feet he was built like a brick shit house. He had muscles stretched across broad shoulders that would make Pierre jealous, a narrow waist, long legs, and every visible inch of skin was tanned to a honey color.

His hair was long and blonde, feathered like an 80's rocker but healthy looking. His face was handsome enough to make romance cover models look ugly, that strange mix of almost feminine prettiness and rugged masculinity that made one stare. This was capped by eyes that were...wow. Violet. Purple. Amethyst. Eyes no human had.

I swallowed my tongue as Lukash smiled at me and bowed. His eyes held mine as he went, reminding me of the way a man looked meeting my eyes while sending me to heaven with his tongue. No doubt Lukash knew this. "Hot damn, this just might work."

"Lukash, you know why we summoned you."

He tapped his temple. "Magic explained it all."

My god, what a voice! I couldn't pinpoint the accent, it could have been western Europe or maybe Slavic, but it made me think of old churches and kinky sex. Ha chee chee. Dear gods, did we have anyone like this on the witch side? Maybe some woman who made Megan Fix look like a hag? Oooh, the possibilities if they had kids!

"Any questions?" Malacahi continued.

"Where to first?"

I pulled out my list Mal had printed up. The Dummies Guide to Mass Murder I was calling it in my head. Oh, hell, we'd time traveled so much I wasn't quite sure what had happened when. It seemed one minute I was with Julian, the next here, but I remembered things in between. Hell, this job was getting to me.

"Seems Anivall is first up."

"All right my king, Queen Anna. I shall see you soon." And with a surprising press of magic the seducer disappeared.

"Woo-woo."

Malachai almost rolled his eyes. "His father is alone responsible for the selkie myths of Ireland and Scotland and his maternal grandmother was known as the Mother of All Dragons, the most beautiful of them all."

"Annnd now I have bestiality images in my head. Great. Ick."

Mal put his hands on my shoulders and turned me to face him. "Anna, are you sure about this?"

"We've been over it. Only I can take the light magic, only you can take the dark. But we do this together, for the future."

"For our child," he said softly.

"I have to say goodbye. You know as well as I do I am not coming back the same woman."

"As you like."

I opened the door and everyone turned. Shouted questions exploded as I swam through the crowd to the three men watching me carefully. I started with Julian and kissed him soundly, loving the lean feel of him in my arms and the way he flowed like air.

Pierre next, all hard strength, flowing more like water. With Julian I felt a nurturer, with Pierre I felt a compatriot and almost laughed even as passion rose. And then Andre swept me into his arms.

With Andre I felt like everything a Gothic novel said a woman should be, but never weaker. I could only shiver as he plundered and I clutched his sweater, knees weak. When at last we parted I kept him close and whispered into his ear, "Be back in five."

That was the closest I could come to saying anything. To my relief when I pulled back Andre had understood and smiled at me, but there was light censure in his eyes.

"You owe me," he said into my ear, and then Malachai was pulling me away.

Everyone was arguing, guessing at our plans but not sure, and Marcus was the most vociferous of the bunch. I was only too glad to escape the melee into the quiet office, but then I realized it was time. I fought hyperventilation.

This was not war, this was assassination. In killing my future self as I had before it was a kind of suicide, a horrible fantasy lived out. But this was...this was too much.

"Do not panic."

"Thank you Douglas Adams. Should we grab a towel too?"

He smiled and it wasn't his usual sensual threat, but a real, honest smile. "Anna, when you're scared you are charmingly sarcastic."

"I'm not scared!" I was terrified, worried my pants were soiled.

"Well then I will be scared for the both of us. Shall we?"

I joined my hands to his and our magic rose, but it was his we followed. Screaming through the lit tunnels of time we went only to be hurtled out into pitch darkness.

"Who, what, where, when, and why?" I asked, cradling my head.

"To the first sorcerer slain by mysterious forces. You know that while I deliver the killing blow you must work to override the barriers."

"Collapse the boundaries set by the first of us while you do the masochism tango. Got it."

"Anna," Malachai sighed out slowly, "Is this merely nerves, or do you refuse to take this, the hardest task of either of our reigns? Do note mine has been infinitely longer compared to yours."

I didn't reply, just used magic to sense the time period and garb us. Oh, great, a fucking corset. This was what came of the patriarchy; centuries of unbearable clothing. Who cared if I looked sexy, I could hardly breathe.

"Why are you picking at your waist?"

"Why when I asked for period clothes did we end up dressed for the wild fucking west?"

"The sorcerer deaths did not begin here, but this is where the weakest of the sorcerers slain was killed. I can more easily absorb his magic and once it bolsters me I can more easily absorb the next. It will be so with your queens."

"Whoop de doo."

With the snap of his finger he summoned a horse. Being a twenty-first century girl horses were extras in movies. Damn, it was big and muscular, and stomping.

Malachai managed to hop onto it, no saddle, and I just stared. Fucking ancients. I could do this with magic, and in half a second I had the grace and ability to ride, but of all things I was...scared. Of a goddamned horse.

Malachai was dressed in a dark shirt, jeans, boots, and a large hat, flatter than modern cowboys wore. With his longish hair he looked right at home on the damn thing.

"Anna, time is wasting."

'I'll just magic into town."

He stared at me and sighed again. He seemed to be doing that a lot. With a wave of his own magic I was on the damned thing in front of him. "Modern women," he grumbled.

"Hey, fuck you. Henry Ford exploited the hell out of the proletariat so I never had to ride a sentient being to get from one place to another."

His thighs slid around mine and with the way we had to move over the horse it reminded me of another kind of ride. Ugh. Too weird. The things I had to do to save the world.

He made no further comment as we rode from dark plain towards a small slope. After half an hour a small town came into view. The only light seemed to come from a few lanterns hung near livestock and one building lit up with music spilling out.

I was a fan of European History, Italy was my specialty, particularly the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, but I was as American as Apple Pie (idea from another country, perfected here) and seeing the living Wild West sent a thrill through me.

"How are you going to do it?"

"Have you ever seen a real duel?"

"Magic or other? Fuck that, neither, none, no duels in my life."

"Ah, then. Let this be instructional."

We rode towards the edge of town where the saloon was going and Malachai asked me to watch the horse. I wanted to see a real wild west saloon up close, but even I knew that in that day and age, er, the current, ladies of good breeding did not step inside saloons. They just drank themselves to death with laudanum at home like good little chattel.

Feeling churlish and unable to deny my inner feminist I summoned a cigarette, a modern one with filter and tasty deadly chemicals, and began to smoke. Halfway through the cancer stick Malachai came out, another man behind him.

This one wore a poncho over his jeans, his spurs silver. His hat was back, his long dark brown hair hung in a braid over his shoulder and though I would have guessed is heritage to be Asian in some manner, he was clearly pretending to be an Indian. Why? This was the age where one out of every three people in the west was black, but the first residents were being treated like human shit. Hell, even the Chinese working the railroads and the Irish being run out of the east fared better.

The newcomer stared at me and I swear, sniffed the air when he approached.

"My king consorting with a queen? But there is no queen."

"Time travel, try to keep up," I snapped.

He smiled. "Strangest ambush I ever got talked into."

"Gan, your king has ordered that you must die. Rest easy in knowing this act will ensure a brighter future for all of magickind."

"It's not enough. I want to be reborn."

Gan said this looking at me. "Uh...sure?"

Malachai sighed. "Forgive Queen Anna, she is new to her post. My dear majesty, you as queen of witches can work with me. Together we can grant a soul rebirth. Know this Gan, it will not be with magic, you will be human."

"Well, I'll try anything once. "

Malachai looked at me again and smiled, though he spoke to the other sorcerer. "She has never seen a duel. Shall we oblige her?"

Gan bowed to him and then to me. I had seen something of fighting with magic back at Chengzhou, but never this. I could feel Gan's magic, it was a pale shadow of Malachai's, but still great. As they took up position I wondered about the man. Did he have dragon lovers? Was there a Mrs. Gan sorceress tending some fire someplace? Did he have children? Did he have a ranch, maybe some horse in one of the stalls waiting for a master who would never come?

"Anna..." Malachai grumbled.

I snapped out of it and gathered my magic. I felt the wards, and my magic knocked on them. A door unseen answered my call and opened. The men felt it too and two eyes tracked to me, one set surprised, the other smugly proud as if he had shown me how.