A Deadly Play

"Must we finish it tonight?" Bromm asked, wondering aloud. Nessia turned a despairing eye on him.

"I should like to be able to walk the city streets again without worrying about a monster swooping down to open my throat."

Bromm shrugged in agreement. But the task seemed hopeless, for they had not yet even made a dent in the sorcerer's vast library. Nessia flipped open another book and stifled a laugh. Looking over her shoulder, Bromm saw drawings of winged women in the nude. One woman had a tail that curled seductively behind him, while another drawing showed a sorcerer surrounded by a bevy of naked women eager to please him.

"Succubi," Bromm whispered. Nessia turned an eye to him.

"You're familiar with these?" she asked accusingly.

"I've only heard of them," Bromm replied hastily.

"So you don't know how to summon one?" she teased.

"No," Bromm said with averted eyes.

"Well, even if you could, they wouldn't be of use to us anyway. They look beautiful though."

Bromm swallowed. "Perhaps this book would be of use?" he said, trying to change the subject. "It's called The Arcane Properties of Materials: Hides, Carapaces, and Bones."

"What does it say about them?" Nessia asked, leaning in close to him. Bromm's heart beat faster as he ran a hand down the page, tracing over complex formulas and tables. Nessia frowned. "There are so many mathematical symbols here. Do you have any idea what they mean?"

Bromm shook his head. "I can navigate a ship by the stars," he offered, "But this is beyond me."

Nessia slammed the book shut in frustration. She leaned her head back, staring up at the ceiling, and blinked her eyes.

"I cannot make sense of any of this," she muttered. "We will never find the answer here."

"I hope Calyran is having better luck in his secret archives," Bromm replied. He looked to the page again, but found himself equally baffled. Nessia shoved the book away and stood up by the desk.

"Tell me," Nessia said, turning her back to the books as she faced Bromm. "What were you really doing at the actors' colony?"

Bromm felt his cheeks growing hot. "I told you," he stammered, "I was just passing by."

He stood up from the chair and reached for another book, but Nessia laid a hand on his chest and gently held him back. She looked up into his eyes.

"You appeared at my side awfully quickly," she pressed. "You must have climbed the wall faster than a spider to be there so fast."

"I spent my days climbing the rigging of ships," Bromm offered weakly. "A wall is not so different."

"I do not believe you," she accused. "Why were you really there?"

Bromm sighed. His cheeks were burning and he could not meet her piercing blue eyes.

"I confess then. I had climbed the wall to get a look at you. Imre suggested it, for I was most enamored of you."

"Was?" she asked, feigning injury.

"I am," Bromm corrected. "I..."

Nessia smiled. "And did you like what you saw?" she slid closer to him along the desk to lay a hand on his. Bromm now lifted his gaze to meet hers. In the soft glow of Calyran's magical crystals, she was so pale and beautiful. Her eyes shone sapphire in the light and he saw amusement dancing within them. A warm smile touched her lips.

"I did," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. "You are beautiful." Nessia smiled again.

"I suppose it is fortunate that you were spying on me. If you have behaved yourself, I'd likely be dead."

"Perhaps not," Bromm replied. She was so close to him he could feel her breath on his chest. He felt his cock hardening in his breeches and his breath came shallow. "You were after all the one who knocked its eye out."

"Only after you drew its attention. Before you arrived, I was unarmed... and naked. Do you know what I look like naked?" Bromm stammered a wordless reply, his mind going back to her on stage, then the image of her in the bath. "Let me remind you," she said, and undid the drawstrings of her cloak. It slid off her shoulders to the floor and she pulled open her bodice, revealing the beautiful pair of breasts that Bromm had been so captivated by. He swallowed hard, staring at her naked chest as she lowered the dress to her sides and let it fall.

She stood naked before him, just the two of them alone in the library. Bromm felt as if in a dream.

"Beautiful," he murmured involuntarily. Nessia smiled, and he detected the faintest hint of a blush in her rosy cheeks. He reached out to touch her, but suddenly drew back.

"It's alright," she whispered, taking his hands and putting them on her hips. "Touch me. Hold me close."

Bromm needed no further encouragement. He wrapped his arms around her and crushed her close in a passionate embrace. His lips dove for her neck and he kissed his way up her soft skin to her mouth and locked lips with the object of his desire. Nessia moaned against his lips, his chest, his arms that wrapped around her. One leg lifted from the floor to coil around his waist and Bromm felt the hardness of his cock between them. Nessia slid backwards on the desk, knocking a heavy tome to the floor. The clap of the wooden cover against the stone floor went ignored.

Nessia pulled at his shirt and, without tearing his lips from hers, Bromm began to undress. He pulled off his shirt and shed his trousers with practiced ease, ignoring the clang of his swordbelt against the floor as well as the book. His hard cock flopped out of his clothes and Nessia seized it in one hand. Stroking it, she wrapped her other arm around Bromm's neck and pulled him close again.

Bromm panted with excitement as she fondled him. Her image had haunted his thoughts since he had first seen her, and now he was about to fuck her! He could not believe his good fortune and all thoughts of the monster loose in the city vanished from his mind. Instead, he was consumed by thoughts of lust for Nessia.

His hands slipped between their bodies to clutch her breasts. Just as he had seen on stage, they were pale, shapely, and crowned by pink nipples. Those looked the only things sweeter than her lips, and he set his to them at once. Nessia moaned again, her stroking on his cock stronger and more insistent as he rolled his tongue around one nipple and then the other. Her free hand clawed at his chest, and he could think of no reply but to squeeze her gorgeous breasts between his hands.

"Let me suck your cock," she whispered hotly into his ear. As much as he wanted to keep sucking her breasts, he could not resist letting her suck his cock. He released her from his grasp and Nessia slid down from the desk to kneel between his legs. She stroked the cock before her lips and looked up to him. Her blue eyes danced with amusement in the light of the sorcerous crystals. She touched her lips to the head of his cock and he felt his breath catch.

Her lips parted and admitted his cock. He gasped as it slid down her throat to the base and her tongue caressed its every inch. Bromm felt his legs slacken. He steadied himself with his hands on the top of her head. She slowly moved back and forth along his cock, all the way staring up at him with her beautiful blue eyes above his cock. Bromm deliberately slowed his breathing and returned her stare. His heart was racing, he felt as if in a dream.

His hands wound through her brown hair, stroking it between his fingers. She smiled with amusement around his cock, her rosy cheeks turning redder. She looked to be stifling a laugh.

"What's so funny?" he asked. She took his cock out of her mouth and smiled to herself.

"Just you," she replied, her blue eyes narrowed with mirth. "You look like a boy getting his cock sucked for the first time."

"Not for the first time," he assured her, "but never by one so beautiful."

She seemed to blush. "You're smitten, but I appreciate the flattery."

"Stand up so I can fuck you," he blurted. She seemed slightly taken aback, and cast a wistful glance to his cock.

"Alright," she agreed after a moment and a parting kiss to his shaft. She stood up and seated herself on the edge of the desk, legs apart to show her smooth, shaven sex. Pink in white, its wetness beckoned to him. Nessia planted her hands behind her and smiled at him. Bromm wasted little time.

One hand guiding his cock and the other on the table for support, he eagerly slid himself inside her. Nessia's eyes widened as he entered and she slumped into his arms. He caught her, holding her close and staring into her sapphire eyes as he began to stroke his cock in and out of her. She moaned, her brow furrowing with pleasure as he fucked her. Her mouth hung open, her lips forming a wide ring as she moaned and moaned.

Bromm could hardly believe it. A famous actress like her was far above his station, nearly untouchable. Yet here he was, fucking the untouchable. His heart pounded in his chest and he

"Hold me," she whispered, and Bromm clutched her close to him. His thighs slapped against the wooden edge of the desk, but also against her thighs, and the latter was all that he cared about. He clutched at her soft body, groping her ass, her breasts, her thighs. He caressed and kissed her, losing himself in her scent, her body, her touch. His hips thrust hungrily into her sex and he buried his face in her shoulder, kissing and biting at her pale skin.

The desk's feet clacked on the floor with each thrust, but Bromm was so lost in his animalistic lust for Nessia that he could not spare the noise a single thought. The only sound he cared for was the slap of his flesh against hers, the wet smacking of their lips together, and her passionate moaning as he fucked her.

"Nystra's cunt!" she gasped, her fingernails digging into his buttocks. She bit his lip, moaning the familiar moan of a woman about to come. "Stop, slow down!"

"Stop?!" Bromm balked, close to coming himself.

"Yes, stop," she pleaded. "I want to ride you before you're spent."

With great effort, Bromm stopped his thrusting into her. His cock throbbed in protest as he withdrew from her. A line of moisture connected their nethers, and Nessia wiped it away with a lusty hand.

"Sit," she commanded, and shoved him onto the desk. He sat, his bare feet planted on the cold floor as Nessia stood before him, slowly stroking his cock in her soft hands. He felt himself staring agape at her and she giggled.

"What's so funny?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Just you," she laughed. "You look like you're staring at Nystra herself."

"Perhaps I am," Bromm said, but Nessia shook her head.

"Careful with your words. The gods are jealous," she cautioned. Then, as if to take his mind off it, she mounted his cock. She rode him slowly at first, and Bromm crushed her against him to kiss her mouth. The heat of their bodies was scorching, and he only broke the kisses to stare deep into her clear blue eyes. Her beauty was overpowering. His hands grabbed handfuls of her ass, sliding up her body and around to grope her breasts. He took her head between his hands and held her steady as he kissed her mouth, her neck, then her breasts. He was lost in a dream.

Nessia shifted to plant her feet to either side of him, lifting herself up on his cock to slam back down. She squealed with delight as his hard cock drove deep into her with a satisfying slap. Bromm wrapped his arms around her waist, holding on as she rode him like a ship in a gale. Bromm's cock ached with desire for her.

"I'm gonna come," he gasped, but she did not here him. Instead, she buried her face in his shoulder and moaned so loudly he thought he heard the house shake. Desperate, Bromm pried her off him and looked her in the eye. "I'm about to come!" he said again, but Nessia gritted her teeth and slammed her sex down onto him again.

Bromm wrapped her up in his arms and lifted her off his cock. She squealed in protest, but then his words seemed to register in her mind. He half-set, half-dropped her to her knees before him and seized his cock in both hands. She wrapped her own hands around his shaft and pointed it at her face, staring up at him expectantly.

That was all he needed, and his cock spurted a hot, sticky line of cum onto her beautiful face. Squeezing her eyes and mouth shut, she stifled a laugh as he squirted out a second line of cum, then a third. Nessia cracked an eye open and looked up to him, its clear blue depths threatening to swallow him forever.

"You had a lot in you, didn't you?" she mused, and Bromm groaned as he came a fourth time. Cum dripped down her face to hang in droplets beneath her chin. With his cock spent at last, Nessia sat back on her heels and looked down her naked chest as his cum slowly ran down it in rivulets. Her chest gleamed with sweat and cum, and she looked back to him. Bromm's cock ached, but he felt he still had more to give. He pulled furiously on his cock and at last coaxed forth a last bit of seed that spurted out to land on her naked legs.

He was panting with exertion, stroking his cock with both his hands and hers, when Calyran pushed open the door.

"I see you've been productive," the elf remarked dryly. Nessia sprang up from her knees and grabbed her cloak, holding it before her to cover herself. Her cheeks, flushed from their passionate embrace, turned a deep shade of red. Bromm leaned on the edge of the desk, too exhausted to be ashamed.

"We..." Nessia began, but could not get the words out.

"We got distracted," Bromm finished for her, his breath coming shallow.

"Clearly," Calyran mused. His eyes wandered along Nessia's form, as if he could see through the cloak she held before her. He smirked to himself, then continued. "Well, as it happens, I have found the answer to our dilemma."

"You have?! What is it? We must kill this thing at once."

"The creature is warded against most spells. Vercenx was a master of magic, perhaps even approaching Lamira's power. His creature was created to be his assassin against rival sorcerers, so warding it against magic only makes sense."

"That's all well and good," Bromm said, hiding his impatience as best he could, "But how do we kill it?"

"You must ensure that it sees its own death in the third eye," the sorcerer proclaimed. Bromm furrowed his brow in thought.

"See its own death," he muttered to himself. "What does that mean?"

"We must deal it a death blow in sight of its third eye. To deal it such a blow is challenging enough, but the hole left by its lost eye should make a fine weakpoint. I'll loan you an enchanted blade. Drive it into the wound in sight of its third eye, and the monster will be slain."

"You would assist us?" Bromm asked hopefully. Calyran waved a hand dismissively.

"The enchanted sword should be enough. I have other things in mind for the night."

Bromm's thoughts went to the naked redhead in the garden. "This thing is still on the loose," he countered. "Who knows if it will kill anyone else before we bring it down. It may have killed already."

"It will not kill me," Calyran replied.

"What would the queen think?" Bromm pressed. "Would she be pleased to know that her personal sorcerer was laying in the arms of some slut while a monster rampaged through her city?"

"Some slut?" Calyran protested, "She is not some common trollop to be found in any gutter or two-penny brothel. I have spent much coin to acquire, pamper, and bedeck her. She is certainly more than any woman you have taken to bed." The elf's eyes went to Nessia, and Bromm sensed he was reassessing that opinion.

"The Guild would not be pleased either," he said, hoping that Calyran valued his relationship with the Guild as much as Brelyn did. "This monster will cause problems, and the Guild does not like problems. Especially problems that get me killed."

"Hmph," the sorcerer grunted. "You overestimate your importance to the Guild. I've certainly never heard of you before tonight, and would relish a return to that ignorance. But very well, I'll help you slay this damned thing. I'll give you two a moment while I gather my things. Meet me in the foyer when you're dressed." He smirked. "Or don't, I wouldn't mind seeing the lady fight naked."

---

Bromm crouched beneath the awning of a market stall. He was in the Rose Market, an upscale outdoor market near Calyran's house. This late in the night, it was empty of people, but Bromm still felt out of place in a square normally populated by people who bought and sold with gold coins instead of silver ones. Beside him was Nessia, her cloak pulled tight around her. Beneath it, Bromm knew that she was clutching her dagger tightly in one hand, while the other held the creature's disembodied third eye.

Calyran had hidden himself across the way, but not before enchanting the both of them with a spell of ironskin. Bromm shifted under the awning, feeling the stiffness in his skin now. He laid a hand on Nessia's shoulder, and found her formerly soft skin hard to the touch as well.

"No point in waiting any longer," he whispered. Nessia fidgeted and scowled.

"Why do I have to be the bait?" she asked, not for the first time.

"You're the one it's after," Bromm reminded her. "I'm just some poor sap who got in the way, but the spell is on you. Don't worry, I'll be right here when it comes."

"And I'll be out in the open," she muttered. The dagger moved under her cloak, it's point raising the cloth around it like a tentpole. Nessia took a deep breath. "Here goes."

With her eyes skyward, she strode as boldly as she could manage from the awning and to the plinth at the center of the market. Normally used by criers or auctioneers, it lay empty in the night hours. Nessia unwrapped the creature's eye and set on the edge of the dais, pointed to an open space where they had decided to do battle with it. She took another deep breath and threw back her hood.

"You can see me now," she said to the eye. "Come and get me. I'm tired of running."

The borrowed enchanted sword in hand, Bromm looked skyward. With so many night lights of the city doused, the stars seemed brighter than they had earlier, but there was no sign of the monster. He stole a look across the square to Calyran, who had disappeared into the shadows. He had better be here when the monster arrives, Bromm thought bitterly. The elf had been too easily persuaded for Bromm to be confident in his allegiance.

He looked back to the sky, and could tell that Nessia was getting impatient. There was still no sign of the monster. Anxious, Bromm ran his thumb down the flat of his blade. His eyes darted every which way, worried that the monster was about to pounce on them. Nessia turned toward him, her eyebrows raised expectantly. Bromm could only shrug.

"What do we do now?" she said, squinting into the darkness where Calyran was supposed to be. Bromm opened his mouth to reply, but a flash of movement cut him off.

Orrtunath dropped onto Nessia from above. It was a blur of black with two smoldering red coals for its eyes. Bromm heard Nessia scream, but in terror instead of agony. Terror seized him as well, but Bromm mustered his courage and bolted forward from his hiding place with his sword held high.

The beast knocked Nessia to the ground, its terrible claws slashing at her in a frenzy. They shredded her cloak and dress beneath, but where they struck her bare flesh, they were turned aside by Calyran's spell. Heartened, Bromm leapt the final yards to the creature, his blade flashing forward for a killing blow. The creature looked up at the last moment, and sneered at him. Its wing snapped forward to form a protective barrier around it, and Bromm's sword stroke clanged futilely off it.

The wings swept aside again, and the monster lunged for Bromm. Off balance, he lost his footing as the claws whistled through the air. There came a sharp crack of thunder, and for a moment, Bromm thought the monster had been shot. But he looked up to find that a sparking whip of lightning had caught it by the wrist, holding the deadly claw back from him. Orrtunath snarled, and its burning red eyes followed the lightning whip into the shadows. Calyran stepped forth, holding the whip in one hand as his free hand went through the motions of another spell. Bromm sprang up, blade at the ready, and saw Nessia scramble to her knees. Her dress in tatters, she stabbed her dagger at the monster's leg with fury, but the creature's stony hide defeated her strike.