A Paladin's Journey Ch. 12

Shenla and Maloth shared a glance as they walked, and Shenla gave him the ghost of a wink.

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*Shenla -- Palace of the Moon, Laefandell, Palistair*

Shenla could feel the eyes of the guards on her body as she walked beside Maloth. Ellerion trailed just behind while Velesande led the way. She made sure to keep them as distracted as possible by radiating a trickle of her power outward, infecting the all-male force with quietly persistent lust. She hardly needed to, not with this gown on. Her body was almost enough on its own to addle the wits of most men.

She didn't use enough of her power to cause a fuss; she didn't think she was strong enough to handle many more than the two dozen guards surrounding her, so she was careful not to overdo it and pull even more attention to herself and her brother. Sure, she could fuck them all to sleep, but that would not do, here in the middle of the palace, so she chose a more subtle method of stacking the odds.

Something irked her, though she tried not to give it any air. She'd confessed her love for Maloth, back in camp, and he had not returned the words. She told herself the words didn't matter, that of course he loved her back, but there had been something in his eyes, a hesitance, and it had been trying to worm its way into her heart for the last several hours.

She decided to give him time. He had much to think about, and he would probably come to her later and reveal his feelings. Siblings or no, what she had with him was special. They were connected in a way that surpassed even the ahk'sheth, and the transcendent sex was a reflection of that.

They traveled up spiraling walkways and down wide corridors with ceilings as high as two Noroth together. Finally, Velesande stopped at an archway leading into a long room. She turned to face them, but her eyes only had space for Maloth. Shenla had felt him infect her, and he had not been gentle. She was his now almost as much as an ahk'sheth was.

"This is where the king will receive you, my Lord," the chesty Elf said with a deep bow. Shenla eyed the displayed cleavage appreciatively; it wasn't a patch on her own, but nor was it inconsiderable.

"Very good," Maloth replied in his smooth, bass voice. The sound of it sent tingles into Shenla's nipples and pussy, and made her heart skip.

The armed escort remained around Velesande and the visitors until they entered the room fully, then they dispersed to take up positions against the walls, along which many more of their brethren were arrayed, all armed and armoured.

The room was long, with white marble columns down each side and a high, vaulted ceiling. There was a dais at the far end, supporting an ornate throne apparently made of gold-streaked silver. Shenla's lips curved with approval when she saw the man sitting that throne. He was tall and beautiful, with flowing golden hair, broad shoulders and a deep chest. He was garbed in sleeveless robes, and his exposed arms were thicker with muscle than many of the Elves she'd seen.

Caeledrin Velenar radiated power. Startling emerald eyes studied them each in turn as they approached the dais. Shenla noted the glint in his gaze when his eyes fell on her. There were few men whose eyes did not carry that shine when they saw her.

Caeledrin's expression did not change when he looked at Maloth, but the light of avarice in his eyes quickly became wariness. So, he knew danger when he saw it? Not a fool, then. Good; Shenla liked her men smart as well as pretty and strong.

"Velesande," Caeledrin began in a rich, deep voice. "You have returned safely. What word of my wife?"

Ellerion stepped out from behind Maloth, then. "I am here, Caeledrin," she announced. She stood straight-backed, chin held proudly high.

Caeledrin quirked a fine eyebrow as he looked his wife over. "And where do you claim to have been, this past year, my love? The kingdom has been worried for you." It was obvious that Caeledrin already knew Ellerion was in the city; runners had been sent as soon as they'd cleared the gates. Apparently Caeledrin wished to play ignorant.

A sudden tension permeated the air. Shenla felt as if there were a knife's point just an inch away from the skin between her shoulder blades. She watched the king and queen as a silent exchange passed between them. A glance at Maloth showed him relaxed and confident, though that was no different from how he appeared most of the time.

"I have been most productive, my King," Ellerion replied smoothly. "I was captured by Gor'dur Orcs, but rescued by Lord Maloth, here." She gestured to Maloth, who offered Caeledrin the briefest inclination of his head. From what Shenla knew of politics in this land, that was nothing short of a slap in the king's face.

"Lord Maloth," Ellerion continued. "Is on a quest to unify the people of Palistair against an impending threat coming from the south, from Amindaer."

Caeledrin's eyes flicked to Maloth, then back to his wife. "And just how does this Lord Maloth," he began, investing the name with scorn. "Intend to undo over a thousand years of hate, mistrust, and violence?"

From where she stood behind Maloth's tall figure, Shenla brushed Caeledrin with a tendril of lust. Shockingly, she found it take no purchase. Caeledrin was less greedy than he appeared, it seemed. She would have to try something a little bolder. She wished she had Maloth's strength, but that would come, in time.

Maloth answered the king's question, his tone a hairsbreadth from arrogant. "I have an army outside your walls, as you have noticed. I did not bring them to threaten, but to display the value of my support. Among that army is none other than Adelain of Eredor, Morana of the Gor'dur, and Kreya Veskash of the Mor'tirith."

Caeledrin leaned forward slightly, his eyes narrowing. "Let us assume for a moment that you are being truthful, Maloth. I would ask, then, where are Beshok, Berenor and Morin?"

"They met with... unfortunate accidents." Maloth replied as if saying there was rain coming later.

To Shenla's surprise, Caeledrin barked a laugh. "If only it were true! Wife," he said to Ellerion. "Please cease this strange fellow's time-wasting and speak the truth to your husband."

"He speaks honestly, my King," Ellerion replied, ascending the dais to stand beside Caeledrin. "I saw their bodies with my own eyes."

Caeledrin eyed his wife for a moment, then turned back to Maloth. "If you have done this thing, as my wife says," he said softly. "Then you have provided a great service to Laefandell. I will, of course, need to meet with the women in question first."

"It will be done," Maloth agreed. Shenla wondered when he was going to strike. Had he changed his plan since entering the city?

"Tell me about yourself, Lord Maloth," Caeledrin demanded, leaning back in his throne casually. "I find your colouring unique, as is your companion's, back there. I assume you are kin? You are not Orcs, or Elves. Perhaps you have some Noroth blood in you, with that height. Where do you hail from?"

Shenla felt Maloth bristle at Caeledrin's unintentional slur. How dare he suggest they were the spawn of some common creature? She glanced at the guards lining each side of the hall. They appeared tense, ready to close in at any moment. One word from Caeledrin...

The slightest movement of Maloth's head was all the indication Shenla needed that it was time to step fully into Caeledrin's view. She did so, smiling proudly as the king's eyes widened again. She had dressed purposefully, the sheer gown displaying her body to maximum effect.

"My sister, Shenla," Maloth said. "She was most eager to meet the King of Laefandell."

Shenla felt the spike of arousal from Caeledrin as his eyes raked over her. She lashed out with her power, dark tendrils visible only to her and Maloth striking forward. Many of them rebounded, but a few penetrated his spirit, appearing to Shenla as if they were sinking into his body.

Now, at least, she had some small influence over him. His strength was rather remarkable, considering how Ellerion had described him. She bowed deeply, well aware of the way her tits bulged against the front of her gown and threatened to spill free of the neckline. "It is a great honour, your Highness," she purred as she straightened. A few of the guards cleared their throats at her performance.

Caeledrin said nothing for long moments, then sighed. "It is as I suspected, then." He stood, and Shenla realised for the first time how tall he was. Another few inches and he would be at eye level with Maloth. On the dais, he towered over them all.

"Whatever abilities the two of you possess," he began, raising a hand. As one, the hundred guards in the room took a single step forward and lowered their spears, aiming them at Maloth and Shenla. "You have somehow used them to gain control of the Gor'dur, the Mor'elda, the Amun'noroth and the Mor'tirith." He looked to Ellerion, a disappointed expression crossing his face. "And it appears my wife was not spared, either."

The guards took another step forward. Maloth surveyed each side of the room nonchalantly, as if a hundred soldiers were no bother to him. And perhaps they weren't. Shenla hadn't seen him fight before.

"I give you this chance to kneel," Maloth said loudly, his voice booming around the hall. "And to serve me." He waved a hand, and every female guard in the room suddenly gasped and dropped her spear. With confusion painting their faces, they began to moan as if they were being pleasured sexually, which they were, just not directly.

Shenla added her own, lesser ability to the demonstration, and about half of the male guards bent forward uncomfortably as their cocks sprung to hardness inside their armour. Shenla pushed harder, and they began to come. Many of them fell to their knees or leaned against a column as powerful climaxes took hold of them.

Caeledrin stared around the room in astonishment. "What sorcery is this?" He demanded. "All of you, attack now!"

With so many soldiers out of contention, Maloth and Shenla were left with about two dozen men to deal with. Ellerion took cover behind the throne and Velesande darted behind one of the columns.

With practiced ease, Maloth swept Bane free of its scabbard and whirled the black blade in a tight circle to either side, as if reminding himself of its weight. Six Elves closed in on him, spears held low, tips slanted upward.

Maloth moved with shocking speed, and even Shenla was only just able to track his motion. Bane flickered like a serpent's tongue six times, and six heads thudded to the ground, helmets clanging on the marble floor.

Before the sixth head was finished rolling, Maloth was flashing around the room faster than thought, ending the life of anyone not already rendered useless from pleasure.

Shenla turned to see another group closing in on her. All men, they advanced in the same way. With a giggle, she pulled a string at her waist and shimmied out of the gown, letting it drop to the floor. All she wore now were black, heeled shoes with straps that crisscrossed their way up her calves.

A shroud of lust fell over the men's faces as they looked at her body, unobstructed by clothing. They paused, slack-jawed, to admire her. She preened under their attention, and was only slightly disappointed when Maloth streaked by. Blood misted in the air as their heads came free, coating Shenla in a glistening sheen that matched her skin.

She licked her lips, tasting the Elvish blood as she turned to Caeledrin, who still stood on the dais. "Not bad, but Tar'elda come tastes better."

Caeledrin grunted in response. His arms were folded across his broad chest, and his face was harder than it had been before. "I should have arranged more guards," was all he said.

"You had your chance to kneel," Maloth told the king as he strode back to the dais. Shenla looked around to see carnage spread around the hall. Corpses littered the floor, many of them with limbs or head removed. A few still lay in the throes of pleasure, but most were dead.

"I had the palace surrounded the moment you entered," Caeledrin informed them confidently. "Five thousand soldiers with instructions to enter the palace if they have not heard from me within one hour of your arrival." He watched Maloth ascend the dais in two long strides. Why, after seeing Maloth dispose of his men, did he still not look afraid?

Caeledrin eyed Maloth's sword. The black blade hung at his side, dripping blood to the floor. "I was accounted a fine swordsman, once," he told Maloth. "Let us see if I still remember. It has been many years."

The Elf king reached behind his head and drew a sword that Shenla had not realised was there. The hilt was long and slightly curved. The blade was thin with a single edge. It was slightly curved like the hilt, a little more so than Maloth's. Caeledrin twirled the weapon smoothly, his fingers shifting elegantly on the long hilt as he turned to face Maloth.

"Very well," Maloth said with a dark grin as he assumed his stance, left foot forward, the blade held with both hands behind his right hip. "I have not yet found an opponent worthy of me. Perhaps you will be the first."

"All I wanted was to be left alone in this corner of the world," Caeledrin said, adopting a stance similar to Maloth's, but with his blade held to his right side, slanting down and away from him. "But you insisted on digging me out."

"I must confess, I thought you would be more upset about your wife," Maloth said blandly.

Caeledrin shrugged. "When you have lived as long as I, you accept what comes. The world will never change, Maloth, no matter how hard you try and force it. You are just another speck of sand blowing on the winds of time, and you will be forgotten soon enough."

Maloth sneered and flowed forward, Bane lashing for Caeledrin's neck. The midnight blade was stopped short by the gleaming one held by the Elf. Blue light crackled where the two swords met, arcing outward in jagged streaks.

Green eyes met black for long moments, then the men began to fight. The room quickly filled with the sound of steel on steel, but it was more like repeated claps of thunder compressed into a smaller space. Blue bolts of energy sparked and sizzled whenever the blades met, and neither man gave any ground as they danced around the dais.

Caeledrin moved with the same speed and grace as Maloth, and Maloth appeared none too happy about it. His brow was furrowed, his lip curled in a sneer as he struck again and again, his swings precise and deliberate, but powerful and brutal where Caeledrin flowed cleanly, swiftly.

A worm of uncertainty slid up Shenla's spine. Could Maloth win? Surely, he was just toying with Caeledrin, wasn't he? Shenla prepared herself to aid her brother. Gathering as much of her power as she could, she prepared to throw it all at the Elf king, but Maloth shot her a hard look, brief but definite.

He wanted to finish this himself. Shenla hoped he remembered the plan; Caeledrin was to be hers. If Maloth killed him, Shenla would have to choose another Tar'elda, and she had seen none more suitable than Caeledrin. A shiver of excitement replaced the uncertainty as she imagined bedding him. He had to be twice as old as Peldin, at least. Judging by the bulge in the front of his robes, he had the cock to show for it.

A flicker of moment brought Shenla's attention to where Velesande had retreated after handing the sword to Caeledrin. The busty Elf was trying to stay out of Shenla's sight. Moving fast, Shenla appeared behind Velesande and seized her wrist just as she was about to throw a knife at Maloth's back.

Maloth must have been so focused on his fight that he let his handle on Velesande slip. "Now, now," she whispered into Velesande's ear as the nails of her other hand came to rest against the Elf's creamy throat. "Cheating is not allowed."

Velesande whimpered, but remained still as Shenla stripped the knife from her hand, then used it to cut her robe from her body. The silk garment slid to the floor, revealing her lush, pale body.

"Well, look at you," Shenla purred as she spun Velesande around to face her. The bitch had a good body, no doubt. Big, firm tits, nice hips and good thighs. "No wonder he likes to keep you around." She hit the Elf in her stomach, making her double over in a fit of coughing. "That was for trying to kill my brother."

Over Velesande's shoulder, Shenla saw something that made her eyes widen. Using the throne to create space, Caeledrin seized Ellerion from behind it and held her close, his blade at her throat. Maloth halted immediately, open rage painting his face.

"I would not do that, Elf!" He roared, his eyes blazing.

Caeledrin laughed. "I think I will! I've wondered what happens to you when those you enslave are killed." He pressed the blade against Ellerion's neck, and Maloth shifted his head uncomfortably, as if he could feel it himself.

"Fuck you," Shenla growled as she gathered all of her power and hurled it at the Elf king. Not expecting the attack, he gasped and dropped his sword. Ellerion freed herself from his weakened grasp and ran to Maloth, though he pushed her aside.

"Stay behind me," he grated to his ahk'sheth as he stepped toward Caeledrin. He laid Bane against the Elf's throat, and for a second, Shenla thought Maloth was going to behead him. Instead, he savagely kicked Caeledrin in the chest, sending him sprawling back down the steps to where Shenla stood near a cowering Velesande.

Shenla looked up at Maloth for permission, and he gave her a curt nod. He looked so powerful, up there, staring down at her, sword in hand.

Caeledrin lay on his back, gasping for air, winded by the kick. Shenla stepped over him and squatted, resting her naked crotch onto his. He looked up at her, his composure finally shaken.

"No!" He cried, trying to scramble backward. Shenla seized his robe and yanked him back. The rest of his cries were muffled as she planted her lips on his. He quickly succumbed, and Shenla used the opening to wrap tendrils of darkness around his heart, his mind, his soul.

His desires were open to her. She could feel what he wanted most. "You seek a life of pleasure?" She asked him, staring deep into his eyes. "Of sensual delights? I will give it to you."

The binding had begun, but would not be complete until she received his seed. A very impressive erection had formed beneath Caeledrin's robes, and it was resting along the cleft of Shenla's ass. Lifting herself slightly, she ripped the silk garment at his chest, parting it from neck to groin.

A long, fat cock bounced free of its confines. Hells, it was almost as big as Barrog's! With a greedy smile, Shenla lowered herself back down, groaning as the smooth crown parted her soaking lips. Caeledrin's hands came up to seize Shenla's tits. He squeezed them roughly, but Shenla liked it.

From her hands and knees on the floor, Velesande looked on in horror as she watched her king fall prey to Shenla's charms. "Caeledrin!" She wailed. "Don't!"

"Come and join us," Shenla purred to the busty Elf as her pussy finally finished its descent down Caeledrin's cock. She felt wonderfully full. "You might enjoy yourself."

"No," Maloth interjected as he walked down the dais steps toward them. "She will be spending the evening with me." A hundred tendrils of darkness suddenly sprung from him and ensnared Velesande. She immediately rose from the floor and rushed to him, pressing her body against his and planting frenzied kisses on his bare chest. "Hurry it up, sister," he added. "We have yet to finish what we planned, here."

"Of course, brother," Shenla said breathily as she began to bounce up and down. Using all her skill, she quickly brought Caeledrin to his release, and he bellowed as his fat balls lifted and tightened. Shenla cried out with ecstasy as a massive amount of come was delivered into her body. Heat and energy spread through her pussy into her lower belly, and then suffused her whole being.