Cities of Power Ch. 09

Emery turned the ball of stone over in his hands as he listened. He knew on the night of the storm that he and Flint had both inherited some of their mother's power. For Flint, it was a gift with fire, which Jade had felt in him. He and Flint were both unaware of the latent magic present within them, but had stood with the other people of their town who had come from Pegasus during that long night.

"You think I could do the same?" Emery asked Thorn.

"We had believed it was a myth; a story told to captivate small children about the lights in our city," Thorn said. "Then you battled the storm, and we thought it might be interesting to let you feel the stone that came from the rumbling mountain."

"It is beautifully smooth, as if we had worked it with the stone lathe, but it is just a stone," Emery said quite definitively.

"Indulge me and toss it out in the darkness," Thorn instructed. "There is a lot of light where we sit, and you have only held it for a short time."

Emery stood on weak legs and grimaced as he went to the edge of the porch and threw the stone in a gentle underarm motion out into the darkness beyond the porch. He watched as it thudded to the ground and rolled to a stop. He could clearly see the softly glowing sphere where it had landed and blinked in surprise.

"Behold the son of light!" Thorn said reverently.

*****

Talon pulled Trix closer to him on the small bed that they shared. He felt like a child again, sneaking around behind her parent's backs to spend the night with Trix. Spar had assumed he would be staying with the other warriors in Sanctum, and he had not bothered to disillusion the man stealing into Trix's room when no one was watching.

"I have to go," he murmured into her neck, and smiled as she turned in his arms and kissed him. "Go back to sleep, and I will see you at breakfast," he whispered.

"What if I came with you?" she asked, wrapping her hands around his neck, not wanting him to go.

"I promised Sirrus that we'd speak this morning, and there is still work to do," he chuckled softly. "And I expect your mother will want that wedding today, whether we or the town are ready for it."

"You don't want to get married?" Trix asked warily.

"In my mind we already are, I don't need a ceremony to tell me that, but if it is what you want, and it will make your parents happy, I will stand before a man of the Faith and swear my undying love for the world to see," he promised.

"What about your parents?" Trix asked nervously, remembering that he was like a prince in his city.

"They will try and make us do it all over again, no doubt," he laughed.

"Won't they object to you marrying a village girl?" She asked quietly. Then panic rose up in her, and she asked, "What if they arranged another marriage for you?"

"When Gale and Sirrus return they will inform them of the importance of this marriage," Talon cupped her face in both hands and kissed her. "I have to go and get the work done so that we can have an uninterrupted wedding night and rediscover how to make babies," he grinned widely. "Make sure you see Ayla today to be sure you are healed properly," he said as she matched his grin.

"Then you will have no excuses," Trix laughed, as he rolled from the bed and pulled on the dark trousers Mica had given him. It was Talon, not her, that had been reticent to make love again after the attack. She felt perfectly fine, and had since the day after the attack, thanks to the healing skills of Ayla and Jade. She watched him dress and enjoyed the way the slightly big trousers hung low on his hips. He was so handsome that she felt the tingles of anticipation for her wedding night run through her.

"I am not looking for excuses, I just want you to be safe and happy," he bent to kiss her after pulling on his shirt.

"It would make me happy if you came back to bed," she wheedled.

"Tonight," he groaned and pulled her arms from around his neck. "Don't make this harder for me than it already is," he sighed. "I love you, but I can't ignore the warriors that are here because of me. I feel responsible for them being here instead of at home in comfortable surroundings. I love you, and nothing would make me happier than holding you in my arms and blocking out the rest of the world, but we both know that isn't going to happen today."

There was a knock on the door a moment before it opened. Opal stood there surveying the scene. "I've made breakfast, Spar and the boys are waiting for you, Talon," she said in a tight voice that held disapproval.

"Mother!" Trix gasped.

"We couldn't keep you apart before, we knew that wouldn't change!" she snapped. "I had hoped you would wait until the wedding until staying in the same room, at least for your father's sake!"

"Good grief. You needn't have worried! Talon refused to touch me until after the wedding!" Trix snapped back surprising her mother.

"That was uncalled for," Talon frowned at Trix. "I apologise, Opal. I had spent all day working on the canal that, when I came to say goodnight, I just fell asleep," Talon explained and moved past her to the dining area to apologise to Spar for any ill feeling he had caused by his actions.

"I'm sorry, Mother," Trix sighed. "There is just so much pressure and expectation on us that, even when we are alone, it's like the room is crowded." She tried to explain. "Your judgement just seemed too much to handle. I'm sorry."

"He may be a prince in his city, but here in this town you are a princess, and you deserve to be treated better the than a..." Opal sighed. She knew that Talon's intentions were good, but she couldn't help the thought that Trix would be used for a good time and then cast aside for one of his own kind. The baby may have made a difference, but now Jade couldn't tell Opal with a certainty that Trix would ever conceive again. If Trix couldn't produce an heir, Talon may have to look elsewhere, and where would that leave her only daughter?

"Mother, what is wrong with you this morning?" Trix asked, sensing a change in demeanour from the woman who had, until now, been championing her love for Talon.

"I didn't sleep well," Opal admitted. "I had strange dreams."

Trix narrowed her eyes but said nothing else. Instead, she got out of bed, determined to find Flint and Judah before anyone else who had strange dreams turned against the warriors, particularly Talon. She got up and dressed quickly, finding Flint in the kitchen eating breakfast.

"Flint, we need to get Judah and go to the sanctum right now!" she announced in a panicked voice as she entered the room.

"Trix, what's wrong?" Talon asked, getting to his feet. Flint, on the other hand, didn't question her, he rose and followed her out of the house without uttering a word of complaint.

Trix filled Flint in on her suspicions about her mother's dream as they walked the short distance to the sanctum. They encountered several women who seemed in a dour mood on the way. As they approached, they saw Edge and Venn standing at the entrance, seemingly relaxed and jovial, but Talon, who had followed Trix, could see the wariness in their eyes.

"It's okay, Flint, and I can take a turn at watch now," Trix smiled, as Talon stepped inside the sanctum and spoke to the warriors before returning to her.

"You could be right, why don't you go and find Judah, we'll be fine here with Flint," he said in his usual easy tone that told her he was ready for a fight should it come.

"Okay, be back soon," she said equally cheerfully, and kissed his cheek before walking away with a happy smile disguising her concerns. She found Judah with the other magicians waiting for the city leaders in the town council hall.

Trix quickly outlined the strange mood of the town and what she knew of her mother, as well as her own experience with the dreams. It was Francis who led the conversation, questioning Trix about her mother's dream as well as those she had experienced. Then he stood and went out into the village, followed by the other two magicians, who cautioned the leaders to stay where they were. Jason had risen to leave with them, and Francis had looked at him speculatively before nodding.

As if by unspoken agreement, they followed the curve of the canal out through the orchard to where a gaping hole now stood in the expanse of high stone wall that otherwise surrounded the town.

"The barrier is not complete," he said, referring to the barrier the magicians had set over the town after the storm. "We anchored it to the wall so quickly that this would have occurred as we were managing the after effects of the storm." He was a master of charms and wards of protection. His belief in the one true source made him ever vigilant against the darkness that threatened this world. The protection of this town had been an easy ward to hold, and the wall had been the perfect anchor, but now he looked around as if trying to fathom how to bridge the gap in his barrier.

Judah, after years of living with the bandits who scrounged and stole to create their village, was used to making do with what was at hand and was the first to react. He picked up a broken shovel, its metal shaft bent almost at right angles and, pulling the weakness in the metal straight again, he studied it, making sure it was connected enough to stay together until a better solution could be found. He hoisted it to the top of the wall and settled it over the gap, realising it was not quite long enough to bridge the wide gap. From his vantage point, however, he could see a ladder not far down from where he stood atop the rubble.

"The ladder, Jason," Judah said, and the younger man moved in the direction he had pointed and retrieved the object, helping Judah lift it across the gap in the wall. "I'll talk to Rock about making a permanent bridge when he comes to repair the damage made to create a path for the water."

"It'll do the job for now," Francis nodded, closing the ward of protection over the village. 'Judah was right,' he thought. 'It had to be a powerful magician indeed to have found the small flaw in his spell.' He turned to look at Trix, "Your mother will be feeling a little differently soon, no doubt, but tell your Hawk to be careful for a little time longer to be sure."

Trix returned to the Sanctum, accompanied by Judah, who went inside to talk to the warriors while Ayla and Francis returned to the other visiting leaders. An hour later the town was bustling with activity and good cheer as the delayed wedding preparations began again. The leaders from both the city of Gryphon and the Phoenix had deigned to stay one more night to witness the event. The ground continued to rumble sporadically, but the spring that fed the canal with water slowed to a soft flow that pushed the water in a slow ripple toward the plains.

Rock and his fellow masons had repaired the damaged wall, creating an archway over the canal and bridging the gap in the wall. It was a mammoth task to have completed in one day, but he found that the powers of the earth warriors had somehow made shaping the stones and creating a strong mortar to fuse them together easier than before. Rock had tried to watch what they did as they worked alongside his men, but their hands had moved so fast at times he lost track of the movements of their tools and the ingredients they used in the mixtures.

"I feel ridiculous," Talon murmured to Sirrus later that day, as the setting sun touched the horizon, adding a golden glow to its light and casting long shadows from the building of the town.

"I don't know; these clothes are quite comfortable once you get used to the lightness of their weight," Sirrus shrugged. "At least you have a beautiful woman who will willingly help you take them off later tonight, while I, on the other hand, have just my hand," he chuckled.

"I don't like feeling on display like this," Talon continued to grumble.

"When you are clan leader you will be on display to everyone all the time," Sirrus chuckled again, enjoying his friend's discomfort. Talon was usually so calm and in control, and seeing him fidget with the foreign clothes and shift from side to side as if nervous was amusing to him.

"I thought you knew?" Talon teased back. "You're marrying my sister so that you can deal with all that political bullshit and make both our families proud. I don't want to be a clan leader, Sirrus, I never did. You are far more suited to that role than me."

Sirrus opened his mouth to argue. Talon was a leader who had no idea about just how devastating his natural charisma was on the people he came into contact with. He was respected and admired by everyone who knew him, and warriors from each of the clan swore their loyalty to him and called him a friend. Sirrus was not even close to being the leader that Talon already was to his people. He hadn't been able to voice his opinions though, as music drifted out of the buildings before them and a slow procession started toward where he and Talon stood beside the spring. He felt the man beside him stiffen, as if tensing for a battle. The nervous energy practically crackled in the air between them as the hulking figures of Trix's brothers stalked towards them to the slow pace of the music.

Several feet before Talon and Sirrus the brothers parted, joining the crowd on either side of the pathway that had been made by the townsfolk. Opal and Spar walked arm and arm through the gap made by their parting sons and walked to the front of the crowd before parting to reveal Trix, who wore a long dress of green. She smiled widely at the man she loved as she stepped slowly toward him and took her place beside him, followed by Jade, who was possibly the only woman close to her age that she had thought she could ask to stand beside her during the ceremony.

"You look beautiful," Talon whispered as she took her place beside him. His voice was thick with longing after denying himself the pleasure of being with her since arriving in this town.

"You look different," she grinned in response. She could tell that he was uncomfortable in the clothes of the townspeople. But to her, he was still the most handsome man in the world.

Jacob, the grand arbiter of Gryphon, performed the ceremony with all the solemnity with which it was due. He spoke of the storm and Talon's guidance and leadership, not only during the event, but in the organisation of the aftermath of the storm. He talked of Trix and her goodness, her willingness to bring people from cities to this village without prejudice and help her fellow townspeople in accepting the differences between them. Finally, he spoke of the love Talon and Trix shared as the catalyst to it all and the ultimate salvation of the town and its people.

Talon had cringed during the long speech, knowing that the arbiter was exaggerating the importance of his role in any of the events of the last few days. He held Trix's hand and endured the speeches while feeling the eyes of the assembled people boring into his back. He willed it to be over as his teeth clenched together, and barely registered the final words of the arbiter as the crowd cheered and Trix turned toward him, lifting her face. It took him a moment longer to realise he was expected to kiss her, and he lowered his head, touching her lips softly in a chaste but loving kiss.

The crowd cheered again as the young couple turned toward them and the Arbiter proclaimed them man and wife. Talon then picked up Trix and began to walk toward her home, as was expected. The sky was a riot of orange, violet and indigo as the last of the day gave way to the night sky, and he smiled as he looked down into Trix's glowing face. She was worth enduring that horrendous ceremony, and probably another when he took her home to Phoenix.

He strode into the house taking the stairs and porch in long easy strides and walked straight to her room. He knew that her family would be at the celebrations in the sanctum that they would be expected to join later, 'Much later.' he thought, as he finally placed her feet back on the floor.

"I'm sorry we are not entering our own home here in this town, but in time I will build one for you for when we visit," he said softly, pulling her into his arms.

"As long as I am with you I am home," she said in the same soft voice.

"I love you," Talon murmured, his hands moving slowly over the back of her dress as he bent his head to kiss her more thoroughly than he had thought prudent in front of the townspeople. Still kissing her, he manoeuvred her gently toward the bed and stood at its edge as he kissed down her neck, his hands sliding around her waist and up to her breasts.

Trix curled her arms around the man she loved and pulled him with her down onto the bed, showing she was just as eager as he was to consummate the wedding. She felt goose bumps rise on her arms as he continued kissing her neck and cupping her breasts throughout the movement down onto the bed. She had tilted her head back as he moved his lips from her ear down the line of her throat. She twisted, loosening the fabric of her dress as he tugged it down to expose her breasts to the cool evening air and the tender ministrations of his fingers and lips. He teased the tender flesh until the pale pink tips hardened to small pebbles until she moaned with a mixture of sheer need and the anticipation she felt for holding him within her again, and knowing the fullness and physicality of the love they felt.

Her hands moved just as surely as his in removing the clothing he wore, and as he teased at her upper body, they lost the layers of fabric that barred their way to the joyous feeling of skin on skin. His hands remained on her breasts as his lips followed the soft green fabric down her body, softly kissing the small indentation of her belly button. She arched her back as his fingers tweaked her hardened nipples, and let out another soft moan as his hands followed his lips, pushing the dress and her underwear over her hips, finally discarding it to lay on the floor where his clothes now lay in a messy pile.

Talon breathed in the scent of her arousal as his hand stroked down over her hips and thighs. He slid back up her and kissed her, his weight settling over her side as his hand wedged itself between her legs, her thighs falling apart to allow him access. He groaned, matching her moan as his fingers slipped into the moist heated folds of her sex, and she reached out to circle her hand around his hardness, stroking its length. Her hips rolled with each stroke he made over her clit, lifting her from the bed as the talented fingers dipped lower and slightly into her each time.

His fingers lingered on her clit as he felt her hips roll, urging him further into her. He rolled the small swollen mound under his fingers before stroking over it softly, again watching her chest rise with the gasp she elicited in response. His hand dipped, his fingers again delving into her as his thumb continued to roll over her clit. He could see her quiver now and her stroking of his cock become less smooth as her climax approached. He timed his strokes with the movement of her hips, her hands falling out of rhythm completely as she arched stiffly and let out a cry as waves of pleasure rolled over her, making her tremble and jerk spasmodically against him.

The kiss he gave her swallowed the ensuing cries and whimpers of pleasure as he continued to torment her until she was fully spent and panting breathlessly into his possession of her mouth. She blinked, wrapping her arms tightly around him, and kissed him back, urging him to take her to even greater heights. He moved over her then, sliding between her thighs as she drew them up against his hips as if to guide him into her. Her hands curled around his ribs and onto his back, her short nails scratching lightly over the skin of his back as he teased her further by rubbing the head of his cock against her without entering her yet.