Dragon (S)layers: ThePaladin Gambit

"If you really want that to be your question, I suppose I'll have to answer it."

"No, no, hold on!" She looked to Isira, "I feel like the fifth wheel on a three wheel cart here, what'm I missing?"

Isira downed Her drink before answering. "It's common, if you please a sphinx enough to make them want to celebrate you're rewarded in a very special way! Usually it takes the form of an answer to a question-- yes, anything. The answer will always be truthful, even if you don't like it." She smiled wryly. "Many try their entire lives to earn such an honor, you've done it in one week!"

Leslie found herself ringing the mouth of her glass with her finger, looking at the bar with a small frown. "No pressure or anything."

"None at all!" Aee supplied. "But make it interesting, it's hard to find good conversation!"

"Gods--" Leslie downed her shot-- the alcohol burned all the way down. She choked and sputtered, eyes watering. "Good gods!"

"Let's not go that far. Now, there's one other minor stipulation." Isira glanced at the sphinx. "The only questions you can't ask are about yourself-- so no asking who your parents were, how you'll die or anything like that."

"Well what kind of fun is that? I wouldn't mind knowing if I'm going to drown in a vat of wine bobbing for apples, because according to the whole hedonism thing, 'why not' can be used to justify just about anything."

"It's unsettling how quick mortals jump to questions of their own mortality rather than enjoying what they have..." Aee said with a serious glance. "But lusting after elixirs, accolades and monuments that will render them immortal is something they do quite well."

"Doesn't seem like anyone's made that work so far." Leslie said.

"Nope!" Isira chirped.

"Don't be so sure." The sphinx cast a sidelong glance at her and sipped his drink. He continued to regard Leslie, adding: "But even if you could wear the skin of immortality, do you really think anyone would recognize what you began as?"

At a glance Isira gave Her paladin a smile.

She could ask any question her mind could conjure up, hold the keys to the universe and the secrets of her own new found faith-- even the origins of her own goddess, and yet the sickening truth of it was that anything she learned was only going to fuck up the beauty she'd come to see in Isira...Knowing made cynics of believers and she wasn't going to be any different.

Leslie considered it for a second, "You know what I always wanted to know? I wanted to know the trick to a good pot pie. I make them and the crust is always too thick, the ingredients don't cook right."

The two immortals looked at her oddly for nearly a full beat before Isira picked up a crystal decanter and refilled their drinks, downing Hers without a moment's hesitation or grace. Without waiting for Aee to divulge his secrets, the goddess stepped around the bar and took Her paladin's hand, leading her out into the middle of the chamber as music started to fill the air. In no time at all Isira had Her fingers intertwined with Leslie's; chest to chest and eye, She lead them through the steps of a slow but intricate dance.

Isira's 'breath' was gentle across Her paladin's ear, a sultry purr that dared anyone to ignore it. "If I had it in me, I would give you the stars and a sky of your own to hold them, but they would be a pale imitation of your spirit."

"I'm not drunk enough for that kind of talk, you know? I--"

"Am here because of what I've already given you."

Leslie looked away, vaguely ashamed. "Maybe not just because of that...Keiter can be kind of persuasive."

"Mmmmrrrrrrrrrr." Isira sighed against her ear. "You've no idea how right you are-- you both remind me of people I've not seen for quite some time. But I suppose diamonds shine brightest in the night."

Knowing better than to step on whatever good will she'd built up, Leslie hesitantly drew back, "They only shine if they have something to reflect off of. You know, I'm here for the long haul, I don't need to know everything, but if this is going to be a give and take relationship, I wouldn't mind a little giving."

That seemed to catch the goddess a little by surprise. Her attention lingered on Leslie before She smiled gently. "Do you really want to know what I have in mind, then?"

"I'm scared to ask."

Isira nipped her ear, "Join us."

"J- Join you?"

"Mmmmmmhmmm."

"Y- You mean--"

"I do."

Leslie started to look to the sphinx but she was stopped by a deep, sensual kiss that prickled every fiber of her being-- an explosion of electric passion rippled through her and before she knew what was happening she felt arms pulling her up, keeping her from falling, as her body trembled. She was so overcome she couldn't even lift her hands to hug the woman. Never in her life had she felt something so tender and powerful at once, Isira's fingers trailed her paladin's spine making it bristle with new energies no human was meant to experience. She could have turned Leslie into anything in that moment and she'd have begged for more, but with every touch Isira only brought relief to her aches and pains and a powerful newness to her being. As if to accent Her total control, she reached down and cupped Leslie's ass, pulling her into the kiss that seemed to go on for eternity.

Leslie worked up the strength to breathe, to brace her hands against her goddess's chest, taking her rightfully submissive role to heart for the first time in decades. She was accepted, she was cared for...She was loved.

When the kiss broke, Leslie whimpered.

The goddess didn't bat an eye, She didn't wait for a reply, She didn't even give Her mortal a chance to object. She turned to Aee and threw her arms wide. "Come now! What good is a celebration without some dancing?!"

Sure, Leslie didn't know how to dance and she more often than not wound up stepping on Isira's toes-- usually because she was entranced by Her movements, but even with that being the case she found time to relax, time to laugh and somehow she found herself wondering why she'd ever doubted that this had been the course her life was meant to take. From bitter, angry failure to smiling, laughing failure.

Maybe it wasn't so bad...

In their loneliness they had all found something the other possessed-- Isira's warmth and quick laughs fed into Aee's capricious games where he would tease one or both of them with some weird riddle or anecdote which then kicked off Leslie to make poorly timed and usually vulgar jokes about the answers. They were the strangest of friends, but there was no question that that was exactly what they were. Their dancing lasted for hours until Leslie couldn't keep up any more and had to sit down.

Aee plodded over to her lazily and nudged her with his wing. "Don't give up so easily, She'll run you into the ground before you know it."

"I get the feeling She does that to a lot of people."

"And they smile all the way to the grave," he said lightly. "But She almost never allows one to speak for Her. You're the fifth I've met, She must think quite highly of you."

Leslie balked, "Five?! I thought the gods wanted minions." When the sphinx looked at her she smiled. "I think we all know that this relationship is one of convenience-- not that there's anything wrong with it, I mean I'm out of the house, right?"

The sphinx's dark eyes lingered on her for a moment before a small grin split his lips. "Housewife turned--"

"No, no not exactly. It's a long story..."

"We have time."

The two of them stewed in the silence for several more moments before she mustered her voice. "That's my way of saying I don't want to talk about it. Besides, can't you read minds or something?"

"If I could do you think I'd tell you? People's sovereignty is their own unless they willingly give it away."

Leslie eyed the creature, pursed her lips and leaned towards him so she could whisper. "You said you've met five like me before? What were they like?"

"Snobs. I had to hold some of them because they were hassling my guests! Calling me a monster and thinking themselves beyond reproach!"

"So is that why you're keeping me here?"

"Who said I was?" They looked to one another. "I wanted to show you something--"

"And have my company."

"That has been a very pleasant benefit, yes!" His gaze turned back to Isira. "You're free to leave whenever you wish."

"Wait, really?"

"Of course." He glanced at her sidelong. "The gods deal in souls, the Cherubs in pacts and I? I deal in magic...you belong with your goddess, not here."

Leslie looked at Isira who seemed too entranced in Her dancing to notice the glare. She quickly caught herself and hid her expression but the irritation lingered in the back of her mind. "All this for a--" Isira's presence crushed her voice in her throat-- they shared a brief glance when the goddess rolled Her body, turning away. In the next instant she could speak again. "--pot pie recipe." Leslie finished.

"Here I thought you were just being obsequious, you really want a good recipe? "

Leslie sighed and draped her arm around Aee's shoulders, leaning against him as they watched Isira dance. "Sometimes the simple things in life are the most enjoyable, it's like asking a blind woman if she'd like to see the sun for what it is instead of just feeling it..."

He drew in a long breath. "You can admit your fear, there's nothing wrong with it."

She chuckled ruefully. "You know, in all this mess I haven't even had time to be afraid--" Leslie's voice died when he looked at her. His features were narrowly focused but intent, eying her as if she were an oddity rather than the other way around. His ageless wisdom hid no secrets as to what was really on his mind at that moment; she still tried to play the part of clueless mortal until he leaned in to kiss her.

In all her life she never thought she'd be heading into such a strange place, but his exotic, primal musk was intoxicating. His broad tongue swept over her lips with a subtle bumpy texture that wasn't quite rough as it was tactile. Curious, Leslie leaned into it, sampling the strange flavor of the immortal as her confidence grew. With each new touch they explored one another, he curious and surprisingly timid and Leslie a bit more curious and nowhere near as shy about seeing where things could go.

It had been loneliness that isolated her from the world and it'd been Isira-- indirectly-- that brought her back into it. Why shouldn't she explore? Leslie cupped the sphinx's cheeks and savored the rush of shame that warmed her; one by one her reservations fell away and she gradually eased herself into the lead. Their mouths were hot and humid, tongues teasing one another and their shared breath growing hotter with every passing second.

This was insane. It was stupid. But gods was it exciting. Leslie surged forward and stole the sphinx's breath, assaulting his mouth with her tongue as her passion welled inside, spurred on by the creature's gentle nature and the lurid thoughts that spiraled through her mind. What could they do? What would they find acceptable? Isira was supposed to ensure he said 'the magic word,' but...

Couldn't she?

Leslie broke the kiss, panting and staring at the sphinx with glazed eyes. Could she really do that? Her gaze flit over his sharp eastern features; wrapped in skin of dark almond with a handsome, proud expression and a chest she could easily have imagined licking peppermint oil from? Even his lion-like body was proud and strong-- everything she wasn't. But in his eyes was a rare kind of certainty, he was someone who had nothing to hide from the world and wore his power as a trophy rather than a hammer.

Aee turned his head down slightly and looked at her through his bangs. A subtle smile played across his lips and he inhaled her scent deeply, purring all the while. "That was not the reaction I expected."

"Y-" she huffed. "Yeah?"

"You're blushing."

"Well, maybe you bring it out in me."

Isira sauntered over lazily and crouched down beside him, nuzzling into his mane. "And here I thought it was just me." She cooed across his ear. The response was a content sigh from the creature as his eyes closed-- Isira meanwhile edged close enough to make eye contact with Leslie and smiled. In a soft purr, She added: "Maybe there's room for this to work..."

Aee paused to consider for a moment. "Maybe."

"Mmmmhm." She said unapologetically. "But never you-- never what She stood for. I've come to appreciate the finer points of what She does, and even if I'm proven right in the end, I don't want to be." She sighed and hugged him close, drawing him to Her chest. "But how frequently do the things we want come to be, hm?"

Chapter 8: Raiment of Change

"What will be your legacy? Will it be sung by bards in courts throughout the land, or will it be reviled as a curse by surly commoners who've no concept of who you were?

Maybe it will not be spoken of at all. Maybe you will be the subtle influence, felt and not known. That is a decision you must make. But whatever you decide, you need only look back to find me there. Smiling and waving; Like the rest of the world, wondering where you will go next."

-Isira

Letters From the Gods Volume 1

Leslie's heart slammed against her ribs as she was lead by the hand through the doors into the sphinx's chambers. A wash of yellow and white light swept over her from a sky light that punctuated the cave's roof, a lattice of stone and glass gave way to the naked sky. The yellow tinted glass made the room seem warm compared to the rest of the cave, but it was the wood paneled walls and carpeting that made the place feel lived in; human.

The entire dwelling was sloped like a dome with the skylight carved in such a way that no shadows could find purchase. The room was furnished sparsely; a case built into the wall displayed a dizzying array of steel trinkets, a shelf with some books and a pile of ribbons at its crown, and, much to Leslie's chagrin, a square display case with a suit of armor in the center of the room. Behind it was a large circular bed right under the shaft of sunlight.

Suspended by wire, the armor looked as airy and mysterious as the goddess Herself; it was cut from leather and accented with silk and muslin that dared observers to find where materials began and ended or how it was even meant to be worn. Flowing sheer white fabric melded smoothly into a sky blue bodice patterned with waves that-- if Leslie strained to look-- hid where it was designed to flex and bend. All this decor and regalia only to flair out uproariously at the waist in a twisting melody of sheer fabric Leslie had never seen before and couldn't quite understand.

Aee caught her staring and flashed her a bright smile, erasing the distance between them with a chuff of a laugh. He brushed against her leg and took his place between the two women-- a quick glance at his guest showed off a particularly smug grin. "I've never seen such a piece before or since, you can't even feel the magic tied to it!"

"N- There's magic in it?" Leslie asked dubiously as she mentally reached out for the fabric. Her mind pieced it together in a three dimensional pattern of airy clouds bound around one another like fingers interlacing into an endless cascade of tumbling sky. One could get lost in its pattern and never truly find where to begin or end...

Aee was looking at her oddly.

"Sorry, uh, it's pretty."

"A pale imitation of your beauty, to any with eyes to see."

Leslie glanced at Isira who rolled Her eyes with a cheesy smile. She sauntered over to the bed and turned, holding her hand out for Leslie to join Her. They watched one another for several seconds with Aee's gaze lingering on her halfway between lust and awe. Leslie opened and closed her hands taking a deep breath as a sensual tune began to fill the room with a coy mix of inviting melody and sultry undercurrent that made every part of the older seamstress prickle with uncertainty.

She carefully edged towards the bed, not entirely sure what she was going to do when she got there. Isira made the choice easy; She sprang from the bed and twirled Leslie into another round of dancing as the music swelled. It was insane how smoothly Isira's voluptuous curves could move; from one step to the next She lead so gracefully that even Aee's movements seemed mechanical by comparison. For her part in it, Leslie tried her best to keep up and anticipate what would be expected of her, but every other step Isira made a new demand, invited her to a new move or lead her through a series that eased her closer to the bed without her being aware of it.

But there was a moment where Leslie regained her senses, stopping mid stride with her foot stretched forward-- before her Aee was lowered with his body lowered and face downcast, eyes up turned in the same display of submission he had used with Isira. Leslie eyed the timeless creature, momentarily lost in where she was, the power she found herself holding over something-- someone-- as old as the gods themselves...

Was this what it meant to be thought of as a goddess? Was this what Isira saw when people submitted themselves to her? It wasn't just those eyes watching her, though, it was the thought that someone-- anyone-- cared about her. Maybe it was the fact that these divine creatures, these immortals took interest in her that kept her off balance, but for some reason that didn't bother her any more. Isira was warm and kind, she'd made it clear that there wasn't going to be anything they wouldn't do together-- She'd never put Her follower down, She'd never get angry with her. She'd never ignore her for 'just one more' throw of the dice or another drink...

Leslie leaned forward daring to touch Aee's head with her trembling hand and felt his warmth. Yes, this was what it was to be truly alive. Her body didn't ache, she didn't have anything to worry about and-- and there was nothing but the three of them and life. She wasn't aimless any more, she wasn't meaningless any more. She deserved to be happy.

Isira touched her back gently. Power flowed through every movement the goddess made; forgotten secrets opened themselves under Her fingertips when She trailed them across Leslie's pallor skin. The sacred writ was a language known to none but Leslie's body, it knew the language well and responded in the only way it knew how; she drew in a deep breath and knelt down in front of the sphinx. She had all the permission she needed to act as she saw fit...

She was in charge. Even in Isira's eyes, she was perpetual-- she could choose to be anything she wanted. Leslie smiled at the thought, guiding her finger down Aee's sharp features, trailing a line down to his chin where she held his attention for a moment. "You know...If things were a little different, I'd...I don't know. I could enjoy it here."

"Mrrr?"

Leslie dampened her lips. "You know, I don't know why She chose me but I think I know what it is we were meant to do..."

"This isn't like you," He said softly. "Something wrong?"

"Not necessarily." Leslie sat down in front of him and invited him to rest his chin in her lap. When he did he turned his head up to look at her. His eyes were warm and inviting, calm and familiar. They shared that second with an infinite number of possibilities laid before them and the limitless potential that could have made them lovers, enemies, allies or leaders of some global reform.

All of this flashed through Leslie's mind in an instant and she clutched him tightly as Isira laid Her hands down across her shoulders. She had choices, she had power. She wasn't just a paladin, she was a human being, a thinking mind and an open heart...She laughed as the tears welled up in her eyes. "I always thought it'd be a blinding flash of light or something. You know?"