Laresa's World Ch. 19: Seymour

"Very seldom have I met someone with a passion as yours." Her voice was very low, almost unheard, even from right before him. "You do not want all this for yourself. You have never once thought of what would benefit you in all of this have you?" He shook his head slightly, barely able to vocalize his response. Her smile seemed to gain in intensity, in brilliance. The question had been a test that he had passed. He had not lied.

Laresa's hips shifted against him to slide him farther into her incredible warmth. "Then let me find something you might want for yourself." His breath was ragged. His heart raced. He wanted her very much, but he would never ask, could never ask. She knew this and wanted this for him. He knew he should stop her. This was the very reason the Society shunned the use of genies. They were power, desire. His very ideals could crumble before such enticement.

Her lips met his and a very different, but no less powerful surge raced through his veins. He strained painfully against the fabric of his pants. The curve of her legs encircled him and held him against the very heat he so desperately wanted. He had to stop this. He pulled back and his mouth opened to say the word.

Her eyes flew wide. "Guns!"

Laresa's pronouncement was so unexpected that it took Seymour a moment to comprehend the simple word. When it finally blazed through the haze of his lust his mind began to work once more. "How many?"

"A dozen men with guns are just outside the cave and seeking you." Seymour didn't question how she knew or why she would tell him. He had never asked her to watch for the people he knew would hunt him. The Society could have sent agents which she never would have discovered. Likely they still had. There was one out there she could not sense.

Her eyes were on the mouth of the cave behind him. He spun, keeping his body before hers. Strangely, as he faced a wall of firearms, his first thought was that he was no longer hard. The agent stepped into view, and Seymour knew the man. Jonathon was the premier agent, sent to deal with the most dangerous situations.

Seymour was in trouble, but he could not, would not, let Laresa be taken. With tears in his eyes he turned back to look at the shining woman. She was confused, and perhaps a little afraid. She didn't often have guns pointed at her, and these had a feel of magic about them. He knew there were wards on the bullets but now he could feel them from a dozen yards away. His smile was weak. "I'm sorry Laresa." Her confused gaze moved to meet his. "I never lied to you."

Her eyes widened as she began to fade. He knew the statement made no sense in light of her magical restriction. In the moment he had, it was the only thing he could think of. The magic had not considered omission a lie, but he did, and that made this last a lie.

"Very nice." The deep, cold, voice drew Seymour's attention back to Jonathan. He stood by one wall and inspected it. "You have built a fortress. I know of your drive, your faith. You sought out the greatest of heresies for us didn't you?" Jonathon finally turned to look at Seymour and the small academic nodded meekly. "Did you learn nothing from all of your reading? They are not to be used. You only lose your way."

Seymour could not answer, for he almost had done as he was being accused.

Jonathon continued, oblivious to Seymour's inner turmoil. "We are not without compassion. We will not discard you out of hand." Seymour looked up slightly. The look in the imposing man's eyes was as powerful as Laresa's had been only minutes ago. Those dark eyes saw him, as she had, as prey, but the fire held a completely different emotion.

"You have done many great things for us. Many times has my own life been effected, bettered even, by your insightful interpretations." Seymour knew, from the reports, that motivations he had deciphered had saved Jonathon, and every agent, on more than one occasion. None of them had been adverse to crediting him in their reports.

"Even more, you know far too much of us, our agenda, our activities, to allow you to simply walk away." Seymour couldn't help but glance at the guns, still steadily trained on him, as the man's explanation turned terrifying. When he looked back to Jonathan, those hard, dead, eyes were locked on his. "I hope you fashioned yourself a cell deep within these confines, for you are destined now, by your own actions, to remain forever with us. You may continue your life's work under guidance, but never again will you leave our bounds."

Jonathan motioned with his hand and the mercenaries moved to surround Seymour and take him below. To the learned man there was hope once more. He would devote his life once again to his pursuit of knowledge and diligently report what he discovered, but now he had a greater goal. He had seen the longing in Laresa's eyes when he granted her freedom. It was now his mission to bequeath that gift to her permanently. If he was to spend the rest of his life amongst his beloved books and experiments, he could at least search for her greatest desire. She had helped him find his passion, he could do no less.

Thank you for reading my latest chapter of Laresa's World...I urge you to take the time to read the previous (and forthcoming) chapters and follow the travels of our luscious genie through time, and from master to mistress and back again. Further tales of Laresa can be found in Danellekitten's "Miranda and the Prince" stories...Thank you to everyone who has helped contribute, and especially thank you to RedHairedandFriendly for coming up with the concept.

Copywrite Deathlynx, January 2007