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The Feri Light
Chapter 23
Goran became absolutely livid when the guys told him what happened. For twenty minutes or so, he wouldn't let it go. At one point I got angry and thought about berating him but I didn't as he was my friends' father. Keene who seemed to sense my rancor, pulled him aside to have a talk with him or to calm him down, I didn't know which. And I didn't care either.
I, on the other hand, couldn't think straight. I left the meeting without a word. Using my teleportation ability, I made for the crater above the village.
It was windy and cold up here. Then again it was also quiet. Even though, I got angry at Goran, I did understand his position. We could have thwarted the plan and put everyone's lives in danger. Even so, this wasn't a way to treat another person.
I walked to the ledge overlooking the mountain range. I could smell the ocean from here. I took a few deep breaths and tried to calm down. It helped a bit, as long as I didn't think of that asshole. I thought of Alessa. I missed my sister. I regret not spending more time with her before I left. There was so much I wanted to teach her. Alas, it would have to wait.
No matter how hard I tried to think of other things, I kept returning to the meeting. We lost Wren and Kane. We got two more to replace them but it wasn't the same. Everyone knew that. To the matter of numbers, Uren's troop outnumbered us thirteen to one. To make matters even worse, Theo confirmed that Uren had enlisted the bounty hunters in Koff's defense should outsiders try to invade the town.
I sighed heavily. Are we going to lose before we even start? I took three more deep breaths. We definitely need help. But who should I call?
Nick was at Notwitt. He's Alessa's protector and I wouldn't dream of taking him away from her right now. The highguards were probably busy helping the refugees. They'll be constructing homes for them. Uncle Charlie is in Pixan acting as my emissary. I am pretty sure he has his hands full. Calling the rest of my friends over wouldn't change anything. Would it? No. By now, everyone would have found out that the Alpha king is missing. The Graylards would have their hands full explaining his disappearing act. No. They need to be there for when the shit hits the fan. I was getting desperate when a whisper brushed against my ear.
"Rye, Rye..."
I recognized the voice instantly. I stiffened. Was I dreaming? Nope, I decided when the voice got even more pronounced. "Where are you?" I whispered back. In a matter of seconds the person sent me a mental image of his location. I gave a genuine smile. "Stay right there. I'm coming your way."
Within a second I was standing in front of a band of warriors. And at the head, no other than my old friend, the Leopard cambion.
'Ned!' I rushed into his opened arms. I was so happy he was here that I couldn't stop myself from crying out of joy in front of his men.
I don't know how long we stayed like this but when I peeled myself from him he was smiling back.
'Ned. I'm not a religious person but you're a godsend, my friend.'
'I'm glad to be at your service your Majesty,' he replied politely. He had matured a bit. Well, lots. He was bigger than I remembered and his beautiful blond hair was cropped short to the scalp. He also had grown a moustache and goatee.
At the mention of my title all his men went down on one knee. I blushed. I don't know why I keep forgetting my status in this place.
'It's a pleasure meeting you all. Please, get up.'
One by one they rose. I scanned their faces. Some looked familiar. They were from Belen. They must be Niall's men.
I turned to Ned. 'How did you find me? More importantly, why are you here?'
'We followed your scent,' he said.
'Huh!'
'Well, we were dispatched to rescue a witch family. They'd been taken. We found them, eliminated the nest of vampires that took them and sent them to safety. We stayed in the Sear because we were told that we might be needed here. So, a few days ago, we crossed your scent. We figured you were heading this way and we also knew you were being tagged, so we followed you. We arrived last night. I knew Koff has an inhibitor crystal but you being a feres and all, I've been sending you whispers all night. I started again this morning. Thank goodness you replied because we were getting ready to punch our way in there to rescue you.'
The warriors laughed when he said that. It was contagious because I couldn't help but join in.
'I'm glad you didn't, although, we badly do need your help.'
I told him everything. He and his men listened. They needed to know what they're getting themselves into. Surprisingly, they were unperturbed. If anything, they wanted to join the fight. They were quite vocal about it too.
I also told him about our plan. A guy named Jay had a brilliant idea that could tip things in our favor. He suggested that Ned and his men could attack Koff head on. It would force Koff to send more guards toward the invaders, leaving behind a skeleton crew, which we could easily overpowered.
'The numbers aren't in our favor though. We're only thirty,' Ned said more to his men than to me. He wanted them to know what was at stake here.
'Wait. I might have something,' I said.
I sent a few whispers and it wasn't long before I got a response.
I smiled. It's good to have friends.
'What is it?' Ned asked.
'Help is coming. There's a witch outpost not far from here. Commander Fiori will be joining you by this evening.'
I didn't know why I didn't think of her sooner, knowing how she and her men were dying for some action. She sounded so excited that she would have been here in a matter of seconds if she didn't have to gather up her men first.
'If they're late were going without them,' someone from the crowd said. Again, the men laughed. I loved the fact that they were making light of a dire situation like this. It gives me hope.
'Don't worry. They're witches. They can teleport.'
'Rusty,' Ned called one of the men, 'take charge. I'm accompanying his Majesty back to Haven. I need to hear more about this plan of theirs.' To me he said, 'Can you teleport two extras?' I nodded yes. 'Good. Jay, you're coming with us. The rest of you get rested. I need you at the top of your game tomorrow.'
With that, I reached out and touched his and Jay's cores. Keeping a tight hold, I teleported us to Haven.
'That is new,' Ned amusingly said.
'Yeah. There's a lot more you don't know about.'
'You keep surprising me, your Majesty.'
'Your Majesty, you're back,' Shelly said when she spotted us. We appeared next to the granary so as not to perturb the locals. Seeing her face, I think I failed. She had a friend with her. Unfortunately, she dropped her basket and bolted when she saw Ned's imposing frame.
'I think we just frightened the poor girl,' Jay said scratching his head.
Chuckling, I turned to Shelly. 'Is Nash here?'
'He's with the men. They're still at the meeting area,' she answered. She was brave. She was visibly shaking even if her voice was calm and collected.
I thanked her and started for the meeting area.
As we walked into the clearing that served as the meeting area, everyone present got to their feet.
'At ease gentlemen,' I said, 'these are friends of mine. They're here to help.'
One by one they relaxed their guard. Except for Caleb. He was staring straight at Ned. 'He's a leopard shifter,' he spit out.
That got everyone's attention. But Ned, being Ned, dismissed the challenge in Caleb's voice. He pointed to himself, 'would it make you feel better to know that I'm a cambion. Oh, and he's a wolf shifter,' he said pointing to Jay who chuckled out loud.
'Relax Caleb. He's a friend.'
'But he was an enemy once.' This coming from Keene. No doubt he read the guys mind.
Ned blushed.
I gave Keene a cold stare. Telling him to back off.
I addressed everyone, 'there's no cause to be alarmed. Ned is my friend. He's here at my request. I trust him with my life.' To prove my point, I pulled Ned to me and planted a kiss on his cheek. I pulled his face even closer and tapped his other cheek. 'Look. He's a harmless teddy bear. Like I said he's here to help, so do the pack of wolves waiting in the forest.'
Ned blushed more profusely, much to Jay's amusement.
'A leopard commanding a pack of wolves. If I hadn't seen it for myself I wouldn't have believe it. Not in a million years,' Goran said slapping his knee.
Jay laughed while Ned blushed yet again, out of modesty this time. There was a little more bantering but soon we got back to business. Goran's mood had improved. Hearing about the pack of wolves camping outside of Koff and the witches, who were sure to come may have had something to do with it.
As we discussed the plan further, two people caught my eye. First, Logan, whose eyes never left Ned. He was infatuated by the leopard. He kept licking his voluptuous lips every time Ned spoke. The second person that drew my attention was Ferard, or as I prefer to call him, slut number one. He was eying both Ned and Jay. It was clear what he wanted to do to them by the way he was gawking.
We spent the whole afternoon planning. The women brought us food and drinks, then clearing everything when we were done. The meeting went on until dusk.
Caleb, Ferard and Logan followed Jay, Ned and me when we left the meeting site. Caleb tagged along because he was still suspicious, Ferard tagged along because... he was Ferard, but Logan came with us because his father wanted him to go with Ned. He knows Koff inside and out and his knowledge will be of use to Ned and the pack.
Although, I wanted to stay with Ned at his camp I didn't. I didn't want to unsettle the hopes of everyone in Haven by leaving. Instead I teleported Ned, Jay, Logan and Ferard there.
Yes Ferard. He wanted to go there pretending he was feeling claustrophobic here. Despite himself, Caleb had to laugh when Ferard said that. The others didn't understand why, but I guessed they would find out soon enough. I just hope he doesn't cause a riot over there.
When I got back, Caleb was still waiting for me. Keene was with him.
'Rye I underestimated you. You're more powerful than I thought,' Keene said, or rather Devlin said that.
I huffed, but not out of frustration. 'I'm not that powerful. I still can't beat Helledon.'
'I'm not talking about strength or your abilities. A powerful man is not measured by those standards alone, more by the number of men that follow him.'
I didn't feel confident enough to agree with him, so I shrugged instead.
'Well, now that everything is settled here, I'm off to relay the plan to Wren and the others. Do you want to tag along?'
I sure wanted to go with him, then again, I was angry with Wren still. I might be tempted to strangle him if I went there. Again, I shrugged.
Having heard my resolve, Keene grinned. 'I guess not. Well, have a good night's rest. We wake up early tomorrow.' With that he walked away.
When he was gone, Caleb approached me. 'Keene is right. We need to rest. Come on. Let's go to the shack.'
Silently, I followed him there.
We lay on the matted fur next to each other without a word. Tomorrow is going to be a long day. I just knew it. I closed my eyes and waited for sleep.
More than an hour later, I was still awake.
'Rye, are you asleep?' Caleb asked even though I was sure he knew I wasn't.
'No.'
Silence.
'Can I ask you a question?'
'Sure.'
'Everyone outside of this place think Koff is run by cutthroats and thieves. Do you think the stories were ever true to begin with?'
I was curious about that too, when I got here. The town didn't look anything like Stryker had described to us, before we left on our journey. I enquired about it, of course. Everyone has a different version of the truth. Only the professor seemed to believe Helledon put a spell of this place. He said anyone who walked out of Koff, beyond the range of the inhibitor crystals, would gradually start forgetting what they actually knew of the town. He also believed Helledon wove these stories into the spell. The stories have a dual purpose, one, to account for the lack of memories, and two, to serve as a deterrent to people who might decide to come here.
I relayed it all to Caleb.
'Then why didn't it prevent us from coming here?'
'The same reason why Keene let us get captured by the slave hunters. He wasn't too sure he would remember the way back in. He's been gone for a long time from this place.'
'I still don't buy it. There must be another plausible explanation,' Caleb said. 'Oh. What about your leopard shifter friend? He seemed to have found Koff without any trouble.'
I sniggered. 'Ned has been here before. Actually, more than once, with Xell his former master. Apparently, either the spell works only once or it might be with each visit it loosens its grip on you.'
Caleb remained skeptical. 'If you say so, Rye.'
I sniggered, then turned to face him. 'Okay. What do you think went on here?'
'Well. I think Keene and his kin were the bandits, cutthroats and thieves they all talked about. They ruled Koff before Helledon dethroned them and sent them packing.'
I laughed, yet I did find Caleb's arguments compelling.
'The stories said Koff was a town consisting of hags, Goran and his people are hags. They are witches born but with no magic. Keene was an exception because of Devlin. Originally, he was also born without magic. Furthermore, they know far too much about weapons and warfare for a group of simple miners. Sure, thirteen years of occupation can change people but not by this much. If they were simple miners they would have ended up like the rest of their people, submissive and subservient to their new masters.'
I was still laughing.
'I'm serious Rye, there's something fishy about the Keenes.'
My laugher subsided. 'I'm not saying you're wrong Cale. But I guess will find out one of these days.'
More silence.
'Rye. I'm not sleepy.'
'Me neither.'
Silence.
'Do you want to have sex?'
I didn't have to think long about it. 'Sure, why not.'
Caleb moved closer until our lips touched. He ran a hand over my side and settled on my chest. He sucked on my bottom lip. I moaned. He took that as a sigh of encouragement. His hand left my chest to study the side of my face. I sucked in his upper lip. It felt so good that I gave in to him completely.
I finally broke the kiss and rolled on to my front. He instantly climbed on my back. His hard cock nestled between my butt cheeks while his chest laid heavily on my upper body. He made sure he wasn't crushing me too much though. Even if he did put his full weight on me, I was sure I could handle it. He was lighter than Wren in that respect. He kissed the side of my face, ear and neck. I moaned louder. Carefully he scrapped his teeth alongside my nape to my left shoulder. He bit into my flesh, gently, fueling my desire to have him in me. His hips started rubbing against my butt cheeks. It was sensual, animalistic and erotic. I shivered in delightful little pleasures.
We didn't have any lube, so he lathered my hole with spit before breeching my opening. 'Oh, yeah!' I chimed. 'Fuck me Cale.' He didn't hesitate. Growling, he thrust his cock all the way to the hilt. He paused for a minute. His pubs tickled my butt cheeks forcing me to wiggle them. He took that as a sign of my receptiveness and started to pommel me hard. I enjoyed every moment of it. In fact, I grunted in displeasure when he paused to adjust his weight.
He picked up again. I sighed and he sniggered. For sure, he was enjoying this as much as I was. He kept on fucking me in that position. After a while, I felt him tense. With three short jabs, he lodged himself further inside me and flooded my bowel. Still panting like the tiger he was, he rolled me on my back and took my cock in his mouth. He expertly sucked the cum out of me. For a minute I was lost in euphoria. But he kept going until it became too sensitive for me. I let him know with a gentle nudge. He released my cock and sprawled by my side.
We didn't speak as we were both trying to catch our breaths. I don't know how long we stayed like that but I knew he was fast asleep when his breathing stabilized.
I turned towards him and watched his blissful face before I too entered dreamscape.
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End of chapter 23