Chapter 8

As they passed through Fazal’s eastern gate, Laika traced another of the designs on the ornate rug which raised the rear half and turned the magic carpet into a contoured, reclining couch. As the back shifted, a flattened portion of the front rose up into a leg rest. Kal relaxed into the carpet while watching a field full of loaded transport camels and their handlers join the ever-growing line stretching out behind them.

A smile crept onto his face as he recollected the Crystal Keeper’s arrival at his litter before setting out. The elderly man tasked with replenishing the charge on the high-class transports led two camels pulling a cart bearing a hefty, square metal box. A group of tense and wary guards surrounded the man and his cargo.

The cart drew Kal’s attention first with its widely-spaced, dual wheels. Noticing his curiosity, Laika pointed to the metal rings and rolls of wooden slats hanging from the side of the cart. The slats were attached on the underside by strips of leather and cloth, turning them into what the slave called a tambour. The metal-banded carriage wheels took the brunt of the rugged, rocky terrain outside the city, but once out on the dunes, the tambour would be wrapped around the dual wheels and affixed with the metal rings. The wider surface area kept the cart from sinking into the sand and making it harder for the camels to pull. Kal realized the tambour-wrapped wheels acted much like the snowshoes he used during winter.

The mage’s ability to see magic revealed little about the box’s contents. The flows of energy inside were too chaotic. However, the old man’s title and heavy guard made it easy to assume the box contained mana crystals.

The Crystal Keeper pulled a stiff, leather-wrapped wire from the cart and touched it to the silver disc on the side of the frame. A tiny hole in the metal box’s side lit up as the magic stored in the container flowed into the litter. Seconds later, the light winked out.

Looking surprised and confused, the old man touched wire to disc a few more times with no further light from the box. Looking up, he asked, “Mage?”

Kal nodded and pointed to the runes on his vambraces. The Keeper stared at him for a few moments as if trying to decide if the young man was telling the truth, but eventually just shrugged and directed the guards to the next litter.

He knew he shouldn’t be showing off, but at the same time couldn’t deny how fun it was to watch people’s reactions to his abilities.

Pleasant sensations coming from his groin drew Kal’s attention back to the present. While the curve in the carpet was extremely comfortable for him, Kashka couldn’t say the same. The cat-girl sat with her tail trapped between the cheeks of her bottom and sticking awkwardly out from between her legs. The naked pleasure slave lying across her lap only made Kashka’s situation worse. Laika’s feet rested in Kal’s lap and gently rubbed him through his trousers as she instructed the cat-girl on how to properly give her Master a massage. She wasn’t trying to get him off, but the feeling was still quite pleasant.

“She’s my servant, not a slave,” the mage reminded her.

Laika looked back at him, “Free house servants call their employers Master. The title still fits your situation ... Master,” she said with a mischievious smile.

Kal’s hand flicked out and swatted the woman’s exposed ass. Kashka and Laika both yelped, the cat-girl’s eyes widening in surprise and dismay.

“What did she do wrong?” asked the cat.

“Nothing, really. She was just being cheeky,” said the mage as he relaxed into his seat.

“And she deserved punishment for that?”

He gave her a sidelong glance, “Is she acting punished?”

The cat-girl’s eyes widened further when she noticed the woman squirming in her lap. Despite the pink handprint appearing on her bottom, the scent of Laika’s arousal became noticeably stronger.

“Don’t you want to even them out, Master?” the slave mewled, offering up her other cheek as the movement of her feet became more vigorous.

“No,” said Kal, as he brought a hand down on her ankles, “If I did that, it wouldn’t be much of a punishment. Go back to her lessons.”

Laika groaned in frustration but did as ordered. After a few minutes, she looked up at the cat-girl, “Do you have a problem putting your fingers inside another woman?”

Caught off guard by the question, Kashka looked over to Kal for approval.

Curious where this was going, the mage nodded and said, “It’s fine with me, but this is your decision alone. If you’re not interested in doing anything with her, you can say no.” Shifting his gaze to the pleasure slave, he cocked his head, “Why are you asking?”

“Because Master’s punishment got me wet, and I felt it was a good chance to show her the special place inside a man’s rear.”

“You want me to put my finger in your ass?”

Laika nodded, “Yes, and you can use how wet I am to keep things slippery. The place I want to show you is kind of like the spot inside us that feels so good. You can make a man cum in seconds by rubbing it, but it’s very sensitive, and you don’t want to jab it with your finger accidentally.”

“What if I accidentally jab yours?”

“We don’t have one, or we do, but ours is in our pussy. You said you weren’t a virgin. Have you never explored around in there or had a man find that perfect angle when fucking?”

Kashka’s face fell, “No. When I was allowed to touch myself, I could only rub outside. I’ve only been with a ... man two times, and while the second time was much better than the first, neither was very pleasant.”

“You poor thing,” said Laika. “But I’m trained to pleasure both men and women. With Master’s permission, I will teach you about all of the pleasure your body is capable of, along with how to please him best,” said the slave while casting a hopeful look at Kal.

The mage glanced between the two women, “As long as I get to watch these lessons and interrupt as I see fit. I’ll allow it.” Much as Kal hated to admit it, he was beginning to enjoy Laika’s company. The pleasure she took in her job, combined with his lack of restrictions, allowed her the freedom to make his experience fun. He was beginning to see why Toba offered her up as a way to appease him.

A woman’s rhythmic moans drifted to them from one of the nearby floating litters. Kal looked around and noticed something was missing. It seemed unlikely that of all the people in the high-class section of the caravan, none of them were traveling with kids.

“Laika? Where are the children?”

“Far behind us among the gold and spices under heavy guard. They ride in a large cart where nannies watch after them. They don’t need to see what happens during the Lottery if we run across sandworms. Also, things like that,” she tilted her head toward the moaning woman, “will be common for most of the trip.” She wiggled her ass at him, “I’m looking forward to when it’s my turn.”

“I bet,” Kal deadpanned. “Last question before I let you two get back to your lessons. What do I do if I need to piss?”

The pleasure slave pushed herself off Kashka’s lap while trying her best to show off her bottom and sex as much as possible as she sat up on her knees. “The elderly can go off the back of their litter, but Turam asks everyone else to do our business off to the sides of the caravan. Those following behind appreciate not having to walk through piss-soaked sand. Or, if you want, you can have your pleasure slave suck it out of you.”

“Ugh! Humans do that?” said Kashka as she leaned away from them in disgust.

Unfazed by the cat-girl’s reaction, Laika smiled at the her, “Some people think that whatever comes from their cock or pussy is too precious to touch the ground. Others see it as a way to degrade or humiliate their pleasure slave. A few just get turned on by the idea.”

“But what about the taste?” Kashka asked, cringing.

“You monster girls have it easy. For you cum is like candy. Human women usually have to learn to love the taste. The same goes for pee.”

“So, do you like it?” asked Kashka.

“If my Master wants—”

“That wasn’t what she asked,” said Kal.

“Would you have even considered it as an option if I never suggested it?” Laika asked with a sly smile. “But enough about that. If you need to do more than piss,” she pointed to the back of the floating litters at covered two-wheeled carts slightly outside the main line, “those give you some privacy, and the guard riding the camel nearby will bring you back here if you don’t feel like bothering to catch up.” She turned to Kashka, “Those are not for slaves or servants. We have to take care of our business out on the sides of the caravan.”

Kal wrinkled his nose as one of the other rich caravanners climbed into the cart as they watched, “Sounds like he has a stinky job.”

“It’s not as bad as you think,” said Laika. “The chamber pots inside are enchanted to turn waste into rich, black dirt in a few minutes. For people living on the edge of a desert, good soil is valuable.”

The slave’s words caught his attention. Magic like that could be handy in a mountain city. He would need to discover what he could and send a messenger parchment back to Sera with his findings.

“Nothing goes to waste out here, does it?” said Kashka. “I’m surprised they don’t also use something to recycle urine.”

“There is a spell that purifies water, but for so many people, you would need to store it somewhere and purify it all at once to be effective.”

“Maybe you could use the spell on yourself,” the cat-girl suggested to Kal, “so if she drinks it from you, it would be pure water?”

Kal contemplated the idea for a moment but eventually shook his head. “An interesting idea, but the spell works by forming the impurities into a small pebble. I doubt that would feel good coming out.” He barely caught the flash of disappointment that ran across Laika’s face.

Kal awoke from a light doze to a guard walking beside the litter, asking if they needed water. Beside the guard a camel patiently carried waterskins hung from a special harness covered in hooks. The mage took three, hanging two from notches in the shelter’s uprights before opening the last. The man and the camel came to a stop and moved out of the way, letting the next transport come to them.

He thought the girls were napping as Laika curled protectively around the smaller cat-girl on the carpet next to him. But the moment he moved, both sets of eyes opened and looked up at him expectantly.

The women sat up as Kal sipped the surprisingly cool water before handing it to them. Looking around, he saw they were still in the scrubland, but things were changing. Scattered about landscape were small patches of brighter, loose sand where the ground’s contours made pockets for it to collect.

Behind them, the orange sun shimmered from the air’s heat as it rested on the horizon. “How much longer before we stop and make camp?” asked Kal.

“Many hours yet, Turam will make the most of the day’s leftover heat before calling a rest,” Laika replied. “We will stop for a few hours during the night’s chill. Tomorrow we will make camp around midday and sit out wost of the day’s heat.”

“Between all the rest stops and how slow these camels walk, I’m beginning to understand why it takes a full month to cross the desert,” said with irritation.

“You’re forgetting that not all of the caravan has such nice accommodations. They have to wrap up to protect themselves from the cold at night and make sure their camels don’t collapse during the day.”

“Well ... now I feel like a jerk.”

“We also have stopovers at various oases to refill our water.”

Kal raised an eyebrow, “What?”

“The caravan needs to refill its water reserves—”

“No, I understood that part. Why doesn’t Turam or someone keep water in a bag of holding? Surely if they can afford these carpets,” he patted the fabric next to his leg, “Toba or Turam could purchase a bag of holding. Speaking of which, Ria, store the waterskins.”

“I wish she would come out,” said Kashka, as the waterskin in her hand vanished into a mote of light and flew into Ria’s bag. “I liked having her around.”

“So do I,” Kal replied, “But that won’t happen until...”

“Until what?” asked the pleasure slave, looking between them.

“Until we get rid of the reason you are here,” said the mage.

“The reason I’m ... What? I don’t understand.”

“We’ll explain later, once it’s gone,” said Kal as he leaned back and watched the sun disappear over the horizon.

He had the finest accommodations money could buy and two sexy naked women next to him. Kal had no idea how this trip could be turning out dull already, and he hadn’t even made it past the first day. His boredom was mostly his own fault. Laika, and later Kashka at the pleasure slave’s instruction, were constantly trying to entice him into fooling around with them. He gained some enjoyment from Laika’s frustration he wouldn’t take the bait.

Kal wouldn’t say he had the greatest willpower when it came to sex. After all, he did spend a few hours messing around with those cow-girls on little more than a whim. But after being with Ikuno, who used many of the same methods of distraction, he built up a fair resistance to the pleasure slave’s antics. The main difference was Laika wouldn’t take the next step and demand some time with him as Ikuno, Perra, or some of his other women would.

After sunset, the pleasure slave revealed another of the floating carpet’s tricks. She ran a finger over one of the carpet’s designs, and the intricate outer border lit up in a faint orange-yellow glow. Minutes later, one of the caravan’s guards stopped by but quickly continued on to the next litter. Laika said he stopped by to show those who didn’t have a pleasure slave about the transport’s illumination.

Looking over at Kashka, he saw the cat listening wide-eyed in the dim light as Laika told stories about her sexual adventures.

His lack of interest in the cat-girl bothered him. As Kal focused on the feline woman, the memories of her assassination attempt flared in his head. If not for magic, he would be dead right now. But this wasn’t his first time staring death in the face, and he worried about the implications his lack of desire could have when he finally met Ikuno. Granted, his and the oni’s relationship wasn’t all about sex, but it was a large part. If he couldn’t preform after two years apart ... he didn’t know how Ikuno would take it.

Even as the thought crossed his mind, he could see the glaring differencesin the two situations. With the cat-girl, there was no remorse afterward. At the time she was just doing a job. Certainly, there was regret now, but that didn’t come until after she was captured and then freed from Bozun’s influence.The oni gave up her life to save him immediately after nearly killing him. Ikuno had also starred prominently in many of his fantasies when Ria asked him for a story as they made love.

His mind wandered to when Kashka put the collar back on. In that moment, he expected the woman to take her cloak and dissapear from his life. Instead, she threw away her freedom to atone for her past. That had to count for something, right?

Kal blinked rapidly as it hit him. In her own way, Kashka had indeed given her life to him. Perhaps it wasn’t as drastic as what Ikuno did, but she chose to come with him as his slave instead of escaping to freedom.

The mage sighed loud enough the girls took notice. He really needed to quit being so hard on the woman.

“Do you need anything, Master?” asked Laika.

Kal looked at Kashka, “I think I do.”

Ahead of them Turam called for a halt, which was relayed down the caravan by various guards. A few moments later, the camel pulling their litter stopped. The beasts followed whatever was in front of them at a constant distance and only required a guard to come by every few hours to correct any gaps between the litters. Otherwise, they didn’t require any instruction.

Laika traced another pattern in the carpet to make it lay flat again, but it was much softer than when they first set out that afternoon. Pushing on the mat to show how much it gave, she smiled and said, “This doubles as a tent if you don’t want to set one up. Because of our late start, the carpet still has some magic left. Most nights, it will be dragging on the ground by the time we stop. The Crystal Keeper will be around in the morning to get us in the air again.”

“That’s good to know, but I prefer my own bed.” Retrieving his tent from Ria, Kal tossed the canvas square into the sand next to the litter and spoke the command word to start it unfurling. Laika only gave it a passing glance. Kal expected little reaction from her since the travelers she serviced were typically rich, and a self-assembling tent wasn’t an extravagant expense. Kashka did become confused when the magic shelter grew much larger than the two-person tent in his room at the inn, turning into a taller, round version.

The mage unsealed the tent and moved aside, letting the women enter first. Kashka stepped through the flap and paused for a moment. Seeing everything was the same as before when the outside was smaller, she continued to her room in the back. Kal nearly bowled Laika over when he entered behind them. Stunned, the woman’s head slowly turned, taking in the tent’s large interior.

Still wide-eyed, she turned toward him. “How much money do you have?” she asked. “Are you a prince of some far-off kingdom?”

“No, why?” he asked, confused.

“Only once have I been in one of these, and it belonged to a prince. A very rich prince.”

“While I don’t hurt for money, this actually belongs to the woman I’m traveling to meet. Granted, she considers everything she owns to be mine, but I’m still not comfortable with that way of thinking.”

Laika was incredulous, “She gave this to you? The prince said his cost a small fortune.”

“Among other things, but yes, she gave it to me.”

“She must love you.”

Kal smiled, “Enough to sacrifice herself to save me, which is why I have to travel halfway around the world to be with her again.”

Laika’s face showed her confusion. “An elf?”

“No. She’s a spirit of sorts,” he explained, “death is more of an inconvenience for her.”

“She’s immortal?”

The mage nodded.

“That does explain how she could be so free with something so valuable. Eventually, it will come back to her.” Laika looked around for Kashka, “Where did she go?”

“To her room.”

“She isn’t sleeping with you?”

“No.”

“She desperately wants your approval, you know.”

“I do, and since she’s a monster girl, I have no doubt what form that approval needs to take.”

“Right now, she’s confused. I’m guessing it has to do with your past. But if you keep rejecting her, it will go from confusion to hurt. I don’t think you want that.”

Kal raised an eyebrow, “You seem to know a lot about how I think.”

Laika smiled, “It’s my job. The succubi in Fazal spent a lot of time teaching me how to read people and how to get the most pleasure out of my and my customer’s bodies.”

“I understood women who were purchased by the succubi were guaranteed a life of luxury.”

“Toba bought me, not the succubi, but he immediately gave me to them for training. Before I came of age, I had to study intensely to develop my conversation skills. Afterward, they made me into the happy slut I am now.”

“Do you often tell people about your beginnings?” asked Kal.

“Only those like you who value information. There’s no sense in telling someone who just wants me to ride them every time their cock gets hard.”

“Fair enough.”

“What about your kitten?”

“I need to fix this, as much for myself as for her. Bring her to me in there,” he said, pointing to his bedroom, “I may need your help at first to make this happen.”

Laika’s eyes lit up, “Yes, Master.”

The slave dashed across the room, her bare feet slapping against the marble as she crossed it. Peeking in on the cat-girl, she saw Kashka lying on the bed. The slight smile on Kashka’s face was not lost on Laika, nor was the feline’s ear tilting in her direction. She was willing to bet the cat heard every word.

“Come on, you’re switching rooms,” said the pleasure slave as she waved Kashka over.

“What did you say to him?” asked the cat-girl as she got up and moved toward the door.

“Nothing, really. It sounds like our Master decided this on his own. He asked for my help, and I think that means he isn’t expecting this to go smoothly.”

“Should I not go?”

“He’s your Master. Even with all the freedom he’s given you, do you think you should deny him?”

“No,” said Kashka, her voice beginning to shake with nervousness. Why couldn’t he have just taken her when Laika was teaching her how to entice a man. The moment was exciting and playful then, but now there was a weight in the air filling her with dread.

The cat nearly ran away the moment she stepped into Kal’s bedroom. Already anxious from the gravity of the situation, the sound of Kal’s belt slipping through the loops on his trousers tripped memories of severe punisments from Bozun. Only Laika’s hand on her arm kept her from bolting. When Kashka tried to jerk her arm away, she saw Kal placing the belt on a small cabinet next to the bed. Completely lost in his own thoughts, he hadn’t noticed her escape attempt.

Still gripping the feline’s arm, the pleasure slave hummed with appreciation as Kal undid the top clasps on his shirt and pulled it over his head. He glanced over at them with a weak smile. “Would you believe that before I learned magic, I was a farmer in a tiny bump-in-the-road town far west of here?”

“You certainly don’t have a noble’s soft lines, and you don’t have the physique of a mage either. You’re more like some of the rich fighters I’ve serviced,” said Laika. “What do you think?” she asked Kashka.

The cat-girl’s body was undoubtedly reacting, not just to the sight of Kal’s stripping but also to the scent of a human male. However, it wasn’t enough to overcome her anxiety. “It’s nice,” she mumbled.

Kal briefly considered a quip about being, “just nice?” but the Kashka looked like she was on the verge of bolting and instead silently held out a hand to her.

The cat’s breath quickened as her mind raced with the possibilities of taking the offered hand. Most of her thoughts harkened to being punished by Bozun, but there was her last time with the Bull and all the minstrel’s stories of men like Sir Stormhammer driving women wild with pleasure. Beside her, Laika sighed with frustration at Kashka’s hesitance. Grabbing her arm, the pleasure slave laid the cat-girl’s coal-black hand in Kal’s. As the mage reeled her in the feline’s glare of betrayal was met with a wide grin on the pleasure slave’s face. Kashka suddenly found her breasts pressed against the mage’s chest as his arms wrapped around her.

“It’s okay, I’m not going to hurt you,” the mage whispered, as one hand came up and began stroking her hair.

She felt Laika step up behind her. Kashka tried to get control of her flicking tail, worried it would beat up the other woman’s shins, The slave joined Kal in whispering soothing words as she ran her hands down the cat-girl’s back. After a few minutes of petting, Kashka finally relaxed into the mage’s arms.

Kal was about to move things forward when the cat-girl’s arms wrapped around him.

“Forgive me,” she whispered. The mage hesitated for a moment before silently continuing to stroke her hair. “I’ve done so much harm,” she said when he didn’t answer. “I’ve hurt so many people and families I may spend the rest of my life atoning for what I have done. But you are the only one of those people I can ask this.” She squeezed him tighter, “Please forgive me.”

The mage tilted her head back to look up at him, “You’re forgiven, Kashka, but I’m still angry you tried to kill me ... I’m hoping that tonight will help.” Reaching down, he cupped her rear and lifted the cat-girl before turning and sitting on the bed. A few moments of awkward shuffling put him in the middle of the bed with her straddling his hips and laying on his chest.

Kashka shifted her hips and glanced behind her, “You’re soft.”

Kal nodded, “As I said, I’m still angry, and in some ways I don’t want to do this, but I think it will help both of us. Luckily, I’m a man, and with the right prompting, men can make our bodies do things even when our heart isn’t fully in it. Laika, get me ready, please.”

The slave crawled onto the bed, “Might I suggest getting both of you ready, Master? She’s nervous, and appears as dry as you are soft.”

“Are you okay with that?” he asked. The cat-girl nodded after a few moments. “Go ahead, Laika. I’m trusting your expertise to make this enjoyable for both of us.”

“Yes, Master,” she said, pushing his legs apart so she could kneel between them.

A second later, the feline’s eyes widened as Laika touched her, then half-closed as a small moan escaped her. The pleasure slave’s fingers lightly danced around and over the cat-girl’s pearl as her tongue explored around Kashka’s entrance. Within minutes she was panting and mewling with the need. Laika’s tongue traced its way up to her rear entrance and flicked over the puckered skin there before pushing inside. The cat-girl gasped, surprised at how good that felt.

“What was that about?” asked Kal.

“Her tongue ... it’s ... in the back.” The rest of her response turned into a long moan as the fingers teasing her clit sped up.

The moan changed into a whimper of disappointment as Laika turned her attention to Kal’s prick. The cat-girl’s moaning and facial expressions did part of the work for the pleasure slave, and he was half-erect when the woman’s lips closed over the head of his cock. Sucking hard on the top half, Laika bobbed her head while running her tongue around the bottom of his crown. Below, one hand massaged the base of his shaft as the other gently rolled his balls around.

The variety of sensations had the mage hard as steel in less than a minute. Leaving copious amounts of saliva on his cock, Laika tilted it forward while a hand directed Kashka to slide backward.

Kal expected a moment of hesitation or something when he first touched the woman’s entrance, but the cat-girl kept moving, sliding down his length until he was fully seated inside her.

“Now comes the hard part,” said the mage.

“Hard part?” asked Kashka.

“Trying to replace the memories of you trying to kill me with you making love to me.”

“Love?”

“Maybe ‘making love’ aren’t the right words, but ‘having sex’ feels inadequate. If I go soft, don’t be insulted. I have a lot going on up here,” said Kal, tapping the side of his head. Even as he spoke, he could feel his erection fading.

“What if I do it wrong?”

“That’s why I’m here,” said Laika from behind her. Crawling out from behind the cat-girl, she moved beside them and directed Kashka into an upright position. Placing the feline’s hands on Kal’s chest, she put a hand on the base of the woman’s tail and another above her mound. “Move how I show you,” said Laika, and began pushing back and forth with each hand until Kashka picked up the motion.

The cat-girl’s face was a mask of wonder. Her second time with the Bull, she managed to have several orgasms, but the violence of the experience left her feeling like they were ripped from her. She also didn’t get to enjoy the feeling of being filled the way she was now. Unfortunately, that feeling was fading as the mage continued to soften. Kal’s expression as he stared up at her could only be described as intense. It was vastly different from the look he gave Laika as she sucked him off that afternoon.

The mage’s hands moved to Kashka’s hips and pulled her forward when he felt his prick soften enough to slip out. Without prompting, Laika scooted down and dove onto his cock. Her talented mouth quickly brought Kal back to full hardness before again pointing his prick at the cat-girl’s pussy.

Kashka sighed at the wonderful feelings coming from her sex as Kal slid back into her. If this was what sex was supposed to feel like, she was beginning to understand why Laika enjoyed her job. As she began moving back and forth and the pleasure grew, she started making soft mewling moans each time he sunk into her.

Kal wasn’t enjoying the situation nearly as much. But then, he expected that. Repeatedly playing the moment Kashka’s blade piercedhis throat, then shoving that image aside and replacing it with pleasure of her sliding up and down his cock plainly enjoying herself was running him through a gamut of unexpected emotions. Paranoia crept into his thoughts with the idea she might try to kill him again. Anger for trying to kill him sunk into hatred from almost taking him away from those he loved. Her enjoyment of his cock as he laid there and struggled to accept her turned into jealousy and resentment. Though he lasted longer this time, his cock began to soften again as his mind focused on taking the edge off such strong emotions.