Chapter 15

Peter found death strange. First, he dreamed he was awake but too weak to move or even open his eyes. Second, he tingled all over. His body was mostly numb, but occasionally he felt sensations as if he were being moved or touched. Third, it was not peacefully quiet. Instead, he heard buzzing and droning, which might have been people talking or shouting. His fatigue prevented him from mentally focusing long enough to comprehend the noises as speech.

Gradually, he felt less tingling and was able to distinguish the pressures he felt as actual touches. Someone was giving his body a thorough examination. His mouth was opened, and cool glass touched his lips before a bitter liquid was poured into his mouth. It sat there until his throat was massaged, helping him swallow.

As the liquid passed down his esophagus, he realized he wasn’t dead! He was alive! The fog in his brain faded as the potion he’d been given began to take effect. While his life force remained dangerously low, the potion seemed to give him strength and increase his mental awareness.

He began to remember the battle in Sala’s study and recalled his horrifying actions. He’d murdered a male death wizard and a female enchanter. Almost as bad, he’d assisted Mohennial Sala in killing the Reaper, a mohennial even more terrifying than her, and had destroyed the mind of a second death wizard.

And then, Sala had attacked him. He remembered her seizing and draining him of his life force, recalling the wild look in her eyes and realizing the Mohennial had not been in her right mind. Her animal brain must have been in control, as she’d been near death from her drawn-out battle with Lord Thulgrim and Lady Starval. Attacking him had been purely a reflexive action—or so he hoped.

Peter finally pried his eyes open to see an unfocused blur. He closed them again and instead tried to speak. A feeble croak emerged, but no understandable words. He felt someone touch his cheek.

“You are safe, Lord Bentencourt,” a woman whispered softly directly into his ear, “but you remain near death. Save your energy, please. We are working to restore you.”

It took him a moment to process the meaning of the words. His rising anxiety faded as he comprehended the message. As he doubted the Order would treat him with such compassion, he must still be at the Vent, and the last death wizards were no longer a threat. It also meant that Sala had not killed him and was now, hopefully, back in control of herself. The female voice sounded familiar. Where had he heard it before?

“Who...” he attempted to croak out. The sound was still nowhere near the actual word, but the woman seemed to understand.

“I am Lyndris,” the woman replied. “Formerly Lieutenant Lyndris”

The former commander of Anodyne Keep. Peter felt someone take his hand, and in the back of his fatigued brain, he felt a familiar tickle. He cautiously allowed a connection to form. “Nahuul?” he thought.

“Yes, Master,” he heard in his mind. “I am here.”

“What’s happening?” Peter thought back.

Along with her mental projection, Nahuul answered audibly. “You are in Mohennial Sala’s guest bedroom. The Mistress ordered you brought here and cared for.”

“How is Sala?” he though back. He was so tired!

“Mistress Sala is alive, Milord, though her life force remains low,” Nahuul replied, both audibly and mentally.

“Mohennial Sala is in her suite, being attended by her surviving staff,” added Lyndris. “Before she... retired to her room, she ordered that you also be restored. We are about to begin that process, Lord Bentencourt.”

Peter tried to turn his head, but he was too weak. He did not know if he had enough strength to invoke the transference ritual, let alone rise to the occasion to fulfill the base requirements of the spell. He projected this worry to Nahuul.

“Guardswoman Lyndris knows the spell, Master,” his slave replied. “She will cast the transference upon you and I, and will guide the process.

Peter heard the elf woman, Lyndris, begin chanting. The words were spoken in archaic Elvish, which the universal Kreven translation spell left unaltered. He was confused by this until he remembered that if his life force was as low as they’d said, the universal spell would not work for him. This sobered him, as levels that low were generally unsustainable. He was actually close to death!

Numbly, he felt his underclothing being lowered, exposing his cock. The transference and linking spell took effect, and he felt the hands of Lyndris, who was undressing him, and of Nahuul who was still holding his hand. It was to be a three-way transference, which made sense, as with Peter being so near death, the bulk of the work would have to be done by the others.

“Impressive,” Lyndris commented as she massaged his flaccid member. Her tone was more clinical than aroused.

Peter felt both the direct sensation of her actions on his shaft and the coolness of himself through the skin of her hands. The elf’s transference spell was working, but not as well as his would have. His low body temperature was disturbing. The manipulation continued for a half a minute, but his weakened body was unable to respond.

“Your Lord is too weak, Nahuul,” Lyndris said. “We will have to trigger the transference ourselves.”

The blind woman released his hand, severing the psychic link. “What do you require of me, Guardswoman?”

“Disrobe and straddle your Master as if you were mounting him.”

Peter lay still for a moment, during which he assumed Nahuul must be undressing. He then felt her crawl up over his legs, straddling him and positioning herself on top of his semi-soft cock. He could directly feel the warmth of her groin and her abundant pubic hair. The transference spell allowed him to feel from her perspective his cool member against her sensitive flesh.

As Peter was again in direct contact with Nahuul, her psychic link returned. He allowed a deeper connection and felt her presence join his in his mind. Her thoughts were mostly of concern for his health and confusion over what her actions needed to be to aid him. He felt just the smallest hint of excitement over their sexual positioning, but this was overwhelmed by anxiety.

Lyndris moved in behind Nahuul and wrapped her arms around the younger human woman. The transference spell allowed Peter to feel both the sensations of Nahuul being caressed and of the older elf’s skin sensations through her hands. He began to feel hints of the light elf’s inner thoughts as the woman relaxed and let Nahuul’s mind-probe connection form.

“What is this?” the elf asked, noticing the mental probe.

“The parasitic frills replacing my eyes allow me some psychic ability, Guardswoman Lyndris,” Nahuul explained. “They work to join our minds but I can limit the connection.”

Peter sensed the elf’s concern upon learning that. This combined with Nahuul’s anxiety did not bode well for the success of the transference spell. Even though he was exhausted, he focused enough to project to each woman some mental reassurance.

The elf sighed and, with her right hand, began running her fingers through Nahuul’s sex while fondling the slave’s small breast with her left. Nahuul stiffened momentarily as she processed the unexpected touch and sensations. Peter felt the action from the perspectives of both participants as the elf began actively masturbating the Northlander woman. Lyndris began squeezing Nahuul’s nipple harder, sensing from the feedback that his slave favored the heavy touch.

Nahuul’s anxiety faded, and she let out a groan as the sexual sensations intensified. Her clit became erect, and the elf concentrated her manipulations on that swollen nub. Nahuul began grinding herself onto Peter’s still semi-soft cock. Through it all, he was able to sense the elf woman’s physical response to giving Nahuul pleasure. Nahuul’s three-way psychic link allowed him to realize the elf was a lesbian or, at a minimum, bisexual with a strong preference for sex with her own gender.

Nahuul was also reading Lyndris’s reactions. The blind woman leaned back into the elf and reached behind with one hand to grope toward the guardswoman’s groin through her trousers. When she found the elf’s crotch, she squeezed, and Peter felt the throb in the elf’s genitals, as the excitement feedback caused all three of them to become further aroused. He felt his heart beat heavily as his body fought between exhaustion and the needs of the transference spell.

“Let it happen, Nahuul, “Lyndris whispered softly into his slave’s ear.

Peter read enough of Lyndris’s thoughts to understand the elf’s struggle to suppress her revulsion at the dragon tentacle remnants only inches from her face. Nahuul sensed the elf’s thoughts as well, and Peter felt her projecting passivity toward the guardswoman regarding the parasites. Her efforts succeeded as the elf relaxed and began to focus on their rising excitement.