Chapter 18

Anika stretched her arms out in front of her as her arachnid legs splayed out across the floor of Kal’s wonderful magical shelter. A smile came to her face as the soreness of her deliciously abused pussy made itself known. When she bit a male and brought him back to her home, he just wrapped his arms around her and pounded into her sex wildly. Kal had been different, and because of that, there were places inside her most men never touched that ached from the mage’s efforts yesterday and last night.

The arachne’s brow furrowed. She wanted more but wasn’t sure if her pussy was up to the task. Opening her eyes, she looked up the bed at the human and cat-girl she shared it with. Last night after supper, Ria said a bunch of words that made the marble circle sink away as green carpet sprouted up through it. She then summoned a gigantic bed and declared the entire room a bedroom for the night. Kal dragged the large, flat cushion off the bed and invited Anika to join them.

She felt a little bad that almost all of the mage’s attention had been directed at her. Kashka never once got Kal’s cock inside her the entire night, although she made liberal use of his tongue whenever the human’s position allowed it.

When the mage was finally too exhausted to go on, Kal cast a few spells to clean the various messes they left on the bedclothes, then he and the cat curled up together in the bed. Anika was disappointed she couldn’t cuddle with the other two without her arachnid body’s weight crushing their legs. She instead opted to lay her human torso across the bottom of the bed while her spider portion stayed on the carpet. It didn’t feel much different from the cushioned spot on the floor of her nest where she usually rested. Sharing the bed with two other warm bodies was certainly a nice touch.

Anika smiled as she recalled the only real hiccup from last night. Kal woke up to use the bathroom, but his sleep-fogged brain forgot a woman with the body of a giant spider was in the room. Leaping out of bed, he shouted in surprise and grabbed Kashka, dragging her away from danger. Once his mind finally caught up, he apologized profusely for scaring the hell out of them. It took some time for everyone to calm down after such a shock, but after a while, they all dropped back off to sleep.

After stretching, Anika watched the tent lighten as the sun peeked above the horizon. When she glanced back at her bedmates, she grinned at the sight of Kal’s cock poking up into the sheet covering him. The arachne licked her lips and began moving toward the mage’s morning erection but was stopped by Kashka holding up a hand.

“You had him most of yesterday,” she whispered, trying not to wake Kal, “You two can have fun the rest of the day, but I’m claiming him this morning.”

Disappointment flickered across the arachne’s face before she nodded. “Thanks,” the cat mouthed before gracefully standing up on the bed and gently lifting the sheet from Kal’s body. Stepping over his waist, she squatted over his rigid cock, held her sex open, and sank down, taking him to the root in a single motion.

Kal grunted and brought his hands up to her hips as his eyes fluttered open.

“Good morning,” said Kashka, grinding her pussy into the base of his cock.

“Yes,” he groaned, still trying to wake up. “Yes, it is.”

“After watching you and Anika yesterday, I told her I wanted a turn first.”

Kal pulled her down and rolled them over, so he was on top. “Sounds good to me,” he said as he began stroking in and out of the cat’s sex. Anika shifted position slightly for a better angle. She had watched the ape-women fucking the Reavers and servants but never up close like this. Seeing the mage’s cock sink into Kashka’s pussy and listening to the cat’s moans of pleasure reminded Anika of the emptiness of her own sex. Reaching down, she slipped two fingers inside her pussy and slid them in and out in time with the human and cat. A few seconds later Anika frowned and stopped moving her fingers. She was too sore even for that.

Her attention returned to the couple making love as Kashka’s hand came down and start teasing her clit and Kal sped up. A few short minutes later, the mage switched to slow, strong thrusts as the cat-girl’s back arched and her fingers flew back and forth across her pearl.

“That was quicker than usual,” said Kal, continuing to slowly slide in and out of Kashka as she recovered from her orgasm.

“I got what I needed, and you need to save some for our guest,” she replied.

“Don’t hurry for my sake. Watching you two make love is more exciting than I expected,” said the arachne.

Kashka leaned over and peeked around Kal. “I appreciate it, but I have work to do,” she said, pushing lightly on the mage’s chest. Kal slowly withdrew from her with a disappointed groan. “Kal’s alchemy lab is excellent for extracting poisons,” she continued while rolling over to the edge of the oversized bed, “but it still takes time, and I can’t walk away from it once I start. After that’s done, I want to go back out into the forest with Ria again. There are a few animals and bugs in my book that are highly toxic, and a specific frog’s poison will probably be perfect for coating your needles.”

Anika shook her head, “You aren’t coating my hairs with that. Find something that will take out the Reaver I stick it in but won’t kill me if I accidentally poke myself. Everything in the forest avoids those frogs.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. Ria, I need my clothes, please,” she said and walked toward one of the tent’s side rooms while motes of light chased after her. The arachne didn’t know what an ‘alchemy lab’ was, but it sounded dangerous.

Kal laid down again as Kashka left and now stared at her with a half-smile. “She forgot to ask if the guest wanted me to save anything for her.”

The mage chuckled as Anika blushed bright red and nodded. “But I’m not sure if I’m up to it. I feel pretty sore down there.”

“That’s fine. My tongue still works or I could just heal you. If you are interested in trying something new, I’ll show you a way we can both put our mouths to work.”

“Actually, I was thinking of trying something new, but I had something else in mind...” the spider-girl trailed off while glancing to the side and wiggling her bottom. The heat in her face rose as she blushed even brighter. She could hardly believe what she had just offered him.

“I’d be happy to,” said Kal grinning. “Do you mind if I let Ria out? It might get me back in her good graces after missing out on watching our first time.”

Anika nodded. “She looked like she really enjoyed watching us last night.”

“Her body feels things differently from us. She tried to explain it once, and honestly, I didn’t really understand. What I did gather is that for her watching and participating aren’t as far removed as for us flesh and blood creatures,” he said as he moved over and started rubbing Anika’s back. “Ria come out and bring some of Cyrene’s lube as well.”

Kal filled the next half hour with another relaxing massage that slowly gravitated toward her rear. He then spent some time teasing around her back entrance before pouring the bluish-tinted gel onto her pucker. His finger came next, and the mage wasted no time sliding it in and out of her bottom. She panted from the intense pleasure as he added a second digit. When she felt a third finger pressing against her backdoor, she reached back and took hold of his wrist.

“I want you,” she said, pointing one of her rear-facing eyes at him.

The mage didn’t answer. Instead, she watched as he lubed his cock and straddled her backside. He then felt Ria land on her lower back. The sprite bent over and spread Anika’s asscheeks, exposing her slickened pucker to Kal’s eyes. The arachne’s torso shivered as the head of his cock brushed across the sensitive wrinkled skin. She expected some discomfort as he pressed forward, mostly because of how careful he was being, but as the head slipped past the ring of muscle, her gasp of surprise came solely from how good it felt. Kal paused at the sound, but Anika reached back and grabbed his hip, pulling him forward. He quickly got the clue and sank the rest of the way into her ass.

They talked a little last night during rest and bathroom breaks about the origin of monster girls and some changes the wizard made. Ria explained that this ancient mage was to thank for her enjoyment of Kal’s fingers in her bottom earlier. Now that his entire cock filled her rear, she was ready to sing the praises of the long-dead wizard. The pleasure was comparable to her pussy but felt more intense and centered mostly around the tight ring of her pucker.

She laid her head on her arms and sighed as Kal started sliding in and out of her bottom.

“Can I just lay here and let you do this all day?” she asked.

Kal chuckled and sped up slightly. “Pleasant as it sounds, that’s a definite no,” he said, his voice strained. “You feel too good for me to last very long.”

“Really?”

In response, he leaned over her back and started driving his cock into her bottom as fast as he could. Anika briefly considered reaching between her legs to play with her clit, but doubted she could climax quickly enough to join him. Instead, she laid her head on her arms again and focused on the new sensations, moaning each time his hips slapped into her cheeks.

The mage shouted and buried himself inside her. She felt the warmth of his seed filling her bottom and smiled as the mild orgasm it caused washed over her. Kal relaxed onto her back, catching his breath as his cock continued to twitch inside her rear.

“We need to do this more,” she murmured, enjoying his weight and the feel of his chest.

Kal pressed into her ass to keep from slipping out as he softened, “Give me a little bit, and I think I can muster up another round.”

Anika smiled sadly, wishing these moments with the mage would never end. “I think I’d like that.”

“I’m about to head out,” said Kashka, poking her head into the library Where the mage sat reading. “Any luck with the lightning armor?”

“No,” Kal grumbled, dropping the book in his hand to the table. “The only spell I can find to deal with lightning bolts is my shield, and even then, the energy can bleed through and stun the shield-bearer or even overload it. The best option is to just dodge and hope nobody is standing behind you.”

“Can you dodge lightning?” she asked.

“Not the kind that comes from the sky, but the spell which matches Anika’s description of the armor’s ability, is shaped more like a ... grain of rice, but the length of a spear.”

“Then why not just call it a spear of lightning?”

“Because it’s wider in the middle, like ... wait, that’s not important. The important part is that it moves much slower, which means it can be dodged. That’s a far better option than risking the lightning overloading my shield and blowing my arm off.”

“I very much prefer you with two arms.”

“As do I. How is the poison for Anika’s needles coming?”

“Not as well as I hoped,” Kashka sighed. “A lot of toxins I use have a numbing effect, which I’m afraid will counteract the venom or whatever is fatal in her needles.”

“Her needles have venom? How?”

“No, they don’t. But I don’t know any other way they could cause such excruciating pain. As with her ability to throw them, I think there’s magic involved.”

He looked at her in confusion for a moment. “What’s magical about her ability to throw them?”

“The fact that she can. After a few paces, something that light will start tumbling through the air unless it’s spinning or has something like the tufts on my darts. To replicate the way she sunk them into the Reaver’s back, I would need to stand right next to the man.”

“You’re the expert with thrown weapons, so I’ll take your word on that. When did you...”

Kashka answered his half-formed question with a scene of her returning to the Reaver’s corpse yesterday and plucking one of the needles out.

“I briefly considered taking his magical belt,” she said. “But the remains were already encrusted with black ants. Looking at the paw and hoof prints on the road, their mere presence wards off larger animals looking for a meal. I thought it best to leave them alone.”

“Probably wise. What’s Anika up to?”

“Moping.”

“Moping? Any idea why?”

Kashka sent another scene her peeking out the door to the alchemy lab. In it, Kal lay across the arachne’s back, slowly thrusting into Anika’s ass as she moaned and drummed her shorter front legs on the bed. “I heard her mumbling as she returned to her nest. She knows we aren’t staying, and only a few more mornings can start like this.”

“Nothing we can do about that. Admittedly, that was a nice way to start my day, and I always appreciate how you woke me up.”

“I know,” she said, walking over to the mage and kissing him on the forehead. “I’ll be back in a little while.”

Kal wrapped his arms around the cat-girl, pulling her into his lap and pressing his lips to hers. Kashka struggled for a moment before relaxing into him and starting to purr. “What about starting your morning the way she did?” he asked as a hand slid down her back. Two fingers ringed the base of her tail as the rest pressed into her shorts over her back entrance.

“Any time you want, Master,” she replied, her breath quickening.

He smiled. “I know, but I want it to be special since I’ll be the first back there.”

“Then stop,” she said, pulling his hand away. “Seeing you and Anika this morning already has me in the mood for it. Keep teasing me, and ‘special’ is going to turn into ‘right here.’ I also won’t get any collecting done, and you will be completely drained when Anika comes back later.”

“You seem to care a lot about her getting time with me,” he said as she slid off his lap, picking up Ria’s bag along the way.

“I’m yours for the rest of your journey and beyond. Once the Reavers are gone, how often do you think you will come back to this jungle?”

“Fair enough, but I don’t want you feeling like you are missing out for her sake. We formed a bond. She and I haven’t and probably won’t. At least not in the short time we are here. Then again, Gerda and I bonded our first time together.”

“I don’t feel like I’m missing out on anything. If I did, I would have said something. I need to get going so I can be back before supper. Ready Ria?”

The sprite s head popped up from behind a stack of books. “Aww, just when things were getting good too,” she said, flitting over to sit on Kashka’s shoulder.

“Learn anything useful?”

“Not in this one. It’s one of Ikuno’s romance novels and tells about a maiden searching for her soulmate in a city of glass and steel buildings that stretch into the sky. I think she’s about to meet him finally.”

Kal missed the rest of Ria’s synopsis as she and Kashka left the library and made for the tent’s exit.

Standing up, he went over to the bookshelves and pulled down the tome containing everything he learned about creating and manipulating ink. Humming to himself as he flipped through the pages, he said, “We may need to do something about your cloak, Kashka.”

“Tomorrow, my hairs should be fully grown back,” Anika said the next morning after their wake-up fun.

Kal frowned while watching Ria dismiss the large bed and mattress. “Then we attack tomorrow night.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t find something for you to put on your hairs. I don’t think there’s any way a poison strong enough to kill a human would have no effect on you,” said Kashka, as they all moved out of the center of the room so the sprite could summon the marble disc and firepit again.

“That’s fine. I made do without it before.”

“True but, those were one-on-one encounters, not walking into battle against multiple opponents. Speed and efficiency will do a lot to keep you safe. Poison-tipped needles can help with that.”

“What if I reduced the need for efficiency?” The arachne paused as a stream of little points of light erupted from Ria’s bag and darted toward the sprite. Anika’s eyes widened as the avatar began glowing white and growing with each mote that touched her.

Now Kashka’s size, Ria grabbed Kal’s hand and dragged him toward his regular bedroom, mumbling, “That damn book got me all worked up. It’s my turn.”

“I guess breakfast is postponed,” Kashka sighed, rubbing a hand over her belly. “What was that about the need for efficiency?”

“What if we coated my hairs with my venom? When I bite a man, they want to mate with me,” she suggested, smiling and showing her dark, pointed canines.

“Make them want to fuck you while causing them extreme pain?” Kashka asked.

Anika blushed as Ria’s moans began emanating from the bedroom. “I—I didn’t think of that,” she stammered. “Forget I said anything. That was a stupid idea.”

“No, it’s not stupid. I’m just trying to figure out if it would work, and I really don’t know the answer. All I can say is that confusion can be a powerful tool, and since it’s from a monster girl, it should take effect right away.” Kashka flicked an ear at the bedroom door. “Let’s go back to your nest and see if we can extract some. If it doesn’t work, then you’re just back to where you started.”

Anika looked toward the bedroom. “Does it bother you that she’s with him? Is that why you want to go back to my nest?”

The cat chuckled, “Not at all, but when Ria decides she wants Kal’s time, it usually takes a while before she’s satisfied. If I stay here, I’ll just want to join in and won’t get anything done. Let’s go.”

The following day Kal borrowed Kashka’s cloak and disappeared into the library. When the mage emerged an hour later, The garment’s color had changed to jet black. The cat-girl immediately stripped off her top and shorts, along with some of her spare clothes stored inside Ria, to receive the same treatment.

As they went over the plans that afternoon, they decided Ria would remain in her bag until summoned. Staying invisible tired her quickly, and her glowing body would be an easy target, so she opted to sit out this fight unless needed.

Everyone’s ardor had cooled with the upcoming attack looming over them. Even though there was a little bit of groping and kissing, only once did things progress further. Considering no one was interested in sex that morning, or throughout most of the day, it confused Anika when Kashka stripped off her shorts as they made their final preparations. Walking over to Kal, she bent over in front of him, flicked her tail in the air, and wiggled her butt.

Kal smiled but didn’t seem very into it as he dropped his pants and slowly slid his mostly hard cock into the cat.

“Monster girls bonded with Kal get a boost to their abilities after making love to him,” said Ria as she landed on the arachne’s shoulder.

“There doesn’t look like much love going on there.”

“Don’t be fooled. They’re just worried about tonight, so their minds are partly elsewhere. You should really ask them to make love in front of you before we continue on our journey. You may not have said that if you had.”

Anika didn’t need to watch them make love. The look and kiss they shared after the mage spent himself inside the cat told her everything she needed to know. It also made her realize that even though she had been with Kal far more than Kashka these last few days, he had never kissed her like that.

The mage and cat-girl quickly fixed their clothes and walked over to where Ria and Anika waited.

Kal grinned at the arachne. “Let’s go kill some bandits and get your home back.”

“Hey, my arm’s getting tired. It’s your turn to hold the torch for a while,” the Reaver called over his shoulder. A few steps later, he looked behind him, wondering why his patrol partner hadn’t answered. He felt a sharp pain under his chin as he saw his partner’s body lying on the ground. The dagger piercing his brain made sure he didn’t feel anything else as his murderer took the torch from his hand and strong insectoid legs guided his body quietly to the ground.

Anika held a trimmed sapling between her spinnerettes, coating the end with sticky silk before jamming the opposite end into the ground. Careful not to touch the webbing herself, Kashka stuck the Reaver’s torch to the end of the stick. After a quick glance at the unmoving torches in either direction, the assassin pointed at herself and then at the Reaver’s barracks.

“Good luck,” whispered the arachne as she picked up the corpse at their feet. She would take both dead Reavers to the edge of the forest and away from the torchlight. Kal also hoped that if they ran across the torches on sticks, other Reavers might just think the men abandoned their patrol at first, giving them more time before raising the alarm.

Kashka nodded before dropping to all fours and silently padding toward the barrack entrance nearby. Other than the slight smell of dried ink, she was very happy with her darker cloak. But that didn’t impress her as much as the spider’s coloration. In the moonlight, her purple hair turned almost black.

Ignoring the potentially squeaky door, Kashka leapt up to a ventilation hole near the roof. The cat received a faceful of noxious air and immediately let go of the vent’s edge, dropping back to the ground. Some of the Reavers were still awake and had built a small fire for light on the building’s far side where there were no beds. Something in their campfire’s fumes stung her eyes and throat even though the smoke itself was nearly invisible. Taking a deep breath, she jumped again and peeked in only long enough to be sure no Reavers were looking in her direction before crawling through and dropping to the floor.

The bandits set thick poles into the stone floor, four across and running the length of the building up to the small firepit. Along the walls, two hammocks hung between each pole as two more attached to the middle sets. Peering down the length of the building and counting the number of sleeping Reavers, Kashka felt like there were a lot of chances for things to go wrong.

Kashka pulled a vial out of her pouch then removed the stopper and shifted one hand to feline claws. Dipping each one into the vial, she settled her mind and went to work. Like the poison that nearly killed Kal, this concoction contained a strong sleep agent that took effect before the slower-acting poison. Most of these men would die peacefully in their sleep. At most, they might think a bug bit them in the night before quietly passing away. Searching for exposed skin, she moved swiftly among Reavers, lightly pricking the sleeping men with a single claw before dipping them back into the poison.

A bandit near her stirred and grumbled about needing to piss, then threw a leg out of the hammock to get up. Kashka darted over and slipped her dagger under his chin as she did with the patroling men outside. She quickly lifted his leg back into the hammock as his body began spasming in its death throes, thankful that the hammock deadened the sound more than a bed. A couple of the men playing music and chatting around the fire glanced in her direction, but only for a moment. A few seconds later, urine and blood quietly dripped to the floor creating two puddles beneath the hammock.

Dipping her claws into the vial again, Kashka returned to her task.

Madge sang a soft lament of the sea, as he strummed his guitar. He hated being in this forsaken, land-locked ruin and missed the smell of salty air and the roll of a ship beneath his feet. Unlike a lot of the newer Reavers who didn’t understand the significance of the tattoo on their neck, he wore his with pride. He shouted long and loud at Gaboh when he changed their name from The Kraken’s Teeth, and it cost him his rank. Now he passed his time with his guitar and his memories of churning seas and wind-filled sails.

His song finally reached its conclusion, and the Reaver opened his eyes to stare in confusion at the men lying around the little fire. The two closest to him were snoring lightly, but the others seemed deathly still.