Chapter 41

At last the carriage turned on the gravel road leading to the manor. With building the simple redoubts around the manor on my last trip, I had gotten to know Derwen's estate manager and the quarry men pretty well. One of my last instructions to the limestone quarry manager was to crush stone and spread the gravel over the last 500 hundred yards to the manor. The yellow gravel gave the entrance to the manor a more distinctive look and smoothed out the existing ruts in the dirt road. A blue cloudless sky and low hanging sun framed the scene around the manor buildings as we approached.

Derwen linked with me in the carriage. A warm wave of happiness rolled through my soul. Our joy mingled and the rush of her emotions hit me like a comforting blanket, my heightened senses tingling through the link. Derwen's link brought us together again and our hunger for each other was renewed. My chest and stomach felt warm all over like I'd finished a soothing glass of wine. The combination of her MindTouch and the crazy itch in my crotch built up a primal stir of overwhelming desire.

The carriage rolled to a stop and I flung open the side door and jumped down. Derwen and Mercedes waited in front of the manor house with bright smiles; behind them two young temple priestess held our babies in their arms. I caught sight of more women coming into view at the edge of my vision, but I ignored them, instead gathering my lovers in my arms. I'm mesmerized by Derwen's kiss.

"Welcome home," Derwen croaked out, tears running down her ebony face.

Derwen tossed her thick mane of dark hair over her shoulder and I grasped the back of her neck drawing Derwen back into another needy kiss. I felt every fiber of her body, her breasts pressed against my chest, her own need feeding mine.

Derwen reached out and pulled Mercedes into our hug and I drank deeply from Mercedes' lips and nibbled her neck and ear. Mercedes was silent but I could feel her body's excitement. I chuckled, "I love you too, Mercedes."

I noticed Mercedes's exquisite loveliness was no longer marred by the burn mark on the side of her face. I gently ran the back of my hand over the area the scar had been and she leant into my caress.

"We missed you, Von," Derwen said, "Come and meet your children."

The tall priestesses stepped forward with both sets of twins, carefully handing one child to each mother. I felt strange when both mothers showed me a baby. The warmth of Derwen's link had echoes like ringing in the ears. I shook off the strange feeling to focus on meeting my babies. My son slept in Derwen's arms while Mercedes held my daughter, who squirmed. I felt like all the air went out of my lungs. My children looked like any other Convey baby except a lighter tone of brown; they were darker than a marsh baby and lighter colored than a typical ebony child.

Derwen said, "I wondered if you would be able to feel their mind links. Somehow I am not surprised that their wizard father would sense them."

I raked a hand through my hair and smiled brightly at my children. My daughter stuck her tiny thumb in her mouth and hid her face from the bright sun light. I felt rooted to the spot processing Derwen's few words, thinking about the warm echo feeling.

"Both girls are MindTouched?" I asked. Derwen had long ago explained only girls have the gift.

Rolling her eyes Mercedes said, "All of your children are mind linked to their mothers."

Derwen cradled my son waiting for my next comment. Mercedes pressed her lips together expecting a quicker response from me. It was easier to touch my son and gain more insight. I brushed my hand over his forehead and I felt his MindTouch echoing off my connection to Derwen.

"Both boys are MindTouched too? You told me only a rare few girls are born with the gift," I responded, looking into Derwen's eyes.

Derwen responded, "Probably all your babies are MindTouched." The emphasis was on "all."

"We need to keep the fact your sons are MindTouched a secret for now. It could be dangerous for us if others knew the truth. People in power want to control or gain influence over the MindTouched," Mercedes said.

"So many gifted children in one family will shift power on this island when they begin to exhibit their powers. My sister Katsu has felt their MindTouches, but she has a price for her silence," Derwen said, sourly.

A few new women entered my field of view. I gave them a sideways glance and blinked twice. The brilliant light of the sun shadowed the features of the closest woman's face. I felt a tear wet my face when the golden flare of the sun tightened my eyes. I took the woman's hand and guided her around to stand by Derwen so I could avoid the sun's glare again. My eyes focused on the ground for a moment to adjust back to normal. This new woman wore a fine dress emphasizing her large breasts. The intricate patterns on the dress expressed the fine quality of the material. The white sundress was rather thin and her ebony skin seemed to highlight the overall look.

"Hello Lord Solon," Lady Katsu said. Her gaze and complete countenance looked surprisingly confident.

I dropped the viper's hand and stepped back. A wave of resentment and anger burst forth from me and all the babies began crying. I noted that the women with Lady Katsu were young temple acolytes.

"Von, control yourself. We are enjoying a pleasant afternoon in the garden. When Katsu is ready she will talk about why she is here." Derwen scolded. She continued, "Acolytes, take the babies to their room for now. Von, you need to pay your respects to the High Priestess in the temple and then come to the garden."

"Derwen was right. The joy of having healthy children and an opportunity to spend time with my family should not be spoiled." A smile hit Derwen's face as she sensed the change in me through our link.

"I won't be long, ladies. A quick hello at the temple and I will be right back with you."

"Be patient with my grandmother, Von," Mercedes said, suddenly meek and mild.

Katsu gave me a weak smile. "I hope you know whatever my mother wants she will get, Lord Solon."

"I defer to your knowledge, Lady Katsu," I laughed, now feeling a little uncertain about this consultation. Somehow I think I will be the last to know what these women really have planned for me.

At the public side of the temple a number of stone cutters sat eating on their wagon, and nearby a large pile of cut stones were stacked for a construction project. Since my last visit an addition to the building was under construction. I wandered to the private entrance and saluted the two female temple guards, neither of whom I recognized. They made no effort to stop me as I boldly strolled into the inner sanctum. The High Priestess lay on her day bed in the open court-yard. The old woman was blind but she sensed my entrance and her head turned in my direction.

"Lord Solon I presume," said Katsu's mother. "No one else but Lady Derwen would walk in here unannounced."

The woman was uncanny in her ability to make me nervous. "It's just Katsu playing mind games with you."

"Yes, Mother, I have returned and I seek to pay my respects to you."

"Derwen always said you were polite. Yet, I think she sent you here, Lord Solon." I could see the remnants of her beauty through her smile.

"It is only polite to visit my family. My children surely strengthen our bond, High Priestess," I said, firmly and a touch on edge.

"Yes, Von, you are family. Indeed you are precious to us," the old woman said in a silky smooth voice. "I wanted to make sure you understood the temple's role in Convey."

I blurted, "We have talked about the fertility thing already. I..." She grinned at me and I stopped putting my foot in my mouth and shut up.

"I really like you, Von. Just think on what I say here today and do your duty as Lord of the Manor."

The old woman sat up in her bed, planting her feet on the ground before starting.

"The temple is a circle of support for women. We help women make life worth living even when their daily life is full of burdens. Our caring communities of priestesses handle routine issues dealing with women, children, sex, childbirth, healing and fertility. The villages acknowledge our role in directing the people to a better quality of life. Women often seek us out to aid them with life-limiting illnesses. Sadly, we may be the only ones available to give comfort and care as they die," The High Priestess explained. "So you see, Lord Solon, our culture reveres life and emphasizes the blessing of creation. A child created for the temple builds us a great base to make the world a better place. The priestesses love temple children as if they were the children's mothers. In unique circumstances, such as with the manor lord, a priestess like Mercedes has the opportunity to have her own children."

She was on a roll. I crossed my feet and listened.

The High Priestess explained, "A temple with an especially attractive and virile lord attracts the type of priestesses and acolytes I want for you." The old woman looked at me in a way that begged I ask further.

"What type of new acolytes do you need to shape the temple's culture?"

When the temple leader smiled, I knew the priestess had me where she wanted me. The old woman continued, "I want young girls who take directions well, are compliant, eager to learn, believe in service to others, and dream of motherhood."

Her comments smacked me into muttering, "You want them complying with temple principles, especially in a submissive way to me?"

"Exactly correct," the old woman said, clapping her hands with a laugh.

"Verbal sparring is not at the top of my favorite activities. What is it you expect from me during this visit?" I said, wanting to understand her current agenda. The old woman, while likable, was getting on my nerve.

"The acolytes are like young calves that cling to their heifer mothers for nurturing and guidance. The priestesses are the acolytes' instructors and mentors. These mentors are living examples that the calves will look up to and copy. My priestesses are brown heifers who enjoy eating the grass Mother Earth provides them in their pasture. You are the prize bull that Mother Earth expects to multiply her herd. The heifer's nature is to allow her protector to create life. You will make this temple Mother Earth's prized herd. You are a strong manor lord, Moon Mother's child, the father of multiple twins with the rarest of gifts. Do not doubt your name will become legend in Convey," the High Priestesses said, in a rapid fire cadence.

I was tempted to walk away and shut her out. Yet, I replied smugly, "I don't think Mercedes would like being called a cow."

The old ebony woman laughed, and responded, "Every temple woman has sat at my feet and heard that analogy. We embrace the examples that come from nature. Earth Mother talks to her people through our surroundings each day." The blind woman spun around with her arms out and with fine control she stopped facing me once again. "It does not matter if you are the White Wizard, Moon Mother's child, The Wolf, or Prized Bull, your people look to you to exercise your gifts. The community will live their faith, set their standards of behavior and expect you to discern their wishes."

I held back a sigh.

"You sure know how to frighten me," I whispered, certain my face was ashen.

"Leadership is a burden of privilege. Fear not, Moon Mother has given her child the gift of leadership. You are gentle and kind, but are bold when needed."

She awaited a response. I felt smothered; my personal space shrank in her presence. No witty response came to mind, my jumbled mind felt the burden she placed upon me. I took a deep breath to clear my thoughts.

"All these agendas and expectations," I thought as I turned to leave.

"Earth Mother's Bull symbolizes a strong will, an uncompromising nature to do good and even a belligerence that is needed to protect the herd. Most of all, convey women see the bull as extremely virile and so symbolizes fertility and power to extend the life of the clan. It is a compliment to call a man a bull. Finally, the bull is a symbol of wealth and provision, appropriate for a smart manor lord such as yourself. I assure you the women of this temple see you as their prized bull and dream of bearing his calves." the High Priestess said.

I found the exit in a trance and walked back to the garden, never noticing the two temple guards. My lovers found me standing by the pond's willow tree, staring at the tranquil waters, trying to shake the numbness. When I thought I understood this world, some truth like the High Priestess' words rocked the core of my understanding.

Mercedes inquired, "What are you thinking, Von? Why are you are so pale?"

I blurted, "What would you say if I called you a cow?"

She tilted her head. "A cow is a symbol of earth's energy. A bull is a symbol of solar energy. Any temple child knows this truth. Is there some other meaning to the word?"

At times, even I am smart enough to answer correctly. "No. Mother was talking to me about cows, bulls and herds."

Derwen slapped her thigh and giggled with a hand over her mouth for a moment, before saying, "We certainly know what teaching story she shared with you. Every little girl could recite it from memory."

"Except poor Weaver," Mercedes responded. Almost too soft for me to hear, "You'll fix that soon."

I don't think Mercedes intended me to hear the last part of her comment. "People just don't realize how sensitive my hearing is apparently."

We lounged by the pond, played card games, ate meals and talked about what we had done since my last visit. Derwen's house staff would bring my children out from time to time as their mother requested. Mercedes fed our girls and sent them into the manor for a rest with one of the young ebony temple priestesses who shadowed our party. When the perky young woman returned with my eldest son he was making a play for milk from the young priestess. Of course, most of the temple women wore black crisscross leather tops which displayed their bare chests. The young woman allowed my son a nibble on her teat before giving Aaron to Derwen, the priestess held my eyes with longing and invitation. Aaron didn't know the priestess's intention was to put the image of my lips on her nipples.

Mercedes injected a quick comment to the priestess, saying, "Lord Solon will need to bathe in the sacred waters tomorrow. I wish you to take care of him. He'd like a special priestess oiling too." I gulped. It was starting all over again. The high priestess expected the manor lord to take part in temple activities that physically demonstrated his support of the fertility of the temple by producing children. Derwen had told me a number of acolytes were promoted to priestess upon my arrival. The number of acolytes had grown three-fold since my last visit.

There was no subtlety when dealing with the temple; they just pushed you to comply. Everyone had an agenda in this world but the temple's was not hidden. My last special oiling was with Mercedes. If this young temple priestess's training was even a fraction of Mercedes's skill my next visit to the temple would be wonderful. I felt a sudden stir of lively activity in my pants. The young woman's body spoke of genuine excitement as she bounced back and forth on the tips of her toes and I watched her nipples grow hard before my eyes. The young woman moved behind the other women in the party, smiling and twisting a finger around a piece of long black hair. The older women guided me to another place to rest.
Three white polished granite benches curved around a limestone fire pit. Mercedes and Derwen sat together leaving me to sit with Lady Katsu who took my hand and slid close, invading my personal space. There was a slight tightness around Katsu's eyes, and her grip on my hand had not eased. I rose to her challenge and returned the stare. Once upon a time I would have mumbled and fled, regaining control of my personal space by moving away from her. I perceived some agenda was in play among these women and I tried to reason the situation out with the facts provided. The non-verbal and unspoken messages concerned me the most.

The seats around the fire pit were low to the ground and Lady Katsu's dress slid above the knees. She made no effort to adjust the view like I'd expect from a visiting noble woman. Mercedes's eyes wandered between her mother and me, communicating confidence. Derwen's lips lifted in a knowing smile, her eyes filled with amusement as she dropped the shoulder of her dress to feed my son. Katsu's posture carried a calm competence that displayed years of formal training as she watched me with her customary detachment or arrogance, once again evaluating me.

"My daughter and your wife know why I am here," Lady Katsu said, "and they graciously refrained from conversing with you about it." Katsu delivered her superior look, intending to frustrate me.

I was lost in my thoughts, not realizing Katsu had expected a response. Derwen dropped the dress off her other shoulder deciding to move my son to the other teat. Once the baby was comfortable Derwen said, "By now, Katsu you should know Von is plain-spoken, unlike your husband. Von doesn't enjoy verbal fencing." My son eagerly drank from his mother and her other nipple leaked a little milk that caught my eye. Mercedes looked at me with a twinkle in her eye, and said, "Von is so visual. He is easily distracted by his lover's bare breasts." Mercedes knew how to tease me, she lifted the milk drop from Derwen's nipple with her little finger.

Katsu involuntarily squirmed in her seat, tossing furtive glances at Derwen while a wisp of her melancholy hit my senses. I trusted Derwen's empathic skills completely. In our link, I felt my wife's contentment and satisfaction and I couldn't help feeling Derwen's agreeable smugness towards her sister. Something Lady Katsu was going to say animated Derwen's spirit with delight and I couldn't tell if she was feeling proud or elated.

Katsu guided a finger outlining my jaw, then her finger tips touched my lips. Her breathing was unsteady. "What is going on here." Katsu began talking as she traced the outline of my ear.

"My husband is under the same pressure to have an heir as Derwen had been before you gave her twins. The balance of the current power structure is important to the ruling council and they question why I have not given Lord Atum a child after five cycles? The answer is neither I nor my husband's mistresses have delivered an heir." The unspoken answer was Lord Atum was sterile. Katsu continued, "My husband's spies reported you have healed the blind. He intended to reach out to you for help with his problem. When further reports from Juniper Hills explained exactly how you healed the blind, that somewhat changed his mind." I couldn't help but laugh, picturing Lord Atum's face when his spy told him it was through sexual relations that the two sisters regained their sight.

Lady Katsu was not fazed at my outburst, however, and Mercedes chided me with a stern look. Derwen paid no attention; rather she kissed the top of my son's head while he fed. "You are both a disappointment and a wonder to my husband. You disrupted his plans for Derwen and survived that nasty dinner misunderstanding." I just stared at her, barely maintaining my self-control. Katsu quickly added, "I had nothing to do with the food plot and I didn't know about it until Roch mentioned it in my presence after your escape."

Derwen interjected, "My sister is telling the truth."

With Derwen's MindTouch ability there was no doubt Katsu was free from guilt. Lady Katsu didn't miss a breath. "Lacking his own heir, my husband's plan was to declare Mercedes his heir. Your arrival not only disrupted his power struggle within the council, but threatened his place on the council. Lord Atum intended to control Derwen's husband and make sure Mercedes was not accepted on the manor as a priestess. At that time he would have declared her his heir and all his big problems would disappear." Katsu continue to distract me with her fingers playing over my hand. I took the moment to process the political strategy and my part in destroying his future. "I made a dangerous foe into a deadly foe," I thought.

"My husband's position has further weakened with the poor results of the country's fleet against the Caldav raiders. We have lost more ships than is generally known and our shores are at risk from summer raiding. The two elderly council women you spoke with in Port City have turned against my husband. They are greatly vexed that Derwen picked you as her husband, as my husband had held their votes with sweet words of assurance that one of their son's would become Derwen's lord protector," Katsu muttered.

"Lord Atum is without an heir, he lost important votes and he sent you here to what?" I asked, feeling annoyed at the winding road this explanation was taking.

"My minor gift bound me to my husband as Derwen's gift binds her to you. Unlike my husband I take no lovers, nor have I felt any serious attraction to another man since our marriage. Yet my man dissolved our linking bond with a simple angry decree," Katsu's voice wavered. Somehow Katsu pushed back her emotions and said, "My husband said, 'Go tell your sister and daughter they owe me an heir. You will stay with your family until you bring my heir back to me. I think twins are a very good idea.'"

I felt a tumult of emotions crash over me. I felt stunned for a moment, unable to form a coherent thought. Yet a flash of arousal tinged my body as she unwittingly straightened her back presenting her chest to me. Katsu's breasts were a large handful, each a perfect globe. I strove for inner calm; however my traitorous mind fed me an image of Katsu's body thrashing around under me, her nails digging into my back. "If I had any sense whatever, I would walk away," I thought.

"Von," Mercedes said, considering me quizzically, "Say something."

I looked at the attractive mother of my lover with hard eyes. "You would blackmail me with the security of my children?" I exclaimed. "You're a bitch. One day you will beg me to keep you, protect you and fuck you senseless anyway that pleases me." I was furious.

Katsu gave me a calculating look, and said, "I take it that is a yes?" A snide look filled her face. Mercedes's mother felt she had won. As an experienced hand at courtly battles of wits and intrigue Katsu must have planned this exchange right down to her posture and dress.

Derwen said, "Sister, what Mercedes and I told you is true. If you go through with this plan you will never willingly go back to your husband. You will long only for Von's touch."

"Derwen you have been without a man too long. Your need for an heir has turned into longing for a strong man. I married my own strong man. Mercedes has always dreamed of being head priestess here and Lord Solon", the venom on those two words almost palpable, "is the path to children and her aspiration. Both of you confuse love for lust of power," Katsu said.

Mercedes looked hurt by her mother's words.

Derwen said, "Your charm and schemes will fail you this time elder sister. My husband will own your body and soul. I truly doubt you will ever leave this estate again. The funny thing is this unwholesome idea will become the best thing that ever happened to you since Mercedes' birth."

Katsu ignored her sister's comments and asked me, "Do we have an understanding, Lord Solon?"