“We wil have to limit his intake until this heals,” Rak fretted.

  “We can do that,” Jisten said. “We’l feed anything inappropriate or excessive to the death hounds, with your permission.”

  Rak checked the intestine a second time, finger length by careful finger length. More cuts were found and stitched. Jisten laid out suture length after suture length. Rak never had to wait for anything. Finaly he packed the intestine back into the prince and started to close the wound.

  Jisten’s sigh of relief tickled Rak’s ear. Rak clamped down on another surge of lust. Despite his words to Murson, he hoped that the captain would remember, would offer. Perhaps the captain could renounce the vows. Not al were permanent. Jisten put a hand on Rak’s shoulder and they both felt more than they should. Rak had to stop suturing as he tried to bring the fires to heel long enough to finish.

  When Rak finaly finished, he felt drained. He said, “I need to sleep. I have been awake since yesterday.”

  “Perhaps we should both nap,” Jisten said with al innocence. He looked at the lavish chairs in the room.

  Rak wanted to correct him, but he couldn’t. “Ai. You nap in here with him.” Death hounds were curled up in various locations around the room now.

  Jisten dragged a chair closer and plopped down in it. “You’re going to bed. What time shal I awaken you? Hmm, we better ask Tebber to get us both up.” He reached over from his chair and smoothed out a smal crinkle in the sheets over Jethain.

  “I wil see to it,” said Rak. Then he stalked off, before he lost control completely and started begging that perfect, handsome, and pure man.

  Scorth had left Tebber in the suite, saying that he needed to finish something in the Library. Tebber sat down in the empty parlor, his mind racing. Why had the priest alowed Hasaviz to do that to him? Hadn’t he served Rak wel enough? Tebber curled up on the sofa and wept.

  Tebber didn’t hear the dark priest enter the room, and he nearly leaped out of his skin when Rak laid a hand on his shoulder. Tebber stared at him with wild, blood-shot eyes, his cheeks stil wet from his tears.

  Both of Rak’s eyebrows lifted as his gaze swept over Tebber. “What happened, Tebber?”

  “I ran into Lord Virien on the way back here, sir.” Tebber decided to confide in the dark priest. “He mentioned my price, and it was more than coins, sir. Was I so incompetent that you were driven to be used by him?”

  “It had nothing to do with you, and everything to do with my past.” Rak sighed heavily and ran a hand through his hair. “Hasaviz is from Zoth, where I was trained as a sex slave.” At Tebber’s widened eyes, he added, “You have seen me. What I once was remains obvious to this day.

  Hasaviz remembers me, and he knows enough to have me colared if I do not comply.”

  “I’m sorry,” said Tebber, meaning it. Rak flashed him a smal smile.

  “Please keep this to yourself,” said Rak.

  “I wil, sir, I promise.”

  “I think that perhaps we must watch both Lord Virien and Hasaviz.

  Virien should not have known about Hasaviz’s demands in any case. If Hasaviz has broken his word to me, I wil see him die for it.”

  “I’ve spied before, for them.” It was meant as an offering, to let the priest know that he supported him, and Rak seemed to understand that.

  “Thank you, Tebber, but ix, I do not care to risk you getting caught spying on your former masters.”

  “What should I do, then, sir?” asked Tebber, deeply frightened.

  “Prayer,” suggested Rak, “rarely goes amiss.” The priest was silent for a moment, gaze lost in the middle distance.

  “Do you need help now?” asked Tebber, hoping the priest would say yes.

  “I would like that,” said Rak, with a soft smile. Tebber stood with Rak’s assistance and tugged the priest into the bedroom. His fears caused him to turn bold, and he puled Rak’s clothing off as soon as they’d cleared the doorway. He stroked the lithe body in a firm, dominant manner, and was pleased by Rak’s submissive acceptance. The priest squirmed in his hands like a woman who wanted to please. It made him hard.

  He pushed two fingers into Rak and worked the anal ring loose. He smiled when Rak’s hips rocked against his hand, proving that the priest realy did want this. His fingers continued to pump as he pushed Rak towards the bed. When Rak made to lie down on his bely, though, Tebber stopped him, turned him around and laid him on his back. Tebber stroked Rak’s erection briefly, then lifted and spread Rak legs, pressing against the muscular limbs which hooked over his shoulders.

  He looked Rak in the eyes as he puled his fingers out and replaced them with the head of his erect cock. Rak licked his lips and gave a soft exclamation of enjoyment, but he cast his gaze down and away, in proper submission. Tebber stroked Rak’s shaft again, a dominant gesture as wel as a pleasant one.

  Smoothly Tebber thrust into Rak’s velvety soft tunnel, sighing in pleasure as the body first yielded to him, then tightened about him. He roled his hips slowly, his pace quickening by tiny increments. The entire time, he looked down on Rak, taking in every nuance of his partner’s reactions as they shared pleasure. Tebber enjoyed the way Rak’s body worked in counterpoint to his, increasing the depth of his strokes, and the way Rak’s internal muscles roled against his cock to further pleasure him.

  As he pumped, he stroked Rak’s erect member, or roled Rak’s bals in his hand, relishing the feel of the hairless scrotum. He wasn’t trying to make the priest orgasm because he knew that Rak would come when he did. He just wanted to explore his partner more fuly, and indulge this new desire for dominance. Rak didn’t protest his actions, or make many move to remove his hand. In fact, from the soft sounds he made, it was clear to Tebber that the priest liked it.

  Tebber paced himself, trying his best to not orgasm. He would slow and rest, then speed up again when he no longer felt as if he would explode. Beneath him, Rak’s pumping took on a sense of urgency, and he knew that the priest wanted the release. Stil he waited, trying to put it off as long as he could. What he was doing felt so good that he didn’t want it to end. He thought that he’d never before encountered anything as pleasurable as making love to Rak.

  Rak’s legs slid off his shoulders and wrapped around his back. They drove him forward, fuly into Rak and held him there as Rak’s tunnel compressed rhythmicaly around him. It was too much. With a wild cry, Tebber shot spurt after spurt of hot seed into Rak for much longer than he’d ever before managed. Rak cried out also, his own cock throbbing as it spiled seed onto his bely. Tebber cried out again as he felt not only his pleasure, but Rak’s as wel.

  The combined orgasm was easily the best of Tebber’s young life and he colapsed atop Rak in the wake of it. Rak stroked Tebber’s sweaty back and murmured, “Thank you. I enjoyed that. Are you feeling better now?”

  “I feel better knowing that you don’t have to go to Virien or Hasaviz,”

  Tebber said.

  “There is a rather nice crafter in town that I can visit as wel. I would not want you to feel that you are obligated to do this for me.”

  “Are you sure he’s nice? He might just want to colar you. Tel me his name and I’l find out,” Tebber said, pretending he wasn't as jealous as he suddenly felt. “I have a whole network of gossips not limited to the palace.”

  “Yonaph,” said Rak. “A luthier of some skil.”

  “I’l look into it, sir.” Tebber slid gently out of Rak and then climbed out of bed. “Do you need anything else right now, sir?”

  “Ix, thank you. I am exhausted. Wake me an hour before midnight, please.”

  Chapter Seven: Oaths and Plots

  Tebber’s attention turned towards the chapel, and after a moment he went in and knelt before the altar. He realized that he’d never prayed outside of organized services before.

  Rak had suggested that he try praying. Since he had no idea of how to go about with this praying business outside of proper services, Tebber took a deep breath and burst out, “Lord, help me please. I have no idea what to do.”

  Silence answered. The wals didn’t even echo. He sighed, wondering why he’d expected a response. The Gods didn’t bow to the whims of men, or answer prayers directly. But Rak had so strongly implied that the Lord of Night did respond that Tebber had been convinced, in spite of al the evidence to the contrary. He didn’t feel any different, either. Praying was a waste of time.

  He had just stood to leave when he saw it. There was a darkness hovering above the altar. Tebber stepped back nervously, but nothing happened. It wasn’t moving, and that enabled Tebber to swalow down his fear and approach. Hesitantly, ready to snatch back his hand at an instant’s notice, he reached out and touched, not the darkness, but the altar itself, letting his fingers brush one of the silver glyphs inlaid into the translucent black stone.

  His fingers tingled, and electricity crackled along the wals as the dim light provided by the vigil candle vanished, plunging the room into absolute darkness. Tebber thought that he cried out, but he couldn’t hear himself over the thunderous silence that filed his ears. He was alone, so very alone. His hands groped for any solid contact but found nothing. The altar, which should have been directly in front of him, inexplicably wasn’t there.

  He fel forward, wanting to curl up into a bal on the floor and shake.

  He kept faling. There was no floor. His eyes opened wide as he plummeted, and he saw lights. Blazing stars surrounded him, sweeping along in a display of such majestic beauty that he wanted to weep for the joy of it. He settled on black grass, but he was so enthraled by the vault of the heavens that he hardly noticed his landing.

  After an immeasurable time, he noticed that he wasn’t alone. Another stood beside him. He turned to consider this other, wondering who it was, and how they’d both come to this place. Perhaps this other knew the answers, and so Tebber opened his mouth to ask.

  Zotien’s head turned, and Tebber fel to his knees with a gasp, unable to tear his gaze from the glowing depth of the God’s eyes. For several moments, al he could do was offer mute worship and adoration to the Lord of Night. Zotien laughed, and Tebber basked in the warm and welcoming regard.

  “My blessing upon thee, o faithful Tebber. Long may you serve and support My beloved servant Rak.”

  Tebber gaped in awe at the thought that the Lord of Night knew his name, forgetting that as one of the Creator Gods, Zotien would know every living thing in the world by name. He found his tongue, “Th-thank you, my Lord.” He wished to do nothing more than serve this God and His priest. Tebber took a deep breath, trying not to lose himself. He startled himself by saying, “If you want it, my Lord, I wil swear myself to the service of Your priest.”

  The Lord of Night smiled at him, and Tebber thought his heart would burst in joy because of that. “Speak the oath of your heart, o faithful Tebber. Set yourself free by binding yourself wilingly to serve.”

  Tebber wasn’t sure where the words came from, but come they did, and he spoke them with a singing heart, “I swear upon my honor, my life, and my soul, to serve Your Priest S’Rak, to help him and to support him, and to be a true friend to him for as long as he wil have me, or death take me.”

  The Lord of Night stooped and kissed him on the forehead. He gasped as a bolt of ecstasy shot through his body. “Your oath is accepted, o faithful Tebber. Serve him wel, and I wil be most pleased.” The Lord of Night dissolved, fading out of sight. The stars faded away, leaving Tebber in the dimly lit reality of the chapel, his hands resting flat against the altar.

  Tebber wondered if he had imagined the whole incredible episode, but then his gaze fel on his hand, and the ring now on his third finger. Like Rak’s ring of office, it was of blackened silver, and a night stone was set in it. But his ring was much smaler than the signet Rak wore, and he knew that this ring marked him as sworn to the Lord of Night, but not as a priest.

  When he attempted to stand, he discovered that he was unaccountably weak. His legs, trembling with exhaustion, didn’t want to hold him up. He managed to walk into the parlor, where he fel asleep on the couch.

  Virien hated the library, so he sent a page to have Essina sent to his office.

  Once she stood before his desk, he ran a finger across the back of her neck. “You’re a pretty one.”

  “Thank you, Lord Virien.” Her face was carefuly blank.

  “The Librarian tels me that the black demon is fond of you.” Virien tugged on the neck of her tunic to improve his view.

  “Yes, Lord Virien. We spoke.” Years of practice kept her stil.

  Virien undid the roughly woven tunic and hefted her breasts. His hands were neither tender nor cruel, but indifferent. “Very nice. Has the black demon seen these?”

  “He had no interest, Lord Virien,” she said. “He is interested in books.”

  Essina pictured Scorth’s sharp fangs ripping out Virien’s throat. It made it easier to endure the groping.

  “I see. What about his lover. Has the dark priest spoken to you?”

  Virien continued to fondle her breasts.

  “No, Lord Virien. Lord Scorth offered an introduction,” she said and winced at a particularly hard squeeze.

  “Do you want your freedom, Essina?” Virien pinched a nipple between his fingers.

  She gasped, but not from the pinch. “Freedom?”

  “Yes. Your parents sold you to pay off a gambling debt, didn’t they?”

  Virien smiled, roling the nipple. “These things, they do happen. But if you helped me, I would review your file and discover the ilegality of your slavery.”

  Essina forgot al about the groping hands. “Just review?”

  “Once I discovered that you should never have been enslaved, I would, of course, free you, and even provide what you need to establish your own household.”

  Essina bit her lip. The bastard was probably lying, but she had no other chances. “What does my lord wish for this boon?”

  “I want you to seduce the dark priest and get yourself with child by him.” Virien smiled. “His brother is sterile, and the king needs an heir. We would both be very, very pleased with the woman who provided us with one.” Virien gently closed her tunic.

  “I wil seduce him.” Essina had seen the dark priest. He was attractive in his own way. “Getting with child is up to the gods. But I shal be most pleasing, so he won’t object to additional seductions.”

  “I like your attitude. With the black demon on your side, you wil succeed where any other girl would fail. Do not fail us.”

  “I shal do my best,” Essina said and her chin lifted. “Lord Scorth is friendly. I shal pray, and, of course, I shal seduce.”

  “Very good. Once you are with child, report back to me,” said Virien.

  “You wil live in the lap of luxury until the baby is born, and win your freedom with the birth of a son.”

  “And if the child is female? I’m stil a slave?”

  “We need a male,” Virien said flatly. “Women can’t inherit. If you bear a girl, I wil alow you to keep her, provided you try for another.”

  “My child wil be free,” Essina said, “After al, I wil have shown that I can succeed.”

  “Agreed,” said Virien. “Another royal princess is always a handy thing to have, if only for aliances.”

  Essina curtsied, “I shal do as you wish.” Although she hated the thought of that dreadful queen raising her baby, Prince Jethain would make a fine father.

  Chapter Eight: Resurrection

  Protåra Atålio, Tålyssa Fångari

  1st day, 2nd week, Telyssa’s moon

  Rak was sitting cross-legged on the chapel floor, burning incense and chanting quietly, eyes closed. He sensed the captain enter before he heard him. He didn’t react to the captain’s entry, but waited.

  The footsteps stopped abruptly. The captain was probably startled by his position on the floor. There was the sound of shifting cloth and Rak thought that the captain was sitting next to him.

  This time, Rak opened his eyes, in order to glance at the man. Jisten, who had been watching him, dropped his gaze in respect. Rak brought his chant to a comfortable stopping place and fel silent. He wafted some incense contentedly and caught Jisten peeking at his wings.

  Rak stretched them, and his arms. “It is almost time,” he said. “I should bathe.”

  “Hmmm…what?” Jisten’s gaze was on his wings.

  Rak stood, stretched his legs and his wings spread to their ful twelve foot span. Then he turned and offered Jisten a hand up.

  Jisten's gaze appeared locked on his wings. He made no move to accept Rak's hand. Curious, Rak stretched the wings again, until the wingtips quivered. Jisten's gaze tracked them. Slowly, gracefuly, Rak furled the wings, folding them inwards as the spars closed and the leading edges drew in. Once the wings were furled, Jisten blinked. His expression was sheepish as he took Rak's outstretched hand.

  Rak puled him up easily. “Bath and café,” he muttered. “I need café.”

  “I’l get them,” Jisten said, then he turned scarlet. “The café I mean. I’l get the café. Sorry!”

  Rak bowed to the altar before he said, “Let us prepare for the show.”

  “And may it be a very, very good show.” Jisten bowed to the altar as wel.

  Rak led the way out of the chapel. Tebber was waiting with a steaming mug of café, which he immediately handed over. Rak smiled deeply in gratitude. “Ahh, thank you, Tebber.” He inhaled the café.

  Rak headed towards the bathing chamber. “Tebber, the formal robes, please? They are a pain, but we should play this for everything we can.”

  When Rak came out of the bathroom he found Jisten and Tebber talking. His new servant had al the Koilathan modesty taboos, so he was wearing a wrap, but it covered none of the scars. Nor the tattoos.

  “I’l leave you to your dressing. Those robes looks intimidating,” Jisten said. His expression grew fixed as he kept his gaze from wandering al over the priest’s body.