6

  What were we waiting for indeed? Aside from the fact that hopping up onto this feathered horse creature was probably the last thing I wanted to do.

  “Couldn’t I just summon them?” I asked, focusing on the totems, and making it happen. No response. With a frown, I realized it either didn’t work here, or only worked in that first summoning.

  I approached one, and was pleased to see that it lowered itself, knees bending back to do so. At least mounting it wouldn’t be so tough. Suiko joined me, saying she’d ride in my body instead of on her own, and merged with me. Lizzy was staring at her mount, then turned my way with a shake of her head.

  “Nu-uh.” She took a step away from the mount, rubbing her hands together and shaking her head some more. “Not going to happen.”

  “Can she ride with me?” I asked Void. “Meaning, will the mount support us?”

  “The mount’s name is Gardie, and yes, I suppose that works. Though it might slow us down somewhat.”

  “Not any more than walking,” I countered, seeing that Lizzy was not about to try and ride that thing herself.

  As Void simply grunted in the affirmative, turning her mount around and hissing in a way that made the others remaining to follow her, I motioned Lizzy over, one hand on Gardie.

  “I’ll get up, then pull you up behind me. Cool?”

  She nodded, a bit of a scrunch to her nose. I could guess what she was thinking. This was already weird enough for Earthers not used to being nude around each other. I was pretty sure we’d get used to it eventually, but that certainly wasn’t now. And on top of that, she’d be pressed up against me from behind, arms wrapped around my body.

  I took a deep breath, stared into her eyes, and said, “I’ll do my best not to make it weird.”

  She arched her eyebrows. “Saying that might have just made it even more weird.”

  With a nod and not another word, I mounted. Once I was up, I had the horrible thought of how that must have looked—watching me as I lifted one leg up, and… Ugh, I couldn’t think of it. My cheeks warm, I breathed deep, tried to ignore the way the soft feathers were tickling my balls and taint, and turned to extend my hand.

  Judging by the way she was looking at me, the show had been interesting. It came as a relief when she didn’t say anything about it, instead accepting my hand. With a heave, I had her up behind me, and Gardie took a step.

  Lizzy yelped, threw her arms around my torso, and had her chest against my back.

  “Sorry,” she muttered, and a bump caused the ridge of her hand to graze my shaft. “Double sorry.”

  “Let’s pretend this is normal. Nothing to apologize for.”

  But I felt like apologizing because that brief, accidental touch got me aroused. That, plus the tickling of the feathers and the soft, warmth of her breasts pressed against me. This felt extra good, because as we started moving faster, the cold wind brought a chill.

  There I was, trying to hug the neck of this creature, bouncing around in a way that did not feel good in the slightest—especially considering the free-balling part. We rode out of the main swamp area, through a field, then another forest. The third mount followed, in case we needed it, or Lizzy changed her mind, I assumed.

  At one point I yelped, and Lizzy asked, “Are you okay?”

  “Just, things moving too much up here.” Damn, how embarrassing. “It’s unpleasant, is all.”

  Another bump and I wanted to yelp, but instead only focused on my breathing. She must have sensed me going rigid with the pain, because she said, “I can… help.”

  “Please,” I replied, not having any idea what she intended.

  To my surprise, her hands slipped down between my legs, one moving my cock aside and releasing it, while the other took hold of my balls, cupping them, gently.

  All my muscles went tense at once and I was about to say something. Just then we went over a bump, and her hold helped me completely avoid the pain I otherwise would have experienced.

  “Think of me like a doctor,” Lizzy said, her other hand back on my chest. “Just here for your protection.”

  I couldn’t tell if there was a hint of playfulness in her voice or if she took what she’d just said seriously. If she knew anything about me, thinking of her as a doctor cupping my balls was only going to turn me on even more. Especially so when, at one point, we slowed for Void to get a sense of direction, I could have sworn Lizzy moaned. Her thumb brushed against my shaft—erect, of course— then to avoid that, she readjusted her cuppage, which felt like fondling to me. My cock surged and I adjusted my hips, glancing down to see a bit of pre-cum leaking. Shit, this wasn’t right. Even more so, when Lizzy’s hand started moving down from my chest to my abs, then played around my pubes, as if asking for permission.

  Closing my eyes, I shook my head and muttered, “I shouldn’t.”

  Her hand hesitated, then moved back up.

  A tingling sensation told me Suiko wanted my attention.

  “Yeah?” I asked, mentally.

  “You’re breaking this girl’s heart,” she replied, the conversation in my mind only.

  “She’s horny, not in love.”

  “I’m only saying, the others will want her involved, eventually. Probably.”

  “But not definitely.” Maybe I was being a little bitch about it, but I felt loyalty mattered. Even the ball cuppage was already making me feel super guilty, but at least I could justify it.

  Suiko apparently heard that, and said, “You’re being a gentleman, so stop worrying about it.”

  “Thank you,” I replied, then said out loud to Lizzy, too, “Thank you.”

  “No problem. Happy to lend a hand.”

  She got a laugh out of me with that, and soon we were both laughing, until suddenly Void turned with a finger to her mouth and pointed to a section of the woods to our left.

  As we came to a stop, her eyes went to the hand on my balls, and she grinned. She turned her attention to the issue at hand, however, which was shouting and sounds of combat in the distance.

  “Think it’s my team?” I asked.

  “Not likely,” she admitted.

  Lizzy switched hands, leaning back briefly to have a look. I glanced at her, noticing how she avoided eye contact.

  “We’ll get close enough to see,” Void said, “but if it’s not our fight, we stay clear.”

  “Agreed,” I said.

  We started riding again, and Lizzy leaned back into me. At a turn, she lost her grip with both hands and I thought she was going to fall, so I grabbed the upper hand. Her other went free, and when it came back to look for something to grab onto… yeah, you get it. A firm hold on my cock, which had at least started to be less hard. Not anymore, though, and she seemed to take my arousal as an invitation to keep her hand there. Since we were steady again, I reached down, slid her hand to my balls, and used the excuse of possibly getting hurt again to explain my action.

  “I want you,” she whispered into my ear, which I barely heard over the sound of distant fighting and our mounts moving.

  Since it was possible I hadn’t heard, at least from her perspective, I didn’t respond. But I did take one hand from the mount’s neck and placed it on hers where it rested on my abs—only briefly, a sign of gratitude, and maybe some affection. Realizing I couldn’t do that any longer without losing my balance and falling off Gardie, I returned my focus to holding on.

  Fuck, I was missing Kinara. I was missing all of them, and this was confusing and making it worse. If we didn’t find them soon, I thought for sure my head would explode. Or maybe my heart—I wasn’t sure which would be first.

  We advanced with caution, Void in the lead. I clicked my tongue, paying special attention to our surroundings in case this was an ambush or some sort of trick on the part of this strange, violet-skinned lady.

  As we were going slow, Lizzy pulled her hand from my balls, both hands on my ribs. She was preparing, too, ready for whatever might come our way.

  In the distance, one of the metal legs came down, and other things were scurrying around a second that I’d at first mistaken for a tree. Apparently, we were on the right track. That knowledge gave me a new trust and hope in our guide.

  “The furry creatures are fighting the Mamadules,” Void hissed.

  I nodded, ignoring the shiver that ran through my body. Whether from the cold or the thought of those things that had taken my monster ladies, I wasn’t sure. We got closer, to the point that I could see the attack against the Mamadules.

  “Let’s get in there!” I said, ready to spur my mount forward.

  “No, those aren’t the target,” Void said.

  I couldn’t believe her. “If our friends are there—”

  “They aren’t. Your friends would have been taken much faster than we can ride. Our hope is that we can get there before they’re dead.”

  I guffawed. “But…”

  “Assuming they were full,” Lizzy cut in. “Right? They collect, right, and if they didn’t have enough, wouldn’t it be possible this is them, and they’ve come to collect more for their hunter masters?”

  Void frowned, but that was answer enough—it was possible.

  “We’re going to make sure,” I said, and started riding out ahead of her. Beyond, a crash sounded that sent debris flying through the air. We rode faster, emerging into a field where the fighting was happening. On the far side, the sound that had made the crash became clear—one of those metal bastards had fallen.

  “I think you made the right choice,” Suiko said, appearing beside us and floating along. “One of them is there.”

  “Can you tell which?”

  “No, but she’s in the fallen one. Hurry.”

  You bet your ass I did.

  7

  We rode into the midst of the fight, Void hot on our heels and cursing, shouting that this was too risky, that we were making a mistake. A second later, I understood why.

  One of those sweeping net-like things came for us.

  If not for the quick thinking of Lizzy to pull me from the mount, I might have been caught up. As it was, we went tumbling to the ground with Suiko there to soften the fall. Looking up at the sky, I saw my mount getting taken away while Void cursed and managed to break free from her entrapment in the net.

  She fell, and I said, “Suiko!” The ghost was already on it, shooting over to soften her fall as well.

  “Look what you’ve done!” Void shouted, only to yelp a second later as one of those hairy bastards tried to bite into her ass. It drew blood, but she blasted it away before it could really sink its teeth in.

  Now that I looked, it was clear these little guys weren’t exactly the same as before. Less hair, more teeth, and they even had little black horns in odd places on their bodies. Half of them turned against us, so that while we’d ridden in to go against the trappers, we were now riding around trying to avoid these creatures at the same time.

  “Fight those things!” I shouted, pointing up. “Not us!”

  Lizzy yelped, clinging to me as she kicked out. Suiko emerged, floating among the creatures, and almost sneering as they tried to bite her but fell right through, often banging heads in the process.

  “Basty, mind giving us some room?” I asked.

  “Good,” Basty muttered, then let out a chortling sound before leaping into the air next to me and exploding in terrifying bursts that sent the small biters running, screams echoing into the night.

  Another of the trappers started to topple thanks to those creatures. It came down with one of its nets, but they managed to attach it to the ground and trees, clamping it somehow. To my surprise it actually fell, landing with a massive thud that sent dirt and stones flying. It was down. Even better, those creatures stormed it.

  There was one more, but farther off. With this one down, it took a step away and was out of sight.

  “Ferris!” a familiar voice shouted, and I followed it toward the metal legs of one of the fallen trappers.

  Again, the voice came, and I sprinted, running as fast as I could along the length of those metal legs to the fallen trap. The ground was stone here, my feet stinging. First, I was able to see the shape of it, like a spaceship that had crashed into the ground—a spaceship with legs. And as I got closer, I could see Koharu there, working to get a section of metal pried open. Two other monsters were toward the back of it, watching with confusion. One appeared like a hairy, vertical centipede, while the other had a slimy body and mask-like face.

  Suiko appeared in front of me, materializing to help pull her free, then disappearing within to likely look for others.

  “It’s just me,” Koharu called back, catching her breath. She turned my way, then ran and threw her arms around me with such force that I nearly fell back. Her tail wrapped around me and kept me upright; she pulled back, stared into my eyes, and finally pressed her lips to mine.

  A sound pulled me out of it, and I startled, only to see the other two monsters had escaped and were now fleeing.

  “We’re going after the rest,” I said when Koharu had buried her face in my chest.

  “Good. It was horrible, being caught up like that. I was so confused about what was happening.”

  “It’d be worse if they’d taken you to their masters,” Void said, running up to join us with Lizzy at her side. “This is your friend, I presume?”

  “Koharu,” I said with a nod. Then, at her horrified expression, added, “It’s her real name, but she’s not a monster. It’s fine. I’m Ferris.”

  Lizzy nodded to Koharu, then said, “Void here helped us find you.”

  “My name isn’t Void,” the witch said, but gave a nod to Koharu. “Seeing as I seem to fall under monster rules, however, you can refer to me as such. Plus, it does sound sort of badass.”

  “That it does,” I said, then kissed Koharu again, so glad to see her. It gave me hope that we could find the rest of them. Was it weird that I felt guilty in front of Lizzy with Koharu in my arms? If anything, the opposite would have made sense, but not this.

  “It’s good to see you again,” Lizzy said to the monkey lady.

  Koharu’s tail caressed me from behind, moving along my neck and under my ear, causing me to laugh. It was ticklish.

  “You too,” Koharu replied. “And… you?” She was eyeing Void with confusion. “So is Void one of us now?”

  “She’s just helping us find the hunters,” I explained.

  “But why?”

  That was a good question. My assumption was that she simply wanted to give it to the hunters, kind of like Randi. Now that we were thinking about it, I had to wonder if there was more to the picture.

  “Does it matter?” Void asked.

  “Maybe,” Koharu replied. “For all I know, you’re bringing us because we somehow weren’t picked up on the first go. Well, I was, but not them. And now you want to ensure they don’t leave any stragglers.”

  “No.”

  “That’s all?” Suiko asked. “Just… no?”

  Void shrugged, and I realized I wasn’t sure if I’d ever seen a topless woman shrug. Sometimes it was the small things that stood out.

  “Fine,” I said, turning to Koharu. “The point is we need to get them back. If she betrays us once we’re there, so be it. We’ll deal with that then.”

  Koharu scrunched her cute little nose but didn’t protest. Lizzy nodded, and Suiko stared down Void. If the witch did betray us, I had no doubt Suiko would obliterate her.

  “What are we waiting for?” Koharu asked, and her tail tapped me on the shoulder, so that I turned. Since those trackers were gone, the annoying hairy creatures were charging our way.

  “Right. Let’s go.” I remounted, then turned to Lizzy. But she was eyeing Koharu on the other mount, who stared back, then looked my way.

  “What’s the problem?” Koharu asked.

  “She… doesn’t like to ride on her own.”

  “And she’d ride with you? Arms wrapped around your body, and…” Her eyes drifted down, then she shook her head. “No, I don’t think so. Come on, shadow girl. Up here.”

  Lizzy cast a confused glance my way, then went to Koharu and accepted her help up onto one of the mounts with her. As a bonus, at least for making the ride easier, Koharu’s tail wrapped around Lizzy’s waist to hold her in place.

  I was amused at first, until we started riding again and the pain hit from freeballing it. Dammit, that wasn’t going to work.

  “I’ll catch up,” I said, then rummaged around in my satchel. Finding my shirt, I cupped my balls, then tied the sleeves around my waist. It was like a little huevos hammock. Not bad. Spurring on my mount again, I rode to catch up to the others, and ignored their humored glances.

  “Do you find it funny that you could have done that from the beginning?” Suiko said.

  “I hadn’t thought of it.”

  “Or… you didn’t want to. I thought of it, but you seemed to be having fun.”

  That feeling of being a child caught with a hand in the cookie jar came over me, and I didn’t know what to say. Even more so when I realized that, even without the shirt, I could’ve asked Suiko to hold me. Such a weird notion, that. She was an ancient being, not some flirtatious girl who cupped a man’s balls while riding. How much sense did that even make?

  I glanced at the mount carrying Koharu and Lizzy. Lizzy was rigid, keeping her distance as much as she could, and eyeing me anxiously. As soon as she saw me look her way, she turned aside.

  “Maybe you’re right,” I admitted to Suiko. “I don’t know what came over me.”

  “Isn’t it obvious?” She laughed, floating around me as I rode. “You’re a young man, a man growing more and more accustomed to physical enjoyment. A young woman—a nude one, no less—has her body pressed up against you. What else would you do in that situation?”

  “Yeah?”

  She floated over, taking form as if reclining on the neck of my mount, legs wrapped around me. While we’d been intimate, seeing her like that was something else. Her black hair fell over the sides of the mount, her ghostly eyes staring at me, and a hint of a smile turned upward on her lips. Any normal woman’s breasts would have bounced as we rode like that, but not hers. More evidence of what she was.