Lost Lore

Lost Lore by Aurora Jamison

The scanning, uploading and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal, and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. Lost Lore Copyright © 2007 by Aurora Jamison ISBN: 1-55410-807-1 Cover art and design by Martine Jardin All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher. Published by eXtasy Books www.extasybooks.com

Chapter One

L

orien Hudson stretched like a cat in the bed, feeling the warm sheets slipping across her bare body. She sat up, letting the sheet fall to her waist, exposing her breasts. For an instant she considered being more chaste, but then she discarded such a notion. That wasn’t the way she felt at all. Just the opposite. “Keith?” she called, thinking to attract him with her delicious nakedness. Lorien thought her breasts were a little on the small side, but he had never complained too much. If anything they had fascinated him, especially last night. She could still feel his quick tongue that had driven her crazy with desire, moving all over her nipples and chest and belly and then lower. Lower! Lorien heaved a sigh and felt more than a tingle as she remembered every move he had made and how she had responded. It had been good but she had wanted more. Lots more, but Keith had been tired. He wouldn’t have that excuse now, not after a 1

Aurora Jamison good night’s sleep. She brushed back a strand of her midnightblack hair and looked around the small bedroom. Lorien tried to ignore Keith’s clutter. No matter how much she straightened up, it always turned into a garbage dump before she got back to spend another night with him. When she moved in with Keith, that would change. She preferred her bedroom to be tidy and the sheets clean. “Keith?” She looked around for her boyfriend but couldn’t see where he had gotten off to. Then she heard water running in the bathroom. She tossed back the covers and stroked over her body, feeling the sleek skin move under her fingers. Every touch left goose bumps that reminded her of last night. It hadn’t been great between the sheets with Keith after he stopped using his tongue last night, but it had been worse. Lots worse than those times he stopped caring at all, no matter what she needed. This time she had gotten off and felt sated. A little sated. What she wanted was more of his hardness moving within her. Lorien kept stroking over her body, trying not to notice the spots where she was a little too lumpy— and not from muscles. Since she had begun working for the Adrien Clarkson Agency as a realtor, eating had been on the run and not up to her usual healthy standards. Lorien sighed as she pinched more than an inch at her waist and hips. 2

Lost Lore The truth was, most of her meals were fast food now, grabbed as she hurried through a drive-up window and gulped down as she drove to her next client. But she could forget all that with Keith beside her in bed. Or maybe in the shower. She liked the feel of hot water pelting down as he made love to her. On bare feet, she padded to the bathroom door and opened it all the way with a dramatic flair. She leaned against the doorjamb, hip cocked, hand on it, fingers pointing downward to the tangled nest between her thighs. Just thinking of what she and Keith were going to do now made her wet. “Ready for me, big boy?” she asked. “I’m ready for you.” “Gotta run,” Keith said. He tossed his razor down into the sink, not bothering to even rinse off the lather. “You know how it is.” “We’ve got time,” she said, going to him and throwing her arms around his neck to kiss him. He moved his head just enough so she missed and got his ear. That was all right with Lorien. She started to nibble. Her fingers slipped across his gelled hair and over a smooth cheek. A good stubble really turned her on, especially when those cheeks were rubbing up against the insides of her thighs, but smooth was good, too. Keith put his hands on her waist. She expected them to move around to cup 3

Aurora Jamison her buttocks, to pull her nude body close, then— “Got to run, doll. You know how my boss is.” “He’s always late. He’ll never know if you sneak in just a few minutes before him,” Lorien protested, but somehow the passion was draining away. Keith could make her incredibly excited. When he wasn’t in the mood, he made her feel cold as ice the way he treated her, as if she was a mere ornament. Even an ornament got the chance to shine occasionally. “When are we going out, Keith? It’s been weeks.” “You know how it is. I’m a little short on cash.” “I’m making enough. We can go dutch. We—” “See you later. Not tonight. Tomorrow. That’s it. We’ll have lunch tomorrow. Call me, will you? Don’t forget to lock the door when you leave, either.” With that he left her standing in the middle of the bathroom, naked and perplexed. That changed slowly until Lorien was naked and angry. ***** “Well, that really sucks,” Claire Ybarra said. She poked at her salad with her fork, stabbing it as if she wanted to kill something. Lorien wondered at her friend’s anger. She was the one who was being treated like dirt. Keith 4

Lost Lore never brought her presents anymore, and now even the gift of his time was disappearing. Worse, she couldn’t figure out if it was time for her to be “re-gifting” him and look for a new boyfriend. “He’s not that bad tasting when I suck him off,” Lorien said, not sure why she spoke like that. Claire was her friend and had been since they had met three years ago. They had been through a lot. Claire had been married and divorced in less than a year, and Lorien had shared every instant of that heartache and outrage. And she had listened to Lorien’s woes with men, not finding a good one, her hesitation in going out, even her triumph when she and Keith had gotten together. The way Claire looked up, eyes wide in surprise was curious. Then she began stabbing at the lettuce in her salad again, avoiding eye contact. “You say that like it’s a bad thing,” Claire said. “I don’t know what he wants from me,” Lorien said. “Or maybe I do know. We don’t go out anymore. He treats me like he owns me. If I hear one more time that he’s going to be late at work, I’ll scream. There’s no way he’s working late clerking at a grocery store.” “He could be. They work around the clock, stocking and stuff,” Claire said. “You ought to feel more sympathy for him. It gets lonely in that store.” 5

Aurora Jamison Lorien sat a little straighter and looked at her friend. It wasn’t like Claire to take any man’s side. She started to speak but Claire reached into her purse and fumbled about. She started to pull out a handkerchief, then hastily shoved it back and reached for her napkin to wipe her lips. “I gave Keith a set of monogrammed handkerchiefs just like that one,” Lorien said. She pointed at her friend’s purse. “All handkerchiefs look alike,” Claire said sharply. Too sharply. Lorien had hunted high and low to get Keith just the right color since he didn’t like plain white ones. Still, the light in the restaurant was kind of dim and— “What are you going to do about him?” Claire asked. This distracted Lorien and caused her thoughts to jumble even more than they were. “I just don’t know what to do.” “Why do you stay with him if you’re not sure?” “Why? I love him.” The words slid out, and Lorien wasn’t sure where they came from. “I do. I have since I first laid eyes on him.” She vented a deep sigh. “Maybe I shouldn’t have gone to bed with him on the first date.” “How long’s it been? Three months? That’s mighty fast to think about moving in with him.” “You married Freddie in two,” Lorien said. Claire threw down her fork and pushed back from the table. “I’ve got to get back to work. You 6

Lost Lore should, too. And stop ragging on Keith. He’s doing the best he can.” Claire fumbled in her purse for her share of the check, got frustrated and dropped a twenty. “That covers my salad and coffee and a tip.” “More than enough. I still owe you—” “Never mind.” With that, Claire stormed off, leaving Lorien wondering what was going on with all the people she loved in the world. Claire had been like a sister to her for years, and now she got all bent out of shape over . . . what? Lorien wasn’t sure she knew. Whatever it was had to be powerful. Claire always figured her part of the check down to the last penny, precisely calculated the tip and never left any more than that. It might have been her work as an accountant but she had been like this ever since Lorien had met her. Lorien pushed her food around on the plate and finally gave up. She had lost her appetite. Between Keith and Claire, she was about ready to give up eating entirely. Or go on a binge to help forget everything. “Keith and Claire,” she said, listening to the sound of it. She went cold when the idea slowly came to her that maybe they were the couple and she was odd man out. She shook her head and said forcefully, “Nope, no way. Keith wouldn’t cheat on me with my best friend.” She paid her share of the bill and left, stepping 7

Aurora Jamison in warm sunlight. She forced a laugh and said to herself, “Keith might cheat on me, but Claire wouldn’t steal my boyfriend. We’re too good of friends for that. Always have been. Always will be.” The words rang hollow in her ears. ***** The cell phone refused to stop ringing. Lorien rummaged through her purse, spilling half the contents on the car seat beside her until she found it. She flipped open the case and saw that it was her boss calling. Traffic was as heavy as she had ever seen it, but she finally hit a red light and had a chance to thumb the button and listen to Adrien Clarkson’s somewhat shrill voice. “I’m sorry, Adrien,” she said. “I’m in the middle of really fierce traffic and couldn’t get to the phone.” “Things move fast in the real estate business these days and you have to, too, if you want to keep up.” “Right,” she said mechanically. Horns honked all around her and drove her blood pressure up. And in the middle of it all, she kept wondering if Claire and Keith were an item, sneaking out behind her back, going clubbing and doing the things she and Keith had done when they’d first 8

Lost Lore hooked up. Being left to cool her heels, while other parts of her were way hot, wasn’t the way she wanted to go through life. “The Lee place, we have a buyer. You have to make a prelim inspection of it right away. That guy you hired to do the job said there were termites. Take notes on everything you see since it will affect the selling price a lot if those damned cellulose eaters are using the foundation as a salad bar.” “It’s an old place and it’s up in the hills. Lots of bugs up there.” Traffic finally moved through the light. Was she moving anywhere with Keith? Other than down some slope that ended in a precipice? Why should she even care? She loved Keith, or thought she did, and that made him worth fighting for. But did he love her? Was she anything more than a maid for him? And a convenient bed partner when he couldn’t get Claire? Was she wrong and that hanky wasn’t Keith’s that Claire had in her purse? And why did she take his part when she had never done that with any of Lorien’s prior boyfriends when they acted like pigs? She couldn’t decide if she was just being paranoid and wanting to take out her frustration on everybody around her or if there was something here. Keith had been increasingly distant, but stress could do that. “You’re the junior agent, you get the job. 9

Aurora Jamison Anyway, it’s all your commission. The buyer’s that guy from back East you showed the house to on Friday.” “It’ll be hours going up and back! That place is in the middle of nowhere.” “Then you’d better get on the road.” Lorien craned her neck and looked at the sky. Heavy clouds with dark gray underbellies moved across the sun. That matched her mood. Dark and gloomy. “Sure, why not?” She turned off the phone, tossed it onto the car seat and muttered, “Why the hell not? I don’t have anything else to do tonight.” Her foot came down heavier on the gas pedal than she intended, and the car screeched away and skidded a bit as she took the next corner too fast, but it had a satisfying feeling to it. Driving like a maniac released some of the tension she felt, and by the time she hit the freeway, heading into the hills overlooking the city, she felt better. She even turned off the air-conditioner and rolled down the window, letting the increasingly cold, wet air blow through her long, dark hair and carry it away from her face. By the time she got to the driveway leading to the house, it was pouring rain. Lorien peered out, checking the FOR SALE sign between sweeps of the windshield wiper. She hadn’t planted the sign deep enough. The rain had turned the dirt to mud, 10

Lost Lore and the sign was about ready to fall over. “Fuck it.” She could check the house and redo the sign when she left. No reason to get soaked now taking care of a sign no one was likely to see. If the inspection went well, the house would be in the new owner’s hands soon enough and there wouldn’t be any reason to keep the sign where it was. She guided her car up the narrow, winding driveway. Gravel crunched beneath the tires until she pulled to a halt a few feet from the front door. This house meant a great deal to her. Not that it was much of a house but it was the first one Adrien had let her sell on her own. The full six percent commission would go into her pocket, not be split with another agent. Lorien took a deep breath, grabbed her key ring and held it firmly, then opened the car door and made a dash for the front of the house. She fumbled a little getting the door open and then tumbled into the entryway amid a gust of wind and more rain than she cared to think about. The rain on the wood floor would have to be mopped up. Later. She struggled to get the door closed against the storm. The lightning crackling overhead told her she was definitely in the mountains and in the middle of a monster of a thunderstorm. Shaking off the water like a dog, she sent 11

Aurora Jamison droplets flying everywhere. That much more to clean up, but she could deal with it later. Later. Everything could be handled later. What about Keith? Was he a “later” item, too? She pressed as much water out of her clothes as she could. She wished she had paid attention to the weather forecast that morning. She might have brought a raincoat with her. Or not. The weather forecasts were usually wrong this time of year. Spring was always a tumultuous time for the weather. “And my life,” she said, as she began to examine the items on her list. She had had two other men in her life and both times she had broken up with them in the spring. The very time all the poets said love blossomed; for her it turned sour and died. Lorien finished the inspection downstairs and looked up the steep flight of steps leading to the second floor. She knew without going up there was trouble. A steady drip-drip sounded, and a small river ran down the handrail and turned the bottom banister into a rotting support. She dutifully noted this. Anything she missed might come back to bite her when the new owner took possession. Every flaw had to be recorded. “What are my flaws?” she wondered aloud. “What is it Keith doesn’t like in me? Or is it just his way to act like he does?” 12

Lost Lore She stared up the steps and felt a parallel with her personal life ahead. Something she didn’t want to face was at the top of a long, hard climb. She started up, the steps creaking under her insignificant weight. A cold drop of water hit her in the face and made her flinch. Trying to find where it had fallen from proved impossible. The high ceiling over the staircase disappeared into utter darkness interrupted only by sudden glare from the lightning. “Should have had the electricity turned on,” she said to herself, making a small notation in the margin of her yellow legal pad. Right now, turning on a switch might electrocute her. Lorien got to the top of the stairs and found the leaky spot right away. Plaster had discolored and a steady stream poured down on the railing before making its way to the first floor. She made another notation about what had to be fixed, then froze. A light blazed at the end of the hallway. At first she thought it was a car’s headlights shining on a window. The color of the light was different, though, more like sunlight. Bright summer sunlight but with a lemon tint. The thunder from the storm crashed above her, but the light never flickered. She reached over and flipped a switch at the head of the stairs. No lights came on. She had been right that the electricity was turned off. Lorien 13

Aurora Jamison pulled out her cell phone and saw that the storm was playing a number on it. No connection. She tucked it back into her pocket, not sure who she had intended to call. Or why. A strange light became less strange when she figured out where it came from. She didn’t need anyone giving her an ‘atta-girl’ for something this simple. She put down her note pad and walked slowly toward the bright light. Lorien threw up her hands to protect her face when the entire wall opened up, as if a doorway had led to some warmer, drier place. “Who’re you?” she called, when she saw a woman silhouetted in the brightly lit doorway. “You’re not supposed to be here! You’re trespassing!” The woman had long, wild hair that shone a silvery white in the brilliant illumination, but the way she was dressed startled Lorien the most. She wore what looked like a monk’s robe, but the black material shimmered as if it had trapped electricity in its weave. She wore sandals and showed bare legs as she spun quickly, sending the hem of the robe spiraling outward, almost thigh high. Lorien saw a lot of bare, tanned skin. “Hold on!” Lorien called to the woman, who swung about and disappeared in a dazzling blast of light. Lorien ran forward, down the hall to 14

Lost Lore where a window ought to have been but now opened a strange door. She tried to remember what it was like on the other wide of the window—the door—and could only recollect a steep drop into a ravine. She approached the wall and tried to stop. As if a giant invisible hand reached out and grasped her, she was dragged forward. Through the incandescent door. Into space. She cried out as she fell. But she didn’t fall far. It was more like a stumble rather than a twenty-foot drop down into a ravine probably filled with run-off from the nastiest storm to hit the region in months. Lorien pushed herself up and looked around in wonder. She had left a creaky old house and was somehow in the midst of a jungle of tangled vines, lush undergrowth and the calls of exotically plumed birds fluttering about high up in the strange trees. She came to her knees, not caring if she got them all scraped up. Her ever-so-proper dark blue business suit was already a mess. Grass stains and some red, pulpy mess ruined the jacket, and her skirt had torn from the hem all the way up to her thigh. She stood and tried not to let her mouth drop open in surprise at her surroundings. She failed. Never had she seen a place like this, even on the Discovery Channel. The birds’ shrill cries faded 15

Aurora Jamison away as they flapped off, leaving an eerie silence that was more frightening than if she had heard all kinds of sounds she couldn’t identify. “Enough of this.” She got to her feet and turned to go back through the weird doorway. She had a house to inspect. No matter that it leaked and the lights were out and a storm turned it cold and wet inside. It wasn’t there. There was no door. She stood at the edge of a glade where the blades of grass swayed to unheard music in a rhythm that made her back off. It was as if the very ground had become alive and was hunting for her. “Where are you?” she shouted, hoping to attract the attention of the woman she had seen and had somehow followed. She needed answers, and she needed them right now. Lorien spun around and plunged into the dense vegetation surrounding the glade, thrashing in the sticky undergrowth for a few feet before finding a narrow trail. She heaved a sigh. This meant somebody came through here often enough to keep the path open. Either left or right along the trail would do since she didn’t know where she was or where she was going. Barely had she taken two steps when she felt something snap around her left ankle. Looking down, she saw a thick greenish-gray vine writhing along the ground. Her quick eyes traced it to a 16

Lost Lore huge bush on the side of the trail—and then she yelped when the vine tightened painfully on her ankle. “What’s going on?” She bent to pry the vine loose and immediately found herself caught with three other vines from different shrubs, one around her other ankle and new ones on either wrist. Lorien cried in surprise and fear as the vines snapped taut and pulled her spread-eagle across the trail. Strain as she might, she couldn’t pull free. The vines tightened even more and pulled her feet off the ground to suspend her a few inches from the ground. Fighting the clinging vines proved impossible. She screamed at the top of her lungs for help. And when it did come, she couldn’t believe her eyes. Standing naked to the waist, wearing hardly more than a loincloth out of an old Tarzan movie was about the most gorgeous man she had ever seen. “Help me, please,” she pleaded. “You are beautiful,” he said, reaching out to touch her cheek. Then the vines lashed out at him, imprisoning his arms and legs as they had hers. They were both trapped.

17

Aurora Jamison

Chapter Two

L

orien struggled, but the harder she fought the tighter the vines wrapped around her wrists and ankles. “No,” the man said, “do not fight against them. Go limp.” “Easy for you to say,” she shot back. But Lorien closed her eyes and tensed all her muscles, then consciously relaxed everything that felt tight. The vines stopped pulling her arms and legs off, but they did not relax enough for her to escape. “I will do what I can to get you free.” “Thanks for nothing.” She opened her eyes and looked around. She caught sight of the man out of the corner of her eye. In spite of the circumstances, she felt a thrill of desire pass through her. She sucked in a deep breath, sneezed at the dust she inhaled and then wondered at how powerfully she responded sexually to a man she didn’t even know. He was nothing less than a god chiseled from 18

Lost Lore bronze. His arms and chest were sheened with sweat as he fought the green tendrils, causing his muscles to stand out in bold relief. The sight of such power made her go weak—and turned her damp between the legs. Lorien’s heart raced as she craned her neck around to get a better look at him. His legs were thickly muscled and sleek. But it was his broad, hairy chest that she kept coming back to. How powerful! And he was actually winning free from the wines that held him. “Go on, do it,” she said breathlessly. Her bright emerald eyes widened when she saw how his muscles bulged as he pulled with increasing force against the bindings on his wrists and legs. But more than his strength caught her eye. The effort to get free caused his loincloth to flap about. Lorien had never seen a man with equipment like this! “Aieee!” he cried. She heard a snapping sound as the vines popped free of their bushes. He had uprooted one and tore the vine free from another, giving him enough room to move and rip the other two off his still captured arm and leg. “Way to go!” Lorien cheered. “One moment,” the man said. Lorien tensed when she heard him moving behind her where she couldn’t see him, but his musky scent set her heart racing even faster and the light touch of his fingers along her arms caused her to gasp. She 19

Aurora Jamison was uptight and how she wanted him to take her while she hung helpless! To move behind her, to take her up the ass, to fuck her and. . . . “I’m not hurting you, am I?” “N-no,” she said, confused. The thoughts that raced through her head were so completely unlike her that she had no idea what caused them. Not that he wasn’t handsome. He was. So strong and she wanted him to fuck her from behind so hard that. . . . She sucked in a deep breath and again sneezed. What a time to get an allergy attack! “Don’t stop.” She was not sure what she was telling him to do. Lorien was not even sure she knew what she wanted him to do while she was dangling spread-eagle from the vines, exposed and helpless to his probing cock. . . . His hands stroked along her arm and sent electric tingles throughout her body. She felt her nipples tighten into little throbbing knots as he continued to stroke along her arm and then grasped her fingers in his. The vine responded to his touch as surely as Lorien did. It released her wrist even as she clutched down harder on his hand. A strong arm circled her waist and held her aloft as he worked on the vine wrapped around her other wrist. She would have been fallen downward, her legs pulled widely, painfully 20

Lost Lore apart, if he hadn’t supported her. For him, her weight was nothing. Like a feather he lifted her up until he could work his magic on the vines circling her ankles. Then she hung limply in his strong arms. He lowered her slowly. As her hindquarters slid down his naked, sweaty belly she felt something rising up to poke under her tattered skirt. “Wh-what’s going on?” she asked, although she knew. He was as aroused by her as she was by him. And from the feel of that rigid shaft jabbing into her from behind, he was huge. If he would only thrust his erection into her and. . . . “I . . . want . . . you,” he said in a husky whisper. He buried his face in the curve of her neck where it met her shoulder and began kissing. Lorien hated it when a man slobbered all over her with wet, messy kisses. His lips barely brushed her flesh with hot, dry caresses, teasing and tormenting and sending shivers of utter desire throughout her body. He was a perfect kisser. This aroused her even more. When he reached around her and pressed his huge hands firmly into the mounds of her breasts, she sagged down against him. All the strength fled from her legs. Only desire for him to fuck her remained. “I want you, too.” It was insane. She had no idea who this half-naked barbarian was or why he 21

Aurora Jamison was here or why she was here. All Lorien knew was that she wanted him more than she ever had another man. Here. Now. In this jungle, even with deadly clinging vines so close. All her volition had been melted away by the raging lust she felt for him. His fingers worked with dazzling swiftness to open the buttons on her blouse. “My bra,” she whispered hotly. “Let me—” Lorien gasped when his dexterous fingers slid under the bra and jerked hard. The bra strap exploded under his onslaught and left her exposed. For a moment. His hands swarmed over those bare mounds of soft flesh and pressed down. His fingers caught the hard little nubs cresting each and began twisting and turning. Lorien sagged even more, weakness almost as complete as the desire setting fire to her entire body. His hands slid swiftly from her breasts, but before she could protest the lack of attention, he found new terrain to explore. His fingernails raked lightly over her belly and then slid under the waistband of her skirt. With a quick wiggle, he got the button undone and her skirt cascaded to the ground around her knees. Then his fingers slipped off her panties which slid down over her trembling legs to entangle her ankles. She was as much a prisoner of her own clothing now as she 22

Lost Lore had been of the vines. The difference was immense, though. She wanted to be caught up by this barbarian and ravished. “I . . . I want to see you. Oh!” Lorien lost the power of speech when one of his thick, strong fingers entered her and began moving around in a slow, sensual exploration of her heated, moist core. “L-let me turn around so I can see your face,” she finally got out. By now his hands were moving on, over the flare of her buttocks and down the outsides of her legs. He touched spots on her hips and knees that caused jolts of pure desire to lance through her body. Then his hands slid between her legs and opened her stance. She stood with her legs splayed wantonly wide—and she wanted him inside her pussy more than ever! “Do it,” he whispered, from his post behind her. And she felt how much he desired her. He rubbed his rock-hard cock into her exposed behind, parting the fleshy half moons warmly before moving lower. The tip of his cock pressed into her from behind, parting her pussy lips and stroking along the sopping wet chasm without entering her. Every movement back and forth sent new waves of passion washing through Lorien’s body, but she wanted more than this teasing. Reaching between her legs, she caught at his 23

Aurora Jamison rigid length and clutched it in her hand. He was bigger than she had suspected—and he had felt huge as he rubbed against her ass from behind. Never had she imagined a man could be so large. Never had she wanted a man more. “Y-you’re hung like a horse,” she got out. He spun her around unexpectedly, and she looked into his eyes. A flare of emotion she didn’t understand burned in his gold-flecked, brown eyes. Lust? Definitely. But there was something more. Anger or, inexplicably, fear? “I need you,” she said, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him with all the longing locked within her. Whatever she had said to startle him was erased by her obvious need for him. He returned the kiss. And he did as she had hoped. He reached around her back, cupped her taut buttocks and lifted her from the ground. Unbidden, her legs parted and snaked around his waist until she could lock her ankles behind his back. This settled her crotch down atop that marvelous erection. She wiggled and moved and finally got his prick into position as his kisses became more insistent. Lorien felt the thick bulbous tip prod into her labia, and then she shoved her hips downward. A cry of pure carnal delight escaped her lips as he sank deeply into her pussy. She threw her head 24

Lost Lore back and let her long hair float behind her as she ground herself down hard onto his immense girth. Lorien had a fleeting worry that he might hurt her since he was so huge, but instead he filled her entirely without doing more than stretching her to the limits of yearning—which were immense! Every twitch of his mighty cock sent a new wave of aching need into her until there was no holding back. She lifted and dropped on his prick, twisting and turning and getting the maximum sexual stimulation possible along the entire length of her clinging pussy. His brawny arms circled her and held her safe, and then she felt the building earthquake of orgasm within her. Her insides heated from friction, and then she exploded like a newborn sun. Lorien threw herself back recklessly. He held her easily as she leaned away so far that her long, dark hair brushed the ground. The tightness of the fit of his manhood in her pussy and the strength and the sheer strangeness of the location and a million other things all collided within her. She climaxed. As she gasped and moaned and finally settled down from her sexual high, she felt him expand perceptibly within her until she worried again that he might actually tear her delicate pussy walls. But it wasn’t to happen. He came, shooting out his 25

Aurora Jamison load into her needy depths. Then she felt him melting within her and wanted more. “No, no, don’t,” she sobbed. With an ease born of infinite strength, he sank down to the ground and gently disengaged from her. Lorien’s legs unwrapped from around his waist, and she lay on her back staring up at him. She finally realized how exposed she was, her legs spread wide, her skirt under her and her blouse gaping open. Somehow, her jacket had been cast aside and she had never noticed. “I’m not like that. Not usually,” she stammered, not sure why she was trying to justify herself. She started to pull on her skirt and close her blouse, but the urges within her refused to die. She had just experienced the most intense orgasm ever and she wanted more. Now! She brazenly thrust out her chest so her breasts were presented to him like twin trophies. “Go on. All yours. Suckle them. Do what you want. Fuck them. Anything, but do it with that incredible cock of yours!” She rocked back on her elbows and lifted her knees to show him what else was his. Lorien was as horny as she had ever been—and some distant part of her brain railed against it. She inhaled deeply and sneezed again. Then the man sneezed. He looked down at her with nothing but desire burning in those soulful ginger-colored eyes. His chest was covered with a 26

Lost Lore thin patina of sweat—sweat from their lovemaking! She wanted him to sweat even more. But what man could get off the way he had and respond again any time soon? Lorien licked her lips when she saw his loincloth lifting once more. Already. And because of her! “I want to fuck you again,” he said in a voice that sounded strange to her ears, as if he had been drugged. She sneezed again and when she did, a new wave of craving for his thick, powerful body and his rigid cock and his sweet mouth washed over her and drowned her. “I want you, too.” Lorien wanted to say more, draw it out, make it last forever. Her body was racing ahead of such considerations. “Leave. You must leave now,” came a hissing voice near her left ear. “You are not yourself. There is a dust. Do not breathe, and it will not affect you as much.” “Don’t breathe?” She laughed. Then she sneezed again. And her potent lover did, also, warning Lorien that the disembodied voice was onto something important. “Aphrodisiac dust,” the voice hissed insistently. “Cover your mouth and nose and breathe through a mask.” She forced herself to look away from the rising promise of sexual paradise poking from under the 27

Aurora Jamison man’s loincloth to stare down at her blouse. Lorien pulled the edge of the fabric over her mouth and nose. A new stab of yearning entered her as she inhaled through the cloth and smelled his essence. His musk remained on her clothing and made a heady perfume that caused her to weave about, dizzy and disoriented. But even a few quick breaths through the blouse cleared her head. She still found the promise of the man’s massive erection tempting, but gone was her mindless need to impale herself on it now. To take it into her mouth and suck— that would be good. But even this urge faded as she continued to filter the air through her blouse. “There’s something in the air,” she gasped out. “It’s making us do this.” “I want you again,” he said. “I’ll have you.” “You will starve to death loving each other,” came the mysterious voice in her ear. “Do not give in.” Lorien looked over her shoulder to locate the source of the warning. She let out a yelp and rolled away when she saw a large green snake, its black tongue flicking in and out of its mouth, only a few feet away. The snake reared up like a cobra, but Lorien didn’t see any fangs—and the snake’s ebony eyes were huge and intelligent. “Like your lust, I am not what I seem,” the snake said. “Flee. Run now and save yourself. This 28

Lost Lore way. I’ll show you the way out of the Forbidden Woods.” “Forbidden Woods? This? Here?” “Run!” The snake rolled over agilely and began slithering away. “We have to go,” Lorien said to the man. He stared at her numbly, but there was nothing hesitant about his hard-on. She pulled up her skirt and did her best to fasten it around her waist. “I want you again.” Lorien licked her lips, breathed a few times through her blouse and then got to her feet. She still felt an almost irresistible attraction to the man. Dust or no dust, that had been the best fucking she had ever gotten. Everything about the mostly naked barbarian spoke to her on an emotional level, but she could never wrestle with him and expect to overwhelm him. “Then you have to catch me,” she said, backing away. She took a few more breaths through the improvised mask, grabbed her jacket and then ran. Her skirt tore even more until her legs were striding long and powerful, running commandostyle. Where her panties had ended up, she didn’t know. Lorien remembered how he had stripped them off her and the way they had fluttered down her legs. As she ran, the moist air of the surrounding jungle gusted past her sex lips like some gigantic beast breathing on her and sent new 29

Aurora Jamison thrills into her loins. But the way her breasts bobbed about as she ran slowed her until she fastened a couple buttons on her blouse. Restraining them let her run with even longer strides until she passed the last of the towering trees and charged out into a large meadow. The snake continued to wiggle back and forth ahead of her, occasionally rolling over to be certain she still followed. Lorien couldn’t make head nor tail out of what was happening to her. She had followed the strange woman in the Lee house through a door that shouldn’t have been there and had ended up in the jungle—or could she even say she had “followed?” There had been a powerful force that had dragged her here. Wherever “here” was. She reached down and slid her hand between her thighs, across herself where she had received the most potent lovemaking ever in her life. That incredible fucking alone was worth the strange trip. “Strange trip,” she gasped out as she ran. That might explain it. The old house might have been filled with weird fungus that affected her brain. LSD was some kind of fungus that grew on plants. Maybe the house had its own brand of hallucinogenic, and she had blundered into it as she checked out the condition of the ceiling and other decaying parts. 30

Lost Lore Then she heard a pounding behind her. It came closer and within seconds the man ran with an easy grace beside her. She was huffing and puffing. He loped along with no sign of exertion at all. “It’s all right,” he said. “The dust is out of my lungs. I’m sorry.” “What?” Lorien slowed and then stopped, bent forward, hands on her knees as she gasped for air. This air was fresh and clean, and she knew right away that it didn’t carry the hallucinogenic— aphrodisiac!—dust. She didn’t sneeze at all. “I violated you. That is against all I hold sacred as a code of behavior.” “I wasn’t good enough for you? You didn’t enjoy what we did? Well, buster, I sure as hell enjoyed it. What was wrong? I’m not up to your lofty standards?” “I meant no insult. You were fine. You were fabulous! But it wasn’t consensual. The morda dust robbed us both of our moral choice.” “My morals are intact,” Lorien said, getting her breath back. She looked at the man and felt a spike of desire for him—and this time it had nothing to do with any aphrodisiac dust in the air. He was like some Greek statue come to life. Every muscle stood out boldly, etched in warm, vibrant flesh. And handsome! He was a real heartbreaker. “I am glad for that. I shouldn’t have even 31

Aurora Jamison strayed into the Forbidden Woods, but the moonlight made me.” Lorien shook her head in wonder. Nothing that had happened or that she heard made much sense. A talking snake? The best lay of her life saying moonlight made him fuck her? And it was midday. “Answer some questions,” she said. “Where are we? Other than out of the Forbidden Woods. Why are they called that?” “The morda dust, of course. It robs everyone who enters of their senses.” Lorien pulled shut her blouse even more and tried to work her skirt around her hips to more chastely cover herself. She almost succeeded. “I don’t know,” she said. “My senses were firing on all cylinders back there.” “Cylinders?” The man shook his head. “I am only slowly regaining my reason.” He looked up, treating Lorien to a classic, chiseled profile. He had a straight Roman nose and firm chin. When he looked up at the sky, he might have been a model posing for some master sculptor to capture his manliness in pure marble. At that thought, Lorien couldn’t help looking lower. His erection had disappeared back under the short loincloth. She let out a tiny sigh of disappointment, but curiosity was pushing aside any lustful thoughts she might be having. 32

Lost Lore “Never mind,” she said. “I’m Lorien Hudson.” “Pleased to meet you, Lore.” Before she could correct him, he went on. “My name is Jerro,” he said, bowing slightly in what seemed a courtly fashion. Lorien looked at her hand that she had thrust out for him to shake and felt a little awkward. She hastily drew it back. They must not shake hands around here. She was a little disappointed at that since touching him again would be a tiny treat, even if what she really wanted was another all-she-could-eat sex buffet from him. “What did you mean about moonlight making you go into the Forbidden Woods?” There were so many questions she wanted to ask but that one came out first. She wanted to know more about Jerro. “There, in the sky. Do you see it? A moon.” Jerro had not lowered his gaze to her since their introduction. She followed the direction he looked and saw a tiny white disk of a full moon. It was smaller than she remembered, but nothing was right about what had happened to her. “It looks tiny, but I’m not much for staring up at the moon during the day.” She felt a little flutter thinking what it would be like to stretch out on a soft blanket under the stars next to Jerro, the moon rising and bathing them in its silvery light as they made love. Lorien shivered with anticipation. She 33

Aurora Jamison would have to see about such a tryst. “The moons rise and set during the day, also. I must always be watchful.” “Moons?” The word choked her when she saw Jerro shudder violently, shaking all over as if he had a terrible fever. But no fever made his body elongate and force him to drop to all fours. His torso and head remained the same, but the rest of him changed rapidly into a horse. Lorien looked up and saw a second moon chasing the first into the sky. In horror she looked back at Jerro. He had changed into a man-horse. A centaur.

34

Lost Lore

Chapter Three

L

orien gasped and put her hand to her mouth. She took a step away from the centaur and then stopped. “Jerro, what can I do?” He turned toward her by leaving his four hooves planted firmly and swiveling where his hips used to be. Lorien wasn’t sure what to call them now. Haunches? She had never gone through the stage most girls did of being crazy about horses. If anything, they had frightened her. This strange transformation frightened her, too, but Jerro’s body and face and those incredible soft eyes were all the same. And now he had such sadness about him she reached out toward him. “What can I do?” she repeated. “I can control this. There are only two moons,” he said between clenched teeth. His hands clenched into hard fists, and he closed his eyes. Total concentration caused him to screw up his face. As Lorien watched, Jerro’s body wavered 35

Aurora Jamison and began to change back into human form. “I can do this.” “Yes, yes, you can,” she said, going to him. It took all her courage to reach out and put her hand on his arm. The muscles tensed under her touch, but he did not flinch away. If anything, he took strength from her, and the change rippled the length of his body until he dropped to his knees— his human knees. Lorien fought to keep from laughing at him when he finally reformed as a human again. The loincloth he had worn had been torn as his body became equine. Now he was entirely naked, not that she minded. Lorien dropped to her knees beside him and took his face in her hands. “Are you able to keep this shape?” “Yes, yes,” he said. “It’s hard, but I can do it.” In spite of herself, she looked down at his crotch. There was something that wasn’t hard. Lorien closed her eyes for a moment and wondered if she was still under the spell of the aphrodisiac pollen from the Forbidden Woods. She had to admit there might be another spell she had fallen under. Inhaling deeply, she took in his scent and felt the flow of his muscles and then stared into his fathomless eyes. “You can do it,” she encouraged. “Help me stay in human form. But if the third moon rises, nothing will prevent the transmute.” 36

Lost Lore He looked down at the ground, not meeting her gaze. “Transmute? Oh, the change. I’m sure you can do it, but if there are three moons . . .” Lorien involuntarily glanced at the noon sky and saw only one moon. The other was hidden by the blinding light of the sun. “No power on this world can stop me,” Jerro said, eyes closed. “How do you change back? When the moons set?” “I remain a centaur until the three moons are once more in the sky.” “That’s not so bad, is it? It’d just be until the next night. Or day.” “It might be months. The triple moons do not happen often, but the double moons do.” “Oh, Jerro, I’m so sorry for you.” Lorien didn’t hold herself back as she kissed him. He responded—for a moment. Then he gently pushed her away. “It’s all right. You don’t have to worry. I want to kiss you. Again.” And she did, but he drew away and stood, reaching over to pick up his loincloth and fasten it around his middle. “It isn’t right,” he said. “You are still under the influence of the morda dust.” “Are you?” “I blundered into the Forbidden Woods because 37

Aurora Jamison I failed to control the transmute of the double moons. I was more horse than human and caught the scent of the dust. Something about the dust made me return to my human shape. Perhaps it was seeing you bound by the vines.” “You think just seeing me caused you to change back?” “I . . . I don’t know. I might have been in the Forbidden Woods a long time. Or only minutes. When the change comes on me and I am fully a centaur, I don’t always remember what has happened when I return to this body.” She saw how embarrassed he was, keeping his head averted. Lorien stood and looked around. The country was beautiful, but this wasn’t her world. She had been pulled through that crazy doorway and dumped in the middle of the Forbidden Woods, but how did she get back? And who was the woman she had seen? Another centaur like Jerro, caught up in the change— transmute—caused by the moons? “What is this place?” “We are several days travel from the City of the Ancient Kings,” Jerro said. “I was going there when I got lost in the woods.” “City of the Ancient Kings,” Lorien said. The exotic sound of appealed to her more than going back to the real estate agency, but she had to keep telling herself that this wasn’t her world and had 38

Lost Lore to return home as soon as possible. For Keith and her job and Claire and everything else. She glanced at her wristwatch and wasn’t all that surprised to find that the cheap watch had stopped. Maybe the battery had died, though she had only had the watch a few weeks. She shook her head. Cheap knock-off watches bought on the Internet were never a bargain, though what she would have done knowing the time right now was beyond her. She had left the Lee house around eight and it was obviously just past noon here. This wasn’t her world, not with talking snakes and men who turned into centaurs and woods filled with aphrodisiac pollen. She looked down at her torn clothing and realized she was almost as bare as Jerro. Her bra was gone, along with her panties. A smile crept to her lips. In spite of the vines and being bound like she had been, losing her underwear hadn’t been all that bad. But she was caked in dirt and her clothes—what remained of them—needed a good cleaning. “Is there anywhere I can take a bath? I’m a mess.” “I need to bathe, too,” Jerro said, not looking at her. “There is a lake not far from here.” He turned in a slow circle, eyes closed and nostrils flaring as he sniffed at the air like some kind of hunting dog. She hoped a new moon or star or something 39

Aurora Jamison hadn’t come into the sky to transmute him into a water spaniel. Lorien need not have worried. Jerro stopped and pointed. “That where the lake is?” “Race you there,” he said, showing the first real animation since their tryst in the Forbidden Woods. Without a backward glance, he set a pace that Lorien was hard-pressed to match. By the time she reached the shore of a large lake, Jerro was already swimming out into the water, long, smooth strokes showing what an accomplished swimmer he was. She wasn’t much of a runner, and she could never come close to swimming like Jerro. Lorien kicked off her shoes, dropped her jacket and then hesitated. Jerro swam back and forth, but he scrupulously avoided looking at her. She wasn’t sure if he was embarrassed about what they had done in the Forbidden Woods, was shy or if there was something else—like she didn’t set his pulse to racing the way he did hers. “So, let’s see,” she said, coming to a decision. She had always been a bit of a prude, but this was a good time to change that. She faced the lake and slowly unbuttoned her blouse, doing a slow striptease for Jerro. He kept swimming, but she saw how he was a little less rhythmic with his crawl stroke. A smile crept onto her lips. She took her breasts in her hands and bounced them a little. 40

Lost Lore She hadn’t intended to do it, but she found herself pinching the nipples and sending tiny jolts of pleasure down into her chest. Lorien told herself there was a bigger fish to fry. She let go so her breasts swayed just a little as she reached down and found the button holding on her skirt. She unfastened it and slowly lowered the battered skirt to the ground, standing naked on the shoreline now. Lorien wished she had other clothing to torment Jerro by taking off slowly. A bra and panties would have been perfect to show a little, then some more and finally hide bare skin while moving on. Tantalize and entice. That was what she wanted to do. The woman wanted him like she had never wanted a man before. And she didn’t think it was the dust still controlling her emotions. Naked as the day she was born, she stepped forward and let the cold water lap around her ankles. Gooseflesh rippled up her legs and across her body, causing her to shiver. “Jerro, come help me,” she called. “I need to get something hot into me or I’ll freeze.” Lorien blushed when she realized how brazen she was becoming. But why not? Who would believe she was cavorting in a pristine lake with a man who turned into a horse if too many moons showed up overhead? She wasn’t sure she believed it. 41

Aurora Jamison “Are you all right?” “Just horsing around,” she said, then blushed even more. She hadn’t meant to make fun of him like that, but Jerro didn’t take notice as he swam back to shore. He got his feet under him and stood. The cold water had done nothing to shrink him. Anywhere. She stood, dripping and naked at the edge of the lake, wondering what to do. She desired him, but he was distant and seldom looked directly at her other than with sidelong peeks. She wondered if she embarrassed him, or if she had committed some kind of awful social blunder. She was good at that and often had to follow Claire’s lead at parties to keep from riling everyone else. Being thrown into what was certainly a completely different, alien culture had taken her aback. Lorien needed time to figure out what was going on and how she fit into it all. And then there was Jerro. What she felt for him was pure lust. She had seen men at bars and parties who affected her similarly, but she had never done anything about it, much to Claire’s constant chagrin. A small frown came to Lorien’s face as she wondered if she had gone with Keith because it meant she didn’t have to worry about such things anymore. She had a convenient excuse to avoid other men 42

Lost Lore because she was “attached.” “I ought to let you . . .” Lorien began. And then Jerro came to her with amazing speed. He seemed to cross the distance between them without his feet ever touching ground. One instant he was knee-deep in the water and the next his arm circled her waist and pulled her powerfully to him. She felt her hip fit into the notch of his hip, the hard bone pressing into her more intimate areas. She tipped her head up and noticed for the first time how tall he was. He might have been over six feet tall, but the bulk of his muscles made him seem shorter. His brown eyes bored into hers. She closed her eyes and then felt his mouth brush lightly across hers. A tiny sigh escaped her lips as she pressed closer, her breasts flattening against his broad chest. She wiggled a little to stimulate her nipples on the thick mat of hair on his chest. Every tiny strand stroked and caressed and stimulated her. She felt weak in the knees but couldn’t sag down. His arm around her waist held her too tightly. His lips returned to hers, but this time there was no hesitation. The light caress he had given before now became harder, more demanding. Her lips parted slightly in urgent invitation, and he instantly invaded her mouth with his tongue. It swirled and demanded and stroked across hers until she was panting for breath. 43

Aurora Jamison “Oh, oh, yes,” she said, her arms circling his neck and pulling his head down to maintain the kiss. She wanted this to last forever. She was weak and excited and wanted more from him. Her fingers laced through the long, damp strands of his hair and tried to pull his face down even harder into hers. He evaded her as his kisses moved from her lips to her closed eyelids and forehead and then down her cheeks. He showered her with those light, darting kisses. Every one touched a nerve and made Lorien come a little more alive in his arms. She stroked down his back, her nails raking against his flesh. She loved the feel of the muscles flowing beneath her fingertips. And then she had something more to feel. Jerro ran his hands around and caught both her buttocks. He pulled those fleshy half moons apart to let his finger delve deeply, finding a hidden back highway. Lorien arched her back and wiggled her ass to get more of him into her. Somehow, she lost her balance and fell backward, but she didn’t hit the ground with a jarring impact. Jerro guided her lower until she rested gently on the grassy ground, his finger moving slowly in and out as her legs parted for him. “Inside me, oh, that’s where I want you, Jerro, darling. Inside me! With your cock and your finger 44

Lost Lore up my ass!” Lorien gasped as his large cock prodded against her sex and then gradually penetrated her. If he had taken her fast she might not have been able to accommodate his girth. All her careless words aside, he was the size of a horse. He stretched her tender inner membrane to the limit but no farther. Coupled with his finger up her ass, he had her impaled front and rear. He began stroking slowly, coordinating the effort of finger and cock, both in at the same time, both out. And then he began to speed up, his hips pistoning with more desire. She blinked and saw his face, caught in a mask of concentration and utter joy. She shared what he was experiencing at that instant. His strong chin, now stubbled, made her want to push his face down between her legs. She loved oral sex, but she was not going to abandon the feelings he gave her with his prodigious length. Hot and hard, long and thick he filled her to overflowing. Lorien gripped at his back and hunched up to grind her crotch into his in a vain attempt to take him even deeper. He used his finger to lure her into new realms of arousal and then he slid forward, as deep within her on both sides as possible. He hung suspended for what seemed and eternity and then began moving in a circular motion that drove Lorien out of her mind with the 45

Aurora Jamison potent sensations ripping through her body. She gasped, tried to speak his name and found that was impossible, then let out with a cry of pure ecstatic release. He held her tightly as she rode through her orgasm and continued to move in that diabolically arousing fashion, his body grinding into hers as he probed and explored. “More, Jerro, give me more.” “You are so beautiful. I . . . I—” “Come for me,” she begged. And he did. He grunted and then exploded within her, painting her womb with his fierce, hot seed. They sagged down together, drained of emotion. He held her close as they lay on the sunlit grass, his head resting against her breast. She stroked over his hair as if he were a child. Lorien had no idea what had happened to her to end up with a man-horse on the bank of a serene lake, making love in the warm afternoon sun. She might be crazy and locked up in an asylum and this was only a hallucination. If it was, she wanted it to go on forever. Jerro looked up at her, and for the first time she realized he was a little nearsighted. Face only inches away, his eyes focused now on her and his expression changed. “You—” “No words,” she said. “Let’s just lie here and 46

Lost Lore enjoy the feel of one another.” Lorien saw that he had dimples, though he wasn’t smiling much right now. His strong chin and slightly sunken cheeks gave him a gaunt look, but there was nothing haggard about his body. Any part of it. Her fingers traced over the bulging biceps and down to his forearms, then caught up his strong hand, lacing her fingers with his. His huge hand engulfed hers. “Not so hard,” she said when he squeezed down. “That hurt.” “I had not seen you up close before,” he said. Something in his tone made Lorien wary. “You don’t like what you see? You said I was beautiful when we were making love.” “You are not beautiful,” he said. She started to push away from him but was caught in the steely circle of his arm. “You are gorgeous. Never have I seen a woman more alluring.” “That’s better,” Lorien said, relaxing. “You’re not so bad yourself, buster.” “Buster? My name is Jerro, but you know that.” “Just an idiom,” she said. “My way of talking.” She snuggled down, this time putting her cheek against his chest. She heard the strong, slow beat of his heart and felt safe. “Did you find what you sought in the Forbidden Woods?” “What? Oh, I wasn’t looking for anything. You 47

Aurora Jamison wouldn’t believe how I ended up there.” “Tell me what you seek.” Lorien started in with her story, ending with Jerro saving her from the grasping vines in the jungle. “So that’s what happened. Does any of that make a lick of sense to you?” She knew from the way he tensed that he thought she was probably as crazy as a bedbug. Lorien sat up and grabbed for her jacket, fumbled in the pocket and pulled out her cell phone. “See? I use this to talk to people. You don’t have cell phones here, do you?” Jerro shook his head. She pressed 9-1-1 but got no response. There had been no reason to believe this world—and she and to finally admit this was not her own world— had such communication devices. Nowhere on the horizon did she see the ubiquitous metal towers filled with antennas. Turning it off to save the battery until she did find a working cell, she stopped and stared at Jerro. Something was definitely wrong. He peered at her now with a look that might have been concealed rage. “Did I say something to offend you? Did I do something wrong?” “What could one such as you do wrong?” Lorien didn’t know how to answer that. She tossed her jacket back atop the rest of her tattered clothing and then stood. 48

Lost Lore “I’m going for a swim to get the dirt off. Join me?” “I will stand guard,” Jerro said. She hesitated. “There is nothing to fear in the lake,” he added. Thinking to coax him out of his dour mood, she reached for his dangling appendage, but he moved with a quickness that left her holding only air. “All right,” she said, getting angry at him. “I’ll clean off by myself. Then you can show me this City of the Ancient Kings you mentioned.” Lorien saw his bushy eyebrows arch upward. “You want to go there?” “Why not?” With that, she turned, ran a few paces into the lake and executed a clean dive. The sudden cold water took away her breath, but it invigorated her as she swam from the shore where Jerro stood glaring at her. She had done something wrong and he wouldn’t tell her. Fuck him! She’d go to this city and find someone who could tell her how to get home. She didn’t need Jerro or his prodigious cock. But, Lorien admitted to herself, she would miss it—and him.

49

Aurora Jamison

Chapter Four he more Lorien scrubbed, the angrier she got at

TJerro. He had come on strong and then turned

so distant and cold. It was just like a man. He fucked her and then he forgot her. But he did not go trotting off. A wry smile curled her lips. He could trot and canter and gallop. He could do all that because he turned into a horse in moonlight. She shook water out of her eyes and pulled her hair back from her face. She wanted nothing more than a big fluffy towel—any color would do—but there wasn’t anything like it to be seen. To be seen. That’s what I need to be. Seen. She swam about and then paddled toward shore, rolling over in the water when she was sure Jerro was watching. Both her breasts popped above the water, hard pink nipples just breaking the surface, then vanishing as she rolled back to complete the distance with a breast stroke. She came out of the water like Venus on the 50

Lost Lore half shell. One arm chastely covered both of her boobs and the other went to her crotch. She stood for a moment until she was sure he was watching. Then she slowly lowered her arms and fully exposed herself to him. He did not stir. From where she stood at the edge of the water, she could tell. Lorien didn’t know what to feel about this. She was mad but always disappointed. “What’s wrong? Aren’t I your type?” she called to him. “What is your type?” Jerro walked over, comfortable in his nudity, and looked at her. She wondered how nearsighted he was with those large brown eyes, so soft and almost feminine. “You’re really nearsighted, almost blind,” she said. “No wonder my striptease and coming out of the water like I did wasn’t turning you on. You can hardly see me, can you?” she waved her hand in front of him. Jerro’s strong hand grabbed her wrist and held her so tight she winced. “Don’t,” she said. “You’re hurting me.” “Sorry. We should leave for the City of the Ancient Kings. The second moon will rise soon.” “Let it,” she said, rubbing her wrist. She had no idea what was with him. She had thought Keith was an utter prick at times, but Jerro was outdoing 51

Aurora Jamison him. Returning to her own world, her own city and house, even with Keith—especially with Keith?—was more important than ever. “Why do you say that? I will turn into a centaur and might not be able to resume this human form soon.” “I can ride you, if you’re a horse,” she said. Then Lorien laughed. This struck her as funny. So funny she couldn’t stop laughing. When she realized she was hysterical, she tried to stop and ended up with a case of the hiccups. “I do not understand,” Jerro said. “No, I doubt you do.” “You want to go to the City?” “Is anyone there who might help me?” “Help you?” Jerro looked confused. “You are all-powerful. Why do you need anyone to help you?” “My cell phone doesn’t work; even my lousy wristwatch isn’t working. If I can’t get them repaired, then I need somebody who can drive me home.” She looked up at the sky and the curious sun. It was not the familiar yellow of a hot summer afternoon. It wasn’t even the curious blue-tinted ball when the smog hung heavy in the Valley. Blue-white came closer to describing this sun. And the moons! She had seen two of them and Jerro was frightened of a third coming into the sky. 52

Lost Lore As much as she tried to lie to herself, this was not home. Not her home, at any rate. “Do you have, I don’t know, mechanical stuff? Cars? Airplanes? Things that fly through the air really, really fast to get from one place to another?” “I do not know of these things, but I lack your learning.” “Yeah, I suppose so. I don’t remember any horse-men in my college classes.” “You are not what I expected,” Jerro said, looking at her curiously. She wondered what thoughts were racing through his brain and what he felt. As if conscious of her for the first time, he bent over and grabbed his discarded loincloth. Lorien caught her breath at the sight of his tight, firm butt. Then she pushed such things from her mind. “Let’s get to this city of yours. The sooner I get there, the sooner I can figure out how to get home.” She pulled her tatters of clothing around her the best she could. In this City of the Ancient Kings she would have to get a complete new wardrobe. Or at least something functional enough for city wear. Prancing around half naked in the countryside with Jerro was one thing, but she had to look businesslike when she talked to the authorities. There had to be police or traveler’s aid 53

Aurora Jamison or somebody who could help her. Trailing behind Jerro as he set a brisk pace, she watched the play of muscles across his back and the easy way he moved. He was incredible. Before she got over being mad at him, she remembered the way he had changed from all loving and horny to an utter jerk. Still, she had to admire the view as they went up increasingly steep hills and down into lush valleys. “Can we stop? I need to rest,” she said after they had been walking for more than an hour. She squinted as she looked at the curiously colored sun and guessed it had been that long, if not longer, since they had left the lake shore. “We are not far from the main road.” “Road? Into your City of the Ancient Kings?” “Yes.” He turned and looked at her, squinting just a little. This emphasized how nearsighted he was. She must not be more than a blur to him. “You know the City.” “How come you don’t wear glasses? It must be a real drag bumping into things. Oh, wait. I know,” Lorien said, realizing the rules were different on this world, whatever it was. “If you change, contact lenses or glasses wouldn’t work for a horse. You’d still have your human body but there’s probably some law saying horses can’t wear glasses, just bridles.” “Bridles,” Jerro said, spitting the word as if it 54

Lost Lore burned his tongue. “There are those who ride centaurs and use checkreins and hobbles.” “I can see how you wouldn’t like that,” Lorien said. “Unless you got off on being tied up and told what to do.” A tiny thrill went through her. Being tied up and ordered around by Jerro would be . . . different. “I hear wagons. We are not far from the road. We can ride the rest of the way.” “Good,” she said, matching his stride now. For some reason, Jerro wasn’t as eager to get to the City as he had been. “I’ve got a question that has been bugging me.” “Bugging you? You have fleas?” “An idiom. Never mind. The question is pretty simple. Are you a man who turns into a centaur or a horse-man who turns human?” “What was I before the first transmute?” “Yeah, that’s the best way of asking.” She looked at his face and the way emotion played over the strong lines. His jaw was firm and prominent, but the bony ridges over his eyes might have been a little too heavy. He had a slightly animal look to him. Lorien shuddered. She thought it made him about the handsomest man she had ever seen. What did it mean about her that she was turned on by a guy who changed from human to horse? “I do not know, although I have guessed. I 55

Aurora Jamison never knew my parents. They might have been centaurs or humans afflicted with the transmute.” “Afflicted? Is it contagious? That could be a real thrill, me changing into a mare and you mounting me.” Lorien looked away and flushed when the mental picture came to her of Jerro rearing up and moving forward in his stud centaur body to ram into her from behind. “There is a wagon.” Jerro ran down the slope, waving and calling. Lorien was able to cover her embarrassment and followed more slowly. By the time she reached the wide road, Jerro had already convinced the wagon driver to allow them to ride in the back. She hopped up on the edge of the wagon bed but resisted her urge to sit as close to Jerro as she could. When she saw his reluctance to even touch her, she had to wonder if the double—or impending triple—moons did things to his libido. Or his common sense? “How long until we arrive?” Jerro shrugged and looked away without answering. If he was going to give her the cold shoulder, she could do the same to him. Lorien leaned back against the canvas-covered load in the wagon and stared up into the sky for a while. Huge clouds built and turned leaden along their underside. This might turn into a thunderstorm dumping rain 56

Lost Lore on them before they reached the City. She couldn’t help but recollect how it had rained when she checked the Lee house and had gotten dripped on from all the leaks in the roof. Her pulse raced as she thought rain or thunderstorms and lightning might be whatever had opened the doorway into this world. If it really stormed, she might be able to get home! None of it made any sense, and she was not sure how she would put this insight to use, but it gave her some small hope she hadn’t had before. “The City,” called the driver. Jerro hopped off. Lorien rode a few more yards before jumping down, also. “Thanks,” she called to the driver, but he paid her no heed. He drove directly between two yellow pylons on either side of the road. “What are those? Like the Gateway Arch in St. Louis? An invitation to the city?” “The City,” he said, somehow making it sound like so much more than a mere place where lots of people lived, “protects itself.” Jerro walked forward but stopped just before passing between the pylons. Lorien looked up at them. More than thirty feet high, they ended in sharp points at the top and tapered down, somehow assuming circular and square and triangular features along the way. It was curious modern art, but nothing to get too worked up 57

Aurora Jamison over. “Well?” She looked at him. Jerro turned and sniffed, then looked at the sky. The sun was setting and only one moon gleamed a silvery disk in the sky. Lorien had never paid much attention to stars and constellations, but the welter of stars convinced her this was not home. There were too many stars, and they glittered all the colors of the rainbow. She had never seen anything like the beauty of the night sky even hinted at anywhere on earth. “The moons will not rise soon,” he said. “I can retain this shape without a transmute.” “You sniffed that?” Lorien had to laugh, and it was not a pleasant laugh. The expression on Jerro’s face stifled the mocking laughter. She had seen plenty of people who were afraid. Jerro went beyond merely scared all the way to terrified. “What is it?” she asked. Then Lorien realized she was the cause of his utter, gut-wrenching fright. “Jerro, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make fun of you like that. It’s been pretty disorienting for me. This isn’t my world, and I don’t know how I got here.” “You should go into the City.” Jerro pointed. His hand shook. “Please, what’s wrong? Tell me,” she begged. Lorien reached out and caught his hand and tried 58

Lost Lore to pull him close. The fright vanished and contempt replaced it. She didn’t like this any better than the fear. He was too handsome when he was smiling—or was caught up in serious lovemaking. “Do not touch me like that,” he said, pulling away. “What? It’s all right if we fuck but not if we hold hands? God! Even on this world, things are screwed up!” “The night watch will go on patrol soon. We must enter the City quickly.” “What? Does the toll go up or something?” Lorien looked up the full length of the twin pylons and wondered what would happen if she walked around rather than between them. Would a cop come riding up and give her a ticket for jaywalking? “What happens if I don’t go between those posts?” The notion came to her, and she did not know why. The driver and his wagon had passed through without anything terrible happening. “You must. It is required.” “All right,” she said, more pissed off than ever. Jerro’s swift changes in demeanor, the entire world—it was almost too much for her. She smoothed out the tattered blue blazer and moved the strings remaining of her skirt around to a more chaste location. How she must look to the citizens 59

Aurora Jamison of this city—the City—was nothing less than disreputable. Lorien wondered if she asked for directions, if they would direct her to a homeless shelter. “Where are we going in the City?” she asked suddenly. “You must have friends or relatives here. You said you were on your way when we met. Is there anyone who can help you—help me?” “We must enter now,” he said haughtily. Head high and shoulders back, Jerro strutted forward and stood for a moment between the yellow pylons. Lorien blinked. For a second she thought they glowed with a warm golden light, but it might only have been a trick of the starlight. She wasn’t used to such a profusion of lights overhead. Lorien took a deep breath and walked forward. An electric tingle passed along her arms and up her legs. “This is kind of sexy feeling,” she said, stopping next to Jerro. “I—” Lorien let out a scream and arched her back as pain hit her like a sledgehammer. She writhed and cried and felt Jerro’s arms supporting her. “Help me,” she gasped out. “Please, Jerro, help me.” Then she passed out.

60

Lost Lore

Chapter Five

L

orien thrashed about as the electric tingles felt more like she had stuck her finger into a light socket. She forced herself to open her eyes. Blurry images danced all around. “Who . . .” She tried to reach out to the woman dressed in a long flowing black robe that brushed the ground with soft sighs as she moved. Lorien had seen her before. She struggled to remember. It burst on her like an explosion. “The doorway. You were in the doorway at the house. The other house.” Her tongue felt as if she had ironed it, causing her words to come out mumbled and wrong. But she tried to call to the woman. Reaching out, her fingers—almost—touched the hem of that robe. The woman in black turned and looked at her. For a moment Lorien thought she was looking in a mirror. “Me!” she cried. She saw herself, only it was not. The woman in black had hair so white it hurt 61

Aurora Jamison Lorien’s eyes to look at it. The hair was caught up in a wild swirl that gathered over her left ear and dangled down like a ponytail. But it was so white! Freshly fallen snow looked bleak and ugly in comparison. Lorien wanted to touch it and run her fingers through it. Such fine, lustrous hair had to be soft. The woman who was not Lorien sneered as she turned away. “Don’t go, wait, questions! I’ve got questions!” Lorien made a wild grab for the other woman and flopped about like a fish on a river bank. She gasped and tried to breathe, but some heavy weight crushed her to the ground. Looking over her shoulder, she saw Jerro above her. He had one knee firmly planted between her shoulder blades as he struggled to do something. Her head buzzed as if a million bees inhabited it, and her mouth was filled with cotton. Had she even spoken to the white-haired woman in black? Lorien wasn’t sure. What she was sure about was the way Jerro kept her pinned to the ground like a butterfly in a display case. “Get off me. Get off!” He did not budge. “Are you as deaf as you are blind? You’re hurting me!” She gasped in pain when he caught her right wrist and pulled it behind her back. Then real pain surged up her arms as he tightened a rope about her wrist. Suddenly weak in reaction, she did 62

Lost Lore nothing to keep him from grabbing her other wrist. Before she knew it, he had her hands tied behind her back. “Get up,” he said, panting harshly as if he had run a long race. She looked up at him from her awkward position, stomach down on the ground. Jerro had a wild look in his eyes and made nervous motions with his hands. He took a step toward her, then backed away, as if taunting her. But she saw he had swung once more to fearing her. “What are you doing? Why did you tie me up like this?” Lorien fought to get her knees under her so she could rise. Jerro danced forward and grabbed her, pulling her to her feet. Then he darted away as if she might strike him. “My hands are tied. Unfasten the rope, damn you!” “You have to come with me. To the palace.” “Palace? There’s a king or something?” “King Arrin.” “Good. I’ll talk to him, and he’ll throw you in the deepest, darkest jail cell he has in his damned castle!” Lorien fought against the ropes but Jerro had tied the knots too securely for her to get free. “He does have a castle, doesn’t he?” “A palace. King Arrin has a palace.” Lorien stopped jerking about and stared at Jerro. He spoke as if he were in a trance. He 63

Aurora Jamison turned in a complete circle, looking for something and not seeing it. Lorien twisted violently in an attempt to escape. Seeing that this wasn’t going to work, she stumbled a few paces away. Maybe she could find the woman in black with the white hair. Maybe someone else would help her. She ran ahead as fast as she could, with her hands bound, and turned a corner. The narrow street made her feel as if the buildings were toppling over on her, although they were only three stories high. The uneven paving stones used in the street caused her to stumble repeatedly. Never again would she complain about asphalt roads. Gasping for breath, she turned another corner and another until she was thoroughly lost in the maze of buildings. Taking a rest, she looked hard at the buildings for the first time. Heavy shadow cloaked most of them, but one or two had lamps burning in the windows. She had come into a business district. The painted wood signs dangling from chains and swinging slowly in the fitful evening breeze told of clothing stores and other mercantile shops. I wish I could get some new clothes. But first she had to get her hands loose. Circulation was almost gone in her arms now, making them feel like giant sausages. She worried that shouting for help would only 64

Lost Lore attract unwanted attention—and Jerro. He had been confused back at the pylon gate. How long that might last was something she could only guess at. Lorien kept to the heavy shadows and found one store that was perfect for her needs. The knife shop displayed various blades openly, without a pane of glass separating her from the goods. She thought this was curious. Weren’t there thieves in the City of the Ancient Kings? All anyone had to do was reach out and take a knife. Turning to face the street, she reached behind her and forced her numb fingers around the hilt of the nearest knife. “Got it!” She lifted the knife from its display rack and then froze. The cool metal would not budge. Worse, she could not pull away from the shop. It was as if a new set of bonds wrapped around her and held her securely in place. In the distance she heard a loud whistle sound three times, followed by the heavy thud of boots against the cobblestones. Lorien jerked hard to free herself from this mysterious trap. It wasn’t even possible for her to drop the knife. She was held as securely as if she had been dipped in Superglue. “This the one?” “Yes,” came the answer in a voice all too familiar. “Take her, then.” 65

Aurora Jamison “I will.” Jerro walked out into the street in front of her. His soft ginger-colored eyes refused to focus on her. Instead, he looked to one side, as if she had become hideously deformed. Or was he embarrassed at what he did? Lorien wished she knew what had caused the sudden change in him from loving to fearful—or even vicious. “Are you going to get me out of this? I don’t know what’s holding me . . .” Lorien never finished her sentence. “Got it now.” At those words, Lorien fell forward, and the knife clattered to the street. She looked up to see a uniformed man holding the knife. “I have to report this.” “Then escort us to the palace,” Jerro said. “She is dangerous.” “Her? I see the likes of her trying to rob stores all day long and halfway through the night.” Lorien saw the uniformed man—undoubtedly a police officer—rock his head back and laugh uproariously at the idea she was dangerous. Dropping back to the cobblestones, Lorien swiveled about and kicked hard. Her foot connected with the patrolman’s kneecap, sending him staggering. He swore as he rubbed his injured leg. “I ought to—” “She is dangerous in many ways,” Jerro said. 66

Lost Lore He whispered to the officer. The man turned pale and backed away, as if Jerro had told him he had tried to capture Satan. “You escort her then,” he said. Hobbling, he left as fast as his injured leg would tolerate. “We will go to the palace,” Jerro said in his dull voice. He lifted her easily. Once Lorien would have enjoyed the play of those muscles on his broad chest, the bulge of his arms and the easy way he held her. Now she tried to kick him in the groin. He turned slightly so her knee collided with his thigh. “Let me go. Untie me! Free me from whatever that was!” Lorien inclined her head in the direction of the window. The police officer had returned the knife to its stand. “You cannot be so stupid to violate a guard window,” he said. “Reach in and it will hold you until the watch officer comes.” “Pretty tricky,” Lorien said. “They don’t have those where I come from.” “Thievery must run wild, then,” Jerro said. He saw that she was not going to walk so he slung her over his shoulder like a sack of flour. Kicking and trying to bite him accomplished nothing. Lorien settled down and finally went limp. “Let me walk,” she said. “I’ll go to the palace with you. I want to find someone who can free me and figure a way for me to go home. That’s all I 67

Aurora Jamison want. And I mean all from you, buster.” “I told you that my name is not—” “Fuck off,” she said bitterly. Lorien was a little heartened that Jerro stepped away from her at this outburst, and a little disappointed that he didn’t say anything to put her in her place. It was rude, but then he was treating her terribly. She strained at the ropes until there was no hope left. Lorien looked around the city as they walked through the deserted streets. For this early in the evening, no one stirred. Shutters were closed over most windows and only occasional glints of light from within showed through. Then they emerged from what she decided was the business section and came to a road more than fifty feet wide. She stopped and stared in awe. A quarter mile away, rising like a skyscraper, was about the most beautiful building Lorien had ever seen. Calling it a castle was wrong. It certainly was not an office building. She had only seen pictures of Versailles, but this was grander by far. The walls glowed a soft green and yellow amorphous designs moved constantly from the foundation all the way to the highest turret. The doorway into the palace was gigantic. Even from this distance she could tell it was big enough to drive a semi truck through. The decoration on the walls and in the stained glass windows was nothing short of artistic genius. Just looking at the 68

Lost Lore palace made her weak in the knees. “I want to—” She had no idea what she wanted to do. “We will see the king’s adviser,” Jerro said in his curiously flat voice. “Then you will be free.” The last carried a hint of anger. “I want to go home. That’s all. Can King Arrin grant me that wish? Of course, he can,” she said, answering her own question. If only looking at his palace filled her with a sense of overwhelming faith in the man, he could do anything. Getting her back home to Keith and Claire and her job would be a snap. “You are under his spell?” Jerro’s question startled her. “What spell?” “You would pay obeisance to King Arrin? Looking at the palace affects you like that?” “I . . . yes.” Lorien tugged hard at her bonds to send lances of pain up her numb arms and into her shoulders. When she did, the need to worship King Arrin faded. “How’s that done? Subsonics? Subliminals?” “Are those the spells used?” Jerro asked. “I am no sorcerer. All who look upon the palace become subjects of the king, as is his ancient right. But you are affected, too? You, who are so powerful?” This seemed to confuse Jerro. It confused Lorien even more. She had no idea what he was talking about. 69

Aurora Jamison “I don’t feel so powerful,” she said. They came to the entrance. The archway leading into the palace was easily three stories tall. The palace walls outside rose another thirty feet. Or more. Lorien could not guess their actual height because of the eye-confusing shifts in patterns. The green turned to blue and the yellows flowed into red geometric patterns. Spirals and squares and triangles danced up the walls as she passed through the gate and they were out of sight. “I have her,” Jerro said to empty air. “Sannea to see Taltarian.” “What’s a Sannea?” Jerro looked at her sharply, showing the most emotion in a long time. She thought he would hit her. “Don’t play these games with Taltarian.” “Who’s that?” “The king’s chancellor, of course. You know that. You are Sannea and know everything.” “What the hell are you saying? I am not Sannea, whatever that is. And even if I were, how would I know everything?” Lorien yelped when Jerro shoved her toward a small wooden door with broad leather straps that acted as hinges. The door opened inward to a narrow, poorly lit corridor. As far as she could see, nothing but unrelieved stone walls stretched. Jerro pushed her until she was stumbling along at a half 70

Lost Lore run. He was again the domineering man, not the gentle lover she had found who rescued her from the Forbidden Woods. “There,” Jerro said, when they had gone several hundred feet. “Where?” All Lorien could see was a faint yellow outline on the wall. He pushed her forward. Instead of banging into stone, she slid through. A tingle passed through her once more, like that she had experienced at the twin pylon gate, but this time she did not pass out. Lorien looked around the stone-walled room. Other than a large, tall-backed wooden chair in the middle of the room, it was empty. “I am astounded, Jerro. You brought her. I did not think you could do this. You are to be commended for catching one so dangerous as Sannea.” Lorien turned toward the voice. From somewhere—another of the magical doors that weren’t doors?—came a tall slender man, dressed in an ornately embroidered jacket that fell straight down to mid-calf. Beneath that he wore leather boots polished so much that Lorien fancied she could use them as mirrors. He smirked as he circled her, nodding and pointing with his longfingered hand. He was handsome in a dark, dangerous way. A thin face, thin lips and eyes that never seemed to 71

Aurora Jamison blink as they studied her made the man look somehow inhuman. He wore a thick mustache as black as midnight, but the hair greased back on his head was a light brown, making Lorien think he colored one or the other. If she had to guess, it was not his mustache that received the dye. “You’ve got me confused with somebody else,” Lorien said. “I’m not Sannea. Jerro is so nearsighted he—” “Quiet.” The word vibrated her bones and caused her heart to skip a beat. “You are under my power now. Within the walls of the palace your powers are diminished.” “Gone,” Jerro said. “She has not tried anything since entering the Gates of Truth.” “Fascinating,” the man said. “My Lord Taltarian, I would leave now.” “Ah, yes, Jerro, I suppose you want to go. I understand your reluctance to be so near her after what she has done.” “I haven’t done a thing to him!” “I will summon you later,” Taltarian said. He walked behind Lorien and put his hand on her shoulder. She tried to flinch away but could not move. Her feet felt as if they had been glued to the floor. “You are being to understand, aren’t you, dear Sannea? The spells arrayed against you are too great for even a powerful sorceress to break. The palace has ward spells—and I employ ones you 72

Lost Lore can know nothing about.” “I’m not Sannea. I’m a real estate agent,” Lorien said, feeling herself losing control. “You’ve got me confused with her. All I want to do is go home.” “I am sure that is all you want,” Taltarian said. “Allow me to untie you.” “Thanks,” Lorien said, relieved. “What convinced you that Jerro had made a mistake?” “He is a fool. Is that not good enough?” “He’s no fool. He just—” “You defend him? That is rich!” Taltarian moved behind her. Lorien tried to turn to face him but could not. Her feet were still glued down about shoulder-width apart. She heard something tinkling like broken glass but could not see what was happening. “Oh, your poor wrists. That horse-man treated you so cruelly.” Taltarian stroked over Lorien’s wrists. She felt tiny, feathery touches but the circulation had not returned. She yelped when he suddenly freed her from the bonds. “Thanks.” “Oh, yes, you will thank me. You will do more than thank me,” Taltarian said. She reached out to him when he stood a few feet in front of her. Lorien saw that he had replaced the ropes with translucent glass chains. Somehow, they had been affixed to her wrists by broad glass cuffs. The glass links curved off to 73

Aurora Jamison either side of the room. “What are you doing? You think I’m some kind of puppet on a string? Get these chains off me.” “They are so lovely, aren’t they? So fragile, yet so strong. Even your most potent spell cannot break them, dear Sannea.” “I thought you’d agreed I wasn’t this Sannea?” “Your powers of persuasion have failed you finally. I didn’t detect any effort to lace a spell amidst your words.” Taltarian raised his hands and clapped them together. Lorien let out an involuntary yelp as her arms stretched out to either side. She was held spread-eagle by the glass chains, with her feet still glued to the stone floor. “This is uncomfortable,” Lorien said, getting mad. “Release me or there will be hell to pay. I’ll get the cops and you’ll spend the rest of your life in Chino doing hard time. I’ll sue!” “I do not know this place,” Taltarian said. “But I do not want you to be uncomfortable. I want you to enjoy your stay in King Arrin’s care.” “The king,” she said. “I want to see King Arrin right now.” “You will see him during his special audience,” Taltarian said. He slowly unfastened the golden threaded frogs on his embroidered jacket. It looked like a gold and green dragon slithering to the floor as he opened it and let it slide off his arms to the floor. He stood naked to the waist in 74

Lost Lore front of her. She had been right about the calf-high boots. He also wore loose trousers that made her stare in disbelief. “You like it?” “There’s no crotch in your pants,” she got out. Lorien stared at the man’s huge hard-on jutting up from his groin. She forced herself to look up into his face and saw the lust there. “You’re going to rape me while I’m chained up like this,” she said in a choked voice. “Rape? Hardly. What would be the sport in that? No, Sannea, you will want what I have to offer. You will beg for my cock, and you will plead with me to fuck you.” “Like hell.” Lorien strained against the chains but could not move. She was held stationary in the middle of the room like a fly in a spider web. “You will beg me,” Taltarian insisted. He opened a small carved wood box and showed her the contents. Tiny reddish grains of dust inside caught the faint light and sparkled like diamonds. “What’s that?” She asked, but Lorien thought she knew. “Desire,” Taltarian said, blowing the morda dust into Lorien’s face. Then he laughed and moved closer.

75

Aurora Jamison

Chapter Six want you,” Lorien moaned. “Fuck me. I want

“Iyou to take me now.” She knew the dust was turning her into a completely wanton slut and there was nothing she could about it. Her entire body ached for sex. She had to feel a cock—any cock—driving deep into her and giving her pleasure like nothing else. “Ah, you are especially susceptible to the morda dust. I had not expected that. Or perhaps such a powerful witch enjoys losing complete control after she has ruled everything in her sight.” Lorien sobbed when Taltarian touched her from behind. It was a teasing caress, nothing more than his fingertips sliding along her back. When he grabbed a handful of cloth and yanked, her jacket parted and was ripped from her body. Even this excited her. The pressure against her breasts, the way the cloth stroked across her nipples, everything thrilled her until she could not even speak. 76

Lost Lore “You have a remarkably strong response to things sexual,” Taltarian went on. His hand pressed warmly into the small of her back. She trembled as he ran his hand lower under the waistband of what remained of her slacks. He had ripped off her navy blue jacket. Now he gently removed her skirt. Her panties had long since been a victim of this treacherous world. She did not even remember if Jerro had torn them from her or if she had willingly stepped out of them so he could drive his thickness deep into her sex. Everything swirled about her in wild, crazy orbits that always ended with the explosion of emotion deep within her. “You are wet,” Taltarian said mockingly. “For me. You are preparing your delightful pussy for me.” “Oh, oh!” She tried to tell him to go to hell again but his finger slipping far into her lustdampened pussy robbed her of the curse. He began slowly finger fucking her until she sagged down weakly. The glass chains held her upright and the glue on her feet kept her from moving. She was immobile and at his mercy. And she loved every instant of it. “More,” she whispered. “What’s that, my dear Sannea? What did you say?” “More,” she begged. “Do more. I want more 77

Aurora Jamison than your finger in me.” “Where might that finger be that is causing you such distress?” He flexed it so it stroked over her G-spot. Lorien thought lightning ripped through her. “In me, in my pussy!” “Yes, you can say the words. Tell me more of what you want.” He moved behind her where she could not see him. His hands slipped around her waist and moved up to her breasts. She felt her own lubricants on his left hand as it clamped firmly on her breast and squeezed firmly. When he caught her nip and began rolling it around, she knew she could not deny him—or herself. “Fuck me! I want to feel your cock fucking my pussy!” “Ah,” he said softly, his hot breath caressing her earlobe, “that is what I wanted to hear.” Lorien gasped when he pulled her body back into his. Like a hot poker, his erection parted her ass cheeks. Every touch of his flesh against hers caused a new outcry. He started massaging her breasts and tweaking her nipples and them moving both hands down her heaving belly toward her carefully plucked mons. “How curious. You have shaped your pubic hair. Just for me?” “Yes, yes,” she sobbed. She was past caring 78

Lost Lore who stood behind her or how she had come to dangle from his fragile-appearing glass chains. All she knew was how much she wanted to feel him deep within her, moving and twisting, heating her with every fucking stroke until she could stand no more. “You are lying. You have another lover. Is it the centaur? Jerro?” “Yes, we made love by a lake.” “I knew you had him enthralled. When in his human form . . . or do you appreciate him when he is equine?” “Stop, stop torturing me like this. I want you so. Please! Fuck me!” “I love the sound of a powerful sorceress pleading. You do want this, don’t you, Sannea?” She wanted to deny that she was, but the feel of his hardness moving from between her buttocks and slipping along lower, parting her sex lips and gently poking into her pussy took all her arguments away. Lorien tried to widen her stance so he could better enter her from behind. But her feet were fixed to the floor. Her arms ached from being drawn out as they were. The simple act of binding her this way added to her arousal in ways she had never thought possible. He grabbed her hips and pulled her backward. His cock slid wetly, easily, deeply into her pussy. Then he began fucking with all-out abandon. The 79

Aurora Jamison carnal friction mounted rapidly and she screamed in release. Then she was all alone in the room. She dangled for a moment and regained her senses, sneezing a couple times and shaking her head to clear it. “The dust,” she muttered. The pollen or whatever it was from the Forbidden Woods had again taken away her inhibitions. Lorien shuddered, thinking she had actually wanted Taltarian. She stood a little straighter but could not move because of the chains. She rattled them— they sounded more like wind chimes than shackles. “Let me go,” she said, her voice stronger now. She sneezed a few more times before all the lust that had built within her disappeared. “Taltarian, you can’t keep me. This is kidnapping.” Her words echoed in an empty room. Lorien looked over her shoulder and could not see directly behind her back but there was a curious sense of being alone that came to her. She twisted in the other direction. Then she fought to get her feet to move. The glass chains and whatever Taltarian had done to affix her feet to the stone floor were too secure. “How long are you going to let me hang like this?” Not even a mocking laugh. She soon ran out of 80

Lost Lore energy tugging and twisting the chains and eventually sagged back, her weight supported more by her aching shoulders than her tired legs. She wanted to cry in humiliation and anger but had passed beyond that. There was a cold determination building within that made her silently vow to get even with the king’s chancellor. She had no idea why he treated her the way he did, but he would pay. And Jerro! For him she would reserve special punishment. Lorien had no idea what it might be, but she would not let the centaur get away with turning her over to Taltarian the way he had—after they had gotten along so well after escaping the Forbidden Woods. At first she thought her lust for Jerro had been caused by the morda dust but she realized there had been more. It didn’t take an aphrodisiac to make her want him, horse or not. That was all changed. The City of the Ancient Kings would see how a woman scorned got even, if it took her the rest of her life to do it. The rest of my life, she thought, a touch of fear entering her mind now. She was in no position to plan anything, not hanging naked in a barren stone room. “This the one?” “She’s the one. We have to be careful. She’s a witch.” 81

Aurora Jamison Lorien perked up and tried to see who had entered the room. They came from behind. “Help me,” she said. Her voice was harsh and grating. “She’s trying to put a spell on us.” “Gag her. Now. That’s what the chancellor said to do.” “No!” Lorien tried to cry out but a rag was stuffed into her mouth and then fastened into place with a cord that cut into the back of her neck. She tried not to choke. Then she felt a thrill. The two men were unfastening her glass chains. “Got it. You, too?” “Let’s go. Remember, don’t let her hex you.” Lorien tried to tell them she wasn’t able to do any such thing. All she could do was struggle. Then she stopped. What could she do but wait for an opportunity? She was naked and choking on a cloth stuffed into her mouth. “Move along now,” one man said, poking at her. Lorien went in the direction she was nudged, going back into the long corridor. The two kept her between them, one ahead and the other behind, with the glass chains taut. “She’s a looker, I’ll give her that. I wouldn’t mind—” “Don’t even think it,” cautioned the other. “That gives her power over you. And if you did, she’d burn it off the second you got it in.” 82

Lost Lore “That the truth or are you making all that up?” “Truth. I heard it from Kraydon and he heard it straight from the chancellor.” Lorien tried to laugh. Anything Taltarian might say had to be considered a black lie. Then she was no longer concerned with barracks gossip. They got her into another bare stone room. This was smaller. She tried to make a break for freedom when the glass shackles dropped free of her wrists, but they were too quick for her. The mysterious portal through the sold rock wall disappeared before she could push her way out. From somewhere and nowhere came a faint yellowish light. She hunted for a window but did not find one. Prowling the cell, she hunted for some way out. The magical doorway might be moved anywhere, but she had no way of casting the spell. She wished she were this Sannea that Taltarian—and Jerro—mistook her for. Sannea caused more than a tremble of fear and was seen as a sorceress of incredible power. I want out, Lorien thought, sinking down into a corner of the cell. She shivered from the cold and wished she had even her threads of clothing left, but they had been discarded in the other room. The room with Taltarian and his glass chains. The memory of what he had done to her caused her to swing around and examine the wall 83

Aurora Jamison carefully. Mortar had dried and might be removed with a little effort. Lorien had no idea where she would end up, but she had to do something. Sitting and passively accepting her fate—and it looked increasingly dismal—was not the way she looked at life. Her fingers slid between the blocks and worried away the mortar until she could look into the next room. As dark as the cell where she was, it might afford a way out. There’s got to be a real doorway somewhere, she thought, working more furiously when a small block fell free. What must have been an hour later, she had clawed open a hole large enough to wiggle through without losing a lot of skin. She flopped into the room and stood. It was darker than the cell she had just vacated but gave her hope that the door might be unlocked. No one had been in this room in some time. She took a deep sniff and knew it had been closed up. She had noticed this peculiar mustiness more than once when she had been examining houses that were long on the market. Lorien held back a sob, then got hold of her emotions. She would get back to home and Keith and everything she knew. This whole bizarre world with centaurs and kings and palaces was not hers. Running her hands over the walls convinced her that a doorway out existed. Her nimble fingers 84

Lost Lore traced over an arch, but it had been bricked up. She carefully went from one edge at floor level up and over the top of the arch down to the floor on the other side. Solid. But her hand brushed against something that wasn’t rock. In the dim light she could hardly see what it was. Picking it up gingerly, she examined it as carefully as she could. “A box,” she said. A cold lump formed in her stomach. This looked frighteningly like the carved wooden box Taltarian had carried the pollen from the Forbidden Woods in before opening the lid and blowing the dust into her face. Lorien eased open the lid and peered inside. It was hard to tell what lay within. Her index finger darted in, touched something grainy and then came back out. She examined what she had captured on her finger. Four tiny grains glistened with an inner light. Knowing she should not, but doing it anyway, Lorien put her finger just under her nose and inhaled. She let out a deep shuddery sigh. “Keith,” she moaned. “I want you. Come to me.” And he did. From the darkness Keith walked boldly to stand over her. He looked down. “Take off your shirt.” And he did. He stood naked to the waist. Somehow, he was more muscular than she remembered him being. She 85

Aurora Jamison liked this Keith a lot. Lorien put down the box and reached out. Her fingers slid over his ripped and cut belly. He had quite a six-pack she had never felt before. “You’re lovely,” he said. “You’re the most gorgeous woman in the world.” “Which world?” she teased. Her temperature was definitely rising as she stroked over his stomach and worked around behind him. Her hand cupped his ass and pulled him closer. She was on her knees now in front of him. How she wanted Keith! “Suck on my dick,” he ordered. “I’ll unfasten your pants.” Somehow his clothing disappeared as if by magic, leaving only the trembling, thick column of man-flesh. His prick drew her like a magnet. Her lips closed over the tip and sent new chills of anticipation throughout her. How often had she wanted it to be like this with Keith? He was always so hurried. He wanted it done fast with, slam, bam, not even a thank you, ma’am. Sucking on his cock in such a leisurely way was perfect for her. She loved the taste, the way his flesh slipped over and around her tongue, the scent, everything about giving him head. “Harder,” he said. “Suck harder.” He anticipated what she wanted to do. She began moving back and forth faster now, her lips 86

Lost Lore sliding in a tight O around his cock. His hands rested on her head but he did not force her. They found the right rhythm together that aroused them both. Lorien felt her pussy beginning to cream at the expectation of a geyser of tasty cum into her mouth. She wanted it and Keith was . . . . . . not Keith any longer. Somehow, her boyfriend had turned into Jerro. She recoiled as she stared up at him. “How?” “Don’t stop,” he said. “Finish what you started.” “But—” His hands gripped either side of her face, holding her directly in front of his groin. His cock was bigger than Keith’s—and Lorien found she wanted it even more than her boyfriend’s. She had no idea what was happening but once more she was with Jerro. Jerro and his cock. She lost herself in the sheer lust of the moment and sobbed out as she climaxed at the same time as Jerro. Never had this happened, getting off without direct stimulation of her clit or pussy. “So much better,” Lorien said with a sigh. She sank back and looked up at Jerro. He was gone. Startled, she sprang to her feet. “Jerro! Keith?” A frantic search of both this room and her original cell showed she was alone. 87

Aurora Jamison She stared at the wooden box and realized only four grains of the morda pollen had given her intense pleasure—and with two men she loved. Or was it only one man? And a centaur?

88

Lost Lore

Chapter Seven

L

orien ran her fingers over the box, tracing the contours and considering what incredible release it offered her. She was trapped in this pair of stone rooms. All she needed to do was dip her finger into the morda dust and she could escape in fantasy. Or was it hallucination? She had not realized it could affect her that way—either way— when she had first inhaled so deeply back in the Forbidden Woods. Then she had thought it was nothing more than aphrodisiac. Now she was not sure what more the pollen dust could do. “My salvation, my escape,” she said softly. Her fingers worked around the lid and started to open it. “It is neither,” someone said. “It is what it is and nothing more.” “Who’s there?” Lorien curled into herself, bringing her legs up and trying to make as small a target as possible in the corner of the cell. For 89

Aurora Jamison some reason, she felt more secure in the cell she had worked her way into. Taltarian had put her in the other. She had fought and scraped to get into this one, so this was hers. The voice in the darkness violated her space entirely. “You know me. From the Forbidden Woods. I helped you.” “Jerro?” “He did not help you in the Forbidden Woods, he fucked you,” the voice said with some disdain. “I cannot blame him. You were both under the influence of the pollen and incapable of restraining yourselves. Still, he is a little dimwitted at times.” “The snake,” she said, finally recognizing the sibilant voice. “Ploviss,” came the answer, more of a hiss than a word. “At your service.” Every “s” was drawn out, making the identification positive. Lorien looked around the cell but did not see the snake. “Where are you?” “I am on the far side of the wall.” “But I hear you just fine. The rock would muffle any voice and—” “Magicks,” Ploviss assured her. “This is how the doorways are opened, and there is no real stone separating us.” She laid her hands on the rock under the arch. It 90

Lost Lore felt cold and solid. “I don’t understand.” “That is because you are not a sorceress.” “They mistook me for someone named—” “Sannea,” the snake hissed. There was true venom in the way it spoke now. “She is a terrible person. A witch. A sorceress who misuses her power. You do bear a resemblance to her.” “Jerro didn’t think so until he got close enough. He’s nearsighted.” “He is blind,” Ploviss said. “As blind as any fool.” “But Taltarian should have known I’m not Sannea. He wanted her captured and—” “He has never seen her. There is only a picture stone of Sannea and, if this is the only identification, you can be mistaken for her.” “Picture stone? Like a photograph?” “Magicks have burned her likeness into a stone when she least expected it. Sannea tried to recover it but it was stolen, and Taltarian came into possession of it when he realized only Sannea threatened his power and chance for utter control of the City of the Ancient Kings.” “They’re rivals?” “Of course,” Ploviss said. “Do you want to spend the rest of your life within the four cold walls of that cell?” “No!” 91

Aurora Jamison “Then open the path through the archway.” “You said it was magical. I don’t know any magic.” Lorien smiled ruefully. As a child she had played with a magic set and had not been able to do even the simplest of the tricks so her friends couldn’t figure out what she did. Her dexterity was lacking. And so was her true magical ability. “You might remember the spell. Say it and the doorway will open.” “How could I know it?” “You saw Sannea. You must have when you came into this world.” “The white-haired woman dressed in the flowing black robe? I saw her—or thought I did.” “She can appear as she likes. The color of her hair is meaningless. She puts dyes into it.” “So do I,” Lorien said. “I’ve changed hair color a half dozen times in the past few years.” “You are a sorceress!” “It’s common on my world. Hairdressers and beauty salons and—” “The spell! You heard her utter it to open a doorway to your world. Say it now.” “I did hear something. A low whisper, like words of a song played so low . . . “ Lorien closed her eyes and tried to remember seeing the whitehaired woman. Forcing away the vision, she concentrated on what she had heard. A low rumble, perhaps the sound of the ocean’s surf 92

Lost Lore pounding against the shore. And words. She did not know what they meant since they were in some foreign language. She blurted them out. “Are those the words?” she asked Ploviss. “Is the archway open to you?” the snake countered. It was. Lorien tumbled through the opening and into the corridor beyond. As she got to her feet, she tripped over the snake. Ploviss let out an aggrieved hiss and slithered away from her. “Be careful. You can hurt me. You are far heavier, and my bones are fragile.” “Sorry,” she said. Lorien still clutched the box with the morda dust in it. She shivered, thinking how close she had come to opening the box and inhaling it all in an attempt to escape her imprisonment. Getting free had been so easy. “You are naked. Humans do not like to go about naked,” Ploviss said. “You’re right.” “Hurry, then.” “I want to get the hell out of this awful place. First clothes, then outta here,” she said firmly. “Follow me.” Ploviss sinuously twisted about and began wiggling down the corridor. As Lorien followed, she was tempted to try her newfound magical spell to see if other doorways might open up along the featureless stone walls. Then she 93

Aurora Jamison realized they might—and she had no idea what lay on the other side. This must be the prison. She could release allies, or she could also release crazed criminals who would not be the least bit appreciative of her efforts. They might kill her, thinking she worked for Taltarian. “Is there anyone we can get to help?” “You need no one. Trust only your own instincts,” Ploviss said. “Should I trust you?” “Do so at your own risk. I have goals I must attain. You are the best way I can do so.” “What goals?” “Do you think I was born in this body? A snake? I am no snake. I have been ensorcelled by Sannea. I want to return to my own body and stop dragging my belly along cold stone floors. If you can help me, I will help you.” “And if I can’t, you’ll drop me like a hot potato.” “Hot potato?” “Never mind,” she said. Some clichés on her world lacked something in the translation. She remembered how calling Jerro “buster” had confused him. Jerro. The thought of the centaur caused her heart to beat a little faster, and she did not know why. He had betrayed her and told Taltarian she was a 94

Lost Lore sorceress and the king’s chancellor had locked her up and it really wasn’t Jerro’s fault so much since he couldn’t see her well, but— “In here. Now!” The snake curled into a tight coil, rose and hissed loudly at her for emphasis. “They come. We must not be seen.” “Who?” Lorien found herself talking to empty space. Ploviss had found a mouse-sized hole in the stone, possibly used for drainage should the corridor flood, and had squeezed into it. How such a thick body could fit that tiny hole was a mystery she had no time to think on. She heard what the snake already had. Voices. Voices she recognized. “Jerro!” The name escaped her lips before she could stop. Lorien also recognized the other speaker as Taltarian. Ploviss had disappeared down his drain hole. She looked around and saw a regular door and doorway. It took her only an instant to slip through. She turned and looked into the room, only to gasp. She had come into someone’s bedroom. But what a bedroom it was! She took an involuntary step toward the huge bed covered with a downy soft blanket. She reached out and stroked over it. She knew now why cats purred. The sensual feel of the cloth sliding under her fingers soothed and excited her at the same time. Outright fondling of the blanket gave her the urge 95

Aurora Jamison to lie on it, naked as she was, and roll back and forth. The feel of the cloth across her nipples and thighs and back and legs would be pure heaven. Before she could do just that, she heard Jerro and Taltarian just outside the door. Lorien started to grab the blanket and wrap it around her, but the door creaked open and she heard the two clearly now. They were arguing. She dared not disturb the bed or any of the sumptuous furnishings for fear that Taltarian would notice. This had to be his bedroom. She dived down alongside the bed and rolled hard against it to keep from being seen when both the king’s chancellor and Jerro came into the room. The door creaked shut, and Lorien held her breath. If either came around the bed they would see her. Then she looked up at the ceiling above the bed and almost cried out. A large mirror showed every move on the bed—and alongside it. She was plainly visible if either of them chanced a look upward. Lorien tried to slip under the bed, but there was not enough room. Barely an inch of clearance even Ploviss could not slither through was all the space she had. Staying put, not moving and praying that no one noticed her was her only chance. “You have to find out!” Jerro cried. “You promised. If I brought you the sorceress, you said 96

Lost Lore you would find what she’s done with my entire family.” “Breaking the spirit of a witch of Sannea’s power is not easily done,” Taltarian said glibly. “You know her power. You fell under it easily.” “It was the Forbidden Woods,” Jerro said somewhat defensively. Lorien wondered if he had felt the same as she had afterward. While the morda pollen might have sparked their libidinous lust, there had been something more driving them on. Even after the last of the dust had left their nostrils, she had felt the longing for his touch, the heat of his body, the way he moved against her. Lorien rubbed her legs together to no avail. She was beginning to cream just thinking of the time she had spent with Jerro. “So you say,” Taltarian taunted him. “She had you under her spell. You will come to see how extraordinary she is and how lucky you were to dupe her into coming to the City.” “She wanted to come,” Jerro said. “I have no idea why, but she wanted to come.” Lorien wished she could see Taltarian’s expression. His voice was measured, but the sharpness just underneath the words told the true story. “Did she say what she intended to do here?” “You know more of her plans than I ever could. All I want is my family returned.” 97

Aurora Jamison “And you shall get it, you shall,” promised Taltarian. Lorien wondered of Jerro heard the lie in those honeyed words. She certainly did. Her heart went out to Jerro. He had brought her here because he thought she was the sorceress who had kidnapped his entire family. She wanted to comfort him, then realized what it meant. His family. His family might include a wife and children. Were there little ponies prancing about and was his wife a brood mare? Or were they as human as Jerro, caught in a curse that altered their shape when multiple moons of this alien world rose? “I fear for their safety. It’s been so long.” “You have nothing to fear. This very afternoon I take my—your—plea to King Arrin. When he authorizes her interrogation, we will soon find where your family has been imprisoned.” “Why does the king have to approve?” “He commands sorcerers more powerful than Sannea, when they work in tandem. Only King Arrin can order them to break her will and force her to speak.” “What am I going to do?” “Stay here, my loyal friend. Rest. When the king has sent his mages to interrogate, we will learn all then. You will be the first one I tell. That is your reward for such bravery.” “There was nothing brave about it,” Jerro said. 98

Lost Lore “She wanted to come to the City.” “What does the City of the Ancient Kings hold that she can use?” mused Taltarian. Then, more businesslike, “Wait. If you desire, I can send an houri or two to keep you entertained. Once I learn something of Sannea’s plot, I can act effectively to counter it.” “I have no need for your whores,” Jerro said. Lorien smiled to herself. “Suit yourself,” Taltarian said. The door creaked open and shut, cutting off the conversation. But Lorien felt the presence of only Jerro now. And a powerful one it was for her. She rubbed her legs together a little more as she thought of how wrong he had been about her and how she must correct it. She stared directly up into the overhead mirror as Jerro lay down on the bed. Their eyes met, gazes reflected in the mirror. “Sannea!” he cried. Lorien rolled to her feet as he sat up in bed. The expression on his face was one of pure hatred. She could not bear to see him like this—or what it meant for her. He still thought she was a terrible sorceress who held his family captives. “Jerro, don’t,” she said. “I’ll make you talk. Taltarian has no idea how to get information from you. Your magicks don’t frighten me. Where is my family?” He swung his 99

Aurora Jamison long legs around to the floor. He was dressed in form-fitting brown tights now that showed every contour of his strong legs. A green tunic was partially laced up the front, his broad, hairy chest showing through the garment. He wore leather boots similar to those Taltarian had worn—calfhigh and polished to the sheen of mirrors. She stood in front of him, naked and unable to resist the strength she saw in those arms. His determination to make her tell what she did not know frightened her. Then Lorien saw her chance. Rather than pushing off the bed to his feet and coming for her, he was caught up in ogling her nakedness. He had seen her bare-ass before, but she still slowed him down for a moment showing so much skin. This gave her the chance to do the only thing she could. She opened the box she clutched so hard and blew a quick puff across the surface of the dust within. The cloud of morda pollen spread rapidly. Jerro sucked in his breath in surprise, and the transformation on his face was immediate. He went from looking at her as if she were a monster to staring at a woman he wanted to fuck. Lorien had succeeded in stopping him from taking her prisoner again. But she had also inhaled some of the pollen. Or had she? Just hearing Jerro’s soft voice and knowing he was in the same room had excited her before the box had been 100

Lost Lore opened. “I want you,” he said in a low voice that sent shivers up her spine. “I want you, too,” she said, putting the carved wood box down on the floor, careful to keep it out of the way so she would not accidentally spill its contents. Lorien sucked in her breath and held it for a moment, just to test her theory that she had not inhaled any of the dust. Her heart raced and her nipples ached with need and her pussy watered and she knew she had not sucked any of the dust into her lungs. What she felt was real—and it was for Jerro. She stepped closer. He reached out his strong hands and circled her waist, pulling her closer. He buried his face in her flesh, kissing and licking, softly exhaling against her skin and then using his tongue to dive deep into the depression of her navel. He swirled it about as if he was trying to drill through her. Every touch, every gust of his hot breath, aroused her a little more. His hands stroked over her silky skin and cupped her buttocks. With one hand on each of her ass cheeks, he began squeezing and kneading and pulling her closer. Lorien gasped when he slid down off the bed and pressed his face fully into her bush. His tongue shot out and worked its way impudently into her pussy. She gasped again when he began tongue fucking her. 101

Aurora Jamison His hands never left her ass, and his mouth worked on her most sensitive flesh. Her knees began to melt under her. She sank forward and caught herself on the bed so that she was spread wide for him. He continued to use his tongue in wild and inventive ways, driving deeply within her most intimate recess and then slipping out to stroke over her pussy lips. When he sucked gently at her throbbing clit, she lost all strength. Her arms collapsed and she fell forward onto the bed. Jerro lithely slid between her legs and came to his feet behind her. She looked over her shoulder and saw how the bulge in his russet tights had grown. “That must hurt,” she said, rolling over. “Let me make it feel better.” Her trembling fingers worked at the laces holding his tights on. When she skinned them down over his muscled, tight butt, his cock snapped out proud and free. She started to take it into her mouth, but he pushed her away. “That’s not where I want to put it,” he said. “Oh? What’s your idea?” Lorien said, knowing full well what he meant. Her lubricants flowed even more at the thought of feeling his hot length slipping once more into her cunt. He pushed the tights the rest of the way down his legs, then reached out and lifted her easily, depositing her in the center of the bed. In a flash 102

Lost Lore he was above her, moving between her opened legs, probing with the plum-tipped end of his cock for just the right spot. “There,” Lorien said, reaching down and grabbing hold of him. She guided him directly to her pussy, then sighed when he began entering her slowly. Inch by inch he advanced, never changing the speed, giving her both anticipation and the heat of friction between cock and pussy walls. She threw herself back on the bed, reveling in the feel of the cloth caressing her entire back and the thrilling feel of his cock fucking into her. She raised her knees and opened herself even wider. This clamped down on his trapped manhood. Lorien thought it could not get any better, and then she blinked her eyes a couple times and saw that it could. Above her in the mirror she saw how Jerro moved, the play of muscles on his back, the thrust of his cute, tight butt, the way she surrendered totally to him. It was all above her in the mirror and added dimensions to the lovemaking she had never thought possible. Why she had never done this before was a mystery, but not one she was inclined to explore now. All she wanted to do was enjoy the heat and lightning from his powerful body. She ran her hands up and down his arms and 103

Aurora Jamison then was completely lost. He had tried to move slowly and give her the ultimate in pleasure but the pollen drove him. He began a powerful thrusting that carried her away from her predicament, from herself, and transported her to a realm of pure ecstasy. It all crashed together for her. The feel and sight, the heat and scent of his body. The way her own body responded. She cried out, arched off the bed and ground her pussy down hard onto his cock until they were both sated. He sank down heavily atop her, crushing her into the soft bed. She looked past his shoulder and saw their bodies locked together in the mirror and felt a contentment she had never experienced before. This was the way it ought to be every time. Jerro rolled to one side to get his weight off her, but she tried to hold him in place. His warmth and power were what she needed because she had returned once more to a world she did not understand. “Don’t,” she begged. “I’m too heavy for you,” he said. “Never.” He lay beside her, his hand stroking over her cheek and chin and neck as he pressed closer. “I wish this could go on forever,” she said, “but it can’t.” “It should,” he said. “Why can’t it?” 104

Lost Lore “Because,” Lorien said quickly, aware that the aphrodisiac pollen would wear off soon, “I’m not who you think I am. You have to believe me when I say I’m not a sorceress. I’m not Sannea. I’m Lorien Hudson from another world or dimension or time or something.” She grew more frantic as her plight crashed back onto her. “Lost Lore,” he said. “Poor lost Lore.” “I didn’t kidnap your family, and I have no idea why Sannea did. I’ll be glad to do what I can to help you find them, but you have to help me return to my world.” “Return,” Jerro said. “You are not of this world?” “I don’t know what happened, but I think Sannea might be responsible for pulling me into your world. Maybe we are doppelgangers living in parallel worlds or something. I don’t know.” “I don’t understand,” Jerro said. “I don’t either, but you’re my only hope.” “To return you to your own world?” “Yes!” Excited, Lorien sat up in bed and looked down at him. “You do believe me? That I’m not your enemy?” “How could one I love so much be my enemy?” He placed his hand lightly on her breast and felt the beating of her heart. She clamped both her hands over his to hold it in place. “I feel the same about you,” she said. “How can 105

Aurora Jamison I get out of this place? How can I help you find your family?” “Stay here,” he said. Jerro swung his feet over the edge of the bed and then drew up his tights. He did not bother lacing the waist. “Don’t go anywhere,” he said as he went to the door. “I won’t,” she said. Lorien was relieved. Jerro would help her get way. How could she ever return the favor? What did she know of magic or where Sannea might have hidden his family? Lorien slipped off the bed and picked up her carved wood box holding the morda pollen. This was a gift greater than anything she had ever gotten because it had won over Jerro and made him love her. Made him love me? She suddenly felt terrible. The aphrodisiac dust had held him slave to his lusts. She pulled the soft blanket from the bed and swung it around her shoulders as she went to the door leading into the corridor. She had to apologize to Jerro and be sure he was helping her because he wanted to, not because she held him prisoner to the dust. She opened the door and heard Jerro speaking words that turned her as cold inside as she had been hot moments earlier. “Sannea escaped. You let her get out of your dungeon!” Jerro cried. “I will see to it,” Taltarian said. Then the king’s 106

Lost Lore chancellor bellowed for guards to once more take Lorien captive.

107

Aurora Jamison

Chapter Eight

L

orien slipped back into the bedroom, hugging the blanket tightly around her. She looked around for some way out. She snorted in selfcontempt at the idea of trying to get under the bed like some small child. Even if there had been room, Taltarian was clever enough to look there if he knew she had not left the room. And with a direct view down the long corridor he would know. Lorien held the edges of the blanket close and gripped the carved box with the morda dust. She wondered if she could use it again to escape, then discarded the notion. She had caught Jerro by surprise. The centaur was no fool. He would resist inhaling if it seemed she was going to try that again. “Can’t go to the well too many times before the bucket comes up empty,” she said as she dashed across the room to the far wall. A faint outline of an arch told her this might be another magical 108

Lost Lore door. Chewing on her lower lip as she concentrated, Lorien finally remembered the unlocking spell she had heard. Muttering it, she placed her hand against . . . nothing. Wasting no time, she slid through the archway and found herself in an alleyway. The layout of the palace was something of a mystery to her. The more she thought, the more she realized it must have magical qualities. Perhaps it was a huge structure folded up so much inside that it was actually bigger than it seemed. Bigger inside than out, she thought. A quick look in both directions convinced her not to go to her left. She saw soldiers marching back and forth in formation. When Taltarian put out the alarm, they would be the first to respond. She grinned wickedly. If they saw her running naked, they would certainly respond. Where am I getting such ideas? she wondered. Back home she was something of a shy person, not flaunting it. She was even embarrassed—a little— when Keith made comments about her nice ass and tits. It had made her feel good that she was attractive to him, but it had also made her uneasy. She wanted him to love her for more than her body. Looking back on it from the perspective of a street corner in the City of the Ancient Kings, Lorien realized she just wanted a man to want her. 109

Aurora Jamison But coming into this world, her ideas had changed. Romping about with Jerro had been more than fun—it had been sexy and exciting and right. “And then the guy turns me over to the cops. Or what passes for the police around here.” She pulled the blanket closer to her body, enjoying the softness and stimulating feel, but she was intensely aware that no one else wore only a blanket. Most were dressed richly, men in embroidered tunics and women in dresses with bodices that exposed more than they hid of their ample bosoms, with fancy leather boots and button shoes and the most elaborate of fine jewelry imaginable. Jewels glinted everywhere she looked, and gold and silver chains were draped as ordinary decoration. The men strutted along with daggers sheathed on their left hips, and the women carried themselves with a haughtiness that told Lorien more than she wanted to know. The people of the City were snobs who thought they were better than anyone else. Right now, she was glad everyone ignored her. She wanted to put as much distance between herself and the palace as she could. As she wound about in the streets, she realized she always returned to a street leading directly into the front of the palace where Jerro had taken her. It must be some magical spell that twisted everything 110

Lost Lore around. Escaping the City of the Ancient Kings was going to be more difficult than she had expected, if for no reason other than she couldn’t find a road out. She heard no clamor of soldiers or police hunting for her, but they must have been alerted by now. She had been gone for almost an hour as she tried in vain to get back on a road leaving the City. Realizing the longer she stayed in view, the more likely someone would remember her, she ducked into a narrow corridor that led to a barred door five feet down it. Huddling down, she pulled the blanket even more tightly around her shoulders to make as small and insignificant lump as she could. She waited for more than a half hour until the sun began sinking behind the tall towers of the City before thinking on venturing out again. She was hungry and thirsty, and she needed clothes. Lorien stood and cautiously looked out into the street. It was emptying rapidly, but the lack of people did not hold her attention as much as the two moons rising in the sky. “Jerro,” she said softly. “Are you a centaur again?” She worried that the third moon would rise and make the change permanent—or permanent until the triple moons once more appeared and let him change back into full human form. Then it struck her she was worrying about 111

Aurora Jamison the wrong person. Jerro had handed her over to the king’s chancellor to be tortured. They had made love, and he had shown no qualms about giving her back into Taltarian’s control. There was no reason to worry about the horseman. She had to take care of herself. Still, she wondered how he was coping with the “transmute” and if it was painful to alter his shape from human to half horse and back. Hearing the rhythmic click-click-click of marching boot heels hitting the pavement, she ducked back into her narrow passageway. Lorien caught her breath when she saw a full company of soldiers marching past. If even one of them turned and looked into the dark corridor, she was doomed. She backed farther until she pressed against the door. When it suddenly opened, she started to scream. A hand clamped over her mouth and stifled the outcry. “For your life, don’t shout,” came the whispered command. She was pulled backward, and the door was kicked shut. She saw the toe of the boot that shoved the heavy door closed but could not see who was holding her. “Be quiet. Even through the walls and wood they might hear. They have ears like a fox.” The pressure lessened on her mouth. She whirled about, letting the blanket drift away from 112

Lost Lore her body. The man who had dragged her inside stared in lustful admiration as her naked body was exposed. The blanket settled down. She pulled it around herself as chastely as she could. Then she allowed it to drop off her shoulders so the tops of her breasts were visible. She had to think in terms of survival and keeping everyone else off balance was the only way she could hope to escape the City. Realizing that the tops of her breasts would hold the man’s attention for only so long, she let the blanket fal open a little more and daringly exposed more skin—all the way down to her carefully styled, Brazilian waxed bush. This was all that was necessary to keep the man’s mind occupied. “Thanks for saving me from them,” she said. “Do they want you, too?” “Of course. I am a purveyor of what so few in the City of the Ancient Kings have.” “Drugs? Illicit sex?” This caused the man to stop looking low and stare into her eyes. “Those are easily obtained—given away freely. King Arrin is a generous king.” “What, then?” “Sanctuary. Privacy. Everyone is under constant surveillance, both magical and otherwise, but not within these walls. I trap and stop all 113

Aurora Jamison spells so the curious cannot watch and the authorities cannot penetrate.” “Why do you do it?” “Ah, yes,” he said, brushing a lock of long dark hair from his eyes. He grinned wolfishly. The more Lorien stared at him, the more she thought in terms of an animal. If not a wolf, then some predatory animal. His dark eyes gleamed and his manner seemed to quicken, causing nervous gestures. A tic caused his left eye to almost close now. But he watched her as if she were dinner. “So?” “I do it for the thrill of evasion. Of being able to do as I please and no one knows.” “If the king is so lenient, what can you do here that’s not already allowed?” “Be alone! I value my privacy!” He spun away in a clumsy pirouette, pointing in all directions as he turned. “Nowhere in this house can the king’s wizards watch me while I sleep or eat. They cannot control me.” “If life’s so good, why do you care?” “You weren’t sent by the king’s sorcerers, were you? I won’t give you the secrets of my ward spells. Nothing will make me talk!” Lorien began to worry that the man was quite insane. She pulled the blanket closer and tried to step back when he reached out and touched her arm. 114

Lost Lore “Never have I seen such a blanket,” he said, running his hand up and down over it. Lorien pressed against the wall, waiting for him to try something more. The blanket alone drew his attention. “I need a place to stay for the night. And food.” She thought about all he had said and added, “Food they can’t monitor.” “Yes, good, of course. I have such food that has not been inspected by the king’s own!” “I need my privacy. Alone. No one else.” “That is why people come here, to get away. The richest of the courtly avail themselves of my facilities. There is only so much public gawking and private eavesdropping they can stand. They pay well, they do. What can you pay?” “The blanket,” Lorien said tentatively. She wasn’t sure if she ought to make it sound like a joke because she knew what he wanted from the way he stared at her naked body. “Deal! I’ll even give you more suitable clothing to wear when you leave in the morning.” “A deal?” He grabbed the blanket and pulled it to his cheek, stroking across it, humming to himself. “I had a blanket like this when I was a child. The king’s own guard took it from me. It was forbidden, they said, because only royalty was entitled to such pleasure.” He closed his eyes and 115

Aurora Jamison hummed a tune Lorien almost recognized. It might have been a nursery rhyme changed by being worlds away from her home. But it didn’t matter. “Food? My room and bed?” She clung to the wooden box with the aphrodisiac pollen in it. “Oh, yes, of course. There. Pick a room. Any of the four on the left side. I’ll have food sent. It’ll be left in the hallway outside. No one ever disturbs your solitude. Leave in the morning.” With that, he wandered away, stroking the blanket over his cheek and beginning to cry at whatever memories it brought back to him. Feeling uncomfortable dressed only in her skin and clutching the box, Lorien sidled along the hallway and peered into one room after another. They all seemed identical, so she chose the third one. She had read an article once about picking boyfriends. Never go with the first or second. By the time the third came along, it would be serious. She had never found that to work. All it did was give two other losers to measure against the third. “Keith,” she said with a sigh. In spite of the way he treated her sometimes, she missed him. She missed Claire and her job and everything else in her world. Instead of a neat, well-pressed, nononsense business suit, she was clad only in her birthday suit. 116

Lost Lore Lorien closed the door behind her and looked around the room. It was small but clean, and the bed looked inviting after all she had been through. She sat on the edge and bounced a few times. It spread out with a loving embrace under her weight. She dropped back and stared up, expecting to see a mirror here, also. She was disappointed. All that stretched above the bed was a plastered ceiling. Not even any crack disturbed the smooth, cream-colored expanse. She heaved a sigh and closed her eyes for a moment. She had been through so much since coming through the inter-world gate or door or whatever it was. She was certain now that it had been Sannea she had seen, the woman with the snow-white hair and the blacker than midnight robes. If only she had seen her face, but it had been turned away. If she had seen that, Lorien thought she might have been better prepared for the confused identities. “I’m no sorceress,” she said softly. But she reached out and placed her hand on the carved wooden box. With the dust inside that, she could make a fortune back on earth—or in the other dimension or parallel world or whatever. She scooted up a little more in the softness surrounding her like a glove and crawled under the light blanket. Lorien did not intend to go asleep before she had something to eat, but closing 117

Aurora Jamison her eyes for only a moment did not seem like a bad idea. Just a moment. It had to be a dream, and she knew it, and it didn’t matter. Lorien was back in the Forbidden Woods, and ahead of her stood Keith, bare-ass naked. She laughed at this. He was always a stickler for being dressed in the latest styles. He was more of a clotheshorse than she was. “Keith,” she called. He turned and beckoned to her. She walked forward slowly, aware that she, too, was naked. Somehow, she wanted to be naked for him in the Forbidden Woods. She wanted to see what happened next—as long as it was something sexy. ‘I want you,’ he mouthed. No words reached her ears but she saw his lips moving in those words. “I want you and I love you.” She stopped and stared at him. He had never said he loved her before. Not really. Then a part of her realized this was a dream and that she ought to go with it. Why not let it play out so she could see what happened? “I want you, too,” she said, advancing once more. The ground beneath her bare feet was soft dirt, finer and more sexual than walking on a carpet, more sensuous as it oozed up between her toes. ‘Suck your toes?’ Keith mouthed. “Why can’t you speak?” Lorien stopped and 118

Lost Lore looked down. Her body gleamed like alabaster in the dim light filtering through leaves above. When she looked up, Keith was there, reaching out to her. She did not move. He came to her and took her in his arms, strongly, crushing her with his strength, giving her his love. Keith kissed her lips and cheeks and eyes and began moving around to her ears. He toyed with her earlobe until her breath came faster. He sucked in the lobe and lightly ran his tongue around the rim before moving down to her neck. Lorien arched her back and thrust out her chest against him. He showered her with soft kissed that became more demanding as he went lower and lower. He worked around her body while she stood stock-still, eyes closed and face turned to the leafy canopy. In this way she felt her muscles taut and responsive to his lips and tongue and keeping her eyes closed lent an air of mystery and anticipation. She never knew where he might kiss her next. He was behind her, kissing each and every bone in her spine. She felt his hands running lightly over her butt before slipping even lower. She gasped in delight when he kissed the very spots he had just touched. “Oh, yes, Keith, there. Kiss me—oh!” She went weak in the knees as she felt his tongue slide between the fleshy half moons of her 119

Aurora Jamison buttocks. He licked and kissed in a spot she had never had touched like this before. “Yes, there, oh, so nice,” she said. She almost panted in excitement. The last time this had happened was when Jerro had driven his finger up her ass while he was fucking her. The sensations met and meshed and exploded within her in a fiery sun that burned forever and ever. Somehow, he guided her down to the ground so she was on all fours. “Take me like this,” she begged. “Take me doggy style. I . . . I feel so much like an animal!” He kissed her a few more times and then she felt him positioning himself. His hairy thighs rubbed against the backs of her legs. And then she hardly noticed anything else but the thickness probing in from behind. His cock was hard and hot and long, and he found the precise spot to shove it in. Lorien began bucking about, thrusting her hips backward to get him deeper into her pussy. She was hot and wet now and wanted him to fuck her. “Do it, do it now,” she cried out. She quivered all over as waves of weakness rolled through her like some erotic earthquake. Never had she felt closer to a lover. Never had she wanted to melt and mesh and become one with a man like she did now. He began slowing thrusting in and then 120

Lost Lore withdrawing, tormenting her and making her yearn for more. When he reached around and began playing with her dangling boobs, she could take no more. She reached between her legs and brushed across her clit, but it was his hairy sac dangling under his cock that she sought. When she found it, she began squeezing. This drove him as crazy with need as she was. He had been moving slowly before. Now he fucked with hard, heavy strokes. Her body was like a balloon being over inflated. She had reached the breaking point. She erupted in complete, total release. As the carnal shockwaves died within her, she sank forward and lay on the soft ground. This might be the Forbidden Woods, but she wanted this moment to last forever. She was warm and sated and wanted nothing more than to hold him. He came to her unbidden, moving behind to spoon. Their bodies still fit together like key and lock. She reached up and put her hand on his. “This is so nice. The man I love.” Lorien recoiled a little at this, but she knew it was true. And what did it matter? It was only a dream. “I love you so,” she said, turning in the circle of his arms until they were face to face. “I love you, Jerro.” The shock at seeing the horse-man rather than Keith jolted her awake. She grasped the bedclothes 121

Aurora Jamison as if she were falling. Lorien was covered with sweat and her heart raced. But her nipples were hard with lust and her pussy was still moist from arousal. She sank back onto the bed and stared at the featureless ceiling, lost in the realization that, while it might have been a dream, it was prophetic. She did love Jerro, no matter what he had done to her. Or what he would do.

122

Lost Lore

Chapter Nine

L

orien awoke the next morning, feeling exhausted. Her dreams had been populated with Keith and even more with Jerro, always in the Forbidden Woods, always engaging in wild sexual activity. A tiny smile crept to her lips as she remembered one of the dreams. The sensation had been fantastic—and, like the best of the other dreams, it had been of Jerro. She climbed from the bed and looked at the wood box with the morda dust. It had not been opened. Whatever provoked her dreams had not come from the pollen. She shrugged it off. Perhaps this was only a reaction to being free of Taltarian’s prison. Her mind must be running wild as it reveled in freedom. But why does that freedom always come back to me and Jerro? There was no easy answer for that. On bare feet, she walked to the door and opened it a crack to peek into the hallway. The man who had rescued her from the king’s soldiers 123

Aurora Jamison the night before was true to his word. Alongside a piece of bread and a hunk of cheese big enough to choke a goat lay a neatly stacked pile of clothes. She snatched both and ducked back into the room. She wasn’t sure how long she could stay, but as thrilled as her benefactor had been to get the blanket stolen from King Arrin’s palace, there might be another day or two rent paid by it. She spread the clothing onto the bed and studied what she had with some disdain. For all the rich clothing she had seen in the City of the Ancient Kings, this outfit was downright plain. When she remembered how Jerro had dressed, though, it did not seem quite so simple. Wiggling into the tight pants and lacing them at the waist made her feel as if she had stepped into a second skin. Bending over, though, did not pinch or hurt. The cloth was stretchable without feeling like polyester or Spandex. She decided it was comfortable enough. She was less sure about the jerkin. It would not close in front. Even tugging hard at the laces left a gap of several inches, exposing her bare flesh all the way from chin to belly button. Worse, the fabric barely covered her areola. Moving about, stretching and reaching caused embarrassing amounts of one breast or the other to pop into sight. “You look fetching,” came a sibilant voice from the corner of the room. 124

Lost Lore Lorien spun, ready to fight. She relaxed when she saw Ploviss coiled on a low stool and looking pleased with himself, if she could read his expression properly. “How did you get in? No, wait, I don’t care about that. How’d you find me?” Ploviss thrust out his thin forked black tongue and lashed it about. “You smell nice. Very distinctive. All I had to do was follow the scent. It’s a good thing Taltarian did not think of that and loose his hounds. They get upset if they don’t rip apart their quarry.” “He thinks he needs me,” Lorien said bitterly. “Yes, and he has mistaken you for Sannea. She would destroy his prized hounds with the wave of a hand and a potent burning spell.” “Can you teach me that spell?” “I am ensorcelled,” Ploviss said sadly. “Even if I knew such things, I would not, could not, while in this body. How I want to return to my own body! Damn you, Sannea! A curse on your curse!” Lorien sat on the edge of the bed and slipped on the soft leather moccasins. It was as if everything had been made for her personally. The fit was perfect, but as she reached down to tighten the lacing around her ankles, she felt one boob pop free. She hastily tucked herself back in and then looked up guiltily to see if Ploviss had noticed. He had. 125

Aurora Jamison “It’s the style,” the green snake said. “You wear it well.” Lorien wondered what Ploviss looked like in his normal body. There was certainly no lack of libido in this one. She swallowed hard and turned away as outrageous thoughts came to her what it would be like having Ploviss wrap around her leg and then slither upward, toward— “We must leave quickly,” Ploviss said. “Even assuming Taltarian has other matters to deal with as the king’s chancellor, he will not neglect finding you.” “Because he thinks I’m Sannea,” Lorien said. She had felt herself blushing as she fantasized about Ploviss. “All I know is the one spell.” “Unlocking the magical doorways is a useful skill,” Ploviss said. “Not one commanding great respect outside the City of the Ancient Kings, but many doors in this city are magically barred.” “How’d you get in here? The last I saw of you, you were slithering down a drain to escape, leaving me to fend for myself.” “You could have followed me down the drain.” “But the drain opening was only a couple inches wide,” Lorien started. She clamped her mouth shut. There was no reason to argue with the snake. “How do I get out of the City? I tried backtracking along the road Jerro and I took to get here, but it never led out, always back to the 126

Lost Lore palace.” “All roads lead there,” Ploviss said. “We must leave the City by another route.” “Sewers?” She wrinkled her nose at the idea of getting her new clothing filthy. Lorien wished there was enough time for her to take even a quick bath. She had not properly bathed since she had been in the lake. With Jerro. She forced that from her mind and back to the matter at hand. “Don’t be silly,” Ploviss said. “All roads lead to King Arrin’s palace. But if you walk on the shoulder, you can leave.” “That’s crazy. Or is it magic?” “Crazy magic, if you prefer. The king allows direct access to the City of the Ancient Kings but is not as willing to let anyone leave easily.” “It’s like a cockroach trap,” she said. “Lure in the bugs with the promise of food, then trap them.” “There is more than food in the City. There is an easy life, little work, incredible pleasures. You have not begun to understand what is offered by King Arrin.” “To lose something so hedonistic would be terrible,” she said. “That’s what will happen if Sannea wins, isn’t it?” “She must not retrieve the keys.” “What keys?” “Come, we have to leave,” Ploviss said. He 127

Aurora Jamison circled about himself and curled down to the floor. A sinuous wiggle sent him racing across the floor to the door. As quick as he was, Lorien was quicker. She grabbed him directly behind his spade-shaped head and lifted. The more of the snake’s body that left the floor, the less he could do anything but lash about. She held him at arm’s length, although the strain wore on her quickly. “What keys?” “The keys to walk between the worlds,” Ploviss said. “Now put me down. We must leave quickly. Taltarian will find us soon.” “Are you guessing or do you know that?” “I know,” he said. Lorien believed him. She released her hold, and he sinuously curled up into a tight coil, then unwound. “You put a kink in my neck,” he accused. “Let’s go.” Lorien grabbed what remained of her meal and tucked it away in a crude pack made by tearing a corner off the bed sheet and slinging it over her shoulder. She opened the door for Ploviss. The snake slithered past and went toward the rear of the building, avoiding the door where she had entered. Lorien hesitated only a moment. Ploviss wanted to regain his body and saw in her a way to attain that goal. He would double-cross her, she knew. As long as she was useful, though, she was safe enough with him. Being lost and ignorant in 128

Lost Lore this strange world meant she had to depend on someone. It was merely strange that it had to be a talking snake rather than a centaur. As she passed a partly open door, she heard a mewling coming from inside. She had to take a quick peek. She saw her host curled up on a bed identical to the one she had slept on and entertained such erotic dreams. He had folded the blanket and had his face pressed down into it. He sounded more like a baby than an adult. “The blanket is magical,” Ploviss explained. “Some people are affected powerfully by it.” “Lucky that wasn’t me. I’d still be in Taltarian’s jail cell.” “If that were you, you would not care. Come. This way. Hurry, hurry, hurry.” Ploviss wiggled around a corner and stopped in front of another door. The snake waited impatiently for Lorien to open the latch. Barely had the door opened an inch than Ploviss was through it and into the bright morning sun. As the rays struck the snake, it stretched out and then rolled over entirely. “Invigorating,” the snake said. “I’m coldblooded, you know, and it was freezing in that building.” “It was chilly but not that cold.” Then Lorien decided the snake was right. A very low temperature for her caused goose bumps. For the 129

Aurora Jamison snake it could cause torpidity. It would be groggy and slow-moving and unable to function well. “Where’s the road? The shoulder of the road?” she hastily corrected. “Not far. Be wary of anyone showing too much interest.” “Who’d ever be curious about a woman whose boobs pop out all the time accompanied by a talking snake?” “You are right. There is no need to be circumspect,” Ploviss said. Lorien could not tell if he was taunting her. It did not matter. She had to get free of Taltarian and following Ploviss was the only way out. The snake slithered and slid this way and that until she saw a road she recognized as the one she and Jerro had trod coming to the City of the Ancient Kings. “I’ve been here before,” she said. “It takes me to the palace.” “Walk in the dirt alongside the pavement,” Ploviss said. She did and immediately realized she was heading away from the City. Every step took her farther from Taltarian and buoyed her spirits. “Why do they call it the City of the Ancient Kings?” “Four thousand years ago, a trinity of kings met on the spot and declared a truce for a war that had 130

Lost Lore raged for thirteen lifetimes. They built the city as a symbol of peace and prosperity. From that humble beginning, it became what you see today.” “Not so humble,” Lorien guessed. “Was it built using magic spells?” “Of course. How else could peace be ensured?” “Silly me not to know that,” Lorien said. Ploviss’ rebuke would have angered her earlier, but now she felt free of chains both material and invisible. The farther she went from the city, the freer she was of Taltarian. Looking around, she saw no guards or even roadblocks to stop the free passage of traffic in or out. The few travellers she spotted were all going to the city and not coming from it, as if chasing her down. She was getting away quickly and easily from the city. And Jerro. She was leaving Jerro behind, too. “What can we do for Jerro? His family is being held prisoner somewhere by Sannea.” “Nothing. There is nothing we can do for him.” “Even if it is the way to get you back into your rightful body?” This stopped Ploviss. The snake curled about and rose up until he peered directly into her eyes. “Do you lie?” “I’m only saying we ought to have a plan when we find Sannea. She’s not going to return you to your proper form just because we ask, pretty please with sugar on it.” 131

Aurora Jamison “I don’t underst—” “Never mind that.” Lorien realized she was running into the same language barrier when it came to idioms that she had with Jerro. “We have to trade. Give her what she wants so you get what you want.” “And you are returned to your own world,” Ploviss finished. “Right,” she said. “What’s so bad about Sannea finding these keys she’s hunting for?” A ripple passed from one end of the snake’s thick green body to the other, making Lorien think of a whip being cracked. “She is evil. King Arrin is a good ruler but chooses unwisely in his subordinates. Even so, Taltarian is nothing compared to Sannea. She would enslave the entire world.” “So? What’s the difference trading one monarch for another?” “She experiments on living creatures. She is not benevolent. Changing me into a snake is the least of her experiments. You do not want to know what she would be capable of doing if she finds the keys.” “What do the keys do?” “Paths between worlds afford her power. Using the keys, she can travel freely from one place to another. She gains knowledge in other worlds and uses it in this one.” 132

Lost Lore “My world? We’re not too big on magic stuff.” Lorien considered for a moment and wondered if astrology or New Age beliefs counted. There might be something to all that Sannea could use. “You are not adept at casting spells. She can see utility in things you might consider ordinary. No, you do not want her to gain the keys. Such power might allow her to be the empress of a hundred worlds. A thousand!” “That’s mighty ambitious for one woman,” Lorien said. “On my world, even with armies of assistants, one ruler cannot control very much at all.” “Magic,” Ploviss said, then hissed. “You forget she uses magic.” Lorien shrugged it off. Ploviss undoubtedly believed all he said about Sannea. And Lorien believed the sorceress had changed Ploviss into a snake. She had seen things since coming to this world that were just as crazy. Like centaurs that made love to her. She clung to the wooden box containing the morda pollen. Aphrodisiac powders that worked. How they worked! Yes, she had seen stranger things in this world already. Ploviss hinted that she had not seen even a fraction of the weirdness. “Where are we going?” After almost a day of walking from the city, it had not occurred to Lorien to ask. 133

Aurora Jamison “She sometimes stays in a small house,” Ploviss said. “She? You mean Sannea?” “Who else? She lives in the middle of grassy meadow so she can see anyone approaching. If we are cautious, we can spy on her without being seen.” “Why? What’s that gain us?” “Information. I must know how she casts her spells. You have shown you can use her spells. If we overhear the proper one, you can free me.” “That’s a big stretch,” Lorien said. “Not so much. There must be some bond between you. You do look like her and come from another world. Some magical cord connecting you allows you to open doors.” “Literally,” Lorien said, laughing. “Magically.” Ploviss was dead serious. “You think if I overhear her chanting or however she casts the spells, I can remember it and use it?” “She might change someone into another form, as she has done me. Learn the spell and free me!” “How do I get back? How do you help me return to my won world? I suppose you also want me to keep Sannea from getting one of these keys. What’s the key look like? A skeleton key or what?” “A key made from bone?” 134

Lost Lore “No, it’s a type of key. Never mind that. What’s Sannea’s key look like?” “A bracelet, perhaps. A ring or torc? Whatever it is, the shape will be circular. That’s all I know.” “That’s more than I knew before,” Lorien said. “How much farther to Sannea’s hideout?” “It is not a hideout,” Ploviss said. “She has no need to hide. We are almost . . . there.” Lorien stopped dead in her tracks and stared. “That’s what you call a small house? It’s as big as King Arrin’s palace!” “Not quite. It lacks a few rooms, but it does give an idea of her pretensions. She would be more powerful than any king and rule from that spot.” The “small house” rose four stories high and was fronted with the most ornate carvings Lorien had ever imagined. She could not tell at this distance what the mansion was made from, but it looked organic, as if Sannea had fashioned the walls from living, breathing material that writhed about constantly. Windows set high on this side were lit and looked like baleful yellow eyes. Below gaped a gate that might have been a mouth prepared to swallow all who entered. “The gate’s open,” Lorien said. “Who would confront her? The entire king’s army would be defeated in an assault against Sannea’s spells.” 135

Aurora Jamison “So she wants people to go in through the front door. Open wide, inviting,” Lorien said, looking away from the imposing mansion with its strangely predatory look. It might have been a giant beast lounging in the middle of the meadow, mouth open and ready to pounce. “What’s that? Over there?” “It might be the stables,” Ploviss said. “I never noticed it before.” Sannea understood why. Her eyes returned constantly to the house. A slow smile came to her lips. “She doesn’t live in that thing,” Lorien said suddenly. “That’s a trap for the unwary. There. The stables. That’s where she lives.” “You jest!” Lorien turned toward the stables, a simple onestory building with a few opened shutters spilling out pale light. The doors were closed, but they ought to be if animals were kept inside. Lorien almost ran toward the outbuilding as her hunch became stronger and more importuning. She jumped up and grabbed the edge of a tall windowsill. With a grunt, she pulled herself up and looked within. Rows of neatly kept, strawfilled stalls extended along either wall. In the rear was a tack room. The pleasing odors of leather and hay mixed. Lorien’s nostrils expanded as she inhaled the heady aroma. 136

Lost Lore Her eyes sought out the slightest hint of danger, but when she saw the backmost stall, she stopped looking for a trap. All common sense fled. She skinned up and over the ledge, ignoring Ploviss’ hisses for her to stop. She landed lightly inside and rushed to the stall where Jerro lay unconscious. “What’s she done to you?” Lorien moaned. “Are you all right?” She dropped into the hay beside him and lifted his shaggy head and cradled it in her lap. Jerro moaned softly. She bent closer to hear what he was trying to say. “Moons,” he croaked. “Two moons. Soon. So soon, don’t want to transmute.” Then she heard something more that set her heart pounding. “Lore, poor, lost Lorien.”

137

Aurora Jamison

Chapter Ten hat are you doing? We must not be here

“Wlong. She will find us.” Ploviss slithered

back and forth in frustration. Lorien refused to budge from her position beside Jerro. “We take him with us or we don’t go.” “We will die. Sannea will kill us. Horribly.” The snake stopped its incessant movement for a moment and reared up, looking at Lorien with its beady black eyes. “Perhaps death is preferable to being forever doomed to rub my belly along the ground. But you? Is death better than finding a way home?” “Home,” Lorien said, looking down at Jerro’s slack face. Whatever Sannea had done to him had left him in a coma. Only a few mumbled words escaped his lips. “I’m not sure I can ever go home again.” “Then find a new one. Somewhere else! But not here!” “I can’t carry him,” Lorien said. “He’s too 138

Lost Lore heavy. Are you strong enough to drag him?” “What do I look like? A plow ox? Where do I put the yoke? On my nonexistent shoulders?” “I’m not leaving him,” Lorien said. Ploviss slithered closer, tongue flicking in and out. “You said the other house was a trap for the unwary. Go in, never escape. Is this not a trap for you baited with the centaur?” “I don’t care.” Even as the words left her lips, Jerro arched his back and cried out in pain. Lorien looked up, stricken. “The moons must be rising. Check for me, please, Ploviss.” Hissing, the snake writhed over to the door and peered out into the night sky. “One is rising while the other is setting. There might not be a complete transmute.” “He’s in such pain,” she said, putting her hand on his forehead. Jerro opened his eyes and tried to focus. She wasn’t sure if he saw her. Then she knew he did. “Lore,” he said. “You were in the palace.” “You turned me over to Taltarian,” she said, not trying to keep the bitterness from her tone. Then she looked more closely at him. “Why do you think I’m not Sannea now?” “I saw her. Sannea captured me. I hunted for 139

Aurora Jamison you, with the king’s soldiers, and she snared me like a rabbit. When I saw her up close, I knew you were different.” “Thanks for figuring that out so late,” Lorien said. “We must go. She held me here with a tangle foot spell, but it’s gone. When the moons rose and I began the transmute, I became a different person.” “Spells are person specific,” said Ploviss. “Turning into a centaur makes him someone else, one the spell won’t work on unless it’s recast.” “Can you stand?” Lorien was already prodding Jerro to his feet. He was almost too heavy for her to support but she got her feet planted firmly and heaved him erect. “You’ve got the muscles. Use them.” “The moon must be setting. Only one in the sky?” “By now, yes,” hissed Ploviss. “The pain is receding. I started to change; now I’m changing back into a full human body.” “Let us humans get out of here,” Lorien said. She glanced at the snake. “You, too, Ploviss. You count.” “You think of me as a human? In this ophidian body?” “You’re doing just fine,” Lorien said. It hardly mattered if she meant this for Jerro or Ploviss. 140

Lost Lore Both rallied and made haste to get out of the stables. She kicked the door open and helped Jerro through into the cool night air. Ploviss slithered between her legs and out into the tall grass growing around the building. Lorien looked around, found a spot at the edge of the meadow and decided this was as close to shelter as they were likely to find. Barely had she taken three steps when mocking laughter froze her in her tracks. “Sannea!” Lorien did not need Jerro’s identification to know they had been discovered by the sorceress. She tried to take another step but found it almost impossible. Her muscles strained but no amount of effort moved her forward even an inch. “Tangle foot spell,” Jerro said in a hoarse voice. “She’s got both of us now.” “I do, indeed, man-horse. Or do you prefer horse-man? Centaur, perhaps? It does not matter what I call you as long as I control you.” Sannea strode quickly from the side of the stables. Where she had been was a mystery to Lorien and one which did not require a solution. Being caught was enough of a new problem to solve. “Who is your lovely rescuer?” Sannea stared hard at Lorien, then shook her head. “My, you are 141

Aurora Jamison gorgeous. You look enough like me to be my sister!” “I’m not your sister,” Lorien snapped. “Of course you are not. I killed her when we were children. Even as a youngling, I did not make mistakes like allowing an enemy to live overlong.” Lorien’s mind raced. Sannea did not recognize her as being from another world or having been pulled through into this one when the sorceress opened the doorway. That was a tiny advantage, but she could not figure how best to use it. “You would run away with my look-alike, Jerro? Why do you think she can save your precious family from their fate? I told you what I wanted and how you were going to get it for me. But you tried to double-cross me by selling me to Taltarian.” “What have you done with them?” Jerro stood under his own strength now as adrenaline sparked by anger flooded his body. “You said you would free them and you didn’t.” “You said you would retrieve a trinket for me and you didn’t. Instead, you went to Taltarian. Now why is that?” Sannea walked around them in a circle just large enough so Lorien could not grab the sorceress. “Could it be, my nearsighted friend, that you came across this slut and thought to sell her to Taltarian? He would know she was not 142

Lost Lore Sannea!” “He didn’t,” Lorien said before she realized how wrong it was to give Sannea even a tiny new morsel of information. “He thought you were me, also? I see now. Taltarian has never seen me, except for the likeness in the picture stone. Those hardly do me justice. So, Jerro catches you, thinks he has caught me and has me under his power, then gives you over to Taltarian in return for what?” “My family!” “Yes, that must be it. You thought Taltarian had sorcerers powerful enough to force that information from me. You are so foolish, Jerro. So terribly foolish.” “I’m not so stupid to think you would ever free my family. Have you killed them already?” “They are not dead. They are merely in suspended animation. See? Give me what I want and you can free them to romp and prance once more in the meadows.” Sannea thrust her face close to Lorien’s before saying, “They’re horses, you know. Not centaurs. Horses.” She laughed at Lorien’s shocked expression. “The question has been troubling you, hasn’t it?” “What question? How to kill you?” Sannea ignored the jibe. “Is he, in his normal state, a horse or a man? Or a centaur, caught between the extremes? He had a 143

Aurora Jamison small herd that follows him about. He is the stallion for a dozen fine equines. Most of them are mares that he services so very well, too.” “You’re a horse?” Lorien didn’t know how to react to that. “I am a centaur,” he said firmly. “But they are my herd, my responsibility.” “Your children?” Lorien struggled to make sense of it all. “Not exactly. They run with me when I am a centaur, and I protect them as a leader should.” “But—” “Enough!” Sannea shoved them both hard and sent them crashing to the ground. Lorien tried to break her fall and only ended up getting entangled with Jerro. “You will fetch the ring for me. When you have retrieved that which I cannot, I will remove the suspended animation spell.” “I want to see them before I agree to anything,” Jerro said. “You will do as I order or you will never see any of them again. Not the filly, not the colt that is your favorite, none of them!” “What do you want him to do?” Lorien tried kicking her feet. They would not budge. She glanced toward Jerro, hoping another moon rose to join the first. That would free him from the spell, but he was as ensnared as she was until he began another painful transmute. 144

Lost Lore “This is a bonus for me,” Sannea said. “The one who looks like me wants to help me. Or rather, help the centaur retrieve what I desire most. Should I allow you both to go on this quest or should I keep the woman in reserve, should our young stallion’s will fade and he becomes willing to forsake his herd?” “Together we can get your key,” Lorien said. This caused Sannea to spin about and glare at her. The sorceress clasped her hands together in front of her and began muttering a spell. A green nimbus of energy formed around her hands, and Lorien thought she would hurl a charge of ball lightning at her. Sannea relaxed and the shimmering green energy haze disappeared. “You know what I want the ring for, then. So be it. You are not a sorceress. I don’t even detect any latent ability in you.” “Then what harm could there be in letting me help Jerro get the ring?” “You argue like I do. There is so much about you that is familiar, as if I stare into a mirror. But there are other differences. You are soft, weak, unable to wield true power.” “Like the ring?” Lorien chanced. “It would destroy you if you tried to use its power. Of all on this world, only I am strong enough to contain and control it. Don’t even think of trying to use it.” 145

Aurora Jamison “The ring in exchange for Jerro’s herd. Family, whatever,” Lorien said, hardly able to keep her chaotic thoughts straight. “How do we know you’ll keep your promise?” “How do I know you’ll not keep the ring for yourself?” Sannea shot back. “We aren’t mages. We have no idea how to use it.” Sannea smirked. “Then you will have to trust me.” “As far as I can throw you,” Lorien grumbled under her breath. “I will show you what you need to do to recover the ring,” Sannea said. She made a beckoning motion and both Jerro and Lorien lifted off the ground and floated. Jerro groaned loudly. Sannea spun about and stared into the night sky. “The moons,” Lorien said. “A second one is rising to make a pair in the sky.” “It’s retrograde,” Sannea said. “It will dip back below the horizon, but we must hurry, unless you want to retrieve the ring as human and centaur.” Sannea motioned and both Lorien and Jerro drifted along behind her like a child’s birthday balloon. The more Lorien fought to get her feet on the ground, the more buoyant she became. She finally settled down and let the sorceress pull her along. It beat walking, but it gave her no chance to rest. She worried about Jerro and the way he 146

Lost Lore looked. Every movement seemed to pain him more and more. “You’re a sorceress. Can’t you stop him from transmuting?” “Why should I?” Sannea said airily. “Why do favors for anyone? It takes so much energy, and they are seldom appreciative. Or appreciative enough for my taste. Besides, the transmute is a natural occurrence. I won’t meddle in such things.” “You robbed Ploviss of his body and put him into a snake’s skin.” “You know of the snake? You and I are more alike than I thought. You have sources of information I can use. Perhaps you will find me a better ally than enemy. Get the ring, forget the centaur, and we can rule together.” Lorien snorted in contempt. She knew Sannea would share her power with no one. That the sorceress even made the suggestion showed what contempt she held Lorien in. Only a dimwit would believe the white-haired, dark-clad woman for an instant. The bouncing motion of being magically pulled along began to work on Lorien. She nodded off only to come awake with a jerk, looking around frantically. Each time Jerro remained in his human form, and the sky held only one moon. But Lorien felt in her gut that this would change eventually. 147

Aurora Jamison There had been three moons in the sky that night, but only one remained. One had initiated Jerro’s transmute, only to sneak back below the horizon. Then the third one had risen, giving him the first pangs of change, before it dropped back out of sight. She worried that all three would appear in the sky and make his change into centaur permanent—until the moons appeared together in the sky once more. From what she knew of astronomy, that might be years. Longer. Would it be so bad loving a man who was part horse—permanently a centaur? She did not want to find the answer to that. If Jerro became locked in his horse-man body, maybe slipping back across the worlds and into her own would break the spell. A thousand schemes came and went as she bobbed along behind Sannea. She just didn’t know enough for anything to seem impossible–or possible. Finally, after what must have been miles of travel past forests and along rocky ridges, they entered the foothills of a mountain range. “There,” Sannea said. “At the bottom of that pit lies the ring. Fetch it for me.” Lorien saw that the sorceress had halted and was urging them forward, ahead of her. “Can’t you get any closer?” Lorien asked. “Get it,” Sannea said sharply. “I will wait here for you. Don’t be long. If you don’t act quickly, 148

Lost Lore you will die and I will find someone else to do my bidding.” “What’s it look like?” Lorien remembered a movie about the Holy Grail where the hero had to figure out which of hundreds was the one he sought. He had been an archeologist and scholar and had some basis for choosing. She had no idea what the ring looked like. Big? Small? Metal? Wood? None of those things? “It is small enough to fit over your ring finger,” Sannea said. “It is made of pure gold. Very soft. You can scratch it with your thumbnail. Other than that, you need know nothing more.” “Why can’t you get it yourself?” “I cannot approach that pit. The ring is at the bottom.” “Guarded?” “Of course, you fool. Now steal it away for me. Immediately!” The magical bubble about Lorien and Jerro evaporated with a wet pop. They landed in a heap on the ground. Sannea backed away from them. Light emanating from the pit almost fifty yards away showed the fear on the sorceress’ face. Whatever was at the bottom of the pit frightened Sannea. And that frightened Lorien. Anything so powerful had to be one bad ass. “I’m feeling better,” Jerro said, rising to his full 149

Aurora Jamison height and puffing out his chest. “You stay. I’ll get the ring for her.” “Like hell you will. You’re still shaking from the almost transmute. We can do it better together.” “Sannea thought I could do it.” “What’s at the bottom of the pit?” Lorien asked. She faced it and saw the cold light radiating upward. She wanted to go to the edge of the pit and look over to see what she had gotten herself into, but her courage fled. She was so scared that she was almost willing to let Jerro go down alone—almost. “I don’t know. She never told me.” “We can go when we like. I don’t even know where she went.” “Not far, I’m certain,” Jerro said. “She wouldn’t want us to get the ring, then sneak away with it. Whatever the artifact does, it would be incredibly potent in Taltarian’s hands.” “Why do you have anything to do with him, anyway?” Lorien asked. “He’s a real slime ball.” “Slime ball?” “Never mind. He’s out to screw you. Can’t you see he’s only using you?” “How is he any different from anyone else?” The plaintive quality in Jerro’s heartfelt question moved her. She stepped closer and put her arms around his neck. 150

Lost Lore “You dummy. Not everyone is out to screw you—like that.” “Oh? And how is it you want to screw me?” “Not like that, not at all,” Lorien said, her pulse beginning to race. She inhaled deeply and took in his clean, pure, manly scent. The flow of his muscles as she ran her hands over his shoulders and then back to lace her fingers behind his neck excited her. She stepped closer. The heat from his body flowed into her, added to her own arousal and made it apparent what had to occur next. She kissed him. Or did he kiss her? There was a moment of confusion and rearranging, and then their mouths met in a solid, satisfying kiss. Their passions rose as Lorien pressed closer. Jerro put his hands on her back and held her until all time stopped around them. She was lost in the kiss, the way he held her, the promise of what was to come. The times they had made love before were all different. The morda dust, the time in the palace, those had been forced. She remembered vividly how she had dreamed of him at the sanctuary in the City. The dream had begun with Keith but ended with Jerro. Excitingly so. She lifted her leg and wrapped it around his so she could rub her crotch against him. The pressure there felt good. Then she felt her inner juices seeping out and dampening her skintight pants. 151

Aurora Jamison They had seemed comfortable before. Now they were a nuisance. As if reading her mind, Jerro began doing something about that. His hands slipped over her back and downward between her skin and the fabric. She gasped when his strong fingers tightened on her butt. He pulled her even closer. She began rubbing herself more frantically, unable to get enough. He skinned her out of her pants. “Let me. I can do it faster,” she said, bending down to slide the pants over her thighs, past her knees and around her calves. She wanted out of the pants entirely, but bent over as she was presented too tempting a target for Jerro. He moved in behind her. “I didn’t see you get free of your pants,” she accused. Then the hardness probing between the fleshy half-moons of her ass slipped lower and forward. She sighed as his cock parted her pussy lips and oiled itself with small, quick strokes for the plunge deeper. She leaned forward and caught herself on the ground. Feet and hands wide apart, she formed an erotic triangle. Jerro made the best of this geometry, moving forward, hands on her hips, pulling her back into the curve of his groin. His cock sank inches into her pussy and filled her with delight unlike anything she had ever felt. “Oh, Jerro, Jerro,” she sobbed out. “I love you. I 152

Lost Lore want you!” “I love you, too, my poor lost Lore.” Then he moved just a fraction of an inch and sank balls deep into her tensed pussy. Weakness assailed her, but she did not sink to the ground. His strong hands held her upright so he could begin fucking her. Lorien tried to think how all this had come about. Thoughts jumbled in her head, and she finally surrendered to the desires mounting within her so powerfully. She loved him. With all her heart she loved him, and he was not even from her own world. Tiny animal noises escaped her lips as he moved faster behind her, pulling her inward as he thrust forward. The sounds and smells and cool breeze blowing across her heated pussy all pushed her arousal ever upward. The fucking took on a new dimension when he reached around and found the tiny spire of her puffed up pink clit and began stroking over it. Lightning from her insides collided, from clit and pussy and aching breasts, and took Lorien away from the world in the most delightful way possible. All too soon, she discovered she was on her hands and knees, panting from the exertion. “Don’t stop, Jerro. I want more.” She looked back over her shoulder and cried out in shock. The second moon had finally risen above the 153

Aurora Jamison horizon to join the other in its more leisurely trip across the sky. Jerro was once more a centaur.

154

Lost Lore

Chapter Eleven he tried to tell herself it didn’t matter. Jerro was

Shuman—until the moons came into the sky. Lorien told herself this, but she had to keep looking at the multicolored stars and the twin moons that exerted their magical force that made Jerro . . . other than human. “I didn’t want to change,” he said, growing angry. He snorted as he pawed at the ground with his front hoof. “We’d better get on with it,” Lorien said, selfconscious of how she was half naked. She pulled up her pants and once more felt the fabric contour itself to her shape perfectly. Somehow now, it was different from before. “I will do it. Stay back. There must be something in the pit that is too dangerous for mere spells to hold away.” Jerro tried to thrust out his arm and keep her from going to the edge of the pit and peering over, but Lorien was too quick for him. She ducked under his grasping hand and 155

Aurora Jamison hurried to the crumbling edge of the pit. The cold radiance rising from below caused her to pause for a moment, then she looked. At first she saw nothing. The brilliant light dazzled her eyes. Then she realized more than her sight was affected. She felt the light. She tasted it. She heard it. It carried aloft with a peculiar odor that made her nose wrinkle. This pure whiteness was all things to her. All things. She began to feel stirring in her pussy. Her nipples ached with need. Her breath came faster, and sweat lightly stained her forehead. “I feel its evil, too,” Jerro said in awe. “This is truly the pit leading to hell.” “Hell? But it is so . . . so . . .” Words escaped her. But evil? Hell? It was none of those things. It was goodness that confused her senses. “You should not risk your life,” Jerro said forcefully. “This is not your world. It’s mine.” “You don’t know what’s down there any more than I do,” she pointed out. “You’re afraid. So is Sannea. But I’m not. There is something drawing me down—and I want to go.” She saw the beginning of a narrow path not ten feet away that spiralled downward into the light. Basking in the glow, Lorien went to the path and put her foot on it. Her entire body quivered down as if she was a metal rod that had been struck 156

Lost Lore against a rock. She trembled but the inner music overpowered any sense that this was wrong. “Come on, Jerro. Or stay. It doesn’t matter. I can handle whatever’s below.” “Evil,” he said. “I feel the evil boiling up like heat from a volcano.” Lorien was done arguing with him. She still felt uneasy at how close she had come to having a horse make love to her. Somehow, there was a soothing quality about the light blazing from the pit. Calmer as she took a few steps, she might have been swaddled in cotton wool. Or the blanket that she had taken from King Arrin’s palace. Dimly, she wondered if the same magicks had been used on the blanket as she felt here. She began walking carefully along the path, not wanting to make a misstep that would send her plunging over the edge to the bottom. Even squinting and shielding her face with her hand, she could not see the bottom of the pit. It might be a few feet lower or a thousand. “Lore, wait.” Lorien did not even look back. Jerro could do as he pleased. She wanted to explore. She walked a little faster when she heard his feet—hooves— behind her on the trail. “Not so fast,” Jerro said sharply. “I cannot keep up.” Lorien did not question how that was possible. 157

Aurora Jamison He had four legs to her two. He was a horse! “I’m transmuting again.” He let out a low cry of pain that made her swing about and look up the trail at him. “Jerro!” She ran back to hold him in her arms. He was drenched in sweat and shaking—but he had returned to an entirely human shape. “What happened? The moons couldn’t have left the sky so fast.” “The light has blotted out the sky. It must hide the magical effects of the moons. In the pit, I am free of my curse.” Lorien fleetingly wondered if it was possible for them to live together in this pit, amid the eyesearing cold white light that damped out the effects of the moons. But that would not be feasible. She knew it deep down, because whatever this place was, it was not a spot where humans could live. Or horse-men. “Let’s hurry. I want to find out what’s going on. I have to find out,” she said. “I can make it on my own if you don’t run,” Jerro said. “Let’s keep the pace slow and steady.” He tried to look over the edge of the downward spiralling trail but had no more luck than she had in seeing the bottom. Although pulled downward by her own curiosity, she stayed by Jerro to help him. As they descended, he grew stronger and better able to 158

Lost Lore fend for himself. Within a half hour, he had returned to his normal self. Normal self. What is that with a man who turns into a half horse? Before she could pry apart the logic of loving such a creature, the path levelled out and stopped in the bottom of the pit. She walked about, glad she no longer had to worry about falling over the edge into unseen danger. The sand beneath her soft-soled moccasins sounded like birds singing as she walked on it. The small crystals in the sand were the source of the radiance pouring upward. At every step she left a glowing footprint that slowly returned to the same brightness as the rest of the sand. She stood in the center of the pit, closed her eyes and experienced the light. Every sense cried out for more. Taste and hearing, touch and sight all vied with smell to overwhelm her. “Isn’t it wonderful, Jerro?” “I can see the sky. A moon.” “What?” Lorien came out of her reverie and looked at him. She slowly turned her gaze upward and saw that a hollow cylinder of pure radiance surrounded them. The light blurred the walls of the pit but left the nighttime sky directly overhead untouched by its curious lambent glow. She caught her breath when she saw a moon edging across the clear patch overhead. 159

Aurora Jamison “Move to one side. Bathe yourself in the light,” she said. “It’s evil. I can’t bear it,” he said. “Silly, it’s not evil.” “It is.” For a moment Lorien thought Jerro was arguing, but she watched his face closely. He had not spoken. “It is evil because I made it that way.” She swung around and gaped at the giant who had somehow managed to walk within a few feet of her. Her head was at the level of his navel. She slowly raised her eyes along the heavily knotted muscular expanse of his belly to his hairless chest with its splotches of red skin, as if he had been burned horribly, all the way to his face. Lorien might have seen uglier men in her life, but she could not remember when or where. “You find me repulsive?” “Yes,” she said, seeing no reason to lie. “What are you?” “The demon of the pit,” he said. His voice took on a timber that caused her innards to quake. She had not been afraid before this instant. “I desire you, Sannea.” “What?” Lorien shook herself. “I’m not Sannea. I just look like her.” “Then where is the difference? You are lovely. You could be her twin. So if I fuck her twin, is that 160

Lost Lore not as good as fucking her?” The demon of the pit reached down and drew aside his breach clout to reveal a hard-on so immense that it would rip her apart if he tried to put it into her. Lorien took an involuntary step back and collided with Jerro. “Don’t even think about it,” she said in a choked voice. “Your magicks are worthless within my pit.” “I’m not Sannea, but she sent me to get her key. It’s a ring. Gold. It’s about this size.” Lorien held up her hand and indicated her finger. She could not help comparing her slender finger with the hugeness of the demon’s erection. He was thicker than her wrist. “You cannot fool me.” The rumble as the demon spoke caused her inner organs to grind against each other painfully. “She is telling the truth,” Jerro said, moving around to put himself between Lorien and the demon. “I will fight you for the key.” “You? You puny little centaur? That’s amusing.” The demon laughed until tears rolled down his splotchy cheeks. Lorien saw the flesh sizzling wherever the acid tears touched. “I have not had so much enjoyment in a millennium. For that I thank you. Now I will kill you.” “Wait,” Lorien said. “It must be awfully dull being down here. Are you bound magically or do you get out?” 161

Aurora Jamison “I cannot leave,” the demon said. “You know that. I sit at the bottom of my pit like a giant ant lion and collect whatever is thrown in. Like this.” Lorien was not sure where the demon pulled it from, but a ring appearing too small for even a child appeared in the palm of his immense hand. “The ring,” she said softly. “The key.” “I know nothing of its power, but I feel it. There is nothing I can do to free myself, so it is worthless.” “Worthless except for the entertainment it might offer you,” Lorien said, mind racing. “What are you doing?” Jerro grabbed her. “You can’t bargain with a demon!” “You can’t fight one, either. In case you hadn’t noticed, he’s big enough to whip your ass in any kind of a fight.” “I have to try,” Jerro said. Lorien ignored him and turned back to the demon. “I’ve got a proposition for you. If Jerro and I can hold your attention, will you give us the ring?” “You will entertain me?” The demon appeared to consider the matter, looking first at the ring and then at Lorien. “Very well. How will you divert me?” “Grab hold of yourself,” she said, with more confidence than she felt. “Go on. Take that huge 162

Lost Lore prick of yours in your hand and start jerking off.” “That’s it? I had expected more.” “And you’re going to get it, buster.” Lorien turned back to Jerro and said in a low voice, “Fuck me like you’ve never fucked me before.” “I cannot,” Jerro said. “Not with him watching.” “Oh, yeah?” Lorien sank to her knees on the crystalline sand and pulled his pants down as she went. Her grasping fingers circled his limp penis and tugged gently on it until her lips crushed across the very tip. She licked and kissed and soon enough had a full-fledged erection to thrust into her mouth. She sucked and teased and kissed more passionately until his prick throbbed with all the life locked up within his loins. “Ready now?” she asked. She pulled insistently on his cock to get him to his knees. She rolled back, lifted her butt off the sand and skinned out of her pants. It hardly surprised her that she was already wet with desire for Jerro. Giving him a blow job was only the start of the show she intended to put on for the demon. Rather than look to see how the demon was faring, she concentrated only on Jerro. That became easier as he moved into the V of her legs and rubbed across her pussy lips. His finger curled about and slipped into her as she lay 163

Aurora Jamison back, eyes closed and letting the exhilaration from the senses-confusing light in the pit feed her desires. Her knees rose as he continued to finger fuck her. Then she cried out when the finger left her pussy and found her anus. Jerro slipped it in as he had before, when they had made love beside the lake. “More, I want more,” she sobbed out. Her words jumbled up in her throat now. All she knew was how much she wanted him, to be with him, to be one with him. Her knees rose on either side of his powerful body as he moved forward. Finger still firmly in her back, his cock entered her fully. The dual sensations mingled and merged to inflame her. Coupled with the way the light twisted her consciousness, she soared at the touch of his cock against her delicate inner tissue. Then he wiggled his finger and began fucking, and Lorien could not keep up with all the delights Jerro gave her. She brought her knees up even more, bending almost double. This tightened her inner passage until she felt every contour of his erection as it moved within her. Jerro pressed her forward, her upper thighs crushing down into her own breasts. Somehow, his finger left her asshole as he stroked and caressed and pinched and gave her such arousal 164

Lost Lore that she thought she would go crazy from it. “Must hurry,” Jerro gasped out. “Must not . . .” “No, no,” she called out in lust. “Make it last. Make it last forever.” But he was oblivious to her plea. He began moving with more power until the carnal friction burned away the last of her resolve. Her insides exploded in pure flames of passion released by a potent fucking. As she settled down, she opened her eyes and then realized what Jerro had been saying. He had to hurry for a reason. Far above, framed in the middle of the circle of light sped a second moon. He had transmuted into a centaur again. “Aaaaah!” Lorien heard a gush like a fire hose, followed by sizzling on the sand just above her head. She twisted about and saw the demon had finished pleasuring himself. His cum boiled on the sand as if it was pure acid. She shuddered, thinking not only of being torn apart but filled with that deadly seed. “You have kept your promise. I shall keep mine. Come here, you who look like Sannea and are not.” The demon beckoned to Lorien. She got to her feet, feeling exposed since she was still naked from the waist down. A quick look at Jerro showed he had assumed his full centaur form and coped with the lingering pain of the 165

Aurora Jamison transmute. She reached out for the ring, but the demon closed his huge hand, preventing her from taking it. “You’re not going to give it to me?” “I am, but I desire more pleasure from the exchange. Pleasure only you can provide.” Before Lorien could ask what the demon meant, he reached out and brushed away her tunic, exposing her left breast. She yelped when he tweaked her nipple and got it hard. Then he brought the ring forward, and through some magic of his own, opened and closed it again so that it pierced her nipple. The pain staggered her, then faded. The solid gold ring dangled from her nipple as she moved. “Th-thank you,” she said, holding at bay tears of pain caused by the piercing. She backed away and quickly dressed. She wanted to tuck herself back into the tunic but did not. Her breast dangling freely gave her a sense of daring and empowerment she had never felt before. “Let’s go,” she said to Jerro. He reared and pawed at the air with his front hooves. “What’s wrong?” “I will let you go. Nothing was said about the centaur,” roared the demon. “Him I will kill!” The demon of the pit lumbered forward, mighty hands outstretched. 166

Lost Lore “Gallop, Jerro, full gallop!” Lorien threw her arms around the centaur’s neck and swung onto his back. She clung for dear life, never having been astride a horse in her life. Jerro reared again, hooves lashing out in ferocious kicks that would fell a grizzly bear if any landed solidly. Most missed but he finally scored a direct hit. He caught the demon on the wrist bone. The crunching sound as important bones broke echoed from one side of the pit to the other. Then this sound was drowned out as the demon roared in pain and clutched his injured wrist, giving them the chance they needed. Lorien pressed her cheek against Jerro’s broad shoulder as the centaur reached the path spiralling upward. “Faster,” she said, seeing the demon coming after them. “He’s big and slow. You can outdistance him if you try hard enough.” The throbbing in her nipple added to her urgency. There was more than physical pain from it. A magical energy filled her, and she felt powerless to do anything about it. As the demon grabbed wildly, Jerro put on a burst of speed that carried them just beyond danger. He continued to run, never flagging, spiralling ever upward. “The demon’s not following us,” Lorien cried in triumph. “We’ve left him behind.” 167

Aurora Jamison “He is a prisoner in the pit, bound my magicks we cannot understand,” Jerro said. He slowed his pace a little but kept moving faster than Lorien ever could on her own. Four legs were certainly better than two—and she enjoyed the feel of Jerro moving under her, her legs circling his powerful body. She clung to his torso and let the motion of his gait rock her to and fro. The movement was more than sensual. It was arousing. Not as good as if he fucked her, but enough to give her a level of stimulation that she had never expected. “I see now why girls like riding horses,” she whispered in his ear. “I’m a woman and I like riding a horse—but I love being ridden by a horse.” The words startled her, since she had uttered them without thinking. Jerro, no matter his form, excited her like no other man ever had. “The top of the path. Ahead,” Jerro gasped out. He struggled the last few yards, and then they were out of the pit filled with its strange white senses-confusing light and fierce demon. They had left behind incredible danger, and now they had to face Sannea.

168

Lost Lore

Chapter Twelve e can get away before she knows we are

“Wback,” Lorien said. She clung to Jerro but

felt the tenseness in his body. He shuffled about, moving his hooves nervously as he turned in a complete circle. “We can never escape her,” Jerro said in resignation. “She is too powerful.” “Not that powerful,” Lorien said. “She couldn’t go into the pit and get the ring from the demon. We did that. We did that, Jerro. That means she’s not all powerful. Let’s try. What do we have to lose?” Lorien touched the ring piercing her nipple and felt a strange power fill her like water pouring into a barrel. Sannea wanted this ring for a reason. Were Sannea and she enough alike that there might be some way to use the power in the ring? Lorien tugged a little on the ring and sucked in her breath at the jolt of pleasure she got from it. She had never realized how a piercing—especially through her sensitive nipple—might actually feel 169

Aurora Jamison good. “We can try. I am exhausted from escaping the pit,” Jerro said. “I am still recovering from so many transmutes.” Lorien looked up at the sky. Thin clouds now covered much of it, but the parti-colored stars still shone down on them and the twin moons danced around one another. She could not be sure, but it appeared that the two moons were near each other now and circling one another in the craziest way possible. They behaved unlike anything Lorien had ever seen, but this was not her world. Moons on her world did not change men into centaurs, and the stars were not bright reds and greens and blues like they were here. “Which way looks best?” Lorien sat straighter on the Jerro’s back and tried to figure out where they might be safest. She thought she knew the direction of Sannea’s mansion. She pointed in the other direction. “That way,” she decided, pointing away from the pit and the mansion. She hopped down and felt the soft dirt under her feet. Everything seemed more vivid to her. Without even knowing she did so, she reached up and tugged at the ring in her nipple. The world sharpened even more, and she heard distant sounds she had not before. “Soldiers,” they said in unison. They laughed at the way they had both thought the same thing at 170

Lost Lore the same time. “We need to avoid them, too,” Lorien warned. “Taltarian isn’t your ally. He will use whatever this does to his own ends, and it’s not likely to be in support of King Arrin.” “He lied about my family,” Jerro said. “He said he would see my family freed, but he never tried.” “We can find them and free them, Jerro. I promise.” “You are not a sorceress. Only Sannea knows where they are, and only she can release them.” “Thinking this through is the most important thing we can do right now. We need to figure out how to keep Sannea from double-crossing you.” “She is not going to gain the keys she needs to go into other worlds,” Jerro said. “She has dealings with demons like the one in the pit. I don’t doubt she would make them her allies.” Jerro shuddered and sagged. “It might be best to sacrifice my family for the greater good.” “Don’t give up, Jerro. You can’t have come this far to just give up. We’ll think of something. Now, let’s go. I’m as tired as you. We need to sleep and…” Her voice trailed off. “You have something I want,” Sannea said. Somehow the sorceress simply appeared in front of them. “I sense that you have it. Give it to me!” “Release Jerro’s family first,” Lorien said. “You are in no position to bargain. I will tell 171

Aurora Jamison you this, however. His family is being kept in a suspended animation spell at the far side of the Forbidden Woods. Now give me the ring!” Sannea thrust out her hand, palm upward, and stamped her foot like a willful child. As she did so, Lorien felt a warmth at her breast. Then the ring began to vibrate and heat up. She reached to her nipple and tugged gently on it. The sensations she had felt before returned, magnified. For a split second she thought she understood things, spells, the source of Sannea’s power. It faded when she took her hand away from the ring. The sorceress stared at the pierced nipple. “The demon has a sense of humor. I had not expected that. Give it to me or I will rip it from your tit.” “I don’t think so,” Lorien said. A welling of power inside her made her think she could resist. “Give it to her,” Jerro said in a dull tone. His brown eyes had turned softer and unfocused in a way that was more than nearsightedness. He had fallen under Sannea’s spell. But Lorien had not. She stepped forward and swung her hand as hard as she could. The palm connected with Sannea’s cheek, rocking the sorceress back. The instant the sorceress’ eyes left Jerro, he cried out in rage at having been put under her magical servitude 172

Lost Lore again. More than this, Lorien felt the ring glowing hotter and hotter until it became uncomfortable. When she had slapped Sannea and broken the spell, power surged all around her and was caught in the ring like an antenna pulls in radio waves. “You will die for that,” Sannea said, her hand pressed to the red welt Lorien had left on her cheek. “No one strikes me and lives.” “No one but me,” Lorien said, feeling oddly cocky about it. The sorceress stepped back a few paces and placed the palms of her hands together, as if she were going to pray. The magical power mounted, and the green mist grew around her fingertips. Before she could cast her potent spell, a loud crashing sounded in a thicket a few yards away. Sannea uttered a curse, whirled about and vanished. For only an instant her snow-white hair remained visible, then she disappeared into the night. Her black robes made that camouflage easier, but Lorien suspected the sorceress used a magical way of escaping. “Taltarian’s soldiers,” the centaur said urgently. “I would turn the ring over to Taltarian, but...” His words trailed off as he looked at Lorien. “But you believe me that he is really a son of a bitch,” she finished for him. The centaur nodded. Lorien went to him and swung onto his back. “Then let’s race them. No soldier, even one 173

Aurora Jamison mounted on a horse, can match a centaur in full flight.” “Why do you say that?” Jerro asked. “Confidence,” she said. Lorien grew increasingly less optimistic when she saw a dozen soldiers move from the grove and come toward them. They were on foot but the sound of horses not far behind them told her they would have a chase on their hands unless they left quickly. “You must have enough for both of us, then,” Jerro said. “While I am a centaur, I lack such optimism.” “You’re no great shakes at it when you’re human, either,” Lorien said. “That’s all right. I’m a real estate agent. I live, eat and breathe confidence. I have to or I wouldn’t sell anything.” She was almost thrown off as Jerro sprinted hard and fast. He found his stride and moved to a full gallop. By now, Lorien clung to him and kept her head down. She imagined she was riding on a motorcycle rather than astride a centaur’s back. This did nothing to make it any easier for her. Armed men wanted to capture or kill them. She did not doubt that Taltarian would rip the ring from her breast—whether she was dead or alive. The thought of the ring made her cautiously touch it. Warmer than before to the touch, she felt renewed energy. If only she could lend some of that to Jerro! 174

Lost Lore The ring almost burned her fingers, but she still felt only a moderate warmth where it penetrated her nipple. She had to clamp her legs together harder because Jerro increased his speed. “I feel as if I could race the wind all night!” he cried. His hair swept back from his forehead as he tossed his head high. Lorien reached out and caught the mane flowing back and held onto it instead of reins. Jerro did not object. She let the very ends of his hair lightly caress her face. As her thoughts turned more sexual, she felt the ring in her nipple turn even hotter. With the added heat came even more speed from Jerro. It took Lorien a few seconds to realize she was passing along the energy of the ring directly to him, adding speed to his hooves, allowing them to outdistance Taltarian’s troops. After almost an hour of racing through the darkness, Jerro began to slow. “Tiring?” she asked. “I feel as strong now as I did when the run began. I don’t believe it. I usually tire after only a few minutes at full gallop. But not tonight, not with you astride me.” “Astride you,” murmured Lorien. She closed her green eyes for a moment and envisioned something different from what Jerro meant. It was entirely sexual, that vision, and aroused her. She felt her pussy beginning to turn damp as she 175

Aurora Jamison imagined herself straddling Jerro’s waist, his cock jutting upward and into her pussy as she began fucking herself. “I want that, too,” he said. “Soon, it will be possible.” “What? What did you say?” Lorien was jolted out of her fantasy. “It’s as if I read your mind.” “You might have,” she admitted. “The power of the ring has made that a possibility. And I was able to give you some of my strength.” She did not add that her strength came from imagining what she would do with a human Jerro under her instead of a centaur. Or was it possible for her to do any of the things she had imagined with a horse-man? She shivered in anticipation. Jerro suddenly spilled her to the ground. She hit and rolled, coming to her knees. “What happened? Get a charley horse?” “The transmute,” Jerro gasped out. “The second moon must be leaving the sky. If only it happens before the third appears!” She went to him and clung to him with a ferocity that scared her. She felt the muscles changing, tensing and snapping deep within his body as he transformed back into a complete human. She closed her eyes and imagined all she wanted to do with Jerro. The energy flowed into 176

Lost Lore her and out of him and then back in a giant loop that made them more together than they were separately. It was an intimacy more intense than simple sex. Their souls merged, and then she was knocked backward as if she had touched a live electric wire. She sat on the ground, dazed. Not three feet away, Jerro also sat, facing her. A slow grin came to his face, one that lit up his morose features like the noonday sun. “I’ve changed back,” he said unnecessarily. Lorien already saw how complete his return to human form was. He was naked from the waist down and sported about the biggest boner she had ever seen on a man. “Is it safe here? I don’t even know where ‘here’ is,” she said, not bothering to look around. She never took her eyes off him as she unlaced the front of her tunic and let both breasts tumble out into the cool night air. Although the ring warmed her nipple from within, the chilly air caused it to harden just as the other did. Or was it the night air that caused such a reaction? She was not sure, and it did not matter. Lorien swung around, kicked off her moccasins and then skinned off the tights so she was again as naked as the day she was born. She had spent too much time in this condition while in Taltarian’s prison, but that had been different. She wanted to be 177

Aurora Jamison naked now. For Jerro. And he was naked for her. “I don’t have anything on,” he said, his brown eyes fixed on her green ones. “You’re wrong. You have a hard-on,” she said, moving closer to him. The grass crushed wetly under her knees as she scooted closer, but she did not have to go far. Jerro came to her in a rush. His arms circled her and pulled her in and began smothering her with kisses. The ring through her nipple turned warmer as her passions mounted. Then she was sure she outpaced even this indicator of her sexual arousal. Her lips crushed into Jerro’s and their tongues began an erotic duel, dancing from mouth to mouth until they were both lost in the sweetness of the other. Lorien felt his hands begin to roam across her back. She laced her fingers through his long hair to hold his face to hers. She didn’t want him getting away, as if there was any chance of that. When he broke off the deep kiss, she wanted to protest. Then all words left her. He moved down her body quickly, his lips brushing tenderly. Then he came to her left breast and the ring through her nipple. Using only tongue and lips, he tugged gently on that. An orgasm unlike anything she had ever felt crashed through her body. Lorien cried out in utter release, 178

Lost Lore and when she was again aware of the world around her, she discovered she lay on her back staring up at the stars. “Jerro,” she said in a husky voice. “I didn’t expect that.” He rose from where he kissed her belly. A grin crossed his face. “I felt it, too,” he said. “No, wait, you didn’t—” He got to his knees to show her his erection was still as steely rigid as before. “I shared your sensations. Now it is time for you to share mine.” He stopped talking and used his mouth to better purposes. His tongue dipped deep into her belly button before working lower. She arched her back and lifted her butt off the ground when his lips circled her clit. He sucked it into his mouth and teased it with just the tip of his tongue. As Lorien felt a new climax building within her, he stopped. “No, no,” she moaned out. This was so like Keith. He got her to the top—almost. Then he left her aching and needy. “Don’t do this.” “You don’t want this?” Lorien cried out as he thrust forward. His cock entered her in a single smooth movement. She was filled with his heat and gave back in full measure. She reached up and tugged on the ring piercing her body and the rest of the fucking 179

Aurora Jamison disappeared in a haze of utter ecstasy. They both came together and merged more fully than ever. They shared body and thought, spirit and hunger. They stretched out on the carpet of grass, letting the wind blow across their bodies and cool them. Although the ring was pressed between them now, Lorien felt that it was cooler than it had been. She wondered if it could be worn out already. “No,” said Jerro. “It will recharge.” “You read my mind!” “That’s caused by the ring,” he said. “I think it is. It is a magical device, and Sannea wanted it. The two of you are so similar; you must be able to use it, too.” “I’m not a sorceress,” Lorien complained. “I wouldn’t know a spell if it hit me between the Merriam and Webster.” “What?” “Bad joke,” she said, snuggling closer to him. The feel of his arms around her now was more important than whatever power she might get from the magical ring. “You do that often,” Jerro accused. “Get used to it. I’m not going to stop.” “Good,” he said. They repositioned themselves and Jerro ended up behind her in a spoon position. She felt his warm, even breath on her back as he went to 180

Lost Lore sleep. For whatever reason, Lorien found she could not drift off as easily. She lay there, staring across the glade where they had stopped. Jerro had shown such speed and stamina—in many ways!—that she was certain they were far ahead of Taltarian’s soldiers. She was not certain they could ever escape from Sannea, though. The sorceress had ways of tracking them. How she knew this was less a matter of the power given her by the ring than simple common sense. Sannea had to know what was going on all around her. She had found out that the demon of the pit had the ring even when she could not get close to the edge of the cavity. As awful as it seemed, Lorien knew what they had to do. She wanted to hide from Sannea, go as far away as possible. There might be a chance they could find Jerro’s family at the edge of the Forbidden Woods, if Sannea had not lied about that, but such dodging of responsibility was not going to help anyone. They had to seek out Sannea. What they did then, Lorien was at a loss to say, but they had to find the sorceress even if it meant giving her the ring in exchange for those she held prisoner. With this troubling thought rattling about inside her skull, Lorien finally drifted off to a dreamless sleep.

181

Aurora Jamison

Chapter Thirteen

L

orien awoke with a start. Bright light slanted down on her from the rising sun, and Jerro was gone. She sat up and put her arms around herself. She was still naked. Slowly, everything came back to her how they had escaped the pit and Taltarian’s soldiers and . . . Her thumb and forefinger caught the ring piercing her nipple. She tugged at it, remembering how it had gone inert the night before after she and Jerro had made love. A soothing warmth spread through her, giving a hint that the power had recharged. She had no idea what that power might be or how it gave her such a buoyant feeling, but something more came with it. She tugged once more on the small golden ring. Jerro? Where are you? I’ll be back soon, came the comforting thought. She scrambled around and found her clothing. She had finished dressing by the time Jerro appeared at the edge of the woods some distance away. 182

Lost Lore “Breakfast,” he said, holding up double handful of berries. “I would have clubbed a rabbit but cooking it would pose a problem.” “The soldiers would see the smoke,” she said. “Or smell the cooking meat.” “In these woods, the air drafts are tricky. The scent of cooking meat might go for miles.” “You know where we are?” Jerro nodded slowly. He laid the berries out between them. It seemed a paltry meal, but Lorien was famished. She popped a couple of the bluegreen berries into her mouth and chomped down hard. The juices squirted down her throat, almost choking her. “Be careful. They are potent.” “Not so strong,” she choked out. “I swallowed wrong.” Lorien was more careful with the next couple. Somehow, the handful of berries was more than she could eat. “They’re quite filling and give all the energy you need,” Jerro said. “No,” Lorien said vehemently. “You give me all the energy I need. What you offer can’t be found in a berry.” She popped another into her mouth. “If it can, we bottle it and make a fortune!” “We are not far from the edge of the Forbidden Woods,” he said. “Can you locate my family?” “Tell me about them,” Lorien said, pressing her hand over her breast. The ring felt warm to the 183

Aurora Jamison touch through the leather tunic. She wondered if there was a spell she might utter that would find his family for them in a hurry. If not, they would blunder along aimlessly hunting for the spot where Sannea had trapped them all to use as a lever against Jerro. “You heard that they are not my blood relatives, but I am responsible for them. It’s a small herd, as these things go. I think two of the colts might be centaurs, but the first transmute doesn’t usually occur for a year to more.” “Is that what happened with you?” She felt the sadness radiating from him like heat from a stove. There was no need to rely on the telepathic link they had developed to know he was not recalling pleasant memories. “I was different. I was born into a human family. The first time I underwent a transmute, all three moons came into the sky. I was trapped as a centaur for more than three years. My human family abandoned me, but the herd accepted me as one of them. That’s part of the reason I owe so much to the horses, the real horses in my herd.” “Can you talk to them? Or communicate?” “Fairly well. There is something missing at times, but horses are not possessed of a complex language. Only when I try to put human concepts into the neighs and whinnies a horse can understand do I find it hard.” 184

Lost Lore “How many are there in your herd?” Lorien had visions of Jerro, as a centaur, fighting and winning the leadership of the herd from a massive stallion. Jerro, as centaur, would be smaller but would make up for the difference with his brainpower. She wished she could have seen the battle. Then again, she knew she did not. The chance that Jerro would be killed tore her apart inside. “I was seriously injured,” Jerro said, reading the gist of her thoughts. “More than a month passed before I could do more than hobble on my injured right front leg.” Lorien had to laugh. It was strange for the human Jerro to speak of his injured right front leg, but he straddled two different worlds. Centaur and human were similar but entirely different in many things, she guessed. Just as her world and this one were similar but ever so different. “You want to go home, don’t you?” “I want to help you,” Lorien said. She meant it, and Jerro accepted that mental promise. “What do we do?” “There is only one thing we can do.” “Find Sannea and deal with her.” Lorien felt a sudden collapse of her good spirits. Fighting Sannea either physically or using magic led only to their destruction. What other course they had eluded her. 185

Aurora Jamison “We’re near the Forbidden Woods. She wouldn’t return to her mansion with Taltarian and his soldiers scouring the countryside. Even if she trapped most of them in that snare of hers, Taltarian need only send to King Arrin for more.” “The king does not have a large army, but they are well trained. They would never march into her mansion all at once, no matter what spells she cast. Taltarian would not be so foolish as to leave his sorcerers back in the City.” “Then we’re agreed. Sannea is hiding out in the Forbidden Woods. How big an area does the forest cover?” “Miles and miles,” Jerro said. “No one knows the full extent, save possibly Sannea.” “So we fight on her turf.” Lorien settled down and thought hard. She might establish a mental link with the sorceress the way she did with Jerro. Such an open communication, mind to mind, would be dangerous. Sannea had power and used it ruthlessly. Lorien might fall under some controlling spell, give away the ring and unleash untold horror on the world. “How many keys are there that Sannea is hunting in other worlds?” “I don’t know,” Jerro said. “Three.” Both of them whirled about and saw Ploviss moving through the ankle-high grass toward 186

Lost Lore them, the snake’s progress came at a price. His tail curled about the carved wooden box Lorien had abandoned when she had found Jerro in the stables. “It’s good to see you again,” Lorien said, reaching out to stroke along the snake’s body. Her hand slid easily along the scales and, from the expression on the ophidian’s face, he would have purred if he had been a cat. “I thought you were goners when you went into the pit,” Ploviss said. “You two are heartier than I expected.” “Together we are,” Jerro said. “Apart, we are merely . . .” “Competent,” Lorien finished for him. She reached down and picked up the box. “Thank you for keeping this for me.” “I gave it to you back in the prison. I intend for you to keep it.” “You brought it for me? I hadn’t known. I just found it and thought someone had abandoned it, for whatever reason.” She had thought at the time that another prisoner had left it behind because of execution or torture. “The dust does not affect me as it does you.” “Because you’re cold-blooded and we’re warmblooded?” If Ploviss had shoulders to shrug, he would have. 187

Aurora Jamison “We need to find Sannea. Can you help us? Did you see where she went?” “Ah, the sorceress responsible for trapping me in this sorry body. Yes, of course, I know where she went. Her travels are all that concern me.” Ploviss turned a gimlet eye to Lorien. “You have not learned the spells necessary to free me of this body and return me to my proper form?” “I don’t think so. All I know how to do is open the magical archway doors.” “Not a skill that will prove useful in the Forbidden Woods,” Ploviss said. “Come along. We must travel quickly. Soldiers are only an hour or so forced march from this spot. They have trackers who can follow your spoor through swamps and over rock, up mountains and to the bottom of the sea, if necessary.” “Taltarian sounds serious about capturing Sannea,” Lorien said. “He sees her as a means to becoming king,” Ploviss said. “I overheard him plotting to overthrow King Arrin.” “It would never happen,” Jerro said. “The people love King Arrin.” “The people would hardly notice the change of who sat on the throne,” Ploviss said. “They have no contact with King Arrin, only his policies. Change them slowly and who would rebel?” Lorien put her arm around Jerro and took 188

Lost Lore strength from his nearness. The obstacles seemed overwhelming because there were so many things they had to do, so many things they wanted. Ploviss wanted his body back. Only Sannea could give him that release. Jerro wanted his family released. Again, Sannea was the one to conjure those spells of unbinding. Her wish seemed simplest of all and hardest to do, at the same time. She wanted to go home. “If we handed Sannea over to Taltarian, what would that gain us?” she asked. “Not much. I fear the pair of them would call a truce and work in tandem to rule this world.” Jerro pulled free of her and began pacing. “The simplest of quests first.” “Find Sannea,” Lorien said. “I know where she hides,” Ploviss said. “You will force her to return me to my body?” Lorien and Jerro exchanged a quick glance. “That’s the quickest thing we have on our plates,” she said. “We start there first.” “She is near where I found you as you tumbled into this world,” Ploviss said. “She has a small camp just inside the woods. Hunters avoid the Forbidden Woods, and only those with illicit business enter. Sannea is likely to enlist those to her aid.” The trio started walking. After only an hour Lorien found herself wishing Jerro could 189

Aurora Jamison transmute into a centaur at will. She would have preferred to ride. Her feet wouldn’t be as sore. Ride me another way and another part of your anatomy would be sore, came Jerro’s joking thought. She was surprised at how accurately she could read his mind now. He had to think of a message only for her if she was to be completely successful. He could still hide his thoughts if he thought of anyone else or let his mind roam free. You are the same with me, Jerro thought to her. “It works both ways,” she said. “I’m not sure I like that. And yet I do. It lets me get closer to you.” Ploviss rolled over, eyed her and Jerro, then finished the barrel roll and kept slithering along the path leading into the Forbidden Woods. The snake did not ask what either meant. Most of their communication was now hidden to anyone else. “Ahead,” cautioned Ploviss. “The path forks. To the left is where I found you. To the right, less than a quarter mile is Sannea’s camp.” “We need a plan,” Lorien said. “Do we offer her the ring? Or do we insist to see Jerro’s family first?” “Can you free them, if you do?” Lorien frowned and shook her head. “I don’t know. I might, if I can catch any part of Sannea’s thoughts. She would not be able to keep from mentally going over the spell. This might be all I need. I just don’t know.” 190

Lost Lore “Then we ask her,” said Jerro. “There is no reason to hesitate. We cannot come up with a better plan than this.” “Ask her to return me to my former shape as a show of faith,” suggested Ploviss. “That’s not a bad idea,” Lorien said. “I can detect her magicks and possibly get something useful from that.” She felt increasingly uneasy at the notion of learning magic from Sannea in this fashion. She had a special mental connection with Jerro that might not be telepathic as much as it was spiritual. Everything they intended depended on her being so much like the sorceress that she could learn what Sannea had over dozens of years in a flash. Another thing caused Lorien to hesitate about taking the path to Sannea’s camp. “The morda dust. It will completely paralyze us if we inhale it.” She held the carved wooden box tightly. She looked at it and asked Ploviss, “Is there any way of using this dust to immunize ourselves?” “I do not understand,” said the snake. “On my world, a small amount of a disease is induced. Our bodies successfully fight the small disease to fend off the larger and stronger ones. Do you think it would work the same way with the morda dust?” “No.” Both Jerro and Ploviss spoke 191

Aurora Jamison simultaneously. “We can try,” she said, getting angry at them. “Even one grain of the pollen is sufficient to trigger your . . . amorousness,” Ploviss said, with a more pronounced hiss than before. “I gave you the pollen since this is the only weapon I had available and was unable to use it myself.” Lorien drummed her fingers on the top of the box, thinking hard. “Can I use this against Sannea? How does she wander around in the Forbidden Woods without being affected?” “She has no heart,” Ploviss said. “No soul,” corrected Jerro. “She might magically transmute the pollen into something else before it affects her.” “She transmuted me. I want my original body restored,” Ploviss said. Lorien had never thought it possible for a snake to whine. Ploviss did now. “Make masks,” she said. “Cover our mouths and noses. It might not work too well, but it’s our only chance of reaching Sannea. If we surprise her, we might gain the upper hand.” Ploviss and Jerro exchanged looks that told Lorien how little they thought of her scheme. She was not too pleased with it, either, but could not come up with anything better. She took the piece of cloth Jerro ripped from his shirt and tied it 192

Lost Lore around her head. With a deep breath, she settled the mask into place and started down the fork in the trail leading to Sannea—and, Lorien hoped—the successful outcome for their laundry list of things they wanted.

193

Aurora Jamison

Chapter Fourteen racks,” Ploviss said. “I see them in the dirt

“Tpath through the woods.” The snake slithered

about and coiled around the footprint he had found. Lorien knelt and let the light cast a faint shadow off the trace. “Being down so low has advantages,” Lorien said, her mask muffling her words. “I don’t like running along on my belly. It is degrading,” Ploviss said. “Why is Sannea going deeper into the woods?” Jerro pointed deeper into the Forbidden Woods. “She’s not here only because Taltarian is chasing her.” “She would fight them as she retreated,” Lorien said, nodding. “What can it be she wants?” “What she has wanted all the time. The Forbidden Woods is dangerous because of the energies flowing through here,” Ploviss said. “Other worlds all open here.” “The keys she is looking for are hidden here?” 194

Lost Lore Lorien frowned. “It makes no sense.” “The doorways to other worlds open here,” Ploviss said. “She has one key—a bracelet that opens those doorways.” Lorien wanted to know more, but she kept remembering the old saying, ‘It’s hard to remember you wanted to drain the swamp when you’re up to your ass in alligators.' They fought alligators at every turn and kept being distracted from the swamp project. “If Sannea is using her key—a bracelet, you said?—she might not be around right now. That’d give us a great chance to find Jerro’s family.” “If she’s off in another world, I’ll never be free of this body!” Ploviss writhed in anguish at this possibility. “We’ll get you free,” Lorien promised, bending to stroke along the snake’s sinuous spine. They tromped along the winding path and went deeper into the woods. Lorien touched the nipple ring as it began to heat. There was nothing around to cause the change that she saw, but the ring—or her own heightened senses—allowed her to feel the flow of magicks all around. Ploviss had said the Forbidden Woods was the nexus of worlds. Lorien had the sensation of being able to reach out and open a doorway. Almost. If she could, she could go home where things were safe and she understood what made the 195

Aurora Jamison world work. No more strangely colored stars or skies with three moons. Or Jerro. Even Ploviss had proven himself more of a friend than most humans she knew back home. The phrase “back home” kept ringing in her mind like a poorly struck bell. The sound was wrong, even as she knew the act was right. She had to go home. Back home was where her life was, not here in a primitive society with kings and Cities of the Ancient Kings and magic she couldn’t understand. She touched the ring again when she remembered how she had gotten it. A demon at the bottom of a pit had drilled it through her nipple, laughing as he had done so. This was no fit place for her. “Her track goes this way,” Jerro said. “And that direction, too. How did she go in two directions without ever coming back?” “A doorway,” Lorien said. “She went into a doorway to another world along this path.” As she pointed, she felt a surge within her. This energy was not pleasant and made her sick to her stomach. Whatever Sannea sought on that world was ugly. She stepped back and collided with Jerro. His arms went around her, steadying her, giving her the courage that had momentarily fled. “Should we try to follow?” “We can’t,” Lorien told him. “We need a key. But evil seeps through from the other side.” 196

Lost Lore “Just the sort of place Sannea would seek,” Ploviss said. “We go down the other path?” “It’s not . . . like this one,” Lorien said. She slipped her arm around Jerro’s waist, as much for emotional support as to be near him. “Her tracks stop a few feet down this way,” Ploviss said, slithering about. “This is wrong, too. Is there another doorway here?” “No,” Lorien said, confused. There was no foreboding feeling here, but she still hesitated. “We should go back. Back to the fork and rethink what we’re doing.” The Forbidden Woods closed in about her, the canopy of leaves no longer mere vegetation but something dangerous. The thick undergrowth on either side of their path was filled with thorny plants and weeds with razor-sharp leaves. “We’re not able to move around much,” Jerro said. He still stepped forward and then let out a yelp as the ground gave way under him. He slid down a steep, sandy slope and tumbled into the center of a conical pit. “Where’d that come from?” Lorien had barely avoided tumbling down with Jerro. “One second the ground’s solid, the next it turns to sand.” “The pit beast,” Ploviss said. “You must get Jerro out now. Quickly, before it is too late.” “Pit beast? Like the demon?” “This is no magical creature. It is a hungry 197

Aurora Jamison creature!” The snake grew more agitated by the instant. “I can’t get out,” Jerro said. The harder he tried climbing the side of the pit, the more it crumbled under him. He went to the far side of the pit, started running and tried to use his momentum to get to the top. He almost made it before the side slid away under his feet. “He’ll exhaust himself, and then the pit creature will come for him.” “So it’s a coward?” Lorien asked. “It’s a clever beast. Why fight when your prey will die because of its own futile efforts to escape your trap?” “Once more, Jerro,” she urged. “A little faster and you can make it!” “A fool’s attempt,” hissed Ploviss. And the snake was right. Jerro ran even faster than before but came no closer to escaping. He was panting from the effort but otherwise still strong. Lorien wobbled slightly as waves of magical energy flowed around her. She tried to control it but lacked the skill. “What’s wrong?” Ploviss wiggled closer. “You turned pale.” “The thing in the pit,” she said. “You said it wasn’t magical? I think you’re wrong.” “Lorien,” called Jerro. “I am weakening. I can hardly stand.” He sank to his knees, fought to 198

Lost Lore regain his feet and failed. “Physical exhaustion works on most of its prey,” Lorien said. “It does not need to rely solely on that, though. It knows I control certain magicks.” “Then use them!” cried Ploviss. “Jerro is dying. Then he will be eaten.” “I don’t know any magic but opening the doorways in the king’s palace,” she said. “I . . . I have to leave you, Jerro. It is reacting to me.” “Save yourself,” Jerro called. “Don’t get caught.” “Good advice,” Ploviss said, snaking back down the path in the direction they had come. Lorien stared down at Jerro, then began moving away. The edge of the pit was crumbling faster and faster, coming in her direction. She saw also that the pit was getting deeper, making escape more difficult by the second. “I’ll get you out,” Lorien promised. She hurried away and began looking for any possible way to save Jerro. A trap this elaborate was not going to release him without a considerable effort on her part. “Ploviss! How do we defeat whatever it is making the pit?” “I don’t know,” the snake said. “I have never heard of anyone escaping.” “You know about the pit beast, though.” 199

Aurora Jamison “Tales. Scare stories to frighten the young.” She knew the snake lied to her but pushed it aside. She was frightened, too. As frightened for Jerro as she was for herself. The Forbidden Woods closed in all around her and the waves of magic flowing throughout caused her to fearfully look around—and never quite see anything sneaking up on her. But the feeling persisted. She was the prey and everything around her was the hunter. “Vines,” she said suddenly. “Which of them will support Jerro?” “Don’t touch the green ones,” Ploviss warned. “They’re all green!” “Poisons. Spines. Bugs that will sneak out from inside and bite you.” “What about the brown vines?” Lorien poked at a pile of vines that had fallen to the forest floor, expecting it to come alive and snap at her. It laid there unmoving. She picked it up and tugged on it. Although it was thin, it proved strong enough to resist her most powerful yanks. Finding more of the vine, she lashed it together with the first she had found. Working feverishly now as a plan formed, she created a rope more than fifty feet long that might support Jerro’s weight. She had woven a crude rope that had to support his weight. Lorien returned to the edge of the pit and looked around for something to fasten the rope to. 200

Lost Lore Nothing was close enough. “This tree. Only this one,” Ploviss said. “The others will poison or betray you.” The snake circled one spindly tree repeatedly, hissing incoherently. Lorien grabbed the sapling’s trunk and shook it back and forth. Birds flew out of the limbs but the roots were adequately strong to hold Jerro when he made his way up the vine rope. “Let’s do it now,” Lorien said, feeling the pressure of time weighing her down. She fastened the end of the homemade rope around the trunk and jerked a couple times to be sure it was secure, then edged toward the pit with the other end. She looked down to the bottom where Jerro hunkered down, as if warming himself by a campfire. “Here it comes,” she called. As Jerro looked up she tossed the rope. He grabbed for it but it flopped down on the slope of the pit, far out of his grip. “Give a run at it. You don’t have to get all the way up and out. Just enough to grab the rope,” she told him. She watched him try and fail repeatedly until he was on hands and knees, panting for breath. “All right,” Lorien called. “I’ll get more vines and splice them in. Then—” She let out a startled cry as the pit suddenly expanded to a spot under her feet. She sank to her ankles and then somersaulted down the side to 201

Aurora Jamison crash into Jerro. They lay together in a heap at the bottom. “Didn’t expect that.” Lorien shook sand out of her hair. She looked back and saw that the rope was still far out of Jerro’s grip. Even if he boosted her up, she wouldn’t be able to reach the rope. “We’re both caught.” “What are we going to do now?” he asked. He helped her to her feet. “I was hoping you had a bright idea about that.” She stepped back, put her hands to her mouth and shouted, “Ploviss! Ploviss! Can you tie on more vine so we can get free?” “I’m a snake,” came the answer. “I no longer have fine hands. I’m cursed to crawl on my belly and be unable to tie knots in vines to help my friends.” “I didn’t think of that,” Lorien said. She had not panicked when she had fallen into the pit. Now fear rose within her. Jerro and she were the only ones with hands and knot-tying ability. “What do we do?” “Wait,” Jerro said. “The pit creature will wait for us to weaken before dining.” “Like hell,” she flared. “I’m not going to sit around and starve. Where is this beast? I’ll take it on with my bare hands, if I have to.” “Below us,” Jerro said. “Waiting, watching. When our energy flags, it will come for us.” 202

Lost Lore Lorien fumed and fussed, trying vainly to get up the slope. But if Jerro could not, she was certainly unable to do so. After a dozen tries, she slid back to the bottom of the pit and sat, arms around her knees, thinking hard. “Energy?” “What?” Jerro asked. “It senses when our energy goes low? What if it soared?” “I don’t know if that would drive it off.” “It’s got to get hungry waiting for us. If we show more energy than right now, it might leave us alone and go tend another pit somewhere else in the Forbidden Woods.” “How do we gain energy when we’re trapped like this?” A smirk came to Lorien’s lips. She stood and slowly unlaced her tunic, letting both breasts drop out and bob about unfettered. The gold ring piercing her nipple gleamed in the sunlight. Pulling on it, stimulating herself, brought immediate warmth to the metal. This heat passed down into her body and invigorated her. She kicked off her moccasins and began stripping off her tight pants while Jerro watched. “I don’t understand,” he said. “You did before. I suppose I’ll have to teach you, if you have forgotten what it’s like to fuck me.” 203

Aurora Jamison “Not that, never, but—” She shut off his questions with a passionate kiss that curled her toes. When he responded, she knew her plan was going to work. If the creature waited for weakness and screwing augmented theirs, she wanted to keep the pit creature at bay forever. “Oh, yes,” she gasped out when Jerro pulled on the ring and then let it go. The gold heated more and more as her desires mounted. She clung to Jerro and wrapped one leg around his, rubbing her crotch against his thigh until his pants were damp from her inner oils. As she turned her hip into his groin, she felt his erection struggling to get free. “Let me,” she said, hastily unlacing his belt and ties holding his pants. She skinned them down and off his muscular legs and remained on her knees in front of him. His cock bobbed and bounced just beyond her lips. “Suck on my cock,” he said, hands going to the back of her head to pull her forward. She resisted, half standing instead. She bent over and put the ring through her nipple around the end of his prick. Lorien slowly stood, his fleshy manhood imprisoned in gild and pressing against her hot nipple. “It burns,” Jerro cried out. For an instant she feared she was harming him. Then he said, “I’ve 204

Lost Lore never felt anything so intense before. My entire body is alive.” “The power of the ring,” she said. “It gives energy when we fuck.” “I want to make a lot of energy, then.” They danced about a little, getting into position, the ring leaving the end of his cock and bobbing at the crest of her tit. Somehow, they meshed together, and Lorien sighed as he entered her slowly. He thrust forward and sent his hot fleshy pole deeper into her pussy until she thought she might go crazy with need. Tensing her pussy walls around him, she tried to keep him inside her. She was too slippery to ever hold his cock this way. He slid back, paused and came back in. Faster. Harder. Deeper. They rolled over and over on the sandy bottom, fucking as they went. When they came to rest, she straddled his waist and looked down into his soft brown eyes. “I want you more than anything in this world,” she said. “Stop talking. I need more . . . energy!” Lorien laughed and began lifting her hips up and slowly lowering them onto his erection. She leaned forward and pressed her palms into his shoulders for leverage. She controlled the speed but it was not enough, even when he reached up and began playing with her breasts, fondling and 205

Aurora Jamison tweaking and pulling on the now fiery hot ring. “Turn around. No!” he cried. “Don’t let my cock slip out of you. I want to feel your pussy all around me as you turn.” She drew up her legs and carefully lifted one foot over his chest. She sat sidesaddle over his lap now. His cock throbbed deep within her pussy, but she was getting greedy. There had to be more. She was going to make sure there was more. She kept turning until she straddled his waist, facing his feet. Lorien leaned forward and cried out in pure ecstasy. In this position, his cock entered just at the right angle to slip over her Gspot. She remembered, with a dim, distant animal part of her brain that this was reverse cowgirl position. “Ride ‘em, cowgirl!” she cried. Her hips exploded in a frenzy of activity. The harder she fucked, the more she wanted. The ring in her breast glowed white-hot now but did not burn her. It fed her stamina, and made her think she could keep this up for all eternity. The heady feeling faded a little when Jerro bucked up under her and began thrashing about. She reached down with one hand and stroked over her clit. Her other hand gripped the ring. Somehow, a sexual circuit was made and sent a jolt of pure carnal vibrancy. She and Jerro fused together in one huge orgasm again that rocked her 206

Lost Lore from head to toe and back, concentrating full power in her loins. Lorien collapsed forward, sweaty and panting. A big smile crossed her lips. “It that doesn’t drive the pit creature away, I don’t know what will.” “If it doesn’t, we’ll have to do it again,” Jerro said, also grinning. “Oh, yeah. How do you figure on doing that, buster?” She reached down and flicked his limp penis back and forth with her index finger. “Touch it with the ring again. Rub your nipple all over my cock and see what happens.” “You just want a cheap thrill,” she accused, but she swung around and bent low to do as he asked. To her surprise, he jerked erect again as the gold ring touched his flaccid dick. “Wait!” he cried. Lorien looked up but he pushed her aside. He rolled to his feet and scrambled to get dressed. “Do it. Get dressed.” “Throwing me aside already? For what? The pit creature?” “I know how to get out!” Lorien hastily dressed when she saw how easy it would be to get out of the pit. By the time she pulled on her moccasins she knew what he intended. She ran to help him, using some of the staying power they had just built up. 207

Aurora Jamison

Chapter Fifteen hy didn’t we think of this before?” she said

“Was she dug furiously beside him.

“You were too intent on fucking.” “Maybe so, but would we have this much energy if we hadn’t?” “I liked it,” he said. Lorien laughed and replied, “Me, too.” She turned back to digging away at the side of the pit. The more they dug, the more the side collapsed, but this moved them ever closer to the end of the vine dangling down. “There, almost within my grasp.” Jerro twisted and jumped for it. His fingers wrapped around the end of the vine. “Hang on tight,” she urged. “I am. I have it.” Jerro reached down for her she grasped his hand, only to have it slip away. She slid a few feet down the side of the pit. “Hurry. Hurry!” “All right, all right, I’m trying.” Then she heard 208

Lost Lore Ploviss hissing furiously and saw the stark fear on Jerro’s face. She looked behind to the bottom of the pit where they had made love only minutes earlier. All the blood ran out of her head, and she thought she might pass out from shock. The bottom of the pit had disappeared, replaced by a huge maw lined with flashing sharp teeth. The mouth clamped shut and opened again. The vile stench of its breath made her woozy. “Jump, Lore. Grab my ankle!” Lorien began backpedaling away from the pit creature. She didn’t see any eyes, but it had to sense her somehow because it turned slowly. The gaping mouth lowered and aimed directly for her. This was all it took for her to whirl away, dig her feet in and launch herself into the air. Her fingers closed around Jerro’s calf, then dug in until bloody streaks appeared. The snapping jaws just behind her barely missed and came rushing back for a second try as she was pulled through the air and crashed hard to the ground. “Get back. Do not stand so close,” warned Ploviss. The snake coiled and uncoiled in a nervous fury. Neither Lorien nor Jerro had to be told twice. They backed off to a safe distance as Lorien clung to Jerro, shaking with relief at their narrow escape. The mask covering her nose had long since slipped away to dangle around her 209

Aurora Jamison neck. She had not worn it in the pit and Jerro had not worn his, either. She felt a bit dizzy and repositioned the mask over her nose, but a little of the morda dust worked its way to her nostrils. A surge of desire for Jerro that hadn’t been there an instant before lit up her passions. “I want you,” she said in a quavering voice. “I know you do. I want you, also, but there is no time.” Jerro gripped her shoulders with his strong hands and peered into her burning green eyes. He laughed. “The lust dust has made its way up your nose.” “It has,” Lorien readily admitted, “but I do want you. That was too close for comfort back in the pit. Hold me, for just a minute.” She clung to him for strength and got it. His bare torso played against her body and reminded her of all they had been through—and what they still faced. Escaping the pit had been difficult and dangerous, and she wished they had time to rest. To rest and to enjoy one another again. Just that thought caused her nipple ring to pulse and turn warmer. She ran her hands over his sleek chest, remembering how it had turned to hairy expanse when the double moons flashed across the sky. This was better. She preferred Jerro as a human, with or without all the equine endowment bestowed on him by the magical lunar rays. 210

Lost Lore “Sannea is still somewhere in the Forbidden Woods,” he said. “She is dangerous. Doubly so, since she knows the area. When you first saw her was hardly her first time to explore here.” “That means whatever she is looking for is here, too, possibly in my world.” As she spoke, the nipple ring began to glow even warmer. Lorien peeled back her tunic and looked at it. The demon has fastened it to her with cruel intent, but the pain had faded quickly and now she rather liked the way it looked dangling from her nipple and the way it felt when that nipple hardened in lust. For Jerro. But the warmth now had nothing to do with her love for him. “Do you think it’s pointing me in the direction of the doorway back to my world?” Jerro turned silent at this. “I have to return, I have to,” she said, trying to convince herself as much as Jerro. “There are people there who’ll miss me.” “I will miss you, too.” “And I’ll miss you, Jerro, so very, very much.” She clung to him and pressed her cheek into his chest. She heard the steady beating of his heart, but it sounded like a distant drumbeat to her now. “You need her,” came a familiar hissing voice. “She is close and you need her if you are to escape.” 211

Aurora Jamison “What?” Lorien looked around and saw Ploviss curled around the trunk of a thick tree. The snake’s tongue darted about, sampling the morda dust-laden air. She wondered what the snake got from the aphrodisiac since it did not affect him the way it did warm-blooded humans. And centaurs. “We all need Sannea to give what she has denied us. I would return to my normal form,” the snake said. “My family,” Jerro said. “My herd is being held captive by that bitch!” “And she has the key that’ll unlock my way home,” Lorien said, feeling both sad and excited at the prospect. “What are we going to do?” Ploviss hissed and looked almost pleased with himself. Lorien reached out and stroked the snake’s head, as if she petted a dog. The scales ran under her fingers slick and smooth and dry, but she knew if she tried to run them the other direction, the scales would rise and prevent any such show of affection on her part. “You’ve suffered, too,” she said to the snake. “You have no idea what it is like slithering about on my belly when I was used to walking,” Ploviss said. “She can be made to change me back. I know it.” “We have no idea where she is in this jungle maze,” Lorien said. She looked more closely at Ploviss and asked, “You know where she is, don’t 212

Lost Lore you? Where’s Sannea?” “Not far,” Ploviss said, “but if I take you to her, you must not break your promise to free me from this terrible bondage before all else.” Jerro and Lorien exchanged glances. Their own problems had to be weighed against that of the snake. They had learned how treacherous Sannea could be. She might be tricked into doing only one favor. “I promise that you shall be returned to your form first,” Jerro said. “My herd is strong. If necessary, they can remain in their suspended animation a while longer.” Lorien felt her eyes welling with tears. Jerro was sacrificing his family for Ploviss’ well-being. She could do no less. “And I will make the same promise. Your transmute comes first. And Jerro, your family will be second.” Lorien wanted desperately to return to her own world but remaining here with Jerro wasn’t such a penalty for not forcing Sannea to grant their wishes. Jerro kissed her, and Lorien had all the reward she could possibly desire. As their kiss deepened and their hands began roving over each other’s body, Ploviss hissed loudly. “I can find her. She is trapped, but not as you were. Spider webs hold both mortal and sorceress 213

Aurora Jamison equally in the Forbidden Woods.” “She doesn’t have any of the keys to free herself?” Jerro kept his arm around Lorien’s shoulder as he turned to the snake. “If we find her, she won’t be able to turn her magic against us?” “The spells would work, no matter her condition,” Lorien answered before Ploviss could, “but she has only the bracelet key opening the gateway into my world.” Her eyes focused at some distant point as knowledge rushed to her. Sannea cried out silently for help—anyone’s help. Because of the gold ring and possibly being Sannea’s otherworld doppelganger, Lorien felt a growing affinity with her. She hated that, but it was not as shocking as it might have been since she had developed a deeper bond with Jerro using the ring. “Nothing more?” “No, nothing,” Ploviss assured him. The snake looked at Lorien suspiciously, then said, “Come, come this way. Hurry.” The snake spiralled down the tree trunk and disappeared in the heavy undergrowth. Lorien hardly believed they were so close to freeing Jerro’s family—and she was so close to losing him. Remaining in this world after he freed his herd would make her a secondary concern for him. She straightened her shoulders and pulled her tunic closed in front the best she could. There was no 214

Lost Lore time to properly lace herself up. They had a job to do, and she wasn’t going to hinder Ploviss or Jerro. As they made their way through the thicket, Lorien touched the nipple ring. It was growing warmer by the minute until it threatened to burn her flesh. But a gentle tug on it sent a thrill of pleasure into her body, telling her she was in no real danger. “Ahead,” she said. “Webs. Sannea must be caught there. What’s that clicking sound?” “Ploviss is signalling to us. We have to be careful. Even trapped, Sannea is a deadly enemy. She controls magicks we cannot guess at.” Jerro looked at her to confirm what she had said before about Sannea and her magicks. Lorien wished she felt as confident now as she had earlier. But there was no turning back. Her arm pressed into Jerro’s they advanced to where Ploviss was curled up, his head rising from the coil and head darting in the direction of a dirt path through the woods. “She’s there,” Lorien said. The ring was hot to the touch now. “What do we do?” “Bargain,” Jerro said. “We have no choice. How can we ever fool her?” “What if she doesn’t agree to everything?” “We leave her for the spiders,” Ploviss said with serpentine delight. “Their babies will feed on 215

Aurora Jamison her worthless husk.” “Help!” came the cry from only yards away. Lorien recognized Sannea’s voice. She left Ploviss and Jerro and dashed forward. If she was struck down by the sorceress, they might still achieve what they desired most. Lorien skidded to a halt a few yards from where Sannea was suspended a few feet off the ground, sticky web strands binding her completely. The sorceress had tried to twist about and had only gotten more strand-stuff wrapped around her. Getting her free would be a real chore. Lorien said nothing as she watched the whitehaired sorceress struggle. She marvelled at how much they looked alike. She almost forgave dear, nearsighted Jerro for mistaking her earlier for this witch. Almost. “You,” cried Sannea. “I might have known you would be the one to find me. Get me free! Get me out of this web and you can keep that ring of power!” Jerro and Ploviss came up on either side of Lorien. The trio simply waited as Sannea fought against the strands and became even more entangled. “The spiders will return soon. They aren’t nocturnal hunters. The sun is setting. Th-they’ll eat me!” Real fear turned Sannea’s face into a tortured mask. 216

Lost Lore “No, they will cocoon you,” Ploviss said. “They will save you for their younglings. You will be paralyzed, of course, but not dead. That will happen as the younglings suck your juices out for nourishment.” “I know you,” Sannea said. “I put a spell on you.” “And you will reverse it,” Lorien said. “And free my herd,” Jerro said. “And return her to her own world.” “There’s not much you don’t want, is there?” Sannea sneered. “Three boons in return for simply freeing me? I think not.” “Will it be safe to watch the spiders come for her?” Lorien smiled at Sannea’s reaction. It was all she could have hoped for. “No, not that. Wait, don’t leave. I . . . give me a moment. Let me think.” Sannea bit her lower lip and concentrated, then began a low, bone-chilling chant. “I feel it,” Ploviss said. “I . . . I am returning to my normal shape!” The snake whirled about and faded, only to return in solid form as a lizard. “You didn’t—” Lorien began. Then she saw that Ploviss was ecstatic. “You have done it, you have! I am returned to the way I was.” He waved tiny hands in front of his lizard face and stood on spindly legs, no longer needing to crawl on his belly. 217

Aurora Jamison Lorien stared wide-eyed at the lizard. Ploviss had never said his usual shape was that of a human. “Go, friend, leave,” Jerro said. “We will deal with her now.” “You gave your solemn word,” Sannea cried. “Don’t cheat me.” “We will not. Where is my herd?” “I must show you.” A touch of cunning came to Sannea’s eyes. “Free me and I’ll show you.” “Very well,” Jerro said. He reached down, took Sannea’s hand and pulled steadily. Strands parted around her, but she left behind a considerable amount of skin. The glue holding her to the spider web was potent, indeed. But Jerro’s quick move took the sorceress by surprise. He slid his hand down, grabbed her ebony bracelet and pulled it from her wrist. “You can’t take that. You can’t!” Sannea grasped Jerro’s arm with a death grip. A great gob of the spider glue held her firmly to his forearm and smaller strands trailed back to the web. She was almost free but more work had to be done before she escaped completely. “You must release me now or you’ll die, too.” “Take the bracelet key,” Jerro said. “You can find the doorway,” he said to Lorien. She stared at him, aghast. “How? I need you to guide me, to show me the 218

Lost Lore way.” “The ring will glow more brightly as you approach. The key will open the gateway. Go now. When you are well away, I’ll free her, and she can show me where my family is.” Lorien didn’t know what to say. She threw her arms around Jerro’s neck and held him close. The man’s musk, the feel of his long, silky hair, the way his muscles rippled under his skin, his strong, handsome face—she would miss all that. And more. She moved closer to him, her body pressed intimately. She felt him responding. Reaching down, she stroked over the cock pressing against the fabric of his tights and began stroking it. “To remember me,” she said. Lorien dropped to her knees and pulled the unwanted cloth down out of the way and kissed the tip of his erection, knowing what she would miss. “Go, hurry, oh, go!” Lorien rocked back and looked up at him and saw love in the man’s eyes matching her own. Their mental and spiritual connection firmed, and thoughts flowed faster than words could ever be spoken. But he was right. She had to go. Touching the nipple ring caused it to warm in response. She turned slowly and found the direction where it became hottest. Not trusting herself to look back, Lorien ran headlong into the jungle. But she had to look back. Once. Jerro 219

Aurora Jamison struggled to pull Sannea from the spider web. He would free the sorceress in another few minutes. Lorien knew if she hesitated now, Sannea would do whatever she could to recover both the ebony bracelet that was the key to returning home and the ring. The power Sannea would derive from accumulating all the ancient key relics was too great to allow any to slip through her grasp. That meant Lorien had to take both the ring and bracelet where Sannea could never get them. To another world. To Lorien’s home world. The heat at her nipple reminded her of Jerro’s mouth there, his tongue sending tingles of delight into her chest—before moving lower. And then she stopped and stared. Ahead of her, floating a few inches above the ground, rose a glowing lemon yellow rectangle. “The gateway,” she whispered, as if speaking aloud would make it disappear. Lorien slid the bracelet onto her wrist and held it up. She saw that her wristwatch was still stopped where it had been when she came into this wild, wonderful world. Pushing it back, she grasped the bracelet and began spinning it on her wrist. The brilliance of the gateway rivaled the sunlight above her. She put her head down and charged forward. Pressure mounted, forcing her backward. Lorien remembered how it had felt before, as if she had been pulled into this world. 220

Lost Lore The same force worked to hold her here. She dug in her toes and exerted herself to the utmost. And then she was through the gateway and stumbling down the dark, damp upper hallway in the Lee house. She caught herself and leaned against the plastered wall. Lightning crashed above and a clap of thunder shook the old house to its foundations. Lorien looked at her watch. It was running again, only a few hours having passed from when she had left this house. Midnight was only a few minutes away. She had spent weeks in the other world and yet in her own only a short time had passed. “Lorien! Lorien, you up there?” “Keith?” “God, I’m glad you’re here and not at the bottom of a ravine somewhere. I came for you when I heard the road had washed out. It took me an extra hour to come up the back way.” She heard Keith’s footsteps on the creaking stairs as he made his way to her. Keith! He had come for her. He was worried about her and wanted to be sure she was safe. Then she looked over her shoulder at the end of the hallway where a dim lemon light still outlined the gateway. Lorien fiddled with the bracelet on her wrist that would take her back to that world. That world and Jerro. 221

Aurora Jamison “I was worried, doll. You can’t imagine. I had to blow off that business meeting with the guys at the bar, but it’s worth it if you’re okay.” Keith reached the head of the stairs. Lorien looked at him, glanced over her shoulder to the gateway and then back to her boyfriend. She could return or she could stay in her own world. She made her decision in a split second and never regretted it. The End

222

About the Author orn in the middle of winter in Michigan more

B(how many more I'm not saying) than 30 years

ago, I was lacking a name until my father saw the aurora borealis and decided this was a sign, the right name. (I'm so glad my mother insisted on "Aurora" and not "Borealis!") In spite of my name, I have never seen the aurora (but my younger sister in Alaska has and says its constantly changing, shifting nature is like mine). As a child I moved through the Midwest, living in four different states before I was in the third grade. Finally ending up in West Texas, I married, was widowed, and my only child is in his senior year in high school. I love to read fantasy, and writing is giving me an outlet to live it, as well.