Night of Fire (5 page)

Sensing that he was approaching the moment of release, she
increased her own efforts. They quivered as one, created their own music, beat
a single drum. As before, he pounded into her, each thrust squirting his fluids
into her. She caught fire, exploded.

Maia had collapsed on top of Taurus—his softened organ still
partly inside her. Although she’d become aware of her now-cold back, she
couldn’t make herself move until he started to lift her off him. She rolled to
her side next to him and propped herself up on one arm. He was looking at her
with the strangest expression—something akin to the look on her youngest
brother’s face the first time he’d seen an eclipse of the moon.

“I may have died and gone to heaven,” he muttered.

“No.” She gasped, alarmed. “You are very much alive.”

“Figure of speech. Besides, you’re absolutely right. I
couldn’t possibly feel more alive. Lady, I don’t know who the hell you are or
what we’re doing together, but thank you—thank you very much.”

What we are doing together?
The question reverberated
in Maia and reminded her that she hadn’t just been sent here to mate with
Taurus, but to bring him back with her.

Afraid too much time had passed, she scrambled to her feet
and slipped on her gown. She fastened the dagger around her waist then grabbed
Taurus’ hand and tried to pull him up.

“Wait a minute,” he protested. He tried to pull her back
down, something she was tempted to let him do. “What are you in a hurry about?
Look…” His amused expression turned to one of concern. “You’re not leaving, are
you?”

“Yes. I must.”

She pulled again, this time succeeding in getting him to
stand. He reached for her, but she ducked out of his way, leaned down and
handed him his clothes. He took them and stepped into his briefs.

“Where are you going?” His tone matched his somber gaze.

“You—you would not know its name.”

“No argument there. There’s practically nothing I know about
you. Look, Maia, isn’t there some way I can get you to stay? Ah, how would you
like to go to London tomorrow?”

London? What was that?
“I cannot. Please, hurry. We
must not be late.”

“
We
? I’m going with you?”

“Yes, of course.”

That seemed to reassure him, and although he didn’t take his
eyes off her, he wasted no time getting dressed. He put on his foot-coverings
and then indicated her bare feet.

“I don’t know how you do that. This is volcanic rock, sharp
as hell in places.”

She had to admit that the ground was harder than she was
used to, but she had no trouble walking on it. “The fire arch.” She pointed in
the direction the glow was coming from. “We must hurry.” To give her words
emphasis, she grabbed his wrist.

“I’m coming,” he reassured her. He started to wrap his arm
around her waist then touched the dagger. “That’s no toy, is it? If need be, it
could get deadly?”

Although she didn’t quite understand what he meant, she
reassured him that one of its functions was for protection. As for the other—it
wasn’t time for him to know that.

Much as she wanted to run, it was too dark to safely do
that. Besides, the closer they got to the top of the hill where the fire arch had
been lit, the more crowded it became. People, particularly men, stared at her.
Maybe they could look at her and know she’d just mated. She supposed her gown,
so simple compared to what most people wore, was too much of a contrast to be
ignored. When an older woman shook her head in disapproval, it dawned on Maia
that her veil-dress exposed a great deal of her body. Interesting. People from
Taurus’ time covered themselves, she just didn’t understand why.

As soon as they reached the top of the hill, Taurus ran
interference by shouldering their way through groups of onlookers. She clung to
his side, feeling both protected and on the brink of asking him if he wanted to
mate again. Given how sore she was between her legs, that wasn’t wise, but it
would be worth the discomfort. They would mate again as soon as they’d returned
to her time, she reassured herself. The thought of mating on a down and feather
covering prompted her to slide her hand down his hip.

“What?” Taurus caught her hand. “Don’t tell me you’re getting
raunchy all over again. You’re going to be the death of me.”

“No. You will not die. You must not!”

“Calm down, will you. It’s just a figure of speech. I swear,
you are the most confusing—”

Much as she loved the sound of his voice, particularly the way
it seemed as if she could feel it in her spine, there wasn’t time to talk.
Grabbing his wrist again, she plunged ahead.

The arch fire had been constructed out of tree branches and
limbs fastened to a frame nearly twice as tall as Taurus. Although she knew
what they had to do, the sight of all those dancers and other performers
stopped her.

“I do not understand,” she said. “The women in white, men
who have painted themselves the color of fire or summer grasses. Why do they do
those things?”

“I’m not the one to ask. My friend explained some stuff
about the festival, but all I can give you is the short course. It’s all
supposed to symbolize the seasons, concentrating on spring of course.”

“The fire arch. Have the color-people already gone through
it?”

“I think so. According to Paul, that’s the first thing they
do. Then the May Queen—she’s the one wearing all those colors—makes a circuit
of the hill with her companions. From what I understand, they visit sites that
represent air, earth, water and fire. They must have already done that
because—yeah, see those Red Men?”

The Red Men were running around the Rainbow Woman and the
others with her. At first Maia was afraid the Red Men would attack and kill
someone, but no one acted afraid, and no one had pulled out a weapon. Instead,
everyone ran here and there, yelling, laughing. So many colors and bodies were
in motion that she was getting dizzy watching them. None of it made sense.

“Do you want to try to get closer?” Taurus asked. “I take it
you haven’t seen this before. Neither have I so if that’s what you want to do
before we— Well, you don’t need me to spell that out, do you?”

His hip grinding into hers left no doubt of what he had in
mind, and if this was any other time, she’d take hold of his seed-maker and
find a way to put it inside her again.

But this was tonight. Her mission had to be completed before
morning.

Turning her back on the barbaric spectacle, she propelled
Taurus toward the burning arch. A few people stood within a few feet of it, but
everyone’s attention was on the heathen dancers who knew nothing of the magic
of Bel-fire. She felt the heat on her face, breasts, arms. The flames were so
intense that she couldn’t keep her gaze on it, and the way it crackled and
snapped gave her pause. Just the same, she didn’t stop walking.

“What are you doing?” Taurus demanded when they were only a
few steps from it. “What if it collapses?”

He was right. All the wood was ablaze and much of it had
already been destroyed. From what she could tell, the branches had been
fastened in place with rope and when that burned through—

“We must hurry.”

“Wait a minute.” Taurus grabbed her around the waist and
pulled her against him. His seed-maker poked her backside. “I’ve gone along
with everything you’ve wanted so far, but I don’t have a death wish.”

Neither did she, she wanted her people to live and flourish
and celebrate as they had since the beginning of time.

“We must run through it.”

“No, we don’t! This is crazy.”

“Taurus, please! I will not let anything happen to you, I promise.”

“That’s not a promise you can keep, so don’t throw that at
me. Look, lady, sometimes you flat-out scare me.”

How could that possibly be? He weighed nearly twice what she
did, and she’d have to stand on tiptoe to kiss him. Alarmed by how much time was
passing and how unsteady the arch looked, she turned in his arms and did the
only thing she could think of—she grabbed his seed-maker in both hands.

“Ow! What the hell—”

Concerned that she was hurting him, she let up a little but
didn’t release him.

“Careful there.” His hands hovered over hers as if afraid to
disturb her. “Those are the family jewels. Geez, you don’t mess around, do
you?”

“Now please. We will run. It will take only a few
heartbeats.”

“If you keep on holding me like that, I’m not going to be
doing any running.”

Why was she wasting time listening to his arguments? Calling
on the only thing she could think of to reach him, she leaned into him. “I was
a virgin before I took you into me.” The fire made so much noise that she
wasn’t sure he could hear her. The wind pushed smoke around them and the
glow—the glow was like the sun. “That was what I did for you, let you change me
from a girl to a woman.”

He sucked in his breath. “No argument there,” he said
softly, almost reverently.

“That was my gift. Now…”

“I know.” He glanced over her shoulder at the burning arch.
“You want me to risk frying every hair on my head.” He shuddered. “Promise me
something. This is the last crackpot thing you’ll ask me to do.”

“Crackpot? I do not have a pot with me.”

“Forget I said anything. Look, will you please let go?”

“You will take my hand, and we will walk under the fire
together?”

“Walk, no. Run, yes.”

Relief surged through her. Releasing his seed-maker, she
held out her hand.

“I should be locked up,” he muttered, taking her hand.

The arch crackled, the sound was followed by something that
resembled a scream. Taurus muttered, “Damn.” She couldn’t get out a word.

Though he tried to hold back, she led the way to the base of
the arch. The people nearby either stared or loudly warned them not to do
anything stupid. In truth, her heart was pounding so that she felt lightheaded,
but she’d already spent a long time where she didn’t belong and was desperate
to return to her world—with Taurus. In her mind’s eye, she saw her parents,
siblings and other relatives. Most of all, she thought about The Lady and the
Bel-fire ceremonies that had marked all the seasons of her life.

How could her child grow without Bel-fire?

“Now!” Clutching Taurus’ hand with all her strength, she
lowered her head and ran. Instead of trying to hold her back, he matched her
stride. She felt heat and smelled smoke, heard people scream.

Then there was nothing.

Even before he became fully conscious, Taron concluded that
he’d just had the best sleep of his adult life. The first thing to counter that
impression was the realization that he was on his feet and not in bed. Then he
felt a small, warm hand in his and it all came back.

He reluctantly opened his eyes. If he’d burned himself— No.
Somehow he’d come through the fire unharmed.

But where the hell was he?

As his vision cleared, he took in more and more impressions,
not that they made any sense. At first blush it appeared that he was still at
the top of Carlton Hill with the town of Edinburgh below, but this wasn’t the
hill he’d been at last night—if it had indeed been last night.

For one, the unfinished but impressive Athenian acropolis
wasn’t there, and there was no sign of the steep staircase he’d trudged up.
Someone had taken away the trash cans, temporary restrooms, sound equipment,
stage sets and other equipment. Even the parking lot and cars were no longer in
evidence.

Holding Maia’s hand tighter than he wanted to admit, he
looked down at the town—or rather what little there was of it. Because it was
dusk, he couldn’t tell much except that there were no street lights. Hell,
there weren’t even any streets—or houses or commercial district or roads in or
out. Except for a collection of what looked like huts and a larger stone
structure nearly hidden in the shadows, the valley was empty.

His throat dried.

“Where are we?” he demanded.

“Home,” Maia said.

Not my home.
But even as he thought that, a sense of
peace trickled over him. No two ways about it, there was a lot to be said for a
place empty of the sound of automobiles and bright lights.

Dusk? Wait a minute. Hadn’t it been night the last he knew?
So, along with everything else, he was in a time warp of some kind.
Time
warp? No, it was more than that. He’d gone back, back in time.

“What year is it?” he demanded. For the first time in hours,
he thought about his schedule and what was at stake.

“Year? I do not know what you mean.”

About to point out that that wasn’t the only thing she
hadn’t been able to supply, it occurred to him that he, not she, was the one
who was out of step now. Out of his element, his world.

“You do not have to hold on so tight,” she said, wiggling
her fingers. “I will not leave you.”

He let up on his grip but didn’t free her because she was
the only thing that connected him to reality—or was she?

Bombarded by questions that might never have answers, he
again turned his attention to his surroundings. Modern trappings still hadn’t
miraculously appeared, but his initial impression that the hill was deserted
had been wrong. They weren’t alone.

The knot of people was far enough away and in enough shadow
that he had difficulty making them out, but Maia seemed eager to join them. He
went with her, not because he gave a damn who these folks were, but, well,
hell, because for reasons that went beyond his cock, he wanted to stay near
her.

There was a small fire inside a stone circle, and that
provided enough illumination that he realized that the group was made up of
men, women and children all dressed in what looked like peasant costumes—only
maybe they weren’t costumes. A trio of old men with long beards wore light
gray, almost white capes, and the way the others looked at them brought him to
the conclusion that they were some kind of leaders.

Then he spotted a tall, stately woman with long, white hair.
She had on a ground-length red cape made of gauzy material that left no doubt
that she was naked under it—like Maia. He guessed her age at around fifty. She
carried herself as if she were royalty. Behind her stood a huge, snow-white horse.
It took a conscious effort not to bow.

Maia released his hand and bent her head before the
queen-like woman.

“My Lady, I return,” Maia said.

“It is good to see you, Maia,” the older woman replied. “You
have done well. Taurus is here. You have mated with him?”

“I have. Twice.”

So much for privacy.

“Good. He willingly walked through the fire passage with
you?” the woman asked.

“He did what I needed him to do,” Maia explained. “But he
has no knowledge.”

You can say that again.
Although it irritated him to
be talked about as if he were deaf and mute, there was no denying that there
wasn’t a whole lot he could add to the conversation.

“He belongs to you?”

“I do not know. Everything between us is new.”

Everything’s new—and I’d give anything to know what the hell
this is about.

“He needs to be tested,” one of the old men said. “Until he
has proven himself, we cannot trust him.”

Before Taron could point out that he could hardly hang
around forever, the old man loudly clapped his hands. Maia stiffened. Then the
knot of onlookers parted, distracting him.

A half dozen young women—or teenagers maybe—were walking
toward him. Like Maia, they all wore see-through veil-dresses. Their bodies
were—hell, they were ripe.

“They are yours,” the old man told him. “All virgins and
ready for sex.”

Maia had called it mating. Was there a difference between
that and sex?
And more importantly, what the hell was going on?

“You want…” He swallowed and tried again. “You want me to
have sex with them?”

“The decision is yours.”

What red-blooded man wouldn’t die happy after that kind of
offer? Distracted from the question he’d just asked himself, he studied the
young women. A couple were taller than Maia. One was overweight with amazing
breasts that stuck up and out as only breasts that hadn’t been attacked by
gravity for long can. There wasn’t a thing physically wrong with any of them,
and although they giggled and stared openly at him as if he were about to be
auctioned off, he figured he’d be able to carry on some kind of conversation with
them, if given time and inclination.

“Perhaps your first choice would be a girl with wide hips
made for childbearing and fun,” another of the old men offered. “Kina, let him
see.”

Without so much as a blush—at least he didn’t think she was
embarrassed, a girl with wavy hair and a small, upturned nose unceremoniously
hiked up her gown until it was around her waist. She stepped close and turned
in a slow circle, looking over her shoulder at him all the time. She was
smiling. No two ways about it, Kina had a richly rounded ass.

He felt nothing.

“You mated twice with Maia,” the second old man continued.
“Perhaps your seed-maker is worn out. We can bring you sweetbread and fruit,
and your strength will return.”

What was he to them, a breeding bull? Maybe so since,
like Maia, they called him Taurus.
Strange, he didn’t remember falling down
a rabbit hole to the Land of Oz.

“Look,” he said, suddenly angry. “I don’t know what this is
about. I’m not sure I ever will. But I’m more than just a cock. I also have a
brain.”
One that’s on overload right now.

“You took one virgin. You are not interested in another?”

Maia wasn’t just a virgin. She was—what?

“That’s not the way most men do things where I come from,”
he protested. “Usually—usually people have sex because they care about each
other, not because someone dangles a cherry in front of them.”

“Cherry?”

When was he going to learn to watch what he said around
Maia and her people?
“Never mind. It’s just an expression.”

Because he didn’t want to offend the still-giggling girl-women,
he studied each of them in turn, nodding approval. Then he dismissed them. He
hadn’t intended to connect with Maia, but his gaze settled on her. Even with
that dagger around her waist, she reminded him of Tinkerbelle.

“Look,” he said. “I don’t know who or what you people think
I am. Hell, I don’t know who
you
are. But I’m not some stud you can put
in a pasture full of mares in heat.”

That garnered nods he took to be understanding. Heartened
because he was with people who understood livestock if nothing else, he
continued. “I don’t know if you know this, but some animals, like wolves, mate
for life. I’m not saying that’s what’s happened between Maia and me. We’ve just
met.”
Met and fucked.
“But I don’t sleep around.” Hoping to give
emphasis to his words, he covered her all-but-naked breast with his hand. She
didn’t try to remove it so he left it there.

“What do you want of me?” he demanded. “Why am I here?
And—and there’s something I need to make perfectly clear. I can’t stay. I
have…I have important things to do.”

The woman Maia called The Lady clasped her hands over her
breasts. “We are earth people. From the time of our first ancestors, we
understood that our existence depends on the sun. In spring, the sun is born
anew and provides the light and warmth the crops need to grow. During summer,
Sun is a mother who nourishes her children from her body, but at length she
grows weary and needs to rest. The plants and trees, even the animals know
that. They rest with her.”

Maia nodded in time with the others. Covering his hand, she
held it to her breast.

“But Mother Sun will not awaken from her sleep unless we,
her children, honor her as we have since the beginning of time,” The Lady
finished.

The reverence in her voice, reinforced by the others’
agreement and the way Maia held on to him left no doubt of how deeply they
believed this. He couldn’t begin to make fun of them.

“If that’s your belief,” he said, “I’m not going to argue
with you.”

“Then you believe?” Maia asked.

He hadn’t heard her voice for too long. At least his cock
must feel that way because he was now thinking about putting it where it had
already been twice recently. “Honey, all this is too new to me for me to say
yes or no about anything,” he told her.

“The priests are not like that,” the first old man said.
“They do not understand, they do not try to understand. All they do is forbid.”

“What priests?”
No two ways about it, Alice in Wonderland
had nothing on him.

“There.” The old man pointed down the hill to where Taron
had spotted the stone structure. “They and the soldiers they brought with them
say that Bel-fire is the work of the devil.”

He wasn’t about to get into a religious argument, especially
when he didn’t understand where either these people or the priests were coming
from. However, he felt aligned with those who were part of Maia’s world. Maybe
she knew what he was thinking because she all but wrapped herself around him.
She obviously had no hesitancy about pushing her pelvis against his.

“What do you want from me?” he asked the old men and The
Lady.
Where the hell had that question come from? I should be asking how I
go about getting off this merry-go-round for the insane.

“Use your power to make the priests leave us in peace.”

No problem. I’ve got a machine gun in my back pocket. How
about I pick up a phone and call the National Guard?

“Powers?” he said instead. “I’m afraid you’ve got me
confused with someone else. Superman maybe?”

“You are Taurus,” The Lady stated.

“Not you too?” He groaned. “Look, that’s what Maia calls me,
but my name is Taron. I’m a twenty-first-century businessman, end of
discussion.”

“Taurus the bull is potent. No creature is more powerful
than he.”

Given the way he’d performed so far tonight, he was hesitant
to argue with that. “Interesting,” he said. Maia’s hand was now only inches
from his cock. Not at all concerned with anything else that was going on, his
cock responded.

“Taurus’ blood upon the land fertilizes it.”

“Blood? Wait a minute. Sperm, yes. I’ve got no argument with
that, but I’m not interested in spilling any blood, especially mine.”

“Sperm?” That came from Maia, who seemed to be taking great
pleasure in seeing what she could get his cock to do without touching it. “What
is that?”

“Semen. You know, cum.” He indicated her hand. “I hope you
know what you’re doing,” he whispered.

“Where will you come?” she asked.

In my briefs if you aren’t careful.
“Shit. Never
mind. I’m talking about my—my seed-bearer and what comes out of it when we have
sex.”

“Ah. Yes. Life’s juice.”

The first old man had spoken, and now everyone was nodding.
The Lady stared at the bulge in his slacks and smiled with what he took to be
approval. This place might be a close kin to Oz, but he had no objection to
what appeared to be their open and enthusiastic view of sexuality. A man could
get used to this.

“Ah…” He cleared his throat. “Let me get something straight.
Are you being literal? I was brought here because—because you people want to
indulge in a little bloodletting?”

No one answered, leaving him to study the wise old men, The Lady,
and other people who obviously believed they were part of this discussion. A
few of the younger men looked strong enough to make good on their threat to
turn him into a blood donor, if that’s what it was. If he grabbed Maia and used
her as a hostage—

“Taurus, your blood will not be spilled,” she said softly.

Despite his efforts, a sigh escaped him. “I hope I can
believe you.”

“Not your blood,” she continued. “Your life juice.” With
that, she closed her fingers around his standing-at-attention cock and tugged
on it.

Geez Louise!
“Maia,” he warned as self-control faded.
“I hope to hell you know what you’re doing. Much—much more of that, and I’m
going to explode.”

“Explode?” Still holding his cock as if she had claimed
ownership of it, she frowned.

“Jack-off. Is that what you want, for me to ejaculate in
your hands?”
Shit!

“Ejaculate?”