Obsidian Flame (61 page)

He didn’t exactly know the why of it, but his resonance always worked her up like nothing else, and it never seemed to hurt her.

So he said,
“I can feel the pleasure my fingers are giving you.”
He moved them faster and her body started gyrating over his. She was panting into his shoulder, her ear pressed to his mouth.

He split his resonance a few more times and just groaned into her ear. She cried out but sent,
You can make me come faster than any man I’ve ever known.

“Wrong words, Marguerite. Never talk about other men to me. Ever.” He was pissed, but he felt her smile and then he understood. Dammit, she’d said that to him on purpose.

He withdrew his fingers and flipped her over in a smooth arc that brought her onto the couch beneath him but on her stomach, one of his favorite positions.

He lifted her up so that he was poised behind her hips. “You’re being very bad and I’m going to have to punish you.”

She turned and looked back at him. “What are you going to do to me?”

He let her feel the tip of his cock at her opening, then he spelled it out for her. When her legs started trembling, he shoved himself in deep.

She balanced her hands on the arm of the couch and spread her legs wide. He set up a rhythm; then he leaned down and she stretched out her neck for him, ready to take her punishment.

He bit her hard, which brought her internal muscles wrapping tight around him and spasming. She cried out over and over as the orgasm rocked her. He released chemicals at the same time that, because of his new ability to feel her, caused shivers to race up and down his spine the way they were racing up and down hers.

His orgasm followed as he pumped into her, a streak of profound pleasure because she climaxed again and he could feel at the same time what his hard cock was doing to her. The combined sensation was like fire. He released her neck and roared as the orgasm rolled and rolled, on and on, until he’d spilled himself inside her and at last her hips grew quiet.

He collapsed to his side, taking her with him, keeping himself connected. He was breathing hard, trying to figure out which sensations were his and which were hers. Her lungs gulped for air; his cock twitched. His legs were sweaty against the leather; so were hers. Her nose itched. The muscles of his shoulders flexed.

He held her close, loving this, loving sex with his woman, loving that she was game, that she was here, that she belonged to him, that love had found them both. He hugged her and she caught his arms and held them, pressing them against her chest. He felt her breasts flex from the inside and he smiled.

“I love you,” he said.

“You work me up.”

He laughed. “Ditto, sweetheart.”

She sighed. “How the hell am I supposed to be a mother?”

“You’ll be fine. The woman who brought me back from the dead, twice, will do just fine with anyone and anything. Two babies? Piece of cake.”

He felt her stiffen. “What do you mean,
two
babies?”

Thorne could have kicked himself for not being more diplomatic. He’d have to work on that.

But after a few more seconds, he felt her relax and something more, a vibration that clicked with his own obsiddy power. He could feel her power moving within her body, deep within her mind. He could sense that she was having a vision.

She turned slowly in his arms so that she was now face to face with him and her eyes were lit up. “I saw them, both of them.”

He nodded. “With baby Helena?”

Marguerite smiled. “They were walking hand in hand. You saw them, too?”

“Helena flew above them.”

“Yes.” She put her hand on his face, then kissed him. “More than anything that’s happened in the past few weeks, that image gives me hope, Thorne. Real hope. Our kids had to be at least two, maybe three, don’t you think? And they had wings.”

“Yes. Wings.”

“Do you think the war will be over by then?”

He drew in a deep breath. “I hope so, sweetheart, but if it isn’t, we’ll figure it out.”

She dipped her chin and snuggled close so that her head was buried against his neck.
Together, we’ll figure it out,
she sent.

“Yes, together.”

Together. The sweetest word he’d heard in a long, long time.

ASCENSION TERMINOLOGY

AAF pr. n.
Allied Ascender Forces, Endelle’s army.

ALA pr. n.
Ascenders Liberation Army, the name Greaves assigned to his army.

answering the call to ascension n.
The mortal human who experiences the hallmarks of the
call to ascension
will at some point feel compelled to answer, usually by demonstrating significant preternatural power.

ascender n.
A mortal human of earth who has moved permanently to the second dimension.

ascendiate n.
A mortal human who has answered the
call to ascension
and thereby commences his or her
rite of ascension.

ascension n.
The act of moving permanently from one dimension to a higher dimension.

ascension ceremony n.
Upon the completion of the
rite of ascension,
the mortal undergoes a ceremony in which loyalty to the laws of Second Society is professed and the attributes of the
vampire
mantle along with immortality are bestowed.

the Borderlands pr. n.
Those geographic areas that form dimensional borders at both ends of a dimensional pathway. The dimensional pathway is an access point through which travel can take place from one dimension to the next. See
Trough.

breh-hedden
n.
(Term from an ancient language.) A mate-bonding ritual that can only be experienced by the most powerful warriors and the most powerful preternaturally gifted women. Effects of the
breh-hedden
can include but are not limited to: specific scent experience, extreme physical/sexual attraction, loss of rational thought, primal sexual drives, inexplicable need to bond, powerful need to experience deep
mind-engagement,
etc.

cadroen
n.
(Term from an ancient language.) The name for the hair clasp that holds back the ritual long hair of a
Warrior of the Blood.

call to ascension n.
A period of time, usually involving several weeks, in which the mortal human has experienced some or all of, but not limited to, the following: specific dreams about the next dimension, deep yearnings and longings of a soulful and inexplicable nature, visions of and possibly visits to any of the dimensional Borderlands, etc. See
Borderlands.

Central pr.n.
The office of the current administration that tracks movement of
death vampires
in both the second dimension and on
Mortal Earth
for the purpose of alerting the
Warriors of the Blood
and the
Militia Warriors
to illegal activities.

the darkening n.
An area of
nether-space
that can be found during meditations and/or with strong preternatural darkening capabilities. Such abilities enable the
ascender
to move into nether-space and remain there or to use nether-space in order to be two places at once.

death vampire n.
Any vampire, male or female, who partakes of
dying blood
automatically becomes a death vampire. Death vampires can have, but are not limited to, the following characteristics: remarkably increased physical strength, an increasingly porcelain complexion true of all ethnicities so that death vampires have a long-term reputation of looking very similar, a faint bluing of the porcelain complexion, increasing beauty of face, the ability to enthrall, the blackening of
wings
over a period of time. Though death vampires are not gender-specific, most are male. See
vampire.

dimensional worlds n.
Eleven thousand years ago the first
ascender,
Luchianne, made the difficult transition from
Mortal Earth
to what became known as Second Earth. In the early millennia four more dimensions were discovered, Luchianne always leading the way. Each dimension’s ascenders exhibited expanding preternatural power before
ascension.
Upper dimensions are generally closed off to the dimension or dimensions below.

duhuro
n.
(Term from an ancient language.) A word of respect that in the old language combines the spiritual offices of both servant and master. To call someone
duhuro
is to offer a profound compliment suggesting great worth.

dying blood n.
Blood extracted from a mortal or an
ascender
at the point of death. This blood is highly addictive in nature. There is no known treatment for anyone who partakes of dying blood. The results of ingesting dying blood include, but are not limited to: increased physical, mental, or preternatural power, a sense of extreme euphoria, a deep sense of well-being, a sense of omnipotence and fearlessness, the taking in of the preternatural powers of the host body, etc. If dying blood is not taken on a regular basis, extreme abdominal cramps result without ceasing. Note: Currently there is an antidote not for the addiction to dying blood itself but to the various results of ingesting dying blood. This means that a
death vampire
who drinks dying blood then partakes of the antidote will not show the usual physical side effects of ingesting dying blood: no whitening or faint bluing of the skin, no beautifying of features, no blackening of the
wings,
etc.

effetne
n.
(Term from an ancient language.) An intense form of supplication to the gods; an abasement of self and of self-will.

folding v.
Slang for dematerialization, since some believe that one does not actually dematerialize self or objects but rather one “folds space” to move self or objects from one place to another. There is much scientific debate on this subject since at present neither theory can be proved.

grid n.
The technology used by Central that allows for the tracking of
death vampires
primarily at the
Borderlands
on both
Mortal Earth
and Second Earth. Death vampires by nature carry a strong, trackable signal, unlike normal
vampires.
See
Central.

Guardian of Ascension pr. n.
A prestigious title and rank at present given only to those
Warriors of the Blood
who also serve to guard powerful
ascendiates
during their
rite of ascension.
In millennia past Guardians of Ascension were also those powerful ascenders who offered themselves in unique and powerful service to Second Society.

High Administrator pr. n.
The designation given to a leader of a Second Earth
Territory.

identified sword n.
A sword made by Second Earth metallurgy that has the preternatural capacity to become identified to a single
ascender.
The identification process involves holding the sword by the grip for several continuous seconds. The identification of a sword to a single ascender means that only that person can touch or hold the sword. If anyone else tries to take possession of it, that person will die.

Militia Warrior pr. n.
One of hundreds of thousands of warriors who serve Second Earth society as a policing force for the usual civic crimes and as a battling force, in squads only, to fight against the continual depredations of
death vampires
on both
Mortal Earth
and Second Earth.

millennial adjustment n.
The phenomenon of time taking on a more fluid aspect with the passing of centuries.