Pleasure's Offering (8 page)

Zoa blinked and Jeric looked up in alarm. “Sir?”

“It’s winter, season’s over,” Izar said with a shrug. “Someone has to go report to the emperor that, despite five years of pouring his money into this northern sinkhole, we’re no closer to defeating the tribes than we were when I arrived. I usually leave that bit of unpleasantness to someone I don’t like, but this year I meant to do it myself. I’d been putting it off, but you’ve just given me an excellent excuse. Besides,” he said, giving them a sly look. “How were you going to get to the Capital anyway? It’s dangerous countryside around here, even for two Avatars. It would be a blasphemy against Dezira if I let her Chosen go through such danger unprotected.” He paused, like he was considering this, and then firmly shook his head. “No, I can’t allow it. You’ll ride down with my squad and I will not listen to any opposition.”

Jeric shook his head. “I guess we’ll have to accept, then,” he said, sliding an arm around Zoa’s waist. “Isn’t that so, Avatar?”

“It seems that way, Avatar,” Zoa replied. “A very gallant offer.”

“You have no idea,” Izar said. “I’ll be lucky to get away with my head once the emperor hears my report.”

Jeric grimaced. “If that’s the case, shouldn’t you just report to the Legion office and let it go up the chain?”

“Gods, no,” Izar said. “They’ll dumb the message to bland, inoffensive mush and nothing will change. I’ve held my tongue for years waiting around for someone else to speak the truth, and all I got was more of the same. I’m sick of seeing my men die for nothing in this icy waste. It’s time for me to step up and tell the truth myself. And if the emperor really does take my head for it, I’ll count it a glorious death for my country.” He said this last bit with a roll of his eyes. “See what I meant when I said I was a little sad you didn’t kill me here?”

Jeric sighed. “You’re impossible, sir,” he said, but his voice was indulgent.

Zoa smiled and reached out to pull a blanket over Izar. “Rest and recover,” she said, kissing his pale forehead. “I’ll go tell Rosa the bad news.”

“Bad news?” Jeric said, his eyes following her as she stood.

“Very,” Zoa said. “She’s about to lose her best customer and her best whore at the same time. If she hadn’t just made enough money to run this place for a year, I’d be worried about her throwing herself in the river.”

Jeric laughed at that, and Zoa ducked down, kissing him deeply before she pushed him down on the bed beside the captain. “You sleep too,” she whispered. “Your body still needs to adjust.”

Jeric caught her and pulled her into a real kiss, and suddenly Zoa was having trouble breathing. When he finally released her, she was flushed and panting like a virgin, but Jeric only grinned and fell back. “Come back with breakfast,” he said.

Zoa heaved a put-upon sigh, but she couldn’t hide her grin as she left the room, carefully closing the curtain behind her so no one would disturb her men.

* * * * *

As expected, Rosa took the news hard, but she accepted that Zoa was an Avatar of Dezira without argument.

“Makes sense to me,” she said, dabbing her eyes. “You were the best from the moment you crossed my doorstep. But oh, Zoa, how I shall miss the money you brought in!”

The old woman was so genuinely distraught that Zoa was forced to spend the rest of the morning comforting her, and then several more hours at her side as she directed the cleanup. The pleasure hall was completely trashed. Food, cups and trays lay scattered on every surface, and anywhere the trays weren’t, men and women lay in tangled heaps, spent and sleeping. This in itself wasn’t unusual following a night of such debauchery, but with Jeric’s awakening into power on top of the lust magic Zoa had been weaving, it took Rosa and Zoa several tries to get the girls to wake up.

As for the soldiers, they only rousted when Izar himself came down, still pale and leaning subtly on Jeric, but otherwise himself. Zoa had sent up a girl with breakfast an hour ago and both men looked better with food in them. Jeric especially was nearly glowing, though that had more to do with his new power than a made-up plate of banquet leftovers. Zoa watched him support his captain with a slow smile. If this morning’s activities hadn’t been enough, the fact that his aura was already starting to swell again was a sign that Jeric would become a powerful Chosen. She’d have to teach him control quickly before his power became more than she could safely shield on her own.

By midafternoon, Izar had his men well in hand. The soldiers were up and getting ready for the ride to their winter camp. The only ones not kissing the girls goodbye was the squad of twenty veterans who would be riding with Izar to the Capital. At last, the soldiers rode out and the cleanup began in earnest. Meanwhile, Rosa, still dour faced about the loss of Zoa, set up a table at the end of the square and began the long, arduous process of paying everyone. This caused a bit of a riot as people jostled to be first in line. Never one to waste an opportunity, Zoa took this chance to grab Jeric and led him back up the stairs to her room.

“We need to control your aura,” she said, sitting him on the bed.

“Aura?” he asked.

“We all have them,” Zoa answered, sitting down beside him. “The Moon’s Own control desire, but our own desires are part of our magic as well and they can affect those around us. That’s how you got Izar so worked up this morning. Your lust bled into him.”

“I thought that was you,” Jeric said, leaning back.

“No,” Zoa said. “It was me last night, but the moment you became an Avatar, you became immune to my lust.”

“I deeply disagree,” Jeric said, giving her a smoldering smile.

Zoa returned the look before slipping back into her formal role as a Chosen. “I’m safe from your magical influence, but others aren’t. You have to learn to control it or you’ll start trouble wherever you go.”

“Very well,” Jeric said, his face growing serious. “Teach me.”

And so Zoa taught him as she had been taught, coaching him through the process of opening himself to the goddess and feeling her magic. He caught on quickly, and by evening Jeric had his aura well in check.

“Excellent,” Zoa said, moving her table around as the girl brought in dinner. “We’ll work on using lust later, but you should be safe enough for the moment.”

“What about when I’m aroused?” Jeric said, not even coloring at the mention after hours of talking frankly about sex magic. “Will I hurt the captain again?”

“Not if you keep a hold on your power,” Zoa said. “It will be second nature soon enough, and once you learn to use it safely, the fun really starts.”

“I’m always up for fun,” said a deep voice from the door.

Zoa and Jeric looked up as Izar came in. He looked tired, Zoa thought. His posture was commanding, but his eyes were pinched with fatigue. Jeric noticed it too and he immediately snapped into soldier mode.

“Sir,” he said. “What do you need?”

Izar smiled briefly, but then his face grew serious. “Jeric,” he said. “I know you’re not technically under my command anymore, but if you don’t mind, I’d like your assistance. I’m moving our camp outside of town to keep the men out of the brothels. I only paid for one night, but they can’t seem to get that through their heads. I need your help keeping order so Rosa doesn’t end up with their entire bonus.”

“Certainly, sir,” Jeric said, standing up. He walked to the door to join his captain. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Zoa,” he said, drawing her name out with a longing look.

“I will certainly see you,” Izar said, the promise in his eyes far more frank. “We leave early, but don’t worry about it. We’ll be happy to wake you up again.”

Even as he said it, Zoa felt a clench of lust between her legs. Jeric must have felt it too, because his body grew tense, but the captain only grinned and walked out the door, Jeric following on his heels.

Zoa watched them go. When their footsteps faded, she fell back into her suddenly lonely bed. She was exhausted and she knew she should be enjoying her last night in a real bed for a while, but she couldn’t sleep. No matter how toasty the room was, she just felt cold without the two warm, hard bodies beside her. Finally, after hours of turning, she slipped at last into an exhausted sleep filled with maddening, lustful dreams.

* * * * *

Sadly, it was the racket of a marshaling squad that woke her and not the wonderful kisses of yesterday. Zoa rose and dressed in a simple winter traveling outfit of heavy wool trousers and a soft linen shirt under her long, heavy coat. When she was properly bundled, she called the boy for her trunk and started down the stairs. Izar’s squad was already in the square when she emerged, mounted and ready to go. There were two supply wagons in the train, but they were small and well packed, ready for the long journey. Izar himself was at the head of the column, mounted on a white horse, with Jeric beside him holding two more, a mean looking black stallion and a smaller, but still impressively tall brown gelding. Both men were in their legion armor and freshly washed, and Zoa couldn’t help admiring how well they turned out as she came down the stairs.

“Chosen,” Izar said, his eyes glinting as she approached. “We took the liberty of choosing a mount for you.”

“How kind, Captain,” Zoa said, taking the horse from Jeric as the boy loaded her trunk into the supply wagon under the driver’s watchful eye. “How long will we be riding?”

“A few weeks,” Izar said. “Maybe more, if the weather turns. Once we hit the river, things will be more reliable. We’ll hire a barge to take us the rest of the way and, gods willing, be in the Imperial Capital no later than a fortnight before midwinter.”

Zoa nodded. It was slower than she and Jeric could have gone on their own, but much safer and, she eyed the captain, very likely far more pleasurable. “Well then,” she said. “Shall we be off?”

Jeric helped her on to her horse, and though Zoa was sure he didn’t need to rub up against her like that to hoist her up, she didn’t complain. Indeed, the contact left a longing deep in her stomach. She nearly moaned when they parted, and Izar winked at her from his mount. She shook her head, flustered. Jeric she could understand, but Izar was human. She was the Avatar here. He was supposed to be the one panting, not her. But she couldn’t bring herself to be angry at the handsome captain, especially not when he pulled the squad into formation with one quick gesture and rode out, his soldiers following dutifully.

They made good time the first day. The roads from Ull were steep, but dry, and the Legion wagons were well made. The ride didn’t seem to bother the soldiers, but Zoa was unused to sitting so long in the saddle. Even the godtouched get sore, and by the time Izar called a halt for the night, Zoa was more than ready to stop.

The soldiers set up camp with the efficiency the Legion was famous for. The captain’s tent was large, as expected, but the one Izar had brought for Zoa was only slightly smaller. Though the camp plan had her in the safest position, right next to the captain, Zoa instructed the men to set her tent up a bit away from the others. She was planning to work with Jeric on his magic and she wanted some distance between him and the others. The last thing they needed was for Jeric to drive the poor soldiers into a mad lust by accident.

Sore as she was, Zoa grabbed Jeric as soon as the tents were up and drew him after her. Night was falling rapidly. So was the temperature, and the tiny brazier in her tent was barely enough to keep the chill away. She debated casting a warming spell, deciding against it at the last minute. Avatars wouldn’t die from a little cold and the magic she’d be teaching Jeric was complicated enough without other spells interfering in the background.

“Sit,” she said, motioning to the wide stretch of carpet by her bedroll.

Trained soldier that he was, Jeric sat instantly, his eyes on her. He’d kept good control of his aura all day, but Zoa could feel the lust rolling off him now that they were alone. Her own body tightened in answer, but they had limited time to work, so she forced herself to stay on subject.

“We’re going to start with Dezira’s most basic power, projecting lust,” she said, sitting across from him. “All of the Moon’s Own can control the lust of others. If you’re ruthless about it, you can make people your slaves, though I don’t care much for that. It’s far simpler, not to mention more fun, to stroke the natural lust of another until they come to you of their own volition.”

“I have some experience with that,” Jeric said, giving her a burning look.

“Ah, ah,” Zoa said, putting up her hands. “I actually didn’t touch you. It’s dangerous to use magic on unawakened Chosen. You came to me yourself.”

“Several times,” Jeric said with a grin.

“Focus,” Zoa said, grinning despite herself. “Now,” she looked around, “I was going to have you try to inspire lust, but you can’t do it on me since we’re both Chosen.” She frowned. “It would be easier if we had someone to practice on.”

Jeric’s grin grew by miles and he shot to his feet. “Wait right there,” he said when she tried to follow.

He didn’t tell her who he was going to get, but he didn’t have to. His expression told her everything she needed to know and Zoa’s lust hitched in a way that had nothing to do with the magic of the Chosen. She’d have to keep a careful hold on herself lest her lesson become something far less instructive and far more pleasurable.

With that thought, she reached down and did up the buttons on her coat, despite the flush of heat that had covered her body. Focus, she told herself. Focus.