Ristèard Unwilling Empress (16 page)

He continued the slow rocking of his hips even as he pressed a second finger into her ass. Only when she relaxed, did he begin to increase the speed of both his cock and his fingers. The double stimulation was too much for her over-sensitive nervous system.

A low, guttural cry escaped her as she shattered around him. Her body fisted and pulsed around his as she came hard. She could feel her vagina squeezing his cock, magnifying her pleasure. A moment later, his cry blended with hers as he exploded, pulsing his seed deep into her womb.

He waited until both of their bodies began to relax before he pulled his finger from her. Collapsing to the side, he wrapped himself around her back. His body, locked to hers, was still too hard to pull from her safely. He pressed a kiss to her shoulder as his cock continued to pulse.

“Ristéard,” she whispered sleepily.

“Yes, my Empress,” he responded, pressing another kiss to her shoulder. “What is it?”

“I love you,” she said. “I… just wanted you to know that I love you.”

Ristéard wrapped his arm tighter around her waist and pressed his hips upward. “I love you too, Ricki,” he whispered. “I love you too, my unwilling Empress.”

A smile curved his lips when she released a satisfied sigh. He could tell she had fallen into an exhausted sleep. It took several more minutes before he could safely pull from her body.

Once he did, he used the cleanser in his travel bag to clean them both. He knew she had slipped into a deep sleep when she didn’t move as he cleaned her. Tomorrow, he thought. Tomorrow, we will hopefully find a way to save our world.

He knew that he still had a traitor to find, but he would deal with whoever it was once he returned. The Temple held enough of the Blood Stones to give them the time they needed to discover a way to fix their world. Hopefully, whatever was in the vault would help them permanently fix the problem.

Either way, on this world or on another, he and Ricki would have a life together. He wanted one without their children worrying if they would have a place to live. For he knew now, that wherever they lived, as long as Ricki was with him, he would have a home.

Ricki glanced around her the next morning, taking in the beauty of the underground city. They had learned last night that Lyna and the others were direct  descendants of the original workers who built the maze. They had split into two groups centuries ago, those that would eventually become part of Manderlin’s people, and those that became the ghosts of the Eastern Mountains.

“A member of my family has been the Keeper since the first Empress left here,” Lyna was explaining as she walked through the city. “It has been our responsibility to protect the maze and the vault until the Empress of Elipdios returned.”

Ricki had discovered that almost sixty families lived in the underground city at any given time. She also learned that many of them left for a period of time when they came of age to mate with someone outside their clan to reduce the chance of inbreeding. The mates of those that left would either return to live their lives in the city, or they would return with their child. All that were originally not from this area were blindfolded so they would not know the location of the Temple.

“No one has located the Temple before you,” Lyna admitted. “Part of the security of it comes from whatever is in the Vault. No equipment works here.”

“That explains why all scans have come back negative,” Sadao said with a nod. “Do you know what is in the vault?”

Lyna shook her head. “None knew, but the first Empress. She was the only one who ever entered the vault. It was said whatever was inside, only she could control.”

“There are traps in the maze,” Ricki murmured. “Do you know anything about them?”

Lyna stopped in surprise and nervously glanced at Ricki. She seemed to be debating whether she should tell them something. Ricki watched her face as a mix of emotions washed over it.

“I know there are traps,” she reluctantly admitted. “When I was younger, two of my friends and I went down into the maze. We all knew that I would be the next Keeper to the Temple and I… Well, we discovered the truth behind the stories of the maze. On the first trap, one of my friends was wounded badly. If we had not been so close, she would have died,” her voice faded as she looked around the families working together in the same marketplace. “I was young and foolish back then and learned a valuable lesson. Since then, guards have been placed in front of the entrance to prevent others, especially the children, from venturing into the labyrinth.”

Nema stepped up and gripped Lyna’s hand in compassion. “We were all that way once,” Ricki’s mom said in a soothing voice. “Walter is still that way, sometimes.”

“You wish,” Walter mumbled. “I wasn’t the only one who was picking straw out of my ass.”

“Dad!” Ricki gasped, staring at her father.

Nema grinned at everyone, even though her face had turned a nice rosy red. “Oh, yes, he was. I was always the smarter one. Straw is not soft,” she retorted smugly.

Walter laughed and winked at Ajaska who was chuckling. “It was worth it. I had a rash on my ass for a week, but damn, it was good,” he boasted.

“Oh my God,” Ricki groaned, turning to Ristéard and leaning her forehead against his chest with a shake of her head. “Get me out of here. There are some things daughters should never know about, and their parent’s sex life is one of them.”

“Talking about sex life,” Walter said bluntly. “What are your intentions with my daughter? Are you going to marry her?”

Ricki pulled back and glared at her father. “Okay, time to go,” she snapped.

Ristéard pulled her back against him. Tilting her chin up, he stared down at her until she forgot everything, but him. A smile curved her lips when she saw the love in them.

“I love you, Ricki Bailey,” Ristéard said, ignoring the others standing there. “I claim you as my Empress, before your father, mother, and witnesses. From this day forth, you will stand at my side as my partner. You are the Empress of Elipdios.”

Ricki’s lips parted and tears glistened in her eyes. While his words deeply moved her, it was the emotion behind them that captured her heart and soul. He was announcing to the world, to his people and hers, that she belonged to him. He was doing great until he tilted his head and looked at her with a scowl.

“Now is the time you accept me as your Emperor and admit my claim,” he prompted.

Ricki shook her head and chuckled. “I accept you as my partner. I accept you as the Emperor of Elipdois,” she retorted with amusement. “We’ll talk more about the claiming part when we are alone.”

“Oh, Ricki,” Nema whispered, sniffing. “He sounds just like your dad did when he proposed to me.”

Walter chuckled and wrapped his arm around his tiny wife. “I believe the words were ‘I love you, damn it, we’re getting married whether your dad approves or not’,” he said with a grin.

Nema rolled her eyes up at Ricki and shook her head. “Daddy loved him,” Nema admitted. “It wasn’t as dramatic as he makes it sound.”

Ajaska grinned down at Walter with a thoughtful look. “But it worked, yes?” He asked.

Walter looked up at Ajaska and nodded. “Of course it works. She’s standing here, isn’t she?” He retorted good-naturedly.

“Okay, I think it is time to get moving,” Ricki interjected with a sigh. “Lyna, I’m guessing that the traps are real and to proceed with caution.”

Lyna nodded, gazing at the unusual group. The Emperor of Elipdios, the mythical Empress returned, the Emperor’s guard, a Kassisan, and four creatures unlike anything she had ever seen. As strange as it seemed, they had all been foretold in the prophecy handed down to her.

The Empress of Elipdios will return with an unusual army of her own. They will come from far away worlds and bring with them the skills needed to save Elipdios.

Lyna turned and guided them through the marketplace. On the other side, they continued down a series of passages and steps that led deeper under the mountain. At the end of a long passage, stood two guards.

She stopped just before she reached them. Turning to face the small group, she looked at them. Ricki knew immediately that Lyna would not go any farther with them. She saw the worried expression on the Keeper's face. Stepping forward, she held out her hands. Lyna hesitated for a moment before reverently placing her palms against Ricki’s.

“Thank you,” Ricki said quietly.

“May the first Empress guide you well,” Lyna replied. Stepping back, she waved her hand at the two guards. They immediately stepped to the side. “The first trap is twenty paces inside. It is as far as I got. You must watch where you step. One of the stones on the floor is loose.”

“What happens?” Ajaska asked.

“A spear of the Blood Stone is triggered,” Lyna and Ricki said at the same time.

Lyna looked at Ricki, startled by her knowledge. “How…? Safe travels, my Empress,” she said instead, stepping back out of the way.

Ricki put her hand out when Ristéard started to go through first. Shaking her head, she gazed into the dark recess of the stairs. Looking at him, she gave him a determined smile.

“I have to go first,” she murmured. “I know what to do.”

Ristéard’s face tightened, as if he was about to argue with her, but instead, he reluctantly nodded in agreement. Ricki breathed a sigh of relief. She did know what to do, she hoped. The answers had been partially on the door and partially on the tapestry.

She couldn’t help but admire the intelligence of the ancient people who built the maze. They gave the answers, but not all in one place. She had reviewed her notes earlier this morning while Ristéard was still asleep. If not for that, she might have missed the clues embedded in both.

Pulling her notebook out for future reference, she looked down at it. Penciled in neatly on the lines were each trap and how to bypass it. Biting her lip, she read the first one.

Count nineteen paces. Third stone to the left and fifth to the right trigger crystal spears. Follow steps on tapestry until step seven. Follow directions on door to trap two.

The tapestry had depicted the steps to missing the traps, while the door held the key to which direction to take in the maze. Drawing in a deep breath, she stepped forward into the darkness. Ristéard would follow her, then her parents, Ajaska, and Sadao. Marvin and Martin would take up the rear. She paused on the eighteenth step and studied the floor in front of her in the low, red glow cast by the crystals lining the walls.

“The entire mountain is made of Blood Stones,” Sadao whispered in awe, running his hand along the smooth surface. “The mountain is the treasure.”

“No,” Ricki said, glancing at the symbols on the floor. “Whatever is in the vault is the treasure. The mountain is just part of it.”

She started to take a step forward, but paused when she felt Ristéard’s hand on her arm. She glanced over her shoulder at him and gave him a tentative smile. Laying her hand over his, she squeezed it in reassurance.

“Be careful,” he ordered in a low, husky voice.

“I will. Everyone, make sure you follow in my footsteps exactly. If you don’t… Well, if you don’t, it isn’t going to be good,” she instructed, turning and following the steps she remembered from the tapestry.

*.*.*

Two tense hours later, they paused to rest. They had made it through four of the traps so far. She glanced at Sadao’s pale face. Her heart melted at the pain in his eyes.

“I think you should return to the caverns above,” she said quietly, watching as her mother fretted over both him and her father. “Marvin and Martin can return with you. Just remember to reverse the steps going back.”

“I’ll be alright,” Sadao muttered, holding his arm.

Nema shook her head. “It’s broken,” she replied, looking back up at Ricki before turning her attention back to Sadao. “How many fingers am I holding up?”

Ricki rolled her eyes. “Mom, the stone hit his arm, not his head. I don’t think he is in danger of a concussion.”

“Nema is right,” Ristéard said. “The brothers can return with you.”

“No,” Marvin and Martin both said at the same time. They had been silent throughout the journey until now. “Our place is with Ricki. She is the one we must protect.”

“I will return with Sadao, Nema, and Walter,” Ajaska interjected. “Marvin and Martin are right. You do not know what you will find in the vault. Their knowledge and abilities may come in handy.”

Ristéard nodded. “Be careful,” he responded.

“I’ll give you my notes, in case you need them,” Ricki said, tearing the page and handing it to Ajaska.

“What about you?” He asked when he saw that it contained the instructions for the next five traps. “You will need the others.”

Ricki smiled and shook her head. “I always make duplicates and keep them in different places in case one gets damaged,” she replied, pulling a separate, neatly folded piece of paper out of her shirt pocket. “It is the OCD in me.”

“Ricki, I’m sorry, sweetheart,” her father mumbled in a low voice.

Ricki knelt in front of her father and tenderly cupped his cheeks in her hands. Leaning forward, she brushed a kiss against one rough, whiskered side. She sat back and smiled at him.

“It isn’t your fault,” she whispered. “The steps were higher than we realized and the last one was slick from the water. I would have fallen too, if not for Ristéard balancing me.”

It had been true. The fourth trap in the maze had been a difficult one to negotiate. Water ran down each side of the curving stairs making the steps slick. The key was not to touch the sides, a difficult task as it would have helped with keeping their balance.

What was not in the instructions was the stairs would be of varying heights, making it necessary to focus on each step. They were nearing the top when her father lost his balance. Ajaska had taken the position behind Nema in case she needed assistance, while Sadao had stepped behind her dad.

Her dad’s hand had brushed the wall as he started to fall. Sadao had grabbed her dad, but the movement had also put him in harm’s way. A thick slab of crystal shot out, striking him in his right arm as he pushed her dad upward.

The blow had hit him just right, breaking his forearm. He would have fallen if not for Martin grabbing him. Martin had helped Sadao the rest of the way up the narrow staircase.

Ricki saw her dad glance at her mom’s pale face. The journey was becoming more difficult the farther they traveled, and the traps more elaborate. Her mom’s petite height and the physical demands were taking a toll on her. She dropped her hands and picked his up, squeezing them in encouragement.

“Think of mom,” she murmured. “Think of what it would do to her if something happened to you. Then, think of what it would do to you if something should happen to her.”

Her dad’s face reflected his resignation. “Just remember what it would do to both of us if something should happen to you, Ricki,” he added gruffly. “You’ll always be our little girl.”

“I know, dad,” Ricki replied. “I’ll have Ristéard, Marvin, and Martin with me. Go with Ajaska and Sadao. I need to know that you will be safe.”

Walter nodded. “If I start to fall on the way down, just get the hell out of the way,” he said, walking by Ajaska and Sadao to Nema. “I’ll meet you at the bottom.”

Ajaska chuckled, but his eyes remained serious as he turned to Ricki and Ristéard. “I’ll make sure they get back safely,” he promised.