The Lotus Ascension (20 page)

“
I’m sorry.” Nathen’s voice startled Soren out of his reverie. “I
would’ve thought they’d be back by now.”

Soren did not turn to
his friend and lover. “It’s a solar balloon. It can’t fly at night.”

“
So, once the sun set, you knew something was wrong?”

Soren nodded and
squinted.
“If I hadn’t been … preoccupied.”
He hated
himself for not realizing until too late that Sillara was missing.

Nathen put his hand on
Soren’s shoulder. Soren felt him press up against his back. “You can’t blame
yourself for having a good time. It was what Sillara wanted.”

That, at least, was
true.

“
I’m riding out to look for her,” Soren said, turning.

Nathen let his hands
slip off his friend’s body. “I’m going with you.”

Soren forced a smile.
“I’d like the company, and we can ride just within sight of each other and
cover more ground.”

“
What are we waiting for, then? Let’s go rescue your sister from
the clutches of that damned Ausir.” Nathen started off but then turned back.
“No offense.”

Soren waved off the
comment.
“None taken.”
The clutches of that damned Ausir.
Nathen was right. Sillara had
spent the night in Konas’s company. Konas was an orgy-master, and pleasure was
his business. On top of that, he was Sillara’s tutor and was closer to her than
anyone else in the world, save Soren.

Soren could not help but
make up all kinds of horrible things that might have happened between them in
the desert night. It would have been cold. They would have had to have snuggled
together to keep warm. He would have turned her away from him so that he could
hug against her back, and she would have nestled her ass back into his crotch.
Then Konas would have responded the way any man would: his hard cock would have
pressed into her backside. Sillara would not have looked back, but she would
have hummed her pleasure at his arousal. She would have pressed harder against
him, and he would have started
gyrating
his cock
against her. Then that slut Ausir would have rubbed her ass and caressed her
sides. He would have slipped his hands up her gown and shuddered at the
smoothness of her skin. Breathing deep of the herbs in her hair, Konas would
have let his hands travel farther up until they reached the soft mounds of her
perfect breasts. He would have pinched her nipples between his forefinger and
thumb, and when she turned her head back toward him, he would have whispered “I
love you” to her. “I always have.” Of course he loved her. How could he not?
How could anyone not love Sillara? Konas had worked with her side by side for
years—he was smitten with her. Sillara would have reached back and freed Konas’s
cock from its breeches, and Konas would have calmed her fears by kissing her
neck as he kneaded her breasts. He would have taken it slow, not wanting to
risk her displeasure, not wanting her to realize she was making a mistake.
Konas would have overwhelmed her with the force of his passion, and just when
she did not expect it, he would have slipped his cock between her pussy lips
and entered the sanctum to which no man had ever gained admittance. He would
have violated her chastity and stolen her virginity from her rightful husband,
from the soul she was meant to be mated to. That thief of love did not know how
lucky he was! Konas would not have lasted very long though, for Sillara’s sex
would have been too much even for the likes of him. She was a sex goddess,
Abrexa’s own rival, and she would have proven too much for her tutor and
ravisher.

When it was over,
Sillara would have kissed Konas’s nose and brushed his hair with her fingers.
She would have secretly pitied him his inability to keep up with her. Konas
would have lain back exhausted, and Sillara would have fallen asleep
unfulfilled, dreaming of a lover who could satisfy her.

“
What are you smiling about?” Again, Nathen’s voice surprised
Soren.

Soren composed himself
and forced his thoughts of Sillara and Konas back into the secret compartment
of his mind. “I was just thinking about finding Sillara.”

Nathen
came
leading two white horses already saddled.

Soren took the reins of
his own horse and patted his mane. “Is that enough water?”

“
It’ll get us to the next oasis,” Nathen said.

“
And from there, we re-water and move on.” Soren’s frustration
grew. Balloons flew like birds and were not constrained to hopping from oasis
to oasis. Sillara could be anywhere. Konas could have taken her anywhere.

“
It’s all we can do.” Nathen put one foot in the stirrup and leaped
into his saddle. “But they must have had to put down for water anyway, so we’re
sure to find them at one of them.”

“
How many are there?”

“
From here, I’ve seen three more, but they’re far out. If we don’t
find Sillara at the first one, we won’t be making it back to this camp today.”

Soren did not care how
long it took. He would look forever until he found his sister. Without another
word, he got into his saddle and turned his mount west. Orien and Merieke saw
them off.

“
We’ll stay here until you return,” Orien said.

Merieke blew Soren a
kiss. “Hurry back.”

Soren’s night of sex
with her seemed so long ago. He was weary with worry.

Once the pair of friends
were
away from the camp and the unremitting sun
scorched the burning sand all around them, Nathen pulled his horse up alongside
Soren’s.

“
You need to prepare yourself.”

“
For what?”
Soren asked.

Nathen’s response was
slow.
“For the possibility that she is dead.”

“
She’s not dead.”

“
You can’t be sure. She’s lost in the desert.”

Soren locked eyes with
Nathen. “I am sure. Not only is she not dead, she is unharmed.”

Nathen sat back in his
saddle in surprise. “But how can you know?”

Soren focused on the
sloping dunes ahead. “She’s my sister. We’ve always known things about each
other.”

Nathen changed the
subject. “Did you have fun with Merieke last night?”

Soren nodded.
“Of course.”
He could still feel her lips on his cock. “The
best I’ve ever had.”

Nathen chuckled. “Glad
to hear that.”

Soren caught Nathen out
of the corner of his eye. “I guess I should give my compliments to her
teacher.”

Nathen laughed and bowed
forward in his saddle.

The two friends trekked
across the desert sands until Soren saw the shimmering image of the first oasis
on the horizon.

“
Not a mirage, right?” Soren asked.

“
No. That’s it. Are we stopping for lunch?”

Soren scanned the sky.
No sign of Sillara. “Let’s eat while we ride.”

“
I’d be fine with that,” Nathen said, “but the horses need to rest.
And they need to be watered.”

Soren wanted to push on.
He could not find his sister fast enough, but he knew Nathen was right. The
mounts needed a break, and an hour nap in the shade would do Soren some good.
His head swam with drowsiness from lack of sleep and the extreme heat. Besides,
after this oasis, they hit wurm country, and they would have to have their wits
about them.

“
All right,” Soren said. “Let’s stop for an hour and get out of
this heat.”

The men reached the
oasis after a few more minutes. They took off their horses’ saddles and chuckled
as they watched the beasts roll around in the grass on their backs. Soren did
not realize until he had his mouth full of bread just how famished he was. He
had fucked all night, stopping only to hydrate. Soren popped an olive in his
mouth and bit down through its meat to the pit. He used his front teeth to peel
away the olive and then spat the seed into the rough grass. His thoughts gnawed
at him as he ate. If he had just paid attention—if he had not thrown himself
into his lust—he would have noticed Sillara was missing.

Nathen sat down beside
him with his own bowl of food. “What could you have done?” It was as if he had
read Soren’s mind. Was Soren’s regret so plain on his face?

“
I just,” Soren said, “I just shouldn’t have let her run off with
Konas.”

“
Run off?”

Soren immediately wished
he had not said that, not revealed his fears to Nathen. “You know what I mean.”

Nathen tore at a hunk of
bread, chewed, and swallowed it. “You think she wanted to be alone with him?”

Soren’s worry crushed
him. “I don’t know.” But he did know. Sillara had not sought the privacy. That
had been Konas all along, and that is what worried Soren so.

“
I hope not,” Nathen said. “It’d be a waste.”

Soren sensed Nathen’s
admiration for Sillara, and though he could not blame him for feeling that way,
he leaped to her defense. “She’s betrothed to the Ausir King.”

“
I know that. I wonder what her voice will sound like in those
royal Ausir halls.”

Nathen still thought of
the welcome party, when Sillara had sung in many voices at once. She had
charmed the whole assembly, but Soren knew that she had impressed Nathen
deeply. He talked about her in a different way—softly, reverently. He looked at
her with love in his eyes. The presumption disgusted Soren. Nathen was a gnat
in the radiance of Sillara’s countenance. He could never—nor could
anyone—aspire to her hand.

Soren finished his lunch
quickly, keeping his mouth full to keep from saying anything he might regret.
Then he lay back and closed his eyes. “I’ll sleep for an hour or so. Wake me.”

****

The panicked whinnying
of a horse awoke Soren. He jumped to his feet and was instantly alert, thanks
to the soldierly vigilance he learned while at sea. Nathen was already mounted,
and he rode his horse out across the sands. But a dust cloud roiled before him,
and his horse reared back in fright.
A sandwurm.
Soren’s sprinted to his horse, but it was not saddled. He did not stop to
think. He bounded onto the beast’s back, grabbed its mane, and squeezed its
flanks with his knees. The horse sprang forward.

Out of the dust cloud
the wurm stuck its spiny head. Its mandibles snapped at Nathen, and he barely
avoided being bitten in half by dropping off his saddle and riding alongside
his horse. He whirled around, but the wurm coiled back and struck again. This time
its jaws ripped through horseflesh and brought the animal down. Nathen was
thrown far from his mount, and the sand soaked up the horse’s blood. The wurm
rose up, its many legs wiggling, and fell upon the dying beast. Nathen
scrambled to his feet, but there was nowhere to go. No man could outrun a
sandwurm.

The wurm devoured the
horse in one piece, picking up the still-living animal with its mandibles that
served to shove it down its gullet. It screeched and moved its long, flat body
around to bear down on Nathen. It swam through the sand, its body half
submerged. Along its back ran a series of angled plates that parted the sand,
making it easier to achieve speed. Its tail, which ended in a long spike,
flailed in the air, high above the dust cloud.

Nathen was dead. He knew
it. He cried out in despair, tripped, and scrambled forward. He had no hope.
The wurm scurried forward on its many legs, closing in for the kill. But Soren
was faster. He spurred his horse on, and just as the wurm rose to strike, he
rose between the monster and its prey, swept Nathen up with one arm, and pulled
him over his saddle. He did not allow the horse to break its stride but kept it
galloping through the dust cloud. Soren rode right alongside the wurm’s long
body. He saw the lump where the other horse was inside, but he kept riding
through the cloud. This limited visibility for both predator and prey, but the
alternative was to be eaten by the wurm. Soren would take his chances.

When he reached the
tail, he glanced back to see that the wurm was turning toward him. Soren banked
right, turning his horse back toward the oasis. The wurm crossed over its own
body as Soren exited the dust cloud. He rode hard for the oasis. He had
javelins there. In one swift move, he tossed Nathen from his saddle. He could
not have the extra weight, and he would need his balance. Then he rose by his
pack, leaned down while trotting, and snatched up a javelin. Wurms were
cowards.
If hurt, they would go in search of other prey.
Besides, it already had a full belly. Now it was just being greedy.

Soren rode straight for
the sandwurm, testing the weight of the javelin in his hand, moving it forward
slightly to sit perfectly balanced. When the wurm’s mandibles were right above
him ready to strike, Soren pulled his horse sharply to the left. The wurm
struck sand, and Soren let his javelin fly. It pierced soft flesh between two
large plates on the back of its head. The wurm screeched and thrashed and then
sounded. Soren watched the rippling sands move off in another direction.