Rogan's Monsters 2: Below, page 11
Pushing thoughts of Ash’s beauty out of my mind, I focused on Zera again, shifting over to her other breast. I wanted her badly, and my erection was straining painfully against my pants, but I still felt the need to take it slow. To drag it out and go beyond the bare minimum required for a chi energy transfer.
I wanted this small butterfly woman to explode saying my name. And at this point, I didn’t care who heard us.
Her hands had found the waist of my pants, and she was attempting to undo them so she could get her hand inside. Instead, I placed my hands under her arms and lifted her abruptly off my lap. She gave a little squeak and then laughed. I stood her on her feet facing me, and began to pull and tug her shorts off. Zera stepped out of them, and then I grabbed her thighs and pulled her toward me, putting my face lips right where I wanted them.
When I tasted her, Zera leaned onto my face and I sensed her placing a steadying hand on the wall behind me. Her other went to my hair, where she held me in place while I slowly ran my tongue up and down her already wet lips. When I dipped the tip of my tongue inside her, she moaned and opened her legs further to give me better access.
Grabbing one of her legs, I sat forward and hooked it over my shoulder, giving me the best possible angle. In slow circles, I worked my tongue up and down her lips, inside her, and then up to her clit. She gasped when I sucked it into my mouth. Then I started the process over again, tasting her, sucking on her, listening to her gasp and moan. After a few minutes, her moans became more frequent, and she tried to move her hips to urge me on. But I grabbed them and kept working, increasing my pace and tracing the alphabet over her clit area.
“Rogan,” she whispered.
I liked it when she said my name, and so I worked harder until she whispered it again, her voice tight as another orgasm began to build.
“Rogan,” she said again, a little louder. My name reverberated off the cavern walls, and I grinned. It may have been a bit evil of me to think of waking Gamma with this, but the thought did cross my mind. Still, other thoughts quickly took over, like how much I wanted to sink deeply into this butterfly girl and pleasure her until she couldn’t stand anymore.
Zera came for the second time with a quickly stifled yell. Her scent was all over my face, and I continued to lick on her until she basically collapsed in my arms, straddling my hips.
Finally, I undid my pants and freed my erection. The tip was already wet with precum, and I quickly lifted her to sink onto me.
“Oh shit,” I said. She felt so soft, velvety, and wet that I had to halt anymore movement so I didn’t come too quickly.
Zera looked up at me with sex-hazed eyes. I was panting hard, holding her hips with my hands to keep them still. “You’re so handsome, Rogan,” she said, touching my face and then letting her fingernails scrape through my short beard. “But you probably know that.”
I laughed. “Not really, but I’m sure it’s nothing compared to your beauty.”
Her already flushed cheeks tinged pink, and she began to ride me. I let go of her hips, content now to let the butterfly woman set the pace.
“I mean it, you know,” I said after a moment. “I’m not just saying that because I like to fuck you.” I thrust deeply into her. “How’s that for knowing what I’m thinking?”
Zera grinned, and her wings fluttered out behind her. “It’s a start, Rogan Ward.” And then she closed her eyes and began moving against me with more purpose.
Despite this being her third time, it didn’t take long for her orgasm to build. I began meeting her, thrusting my hips up so that I was buried deeply within her each time. The position was a bit awkward, so I turned to the side and laid down on my back. The angle this way was perfect, and I sank even deeper with each thrust. Her breasts began to bounce above me, and, once I realized she wasn’t going to break, held onto her hips to pound her even harder.
The little noises she made were endearing. And hot. And they increased in pitch and fervor as we both came close to a climax. There wasn’t going to be any turning back now, not for me, and since she seemed close again, I didn’t withhold anything. With a grunt, I came, my body shuddering. Zera was right there with me, and after one more bounce she cried out softly, “Rogan!”
It wasn’t a scream, but it would do. I rode out the waves, and then they began to increase in intensity as the chi transfer began. Once again, as my chi moved to Zera, her wings lit up with a glowing blue light. I stared, mesmerized at this butterfly girl in front of me, while also trying to remember to breathe from the intensity of our connection.
When she finished, she collapsed on top of me. I was still panting and coming down from the high, but it felt nice to have her head resting on my chest. Her slight bodyweight wasn’t enough to impede me from catching my breath. Stroking her hair, I pulled a lock of it off my face and smoothed it across her back.
I was still playing with it when she said, “How did you meet Gamma? The events that brought you on this quest?”
“Good question. I don’t know. It’s one of those things that aren’t in my memories.” I toyed with her hair some more and changed the subject. Maybe some day I would find out, maybe not. “Do you have family, Zera?”
She stirred slightly. “Not anymore. When my mother died, I was left with no one else. Not long after that, I decided to seek the temple.”
“And how long have you been seeking it?”
“About a year.”
I shifted to look at her face. “A year by yourself?” Suddenly, I was even more impressed than I had ever been. “Was your mother a butterfly woman? I mean…” I trailed off, realizing it might have been a tactless comment. I didn’t know.
“She had butterfly wings like I do, yes,” Zera said. “But she was even more beautiful.”
“I have a hard time imagining that.”
She tilted her head so she could look into my eyes. “I’m glad I found you, Rogan,” she said.
I smiled. I still had questions, but she didn’t seem to want to elaborate. In fact, her eyes were closing now, as if she couldn’t fight sleep any longer.
“I’m glad I found you, too, Zera,” I whispered.
27
I slept with Zera at my side, and I have to admit, it was more than comfortable. Of all the women, Zera was the least demanding of me. With everyone else, there were uncertainties that I couldn’t easily fathom.
Gamma–well, that was obvious. She was too prideful, too prickly, and I was bound to do as she willed, regardless of what that will might entail.
I found Camille’s fierceness and forthright nature as sexy as hell. I fantasized about her much more often than I considered to be healthy, and knew that she knew it.
To my mind, she was dangerous. I was already infatuated with her, and knew I would have to be careful. We were companions in this adventure, but it was simply by chance. There was nothing to keep us together once we found the temple. And yet I couldn’t help but hope there might be a future for us beyond that moment.
At the same time, she and I had barely spoken directly to each other since we entered the caverns.
It was my fault. I had been avoiding her, to a degree. And I intended to keep doing so, at least until she gave me some clue as to whether she felt the same level of attraction to me as I did to her.
Once, in the wastelands, she had. But the smile I had caught on her face when she looked my way suggested triumph more than anything else. It was as if she knew she had the upper hand between us.
Ecco was still new to the mix. And inconsistent. She was beyond appealing, and luminously beautiful. But at the same time, she seemed disconnected. I couldn’t tell if she felt any real connection to me—or to the world as a whole—or if it was just an exercise in gathering chi for her.
Even Ash. When she had been a giant, it had been simple. She had been a friend, a companion at arms.
But now? Now, I found her as attractive as any of the others, in her own way. But I couldn’t help wonder how honest that attraction was, given my response to her when she had been fourteen feet tall with a face that looked like it was made of rocks.
Of them all, Zera was the most open, honest, and upfront. She didn’t hide anything, and I couldn’t help but admire her optimism. For her, it was clear that her affection for me was as genuine as mine was for her, and there was no hidden intent or deeper meaning.
She was fun. A creature who gave and received joy with no strings attached. And I went to sleep dreaming of her more than the rest.
28
There was no such thing as morning in the cave system, just as there was no real night. Yet when Ash woke me for my turn to stand watch, it felt as if I had been sleeping for about the same length of time as usual.
I came awake easily, much more easily than I had done in my previous life, with fragments of my dreams still echoing in my mind.
For a moment, it seemed that Ash wanted to say something, but she instead changed her mind, settling herself down in my spot next to Zera.
I didn’t press it. Instead, I simply looked over the cavern to make sure that all was well, then picked a spot from where I could see everything clearly and respond if I needed to.
All was quiet. Every now and again, Zera moved in her sleep, and Edda, who was snuggled between Gamma and Camille, seemed to be suffering nightmares.
As much as I didn’t like Lady Gamma’s pet, I didn’t exactly wish her any ill. Usually. If I’d been able to help the multi-limbed creature with her bad dreams, I would have. But as it was, all I could do was watch and wait until she settled down.
I wondered where Ecco had gone to, and if I could summon her again with the use of my chi. But I decided against it. I would be doing so for my own selfish reasons, rather than the good of the party.
Although, perhaps I would give it a go, if the strange woman hadn’t returned by the time we needed her guidance to help us through the caves.
Instead, I practiced my steps, working slowly at first as I better integrated them with my twin bladed sword configurations. Yet, by the time I had completed all the steps twice, I was back to my normal fluidity. For the first time, the dual sword configurations felt natural. Less powerful perhaps than my oversized blade had been, but more nimble, and far more appropriate given the tight spaces.
Once again, it was like I was lost in a dance filled with pirouettes and high kicks, my blades cutting the air smoothly. Before, I’d used the steps that worked naturally with turns and smooth transitions because they had seemed the most important, but now others gained more prominence.
Step one hundred and thirteen. Designed to focus all my strength in a direction seemingly at odds with where momentum should have taken me. Step eighty-two, which reminded me of the windup a hammer thrower might use, and which I had used to great effect with my oversized blade, became a step not of strength, but of delicacy, enabling me to cut and slash in a hundred different ways with my smaller blades.
As I practiced, I imagined a myriad of monsters coming at me, and used my blades to good effect, dispatching them not with the irresistible swings of a scythe, but with slashes mixed with precise stabs and cuts, as well as blocks and parries that had until now not been part of my repertoire.
As I practiced, I understood that these movements were already built into my body. The Rogan Ward who had worn this flesh before me had been a master of the shorter blades as well.
Finally, and for the first time feeling completely at ease with my new weapons, I took a seat and once more practiced my other skills, that of chi manipulation.
As I watched the power dance between my fingers, an image from my dreams came back to me. I had watched Ecco seal a tunnel opening shut to prevent the massive worm creature from following us. Her sister could apparently do much the same, changing the shape of the caverns at will, to block us if it served her purpose.
And I had watched my own chi power dance along the rock walls of the cave like a living thing before being absorbed.
In my dreams, I had stood in a cave much like this one, with pieces of rock dancing around my head, controlled by my will.
I didn’t know if it was possible. Perhaps the Rogan Ward of this time would have known, but the body I now wore didn’t come with a manual.
Maybe one of my companions would know if what I intended was possible, or maybe they wouldn’t. Either way, they were all sound asleep, except perhaps for Camille who was showing signs of starting to wake.
I gave a mental shrug. It would either work, or not. But I wouldn’t find out unless I tried.
I decided to start small. Instead of infusing my chi into the walls of the cave itself–and possibly attracting Ecco’s attention, or that of her sister–I selected a random rock about the size of my clenched fist. I plucked it from its position on the cave floor and saw that one of the luminescent plants had already selected it as its home.
I held the rock before me, using both hands, and focused on my chi.
Once again, pure, white power corrugated over my hands, and I infused my chi into the rock the same way I had done with my sword.
At first, I couldn’t tell if it was doing any good. I could see the chi power dance along the rock surface, just as it had done on the walls of the cave, only to disappear as if it had been absorbed.
I wondered how much chi the rock could absorb, and increased the flow.
Only to learn that perhaps I shouldn’t have. The rock accepted it for a moment, then started to vibrate in my fingers. If I’d stopped at that point, perhaps it would have been okay. But I didn’t know any better, so I continued.
The rock shattered, spraying me with dust and shards, with a sharp report that echoed through the cave.
“Fuck,” I muttered.
I looked around with a feeling of chagrin, and saw that the sound had disturbed Ash and Zera, but not enough to wake them.
So, I looked around on the floor of the cave and selected another, similar stone.
29
This time, I didn’t push it so much. I loaded my second rock with chi until it began to vibrate in my hands, but no further. Then I stopped and checked the rock.
“Now what?” I asked out loud, not expecting any answer.
When I had infused my sword with chi, it had reconfigured itself automatically. But, if Ash was right, it was a Soul Blade. A rare, legendary item packed with all sorts of unknowable capabilities.
This was just a rock. What did I expect it to do? Nothing.
But maybe that didn’t have to be the end of my experiment.
It was packed full of chi and a smidgen away from bursting apart. Perhaps I could use rocks as weapons, hurling them at my enemies before causing them to explode like grenades.
But the rock I had burst hadn’t done me any harm. At best, it would be a distraction and no more.
Then, suddenly, instead of thinking of it as a rock stuffed full of chi, I flipped it around. Perhaps it made more sense to think of it as my chi given solid form.
And I could manipulate my chi in a number of ways.
I could use it to power my AC lens. I could hurl lightning at my enemies, blasting them where they stood. I could even let off a controlled detonation, frying hundreds of bats or waste walkers in one go.
Perhaps, if I focused, I could control this chi as well.
I tried first to make it hover in the air and keep the rock with it, using the power of my mind.
I focused as hard as I could, then took my hands away from the rock.
It fell, like the stone that it was.
“Hmmm,” I thought as I picked my rock up. But then, what was I thinking? Could I hold a ball of chi in the air even without a rock attached to it? I’d never tried, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the answer was no.
But what I could do was shape it in my hands like glowing balls of power, controlling it as it moved in and around my fingers.
Perhaps I could do that the chi-infused rock as well.
I picked up my rock, pleased to see that it was still vibrating with chi. The fall hadn’t caused any of it to leak away.
I held the rock in one hand and thought about what I wanted to do. The rock was lumpy, with jagged edges, the type of thing that would be painful to stand on.
I decided I wanted it to be smoother.
In my mind, I reshaped the chi bound to the rock, and to my immense surprise, it worked.
There was a grating sound, and small puffs of dust erupted from the rock surface. But in the blink of an eye, it had gone from a thing made of jagged edges into a smooth, squashed oval thing that might have been good for skimming on a lake.
I had done it. With the power of my chi, I had changed the essential nature of the rock in my hand.
It had taken a surprising amount of effort, but at the same time, it seemed easy. As if I could do whatever I wanted.
I focused again, putting effort into what I wanted to happen, and within moments, my fat disc of a rock had turned into a long, narrow pole.
But apparently, there were limits. Apparently, the first transformation had drained much of the chi from the rock, and the second transformation was too much. I held my pole-shaped rock in my hand for just a few seconds, and then it crumpled away into dust.
For a moment, I stared at my empty hand, confused by what had happened, then understood. Perhaps, if I had loaded it with additional chi, it would have survived the change.
I grinned like a child who had discovered a new toy. I figured I would incorporate this chi usage into my morning practice, taking care to meditate often, to make sure that I didn’t expend too much chi. But I had done it. I had used my chi in a way that was quite different from anything I had so far achieved.
Perhaps the Rogan Ward of this time wouldn’t have been surprised. Perhaps he knew of this capability already.
Or perhaps he had not.
In the back of my mind, I hoped that I had found something new. Something that was me, and me alone.
