Absolute Power: A Portal Harem Fantasy, page 16
I stopped shaking her and stared at her face, looking for any sign of life. My hope slipped away like someone had unplugged a drainpipe and it washed away. My skin went cold as I look at her still form, and for the first time I felt what real fear was. I dropped away from her body, sitting back on my heels. What had I done? How could I have been so wrong? Did she simply find peace from the fear, as though I’d given her permission to let go? How could I have assumed I would know anything in a realm I hadn’t even known existed with forces I barely believed were real myself? Where had I gotten such bravado?
My last question to myself had an answer. I’d traveled into her mind. I’d seen through the eyes of animals. I’d infected another with the sin of pride. I’d won a battle with a great warrior. I’d grown to love the world I was in. I’d seen things beyond imagination. The bravado was a result of my entire belief system being shattered and rebuilt in a new world.
Hope surged, and I leaned over Blair once again. “You’re not dead. You’re not dead. You’re back. All of you, the way you were before all of this happened.”
I stared, holding my breath. I swore to myself I would hold my breath until she moved. My lungs began to burn, but I refused to breathe. My throat fought to be opened but I wouldn’t do it. Pressure grew behind my eyes as my body screamed for oxygen. The edges of my vision darkened, narrowing slowly until all I could see was Blair’s face. Her beautiful, smooth skin and wisps of dark hair falling around her cheeks began to fade from sight. I refused to breathe. As my vision narrowed to a pinpoint, I focused on her mouth. Her smile had been one of the most beautiful sights I’d seen. Not just because she was a beautiful creature, but because she had a smile at all, even if she hadn’t been able to show anyone for a very long time.
As the darkness encroached and I felt myself start to pass out, her mouth was the only thing I thought about. Then the corner of her lip twitched.
My mouth fell open, and I pushed the air out of my lungs, sucking in a new breath just as quickly. My vision instantly cleared, and I grabbed Blair’s face in my hands. “You’re here. You’re here. Wake up.”
The corner of her lip twitched again, then slowly lifted. Then the other side followed suit. She had a full smile on her face before I noticed that she’d opened her eyes. “You look like you’re a bit worried about me.”
“Oh, Jesus! You scared the hell out of me!” I yelled and wrapped my arms around her. “Where were you? What happened? You threw me out.”
She let me hug her and when I let go she pushed herself up off the back of the couch to sit up straight. “I didn’t kick you out on purpose. It just kind of happened. It was great though! Not you having to leave, but what happened. Everything is fixed. The columns disappeared as though I was never meant to have seen them in the first place. I was left standing in nothing but light and then everything changed. I started seeing memories of my life and thinking clearly about anything and everything. My mind is completely restored to what it was before all this took place. You were right.”
I fell back onto my heels again, the relief flooding me almost too much to deal with while at the same time still trying to catch my breath. “Thank god.”
Blair’s smile widened. “Which one?”
I don’t know what it was about the way she spoke two such simple words, but I felt a palpable change in the air. I licked my lips, my pulse sounding like ocean waves in my ears as my body immediately responded to her words. The sudden shock of how much I wanted her hit me like a freight train, the feeling both a surprise and something like home. There was nothing more I wanted in that moment than Blair, despite or maybe because of everything that just happened. She looked at me with the same look, both realization and need dawning on her face. My cock rose to attention, as hard and crisp as the mirrors that surrounded us. I saw us reflected ten fold, my eyes straining to watch my hands as I reached for her. She sat up, and I grabbed her face in both of my hands and kissed her. Her mouth opened to mine as her tongue slid against my own, the taste of her filling my senses. With a small whimper, she crawled off the couch and down into my lap, though I probably half pulled her there as well. She smiled against my lips as we yanked at each other’s clothes and tossed them to the side, both of us greedily trying to strip the other one. Her hair fell out of its bun as I buried my fingers through it, letting the multicolored curtain of locks fall around us as we kissed. She sank her teeth into my bottom lip, only heightening the intensity of the moment, and I clawed my fingers into the skin of her back and pulled her tighter. Once her top was over her head, she broke apart our kiss long enough to give me a glance at her body, her face open and eager as if looking for approval. My eyes raked her torso, drinking in the sight of her pert, full breasts and finely toned muscles. She looked amazing, and I ran my hands over her skin and palmed each breast hungrily, making sure to rub my thumbs over the hard point of each nipple.
“I can feel you against me,” she moaned, her hips grinding against me a little as she did. “How hard you are… Please… now.”
Blair slid down my thighs a little and sat up to give me just enough room. Never leaving her gaze, I unbuckled my pants and slid them down my hips just enough to free my erection, then leaned back enough to put everything on display. My dick jutted up into the air, more than ready to show off for her.
Her gaze was hungry as she ran her fingers first down my abs, then the hard line of my dick.
“God, you’re incredible,” she murmured as her hands traced my hips. Her fingers were warm against my skin, and my body flushed even more from the heat of the moment. I glanced at the mirrors and enjoyed seeing the way she wanted me from all angles. As I did, she wrapped her fingers around my shaft and gave me an exploratory pump, and I sucked in a sharp breath as I leaned my head back with pleasure.
“I want to watch you make this face all day,” she said softly, her mouth parted and her eyes wide with desire as she stroked me again. “I can never thank you enough… never repay you for how you saved me, but maybe this is a start.”
Blair stood up and made a show of disrobing her bottom half, then swung her leg over my hips to straddle me once more. Her skin looked luminescent amidst the reflecting light of the mirrors, and I was hypnotized for a second to finally see her naked. She undid what was left of her ruined updo, the wavy strands falling forward and tickling me as she leaned down to kiss me, her hand still wrapped around my cock.
Wanting to return the favor, I slipped a hand between us to tease her pussy, which was already wet from anticipation. Blair lifted herself up a few inches to give me some room, her grip tightening on me as she did. She gasped sharply as I eased one finger into her tight entrance, then another.
“Want more?” I whispered, pulling my fingers free.
She closed her eyes and nodded. “I need it all.”
Blair then positioned the head of my dick against her warm opening, all of our intentions laid bare. With a soft sound, she began to move down. She pressed her small hands against my chest for balance as she slid down on my cock. Her nails bit into my skin slightly, and she sucked in a sharp breath as I filled her. Her pussy was a tight sheath, and my whole body felt like it was lit on fire from the warmth stoking between us. With a little wiggle, she took me all the way, bottoming out at the very base of her until her swollen clit dragged against my flat stomach.
Even though I wanted to grip her hips and move her faster against me, I knew she needed some space to process everything that was happening, had happened, so I let her set the pace. It wasn’t long before she was picking up the roll of her hips, grinding into me faster as she let her mind break free and chase its own pleasure. Her mouth was slack as she began to pant, and I dug one hand into the couch and one hand into the small of her back as she fucked me. It wasn’t long before she was practically slamming into me, our bodies making an audible slap as she rode me how she wanted. I scanned the room of mirrors, enjoying the scene from every angle. After several minutes of pure bliss, her mind finally free and focused on a single, pleasurable goal, she buried her face in my neck with a loud moan as her body tightened painfully around me. She was close, practically begging for release, and I was more than happy to oblige her. She froze on top of me, on the precipice of release, and I finally gripped her hips like I wanted and forcibly made her bounce on top of me. Blair sat back up and arched, pushing her breasts out, and I slid my hands up her body and cupped her breasts in my hands. My thumbs grazed her nipples once more, and she fully threw her head back and gasped as her swollen, needy clit dragged against me with each movement of her hips. Finally, the tension growing in her body snapped, and she tightened against me as she moaned, her body squeezing my cock in such a delicious way. She was so vibrant, so alive, and I could only think of how grateful I was to have her like this after everything that had happened. Her orgasm only made me come faster, and I spilled into her fully, gripping her hips to slam her down to take every drop.
“Hudson,” she sighed happily. My name left her lips like a prayer, and I thought again about how grateful I was to hear it as the two of us collapsed together.
20
As Blair stood, I got to my feet as well. She checked herself over and asked, “Where is my sword?”
“You left it with Edwin,” I replied, worry creeping into my mind. “Don’t you remember?”
Blair blinked a few times, examining her memory. “Oh, yes, that’s right. The Sintha. Edwin will have it cleaned up in no time. We need to find the others. I have to let them know what you showed me.”
I wrapped my arms around her once again. “Are you sure you are up for charging off like this? Don’t you think you should take it easy for a minute or two?”
Her chuckle was instant. “This is restful after what I’ve been dealing with in my own head. I can’t wait to see Callie, Mary and Edwin. I want to tell them so many things and thank them for not leaving me to fall victim to the insanity the way everyone else did.”
I removed my arms and laughed. “Who am I to stand in the way of a happy reunion?”
Blair grabbed my hand and pulled me as she ran to the elevator. She punched the button for the fourth floor incessantly as the doors slid closed behind us. When they opened again, she pulled me into the main living room so quickly I stumbled. Mary and Callie were sitting at the table, each with a mug in front of them. Our rushed appearance alarmed both of them and they stood.
“What’s wrong?” Callie shouted as we ran towards her.
Blair let go of my hand and practically leapt to Callie, wrapping her in a hug. “He fixed me, Callie. He fixed me.”
Callie’s disbelieving eyes went wide, and I watched her emotions play out on her face. Mary stood by, looking from Blair to me and back again, confused. Finally, Callie recognized the person hugging her. “Blair? Is that you? Is that all of you?”
Blair stood back, then threw her arms around Mary. “Yes! It’s me. It’s finally me!”
The elevator dinged behind me as Mary pushed Blair away far enough to get a good look into her eyes. Her own filled with tears. “Oh, my! It is you! How? How did this happen? This can’t have happened?”
Blair glanced past me as I turned around to see Edwin walk off the elevator, looking down at Blair’s now-clean sword he was carrying. “Hey, Callie, I–”
He barely had a chance to look up before Blair had run across the room and threw herself at him, wrapping him up as she had the others. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
Edwin looked panicked and searched Callie and Mary’s crying, smiling faces for an answer.
“Hudson fixed me!” Blair shouted into Edwin’s ear as she squeezed him. “He fixed my mind!”
Edwin’s face mimicked Callie and Mary’s faces as the emotions flew through him. Upon realization of what was happening, he dropped Blair’s sword, wriggled his arms out of her bear hug, and squeezed her back.
“I knew it! I knew there had to be a way!”
They hugged for several minutes while Callie and Mary cried, and I stood there, enjoying the scene. When Blair finally released Edwin, the questions flooded the room.
“Hudson fixed you? How is that possible?” Edwin asked. “Doesn’t this mean that Cadence has been released? She’s the only one who could do this.”
The room fell silent as hope spread through it. I’d been there to fix Blair’s mind and even I had the sudden hope that it hadn’t been me at all, and that Cadence had indeed been the reason Blair returned to us. Blair ended that train of thought, though.
“No, it wasn’t Cadence,” she said, turning to Callie. “Hudson showed me what really happened to me. What’s more, he showed me what has happened to all our people. They aren’t just going insane. Insanity isn’t what swept our land. Fear swept the land, and it was so powerful that they drove themselves insane trying to get away from it.”
Mary’s brow furrowed. “What are you talking about?”
Blair took Edwin and I by the hand and pulled us over to the table, the three of us taking a seat. Callie’s face went blank as she processed Blair’s words and slowly sat back down. Blair pulled on Mary’s arm to get her to sit as well.
“The fear that Cadence’s disappearance would drive everyone insane is what drove them insane,” Blair said, trying to explain. “I wasn’t as affected as I would've been because I’m a magical warrior and had the idea planted in my own mind that Cadence could be saved.”
Callie put her hand up, and the room went silent. “They are all hiding?” she asked, being the only one who was understanding what Blair was trying to tell them. “They are hiding from themselves?”
Blair nodded emphatically. I smiled and answered her. “Yes. They are hiding so deep in their own minds that they’ve abandoned their own consciousness. Without direction, their minds fall into disrepair and the subconscious mind is all that’s left, running the show off of pure instinct.”
Callie’s eyes filled with tears again. “How did I not know?”
Blair reached across the table and took hold of Callie’s hands. “You couldn’t have. You are connected to the lifeforce of consciousness. Without it, you couldn’t have seen what was going on. You did nothing wrong.”
Happiness washed over as we saw Callie accept Blair’s explanation and forgive herself for the wrong she’d been about to convince herself she’d committed. She looked at me. “How did you know? How did you do it?”
“I’m happy to explain it, but first, I want to talk about Kasen. I think I know how to stop him,” I said.
Mary looked shocked, as did Blair. Blair sat back in her chair. “When did you have time between pulling me out of my own hell and getting here to devise a plan to stop Kasen?”
I smiled at her. “It came to me right when I was about to pass out from the fear that I’d killed you.”
Edwin straightened up. “You thought you killed her? What did you do?”
Blair laughed and put her arm around Edwin. “Don’t worry, he didn’t kill me, obviously.”
Callie pulled the conversation back to Kasen. “You really think you know how to stop Kasen?”
“I do,” I answered, going over the plan in my mind that was becoming clearer to me by the second.
Mary nodded. “We have to find him first.”
“I have a plan for that too,” I told her.
Edwin’s hand shot into the air. “I bet I know what it is!”
He suddenly had four sets of eyes on him, astonished. I laughed. “You do?”
“Yeah, of course!” he replied. “Before Callie left me to work on the Sintha, she told me you’d discovered that you had omnipresent sight. You’ll locate him through the eyes of others.”
I nodded, impressed. “Exactly.”
Mary tilted her head and squinted at me. “What do you think your range on that is?”
“What do you mean?” I asked her.
Mary opened her mouth to answer but Callie put her hand on Mary’s shoulder to stop her. “There’s no reason for us to think he wouldn’t be able to see through the eyes of any animal anywhere in our world. Shadows, who knows, but animals, I believe his power to be unlimited.”
I understood why Mary was so skeptical and, at the same time, appreciated Callie’s move to keep her from verbalizing it. After all, Mary dealt in sin. She saw the best and worst in people all at the same time simply due to her nature.
“I believe my ability to be unlimited as well and I say I give it a shot immediately,” I said.
The others stared as Callie nodded. “Go ahead.”
I picked a spot on the table and stared at it. Although I wasn’t certain how to access my ability, I was certain I’d be able to figure it out. I replayed the scene with the Sintha when I’d first used omnipresent sight. It had just happened. I had been focused solely on the animal, however, so I thought of the Chars we’d seen just before finding the Sintha. I concentrated on them and, in an instant, my vision changed.
I was seeing an empty street and the back of a small house. Then I looked down at a small patch of grass and lowered my head. My head came back up and my vision wobbled a little from, what I assumed was, chewing. I’d connected with an animal of some sort. When it turned its head, I saw two Chars standing off a few feet, also eating. Otherwise, there wasn’t anything interesting around. Then my animal looked up, and I spotted a small, grey bird perched on top of the house. I concentrated on the bird as hard as I’d ever concentrated on anything in my life.
Suddenly I could see through the bird’s eyes, sitting high on top of the house. I could see the tops of the housing area and clear into the heart of the city. Then it turned its head, and I saw the field I’d killed the Sintha in, and the trees on the other side. I concentrated on the trees, hoping to jump to an animal in the forest but without actually seeing an animal, it didn’t seem as though I could. When the bird looked down and I saw one of the Chars below, I switched sight again.
