Returning from meeting his children for the first time, Reece was almost to his cabin when he received a tug on his sleeve. Turning, he saw Aika standing there. Her head was slightly bowed, and her eyes were cast off to the side. She met his eyes a moment later.
“Can we talk?” she asked quietly. “In your room?”
“Of course,” he replied, glad he’d get a chance to clear the air and find out what was going on.
Once they were safely in his cabin, she pounced on him like a cat. Reece hadn’t felt passion like this from Aika since their time together aboard the Zhengzhou. All thoughts of talking melted away as her tongue met his in a familiar dance with a new twist. She must have fed recently because she was warm. As warm as she had been before she became a vampire. It felt nice.
Looking into her ruby-red eyes, he was torn. He had loved her so completely before her transformation that he found himself missing her beautiful brown eyes. They were perfect to him. Still, this was Aika’s appearance now, with the red eyes and deadly smile, but she was the same Aika on the inside that he had fallen in love with.
But now, she had an edge to her that wasn’t there before, something forged by death and rebirth and tempered by their ceaseless battles with the Order. And that was perhaps the most amazing realization he had. They had survived a series of events that had decimated nearly the entire population of the planet and had found each other again amidst it all, with gods and monsters everywhere. If she wanted to make love right now, he was more than happy to oblige.
He met her passionate kiss with a passion of his own. He loved everything about this woman, before and after everything. He would never take moments like this for granted. They kissed and professed their love for each other over and over until they couldn’t take it anymore. Stepping apart, they feverishly tore at their clothes, the garments not coming off fast enough for either of them. When they were finally both completely nude, they came back together.
Her soft, supple, and amazingly warm body pressed against the hardened muscles of his well-developed chest and tight stomach. Her large breasts pressed like warm pillowed between their bodies as they continued to explore each other’s mouths, only pausing to stare into each other’s eyes with a wanton mix of lust and love.
He ran his strong hands down the smooth curved of her back and found one of the luscious globes of her irresistible ass. Squeezing it, he heard and felt her gasp into his mouth as she pressed her body harder against his. He continued to explore her body, a body of which he knew every perfect inch. When they came apart again, he could have sworn he saw her eyes shimmer like wind-blown embers, hot coals blazing with new life.
Neither spoke as he laid her down upon the bed and gently laid on top of her, pressing his body against hers. Then her fiery eyes reminded him that she was more than strong enough to handle his weight. Knowing this, he shifted on top of her. Then he kissed her lips one more time before kissing along her jawline to suck on her earlobe for a moment, earning a soft moan from the gorgeous woman. From her lobe, he kissed down her jugular, gently biting the crease of her neck and licking back up to the lobe.
He repeated this on her other side before kissing down to her breasts. He took his time with each, teasing her by kissing all around her erect nipples. She arched her back to bring her nipples closer to his mouth, almost begging Reece to taste them. By the time he took the first nub into his mouth and began nibbling and sucking on it, she began trembling, the first waves of ecstasy crashing over her body. Again, he repeated the performance with her other breast, eliciting the same impassioned response.
He continued kissing down her body, pausing at her belly button and flicking his tongue against it a few times, making her giggle in joy. Once he finished kissing her belly, he kept going until he found her smoothly shaved center. Ignoring it, he kissed and licked her legs from her knees to the crease where her legs met her body. She was begging by now, so he gave her what she wanted with his mouth and took her over the moon with a brand-new high. Pausing, he noticed that her legs were shaking, and her breathing was quick and ragged.
“Please, Reece...I need you...now!” she panted between deep breaths as she came down from her high. He moved back up and became one with her in a single sensual motion. She cried out before sinking her fangs into his neck, sucking gently on the artery there. They stayed like that, enjoying and feeding off each other for an eternity that was over far too quickly. They made love in many positions over the next couple of hours, finally falling back onto the bed together.
But instead of being spent, they were both reinvigorated by each other, a perfect union that made them both stronger for it. Not wanting their time together to end, they both held each other for another half hour before reluctantly re-emerging from his cabin to part ways upon the carrier deck. He was going to miss this, but it was time to get to work.
*********
A few hours later and they had all said their goodbyes. Karina gave Reece a tender, but ice-cold kiss, her skin cooler than he could remember ever feeling her. She looked at him with red eyes full of love, but also a certain kind of sadness he also had never seen in her before. Nephi, Masika, Pasha, Sora, Aika, and Karina all boarded the Phoenix and were soon on their way to Korea and to a head-on confrontation with the Order. Reece couldn’t shake the feeling something terrible would happen to them. Having no quick way to reach India, Reece was talking with Captain Schwarzenegger on the carrier’s bridge when Shenfu entered his mind. The Qilin had opted to come with him. He rarely left his side.
“I will allow you to ride me again,” said Shenfu. “This is too important to do any less.”
“I appreciate that,” Reece thought back to the Qilin, not wanting to spook the captain with a one-sided conversation. “But I won’t be alone. Several of us are coming for protection in case the Order has any surprises for us.”
The Qilin remained silent, so Reece looked back to the captain.
“How long before we can get to India’s shores?” asked Reece. “We’ve got another fragment to collect there.”
The captain brought him over to the command table on the bridge. A map of the waters they were currently occupying lay spread out there. Reece pointed at the point in India where Chippo had mentioned that the fragment lay buried. It was thankfully on the same side of the country as them. However, it was in landlocked Rajasthan and would still take quite a while to reach the site there, a place called Bhangarh Fort according to Chippo. The captain thought for a moment.
“We should be able to make it there within...”
“Are you bringing more than thirteen?” asked the Qilin, interrupting Reece’s conversation again.
He missed what the captain said. So, he considered Shenfu’s question for a moment, counting the total number of team members in his head.
“No, it’ll definitely be less than thirteen,” answered Reece, again through his thoughts. “Why do you ask?”
“I shall wake my brothers and sisters,” said the Qilin, sounding noble. “You will all have Qilin to carry you to the fragment and back again.”
“Really?” gasped Reece, stunned by the happy surprise. “Is there enough mana to manage it?”
“Surprisingly, yes. The closer the nightcore gets to completion, to more it leaks mana,” replied Shenfu. “Right now, many more things are possible than before you acquired the last three pieces.”
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
That changed everything.
“Really what?” asked the captain, now eyeing Reece with a puzzled expression on her face.
“Oh, sorry... nothing,” said Reece, before realizing this new revelation would change the carrier’s plans as well. “Well, on second thought, we won’t need to travel to India. Instead, you can head back around the bottom of Africa and head toward Argentina. We’ll meet you there.”
“Okay, so how are you going to get around?” asked the captain, concern in her voice.
“Shenfu has family,” answered Reece cryptically before chuckling and winking at the captain as he left the bridge. Shenfu loped along after him.
“So, how long until they arrive?” asked Reece out loud.
Shenfu said nothing. Instead, his question was answered when twelve more Qilin materialized on the deck as they left the tower. Reece stared at them incredulously for a moment before looking over at Shenfu.
“How?” he asked.
“We can teleport, but it takes much of our strength. We usually need about a day to recover enough to do it again,” answered Shenfu.
“Could you teleport us too?” asked Reece, excited at the prospect of taking the whole team anywhere in an instant.
“Unfortunately, no,” replied the Qilin somberly. “We can only teleport ourselves at this time.”
“Ahh, well... that’s okay,” replied Reece conciliatorily. “You’re already making the impossible possible. We’d have no way to get where we’re going in any timely fashion without your help. You’re honestly amazing. So, thank you.”
That seemed to mollify the great beast and Shenfu got a bit more spring to his step, appreciating the compliment. Reece nodded in turn at each of the Qilin as Shenfu introduced them. He didn’t have the heart to tell them that he wasn’t good with names and probably wouldn’t remember any of them. Well, he would with time, assuming they all lived long enough.
Now that he had a moment to study them, he could tell that at least they were different enough in appearance, and he could tell them apart. Most had horns, but some were straight, others curved, and still others were branched. And their coats were unique in both pattern and color. Spots, stripes, plain, mottled, speckled, and shimmering; their coats were all magnificent. The colors ranged from earthy browns and oranges to ethereal pinks and purples. Even the shapes of their heads were different; seemingly modeled after tigers, dogs, elk, bears, and wolves. The one thing they had in common was that they were all beautiful creatures.
Angel came walking out from the tower, rubbing his hands free of grease with a rag when he looked up. Reece laughed when he saw Angel jump. Seeing the wide-eyed stare on Angel’s face, Reece decided he’d better say something.
“I’d like to introduce you to the rest of the Qilin,” announced Reece, making sure Angel heard him despite his attention being on the thirteen dog-like monsters lounging about the deck. “They’re going to help us get to the fragment in India, and quickly.”
“Uh, okay,” said Angel, the rag in his hands forgotten. Then his eyes got big again as realization sunk in. “You mean we’re all going to have to ride them over the whole country?”
“I know, right?” laughed Reece. “Pasha would have loved this. You’re going to make her so jealous.”
Angel paled visibly at the thought. Shaking his head from side to side, he gave Reece a pleading look, his body language begging Reece to let him skip the mission. Angel wasn’t a timid individual, but the thought of riding on a living creature while it flew him through the sky had given him pause.
“Don’t worry,” said Reece, trying to calm the suddenly skittish man. “They have this hair in their coats that wrap around your legs, holding you in place. You literally cannot fall off them. It’ll be fine, you’ll see. You’ll probably even enjoy it.”
“Enjoy it?” hissed Angel incredulously. “I’ve got a family to think about now.”
“Wait, what?” asked Reece, now the one to be shocked. “You and Stephanie?”
“Yep,” answered Angel. “We’re pregnant. Six months now. Happened right before we went on the great wall mission.”
“Well, happy day!” exclaimed Reece. “Why didn’t you say anything? That’s huge, and not just for you. No one is supposed to be able to have kids. That means that anyone not exposed to the haze when it was first deployed is possibly capable of producing offspring. Thank Odin, no blisters!”
“What?” asked Angel.
“Oh, nothing,” replied Reece. “Inside joke.”
“Ah, okay, well thanks,” said Angel, starting to calm down a bit. “I am excited… really. It probably just doesn’t seem like it right now since I just found out I was about to fly a big magic dog across the entire Indian countryside. I kinda want to puke right now.”
“I get it,” said Reece. “But after flying with Pasha as many times as I have, any fear of flying I may have had died a violent death long ago.”
That made Angel chuckle. Reece walked up to him and slapped him on the back, motioning for him to follow.
“Come on, let’s go and get the others. You all may want flying lessons before we take off for the fragment,” said Reece before looking back at the Qilin assembled on the deck. “Have a look around. We’ll be right back.”
Shenfu nodded while Angel followed Reece into the tower. It didn’t take the two of them very long to gather everyone that was going on the mission for flight training. Fifteen minutes later and they were all gathered on the deck. Naeva, Ciera, Angel, Bjorn, Aspen, Hank, and Dmitri were joined by two of Angel’s rakshasa, Beth, and Saul. Including Reece, that made ten for this mission. Reece hoped they wouldn’t all be needed.
By this time, the Qilin had wandered all over the deck, curiously checking out the carrier, something that hadn’t existed in their time. Some had even flown over the side and explored the sea below, catching a few ocean fish to munch on. Their animal-like behavior belied their intelligence, but they didn’t seem to care about impressing anyone. When they noticed Reece’s group, they re-assembled and began walking around the individuals. It wasn’t long before the Qilin had chosen their riders.
Shenfu stayed with Reece, allowing him to mount him to show the rest what to do. Slowly, one by one, the rest of the team mounted their Qilin steeds. There was a little commotion when everyone’s legs started getting wrapped in the Qilin’s furry coat, but they eventually calmed down once Reece explained what was happening.
Aspen, surprisingly, was the first into the air. Being a dryad, Reece figured she’d be tied to the ground more than any of them. That clearly wasn’t the case, especially when her Qilin mount turned and flew back over them. No one could miss the yelps of joy coming from the dryad’s lips. She was enjoying this.
That wasn’t true for most of them, at least at first. Angel was the last to go, but he seemed to get the hang of it swiftly, as did they all. Having the equivalent of built-in seat belts surely helped them from getting too anxious. Everything was going smoothly until one of the Qilin decided to fly right through the carrier’s side. By the time it exited the other side of the carrier, its rider was screaming like his legs had been ripped off. Of course, it had to be Angel’s Qilin steed that performed the phasing trick first.
Reece mentally berated himself for not mentioning it to them right away. Remembering how freaked out he was when Shenfu first phased through the earth on their way to the surface, he could only imagine what Angel was feeling right now. Or how many bathrooms, lockers, and quarters he just phased through. There might be a few more people inside the carrier that were freaked out by what had just happened.
“Leave it to Angel to get picked by the adventurish one,” thought Reece. “Or maybe it’s just a cat and dog thing…”
Despite a few hiccups, the team managed to become a decent team of Qilin riders in just a few hours. On top of that, most seemed to have bonded with their Qilin compatriots and were having a great time flying under the sky together. Even Saul and Beth seemed to do well with their Qilin partners, despite being a close equivalent of cats and dogs. The Qilin also seemed to be enjoying themselves, having been frozen in place for hundreds of years, they were almost drunk off the freedom of flight they hadn’t experienced for so long.
Taking a much-needed break, the group got together in the galley and grabbed a bite to eat. Apparently, it was taco Tuesday, though people rarely thought about the day of the week anymore. After Reece sat down next to Naeva with three tacos on his tray, he grabbed one and took a bite out of it, crunching through the hard corn shell and into the meaty center within. Even though they had made a few key substitutions, the cooks did a passable job of making a decent taco, or at least Reece thought so.
Conversation flowed from the tacos to the new babies, to everyone’s work aboard the carrier. Everything except for the imminent mission or their absent companions who were on an exceptionally dangerous mission of their own. They had decided to leave first thing in the morning, and everyone seemed to have an inkling of how dangerous it could become. Contrary to the mission hanging over their heads, everyone seemed to be in good spirits and laughter could be heard echoing throughout the large area for most of the meal.
Near the end, Reece saw Taela enter and approach him.
“Can we talk,” asked the Adaron princess.
Reece indicated the open seat next to him. Taela hesitated for a moment before nodding slightly and taking the seat. She looked at him with her sea-green eyes filled with determination as she took his hand in hers to get his full attention.
“Why haven’t you asked me to go with you on this mission?” she asked, a hint of annoyance or jealousy in her voice, Reece wasn’t sure which.
“Because you’re a princess,” answered Reece, though honestly, he wasn’t sure why he hadn’t asked her to go. Guilt maybe, he finally decided, but he wasn’t going to tell her that.
“Princess or not, this is my world too,” argued Taela. “I deserve the right to assist in a mission that very well may decide the fate of our world. Our world! I will not sit idle while everyone else fights my battles.”
“Okay, okay,” replied Reece, holding up his hand in mock surrender. “If it means that much to you, you can come. But first, there’s something you need to do.”