Month: September 2021

Chapter 2 of 3

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3

Hand in hand, Donvin and Kalaian walked to the shimmering archway. Butterflies twirled and dipped in Kalaian’s wake. The setting sun stretched fingers of orange light across the sky. Clusters of small glowing flowers peeked out from the hedges outlining the park, casting a gentle green glow. Golden rivers of light flared and twisted overhead as they directed the rain away from the City. Donvin’s swooping statues gleamed with faint luminescence, lighting the path. The scalloped pools shone with an internal light, red and purple and green and gold rippling through the surface of the water. Behind them, a last swarm of glittering gnats smoothed away the place where they’d coupled, the drone’s helpful pillow collapsing and vanishing in a sharp blue flare.

A dronelight shaped like a slender bird with narrow, forward-swept wings escorted a slim, sleek figure, pale skin decorated with loops and whorls of fine gold chain. Long, fluttering ribbons of brightly-colored silk crossed their chest, arms, hips, and legs, fluttering in a non-existent breeze, growing wider as they streamed behind them. “Maryalah!” Kalaian exclaimed. “Thank you for coming. Donvin, this is Priestess Maryalah, my sponsor. Maryalah, this is my…um, friend Donvin.”

Maryalah bowed. “My pleasure.” To Kalaian, they said, “What a gorgeous tattoo! How lovely!” Kalaian blushed and bowed. “Grand High Priest Astlyn sends his welcome. He has asked me to extend his regrets that he will be unable to attend. This is for you.” They presented Kalaian with a dazzling, multifaceted red gem on a fine chain. “The greater your joy, the brighter it will glow.”

Kalaian bowed again. “Thank you!” She fastened the chain around her neck. Immediately, the gemstone shone with a deep red light. Subtle shapes danced within it. The butterflies that flowed across her skin, confused by the chain, fluttered in circles for a moment before they found a path around the necklace, across her breast to her shoulder.

More guests approached, accompanied by bobbing dronelights. The dronelights dimmed as they came near, allowing the soft light of the flowers and statues and the rippling radiance from the pools to take over. Kalaian greeted each guest with a bow. Donvin recognized many priests, priestesses, and worshippers of the Lady. She introduced him to a scattered handful of other people, some worshippers of the Quickener, others her personal friends.

The sun settled behind the rim of the world, sending long streamers of shadow through the City. Golden light snaked across the shield dome, sending faint ripples scurrying across the grass. A dronelight shaped like a long ship, its square sail fluttering in the breeze, escorted two figures to the arch, where tiny gleaming flowers grew in profusion from the thin hanging vines. The figure in the lead, resplendent in a dress of green and teal that covered one arm and half her body but left one arm and one breast bare, moved with an effortless regal grace that radiated calm confidence. A complex assortment of narrow metal bands barely restrained her lush tangle of thick black hair. A shorter woman followed in her wake, bronze-skinned and green-eyed, wearing a simple tunic and pants the same emerald as her hair.

Kalaian’s face broke out in a broad grin. The pendant on her necklace glowed. “High Priestess Neveah! Thank you so much for coming!”

Neveah embraced her. “Where else would I be? I am sorry you’re leaving us, but I wish you well on your journey with the Lady.” She turned to the woman behind her. “Allow me to introduce my daughter Terlyn.”

Kalaian bowed. “This is my friend Donvin of the Lady.” She elbowed Donvin, who stood entranced, mouth hanging open.

“Ah! I’ve heard so much about you,” Neveah said. “I understand you’re the one responsible for luring Kalaian away from us.”

“Well, err, not exactly as such,” Donvin stammered. “I just, that is, yes, I suppose I did, didn’t I?”

Neveah chuckled. “May she bring joy to her service of the Lady.” She bowed low to Kalaian. “I look forward to sampling whatever delights you’ve created for us.”

“The pools contain a mild Blessing that facilitates connection,” Kalaian said. “You’ll find a variety of wines on the table. Those in the blue glasses contain the same Blessing. Please let me know if I can make you more comfortable.”

“Thank you.” Her eyes traveled up and down Kalaian’s form. “I will.”

When Neveah and Terlyn had passed, Kalaian chuckled in Donvin’s ear. “See something you like?” she cooed.

“What?”

Kalaian giggled and took Donvin’s hand. “Come get wet with me!” She led Donvin to the central pool, large enough for a dozen people, surrounded by smaller pools just big enough for two or three. The water shimmered invitingly, red and gold. Kalaian unfastened Donvin’s shirt and ran her hands over his chest. She leaned close enough her lips almost brushed his skin. “Are you still feeling impertinent?” she murmured.

“Impetuous, even.”

“Good.” She unfastened his pants and let them fall. Her eyes flicked downward. “Oh, you certainly are!” Hand in his, she stepped into the pool. He followed her down. They slid between a novice he knew vaguely from worship of the Lady and a woman he’d never seen before.

The warm water loosened his muscles. A faint, pleasant scent, slightly spicy, rose from the steaming water. Donvin inhaled deeply. He closed his eyes and settled back. His skin tingled where Kalaian held his hand. The woman seated on his other side shifted slightly. His body buzzed delightfully at every point of contact between them.

“Hi! I’m Rashillia,” she said in a dreamy voice. “I don’t know you.”

“Donvin.” As the water worked his magic, he found himself drawn into her teal eyes. Ripples of light played over her dark skin.

“Would you like to touch me, Donvin?” she said, her voice slow and languid.

“Mm, yes please.”

She took his hand in hers, fingertips playing lightly over his palm. Electric currents ran up and down his arm. “I think hands are so sensual, don’t you?” she murmured, voice soft, languorous. She placed his hand on her cheek. “Would you like to kiss me?”

Donvin floated toward her. Eddies of pleasure shimmered up and down his back when their lips met. He was aware in some far-off corner of his mind of Kalaian kissing the person beside her, then Donvin fell down, down, down, into the glow of Rashillia’s eyes. She kissed him with a gentle delicacy that made his heart hammer.

Eventually, she rose with effortless grace. Water streamed from her body. She helped Donvin from the pool, her touch sending shivers through him. A small utility drone shaped like a flattened torus with tiny wings driven by spinning gears held out towels in long, silver-inscribed metal arms. Rashillia dried him gently with the soft towel. He shuddered at her caress.

She took his hand and led him to a long, soft couch that hovered silently just above the grass. On the way, she selected a glass from the stone table with its Providers. She drew him down beside her. Arm linked through his, she brought the glass to her lips. A tiny shudder, barely perceptible, traveled down her body when she swallowed. “Would you like some?” she said.

“Please.”

She lifted the glass to his lips. When he swallowed, a gentle radiant heat spread within him. His focus narrowed until all that existed was her skin against his, the light that danced in her eyes, the low throaty chuckle as she kissed the side of his neck. She pressed him onto his back and stretched out atop him, body soft against him.

Donvin wrapped his arms around her. The sounds of the party faded to a background murmur, distant and unimportant. He and Rashillia kissed, gently, her lips barely grazing his. He felt acute awareness of everywhere they touched: her fingers stroking the side of his face, her breath on his skin, her body pressed close to his. “Do you want me?” she breathed.

“Yes,” Donvin breathed.

Without haste, she lowered herself onto him, taking him inside her. Donvin ran his hands up her back. She buried her face in his neck with a sigh. He stared up at the sky, lost in the tinsel chaos of the rain against the shield dome. Rippling streamers of light snaked across the sky. Rashillia rocked her hips, each slow, subtle motion igniting ripples of pleasure across his skin like the golden light above.

Gradually, Rashillia slowed, until at last they lay together unmoving for a long moment that stretched out to eternity, simply basking in the feel of one another. “You are delightful,” she said. Whorling eddies danced over Donvin’s body. She ran her fingers through his hair. “Thank you for sharing this moment with me.” She placed a gentle kiss on his lips, so softly it stole his breath away, then rose and vanished into the party.

Donvin lay on his back for a long time, relishing the hum in his skin and the silent spectacle overhead. Presently he rose, summoned a black robe edged in red and a glittering amber drink from the Provider, and wandered through the party. All around him, people chatted, or basked in the pools, or had leisurely sex. A lean, graceful man with white hair and deep indigo skin spun long metal rods with balls of fire at their ends.

Through a momentary gap in the crowd, he spotted Kalaian reclining on a low couch, head back, eyes closed. A lithe, muscular man sat beside her, exploring her body with his hands. Another man with golden hair and golden skin knelt on the grass, face buried between her open legs. As he pleasured her, he stroked the first man’s rigid erection with patient care. The gem at Kalaian’s throat blazed with light. Phantasmal butterflies rose in a spiral above her. Her fingers twined through her kneeling lover’s hair. Music filled the air.

Eventually, Donvin’s wandering feet carried him to a far corner of the space, where a row of shield generators cast a faint haze that enclosed a collection of couches and chairs, arranged in several circles. He felt the faint whisper of the shield as he stepped through. The music faded to a barely audible murmur.

“Hi! Donvin, is it? You’re Novice Kalaian’s friend?”

Donvin looked around. “Hi!” he said to the woman reclining on a small couch, a soft pillow tucked behind her head. “Terlyn, right?”

Terlyn looked him up and down. “I’m impressed. Do you remember the names of everyone you’ve met tonight? It’s quite a large party.”

“Well, perhaps not everyone,” Donvin said.

“Then I’m flattered.” She moved aside to make room beside her. “Sit with me?”

“Sure!” Donvin seated himself beside her and sipped his drink. A pleasant haze settled around him. “Are you enjoying the party so far?”

“Truth be told, I’m not one for parties,” Terlyn confessed. “One of my mothers thinks I should get out more, so here I am.”

Donvin nodded. “I know what you mean. Being around crowds can get tiring after a while.”

Terlyn gazed out into the bustle beyond the faint shield, where a tall, nude man with blue skin decorated with bold scarlet designs walked past one of Donvin’s luminous statues. He sported outsized breasts, an erection larger than Donvin’s forearm decorated with the same jagged scarlet lines, and a long tail that ended in a spike. “He must worship the Lady,” she said. “I’ve never really understood her worshippers.”

“Hey, now!” Donvin said with mock hurt.

“No offense intended,” Terlyn said. She glanced at him slyly from the corner of her eye. “Or maybe a little bit. You did steal Kalaian away from us, after all.”

“You worship the Quickener, then?”

“I do. Most of the people in my family group do.”

“House Everessa?”

“I see our reputation precedes us. Again.” Some complex emotion flitted across her face and was gone, leaving no trace. She smiled at him and ran quick light fingertips over his arm. “Get me something to drink?”

“There’s a Provider right next to you.”

“I know.”

“What would you like?”

“Surprise me. It’s no fun asking the gods to surprise you, because they already know you better than you know yourself. I want you to surprise me.” Her fingertips touched the back of his hand, light and quick. “It’s the least you can do, for entrancing one of our worshippers into service to the Lady.”

“If I get you a drink, will all my sins be forgiven?” Light sparkled in Donvin’s eye.

“I don’t know all of your sins. Tell me of them when you’ve brought me a drink and we’ll see.”

“Ah, it’s to be that kind of night, is it? Perhaps I’ll bring one for myself as well.” Donvin drained his glass and rose. “I’ll be right back!”

Terlyn leaned back and looked up at him through half-lidded eyes. “The moments will seem like days until you return.”

Donvin stepped through the shield into the noise of the party. Music washed around him. He went to the table, where a utility drone with an astonishing profusion of multi-jointed arms had set out an array of wine glasses in a complex, colorful pattern. He hesitated for a moment and chose two blue glasses of exquisitely cut crystal, then returned to the sanctuary enclosed by the shield. Behind him, the drone deftly rearranged the glasses, filling in the spaces left by the ones he’d taken.

Terlyn beamed up at him. She accepted one of the glasses and patted the cushion beside her. Donvin sank down, almost but not quite touching her. “Thank you,” she said demurely.

“Don’t you want to ask what I got you?”

“Did you get yourself the same thing?”

“Yes.”

“Then no.” Terlyn drained half her glass. “Mm, this is lovely.” She leaned toward him. “Now, Donvin of the Lady, tell me of your sins.”

Chapter 1 of 3

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3

“Donvin! Thank the Lady you’re here! This party is stressing me out.” Kalaian flung her arms wide. “I have no idea what to do, and it’s your fault I’m in this mess!”

“Greetings, Novice Kalaian! Has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?” 

Kalaian paused her frantic tugging of her multicolored, hip-length hair, then flushed. A pleased smile spread across her face. “You know, I think you’re the first person to call me that!”

Donvin examined the small park thoughtfully. Right now, it was little more than a flat square of grass, a blank canvas ready to receive the artist’s touch. At Kalaian’s feet, the black square of a Provider lay inset into the ground, neatly trimmed grass growing around it. A small army of utility drones hovered politely at head height, awaiting instructions. “Having trouble thinking of what to do?”

“No!” Kalaian said. “Just the opposite. I have far too many ideas. The party starts in just a few hours, and I don’t know if I should create a winter paradise of glittering ice or a wonderland of floating lights or a music hall or—”

Donvin laughed. “I see the problem.”

Kalaian knelt in the grass and summoned a small terminal from the Provider. A glowing miniature of the park floated in front of them, ready to be shaped and molded. She threw her arms wide. The hologram grew until it filled the park, a faint shimmering image molded to the ground. “I want a theme that connects the Lady to the Quickener,” she said. “The official purpose of the party is to celebrate my service to the Lady, but I think it’s important to honor my past service to the Quickener, too.”

Donvin slipped an arm around her waist. “You could do a labyrinth.”

Kalaian shook her head. “I was thinking maybe pools for the main area.”

“Statues, then? Inspired by the statues in the Garden? Something that honors both the Quickener and the Lady?”

“Do you have any suggestions?”

“Perhaps one or two. May I?”

Kalaian kissed his cheek. “Thank you for helping me get ready.”

He called up a terminal of his own. At a flick of his fingertips, it came to life. He drew out images of the statues in the Garden, the voluptuous bare-chested figures that welcomed worshippers along the path to commune with the Quickener. Even now, the current Sacrifice to the Quickener slept in the middle of that diamond-shaped labyrinth of hedges, bound by vines whose thorns pierced her flesh as she lay prone on the boulder in the center. Worshippers were probably visiting her at this very moment, communing with the god through her slumbering body, waking her to ecstasy over and over again.

The statues floated silently before him, waiting. He walked around the faintly glowing images, examining them from all sides with an artist’s eye, then dismissed them with a gesture. He called up unformed columns of light in their place and set to work reshaping them with his hands, forming them into stylized impressions of the figures he’d dismissed.

As Donvin worked, Kalaian wandered through the park, molding and shaping the hologram with sweeping gestures. She sang as she worked, her voice filling the late afternoon air with crystalline joy.

Beyond the shield dome, a gentle spring rain started to fall. The shield flared golden with each falling drop, channeling and diverting the rain away from the City. Soon water streamed down the dome in twisting, glowing rivulets. Here and there, openings in the shield permitted the rain into spaces where the City’s citizens luxuriated in the shower.

Donvin fell into his task, lost in that space where all that existed was the formless void and the sinuous lines and forms he pulled from the half-conscious depths of his mind. Kalaian’s song swirled around him, light and exuberant.

He summoned another column of light and another, shaping and molding each with his hands until a line of stylized statues hovered in front of him, all smooth curves and swooping shapes, evocative of the statues in the Garden without being exactly like them. As he finished the last one, Kalaian came up from behind him to place a kiss on his cheek. “Those look amazing!”

“Thank you.” He grinned and kissed her. “How are you doing?”

“Come see!”

She led him through a shimmering, translucent park that floated about waist-high, its contours laid over the real park. In the center, she’d traced out a series of pools, terraced scallops swirling with steaming jewel-toned water, like shimmering molten gems. A long, low table of gray-flecked stone sat just beyond the pools, lined with Providers and surrounded by couches and chairs. A knee-high hedge followed the boundary of the park, bursting with brilliant flowers in vivid shades of orange and purple. A living green archway pierced the hedge, draped with thin flowering vines like a curtain. On the other side of the park, a cluster of couches and chairs formed a loose circle within a space marked out by symbols for shield generators.

“Where would you like the statues?” Donvin said.

“How about along the path from arch to pool?”

Donvin’s fingers danced over the terminal. The glowing holographic statues rearranged themselves. “Like this?”

“Perfect.”

“Ready?”

“Let’s do it.” Kalaian stroked her terminal. The Provider in the ground flipped open. They both dropped their terminals into the black square and stepped back. A huge swarm of tiny, glittering gnats flowed out and set to work reshaping the park. The drones flitted about, darting off to drop chairs and tables in the spots laid out for them in the hologram.

“I have a gift for you,” Donvin said. “Something to celebrate your worship of the Lady.”

Kalaian chuckled. “You mean to celebrate dragging me away from the Quickener, surely.”

“Me?” Donvin assumed a look of pious mock horror. “I simply suggested someone of your talents might find joy in service to the Lady, that’s all.”

“So what gift do you have for me?” she purred, pressing against him.

“In order to properly receive it, you will need to disrobe.”

“Really?” She raised an eyebrow. “I like the sound of this already. Very well then.” She reached behind her neck to touch the fastener. Her lightweight, translucent dress floated to the ground, its scintillating colors gleaming in the sun. A small utility drone snatched it up and carried it away. “I’m curious about what you have for me that requires me to be unclothed.”

Donvin produced a small, heavy sphere of dark purple glass from his pocket. He held it out in the palm of his hand. Dim light swirled in its depths. Kalaian reached out to touch it. The moment her fingers brushed its surface, the sphere blazed with brilliance. Colors flowed up her arm and down her body, changing and swirling as they moved. Shapes coalesced from the flowing colors, vines with long stems and thick green leaves wrapping around her arm, down her side, across her leg. 

Buds unfurled along the vines into small flowers in delicate pastel shades. They spread wide, flinging out petals that transformed into brilliant, colorful butterflies, twisting loose from the vines to flutter across her chest and over the curve of her breasts. When they reached her shoulder, they floated free, hanging glittering in the air for a moment before fading.

Kalaian held out her arms and pirouetted. A stream of butterflies whirled in a spiral above her. She clapped her hands with delight. “I want to see!”

A round drone of brilliant blue metal inlaid with bands of dark wood drifted over to hover in front of her. The air before it flickered, then an image appeared before her, a mirror twin of herself. Kalaian laughed and turned this way and that. “It’s gorgeous!” She danced in a small circle, twirling with sinuous grace. The butterflies trailed behind her. “Thank you! It’s lovely!”

The mirror-Kalaian vanished. The drone flitted off. Donvin frowned. He stroked her side with his fingertips, tweaking the shape of one of the vines as it wound around her body. He ran his fingers up over her breast, extending a set of leaves behind them.

Kalaian’s breath caught. She took his hand in hers and folded it over her breast. “Oh. You can’t just tease me like that and not follow through.”

“I can’t?” Donvin grinned. “Why not?”

“Because that would be unfair.” Kalaian ran her fingers over his face. “And I know you wouldn’t want to be unfair.”

“I wouldn’t. Especially on your special day.” He leaned forward. Their lips met.

Around them, the drones darted about, carrying and shifting things. The swarm reshaped the park, its contours flowing like liquid. Donvin and Kalaian ignored the chaos, lost in each other. She slid his hand down her body with a sigh.

Donvin wrapped his arms around her, hands warm against her skin. A sparkling cloud of butterflies fluttered around them. Her tongue flickered against his lips. Her hands slid along his trousers. “Ooh, what’s this? I think you have something else for me, too!”

“If you like,” Donvin said. “I’d hate to be presumptuous.”

“Oh, be presumptuous,” she said. “Perhaps I like when you presume.” She unfastened the front of his pants and grinned mischievously. “Well hello there, you do seem to be in quite the audacious mood! How delicious.”

Donvin stepped back and lifted his shirt. She caught his hands. “It’s more fun if you don’t.” She pressed herself against him, warm skin on smooth fabric. Her fingers slipped into his waistband, exploring, stroking his growing erection. “Perhaps I want to be a little presumptuous myself.”

“I do appreciate a good display of presumption.”

Her eyes sparkled. “Your offer is acceptable.” She pressed him down to the grass in a cloud of small bright butterflies. The glittering throng of mechanical gnats flowed out of their way. Kalaian straddled him, adjusting his dark-colored pants just enough to free his thickening cock. She let out a small gasp as she settled atop him.

“You seem in quite a mood,” Donvin observed, breathless.

“Is that what this is? A mood?” Kalaian purred as she leaned over. She pressed a series of tiny kisses on his lips, feather light, as she shifted atop him. Donvin slid his hands up her sides. Butterflies tumbled around them. A shiver ran through her. She straightened, eyes closed, hands on Donvin’s chest. “Oh! Oh, I think you are getting downright impertinent.”

“Is there anything I can do to…lend a hand?”

“Yes! Yes there is.” Another shudder. “Just stay still, you impertinent man, you. Just…” She threw back her head and cried out.

A glittering green utility drone with iridescent wings drifted down with a large, soft pillow clasped in its gleaming metallic arms. It slipped the pillow behind Donvin’s head, tucking it comfortably under his neck. Above them, brilliant streamers of gold wrapped around the City, flowing along the shield dome. Kalaian moved faster, hips working against Donvin. Her fingers clutched his shirt. “You lovely, wonderfully audacious person! I’m…I’m…” Her body convulsed in ecstasy.

Donvin arched his back, driving deep into her. The drone chimed. “Oh!” Kalaian panted. “It’s time.” She hauled herself to her feet, lifting himself off him.

Donvin gasped, shuddering on the edge of orgasm. “Hey now! I—you—you—you dreadfully insolent—”

“Yes?”

“I hope you’re intending to resume this conversation later!”

“Oh, certainly. I’m looking forward to it.” She extended her hand and helped him stagger to his feet. Her fingertips brushed the head of his cock. “Tuck this away. We wouldn’t want any guests thinking you are being impudent.” As Donvin sputtered, she tugged his trousers closed. “Once you’re in a fit state, be a dear and come help me greet people?”

“I’m not likely to be in a fit state until we finish our conversation,” Donvin grumbled. He smoothed down the front of his shirt.

Kalaian glanced back over her shoulder with a light joyful peal of laughter. “As long as you can pretend for the length of a party, that’s good enough!”