slight rustle of the leaves behind him heralded the soft voice. “He is dead youngling.”
Sanford spun around but was dumbfounded at the vision before him.
Dressed in a skin-tight black leather outfit which left very little to the imagination was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen in his entire life. She had perfect alabaster skin, long silky ebony hair, crystal blue eyes and a body any man would kill to bed. Only the blood dripping from her fangs marred the beauty of the creature.
The dagger fell from Sanford’s hand forgotten as he succumbed to her enchantment. He raised his chin and opened his arms to embrace the vision standing before him. He didn’t even struggle as he felt his life’s blood sucked from his body. His last thoughts were of all the carnal things he wanted to do to the creature which killed him.
Sated, Callistra gazed down at the bound form of Tariq and asked, “And what do we have here?” Leaning down she sniffed the whole of his body. “A creature from the seas of sand by your smell and bound by dwarven magic, interesting.”
The vamp yress ran her hands over the assassin’s body and could feel the different bulges where his weapons were secreted. When her hand grazed over the enchanted dagger he’d received from Al Shaytan there was a spark of magic and she drew her hand back quickly more in surprise than in pain. Carefully, she dug past the magical bands to get at the silver hilt of the dagger. Seeing the ruby pommel and the downward pointing pentagram, she withdrew her hand slowly and studied the bound Arabian once more. Her eyes flashed with anger.
“ Assassin, you and I must talk. But first, I must contact Kastle.”
Pulling out a crudely fashioned wand, she waved it once over the struggling assassin and he began floating gently into the air. Callistra whistled once and the Nightmare moved closer. Muttering a few words in a language that Tariq didn’t understand, the assassin felt himself draped over the saddle and securely fastened.
With another wave of her wand, she transformed into a huge bat and flew off into the night.
As the demon horse began moving south, Tariq stared down at the passing ground and thought, ‘What else could go wrong today?’
Chapter 7
Sunrise found the companions still asleep in the rocks. Tao hadn’t awakened a replacement for the night watch once he discovered how calming meditation was in this reality. He had moved away from the rest of the party and had settled down in the lotus position, with ankles folded up onto his inner thighs and entered the trance of the Sensei. It was enlightening. He was aware of everything around him from the ants in the ground to the owls hunting the night sky. With the first hints of the morning sun, Tao had come out of his trance, stood up and felt more refreshed than any other time of his life.
Gazing out at the lake, Tao could just make out the distant sha pes of several boats. Probably the fishing fleet from the village he hoped to find nearby. Moving over to Gamble, he tapped the dwarf on his foot.
The skald was instantly awake. “Morning.”
Tao looked toward the north where a small plume of smoke signaled the remains of his friend’s pyre and said, “Wake everyone. We’ll be moving soon.”
Gamble watched as his oldest friend wandered off towards the lake. They had been best friends over thirty years and he knew what was bothering the samurai. The Marvin mind-set realized that Mac was still haunted by the men he lost during Desert Storm. Now, Steve’s death would have dredged up those memories in addition to the fresh wounds of Cassie’s loss only four months ago.
Then , there was the fact that they were heading into unknown territory without any information on the region or culture and it was his friend’s responsibility to keep everyone safe. Whether it was the truth or not, didn’t matter. It was how Mac viewed the situation. Marvin’s problem was how could he best help his friend?
Ever
Sanford spun around but was dumbfounded at the vision before him.
Dressed in a skin-tight black leather outfit which left very little to the imagination was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen in his entire life. She had perfect alabaster skin, long silky ebony hair, crystal blue eyes and a body any man would kill to bed. Only the blood dripping from her fangs marred the beauty of the creature.
The dagger fell from Sanford’s hand forgotten as he succumbed to her enchantment. He raised his chin and opened his arms to embrace the vision standing before him. He didn’t even struggle as he felt his life’s blood sucked from his body. His last thoughts were of all the carnal things he wanted to do to the creature which killed him.
Sated, Callistra gazed down at the bound form of Tariq and asked, “And what do we have here?” Leaning down she sniffed the whole of his body. “A creature from the seas of sand by your smell and bound by dwarven magic, interesting.”
The vamp yress ran her hands over the assassin’s body and could feel the different bulges where his weapons were secreted. When her hand grazed over the enchanted dagger he’d received from Al Shaytan there was a spark of magic and she drew her hand back quickly more in surprise than in pain. Carefully, she dug past the magical bands to get at the silver hilt of the dagger. Seeing the ruby pommel and the downward pointing pentagram, she withdrew her hand slowly and studied the bound Arabian once more. Her eyes flashed with anger.
“ Assassin, you and I must talk. But first, I must contact Kastle.”
Pulling out a crudely fashioned wand, she waved it once over the struggling assassin and he began floating gently into the air. Callistra whistled once and the Nightmare moved closer. Muttering a few words in a language that Tariq didn’t understand, the assassin felt himself draped over the saddle and securely fastened.
With another wave of her wand, she transformed into a huge bat and flew off into the night.
As the demon horse began moving south, Tariq stared down at the passing ground and thought, ‘What else could go wrong today?’
Chapter 7
Sunrise found the companions still asleep in the rocks. Tao hadn’t awakened a replacement for the night watch once he discovered how calming meditation was in this reality. He had moved away from the rest of the party and had settled down in the lotus position, with ankles folded up onto his inner thighs and entered the trance of the Sensei. It was enlightening. He was aware of everything around him from the ants in the ground to the owls hunting the night sky. With the first hints of the morning sun, Tao had come out of his trance, stood up and felt more refreshed than any other time of his life.
Gazing out at the lake, Tao could just make out the distant sha pes of several boats. Probably the fishing fleet from the village he hoped to find nearby. Moving over to Gamble, he tapped the dwarf on his foot.
The skald was instantly awake. “Morning.”
Tao looked toward the north where a small plume of smoke signaled the remains of his friend’s pyre and said, “Wake everyone. We’ll be moving soon.”
Gamble watched as his oldest friend wandered off towards the lake. They had been best friends over thirty years and he knew what was bothering the samurai. The Marvin mind-set realized that Mac was still haunted by the men he lost during Desert Storm. Now, Steve’s death would have dredged up those memories in addition to the fresh wounds of Cassie’s loss only four months ago.
Then , there was the fact that they were heading into unknown territory without any information on the region or culture and it was his friend’s responsibility to keep everyone safe. Whether it was the truth or not, didn’t matter. It was how Mac viewed the situation. Marvin’s problem was how could he best help his friend?
Ever
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