Author's notes:

Happy winter solstice and merry Christmas

I've been busy and the holidays are coming, so my initial plan of posting a chapter once per week might not succeed. Sorry about that.

About the language and notation:

The Baylon language is a predecessor to Latin, which is why it looks like Latin at a glance.

Mental communication is denoted by a < and ends with a >, so a mental communication will look like this: "< Who are you? >"

Some warnings:

This is erotic action adventure, meaning that there will be both sex and violence, but I don't mix the two.

This story is posted on the Literotica website and the author does not give permission for it to be reposted or reprinted anywhere else without consent.

P.S. I haven't gotten an editor yet, so any mistakes are mine. Interested editors are welcome :)

That being said, I run everything I make through a text editor (Word) as well as reading it through several times. Now, being a non-native English speaker, that mean that there will be errors I wont catch no matter how many times I read it. Sorry about that and I hope for editor to show up at some point and give me a much needed hand.

P.P.S. While you're here anyway, please rate the chapter and leave a comment :)

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Chapter 27 -- Flashback: Taking the initiative

Baylon Empire, ca. 1219 BCE

After Varro and I had delivered our report, he was checked into a hospital to have his arm reattached, and I had a few weeks on my own.

I would have visited my parents if I could, but they were still in Kemet, so that was out of the question. I also didn't want to go back to Arcem Discendi just yet, leaving me with an odd feeling of having nowhere to go. Everything I owned was either at Arcem or at my parent's house, and while I knew they wouldn't mind me sleeping in my old room, I had been away for so many years, that I felt like a visitor when I was there.

Instead, I had a mage gate me to the capitol. Last time I had been there, I hadn't taken the time to really enjoy the sights and it had been my intention to do it this time, but I hadn't taken the Disease into account, or rather the amount of damage insane mages had done to the city.

The outer circle, where my parents' house was located, was relatively unharmed, which I guessed was due to the relative few mages that had been living there, but when I came to the merchant and mage quarters, many of the buildings were heavily damaged. The damage also extended to the parks and many of them looked like a giant tornado had gone through them.

Several of the bridges were missing, forcing me to take several detours as I made my way towards the trade quarter, with its many small shops and cafés.

The area was in better shape than I had feared, as the damage was concentrated around the main road through the quarter, leaving the side streets alone and while most of the main street was closed off for repairs, the side streets were almost as busy as the last time I was here.

That cheered me up for a while until I realised, that before the Disease the popular shops on the main street were responsible for at least two thirds of the trading and that the side streets weren't more crowded now, was because the capitol had lost almost two thirds on the inhabitants in the first turbulent months after the Disease had arrived.

Naturally, that also meant fewer people walking in the parks and the amount of houses that were for sale was staggering. Buying a house in the capitol used to be a rare occasion, that only well-to-do families could afford. That the city was divided up in rings depending on the family's social rank and occupation, didn't make it easier.

As an example, you had to be a registered merchant to buy a house on the ring that contained the merchant quarter, and to buy a house on the Mage Ring, you had to be a Mage. While some found these laws restrictive, it worked both ways. Nobles couldn't just buy houses on the Merchant and Trade Ring, unless they personally had a shop there, and Mages couldn't buy a house in the Crafters Quarter on the Outer Ring, unless they were actively crafting something.

There were special cases, but that was the general principle, and it didn't take genius to figure out, that with all the deaths, there were many more houses for sale, than there were people buying them. Especially since the Disease had hit the cities hard and those living in the countryside wasn't keen on moving to any city before it was considered safe again.

It suddenly dawned on me, that if I ever were to get a house, now was the time to find and buy ones, since they had to be relatively cheap now.

I also had lots of money. Mostly because I was either at my parents' house or at Arcem when I was not on a mission, and I had been so busy, that I never had time to use the money I earned.

Liking the idea of having my own house, I found a café overlooking a park and sat down on the outdoor terrace with a glass of cider to relax a little and make a wish list of the things I wanted a house to have, for it to be perfect.

That didn't take long. I wasn't really used to luxury, at least not by Baylon standards, and what I really wanted was some of the things my parents' house had, like a bath with both hot and cold water, a nice garden to relax and train in, and room enough for servants. That last part was mostly due to me not really wanting to do housework in my spare time and after having been living either at home or at a training castle, I had never really learned how to cook, so a cook would be needed.

With a chuckle, I drank the last of my cider and left the café. Instead of making lists, it was a lot easier to just visit a real estate merchant and see what they had.

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Finding a real estate merchant took longer than I had thought it would. There was so little trade in houses, that most of it was done privately, causing most of the real estate merchants to close their business and try other venues in order to earn money.

However, when I mentioned it to Varro when I visited him at the hospital, he gave me the name of a merchant, who apparently knew just about everybody and could arrange for me to meet some of the people, who were looking to sell their houses.

To my amazement I knew one of them, as it was Lucia Evander Ultes, the guard I had meet, and subsequently had sex with, in Dilmun. As she told me at the time, she was related to Ambassador Ultes and it was the Ambassadors house she was selling on behalf of the family. The Disease had hit them hard, and they had more houses than they knew what to do with, so now they were selling some of them.

The Ambassadors house was smaller than I had expected for a high-ranking official, but the Ultes family had several other, and larger, houses in the city and as Ambassador Ultes had used most of her time in the human world, she hadn't needed that much room.

That was perfect for me, as I was in the exact same situation and the house not only had a pool with both hot and cold water, but also a garden to relax or train in, a master bedroom with a very large bed, and rooms for guests, as well as a few servants.

On top of that, the house was decorated with items from the Ambassadors postings, and many of those was easily recognizable to me, as I had been in the same places. The house even came equipped with runes for cleaning, heating, chilling, lights, soundproofing and just about everything else, that would make life more comfortable. It even had a small magical forge, as the Ambassadors first husband had been a crafter from Ordo Architectus.

The biggest surprise was the price. I had expected a house like that to be worth a lot of money, and before the Disease it certainly would have been way more expensive than I could afford, but now it only cost me a little more than half of my savings. Granted, with all the money I had made from trading, the gold I had received from Ramesses the Great, and years of unspent salaries from both Ordo Gladius and the Securitas, it was still a considerable sum of money, but it was only a fifth of what such a house would have been worth before.

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Half a year later, I had just returned to the house from a mission and was relaxing in the garden, when I got a long-distance communication from Varro and after the usual catching-up, he said, "< Ivah, I need a favour >"

His mental tone of voice told me it was serious, so I just sent. "< Do tell >"

"< Could you spend some time with Sabia Lartius? Loosing most of her power have really taken its toll on her and she could use someone to talk with that isn't part of the family... Especially now that Laura have gotten her kids back and doesn't have as much time to talk as she used to >"

I sighed. After having spent half a year hunting insane mage in the southern part of Baylon along with the Dragon Riders, a group of mounted knights riding the magical constructs known as Dragons, I was more than ready for two weeks of vacation. On the other hand, Varro sounded so worried, that it was hard for me to say no.

"< Well, good that they got the kids out, but why me? She must know lots of people >"

"< Because she asked for you. Everybody here knows her from before and she wants to talk with someone who doesn't >"

"< That's understandable >" I thought it over. "< I have some time off now. She can come here for some days to relax and think of something else for a change. Just make sure, that she has practical shoes and clothes with her >"

Varro didn't ask why, but simply said, "< Thank you. When can she arrive? >"

"< As soon as she can. I'm just relaxing here >"

"< She'll be there in a glass or so >"

"< Perfect >"

True to Varro's words, Sabia Lartius arrived within a glass along with two armsmen, and like the last time I saw her, the first thing I noticed was her strikingly blue eyes, which was a huge contrast to the black skin.

This time she had her long white hair set up in a ponytail, showing off her elegant neck. As I had asked Varro, she was in a practical knee-length dress. That it also showed off her curvy body was a bonus I was more than happy to accept.

However, despite her obvious beauty, I sensed that she was mentally exhausted and needed a serious break from whatever she had been doing so far.

"Welcome to my home." I greeted her and nodded to the two guards. Their duty done, they nodded back and walked away.

"Hello again, Ivah." Sabia said with a smile. "I didn't know you lived in Ambassador Ultes old house."

"Well, I wanted a house, and it was for sale." I said and walked her inside. "Have you been here before?"

"Several times. The Ambassador wasn't at home much, but when she was, she liked to be social."

"Excellent, then you can give me a hand with redecorating this place." I stated. "I haven't had time to do anything with the house, so its standing like it did when the Ambassador owned it and I want to change that."

That made her raise an eyebrow. "You want me to help you with that?"

I nodded. "Yes. I'm honestly not good at putting furniture and other stuff into a room and make it look like a home. Besides that, Varro said, that you wanted to talk and it's easier to talk when there's something to do. Otherwise, it quickly becomes awkward." Looking at her, I added. "I hope you don't have something better to do."

"No... It's just unexpected." She said with a chuckle. "But I'll be happy to help."

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Redecorating the house took almost a week. Mostly because I didn't have any servants yet and refused to use Ars Mentalis to move anything, so the two of us had to move the things and clean the rooms ourselves. Sabia didn't seem to mind, and we talked a lot, while we moved stuff from one room to another. Mostly about the redecorating the house, so that the main features were kept, but with enough changes to make it mine.

However, as the days went by, she started to talk about how she felt about the loss of her powers, her family's reaction to that, and how she was tired of everybody tiptoeing around her, afraid to say anything that might remind her about the trauma she had been through.

While trying to shield her was a natural reaction from the people that cared about her, it wasn't a healthy way to deal with mental traumas and I wondered why the family haven't sent her to a mind-healer, but on the other hand, I doubted that Sabia was ready to have anyone look into her mind just yet.

On the bonus side, my plan seemed to work well so far. With all the physical labour we did, Sabia was tired enough to sleep at night instead of laying awake thinking and when the end of the week arrived, she looked a lot less haunted than when she arrived.

I had made sure, that the food we had gotten during the week had been tasty, but simple, nutritious, and filling, but since we were more or less done with the redecorating, I felt that we needed to celebrate it. So when it was dinner time, I called off the work and after we had bathed and put on some other clothes, we found a nice restaurant and had our dinner there, sharing a bottle or two of red wine. The meal was excellent, the wine made her talkative and we stayed for almost six glass, before she started to yawn.

That signaled the end of the evening and we had a nice stroll through the city, before we reached my house where we went to separate beds. Not that I haven't toyed with the idea of seducing her, but it just didn't seem like the right thing to do. Not right now at least.

On the other hand, I wasn't ready to go to bed just yet, so when I thought she had fallen asleep, I walked into the garden with a cup of tea and a drawing pad for some hours of relaxation.

I had just finished a drawing when the sound of soft footsteps told me that she was awake.

Looking up, I studied her as she entered the garden, carrying a cup of tea in one hand. The hair was slightly messy from sleeping and she was dressed only in a thin white cotton dress, that clang to her body as she moved, showing off her curves.

The dress was thin enough to reveal that she had nothing on beneath except a pair of silk panties and her dark red nipples poked out against the cloth from a pair of good-sized and almost perfectly round tits.

The sight made me smile in appreciation.

She smiled back, showing her impossible white teeth against the black skin. "Yes, I know I look like a mess. I always do when I have been sleeping."

"Oh. I was smiling because you look both lovely and sexy." I said truthfully. "Not because you look like a mess."

Sabia glanced down on the ring on her right hand for a second, but then looked at me with an expression of surprise on her face. "Even without power?"

That made me snort. "I couldn't care less about power. You're sexy as well as beautiful and that's the end of that."

Again, the look to her hand, and I realized that the ring was most likely a magical item, that detected if people were lying to her. While that was normally a useful and helpful item, I couldn't think of a worse item to wear in her condition.

People tend to lie a little to comfort a person that had suffered. Sentences like 'You look great' or 'No worries, you'll find something else to do.' was not always completely truthful and for Sabia, it must have felt like people were lying to her all the time. Especially since such items and powers couldn't differ between a white lie, designed to make a person feel better, and an outright harmful lie.

Looking like she considered something, Sabia kept walking until she reached the table I was sitting by. Placing the cup of tea on the table, she looked at me, blue eyes sparkling. "Was that why you decided to give me pleasure instead of pain when you revived me in Sybaris?"

Slightly surprised that Varro have told her that she had been dead, I shook my head. "Not really. At least not as a conscious thought. The idea of using pain only came to me when I explained to Varro what I had done."

With a chuckle, she said, "It would had been so easy to say 'yes', wouldn't it? But then again, you and Decimus are the only ones that doesn't lie to me."

"Makes sense." I said. "We're educated the same place and taught not to lie, since a lot of mages and mentats can detect lies, so telling a version of the truth becomes a habit."

She lifted her eyebrows. "A version of the truth?"

"Yes. There're no reason to tell everybody everything all the time." I drank from the cup. "And you should let go of that ring. People will tell you white lies, so they don't risk hurting your feelings, but it just detects as a lie, and people who care about you will." I stressed the word. "lie to you in order to protect you from a harsh truth. However, their intentions are not wicked, and they do it for you."

Sabia sighed. "I know... It's just so useful."

I shook my head. "No. Right now it's hurtful and do you more harm than good. So, take it off until you're in a better state of mind."

"I'll take it off tomorrow then." She agreed. "I'll need it tonight."

I almost asked 'For what?' but caught myself. We weren't going anywhere, so it could only be for something she was going to ask me. "That's fair. What's your question?"

Sabia hesitated for a moment, but then asked. "Have you ever been with a woman without powers?"

"Yes." I sent her a grin. "Many times."

She widened her eyes in surprise but smiled a little. "That's unusual. What do you mean by many times?"

"Well, are you asking about how many times or how many different women?"

"Both, I guess." She said after a moment of hesitation.

I thought it over, pleasant memories flashing through my head. The most prominent being the maids at Arcem, Jia, Jia's sister Hao, Xue the Handmaiden, Shava, Vibhrama, Sevina the Cook, Nofret the Kemetian acolyte of Bastet, Xanthe of Azzi and Muza from Wilusa. "I'm not totally sure, but at least ten different women... which, now that I think about it, is almost twice as many as the number of Baylon women I have been with."

"Kinky." Sabia said with a giggle.

"Not really. I like women and have spent a lot of time in the human world." I shrugged. "It's more a matter of opportunity, than preference."

"So, what do you actually prefer?" She asked calmly.

"Beautiful, smart and independent women, who enter my bed willingly." I replied and stood to place the drawing pad on the table. "Baylon or human, light skinned or dark skinned, power or no power. I don't care as long as I find them desirable." Reaching out, I gently ran my fingers over her chin and down the soft skin of her neck. "Like you."

A quick intake of breath, coupled with a spike of desire, told me that I haven't read her wrong. The whole reason for the keeping the truth-ring on, was to determine if I was willing to go to bed with someone that had lost their power.

Had she been human, I would have told her to just look in a mirror, but as many Baylons found the mental connection to be the most important part of sharing pleasure, her worries were quite real and understandable.

I didn't have any such reservations and when my fingers had travelled to the back of her neck, I pulled her close, enjoying the feel of her shapely body against mine.

Sabia shivered and put her arms around my neck, pulling me in for a kiss. It seemed like her former hesitation had gone, and a shiver ran down my body as her full lips pressed against mine. The lips were wonderfully soft, but the kiss itself was firm and as we kissed, she leaned against me, almost purring when she felt my rapidly growing erection.

Letting go of her neck, I slid my hands around her waist and returned her embrace, pressing her a little harder against me.

Sabia moaned her appreciation and tightened her arms around my neck, as her lips parted, and her soft wet tongue slipped from her mouth. Since my lips had been following hers, our tongues met, playing against each other.

Wriggling her hips, Sabia found the spot where my stiff dick met her love-pearl through the clothes and pressed against it, eagerly moving her hips slightly from side to side, emitting a sexy moan into my mouth. Her arms left my shoulders and travelled down my back, adding leverage to her hips.

Two could play that game I decided and moved my hands down to her firm, round ass and gave it a hard squeeze that made her groan and ease her upper body away from me a little. The slight distance allowed her to get her hands between us and a moment later she was un-buttoning my shirt, without ever stopping our kiss.

Since her dress were buttoned at the front like my shirt, I couldn't return the favour without our hands colliding, so instead I ran my hands up her back to her head and ran my fingers through her long white hair, before I cradled her head with my hands as I kissed her.

Her kiss grew even more intense and at the same time the last button in the shirt was opened. A moment later she had pulled it off me, letting her warm hands slide over the naked skin of my chest.

Breaking the kiss, I winked to her, moved my hands to her shoulders and turned her around before I embraced her from behind.

As she had done before, Sabia leaned back into me and sighed happily as I kissed my way down her neck. The sigh turned into a moan when I moved my hands over her breasts, feeling her hard nipples against the palm of my hand before I moved to the buttons of the dress.

I took my time opening them while licking and biting my way up her neck again, reaching her earlobe and gently nibbled it, causing her to shiver and move her ass in slow circles, pressing against my cock. I kissed my way to the other side of her neck, and she moved her head, allowing me easier access.

The last button of the dress snapped open, and I slid my hand under the cloth, cupped her breast and gave them a gentle squeeze. They were soft, yet firm at the same time and fitted perfectly into my hands.

Sabia moaned softly when I stroked her nipples with my thumbs, while my tongue and lips played on the soft skin of her neck.

"This feels so good." She whispered. "Way better that I had dreamed about."

"Good." I whispered into her ear and moved my hands from her breasts to her shoulders, so I could slide the top of her dress out over her shoulders. Then I took a small step back, creating space between us, allowing the dress to glide down her body and end up on the floor.

I took a few heartbeats to admire her almost naked body. The smooth jet-black skin shining faintly in the light from the magical lamps. The slim waist and the swell of her hips.

With a slight smile, I embraced her again, kissing her now naked shoulder while my hands explored her body. Almost by itself my right hand found her firm breast again, fondling it, while the other went downwards, slipping under the silken cloth of her panties to find a small patch of hair with a soft, smooth, and very wet pussy under it.

Sabia groaned and shivered as I ran my fingers through her moist lips a few times, before I moved my wet fingers to her love-pearl, making circles on top of the sensitive organ.

"Good Goddess!" She sighed and leaned her head back against my shoulder. "It's been so long, and this is flaming amazing!"

As I was still busy kissing her shoulders and neck, I didn't answer. Instead, I kept teasing her love-pearl, enjoying her soft moans and the way her hips jerked when my fingers hit just right. From time to time my hand strayed a little further down, dipping my fingers between the lips of her wet pussy, before going back to her love-pearl.

It was only when I sensed that impatience threatened to overrule her pleasure, that I slowly eased two fingers inside her. Her pussy was not only soaked, but also very hot and tight. With a tremble, she sighed as my fingers penetrated deep into her moist flesh and I felt a shiver of pleasure running down my back when her pussy contracted, squeezing my fingers.

I started slowly, working my fingers in and out of her in long slow strokes, while listening to her moans and feeling how her body reacted.

Keeping the pace, I found her hard nipple with the other hand and pinched it gently. Sabia moaned her approval and reached between us to feel my hard cock and rubbed it for a while. Then she found the belt buckle and after some tries, she managed to open it.

My pants fell to the floor and now it was my turn to moan as her soft, slender hand found my hard dick and caressed it, squeezing the hard shaft with one hand, while the other played on the head. It felt heavenly.

Then she yelped as I shoved my fingers so deep inside her, that the palm of my hand connected with her love-pearl.

"Oh shit! You really know how to use those fingers!" She groaned and then gave of a soft cry, when I began to move my hand hard and fast. Giving her internal pleasure center a good hard rub as my fingers plunging harder into the wet heat of her pussy and worked the palm of my hand against her love-pearl.

Sabia responded by moving her hips in circles, pushing into my hand. It didn't take long before she was gasping with every thrust I made and her hands on my dick stopped moving as her body tensed up.

"Faster." She mumbled. "You're making me come."

I moved faster and she began yelping and squirming as her hips grinded against my palm and her pussy convulsed around my thrusting fingers.

Then she screamed loudly as she exploded in a long orgasm, her pussy squirting and pulsing around my fingers. I kept the pace even as she came, holding her up with the other arm as the waves of pleasure ran through her body.

As always, I automatically absorbed the Vis she emitted as she came, and like last time, there was a lot of it. Far more than I would have expected from an untrained person.

It was something to keep in mind for later, I decided and gradually slowed down the movements of my hand, trying to time it with Sabia getting down from her orgasmic high.

Then she straightened her legs and turned her head so we could kiss. "Goddess, that was good. I don't think I've ever come that hard!" Her hand started to caress my stiff dick again. "But now I want that inside me. Right away. I want to be fucked."

I kissed her again, as my hands searched for and found her panties. Then I yanked them down over her hips and let them go. Still kissing me, Sabia used her legs to make sure they went all the way to the floor, and then stepped out of them.

Then I took hold of both her arms and pulled them behind her, causing her to arch her back. Bending slightly, I eased my dick in between her long, black legs, finding the entrance to her dripping pussy and slid inside in a single stroke. The inner walls of her pussy were still pulsing from her orgasm and it felt fantastic.

"Ohhh Yes!" She moaned. "Give it to me."

I started a slow thrust in and out, causing her to arch her body further to get even more inside, so I put an arm around her, enabling me to fondle her perfect breasts and nipple her neck while we slowly fucked.

"Soooo gooood!" She groaned and made small circles with her ass, sending shivers down my spine.

"Oh yeah!" I agreed and interrupted the rhythm by thrusting into her hard. She groaned, and I pulled out slowly then thrust hard into her again. And again. Each thrust causing her to shiver and groan.

I picked up the pace, driving into her faster and faster, the slapping sounds of our bodies hitting each other filing the room along with her groans. Wanting to get a better grip on her, I released her arms and moved my hands to her hips.

Sabia leaned forward to rest her arms on the table, which just made her ass look even better. I slapped it, causing her to moan, and started to fuck her with long, hard, and fast strokes, loving the feeling of her clenching pussy around my hard cock.

She was also quite a sexy sight as well as she stood bend over with her back arched, the flesh of her ass rippling each time I thrust into her.

"Ohhh ...Pull... my... ohhh... hair." She managed to say.

Reaching out, I took hold of her long white hair and pulled, forcing her head to lift, while I pounded her over and over, feeling her pussy tightening bit by bit around my cock.

"Play with you love-pearl." I managed to say between thrusts. She moved an arm from the table and a moment later I felt her fingers rubbing her love-pearl hard and fast. I straightened a little, changing the angle of my thrusts so there was more pressure on the internal pleasure center.

It took only a few strokes more, then she howled as her body became rigid for a couple of heartbeats, and her pussy clamped down on my cock. I continued to fuck her as hard as I could and to my pleasant surprise, she came again, squirting once more as she did so.

Sabia was heaving for breath and her quivering legs threatened to give way under her, so I focused on holding her up, while slowing down my thrusts until I lazily slid in and out of her, just enjoying the feel of her pussy around my dick.

Without saying anything she suddenly staggered forward, causing my dick to leave her, and let herself slump down in the chair I had been sitting in when she had arrived.

Her blue eyes were slightly out of focus and she sounded like she was drunk, or at least tipsy, when she smilingly said. "That was insane, Ivah. That was some of the best sex I've ever had!"

"Thank you." I said with an answering smile and let my eyes glide over her tempting jet-black body, which made the patch of white hair between her legs stand out even more.

Sabia looked at my dick, still rock hard, and frowned. "You didn't come?"

"No, but that doesn't matter." I said with a wink. "I get high from getting you off."

She seemed to consider that for a moment. "Come over here."

Knowing what she wanted, I walked the few steps to the chair and Sabia immediately reached out, took hold of my stiff cock, and gently dragged me even closer. Close enough for her to lean a little forward and taking the hard dick into her mouth.

I groaned as she ran her tongue around the head of my cock before licking slowly down the length of my shaft, sending shivers of pleasure through my body. Then she went the other way, working her tongue back up to the tip, where she opened wide and took me deep into her hot wet mouth.

The feeling was sensational, as she shook her head slowly back and forth, her tongue working my shaft as she moved the head of my cock around within the hot confines of her amazing mouth, while stroking the shaft with her hands.

I moaned at the feeling and it only became better, when she looked up into my eyes, as she began bobbing her head in a slow steady rhythm, her lips gliding over the head, while the tongue played on it as well and her hand continued to stroke the shaft.

Then she closed her eyes and bobbed her head faster as the other hand slipped between my legs to cup my balls, gently fondling them as her soft wet mouth worked its magic on my cock.

"That feels so good." I moaned, as my hips began to rock back and forth by themselves and I could feel my own orgasm coming nearer.

She nodded without breaking the rhythm, but started to suck as well, adding to the sensation.

At that point I gave up holding back and just enjoyed the treatment she gave me, as the combination of her lips sliding over my cock, the tongue licking, the feeling of one hand stroking the shaft and the other fondling my balls, rapidly bringing me closer and closer to an orgasm.

"I'm going to come." I warned her in a moan, but she just continued and a few heartbeats later the moan turned into a groan, as my cock erupted in her mouth, sending spurt after spurt of semen down her throat. My hips were jerking uncontrollably, and my legs trembled, as the intense feeling of pleasure shot through me.

Sabia groaned and sank as fast as she could, and while it felt like I poured an entire flask into her mouth, she managed to keep up without spilling a drop.

When she was sure that nothing more was coming, she released my dick and looked up at me with a grin on her face. "Now, I can sleep with a clean conscience."

"Good to know." I replied with a smile, leaning against the table. "I guess that mean that you're going back to bed now."

She nodded with a yawn. "Yes. I came out here because I woke up and couldn't fall sleep again." She chuckled as she stood from the chair. "I think it's safe to say that you cured me of that condition." She gave me a kiss. "Thanks for sharing pleasure with me, Ivah."

"Any time." I said as I reached out and dragged her into a hug, enjoying the feel of her voluptuous body against mine. "Sweet dreams."

"You too."

With a smile, she picked up her clothes and walked towards the corridor leading to the guestrooms, ass swaying seductively.

"Sabia." I called, causing her to stop and turn to look at me. "Yes?"

"Besides being beautiful and sexy, I think you're a very intelligent woman."

"Why do I sense that there's a 'but' to that sentence?"

"Because you are smart." I said with a smile. "I just wanted to remind you to take off that detection ring. It's not good for you at the moment."

She laughed softly turned to walk again, saying "I'll consider it."

I waited until she had gone and then sat down in the chair, my mind returning to the extraordinary amount of Vis she had emitted when she came.

Normally, people with a troubled mind doesn't produce a lot of Vis, but either Sabia was an exception to that or the amount of Vis she had emitted during her orgasm, was much lower than her normal level, which would be incredible. Either way, Sabia had a lot of natural Vis Vitae.

However, she most likely wasn't the only one and it was more than likely, that at least some of the nearly three thousand survivors had an amount of Vis that would enable them to use Vis Meditation. If not battle meditation, which was notoriously hard to do, then at least Vis healing.

Teaching them Vis Meditation would not only aid the Ordo, but also give the survivors a new purpose in life and a reason to live. Something that was highly needed as many of the survivors had trouble adjusting to a life without Power and wasted away, having lost the desire to be alive.

To most Baylons, the ability to affect the world in some degree with the use of their personal power, was what made them Baylon to begin with and without that power they were nothing. The mind healers could help some of the victims but as the law forbade the healers to make any change to the patient's personality, they couldn't help all of them. Even the minuscule changes I had made in Sabia's mind had been dangerous close to breaking that law.

It would require a whole new department of the Ordo Gladius, but as it would benefit everybody involved, that shouldn't be a problem. Especially not since we were grossly understaffed at the moment, as many had died to either the Disease or from trying to stop insane mages and mentats from destroying Baylon and everything on it.

There was only one, that could give arrange the new department I had in mind, so I reached used an Ars Mentalis trick and contacted Dominus Grande Maximus. "< Sir, this is Spectre. Do you have a moment? I have an idea and while it's controversial, it might work >"

"< Hello, Spectre >" He answered. "< I'm eating dinner, so you have a glass to convince me of your idea >"

Shifting in my seat to get more comfortable, I asked "< Is there anything that forbid Ordo Gladius to make a new department? >"

"< Not after we became an official Ordo >" He answered. "< I assume that you think we should make one >"

A lot of things had changed since the Disease broke out and one of them was the status of the Ordo Gladius. Where it had been a secret Ordo before the Disease, it was now an official Ordo. As it had been our duty to clear out the infected mages, thus saving a lot of people in the process, most people now saw the Ordo as one of the most prestigious ones.

"< Yes, Sir. I think that having a department, that only teach and use Vis Vitae would be extremely useful >"

"< You better explain that because I can't see how we would get anyone to join such a department. Not to mention, that without the Artes, they would be too weak for any serious work >"

"< With all due respect, Sir, sending Inquisitors on many of the missions we do in the human world, is like sending tigers to protect chickens against foxes. Especially the ones that involves more than one Inquisitor >" I sent, making my mental tone dry. "< As for the usefulness, most of the healers in Ordo Gladius, myself included, use Vis Vitea in addition to the Artes. >"

Mental laughter filled the link. "< You might have a point, Spectre, but as I said, how will you get people to join that department? >"

"< First of all, I would get a famous person to join >"

"< Who? >" He asked before I had a chance to continue.

"< Sabia Lartius >" I said.

"< I guess you mean the young Tenebris and not the old senator >" He sent.

"< Yes, Sir. Sabia Lartius has an incredible amount of Vis for someone without any training >" I replied. "< That also answer your question about who would join. Some of those who survived the Disease without going insane would be thrilled of learning a new power, no matter how insignificant they would have deemed it before >"

There was silent for a long moment before he sent. "< So we recruit them as potential Vis healers and support personnel, giving them a purpose and a new, if lesser, power? >"

"< Yes, Sir. I know they don't have the long-range communication of a normal Inquisitor, but that can be corrected by simply giving them a magical item >"

Again, he was silent for a while and I assumed that he was thinking it over. Then he sent. "< That idea is so good, that I will have to talk it over with Master Vibius of Ordo Arbites. I need to know, if we run into any legal problems by recruiting members that're technical still members of Ordo Mentalis or Ordo Magica. I'll get back to you later >"

"< Yes, Sir >" I replied and a heartbeat later, the link closed.

I waited patiently for a glass, before I realised that with Arcem being halfway around the world, it would most likely take some time before the Dominus Grande could contact anybody, so I followed Sabia's example and went to bed.

------------------------

The familiar feeling of Dominus Grande Maximus trying to establish a link woke me up and I used a few heartbeats to clear my head, before opening the link.

"< Good morning, Spectre." Said the Dominus Grande, "< The Ordo Arbites have approved the recruitment of survivors of the Disease for a new department. Mostly because survivors of the Disease are only members of their former Ordo in name, since the law clearly states that any member of an Ordo have be able to use Powers >"

"< That's a good start, Sir >" I commented, trying to get my still sleeping mind to work.

"< Indeed it is, Spectre, but before we can make an official department, I want it tested to see if the survivors can handle the training and the job >" He paused for a moment. "< If you can persuade Sabia Lartius to join us, we can test it out with her >"

"< Yes, Sir, but that might take some time >"

"< I'm aware of that and you will be transferred to administrative duties for the next six months. I hope that is time enough >"

"< I hope so, Sir. Can I show her Arcem and some Vis Vitae? >"

"< Yes, provided the usual safety measures are in place >"

"< Yes, Sir >"

"< Oh and Spectre, swing by my office when you come here >"

The link closed again and with a sigh I walked to the kitchen for a cup of tea and some breakfast. Judging from the light outside, it was early morning and now that I had woken up, I didn't feel like going back to bed, so I walked to the garden on the roof and enjoyed the weather, while thinking about how to persuade Sabia to join the Ordo, and talking with a few people that might be able to help.

However, after more than a few glass without any signs of her, I walked to her bedroom to see what was holding her up, but the only thing I found, was a note on the door, telling me that she had gone out to buy some things she needed.

Satisfied that her confidence was returning, I used her absence to clean the whole house, using Ars Mentalis. I had avoided using it, so she wouldn't be reminded of her lost powers, but since she wasn't here, I might as well get it done.

------------------------

Sabia had a happy smile on her face and two large bags in her hands, when she entered the house several glass later.

"I don't know if it was sharing pleasure with you or our talks that have helped." She said as she placed the bags on a table. "But I feel so much better than I did when I arrived that it's ridiculous." Her smile widened as she walked over to me and gave me a hug and a kiss. "Thanks for both."

I hugged her back. "You're more than welcome." I glanced over at the bags. "Shopping?"

"Yes, I needed some clothes."

"Oh, I don't know about that. You look just fine without them." I said jokingly.

That made her laugh. "You know, for a Mentat, you're rather physical oriented."

I nodded. "It has been remarked upon before, but to be honest, I don't give a rat's ass. I'll take a lovely woman with a charming mind over a gorgeous mind in an ordinary body any day." With a wink, I continued. "and since you have a gorgeous mind in a stunning body, you're almost impossible to resist."

Still laughing, she said. "Stop making me embarrassed!"

"You mean 'horny', right?" I asked with a grin.

She nodded with a slight smile. "Both, to be honest... and I don't know why, which is frustrating."

"Oh, that's because most of your life, your sense of lust has been controlled by your mind, which turned on the body. Now it's the other way around, and your mind isn't used to that... yet." I explained. "Don't worry, you'll get used to it."

She tilted her head as she looked at me. "How do you know that?"

"I overheard a healer explaining it to a patient." I chuckled and let a hand slide up her side, making her shiver. "There's isn't much you can do about it, but you can enjoy it, instead of trying to stop it."

She thought for a moment, mumbled, "Fair, I guess." and kissed me with a hunger that sent shivers down my spine. Then she broke the kiss and gave me a hug, whispering "Both my body and mind have been screaming for pleasure all day. I want you." into my ear.

Closing my arms around her, I lifted her up and placed her next to her bags on the table before I kissed her softly. She moaned a little as our lips touched and reached up to hold my head as her tongue came out to play.

One of the advantages of being a Mentat instead of a Magi, was that Ars Mentalis didn't need words or gestures and I took advantage of this by simply using a simple Ars Mentalis trick that made our clothes disappear, ending up in a neat pile on a chair.

Sabia grunted in surprise, but then moaned as my hands found her now naked breasts. Big and firm, they were warm and soft to the touch, and from the moans she liked having them grabbed. Her nipples stiffened against my palms and when I caught a nipple between my fingers and squeezed it carefully, the moans became deep groans.

Another Ars Mentalis trick moved the bags to another table, leaving enough room on the table for her to lean back, as I applied pressure on her upper body. My mouth left hers and travelled down her smooth, jet-black skin until they reached her nipples, where I sucked one of them into my mouth and flicked my tongue on it.

Sabia almost growled, as she grabbed my head and pulled me closer against her breasts, causing me to suck harder, flicking my tongue harder over her erect nipple inside my mouth, while fondling the other breasts with my hand.

She started to tremble under me, feeling a lot like the start of an orgasm. Just to test it, I switched to the other breast and did exactly the same there with my mouth, while using my hands to fondle both tits at the same time.

The tremble became more intense and for a moment I though she was going to come from breast play alone, but it levelled out instead of increasing and after a while, I moved on to the next target, sliding my mouth and tongue over her flat stomach to the little white bush. Using my lips only, I caught some of the hair and pulled gently to wake up the nerves before I continued down between her legs.

Taking a deep breath, I inhaled the scent of her pussy, as I dragged my tongue from top to bottom and back up, finishing the move with a flick of my tongue on her love-pearl.

"Goddess!" She breathed, grabbing the edge of the table.

I continued to tease her a while, focusing on licking and nibbling her lower lips, only occasionally letting my tongue come into contact with her love-pearl.

Finally, I decided that there had been enough teasing, so I reached up and fondled her magnificent breasts and slid my tongue upwards, found her love-pearl and drew a few circles around it, before I made my tongue firm and gave it a swift licking.

That did wonders. Her hips buckled wildly and the growl that had started in her throat turned into a scream of pleasure. The hands left the edge of the table, grabbed my hair, and pressed my face into her crotch as the orgasm rolled through her.

It took her a while to get down from that and I softly licked her until I sensed that she was becoming too sensitive and stood up from the slightly awkward position I had been sitting in.

Sabia relaxed on the table, lifting her head to look groggily at me with a smile on her face. "That was insanely good!" The smile widened a bit. "I always thought that the rumours telling stories about how good Inquisitors are in bed were wildly exaggerated, but you continue to prove me wrong."

"We aim to please." I said with a grin and a slight bow.

"I have something better you can aim for." She said with a wink, and swept her long legs up into the air and wrapped them firmly around the small of my back, using them to pull me closer, making my stiff dick touch her wet pussy. The height of the table was perfect and a moment later, the head was positioned between the lips of her pussy.

I reached out and fondled her breasts again, as I pushed forward, slowly sinking into her tight pussy. She was so wet from both the licking and arousal, that I slid all the way to the bottom in one long stroke.

"Now, fuck me like you mean it." Sabia groaned.

Not one to be told twice, I didn't start up slow like I usually do. Instead, I moved my hands from her tits, took a firm hold of her hips and pounded her as hard and fast as I could manage.

Sabia placed her head on the bed again, eyes closed in pleasure and moaning with each stroke. Her body rocked beneath me, her amazing tits wobbling along with the rhythm and the inner walls of her pussy gripping my hard dick with every move we made.

It didn't take long before her groans turned into a whimpering and without breaking the rhythm, I moved a hand from her breasts, found her love-pearl and teased it gently while thrusting into her.

Her whimpering turned louder, so I guessed that her sensitivity had faded and made my caresses of her love-pearls harder and faster.

"I'm coming again!" She cried out loudly.

"Good." I growled and picked up the speed of both strokes and caresses. She felt wonderful in my hands and around my dick, but with the sex we had last night, I could last a long time and I did plan on doing just that.

For the briefest moment she seized up and then she came again, shrieking with joy, grinding her hips against me.

For once, I didn't slow don't. I held on to her hips and slammed into her even harder than before.

She lifted her head from the table and stared at me in what looked like shock. Ignoring it, I rammed into her again, causing her to gasp, moan, and shiver, all at the same time. Her fingers ground into my back and she bucked against my continuing thrusts, and a few strokes later, she exploded again, her entire body shivering against me, as she shouted out in ecstasy.

This time I did slow down, while she slowly began to stop spasming and started breathing again.

"That was flaming amazing." She said lazily, and moved away, so my dick left her body. "But no more, please. I'm pleasured out, thirsty, hungry and sweaty."

I looked at her with a grin. "Not to mention beautiful, sexy, smart and a complete joy to share pleasure with."

"Why, thank you." She said with a smile, but then suddenly looked serious. "You know, Ivah, under normal circumstances, I would consider starting a serious relationship with you, but right now that just isn't possible." She sighed. "I need to find myself in this new role of mine, before I can even think about relationships. I hope that is fine with you?"

"Not a problem." I told her with a slight smile. "It's not like I'm looking for a partner anyway."

That simple statement made her look more relaxed, and the smile returned to her face, as she got off the table. "Good and now I need a bath."

"Well, so do I."

------------------------

The bath was extremely peaceful, as we just relaxed and talked about everything and nothing for a while, but slowly the subject centered around magic or rather how and why magic worked. A subject where my knowledge was limited, which surprised Sabia immensely, so for about a glass I listened to her explaining the basic of magic to me. Most of it wasn't really new, but the way she put it together and explained it, made a lot more sense that the explanation I had gotten as part of my education a long time ago.

"Sabia, can I borrow your expertise in this area for some days?" I asked when most of the explanation was done.

"For what?"

"Your explanation made so much sense, that I wondered if you were willing to repeat it to a room of young students." I said and explained that the magic teacher at Arcem had died due to the Disease, leaving the students without a qualified teacher in magical theory.

"B-b-but I can't teach magical theory without casting spells!" She said horrified.

"Why not?" I asked being genuinely puzzled. "When I had magical theory, the teacher used a total of four spells in the entire course. Not to mention, that if you really need a spell cast, there're plenty of spell-casters that can do it for you." I shrugged. "It's qualified teachers that're lacking, not mages. Their theoretical knowledge might be lacking, but their spellcasting ability is excellent."

She went silent as she thought it over, but finally said. "Do you really think I can do it?"

"Yes, I do." I said firmly. "You just explained it to me."

She went silent again, but then sighed and nodded. "I'll try it."

The look on her face made me laugh. "Lighten up, Sabia. It's going to be fun."

"I doubt it, but as I said, let's give it a try." She replied with a weak smile. "When're we going?"

"Oh, it'll morning in Arcem in about six glass, so I guess we'll leave in eight glass or so."

It took her a few heartbeats to process that, but then her eyes widened. "So, we're going to the other side of the planet!"

I nodded. "Yes, but fortunately Ordo Vectio is going to gate us there, so the distance doesn't really matter, except for the time difference."

"Nice." She remarked. "I better go get some sleep then."

"Yes, that would be good."

------------------------

Seven glass later, I climbed out of the bed and walked into the bathroom to get ready.

Since the Old Man had told me to come to his office, it made it an official meeting, so when I came back out, I was wearing the black and red dress uniform of Ordo Gladius, complete with a red scabbard for the sword and an emblem with the crossed silver sword of an Ordo Gladius Inquisitor.

Sabia was waiting in the garden room, looking extremely good in a simple, but stylish black and grey outfit. She blinked a few times in surprise when she saw me. "Oh man... You look gooood in uniform!" She frowned. "Wait a minute, that means that it's an official visit, right?"

I nodded with a smile. "Yes, but only for me. The Dominus Grande asked me to 'swing by his office', which is his way of saying that I need to come to a meeting."

She lifted eyebrows. "Are you in trouble?"

"Always, but rarely with the Ordo." I said with a smile. "Are you ready to go?"

"If you find me presentable."

"Not really." I said drily. "But you'll have to do."

Her eyes widened in surprise at the answer, but then she playfully slapped my arm. "How rude!"

"I wasn't the one fishing for compliments." I pointed out. "You were."

"Was not!" She grinned.

"You have looked in a mirror. Unless you have suddenly gone blind, you have to know that you look good."

"Fair. Yes, I did fish for compliments." She admitted.

"Good. Then I'll admit that you look good enough to bring to a Royal Ball."

"Thank you, Inquisitor." She said with a slight bow. "Now we can go."

------------------------

Getting to Arcem Discendi didn't take long, as we were gated there by an Ordo Vectio mage and arrived in the usual gating room, where we were greeted by one of the four guards stationed there, with the remaining three guards standing so that it was impossible to see the Gating Rune on the wall behind them.

The leader took one look at me in my uniform and saluted. "Welcome home, Spectre."

"Thank you, Sergeant Mirta." I replied and guided Sabia to the door. "This way."

"Home?" whispered Sabia when we walked into the corridor.

"Well, many people from the Ordo considerers this to be their true home." I explained as we walked. "Most of us live here when not on a mission or visiting family."

She chuckled. "Like most other Ordos."

"Well, Ordo Gladius only became official after the Disease. Until then, this was the only place where we could talk freely about the missions and everything else." I said with a slight shrug. "But lets start by seeing the magical theory class, so you can get an impression of what they're teaching there."

"No tour first?" She asked in surprise, making me chuckle. "We can take that afterwards. I need to go talk with the Old Man and I might as well do that while you're observing."

She nodded and we walked down the hallway to the classrooms.

------------------------

The plan was to have Sabia observe the class, but I had totally forgotten to take into account how kids would react to meet one of the famous Tenebris, and the teaching stopped from the heartbeat we entered the classroom, as all the kids were looking at Sabia with awe and wonder on their faces.

To his credit, Magi Valentius, who acted as a teacher, took it stride and politely asked Sabia if the kids could ask her questions. She agreed and when I left, after having whispered a 'good luck' to her, she was leaning against a desk, answering questions in a clear and calm voice, her earlier nervousness forgotten.

------------------------

Dominus Grande Maximus was sitting behind his desk, reading some papers, but when the guard announced me, he stood up with a smile.

"Good to see you again, Emilian." He said, for once using my family name instead of Spectre, and gestured towards the chair in front of the desk. "Please have a seat."

"Thank you, Dominus Grande." I said and sat in the indicated chair.

He smiled as he returned to his seat. "Did you bring Sabia Lartius along with you today?"

"Yes, Sir. We still need a real teacher in Magical Theory after Fusus Galeo died, so I persuaded Lartius to come a give a few lectures. Magi Valentius have done an extremely good job, but he's not really a teacher and he agreed immediately when I suggested it to him. So right now, Lartius is in a classroom, answering questions from a bunch of very excited students."

"Good work." He said with a nod, but then changed the subject. "Have you guessed the reason for this meeting?"

I shook my head. I had searched my memory for any reason that the Dominus Grande would request a meeting and with the exception of the new department, I had come up with exactly nothing. "I have to say, Sir, that I have no idea about it."

"Well, you have been quite busy." The Dominus Grande said as he leaned back in the chair. "To name a few highlights, you were instrumental in stopping the Pulcher family and after that, you prevented Magus Dominus Lartius from killing both Inquisitor Varro and Scolaris Narses in Sybaris, and you got a lot of people out of the city." He pointed at a stack of papers on his desk. "I have glowing letters of recommendations from just about everyone you have ever worked with, including the Varro clan, the Arcadian family and the Dragon Riders."

There really wasn't much I could say to that, so I just nodded.

The Dominus Grande saw it and continued with a smile. "Even your idea about the new department that can give the victims of the Disease a new purpose in life have been positively received and I have to say, that your timing is excellent." His smile widened a bit. "Two days ago, the Promotion Board got together to determine any possible promotions and your accomplishments haven't gone unnoticed. That is why it's my pleasure to tell you, that you have been promoted to Inquisitor Vice Captain, effective immediately."

That was as insane, as it was unexpected. Nobody became an Inquisitor Vice Captain after only three years as an Inquisitor, jumping over the rank of Senior Inquisitor in the process.

It must have shown on my face because the Dominus Grande nodded. "Yes, it's a bit early to become a Vice Captain, but it's not unheard of and due to the deaths during the Disease and all the insane mages we had to chase down, there have been quite a lot of deaths and retirements."

I nodded. Varro was one of those, as he had semi-retired after our mission in Sybaris, but that was due to the number of deaths in his family, which had required him to take over duties normally covered by elder family members.

"In short, I need a new Vice Captain and, according to the Promotion Board, you're the best candidate we got." The Dominus Grande leaned forward in the chair again. "Congratulations, Spectre."

"Thank you, Sir." I managed to say.

Smiling he reached into a drawer and took a small package. "It's an old tradition, that whenever one of my people is promoted in this office, they get to put on the new insignia before they leave, so please put them on now."

In a daze, I did as I was told and a moment later the emblem with the silver swords were replaced with a new emblem and this one had the golden swords of an Ordo Gladius Inquisitor Vice Captain. I had dreamed about wearing those emblems one day, but not in my wildest dreams had I hoped for it to happen anytime soon.

"Congratulation again." Said the Dominus Grande and shook my hand. "Oh, this promotion does include your ranks in the Securitas."

"Yes, sir." I said with a slight smile.

Early in my career, Securitas Externa had requested that I worked for them, but back then Ordo Gladius belonged to Securitas Interna, so in order to keep everyone happy, I was assigned a position where I worked half-time for both of them, while still belonging to Ordo Gladius.

The arrangement suited everybody fine, with the possible exception of the accountants that calculated the pay. The rank of a person determined the pay and even with me being half-time in each organization, I got paid almost twice the normal pay, since half-time didn't equal half pay. In short, I was extremely well paid and apparently that was to become even better now.

"I have some more meetings now, so I will have to cut this short, but please do stay here a couple of days, so we can have a promotion dinner tomorrow or the day after."

Coming from the Dominus Grande, it was more an order then a request, so I accepted the offer, said my goodbyes, and left the office still in a daze over the unexpected news.

Once outside the office I leaned against the wall and took a little time to collect my thoughts. I was an Inquisitor Captain and for some reason, it didn't feel like I had deserved it, no matter what the Dominus Grande had said. Of course, with the Disease and the resulting chaos, I had seen a lot more action than many of the older captains, but it was still unbelievable yearly.

If this had been before the Disease, I would have been expected to be in command of five Inquisitors and two hundred Feminae Bellum, but as things were now, I would most likely continue to do my job as I did now.

The thoughts of the Feminae Bellum got me thinking of Verina, who had started out as a student in the Feminae Bellum, before being transferred to Securitas Interna.

Those who don't know the history behind it are usually surprised when they discover that the female-only Feminae Bellum is only militant force the Ordo Praesidium have, but that's according to the law.

A long time ago, the Senatorum Imperialis were worried about the Ordo Praesidium getting too much power and to limit that, they persuaded the King of Kings to issue a decree, forbidding the Ordo to have any 'men of arms' under their command.

The Ordo Praesidium complied by disbanding their forces, but retained all their female fighters, as the decree made only explicit mention of "men of arms", instead of the more commonly used 'soldiers' or 'fighters'.

The Senatorum Imperialis complained, but the King of Kings was satisfied with the new power balance, so the rather blatant disregarded for the spirit of the law was overlooked and thus the Feminae Bellum was created.

Since men tend to have more upper body strength than women, the fighting technique of the Feminae Bellum depend more on quickness and agility than on strength, but they were as well trained as any soldier in the Imperial Army.

I looked at one of the guards outside and asked. "Do you happen to know where Verina Julia Serranus is right now?"

She glanced at the insignia at my shoulder, before saying. "Yes, Vice-Captain. Lieutenant Serranus is usually teaching a class at this time, so I suggest you go to the training area in the garden."

"Thank you. I'll find her later." I said and walked to my room to get out of the dress uniform and into the normal uniform, before I started to walk to the classrooms, where I had left Sabia.

It's not that I don't like the dress uniform. Quite the opposite, as I think it gorgeous. Unfortunately, it attracted attention even here and I would like to walk around as I usually did.

Sabia was still talking with the students when I silently walked into the room, but now the questions had changed character and was about Magical Theory.

With a slight smile on my face, I reached out to Magi Valentius, who was sitting on a chair in a corner, observing Sabia and the class.

"< How's it going, Magi Valentius? >"

He turned his head and sent me a wide smile. "< I hope we can keep her, Sir. The students love her, and the way she explains the connections between various things have taught even me something new >"

I nodded and looked over at Sabia, who was describing something with great enthusiasm, using her hands to visualize whatever she was talking about, while the students listened attentively. She radiated satisfaction and joy, meaning that she really liked teaching.

"< So she can do the job? >"

Magi Valentius nodded energetically. "< Better than me >"

"< Well, we need to persuade her to stay on as a teacher then >"

"< Yes, Sir. When we're done here, take her for a tour and I'll talk it over with the Old Man >"

"< Deal >" I sent with a smile.

Two glass later, after the class was over and Magi Valentius had thanked Sabia for coming, she looked at me with amusement in her eyes. "You know, for time to time, I hate you for being right."

"I can live with that." I said with a laugh. "At least as long as it makes you feel good."

"It did... actually, I haven't felt that good in years."

"Good. Let me show you the rest of the castle and then we can talk about it over lunch."

"Sounds like a plan."

Touring the inside of the castle took the better part of three glass, but that was mostly because I had been away for so long, that a lot of people wanted to say hi. But eventually, we reached the training areas outside, where I instructed Sabia to be as silent as possible. Mostly because it was meditation training, and some students were easily distracted.

Keeping a low profile proved to be a good idea. By the time Sabia and I reached the training grounds, the classes had rotated and now the class being taught the basis of Vis meditation by Verina, was the same class as Sabia had taught Magical Theory.

Since I didn't want to disturb the class, I leaned against the wall, whispering "Let's observe from here for a moment" as I activated a Vis power, that allowed both Sabia and I to blend in with the surroundings in the same way as a chameleon, while we observed Verina and the students.

From what I could hear, it was one of the first classes in Vis Vitae and the students were having a hard time understanding the concept, so my attention wandered over to Verina.

It had been a couple of years since I last saw her, but she still dressed in Lescarian silk kimono with the golden headdress and fans that matched the colour of the clothes and as always, she moved with the gentle grace of a dancer.

"Wow." Whispered Sabia softly. "Whoever she is, she's gorgeous!"

"That's Verina Julia Serranus." I replied in a low voice, that couldn't be hears by the students. "I'm sure Varro had told you about her."

"That's Verina?" She said dumbstruck. "He forgot to mention beautiful she is."

From the hungry looks, some of the students gave Verina when she wasn't looking at them, I guessed the students thought the same, and that one of the reasons that they had difficulties was that they were too busy thinking about sex, when they should have been thinking about Vis. The start of the teens was really a bad time to start learning Vis.

Like all other forms of meditations, Vis depended on focusing an inner calmness and unless they have already learned it, most adolescents have difficulties being that focused for longer periods of time.

"What!" Whispered Sabia suddenly. Apparently, she had been following what Verina was teaching, and something had suddenly occurred to her. "There's a third power beside Magica and Mentalis?"

"Shyy." I whispered back with a slight smile. "Not only is it a lot weaker than the two others, but it's also a secret and only taught to the members of the Ordo Gladius."

She looked at me in stunned silence, causing me to ask. "Shall I ask Varina if we can watch it all?"

"Yes!"

I reached out with my mind, connecting with Varina. "< Hello Falcon. Tired of stupid students? >"

"< Spectre! >" came the happy reply and I could see Verina looking calmly around. "< Where are you? I mean, since you're using your natural ability, you must be near >"

"< Oh, I didn't want to disturb your class, so we're hiding >"

"< We? >" She asked, but immediately continued. "< Oh, you brought Sabia Lartius along. That is awesome. Is she as good as teacher as I think she is? >"

"< Well, after the class Magi Valentius walked up to meet the Old Man and request that she stayed on as a teacher >"

Besides Verina was very hard to keep secrets from, I had also contacted her to get her input on the plan with the new department, so she knew just about everything there was to know about the new department and the plans connected with that.

"< That is good... Can you bring her in on the conversation? >"

"< Sure >" I extended the link to include Sabia. "< Sabia, Falcon have requested that you joined our conversation. I hope that is fine with you >"

"< It is >" Sabia answered calmer than I would have expected. "< And I'm sorry to disturb >"

"< You couldn't disturb these students more than they already are, even if you tried >" Varina said with a mental snort. "< I don't know why, but they're incredible slow in understanding why they need to learn this >"

"< Because it might save their life and the lives of those around them? >" I suggested with a mental grin, noticing Sabia's eyes widen.

"< Yeah... I already tried that one and it didn't help >" Verina answered, "< The problem is that after the Disease all organizations need more people, so they can pretty much choose an education in anything they have just the smallest talent for and they know it. What they don't understand, is that it's not the way it works here, but I hope they will figure that one out, before we have to transfer them away >" She paused and asked. "< Was the Old Man rough on you? I heard that he had requested a meeting >"

"< Naah. Not only was he extremely satisfied, but for some reason the Promotion Board had in all their wisdom decided to give me a promotion and a big one. I'm now Inquisitor Vice Captain Emilian >"

That almost caused her to stumble. "< What?! You're kidding me? >"

"< Nope >"

Sabia chimed in with a "< Congratulations! >"

"< Yes. Congratulations! >" Echoed Verina, happy feelings flooding the link, and was silent for a few heartbeats, before she added. "< You must be the youngest Inquisitor Vice Captain in history! >

"< I doubt it and to be honest, I haven't really understood it myself yet, but since the Old Man gave me the insignia himself and insisted that I put them on right then and there, it must be real >"

There was a moments silence on the link, before Verina spoke again "< Spectre, just by being here you gave me an idea >"

"< Always nice to be an inspiration >" I said with a chuckle "< Are you going to tell me about that idea? >"

"< No, but the two of you can follow us to the training arena. Then Spectre can say something to the students when the demonstration is done >"

"< That I can do >"

There was a mental chuckle from Varina. "< I'm sure you would like to see it too, Sabia Lartius. I promise you that it'll be entertaining >"

"< Yes, Inquisitor >"

"< Good >" She closed the connection and we looked on as she gathered the students and walked over to the magical training arena before Sabia and I followed at a distance.

"What is she going to do?" Asked Sabia curiously while we walked.

"I have no idea. Verina likes to surprise, so I guess she's going to do that."

"So, wait and see?"

I nodded. "Exactly."

I had expected Verina to demonstrate some Vis powers, but instead she went to the controls and activated some of the runes before she turned and looked at the students. "Some of you have asked, why you need to learn this, and I have tried to explain some of the various things you can do with Vis, especially when combined with other forms of power. However, I think that a demonstration might be in order here, to make you understand what I am talking about, so watch closely." She turned to look at the training area and said, "Show Spectre 104-52."

The lights in the training area dimmed and suddenly I could see a younger version of myself standing in the arena, sword at the ready. Since it was the Verum Forma (Baylon: "True Form") form of my sword and I only had used that form once in the arena, I knew exactly when that was made. It was my evening 'training' from the day we found out about the Disease, starting from the moment I had said 'Engage'."

It started out nice and easy, exactly as I remembered, but as time went by, the pace picked up and the combat went faster and faster.

"Oh, sweet goddess." Mumbled Sabia next to me. "That's a most insane thing I've ever seen."

I didn't answer, as I was caught up in watching. It was the first time I had the opportunity to see myself fight from the outside, so I observed closely, while Verina identified some of the Vis powers I had used for the students.

One of things I noticed was the fluidity of the combat, which I knew was the effect of Mutatur Tempus Mente. One sword technique flowed into another in a deadly pattern of sharp adamantine, not even pausing when Vis powers or Ars Mentalis were activated.

As the difficulty of the combat went up, I could see my errors being punished by hits and grimaced as I remembered the pain.

"... flaming shit!" I heard one student whisper to another. "Who is that guy?!"

"Beats me." The other students whispered back. "Perhaps..."

"Pay attention!" snapped Verina's voice and they were silent again.

However, the interlude between the two students reminded me that I had promised Verina to say something when the demonstration was over, so I walked a bit closer while I thought about what to say and how to say it.

------------------------

Finally, the recording stopped, and the lights came back up, so I whispered, "Stay and listen." to Sabia and discarded the camouflage as I walked into the training area. From the look of the students faces, they recognized me immediately.

"Hello, Falcon." I greeted Verina, again using her call name.

She lit up in a smile and came over to me. "Hello Spectre. Nice to see you again." Then she turned towards the class. "Students, allow me to present Inquisitor Vice Captain Spectre."

I nodded and turned towards the class. "Hello there. Please sit down and relax."

They did as I said and a moment later, I had fourteen eager youngsters looking at me, as I sat down myself.

"I promised Falcon here, that I would say something about Vis, so please pay attention now. There will be time for questions later."

They nodded and I continued. "Unlike Ars Magica and Ars Mentalis, Vis Vitae is not something that is unique to the Baylon race. In fact, there are many more humans than Baylons that can use Vis, and the Grand Masters of Vis Vitae have always been human and most likely always will be. Learning to use Vis Vitae takes a lot of time and effort and to be honest, many of the things you can do with Vis, you can do easier and better with either Ars Mentalis or Ars Magica." I smiled slightly at the looks on their faces. "However, if you did not have the ability to use Vis Vitae, as well as at least one other power, you would not have been accepted here, because no one becomes an Inquisitor of the Ordo Gladius without being able to use Vis." I lowered my voice a bit. "That means that if you for some reason don't learn it, you will be kicked out of here."

One student held up a hand to signal that he had a question. "Sir?"

I nodded to him. "Yes?"

"If Vis is so hard to learn and if Ars Magica can do a better job, it doesn't make sense that we spend so much time learning it. Wouldn't that time be better spent learning more Ars Magica or Mentalis?"

"The obvious answer to that question would be 'yes'." I said and smiled as I saw confusion on their faces. "However, since the Ordo doesn't waste time and resources on teaching you anything that isn't useful, 'no' is the correct answer. The question you need to answer is more like: Why does the Ordo teach us this, despite the fact that in many situations other powers would be easier to use?"

"Because it not Magica or Mentalis?" Suggested a young man with spiky hair.

"Explain what you mean."

He looked surprised, but after a moment of hesitation he said. "Well, my uncle has worked with an Inquisitor, and he said that Inquisitors can do some... ehh... weird stuff."

That caused a general laugh from the other students.

I waited until they were silent again and asked with a smile. "Just out of curiosity: Who is your uncle?"

"Sky Knight Galba of the Dragon Riders." Said the young man proudly. "I'm Sertor Claudius Galba."

I stifled a laugh. I had worked with Sky Knight Galba on several missions, usually trying to track insane mages down, before they damaged something important.

"Well, Sertor, your uncle is right, because by and large it's only Inquisitors that learn Vis, so compared to everybody else we can do some weird stuff." I smiled at the thought of Galba's language. "Though I doubt that it was the way your uncle said it. In all likelihood Galba would have said something like..." I changed my voice a bit to make it sound like Galba's. "You know, boy, those Inquisitor fuckers can do some flaming weird shit. It isn't Magica and it isn't Mentalis, but it flaming works!"

There was a stunned silence, before Sertor coughed and said, "That, Sir, is exactly what he said."

Before anyone could ask additional questions, I slipped into Vis meditation and activated a power that caused one of my hands to glow with power, sending sparks from the tips of my fingers. Sparks, that turned into four glowing daggers circling around me.

As that got the students attention I said, "It's a point that you should all remember: A lot of Baylons can use Ars Magica and Ars Mentalis, but only members of Ordo Gladius are formally trained in Vis." I let the daggers dissolve into sparks before they vanished again. "A part of our job as members of Ordo Gladius is to combat magical beings as well as insane Magi and Mentats. Magi can detect the use of Magica, Mentats can detect the use of Mentalis and some can detect both. Many magical beings can also detect the use of those powers. However very few can detect the use of Vis and that, along with our training, gives us not only an edge, but the ability to survive encounters that will kill many a high-powered Magus or Mentat." I looked at the students. "Simply put: Without Vis, you will die."

After a moments silence, Verina said. "Any questions or comments?"

The students looked at each other and a girl said. "Sir?"

"Yes?"

"One of the teachers remarked that we had started late. Is that true?" she looked around. "I mean fifteen is the normal starting age, so how can we be late starters?"

I thought about how to phrase it before I said. "Yes, you are late starters. Before the Disease nobody chose to join the Ordo, they were chosen at an early age. Both Falcon and I started here when we were ten." Smiling I added. "That you have been allowed to join at your age speaks highly of your talent, but it also means that you will have to work harder, since you have shorter time to learn everything you need."

"Since you couldn't have made that choice yourself at that age, didn't you ever want to be something else?" asked another student.

"Not really. I grew up with stories about Inquisitors, so I have always wanted to be one. The only other job I would like is a painter and I can do that in my spare time." I looked at Verina. "What about you?"

She smiled a bit. "Oh, I wanted to be actress until my sister came home in her Feminae Bellum uniform. Then I wanted to be just like her, but eventually I was chosen to come here, and I never regretted that."

I turned my attention back to the students as one of the smaller boys asked. "I'm not a noble, but I know that some of the others are. Would you say that being noble is an advantage here?"

"No. It doesn't matter one way or another and to be honest, there is no such thing as an advantage here." He raised his eyebrows in disbelief but remained silent as I continued. "When you use the word advantage, I assume you mean something that makes one student better than other students." I waited to see if he agreed and when he nodded, I continued. "While there always have been competition between students, it becomes meaningless as soon as you graduate. The teachers like competition between students because it makes them try harder, but they like teamwork even better."

"Shyy Spectre." Said Verina with a chuckle. "You're giving away all our secrets."

That got a laugh from the students.

"What about fighting skills?" asked a wide-shouldered boy. "Perhaps advantage is a wrong word, but isn't it good to know how to fight before coming here?"

Verina answered that. "You will all be trained to an acceptable level before graduating, so knowing a skill before coming here only means that you graduate earlier, while not knowing it simply means that you either have to work a bit harder or take a bit longer."

A tall girl slowly said. "Since you're our youngest teacher, you must have graduated early as well."

"I did. "Admitted Verina. "Along with Spectre here and another from my class."

"How much earlier if you don't mind me asking?"

"Remember that we started earlier than you have, so you can't really compare it, but I graduated three years earlier along with Spectre here and a friend called Varro." Verina said. "We all had training before we started here."

The girl looked surprised. "You had training before the age of ten?"

"Yes." Verina said. "I started training Martial Arts when I was six, Varro started training sword-fighting around the same age and we both agreed that Spectre was born with a sword in his hand." She looked at me as the class chuckled. "I don't think you have ever told me when you started training."

"Hmmm... I must have been around four when my parents got tired of seeing me screwing around with sticks, pretending that they were swords, and decided to teach me the real deal before I poked out an eye out." I said with a shrug and looked at the students. "Graduating early is nota goal in itself. Use your time that you have and try to learn as much as possible, not as fast as possible. You will need all the knowledge and all the skills that you can learn out there." I paused as I reached out with my mind and contacted Dominus Grande Maximus. "< Excuse me, Sir, but are the students cleared for information about the mission in Sybaris? >"

"< Yes, Spectre. They are cleared for all missions here in Baylon >"

"< Thank you, Sir >"

Switching to Sabia, I asked. "< Sabia, would you mind if I involved you in this tale? It's rare that they're going to get the story from the other side, and they already sort of know you >"

She hesitated for a moment and there was insecurity on the mental link, but finally she said. "< I'll try, but you'll have to take over if it affects me too much >"

"< No problem. We got your back >"

With that being solved, I told the story about the mission to Tsarist to the students, carefully stressing the need for knowledge and training.

Using Ars Mentalis, I spiced the tale up by projecting mental images from the mission onto the arena wall behind me. After all, I was not delivering a debriefing but trying to get a point across to a bunch of youngsters.

It became even better, when I asked Sabia to join us, so she could tell her side of it.

Despite her initial fears, she did a good of explaining the other side of the situation for the students, as well as the relief she had felt, when Varro and I showed up, the rollercoaster of emotions that had ran through her while we had examined the magical barrier and finally found a solution to the problem.

That was one part I skipped lightly over out of respect for Sabia and simply went on with the story of me going through the city to find a good spot for Varro to place the gate and subsequently getting everybody out alive.

When we were finished with the story, I looked at them seriously. "You will all get into situations where your life is in danger and it will not be your skills, Magica, Mentalis or Vis that can get you out alive. Rather it will be your ability to use your heads, to think straight and fast and to combine all the things you can do into a series of actions, which will ultimately save your lives." I let that sink in for a few heartbeats, before I smiled and said "That was pretty much what I had to say. Thank you for listening."

Somewhat to my surprise the class applauded as we stood up and walked away, but as soon as we were out of reach, Sabia suddenly stopped and gave me a hug. "You're a wonderful, evil man!"

I hugged her back. "I'm not completely sure what you mean, but thanks, I guess?"

"For a long time after Sybaris, I was lost in my own mind, fearing to live without power." She explained as a smile spread on her face. "It took you less than a week to demonstrate, first on a personal level, then on a physical and finally one a professional level, that I'm still a complete person with a lot of useful skills. Then..." She held up a finger. "... just as I'm thinking that I might get through this, you present a new power to me. One that I might be able to earn." She gave me a kiss. "Dominus Grands Maximus contacted me while you were speaking to the students and offered me a job as a teacher in Magical Theory. I said yes, provided that I was allowed to learn Vis Vitae if I could, and he agreed to that."

"Congratulations!" I strengthen the hug. "So, when're you going to start?"

She was still smiling. "In a few weeks. The Dominus Grande told me that to learn Vis Vitea, I would have to become a member of the Ordo, so I'm going up to have a meeting with his now."

That made me raise my eyebrows. It sounded like the Dominus Grande was moving fast on this, which was good, because educating people in Vis Vitae usually took years, and the faster they could start, the sooner they would be ready.

On the downside, it also meant that we had to break off our sexual relationship, as that wasn't allowed between students and Inquisitors, as Inquisitors also functioned as teachers and examiner for the students. A job that would be taken care of by the Promotion Board, negating any such conflicts between the higher ranks.

I didn't know of Sabia knew it, but I had an inkling that she did, as it was the same system as the other Ordo's used. If not, there was no way I was going to tell her about it before she went to meet the Old Man for a possible place in Ordo Gladius. I might have gotten the idea and the job of organizing it, but it was still the Dominus Grande that had the final say in who to accept or turn away.

"Not that I think you're going to need it, but good luck." I said with a smile. "If you get accepted, go home and arrange for everything, because you're going to be here for some time. The Dominus Grande asked me to stay here for a few days, but we can meet in the city afterwards."

She nodded and gave me another kiss. "Good idea. See you in some days then."

Sabia gave me one last hug and walked off in the direction of the door we had exited from.

I smiled a little to myself as I watched her well-shaped behind. While Sabia was without a doubt a wonderful woman to share pleasure with, she needed this more than she needed me, and with any luck, we could get together again later if we both felt for it then.

------------------------

Four glass later, I was relaxing on a couch in my usual rooms, when the door opened and Verina came in with a big smile on her face.

Placing the book on a table, I looked at her. "You seem to be in a good mood."

"Well, a moment ago I left a class, who're a lot is more motivated than before." She said with a chuckle and sat down in the foot end of the couch, leaning back against the armrest. "And right now, you're their idol."

That surprised me. "I am?"

The chuckle turned into a grin. "Ivah, they saw you demonstrate combat skills beyond their wildest imagination, before you told a real story, complete with mind images of how it really looked and an eye-witness to tell another side of it. You have been there and done that, while still being young enough for them to relate to, and you're a vice captain." She placed her well-shaped legs over mine on the couch. "I just spend a glass answering questions about you."

Not really knowing what to say, I just said "oh" and absently started to massage Verina's feet, since they were right in front of me.

"Ah... I missed that." She said as she relaxed a bit more. "By the way... Did Sabia Lartius get the job?"

"Not only did she get the job." I chuckled. "She made the Old Man promise her, that she will be accepted into the Ordo, if she can learn Vis."

"Good on her." Declared Varina and tilted her head a bit. "Can she?"

"Yes. She has a lot of Vis and have meditation training from her time as a Mage and Mentat." I shrugged. "She'll need to relearn the meditation, but I think she will succeed."

"Which will be good for both her and the support department." Verina said with a chuckle. "Oh, by the way, after the class was finished, I looked into the records and you're the youngest person to be promoted to vice captain since Caeso Fabius Getha and that was 574 years ago. That's pretty awesome, you know."

"Yeah... Well ... when I think of some of the older captains, I have a hard time feeling like I deserved it." I said and felt her activating a Vis Power. A moment later, an invisible force hit me in the back of the head.

"Aw! What did you do that for?" I complained, as I massaged the place where I had been hit.

"Because you're being an idiot." She replied with a grin. "I've seen some of the reports: In the last six years you have done more than many of the older captains did in a hundred years. The only thing you haven't done is to lead a group and as things are now, you have a lot of time to learn that, before it becomes an issue."

"I still feel like there's a lot I need to learn."

"That's life. If you're so concerned about it, go ask for more training." She said with a shrug. "I don't think that Baylon will go down in flames, simply because you're not there to put out the fires."

I thought it over. As always, Verina had a point: The island was fairly quiet now and if it were at all possible, it would be a good time to learn some more. Especially since were some Ars Mentalis tricks and Ars Magica spells that only were only taught to the higher-ranking Inquisitors and I needed to learn them. "You're right and I think I'll do that."

"Since that is settled, why don't you join Jia and me for dinner?"

"Sound good." I said and meant it. Besides being pleasant to look at, both Verina and Jia were good company.

"Good. "Verina said, "Good. Then come over to our house for dinner."

"Our house?" I asked.

"Yes. Our house!" She gave me a challenging look. "When Jia came back from her trip, she moved in with me and if you're gonna say anything about living with a human, I'm gonna... " I reached out with my mind, using telekinesis to pinch her ear, interrupting her. "Aw!"

"Now you are being an idiot." I said with a grin. "I've had sex with both of you on and off for more than ten years and I wasn't exactly complaining any of the times."

For moment, Verina looked surprised, but then she chuckled. "Oh yeah... sorry about that." She shrugged, making her breast move under the kimono. "Some people are having problems with me and Jia being together, because she is a half-breed."

"Tell them to butt off." I said with a smile. "It's not their bloody business."

"I know, I know, but it gets on my nerves from time to time."

"Understandable, but my guess is that most of the time it boils down to fact that you're both smoking hot and people are envious of either one of you for being with the other."

Verina tilted her head, looked at me in silence for a few heartbeats, and then she laughed softly. "You're actually telling the truth as you see it. Thanks, Ivah."

"No need to thank me for telling the truth." I said with a smile. "And a good meal in company of two good looking and intelligent women sounds good."

"Good. Then Jia won't be disappointed."

I must have looked slightly confused because she laughed softly. "She adores you, Ivah."

"Well, I can be quite adorable when I try." I said jokingly.

To my surprise, Verina nodded at that. "Yes, you actually can."

"Thank you." I gave her a smile and stood up. "But we better not keep Jia or the food waiting."

Verina got to her feet in her usual flowing and effortless manner, but instead of heading towards the door, she took a few steps forward and gave me a hug, resting her forehead against mine. I put my arms around her and hugged her back, enjoying the feeling of holding her.

"Goddess, I missed you." She mumbled and squeezed me a bit harder.

"Likewise." I replied, as I squeezed her in return and suddenly it was as if time had taken a jump backwards, making us twenty again and the world was exactly as it should be, with no Disease.

I could sense Verina felt the same and for a moment, we just stood there, enjoying the feeling.

"You know, I'm gonna stay here, right?" Verina finally asked, breaking the silence.

"No, I didn't, but it makes sense." I slowly said, "Not much to come home to Baylon for and you got Jia here."

"Yeah... I love that girl." She smiled slightly at the thought, before letting go of me. "And speaking about Jia... we better get moving."

I nodded and followed her out the door.

------------------------

As Verina had predicted, Jia was indeed overjoyed by seeing me and we spent a lovely evening eating, drinking, and telling stories about what had happened since we saw each other last.

It was semi-late, when Jia stood up and stretched, as always looking extremely sexy when she did that, and said, "Well, I don't know about you two, but I want some pleasure before I sleep." She did her old trick with the kimono, making it fall to the floor with a single gesture, and stood before us naked, her naked body looking extremely tempting in the light from the lamps. Slowly she turned and walked towards the bedroom, hips rocking seductively as she walked.

Verina and I were transfixed as we watched her.

Jia opened the door to the bedroom and looked at us over her shoulder. "Are you two going to sit there all night?"

I looked over at Verina, who chuckled and stood up. "Not a chance." She looked at me. "We better do as the lady says."

"Yeah, I think so too."

When we entered the bedroom, Jia lay on the tall Baylon-style bed, waiting for us and instead of taking my clothes off, I walked right over to the bed and stretched out beside her.

Her lips looked inviting, so I leaned over and gave her a kiss, feeling a surge of desire in us both. Jia responded in kind, her lips hungrily pressing against my own.

For the noises Verina was making, I guessed she was taking her clothes off, which gave me a bit of time, so I lightly ran my fingertips over Jia's soft belly, careful not to tickle her, but taking my time and teasing her with feather-light caresses. She started moaning into my mouth and I moved my hand up to cover her breast. The nipple hardened against my palm as I massaged in slow circles.

The bed rocked a bit, as the now naked Verina lay down on the bed on the other side of Jia. Without hesitation, I moved my hand to Verina's breast, gently fondling them while still kissing Jia.

Verina moaned softly and let a hand run down Jia's skin, ending on the breasts, fingers playing lightly on them.

With a happy sigh, Jia moved a hand to my head, her fingers twining through my hair and pulling me close as the passion of her kiss redoubled.

Then she broke the kiss and let go of my head. "You're way overdressed. Get naked."

With a grin, I answered "Yes, Mam!" and crawled out of the bed before I undressed, watching the two beautiful women kissing and fondling each other. Enjoying the sight, I took my time, feeling like the luckiest guy in the world.

The waiting caused Jia to break the kiss and look at me. "What're you standing there for?"

"Admiring the view." I answered with a smile. "And feeling blessed by the Goddess of Luck."

"You ought to feel that way." Commented Verina with a smile. "Now get over here."

"In a moment... I want to know if it shows... Being blessed by the goddess, I mean." I said as I turned slowly.

"No, but that dick of yours shows, and I want it." Said Verina and moved, so she was laying flat on the edge of the bed, spreading her legs inviting. Her pussy glistened with moisture.

It looked like she was about to say more, but instead she moaned, as Jia used the opportunity to crawl down and lick Verina's breast, biting the nipple slightly. A hand slid down Verina's stomach and down to her crotch, drawing circles on her pussy.

Jia's move had brought her own breasts within easy reach of Verina's mouth, and a moment later the beautiful half-blood groaned as Verina started to return the favour.

With a grin, I gave up posing and walked to the bed to stand between Verina's well-shaped legs.

Normally, I would have spent time licking her, but this close I could see she was so wet the juices was leaking from her.

I rubbed the tip of my cock along her soaked lips and then pressed forward, spreading her lower lips around my dick as I eased into her. When I had buried myself completely, I put my hands on her knees and gazed down at the two women, who were still playing with their tongues on each other's nipples.

Keeping my pace deliberately slow, I started thrusting into her velvet pussy.

"Goddess," Verina moaned, her voice somewhat muffled by Jia's breast. "So good." She moaned again, moving her calves along my flanks.

I smiled to myself and ran my hands along her upper thighs, as I continued to thrust into her slowly, alternating between deep and shallow thrusts, making Verina gasp and moan.

Jia chuckled and moved down Verina's body, licking all the way down, so she could lick Verina's love-pearl when I pulled back.

Verina groaned and with a firm grip on Jia's hips, she lifted her head slightly as she began to lick Jia's pussy in return. Though I couldn't see exactly what she was doing, Jia's groans made it clear that Verina's talented tongue was hitting all the right spots.

On an impulse, I reached out with my mind and connected with Jia to find out what she wanted.

To my pleasant surprise, seeing her lover being fucked that close made her want to have my cock in her mouth.

Not one to deny a lady what she wanted, I pulled completely out of Verina and let my shiny cock slide over her love-pearl going towards Jia's mouth as she leaned forward to lick. Without hesitation, she locked her lips around it and sucked as she licked it clean. It felt fantastic and I enjoyed it for a while, before I pulled away from Jia's mouth and back into Verina, causing her to yelp and moan with pleasure into Jia's pussy.

After that, I took my time and fucked Verina with slow strokes, pulling my dick out every once in a while, to tease Verina's love-pearl and to let Jia lick her lover's juices off it, before I'd bury myself in Verina's pussy again and resume thrusting. At the same time, Verina was doing her best to make Jia come, and while I couldn't see exactly what she was doing with her tongue and fingers, it most certainly worked. Jia's groans and shivers grew louder and more intense, until she was moaning almost constantly, and her legs trembled.

Letting go of Verina's hips, I gently grabbed Jia's head and held it still, as I once more withdrew from Varina and let my dick slide over her love-pearl and into Jia's warm mouth. Again, she immediately closed her lips around it, and I slowly fucked her mouth, while sliding my shaft over Verina's love-pearl with every move.

I could hear Verina gasp at the feeling and unlike the other times, I kept fucking Jia's mouth, enjoying the feel of her mouth and tongue, as she moaned around the head. Her voice adding vibration to her lips, which felt fantastic.

Unfortunately, it didn't last long. Verina was just a little too good with her tongue and fingers, and with a slightly muffled scream of joy, Jia came in an explosive orgasm that made her jerk and shiver, causing me to let go of her head and withdraw from her mouth.

Verina didn't stop right away. Instead, I could see her arm moving hard and fast, and a moment later Jia came again with another scream, falling trembling to Verina's side, as the orgasm tore through her body.

That enabled me to see Verina's face again, and she sent me a smug grin, clearly satisfied with her work. I smiled back, grabbed her legs and lifted them up, placing her feet on my chest before I plunged into her, going all the way. The angle of the thrust ensuring that my hard dick rubbed against her inner pleasure point.

Verina threw her head back, hissing a "Yes!" when I did it again and again, starting out slow, but picking up the speed as I buried my cock in her pussy repeatedly, making her give off a yelp each time I reached bottom.

The sounds were sweet music to my ears, just like the sight of her big tits bouncing with every thrust I made, sent a feeling of satisfaction through my body. A feeling that was only enhanced by watching her beautiful face contorted in pleasure and the feel of her tight pussy around my dick.

I leaned forward, bending her legs even further back to make the angle steeper, and put more pressure on her internal pleasure point.

Jia choose that moment to prove that she was still awake by moving into a position from where she could kiss me and use a hand to play with Verina's love-pearl at the same time.

I luxuriated in the feel of Jia's soft lips against mine, being vaguely aware that her fingers on Verina's love-pearl made her lover jerk and twist her hips in pleasure, which in turn made Verina's inner muscles massage my dick more than before, adding to my pleasure as well.

It was so fantastic, that I had to slow down to avoid coming and even then, I had to bury myself in Verina and stop moving every time I felt like I was getting too close.

Jia broke the kiss and kissed my neck, whispering. "Let's make her come."

I nodded wordlessly and after another pause, I started slamming myself hard and fast into Verina. Jia followed suit, going faster and firmer on the love-pearl.

Verina gasped and gave off a long wordless cry of pure joy. I felt her pussy contracting around my shaft, the first twinges of her orgasm making her stomach ripple, before ecstasy overtook her. The orgasm soared through her body, making her trash her arms into the bed as the waves of pleasure made her juices squirting out around my cock and dripping down my thighs.

Jia kissed me long and passionate, gently removing Verina's feet from my chest so she could press her fabulous body against mine. Then she sent me a smile. "My turn."

Without waiting for an answer, she turned and crawled onto Verina, kissing the other woman as she settled on knees and elbows, while presenting her well-shaped behind to me.

Having no doubt about what she wanted, I placed my dick at her dripping entrance, took hold of her hips and slid inside her, shivering as her pussy started to contract almost immediately.

"I'm not going to last long." I warned her.

Jia broke the kiss with Verina to turn her head and send me a smoldering glance. "I want to feel you come inside me."

In response, I took a better hold of her round hips and moved my hips forward, burying my cock deeper inside her, making her moan, as she returned to kissing her girlfriend.

Verina kissed her back with a passion, caressing Jia's breasts, paying special attention to her nipples, and it wasn't long before the Lescarian was on the edge of another orgasm.

I wasn't far behind and as Jia started to come, I buried myself in her, jerking as I emptied myself into her with several powerful surges, while she jerked and shivered, caught between Verina and I.

I let myself fall sideways on the bed, breathing heavily.

For a moment, heavy breathing was the only sound in the room, but then Verina said. "Goddess, that was awesome!"

"Sharing pleasure with the two of you're always awesome." I stated as I rolled onto my back.

"I think awesome is an understatement." Chuckled Jia and gave Verina a quick kiss before she looked at me again. "I really hope you'll take the officer training you talked about."

Verina nodded in agreement. "Take the training, Ivah. Not only do you need the training, but it will be nice to have you around a bit more than just a few days once every other month."

I nodded slowly. Getting some more training made sense and looking at the two gorgeous women in the bed, I knew I was going to take it. I might make mistakes from time to time, but I'm not a complete idiot. "You make sense and I'll take the training."

"Good." Said Jia smilingly, with Verina adding. "Deal. Now come over here and kiss me."

Seeing that she was trapped beneath Jia, I chuckled and move over to them so we could all kiss.

The dream blurred, flickered, and disappeared as the darkness came back.