Prey (Dark Monster Fantasy Book 1) Read online

  Though he loved to fight, today he would show restraint. He might accidentally kill her. He was bigger than the previous fighters and none of them were as resistant to piercing or cutting weaponry. An enemy needed explosives, corrosives, or specialized energy weapons to defeat stoneshifters...or exceptional swordsmanship and endurance.

  A few of the granite steps crumbled underfoot on his march down the tiers. Note: get those fixed and reinforced.

  He’d chosen a more compact and lean form for this public appearance. Pressing his atoms into a smaller volume gave his footprint a greater mass per area and so his feet sank inches. He left a trail of minor destruction.

  Upon reaching the gray ground of the arena, he twirled the lance flashily. “Wind, storm, and lightning,” he roared. “I am Zarblu Stoneshifter!”

  He spun the lance into a figure of eight with the light reflecting off the blades, finishing the move with a perfect forward slash and forward stomp. Some nearby bouquets fastened to the fence suffered.

  Lacerated red petals drifted in the breeze.

  Their perfume made his nostrils dilate. The immaculate scent of fresh-cut flowers.

  If the sacrifice was flawed, he would lose his senses – his smell, taste, touch, and hearing – for a decade. One appreciated what one had when it might soon be removed from one. Turning into stone wasn’t the best species adaptation ever.

  It was always good to show off before a potential mate, even if she was oblivious as to her role.

  The video feed from the overmaster’s room had made his heart thud, and his balls fill his cock with a load of pre-coital basht. If artificial relaxin could allow her to take an Andurian’s cock, she should be able to take his on Sacrifice Day, with basht and preparation.

  He’d thought her pretty from the starwebz pictures, yet had still thought Tiana was dreaming by suggesting her sister, even if he no longer desired Tiana as his sacrifice.

  That video feed had been revelatory. Seeing her cunt swallow that cock said a whole lot more than a still picture.

  His fist wrapped around the haft of the lance and squeezed inward, making the substance creak. Wood. Vegetable matter. He scented this too. Everything today seemed bright and new.

  How he loved the chase. That first sight of prey or a mate. The challenge.

  He raised his head. He would swear he could smell her.

  At the very center of the arena stood Mila. Tall, and she wore the black skintight suit with the buckle at neck and the buckle betwixt her succulent thighs, same as she had in the overmaster’s room, where he’d also seen her naked. She’d restrained her hair behind her head with pins or cord, but the vibrant flourish of her dark curls had been etched into memory –tumbling across brow and neck, tendrils swaying across her eyes.

  Now, only a few loose strands winding over her cleavage and teasing her breasts hinted at the fullness of her mane.

  The lance creaked again, protesting its treatment.

  She nonchalantly leaned on her sword. That would blunt the point. Tsk. How could she be so negligent? Even if his plan did not involve her being allowed to spar the very notion of damaging the tools of your trade was repugnant.

  As he neared, he saw her exhaustion.

  The tremble in those bared legs, the increased respiratory rate, the scent of sweat, and the red flush of her skin. Ahhh, she was ripe for this gambit of his.

  What a fool she’d been to cheat. From above, the stalker drone had recorded her every mistake. She was a fool or a delightfully loyal sister. Either way, her cheating gave him an excuse he would exploit. He would begin the test.

  Losing Tiana only to gain a better and sexier sacrificial mate? He had no quarrel with this.

  How naughtily that buckle rode up between her legs. His anticipation climbed. He wanted to bite her there...gently, without removing flesh.

  This fleshborn girl was his last chance to find a mate and, gods above, she was perfection.

  Chapter 5

  “Ugliness, thy name is Zarblu the stoneshifter,” Mila murmured as the creature advanced then stopped a short distance away.

  Big, blue, and carpeted with facets of stone, Zarblu thudded his broad feet onto the earth. Lord Zarblu, she reminded herself, shading her face and squinting into the sun to see more details.

  This was a far more formal fight and she’d been told what to do before the fight itself began, move by move.

  First, she went to one knee and lowered her sword, laid it across the ground before her.

  “Greetings, Lord Zarblu. May the best warrior win.”

  “Greetings, Mila.” The words grumbled from his throat, as if an avalanche was imminent. “For a tender and fragile young female to have fought so well and come so far, I assume you seek the wish?”

  He departed from the script and read her mind. “I do, lord.”

  The tender and fragile part she’d soon demonstrate was wrong.

  “Call me Zarblu.” He gestured widely with the hand not gripping the rather long lance.

  “Of course.” She nodded. The reach he had with that – ten feet plus? Nearly twice her height. She’d need to move fast, strike fast, duck away.

  She tried to catalogue his details. He appeared similar to an Andurian and had an exoskeleton that was likely composed of a stone-like substance. Perhaps the species were related and whatever hurt an Andurian would hurt him? The helmet was armor not skin...so his head might be vulnerable?

  Attendants were running in behind him and behind her also, from the sounds. Two ahead, maybe two behind her.

  The next, confusing words were not spoken by Zarblu.

  “This fight is void, Lord,” said a man in khaki robes and leggings to her left. “This human, Mila has cheated.”

  Fuck. She almost picked up her sword and slew him...almost.

  Wouldn’t be nice, though.

  From either side, hands arrived that grasped her upper arms. The attendants held her. She could have killed them with one move, one sweep, but...no. They were doing their job. Running would get her shot. There were guards about the arena and this lord could gut her while she fought the others.

  Zarblu turned his head, unhurriedly, looking from attendant to attendant then back to her. She heard the groan and creak of inanimate things rubbing on other hard things. It was as if his neck ran on small engines and rock. Or his brain. She prayed the latter so she might outwit him and these other males.

  He reached up and unclipped his headgear, slid it off and deposited the item on the ground. His stubby, cat-like ears twitched.

  “Prove this,” he said. “Do not dare to interrupt this combat unless you have proof.”

  “Lord. We had a stalker drone following her.” The attendant stepped forward and raised his palm, swiping it across the air, conjuring a screen. “The woman found a fraz in heat, outside the arena, and did thus.”

  The projection showed her getting the fraz fluids on the cloth, then cut to her wiping it onto the light fitting.

  “We recovered the cloth and analyzed it for pheromones. An additive called Jack-up was used to enhance the attractiveness of the substance. She deliberately incited lust in her Elluran opponent.”

  Mila pressed her lips together, resisting the curses that sprang to mind.

  “Did you do this?” Zarblu asked, his eyes shining.

  They really were glowing and that was so terribly eerie.

  Gather yourself. She puffed out her mouth, pretended to think. Well, she was thinking, just they were bad thoughts not honest ones.

  Admit to a crime? No.

  “I may have accidentally carried something? Carried it unwittingly into the arena? I had no idea –”

  “Quiet!” Zarblu stuck one of the points of the lance into the dirt, so it stood with the other lethal end pointing at the sky.

  Blasphemy to do that to a weapon. She frowned and gestured. “You have –”

  “I know. You did the same earlier, to your sword. Irritating isn’t it?”

  What? She sh
ook off the distraction.

  The fight was off then. The question was, what penalty would they apply? Could she simply walk away? Mila surveyed the arena. This place was so big she’d take a minute to reach the edge. If she started ambling now they might not think to stop her in time.

  “Do not attempt to run.” The first attendant squeezed her biceps. “You are guilty.”

  “Am I?” She stood, dragging their arms with her then pulling free. Let them see she was not cowed. “I would never run.” Well, only if it would work. “If you have some penalty, speak. I have further business in this city.”

  She waited, showing her stubborn-as-a-mule expression, with her hands resting on her hips.

  “I like you, human, but you are guilty.” The area of Zarblu’s face that was a mouth widened. An arsenal of triangular teeth was slowly revealed, as menacing as a squadron of fighters in a starship landing bay.

  Each tooth was as big as her thumb.

  Nasty sharp things.

  She was sure a fair portion of her blood had drained to her toes. “Say your damned penalty.”

  The attendant hissed. “Do not speak thus to our –”

  Zarblu drawled an interruption. “The rules are in the implied contract for the Arena, which you agreed to. You will find we have laws and rules for most things. It saves time when thieves and criminals are found. You will be exiled from the planet immediately, minus most of your possessions and some bank funds. Or you may choose to suffer a PSTC penalty and stay.”

  PSTC? Implied contract? She curled her lip. For a backward planet they had a lot of legal shit. “And that abbreviation means?”

  “It means we let the Punishment Suit The Crime. PSTC.”

  An eye for an eye? And she’d made the Elluran get aroused. She needed to stay here if she wanted to stop Tiana ending up bound to the sacrifice block. Her and this Zarblu monster fucking? Tiana would be minced, squashed, turned into bloody jam.

  Was she that attached to her sister? Well, maybe?

  She would hate herself forever if she walked away.

  Morals and blood were making her do this. She might be an occasional cheater or thief but she was not a bad person.

  Pfft to PFTC. She could endure a few hours of unrequited lust. Tiana would...well, she probably would do the same for her.

  “I’ll take PFTC. How long will this last?”

  “It’s not a length of time. You’ll just be fucked once.”

  Mila blinked, swallowed, feeling as if not just a rug but a whole planet had been yanked out from under her. “By?”

  He walked closer, lumbering, his blue feet sinking into the earth, his blue cock erecting before her face like a miraculous piece of lewd architecture, until it reached approximately twelve inches in length. Purple veins as sparkly as amethyst writhed along the shaft.

  “By me.”

  Ye gods. The Andurian had been bad enough. Was this hose-accessory of his bigger or smaller?

  Smaller, she decided.

  “What is it with you lot and punishment fucking?” she murmured, though quietly.

  Only one attendant stared at her with a surprised expression. She couldn’t stop examining Zarblu’s cock and trying to figure out more exact dimensions. Softness? What if it was made of rock?

  “Can I ummm change my mind? Will this harm me?”

  “No harming intended. You may alter your decision.”

  “Is it...is it made of rock.”

  Did she detect a snigger from someone?

  “Currently, it is a similar hardness to human sexual organs, or so I am told.”

  Currently? Why currently?

  Her gaze swept upward and linked to his. His eyes were brighter than they had a right to be and were a paler blue than his skin. They gleamed as if polished. Then he blinked. That he had eyelids somehow made things better.

  “If no harm...then I leave my plea as is.”

  His appendage. Ummm. It was rather large.

  This might just be the worst decision ever made in the universe for a thousand years...barring the Hox War that had obliterated seven planets, a potential god, and five billion people.

  “One last proviso.” His teeth showed even more – a malicious grin if ever she saw one. “I fuck you here. The crowd needs their entertainment or we will have a disturbance.”

  “Here?” she squeaked, trying not to let her legs wobble.

  What was a little exhibitionism? She’d be gone in a few days, fleeing into space with Tiana, never to see this misbegotten hole of a planet again. “You’re sure?”

  “Yes. My attendants will keep you still so I do not accidentally tear you. You must also wear a gag so as not to bite your tongue.”

  She must’ve looked stunned because an attendant elaborated.

  “Workplace Safety and Health regulations.”

  “Ahhh.” They had laws coming out their asses here.

  A cart drove up bearing a square metal framework and two more attendants hopped out and began to haul out the frame.

  “What’s this?” Suspicions rose.

  “Nothing you need worry about.” Zarblu spun her to face him, picked her up with his large hands embedded to either side of her waist, and brought to his face level, whereupon he kissed her.

  A wave of strange energy susurrated into and through her body, whispering words, spiking her with alluring, prickling tendrils, down her sides, into her nipples, between her legs, over her tongue...down her throat.

  Into her mind.

  Scintillating, lust-bearing prickles that shifted the world, blurring it in time to the thud of her pulse. Thud. Blur. Thud. Blur.

  She breathed in his scent, him, swam in the pointed study wrapped in the gleam of his pupils.

  Pupils, he had those, and they were stone-gray and stone-blue, fluctuating from one to the other.

  When he landed her on ground again, her soles brushing earth, she breathed, for the first time in an eternity.

  His hands played her skin, a glissando of pleasure, an orchestral introduction to something unheard.

  Stoneshifter. No one had said they commanded sexual magic.

  The arena loudspeaker had been announcing something she probably should’ve listened to, but it was background noise to what he’d evoked with that single, solitary kiss.

  Wait...this was treachery. Foulness to so manipulate her. And they said she cheated?

  She inhaled again, sharply, blinked. “What...what did you do to me?”

  “Nothing bad. You go there.” His voice was a rumble that spoke to her bones, to her female genes, to some depths she barely knew of, and he was pointing somewhere but it was too much for her to decipher.

  Quivering, Mila then slowly brought her hands to her face, her temples.

  “Go.” He pushed her around and attendants took her hands, her wrists, and bound them to the framework which had appeared behind her.

  How had they brought that? When? She’d blanked for several minutes.

  The crowd roared, screamed. Panicked, she looked up but a soft cloth was wound across her eyes.

  “There. Best if you cannot see, little one.”

  Little?

  A stoneshifter finger was laid in the very center of her back, over her spine. He began to bump it slowly downward, vertebrae by vertebrae, throwing her into an abyss of sensation. When he reached the apex of the split of her ass, the moan she’d held at the back of her throat escaped in the lowest of noises.

  A quiet, disintegrating moan.

  If he delved further she was sure she would fracture into atoms.

  Then he kissed her shoulder and began to undo the fastenings of her clothing, one by one. With each and every touch, he captured her anew.

  Resist. A last piece of desperation. But her hands and legs were bound to the framework. She tugged once to check the firmness before her eyes rolled upward. Caught. Every breath from Zarblu and every graze of his hard fingers, made a shiver wrack her body, made her pussy dribble more wetness.

  S
he heard him go to his knees behind her. A kiss landed on the back of one knee then the other. His teeth seized her inner thigh. The pain made her hiss. If he bit properly....

  Those teeth ground deeper. Did she bleed? Would he eat her or fuck her? She was naked before the entire arena. Fear churned her insides.

  She stilled, wrenched into a moment of ultimate tension. How his teeth caught at her – moving, nipping closer to her sex, down then farther in, closer. Arousal and pain. Pain and hot breath taunting her. She moaned again and couldn’t cease, her breasts blood-heavy, the tips peaking. Her thighs were moist and cool from his mouth and her own dripping liquids.

  Imagination and reality bonded into one searing instant.

  His tongue, or whatever was in his mouth, lapped between her legs, dragged over her. It might be spiked for all she knew. Mila arched, bending, straining back, both agonized and ecstatic.

  She orgasmed. The framework squealed and shook with those teeth pressing across her ass, in possession of her, with his tongue still caressing her and demanding her release...licking at her. She spasmed again, bucking into the wires of the framework.

  More. More. She craved though she didn’t speak.

  Overcome, she grunted and slumped into the bonds. Finally, the pleasure released her.

  With her rough panting echoing in her ears, she tried to translate this paradox into human. She’d come. She’d come and he’d done almost nothing to her.

  “You taste of sex, little fleshborn female. Of a need for fucking. Wait until I actually fuck you.” The threat of Zarblu’s ground-glass syllables accompanied the prod of his enormous cock at her ass. “Unfortunately, today can only be a sample.”

  Where she pressed against it, the framework was made of criss-crossed wires. The cold rigidity pushed at her breasts and rolled over her nipples. She tried to calm her breathing and failed. She tried not to react and failed again when Zarblu drifted his thick fingers over her pussy lips.

  With an audible squelch, one slipped into her, just one...probing upward.

  Gods. She’d had no relaxin this time.

  “Now to see how much of me will fit in you. Alas I forgot to bring my gauges.”