The Unseen Hand

Ch 32: Áels

Shardi, Twelfth of Triesse, 445 A'A'diel

A flash of distant lightning glinted off the thief's sharp blades as he thrust forward. Jarle rolled, leapt to his feet, then feinted to parry the blows of an invisible enemy. His face remained serene throughout the frenzied dance of precise footwork and quick lunges. Only his eyes betrayed the intense focus required for each combination of critical strikes. A month had passed since Avaren brought him to the grotto, a week since he'd felt healthy enough to engage in his training regimen. It hadn't taken long to knock the rust off his techniques and feel the strength return to his limbs.

Overhead the wind quickened, and the clouds turned to a leaden grey, illuminated from within by violent, spidering streaks of lightning. Thunder chased the lightning; sending the sound booming throughout the cavernous depths. A moment later, heavy drops began to spatter upon Jarle as he repeated a flurry of feints and thrusts.

Sensing movement in the pool, Jarle smirked. Avaren had returned and was watching him, submerged a hand's breadth beneath the surface. She rolled over and gave Jarle a brief glimpse of her pale buttocks as her twin tails propelled her with lazy undulations. Avaren's long, white hair trailed behind her as she swam beneath the dangling roots. She stopped in the center of the pool and rose up slowly until her head, shoulders, and breasts broke the surface.

Jarle stabbed forward twice more with both daggers before returning the blades to their sheaths. Then, he turned in the direction of the half-submerged girl and slicked back his rain-soaked hair. "Welcome back, beautiful."

The spray of the downpour upon her glistening nakedness gave Avaren an otherworldly aura. "Did you miss me?"

Jarle's gaze lingered on the puckered tips of her breasts. "Need you ask?"

Lying back, Avaren spread her arms. Beneath the surface, her dual tails twisted and writhed like coiling snakes. "Come for a swim," she invited, her voice sweet.

Jarle hooked his thumbs into his belt. He doubted he would ever grow accustomed to the part of her that wasn't human. "Last time we tried that I almost drowned."

"What is it you always tell me about playing with knives?" Avaren dove backward, circled, then resurfaced. "It takes practice."

"Aye, so it does," Jarle admitted, "except that if you fail a lesson, the worst that can happen is a slap on that beautiful ass."

Avaren grazed her nipples with her fingertips. "Join me."

Above them, the rolling clouds took on the color of bruised flesh. The cavern darkened as the wind tossed twigs and leaves from the jungle above into the cave's opening.

Jarle stepped to the edge of the pool and held his hand out. "No swimming for me today. A storm comes."

Avaren looked up at the sky, "It is already here." She shook her tails beneath the water's surface until cartilage and scales reshaped into flesh and bone.

Jarle narrowed his eyes, attempting to witness the girl's transformation, but the pelting rain thwarted his curiosity. "Come," Jarle urged, raising his voice over the howling wind.

With a few powerful kicks, Avaren swam to the edge of the pool and took Jarle's offered hand.

Jarle pulled the naked girl into his arms and kissed the top of her head. "It worries me when you are gone so long."

Avaren rubbed Jarle's upper arms. "Worry not. I have returned to keep you warm."

⁂

Jarle and Avaren made love at the base of the rocky gorge, beneath the rain-swollen cascade. The cold water did little to extinguish their raging lust. Bent forward, Avaren raised her hips to meet Jarle's urgent thrusts. She relished the heat of his body against hers, the way his eyes narrowed in the throes of pleasure. Jarle had promised her that her body would cease to ache, but he had been wrong.