[Edited] Chapter 43 - Forbidden Mechanisms

I had to rework this one pretty extensively. The main thrust is there, but I really needed some more explanation for why Jax and Arx took to Lynnria so quickly. Hopefully it reads well.

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“Not that I’m complaining, Lynnria,” I murmured sleepily, “but I only get my Life Energy secondhand. You’d probably get more out of this by feeding from one of the others.”

Lynnria pulled herself up from my thoroughly moistened—and aching—flag pole just long enough to fix me with a disgusted look.

“Ew.”

I stifled a laugh. That had been the first coherent thought to come out of her mouth since we had let her loose. Prior to that, she had been so totally fixated on me, I had been concerned she might just go ape-shit. However, she had not uttered a peep of complaint about her treatment at the hands of my companions.

She had been too busy for that.

So far, she had managed to pull two loads from me and was industriously working on a third. And all completely from oral, bizarrely enough. She seemed too engrossed even to take the time for her own pleasure. Not that she was some master technician. Despite her usual self-confidence, at least in this her age and inexperience were telling. She tended to be a little robotic in her motions and, as she did not have the help of my emotions to guide her, she seemed driven more by her hunger than any enjoyment I might have been getting out of the experience. Still, she was going at it was such enthusiasm—growling and moaning over me like I was some kind of succulent—it more than made up for her shortcomings.

That said, a man’s sexual prowess can only be so Herculean. Between the lilim and now Lynnria, my balls had gone from the bluest of berries to the most shriveled of raisins, and no amount of enthusiasm was going to make up for my dwindling sperm count. Or electrolytes.

I was just fortunate Jax had been so understanding. Once the particulars of her ‘rules of access’ had been satisfied—namely she and Arx having dibs—she had been… content to allow Lynnria a turn. For now.

Which was an unexpected but not altogether unprecedented turn of events. For all their bluster over protecting me from outsiders, I had feared I might need to shield Lynnria at least a little, but it seemed whatever Mia and I and done to the girl had paved the way sufficiently to skip past all the hissing and bearing of fangs she might have otherwise encountered.

I could remember Jax welcoming Arx with a similar abruptness. There might have been a dose of extra violence involved, but once she had gotten a whiff of Arx’s blood, everything had been hunky-dory with the two of them. Now, with Lynnria… well, having sprouted claws and fangs overnight as she had, there could be little doubt as to whose influence was flowing in her veins.

“I have it!” Mia shouted jubilantly.

Out of nowhere. And scaring the shit out of me.

While I struggled to pull my heart back out of my throat, I had a moment to reflect on the other addition to our troop, the sentient mental handicap, Mia. It had been a good decision to favor the carrot over the stick with her. Which was not to say that I was completely over the Faen taking my Class in a direction of her own choosing, but now that we had reached an understanding, I should not have to worry about that anymore.

It was never wise to neglect a woman. I would need to remember that moving forward… though that might be easier said than done. I had been attracting them like flies.

Still, just the bit of pampering had done wonders for her mood. And it had not even taken all that long. Unlike my corporeal allies, hers was a simple matter of sexual frustration. Once satisfied, she had been happy to direct her energies toward her own mysterious endeavors.

Which is not to say it had been less than fun. Or demanding.

That levitation spell was still quite the doozy. My most recent Layer had done nothing to alleviate the problem, either. The ‘400-pound gorilla’ as I liked to call it. So either my spell-related stats had not yet risen to the point of being able to support that particular spell on my own, or I simply needed more practice. Time would tell.

It was strange, though. None of my other spells had such a huge effect on the Faen. But was that because it was her spell? Perhaps having to provide the necessary Will to make it function sent her into some kind of orgasmic feedback loop. Or it might have been a byproduct of the difficulties I faced in casting the thing.

Either way, I was just fortunate Arx had been so into it. Something about using her as Mia’s body-double had turned her on. A lot.

And me. But for entirely different reasons.

If I had not been struggling to maintain the levitation spell on her, having Mia’s image overlaid over top of Arx like some kind of sci-fi hologram while she weightlessly milked me for all she was worth might have been one of the singular highlights of my life. It had been a fantastic workout, too. I had gained four whole points of advancement in the spell before we were finished.

Arx’s personality had certainly taken a turn, though. Oh, she was still a cut-up and a tease, but since I had awakened her from her prison with the allure of her preferred flavor profile—her words—she had been doing everything in her power to coax every ounce of it from me she could. Apparently, she had explained, whatever brief possessive tendencies I exhibited were, to her, akin to the finest of delicacies. She felt about them in much the same way as Jax did my desire. So I had to suppose that explained her willingness to fill in for Mia. She enjoyed me using her like a kind of sex object.

That did not sound like the healthiest of mental attitudes—or at all the best way to express possessiveness—but who was I to kink-shame?

Though… it did make me wonder why it was the two of them were so different in their appetites. Jax’s preference was pretty easy to justify. When I found her, she had been a Bandit, divinely outcast from all of society. Worse, she had been horribly disfigured… and, depending on one’s interpretation of events, the entirely wrong gender. So it made a sort of sense that she might want to be wanted.

But for someone to value possessiveness? I knew Arx had been a drunkard, but that sort of thing generally stems from a desire to push people away, not draw them in. Not that I was qualified to make such an assessment. Still, it did pique my curiosity.

Of course, all of that was predicated on the assumption that their preferences stemmed from something more than simple taste. It could be something as innocuous as a predilection for artichokes.

“Well, don’t leave me in suspense, Mia,” I said after a moment’s thought.

Lynnria’s tail twitched at the sound of my voice, but she did not otherwise react. Or pause.

“Aww… come on,” Mia replied, pouting. “I said, ‘I have it!’ Now, you’re supposed to say, ‘Have what?’ You deliberately avoided the question.”

“And now you’re deliberately avoiding answering it,” I shot back. “Besides, I thought you liked it when I did that. You said it was cute.”

“I did not. I said it was sweet! You and your deficient memory…”She let out a huff in annoyance. “Well, no matter. We will fix that in time.”

“Mia…” I began warningly.

“I’m not going back on my word,” she said in quick defense. “I know I agreed not to add any more to it without permission, but you will need to work on your Intelligence eventually, if for no other reason than to even out… certain things.”

“Such as?”

She sucked in a breath. “Oh~ yes. There it is. I knew I could get one out of you eventually.”

I rolled my eyes, then jerked when one of Lynnria’s newly sharpened teeth nicked me ever so slightly. She did not stop, but her claws did dimple my thighs. Whether that was out of a desire to apologize or a warning not to further move, I could not say.

“Anyway, I’ve figured out where that ‘Engraving Intricacy Capacity’ your Dolilim mentioned is coming from. And now that I have, I should be able to continue granting them skills as per their previous set-up.”

“Okay,” I said slowly, still trying to relax. As opposed to what? “But I had the impression you didn’t like how Xhinn was handling things. Something about… blasphemy.”

There was a moment of silence.

“I don’t believe I’ve ever said anything like that. But even if it was, it changes nothing. I cannot undo what has been done. Only make use of it.”

“Uh huh.” I knew a pedantic side-step when I heard one. “I don’t suppose you would be willing to elaborate. I would like to avoid causing trouble with any more deities than I already have.”

“Look, even if it was blasphemy—and I’m not saying it is—it wouldn’t be the sort you need worry about, nor would I be able to explain the reasons why,” she assured me unhelpfully. “Not that I would have any need to.”

I did not reply. The doubt plastered over my face was doing all the talking I needed.

Also, Lynnria had apparently taken some offense at my distraction and begun to redouble her efforts.

“On a completely unrelated topic… haven’t you noticed how different your skills are when compared to those of your Dolilim?” If her tone was any guide, the question was anything but unrelated.

“Uh… not really,” I admitted, struggling to focus beyond the over-stimulation going on at my crotch. “Unless you’re talking about how I have to cast spells all the time, and they don’t. But I thought that was because I’m a wizard.”

“You are not a Wizard. Your Class simply has a focus on spell casting. Those are not the same things.”

“Whatever. You know what I meant.”

She sighed. “You are on the right track, at least. Perhaps it may help to take a more… active interest in their skills? I’m sure they, at least, would be curious to learn about some of the things you’ve discovered lately.”

I grunted, trying to sift out the hints from the chaff. But again, concentration was not a thing I had a great deal left to spare at that particular moment.

“We’re going to need to pick out some skills for Arx and Lynnria anyway.”

“Good enough.” She clapped her hands together, punctuating the end of that topic. “In the meantime, you need to make a decision about our young companion. Shall we continue nurturing her as kind… or as Dolilim?”

“Um…” I grimaced. That had sounded like a really important question. “Lynnria could you…? Isn’t that something you should be asking her, Mia?”

“Don’t be absurd,” she replied somewhat haltingly from my thoughtless question. “I would—oh~ my. Just look at her go. Uh… That is, I would never grant any facet of my lord’s power to another without his explicit say so. Besides, that one is taking you so deep, she… or… Well, she aspires to much, I mean. That girl would leap at any chance to further her own ambitions.”

“What kind of ambitions?”

Lynnria’s furious ministrations ground to a sudden halt. After a moment’s pause, her eyes flicked up to meet my own, then she slowly dragged herself off of my engorged manhood just enough speak freely… though only just.

“Donum? What exactly is that Faen of yours talking to you about?” she asked between licks and caresses.

“Um…” I murmured, twitching and jerking with her every touch. “Something about how to nurture you?”

She narrowed her eyes fractionally. “And? What about it?”

“Ah hah… well,” I stammered. The abrupt change to these micro-stimulations were sending little shocks up and down my spine, and every one seemed to reset my brain. “I don’t really know. We were just get-hing t-to that.”

“Tell her… hmm,” Mia began, thinking aloud. “Tell her we remember the dreams of her childhood. And we know what made her set them aside. Tell her we can make them a reality… and surpass every expectation ever laid upon her. We can make her more powerful than she could possibly imagine. All she need do is take one last step off the uncertain path of mortal kind. And become… other.”

“Yeah, okay, Palpatine. Let me get right on that,” I groaned sarcastically. Never mind the quasi-villainous monologue, I would have had a hard time repeating that back even if I was not being fondled.

“No good?” she said innocently. “Well, that was more for your benefit, anyway. I’ll just be a moment…”

With that, whatever internal microphone she had been using clicked off, and I had to wait while she repeated some version of her spiel over in Lynnria’s head. The girl listened with half an ear, giving me a little time to recover but still toying with my wooden mast.

“Aren’t I already a Dolilim?” she asked—presumably addressing Mia—eying her claws. Then, “Lesser? That won’t do. How do I raise my rank? And what’s the difference?” She glanced at me somewhere in the middle of the reply. “Then I don’t understand. If he can’t even do it yet, what is this choice?”

I had to wince at the lengthy pause. That had been an awful lot of questions, and I had little doubt they had sent Mia into a fit of tics. Which was not to say that I was not also curious. I wanted to know what the Faen was telling her almost as much as I wanted Lynnria to quit being distracted and finish the job!

Damn it. What was all that about hopes and fantasies? And expectations? Didn’t she want to be a Warrior?

“That’s… utterly insane. They would kill for abilities like that. Anyone would. Why would I even consider the alternative?” she asked finally, and doing nothing to satisfy my interest. Who is she talking about? “You’re dodging the question. Mia, come back here this instant!”

“The nerve. The—cunt-slug—should be grateful to get even that much,” she grumbled. “Why do mortals always assume they are entitled to answers? She’ll have to figure it out just like everyone else!”

I closed my mouth, half a dozen follow-up queries dying on my tongue. I figured it best not to be the example that proves the rule.

“I think that’s your lot,” I said instead, addressing the mortal in question. “You’re going to have to take a stab at it and see where you end up.”

Lynnria finally let my length go in favor of restless pacing. “Bloody useless… ugh! There has to be a consequence to this, or else she would never have bothered bringing it up.”

I nodded along, a tad mournful at having been left half-finished. But this seemed important.

“That seems reasonable,” I said, following her with my eyes. “We had been assuming you would want my next lilim slot anyway, but that won’t be coming for a while. So I don’t see how you could step off any paths in the near future, mortal or otherwise. Unless…” I turned my attention inward, “Mia, would whatever you’re offering her grant some kind of immortality, like the other Dolilim?”

“They are not truly immortal, my lord,” she corrected me gently, almost like a cat leaning into a head-scratch. “They can be slain as easily as any mortal, and they cannot revive themselves under their own power. And without an actual binding in place, I doubt very much that she will benefit from your protection. Death, I am afraid, will remain final.”

“I guess that’s out then,” I grunted, turning back to Lynnria. “What did she tell you?”

“Some… personal things,” she said evasively, halting her pacing.

For a few moments, she seemed hesitant to elaborate. There was a deep pain there, just behind her eyes. It pulled at me. I needed to comfort her. To tell her it was okay, but those words could only ring hollow. I did not know her pain. Who was I to tell her anything about anything.

Still, if she did not want to talk about it, that was okay, too.

However just as I was about to lift myself from the bed and gather her into my arms, she seemed to reach a decision.

“Do you recall the difficulties I had when choosing my first skill?”

I nodded slowly. I had always encountered difficulties when it came to that, so her experience had not stood out as particularly unusual. It was easy enough to put it down to a combination of an unfamiliar Class and Mia having forgotten so much, but it seemed there was more to it.

“I… already knew there was going to be a problem,” she admitted, slowly shrinking into herself. “It was… Look, it’s… it’s complicated, Donum.”

I had to smirk. Turnabout was fair play.

“Complicated, she says,” Jax grumbled, plopping onto the bed beside me. “What ain’t?”

To that point, she and Arx had been quietly ‘getting to know’ one another better on the other side of the room. In the biblical sense. One of the perks of being a lilim was that they could feed just fine no matter who was demanding my attention, and they had been content to let their little sister—or ‘pet,’ as they seemed to prefer—have some private time.

But now that we had moved on…

“Clan troubles?” Arx asked while settling into a casual lean against the bedpost.

“That’s… a bit of an understatement,” Lynnria confirmed, eying the two of them warily—while simultaneously attempting to avert them. It was kind of cute, actually. “Do the two of you have to stand around naked? I think you might be even more unrestrained than Donum.”

The lilim turned to look at me, their collective eyebrows crawling up their scalps.

“Wasn’t me getting ideas all the time,” I grumbled under my breath. Then, a little louder: “Like I’ve said, it comes with being a Quester. You stop worrying about it after a while.”

“I think we passed worrying by when she started choking on yer knob,” Jax quipped.

“Anyway,” Lynnria squeaked, “that was part of why Grandfather was training me to become a Warrior. Their skills are much less demanding on your Core, early on. We had thought that might be enough to overcome my issues, but… well, you saw. There isn’t much you can do when your Manic Breadth is only 2.”

Two?! Holy shit!

“And as I was explaining,” Mia cut in, “Her situation would be greatly improved were we to implement your Dolilim’s version of skill management. With your permission, of course.”

“So what’s the problem?” Arx asked. “Won’t all that happen anyway once she’s bound?”

“I honestly haven’t a clue. As far as I can determine, most of it was a result of the Fifth’s lack of… of experience.”

Jax’s eyebrow twitched. “If that one’s so inexperienced-like, why’s Her version more powerful, then? Eh?”

Mia growled with frustration. “Because, I—wanna eat your asssshit… I’m starting to get a headache again.”

Arx crossed her arms. “I thought you didn’t have a head.”

“Quiet, you. Look, none of this is anything a bunch of mortals need ever worry about. I swear it. And while I’m being honest, I mostly just wanted to see what would happen. If we’re lucky, it might prompt the rest of her evolution, which would be of great help when it comes to maintaining her Energy needs. We can’t have the girl ripping our lord’s pants down every time she gets a little hungry.”

“I can think of worse things,” Jax said, licking her lips. “Unless she was to do it with people about. Then he’d just get all shamed and foul the taste.”

“Wait, what?” Lynnria cut in. “What would I be doing?”

“Knob gobbling, of course! Me mum’s arse, girl, yer doing me head in,” Jax growled before I could change the subject. Then, she turned to me. “I says we switch her over. Maybe then we won’t have to play this game of ‘she said, she said’ no more.”

“That’s a solid argument, if I’ve ever heard one,” Arx agreed.

“But what about the consequences?” Lynnria persisted. “Did she say anything about that?”

Mia sighed heavily. “Like I keep saying, it isn’t a mortal concern. Besides, the only—” She stopped abruptly, as though choking. “Ooh… ouch. I’m going to feel that one later.”

“Is this one of those forbidden things?” I asked. “Is that why you’re being so evasive?”

Mia gasped, an ecstatic moan ripping from her throat out of absolutely nowhere. “Oh, yes! Very much so. Thank you, Master!”

Jax frowned and slowly pushed herself up off the bed, consequently setting her breasts to dangling. Not that I was looking. “Wait a scanty… why’d that make ye jump like ye took a cock up yer arse? Master, I think that Faen of yor’n gets off when ye solve one o’ her riddles.”

“You may be onto something there…” Mia cooed.

“She didn’t swear at you,” Arx observed.

“Technically, she gets off after every question I ask,” I corrected. “But that one did seem more intense…”

“Hello? Can you four stay on topic, please?” Lynnria cut in. Again. “We are talking about my future here, right?”

“Right.” I turned back to her. “To sum up, we don’t know what the hell we’re doing, but it might be considered blasphemy—”

“Never said that…”

“Well, I heard it from somewhere.”

Mia sniffed. “I can’t see how.”

I just grunted. It was not as if the idea had just magically appeared in my head, but I was also extremely light on the details. “Anyway, there’s a possibility it might piss someone off—”

“It won’t.”

“—but we think it’ll make you more powerful?”

“That part’s true.”

“And possibly push you along to be closer to a full Dolilim.”

“And that’s a complete stab in the dark.”

Lynnria went silent for a while after that, trying to digest what little we had been able to share—both in regard to the situation at hand and overall. I felt for her. She was only now coming to grips with the fact that she was changing at all, and now having to decide whether to kick the rock the rest of the way down the hill?

Obviously, I had tried explaining the situation once or twice in the past but, thanks to random memory edits and a healthy dose of deserved skepticism, she had been dismissive. Now, seeing my mates sitting right in front of her, being able to compare her features to their own, and combined with the onset of these new cravings? There could be no denying what was happening to her.

Arx was even beginning to grow out a respectable tail—amongst other things. It was still almost hairless, though I could definitely see a bit of white peach-fuzz coming in along its tip, somewhat like Lynnria’s. Whether it would end up that way was still a mystery.

If that’s the pattern, why is Mia’s so fluffy?

Arx caught my eye and smiled, making certain to emphasize her ‘other things.’ Specifically, those currently nestled between her arms. I had already given them a thorough round of appreciation earlier, but a little extra never hurt. She winked at me.

“I’ll do it,” Lynnria said finally.

“Told you.”

“Yeah, yeah. Go ahead then,” I said to Mia. “You have my permission to do… whatever it is you need to.”

I just wished I had some appreciation for what that was. What would have happened had we said no? What was Lynnria sacrificing to go along with this? She had mentioned having an abysmal Manic Breadth stat, though. Is this really all just to switch her over to this… Engraving Intricacy… thing? I had to suppose there was a certain poetic symmetry in her obtaining a stat like that, given Lynnria’s Class as an Engraver, but what was EIC supposed to do? What made it different from Manic Breadth? And why might that difference be considered blasphemy? No matter how much Mia might deny it, I could not shake the notion that there was something more significant at play than a simple change in how her stats worked.

However, it seemed Mia was forbidden from discussing it. Again… for who knew what reasons. Oy… this whole thing is doing my head in, too.

“Yes, my lord,” Mia intoned presently. “Give me a few moments to set things up.”

Pretty much the instant the Faen left my head, I felt Jax’s hand curl over my shoulder. When I turned, I found her sitting very close, her face unreadable.

“Have a care, Master,” she whispered softly. “Yer lesser’s a troubled one. Lot going on under her skin. Too much to get a handle on so quick-like.”

I gave Lynnria a quick side-eye, but she was still pacing about, too much in her own head to be paying Jax any attention. I nodded my understanding. “I do seem to have a type, don’t I.”

She snorted. But there was a gentle smile hidden beneath her scowl. “I’d nay like to see ye hurt, be all. Whate’er yer Faen’s about to do, she said her ownself—no immortality. It won’t protect the lass like the bind do me and Arx. Don’t put too much of yerself into her ‘til ye can make her more permanent-like.”

Ah, so that’s it. I chuckled then gave her a soft bump against the shoulder. “No one could replace you, Jax.”

“Again with yer mince,” she growled before pulling me into a quick but fierce kiss. “I don’t trust that Faen of yor’n, neither. Can’t read that one at all, but even the sallowest numpty’d know she’s got plans fer ye. All that talk of mortal paths and such stiffs me short hairs, ye ken?”

I actually had to think for a minute before I ‘kenned.’ Jax was as perceptive as they came, but picking out any sort of meaning from her mishmash of lingo was often an exercise in futility.

“Oh… you mean the hair on the back of your neck, don’t you.”

She shook her head in confusion. “Where else?”

“Well, it’s just… where I come from… never mind.”

“Okay, I’ve got it all set up. You can begin any time you’d like,” Mia announced about then—saving me from the mental hamster-wheel squeaking away behind Jax’s eyes.

“I’m going to need you to be a little more specific, Mia.”

“It’s all very technical, but… well, I suppose there really isn’t any easy explanation,” she admitted. “I cannot precisely duplicate Xhinn’s methods. I am not Her nor ever any part of Her. I am you, my lord. And I have seen you do it. In your own way.”

I blinked once slowly. Then a few more times in rapid succession. “That… huh?”

“No more than I expected,” she said with a chuckle. “I can only explain more by way of metaphor. What I have done is to prepare the soil, but it is you who must plant the seed. From that, your tree will grow.”

“Tree?” Arx straightened, understanding suddenly. “You mean—?”

“Yes, exactly the same. Though the reasoning behind that specific metaphor escape me, there is a certain pattern to his workings.”

She placed a hand over her abdomen. “That was real?!”

“Uh… guys?”

“It was,” Mia affirmed, ignoring me. “Do you now understand the opportunity you missed? You could have joined with him within the very center of your Power.”

“But I didn’t know it was growing out of my Core!” She turned to me. “Donum, we have to go back to sleep! I want to try again. And without Mia, this time! Just you as you are.”

“We’re the same person, you twat!” Mia yelled with a relatively mild swear on her lips. Which was a bit surprising. She usually avoided those unless someone forced one out of her. “Besides, our lord’s dreams are still too chaotic to be able to summon such things on a whim. Why did you think I wanted to work on his Intelligence?”

“Guys.”

Jax raised a finger, drawing my attention away from the growing argument. “Master… be this a sex thing?”

I opened my mouth in thoughtless dismissal, but then realization set in. Whatever else she was on about, Mia had said I needed to ‘plant a seed.’ And that would be spectacularly on-brand for this group.

“Sex?” Lynnria said, stiffening suddenly. “Nobody said anything about… Donum, we’re not having sex are we?”

“Now yer nervous? Ye was happy to bob on his boaby not five minutes ago.”

Not just five minutes ago. She’s been at me pretty much since I’ve known her. Not that I was about to say any of that out loud. Jax had been tolerant. There was no need to push her.

“Well, I mean… I couldn’t help it at the time, could I?” Lynnria tittered. “With this, I—I… well, that is…”

Jax narrowed her eyes, then slowly crawled off the bed, stalking her way toward the girl. She looked… angry? “Fear? Why fear?”

I took me half a second before I could piece together the reasoning behind the question or the emotion behind it. She might well have guarded me like a pit bull over its bone, but she was no less quick in becoming incensed over someone rejecting me. After all, I was her axiomatic definition of the perfect man. It would be like someone hating on your favorite movie.

“Now, hold on, Jax. There’s no need to pressure—” I began, but she held up her hand, forestalling me.

“What pressure?” she shot back. “The girl knows ye’d not touch what ain’t yer own to touch, nor enter where y’ain’t invited. And on silver besides. I’d’ve cut her down where she stands, if’n I suspected otherwise. No.” She turned back to Lynnria. “I feel yer aching, girl. I feel yer heart pounding away. There be plenty of fire in yer veins. Ye been wanting this. Why fear?”

“W-well, it’s just…” Lynnria stammered softly. “I’m… I’m not very good at it, is all.”

Jax tilted her head, frowning suspiciously. But then her scowl slowly gave way into a knowing grin.

“Ah… Ye was a laoi, wasn’t ye. That’s got it.” Laughing good-naturedly, she swung an arm over her shoulders and all but dragged the girl forward. “Well now, ye’s about to get a lot better at it!”