An Unusual Job – Concealed

With a terribly sudden awareness, he became a part of the world again. Instincts born of long training and experience kept Kallin still, despite wakefulness. Keeping his eyes closed and his breathing even, the Kae Solune took stock of his situation. First, memory. The last thing he could recall was diving out of Shautha's second, or was it third, floor window. He'd been badly beaten up, he knew. Which brought him to the next thing: both arms felt like lead weights and his left leg was host to a dull throb of aching pain. The latter, while bad, was manageable, for the moment. Alright, he wasn't going to be leaving anytime soon, so where was he? Under his fingers, and bare back, Kallin felt a soft yielding firmness. A high end mattress? Yes. With feathers instead of straw or cobs. And an equally soft pillow. And clean bedclothes. Well, that was a relief, infinitely better than the worst case's gutter.

Time to switch senses, he decided as two muffled voices came to his ears. Both were indistinct, as if coming through a door. Had he somehow gotten home? Had Ilusial found him and gotten the local hedge woman? Hmm, no, neither cadence sounded right for her. And losing days to wander aimlessly home while badly wounded, surviving the trip, was too unlikely. So, he must be in the capital, still. Given the fact that he was apparently both living and unbound, he must have made it to a safe house. But, which one?

He'd just decided to hazard a look when the door opened and the voices momentarily stopped. A very clearly feminine one, clear and strong, returned almost instantly. "Welcome back, stranger," the voice belonged to the shorter of two women by the door. With a look, she sent the taller, younger, scurrying off. "We were afraid you wouldn't make it, for a while. There was an awful lot of blood," she added, brushing a stray lock of curly brown hair from her eyes as she came to sit on the edge of the bed. Up close, Kallin found that he could see nearly all of her well-endowed, lithe, figure through the diaphanous gown she wore. When she laughed a heartbeat later, even the sore and tired man felt a thrill run through him.

"My apologies . . . I am Lyah, and you are in the House of Alaiarath," she explained, "you stumbled by last night and collapsed while we were inviting in worshippers."

The Kae Solune found his voice, haltingly at first. "Many thanks . . . arms . . . stiff, breathing . . ."

"Yes, we had to bind wounds on your arms," Lyah replied quickly, "The hierophant says you had two cracked, maybe broken, ribs too. You are not to move for at least another day. His instructions are that you eat and sleep as much as possible."

He managed a weak nod as his eyes started to lose focus. Probably drugged, Kallin decided as his lids closed. The clergy of the carnal love god were said to have at least some knowledge of the healing arts. He'd gotten lucky. He could have ended up with Klumen the slaver or Marjok the diseased. With that thought and the lingering mental image of Lyah, Kallin allowed, no, fell, swiftly into the embrace of Sleep.

When he woke again, it was dark, but Kallin noted that Lyah was still in the room. She must have seen that he was awake, by the candlelight, as she started toward him with a steaming bowl. At first, the wounded man found it difficult to speak. After the seventh spoonful of broth, however, he felt up to asking, "What was done . . . with my clothes . . . and weapons?" While his body recuperated, his mind was at work, planning his departure.

"We still have them, on my chest at the foot of the bed."

Kallin nodded, somehow unsurprised that he was in the priestess' rooms. "Alright . . . I need you to . . . burn the clothes, all of them . . . very important, and get rid of the weapons . . . first, pouch in inside pocket. Get that, please," he instructed. To her credit, Lyah asked no questions, probably part of her calling. When she returned, he said, "Good, it made it. Look, Lyah, I need a few favours."

She lit up a bit, a small quirk of her lips showing the smile she stifled, "Of course . . . bit we'll need to know your name. Alaiarath will need that so we can pray for you."

"Kallin," the Shadow replied quickly, "I'm going to need new clothes and two good, plain, daggers when I'm well enough to leave. Can you get them for me?"

"Yes. In the morning."

Probably from a 'worshipper,' he thought. Aloud, he just said, "Great. Take the money you need. From whatever's left, take two of every three coins. I need those to go to Railin the Carter, with a message. 'There is a problem. Oren will need the cart in . . .," he shifted and winced, "five days. Easy enough?"

Once Lyah nodded, repeated the message twice, and left the remaining coins, Kallin was left to meditate on the remaining mental image of her exit. And to think about his next course of action. It was clear that he'd failed his job. The Kae Solune did not take failure lightly, especially when it came to such important jobs as this one. There was no thought of trying to complete it now, the target had likely moved and a new brother had been assigned to deal with Shautha. Also, it was only a matter of time before someone was dispatched to punish him for his failure. Hunting Shautha under those circumstances was out of the question. That left escaping the city and taking Ilusial into hiding, maybe north into Mondaria, as the only viable option. He'd have to cover his tracks getting back, lying low for another five days ought to help, no one would look at the temple for awhile . . .

. . . Kallin lost the trail of thought as he woke to sunlight and Lyah. The priestess smiled and brushed her hair back before perching herself on the edge of the bed. Today, he noted, the semi-sheer gown had been replaced by a thin red silk halter top and silver trimmed derriere skimming skirt. "Feeling better today," she asked. As he nodded, the mage-assassin was pleased, yet unsurprised, to notice she had a trim, well toned, physique. Given her calling, that made sense, he thought as she continued. "Railin accepted the payment and said he'll keep the cart ready for an equal amount once Oren is done with it. And one of the servants went shopping this morning. The tunic was overpriced, I think."

He waved off the objection, "Doesn't matter, I won't wear it for long . . . thank you for everything. What do I owe Alaiarath for my care and your room?"

"Nothing, Kallin . . . but five of the coins from your pouch would make a generous donation," Lyah replied with the hint of an amused grin.

"Take five for the god, then," Kallin matched the look, "another five for the hierophant to do with as he pleases, with my thanks. And keep the rest for yourself, as a gift."

The priestess nodded, rose, and, giving him enough of a view to see she wore nothing under the skirt, emptied the pouch. Not that he was surprised by her attire, or lack thereof. Kallin was surprised when she turned back to him with a mischievous look in her eyes. "There is enough left in here for a worshipper to enjoy . . . ten nights in the company of a priest or priestess of my rank. It is not the practice of Alaiarath's priesthood to accept donations without providing a service . . ." She set the pouch down and took the four steps necessary to stand by the bed.

Looking down at the wounded man, Lyah slid a hand down his bare chest, disturbing the covers. He felt another disturbance as he was given a nice long look down the priestess' cleavage. She seemed to notice too because she began pulling the bedclothes down, observing, "It seems you'll be needing some more experience of Alaiarath's healing powers . . ." With that, she fully drew back the covers, exposing Kallin's growing erection. A moment later, she'd straddled his legs, pinning his lower body to the bed. Not that he really struggled. Instead, he watched as Lyah bent at the waist, letting her wavy hair fall across his chest. He sighed and squirmed a little as she drew her head up, the silken tresses gliding across his skin.

Somehow, he was pleased to see, she'd gotten the halter tops off without his notice. Lyah sat back on his knees to give her 'captive' a good view of her full breasts. Kallin smiled up and whispered, "I appear to be at your mercy, priestess."

She laughed as she placed his hands on her breasts, inviting him to squeeze and caress them. As he did so, the priestess ran her fingertips over his torso, drawing a low groan from the Shadow. He felt his body react in too many ways to count as Lyah drew circles around his flat nipples with her tongue. He squirmed a bit more as she started leaving a trail of kisses down over his ribs. When she paused at his navel, licking around the indentation, and lay her body atop his legs with his phallus between her breasts, he guessed where the 'healing' would come from.

A moment or two later, Lyah spread his legs, settling herself between them. Slowly, she licked up the underside ridge of his organ, watching it jump and twitch in response. As she reached the head, she gently cupped and massaged his balls while grasping the base of his shaft firmly. Kallin let out a low groan as the priestess ran her tongue around the whole bulbous tip. The sound was cut off and turned into a loud moan and gasp as she sucked just the top between her lips. As she suckled at his member, Lyah kept her tongue swirling around it, adding to the sensation and eliciting wordless mumbles and pants from her charge.

By the time her throat closed around a good fraction of his length, it was all he could do to keep from touching her, drawing her up so he could return the intense feelings. His injuries helped restrain him, though Lyah's ministrations seemed to be helping the wounds. As she began bobbing her head in time to her suction, Kallin closed his eyes, immersing himself in sheer enjoyment. Afterall, no one said he couldn't enjoy his near week in hiding . . .