The Egg of Immorality

First, let me apologize to everyone for the delay in posting this. On the flip side, I'm going to be busy the next several days so I used the extra time to get chapter 4 ready to submit also (it's submitted separately, so click on my name to find it amongst my submissions)

Now then, for chapter 3 - John finds a way to lessen the boredom of long wilderness travels.

To start at the beginning of The Egg of Immorality, find chapter 2

here

. To start the Thirst for Power series fresh, please look for

Enchanted

. Thank you for reading and please look up my profile page if you have any questions, concerns, or wish to reach out to me.

"Hard to believe nobody's settled in this area," Helleen said to her sister. "It's beautiful around here. Could be a little warmer, but all this open land and we haven't seen anything dangerous in a while."

"Maybe something dangerous is over the next hill?" Roxanne said. She pointed to the north and south and added, "Or those hills?"

Helleen stuck her tongue out at her.

"Don't go giving me any ideas, Zynga got her feeding this morning so I might be high and dry for a bit," Roxanne teased her sister back.

"Maybe it's hard to get to. The undergrowth in that forest was terrible," Helleen shifted back to her original line of thought.

John leaned out of the open window of his carriage and asked, "My unstoppable gladiatrixes aren't complaining, are they?"

"No, My Lord," Roxanne said and shot a glare at her sister. "We're just talking about how nice it is here and we're surprised no one has settled it."

"I believe someone has," John said. "That's where we're going."

Roxanne and Helleen shared a look.

"Humans?" Helleen asked.

"I believe so," he said. "On an island in the middle of a lake."

"A lake?" Roxanne asked. She grinned. "Does that mean a beach?"

"Don't forget it's colder up this way," Helleen reminded her sister. "You're likely to put Zynga's eye out as it is."

Roxanne followed her sister's eyes down to her chest and then looked back up at glared at Helleen. She was wearing a comfortable shirt with travel leathers over them to keep her warm and protect her. A far cry from the skimpy armor she and Helleen fought in during their gladiatorial days.

"Don't worry, I can warm her back up," Zynga said.

Helleen let out a squeak and spun around. Zynga was walking behind her, a smirk on her face. "I thought you were in John's carriage? Where did you come from?"

"You probably couldn't pronounce it, but for simplicity's sake just call it Hell," the imp said.

Helleen's nose wrinkled and she turned to look at her sister. Roxanne shrugged and tried to hide the smile on her face.

"My sister's sleeping with a demon," Helleen muttered. "What would our mother say?"

"My sister was sleeping with a demon first," Roxanne retorted.

"Hey, I'm only part demon," John retorted. "Now quiet down, there's no telling what might be hiding in these weeds-- wait a minute, these aren't weeds."

"Looks like weeds to me," Zynga muttered.

"It's wheat," Sadie said from the other bench in the carriage. She stared down from the window at it for a moment before adding, "Looks untended. It's growing wild."

John looked at the wheat and then looked up ahead to where Artesia was driving the carriage. "Artesia, have you seen any sign of a farm or anything?"

"Just the wheat, My Lord," she called back. "It's poor farm country though, too many hills. This is poor country for your carriage too."

"I was wondering about that," John said. "Let's stop a moment."

Artesia pulled the horses to a stop and set the brake. Before she could finish John opened the door and climbed out. He looked around, stretched his back and legs, and then set out climbing up the hill on their left until he reached the top of it. Artesia hurried to join him while the others waited near the bottom of the hill.

"What are you doing?" Artesia asked.

John looked around in all directions. "Trying to make sense of this place."

Artesia grunted. "I've no idea if we've cut across Jennaca's trail yet, but she said she'd seen birds to the west. Water birds."

"Yes, she did," John said absently while staring to the west. There were more hills but he thought he could see a bit of shimmer beyond them. "I think I see it."

Artesia squinted as she tried to look where he was. "I don't."

John glanced at her before asking, "You've got good eyesight, don't you?"

"Why? Because my mother was an elf?"

"Because I've seen you eyeing up our surroundings and I've seen you with that crossbow," John said.

Artesia took a moment before nodding. "Yes, my eyes are sharper than most. Yours must be better still to see that."

"Yeah, well, I've got a little something extra."

"So I've heard."

John turned and stared at Artesia.

Her cheeks colored but she kept her lips pressed together.

"I imagine you've heard quite a lot," John mused.

"I'm sworn to you, My Lord," Artesia reminded him.

"You are," John agreed. "I respect and admire you, Artesia. You've been loyal to me time and again, even though there is nothing but your word to bind you to me."

"I don't need any more than that," she said.

"I believe you," John said. "You proved yourself to me. My one and only concern is if you were ever taken from me."

"Taken from you? I don't belong to you," Artesia said. "I am pledged to your service, but my life is my own."

"Yes, yes, sorry," John fumbled. "I didn't mean to make it sound so... dominant."

"I'm not like your other girls," Artesia continued.

"Right, they have a magical contract with me," John said. "That's what I rely on... it reassures me that even if something should happen to them, the rest of us would be safe. They would not risk sharing anything that might threaten us. Plus I would be able to find them and reclaim them."

"Reclaim them?"

He winced. "Recover. Sorry, another poor choice of words."

"They are your words to use, My Lord," Artesia said.

John sighed. "They are, and I've been choosing poorly. Defeating Dargoth and claiming Arika has woken things in me, Artesia. I won't deny that. Urges and desires... but that's the infernal side of me. I've been trying to be careful-- to make sure that the decisions I make are for the right reasons."

"Your reasons are yours to decide. Right and wrong-- well, I have pledged my service to you, Lord John, not to your ideals," Artesia said. "My job is to do your bidding and to keep you safe. It is a better job than any I have had before... even if it is sometimes a little too loud to have some proper sleep."

John chuckled in spite of himself.

"True, you were a bandit when I found you."

"I'm not proud of that," she said.

"Are you proud of what we've done so far?"

Artesia tilted her head and then turned to look at him. "I take pride in knowing that you are still alive after all the dangers we've faced."

John smiled. "I've nearly lost you a couple of times though."

"That's my job."

John frowned. "You are no more dispensable than any of the others are... or myself, for that matter. If we did have a contract not only would it allow me to protect you with my magic, you'd be connected to me as well. All of which would make it so you could do your job better."

Artesia looked at him, including a brief drop of her eyes to his midsection. She pulled them back up so quick he was glad he hadn't blinked or he'd have missed it. "Have I not performed well enough, My Lord?"

"You have," John admitted. "I'm just... it seems our every day is filled with danger. I worry about you, Artesia, just like the others. I want to be sure you're safe."

"I am safer than perhaps you or your-- the others-- are."

John raised an eyebrow at her slip.

She blushed. "I'm sorry, I'm not like the other girls."

John nodded. "I understand... but please consider the offer open. You are important to me, Artesia. As important as any of them are. I would feel better if I could feel you at all times."

"My Lord?"

John smirked. "Not like that. It's part of the contract. Having a sense of where you are. Just as you would have the same sense of where I am."

"I see," Artesia said. "So you have a sense of where Jennaca is now?"

John did a double take and then smiled. "I do, yes. I hadn't thought about that, I was too busy worrying about threats and the source of this wheat and then you. Jen is... west of us. A little further north than I'd thought, but I trust she has a reason for it. I can feel that she is well. Excited, even."

"Excited, My Lord? Without you?"

John chuckled. "Not like that. I swear, Artesia, with a quick mind like yours you fit in so well."

She blushed. "Perhaps the company I keep has guided my thoughts at times."

He laughed. "I know what you mean. Well, I'll leave you to think on it."

She blushed and looked like she was going to say something.

John didn't push her. He waited patiently and studied her.

Artesia looked to the west and cleared her throat. "We should keep going. It will take most of the day to find Jennaca and still reach the lake you say is out there."

John considered Artesia's words for a moment and felt his connection to Jennaca again. He focused on and realized he'd been mistaken. He could communicate with her over it, but only at short distances. She was too far away now. The best he could do was get a general sense of her. Such as that her soul was strong and active. "She's well enough. Just as I can know the direction she's in, so does she know where I am. She will join us. That, or, if we're heading in the wrong direction I trust she'll come and get us and chew my ear off for it."

Artesia chuckled. "Yes, My Lord. To the west it is."

John turned to look down the hill at where the others were resting on or against his carriage. He raised an arm and as one all the women except for Sadie looked up at him. Sadie followed their gaze a heartbeat later. He called out, "Break's over."

The women reclaimed their positions in or near the carriage while John and Artesia walked back down to it. Sadie stood outside the door and waited for John to get close before saying, "I'd like to stretch my legs some more, I think."

John nodded. "I don't blame you," he said. "I'd do the same but I'd feel bad for leaving nobody in the carriage."

"It's still carrying our gear," Helleen said. "You should join us! I'm sure we could keep you entertained."

John chuckled. "We have many miles ahead of us. I'll ride for now for the sake of speed. That and I expect Artesia would be cross with me if she had to drive the carriage and I was all the way back here."

"A wise choice, My Lord," Artesia said.

John smirked.

"Fine, I'll ride with Artesia," Helleen said.

Artesia nodded to the ever-positive gladiator.

Arika untied the laces on her dress and slipped it up and over her head. Nude and with no notion of modesty, she bent and scooped up her dress and her boots and put them in a chest secured to the back of the carriage. Standing proud and bare she said, "With Jennaca and her pet away I'll keep watch for us."

John nodded. "Good idea," he said while admiring her beautiful form and the long golden hair that fluttered in the gentle breeze.

Arika lunged forward, falling even as she pushed her arms forward to catch herself. Her body melted and shifted as she fell, changing so quickly she was a blur of gold and pink melding into grey and black and browns. She hit the ground in the form of a dragonkin -- a four legged creature with thick leathery hide and a tail as dangerous as her sharp-toothed mouth and fanged claws. Unlike the dragonkin John and his companions had fought, Arika was smaller. She was a little more than half the size of Sasha, a fact that Sasha seemed to enjoy reminding Arika any time she took her four-legged form around the great cat.

"Let's go then, we've many miles ahead of us," John said.

Arika's tail lashed out once, swishing through the air, and then she leapt off into the wheat to keep up a position circling them as they made their way west.

"You sure you don't need some company in there?" Roxanne asked.

John looked at her and saw a leering Zynga behind her. He smirked and opened the door to the carriage. "I suppose you did miss out this morning, didn't you?"

Roxanne grinned and climbed into the carriage ahead of him.

John turned to follow her and planted his face into her very firm backside.

"Oops, sorry, I wasn't in yet," Roxanne teased him.

John reached up and grabbed her bottom in both hands. He squeezed hard, digging into her tight muscles and making her yelp. He pushed her forward, using his infernal magic to boost his strength. She yelped again and giggled.

John climbed in and pulled the door shut behind him. He cast a shield around the cabin, shielding the noise they made from reaching the outside... just in case.

Roxanne was bent over the rear-facing bench of the carriage and looked back over her shoulder at him. "Master, please," she said. "Keep doing that."

John reached out and grabbed her ass again. "This?"

She hissed and nodded. "Yesss! You know what I need."

John chuckled. A swirl of his magic and her pants were undone. He pushed them down her legs and reached into her with a tendril of his power, preparing her for him. Another twitch of magic made his robe disappear and then reappear on the forward facing padded bench.

Roxanne gasped. "I've never... you... Oh Master, I don't understand how I'm always ready for you, but I am. Please, Sir, fuck me! Remind me that I'm yours!"

"Is that how you present yourself for me?" John asked her.

Her eyes widened. She adjusted so her shoulders were braced on the bench so she could reached back and grab a cheek in each hand. She pulled them as wide apart as her skin would let her, all while pushing her knees against each other.

John stared down at the lewd display before him. He grinned, the demon inside of him delighting in her complete submission. John took a deep breath and then stepped forward. He took hold of himself and guided his cock to her wet folds and slid up and down her gaping slit to wet himself. He didn't need the lubrication with his magic, but this wasn't about easing his passage into her depths. This was about denial and misdirection. This was what she craved from him, the reminder that he controlled her pleasure. And, at his discretion, her pain.

The muscular warrior gasped and shuddered at his touch. She mewed and pleaded with her body, even going so far as to bend her knees and drop her hips to guide him to where she really wanted him.

John reached out with his magic again. Her hips froze and she began to tremble from need and anticipation and denial. John watched her for a moment and then pushed forward and guided himself into her in a single smooth unyielding thrust.

Roxanne howled and threw her head back and forth on the bench while he pillaged her depths. Her knuckles and fingertips were white where they bit into her flesh but she never let go. Her ring of muscle tightened and clenched around him and then relaxed, only to tighten again.

John pushed through it until his hips pinned her hands to her ass. Only then did he stop and flex his mighty cock inside of her.

Roxanne jerked her head up and gasped. "My Lord! Oh... do that again! Please!"

John chuckled. "You already came once when I entered you. What more do you have left in you?"

"I'm sorry... I... it's been a bit now and....and.... you stretch me so much! It felt so wicked and brutal and amazing!"

"You're the only true pain slut I've ever known, Roxanne."

She looked back at him with a fever in her eyes. "I'm your pain slut, Master! Now please, flex that massive cock in my ass again and fuck me hard. Fuck me like I stole your money. Punish me, Master. Punish me so good!"

John chuckled and put a hand on her lower back. He flexed himself inside of her, causing her eyes to cross and then close from the pleasure. Then he pulled back until only the very tip of his cock remained inside of her. Roxanne was panting and whimpering and then screaming soundlessly as he crashed his entire length back inside of her.

John gave her no respite after that. He fucked himself into her backdoor without mercy. His magic made it possible, but he wondered if she had a magic of her own. No one could take the kind of abuse she craved from him.

All the better, the darkness inside of him delighted in it. John let it revel in the act of sodomizing the gladiator and leaving her breathless, voiceless, and by the time he finally rammed himself to an explosive finish that filled her bowels with a searing heat that seemed came from Hell itself, witless.

John slowly pulled out and sank back on the other bench. "Don't move," he told her while her battered ass gaped open. He let out a deep sigh and was about to use his magic to clean himself when Zynga popped into existence between the two of them.

"Don't you dare," she growled before she attacked his slowly shrinking manhood. She captured it in her lips, which seemed absurd considering her small stature compared to his. She made it work though, and she growled and moaned as she cleaned the last dregs of his spend.

John watched until she turned and tended to Roxanne's still upturned ass. He shook his head and summoned his robe before turning his attention to the many spell books he had gathered. He recovered his knowledge and power from his former life a little every day, but he still had a long ways to go. The good news was what had taken him decades before was within his grasp at a far younger age this time around.

A look up at Zynga's tongue plumbing the darkness of Roxanne's ass while she murmured and cooed at the treatment made him smile. Yes, there was a beast inside of him, but some days the two of them weren't so far apart after all.