Pendant of Fortune (38 page)

“
Ahhhh.” He heard Dereath’s exhalation and felt ashamed as his sheath swelled. He hated responding, but he couldn’t stop his body. The best he could do was to send his mind away from it, think about the hourglass and the sand drifting down at a snail’s pace, the only thing now that stood between him and Streak.

“
If only you’d let me do this all those years ago,” Dereath was saying quietly.

Volle clenched his teeth together and said nothing. Dereath’s spidery fingers were working over his shaft as it emerged, sliding over the skin, and one paw was caressing his sac almost tenderly. “I can be a considerate lover, you know. When given the opportunity. But you turned me away. And you took my big, stupid warrior away.”

That was too much. “He was not stupid, and he was never yours.” Volle’s voice was harsh from the coughing, and from the memory that statement spurred.

“
He was more mine than yours.” Dereath’s voice was growing harder, his paw’s grip firmer.

Just keep quiet.
Volle ignored his inner voice’s advice. “Never. You would have just thrown him away.”

“
He was
mine!
” The rat stopped stroking for a moment. Volle imagined him standing, quivering with rage. He didn’t look back, and deliberately cupped his ears forward, away from Dereath.

After a moment, the rat started to stroke again. “It doesn’t matter now, anyway. He’s dead, and good riddance.”

Volle’s paws clenched into fists at that, and he pulled painfully on the straps that bound him to his tail. If he’d been untied, he would have strangled the rat then and there. Slowly, he calmed down.
Just make sure the same doesn’t happen to Streak
, he told himself.
Stay calm
. And this time, he listened. He slowed his tail’s lashing and relaxed his paws.

He was quite hard now under Dereath’s paw, and slightly sore. He’d been rough on himself earlier, and Dereath was none too gentle. At some point, he abandoned the strategy of not thinking about it as his body took over his mind, and he started to thrust into the rat’s paw.

“
There’s a good fox,” Dereath murmured. “Nice and ready and obedient. If only you could be like this all the time. If only I could stop time and keep you here.” His voice was dreamy now, and Volle glanced at the hourglass to be sure it hadn’t stopped, keeping up his thrusts. He was still sore, but the warmth of arousal was building slowly in him and overriding the soreness. He chose to answer Dereath’s words with panting and harder thrusts.

His nerves were singing inside him, and he felt himself about to stain Dereath’s sheets further. He groaned softly, and—

—
and Dereath’s paw released its grip abruptly.

Volle thrust forward into empty air, the climax so close he growled in frustration and tried to press himself into the bed. Dereath grabbed the leather straps around his tail and held him back with surprising strength. “Oh, no you don’t,” he said, his voice still soft, but now dripping with venom. “Now you know what it feels like to be so close and be unable to get what you want, to be thwarted at every turn. I told you the pendant of fortune swings back, didn’t I? And now, here’s something else to remember me by.” He drew a finger along Volle’s taut shaft gently, then gripped the tip and drove his claw into it.

Fire erupted through Volle’s shaft. He cried out at the first spike of pain, unable to help himself. Tears filled his eyes and he tried to buck away from Dereath’s paw, but the rat held on. Even when he withdrew, the sharp pain remained for several moments before becoming a throbbing fiery soreness. “Uh…unh…” He tried not to cry, despite his quickened breath and the tears that were now soaking into his fur. Slowly, he regained control of himself, feeling a wetness on his shaft that had nothing to do with arousal.

Dereath’s breath ruffled the fur inside his ear. “Don’t forget,” he hissed softly, “that I know what you are. Even if you’ve fooled all the rest of them.” Volle flicked his ear and turned his head slightly so he could see Dereath’s eyes gleam. “And I know about the other one, too.”

Tish?
For a moment, Volle panicked, then he noticed that Dereath’s eyes had a curiosity behind the gleam, and he was certain the rat was bluffing. “You don’t know anything.”

He said it more out of spite than anything else, and he’d meant to say more, but his voice had threatened to give out. The pain was still occupying most of his awareness, though at least it had taken his mind off his sore neck and shoulders. But it had an effect on the rat; his eyes narrowed and he shot a paw back to squeeze Volle’s sore member, sending more waves of pain through him. “I know
everything
,” he hissed. “Don’t you ever forget that. I know secrets you could not possibly begin to dream of. I know enough secrets to bring down half the nobles in this realm. Why do you think a common-born rat was able to take the most important bestowed title in the land? Once that fool Rallish was out of the way, there was nobody who dared oppose me. You would do well to remember that. In the end, fox, I always get what I want.”

This is what you wanted, isn’t it?
Volle fought to keep from crying out at the pain. “You just wanted me in your bed,” he whispered through gritted teeth. “You wouldn’t care about anything else otherwise.”

The rat’s grip relaxed, and his muzzle relaxed into an ugly smile. “Maybe that’s true,” he said. “But it’s too late for that. You humiliated me, nearly cost me my position twice, and I will not let that go.”

Volle pressed the point. “You only used information to get back at me.” He kept his voice to a whisper, for fear it would break if he spoke louder.

Dereath laughed. “Oh, Lord Vinton, of course I did. What else would I use it for?”

Volle had no answer for that. He moved his head to look forward again and glanced at the hourglass, which was now about two thirds finished.

Dereath must have followed his glance, because he chuckled softly. “Fortunately, I’m ready to finish your lesson.” He disappeared from Volle’s peripheral vision, and a moment later Volle felt him climb up on the bed behind him. A paw grabbed his tail and held him; he braced himself as he felt the rat move into position. Nothing applied to make it easier, as he’d suspected. He gritted his teeth.

He heard the rat inhale, then felt a burning pain as he was penetrated. He tensed, and he felt his tail bristle, but he tried not to react otherwise. With excruciating slowness, Dereath pushed and pulled. He can’t be enjoying it much, Volle thought, tensing his legs to keep them still. The pain was getting worse, but compared to what had come before, he could take it. It was the humiliation that was almost worse, that he was just being used. That was all Dereath had ever wanted from him, he was sure. He fought the pain and the shame with anger, and swore that whatever happened, he would get even with the rat for this. That thought held him as Dereath’s thrusts got faster and more ragged, and his breath came in short moans.

Beyond a point, Volle noticed distantly, the pain didn’t get much worse. When the rat grunted again and yanked at his fur, pushing all the way into him, he almost gasped in relief. The hourglass had maybe five or ten more minutes to go.

“
Ahhh…unh…” Dereath moaned and then straightened up, remaining inside Volle. He traced his paw around Volle’s rear. “I…uhh…don’t want to forget this view.”

Volle closed his eyes.
Fox, please don’t let me remember this too clearly. I did it for my pack.
As he said the short prayer, he relaxed, and the pain receded ever so slightly. Or maybe he was just going numb.

“
Well. You’ve held up your end of the bargain.” Volle could almost see the rat’s smirk as he put a paw under Volle’s rear and pulled himself out in an abrupt motion. Inside, Volle could feel the uneasy heat of the remains of the rat’s passion, and he fought to hold it in for a bit longer. “Now I should go and keep my promise.”

Volle kept his muzzle pressed into the pillow, easing the strain on his neck, while Dereath went into the bathroom. The rat emerged a moment later, the smell of sandalwood stronger around him. “Can’t have the guards knowing what I do in my private time,” he said with a sneer as he pulled his pants on. He fastened them and then gave Volle’s now-soft sheath a squeeze, smiling as the fox winced in pain. The paw slid around from there, rubbing him beneath the tail and gripping its base. “You just sit tight here, and I’ll be right back.”

“
You’re going to let me in to see Streak.” He tried to make it a statement and not a request, but wasn’t sure whether he’d succeeded.

“
You’ve been rather mean,” Dereath said tauntingly. “I thought first I might round up a few guards, a few Lords…whoever’s left. Bring them in here to show them my little fox toy.”

Volle turned to look at the rat, now standing by the door. “You promised.”

“
Oh, don’t worry. I got what I wanted. I’m only going to show him.” He opened the bedroom door and indicated the rabbit, who was standing just beyond it.

Volle felt his fur prickle in shame, and he turned away from the rabbit’s eyes. “You said he wouldn’t…”

“
I said he wouldn’t come in, and he won’t.” He heard the rat say, “Keep an eye on him. I’ll be back soon.” Then the opening and closing of the outer door, and then silence.

He couldn’t hold back any longer, nor did he want to. He lowered his rear and fouled Dereath’s sheets, gasping as he ridded himself of the rat’s semen. Then he fell—forward—onto the bed.

For several minutes he lay there still, not wanting to look at the rabbit, watching the hourglass instead. The last few grains were taking a long time to fall. He let his body relax, trying to ignore the various pains he felt in his groin, and rolling his shoulders and neck to alleviate the stress there. The room was quiet enough for him to hear the faint hiss of the sand, and then even that faded away as the last grain fell.

He began to struggle with the leather straps that bound his paws. If he twisted them around, he could almost get a grip on them, and if he could only get a grip, he might be able to loosen them. He thought he heard a noise from the direction of the wardrobe, then there was a definite noise from the front room. He turned his head, and saw the rabbit walking toward him.

Holding a long, wicked-looking knife.

“
Hey,” he said desperately. “You’re not supposed to come in here. Listen—ow!”

The rabbit had grabbed his paws, ignoring him, and with a smooth flick of the knife, cut the leather. Volle collapsed onto his side, bringing his paws in front of him and rubbing his wrists, then his sore tail base. He looked at the rabbit, who shrugged. “I don’t go for this sex stuff,” he said simply, and walked back into the front room.

He’d left the door open, but Volle was beyond caring. He got down carefully off the bed, ignoring his protesting hips and arms, and padded to the door to retrieve his clothes. The rabbit was in the front room, watching him with no more than casual interest. Volle met his gaze briefly, then turned and went to the bathroom. As he entered, he thought he caught a faint scent, but it disappeared beneath the sandalwood aroma before he could identify it. He closed the door behind him and sagged back against it.

There. It was over now. He’d made it to the other side of the hour, and if Dereath didn’t keep his word now…well, he would take care of that when the time came.

He deposited his clothes on a nearby stool and went to examine the available fragrances. The whole room reeked of sandalwood, so he inspected the other jars and found one that smelled of cinnamon. The exotic spice was strong enough to cover the unpleasant scents on him, so he applied it liberally to the fur under his tail and around his sheath, wincing as he did so. Both areas were still sore. There was blood on his sheath and on his abdomen just above it, too, from where Dereath had wounded him.
That,
he thought,
I will repay him for. Even if he keeps his bargain.

The rat didn’t have any decent brushes, and Volle didn't want to use something with rat fur on it anyway. He combed his fur as best he could, aware that Dereath could return at any moment, and cleaned up the worst areas. After he saw Streak, he would need to take a bath. Preferably a long water bath.

He pulled his clothes on and went back out into the main room. Clothed, he felt more in control and more assertive. He would go see Streak now, before Dereath could…well, do anything other than what he’d promised.

The rabbit stood as he crossed the front room. “You’re to stay.”

Volle shook his head. “I can’t. You can try to stop me if you want.” He paused, the door half-open, and said, “Thank you.”

The rabbit didn’t seem inclined to respond to any of his words. He shrugged again and followed Volle out the door.

On the staircase, they met Dereath coming back the other way. The rat was holding one paw inside his shirt and looking down, so he didn’t see them until he was about to run into them. When he looked up, he stopped, startled, then shot a nasty look at the rabbit before turning his attention to Volle. “Eager, aren’t you? Well, come on, then. I’ve given the guard his orders, and at least he knows how to follow them.” This last was accompanied by another look at the rabbit.