The Way of the Black Beast by Stuart Jaffe Read Free Book Online Page A

tattoo. With a bang, the flyer's engines ignited. The people stepped back, making a commotion of startled laughter as it lifted into the air and flew away.
    To see a working flyer like that had been quite an event. Most people went their entire lives without ever seeing anything move that wasn't hitched up to horses. For these townspeople, this day had become far more memorable than any battle victory in the past.
    Once the trader left, the musicians started up again, and the party resumed with even greater enthusiasm than before thanks to the extra alcohol. Malja surveyed the townspeople, searching for the handsome man. She found him dancing with a plump gal, twirling and laughing and flashing a charming smile. Malja didn't dance which was exactly why he caught her eye and waved her over.
    When she stood, her alcohol-soaked head spun. She played it up and begged off the dancing. To her surprise, and the plump girl's ire, the man left the dance floor and walked over to her.
    "You didn't have to stop dancing for me," she said.
    "Well, you are the guest of honor," he said. Then in a mock-conspiratorial whisper, he added, "Besides, Nalli is a nice girl, but she talks a lot and steps on my feet."
    Malja finished her drink in two gulps. "I'm not much of a dancer. Your feet might be safer with Nalli."
    "You trying to say I should be nicer to her?"
    Malja laced her fingers behind her head and stretched back. She didn't miss his eyes snatching a peek at her breasts. "I've seen a few towns and I'll tell you this much — most are far less friendly."
    "Well, we like being friendly," he said as he stroked her knee.
    "That's a bit bold."
    "You don't get anywhere waiting for things to just happen."
    Malja licked her lips. Traveling such an empty land meant she often went without human contact for long periods, and though she couldn't picture settling down in one town for any length of time, she wondered if a girl like Nalli had it better. Safer, certainly, but safer didn't mean much. She felt far more alive during the dangerous times in her life than the calm ones. Except for sex, nothing quite matched.
    But sex often did. And with the life she led, that kind of contact rarely found her. No way would she miss a good opportunity — especially a good-looking good opportunity. "Let's go," she said, pulling on his wrist.
    "What?"
    "Will we be bothered in the stables?"
    As Malja led the way, the man's face shifted from confusion to excitement. "By the way," he said, "my name is —"
    "Don't care."
    The closer they came to the stables, the hotter Malja's blood burned. The second they stepped inside, she wrenched him around and pressed her lips against his. They stood and kissed while music played in the distance. But her mind refused to shut off its game of remembering horrors. She saw the bleeding head of Duke Brotta as she tossed it into a swarm of hungry konapols.
    "Something wrong?" the man asked.
    "Harder," she said, smushing her mouth into his. She grasped his body, squeezing and rubbing. She leaned back, letting him lick her neck. But she saw the emaciated magician Lexip as she burned him alive.
    She ripped open her lover's shirt and fumbled off his pants. She heard the wet slush of the Bluesman's sliced body. With a push, she sent her man to the ground. The scent of seawater and bile attacked her nose. She slipped out of her assault suit, straddled her partner, took hold of him and thrilled to his startled gasps as she guided him inside.
    For a few minutes, her drunken mind shut down. The flashes of her violent past went dark and only the rough pleasure between her legs remained. She lifted slow and dropped hard, grinding her pelvis toward the ground, trying to think only of her technique and the sheer delight of skin on skin.
    She had no illusions of a grand climax. For all his bravado, she could tell her lover lacked experience. The man tried to say something, but she ignored him. She simply took what he could offer and collapsed when