6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Isla’s guide to The Twelve Nights of Halloheen (Excerpt)

Although it’s called the Night of Fears, it’s really more about crafting skills than causing fright. Don’t worry if your costume isn’t scary. If it’s clever, intricate, or beautiful, we’ll love it and you have a chance to win the evening .

Tisuran

Standing outside Isla’s door, Tisuran tried to shake off his tension. He was sure she’d approve of his costume. He’d dressed as the scariest thing he could think of—an ancient Talin warrior.

He was wearing what Talins wore before they had body armor and modern medicine. Back then, warriors died all the time of infection or blood loss. Going to war with nothing but steel and strength made ancient warfare the most frightening thing Tisuran could imagine. Of course, that was before the first Monarch unified the planet, creating one language, one government, and one power. His species had been unstoppable ever since.

Looking down, he readjusted the shield hanging off his belt yet again. It was an important part of the costume, but uncomfortable to wear walking around. How had his ancestors marched across vast land masses with this banging their legs with every other stride?

As he was shifting it a bit more to his left, Isla’s door slid open. Looking up, he rattled in surprise before he could stop himself. The truth was, he couldn’t understand what he was seeing.

Isla had taken some kind of creamy white substance and spread it all over her lightly tanned skin. Then she’d taken a darker substance and formed circles around her eyes and contoured her face so she looked pale and gaunt. She’d also found a garment that was all black and draped over her shoulders, hiding most of her body. It included a hood, which was pulled up to cover her hair and cast a shadow across half her face.

The entire effect was far too gruesome and confusing to be his sweet, joyful loreline !

“You look so shiny!” she exclaimed, examining his metal breastplate.

He tugged lightly on her hood. “What have you done to yourself?”

She beamed up at him. “What do you think? I’m a ghost!”

He sounded a rumble of confusion. “What’s a ghost?”

“Humans have this idea that if someone dies and their soul doesn’t enter the afterlife, their souls turn into ghosts and haunt the living,” she explained cheerfully. “Talins don’t have ghosts?”

How could someone be so merry as they described something so horrific?

“No!” he exclaimed with a little more force than necessary. “When a Talin dies, they go to the Domicile of the Ancestors. They don’t remain behind.”

She wrinkled her nose. “And everyone goes to the same place, even those Talin who weren’t, um, honorable?”

“Yes, but if they didn’t live a good life, they’re doomed to stand in the outer ring of the domicile. They never enter the inner rings where the best of us reside,” he told her. “It’s all very orderly.”

For some reason that made her laugh. “That sounds like the kind of afterlife you guys would come up with. So, what’s your costume?”

He slapped his hastily made breastplate hard enough to make it ring out in the night. “I’m a jorvian , the most feared type of Talin warrior that ever existed. You said to dress as something scary, and jorvians were renowned for their prowess in battle. All feared the jorvians . They battled in a time before we could heal wounds or cure infections, so their lives were often short and painful.”

“You make a handsome jorvian ,” she agreed with a solemn nod of her head. “And you’re right, it’s a scary costume too. Let’s get to the communal building. I want to see what everyone else looks like.”

She took his hand to lead him away. Since the Night of Joy, they’d taken advantage of every moment of downtime to be together. He’d gotten to pleasure her several more times with his mouth and looked forward to getting to do it again after the Night of Fear festivities were over. He had yet to find release himself, but he was patient. He refused to even take himself in hand; he would wait until Isla was ready for more of him.

He couldn’t think of anything more satisfying than having her small fingers exploring his body. She owned him. He was simply waiting for her to finish claiming her prize.

They entered the communal building to find everyone already eating, drinking, and laughing. Tonight was the seventh day of Halloheen and it was clear that everyone had taken time and effort to create their costumes. Even if he didn’t understand what they were supposed to be.

Tisuran recognized Palforma’s right away. He was dressed all in black, with a layer of glow-latch spread on his outline. It was obvious Palforma was a blackhole and the glow-latch was the event horizon.

Tisuran wanted to curse. He wished he’d thought of that! Blackholes were one of the most fearful things in the universe. Looking around, he noticed everyone had scarier costumes than his. Other Talins were dressed to represent disease, ship malfunctions, or natural disasters. He had to admit, his jorvian costume paled compared to all those.

However, the human costumes were strange. One human had put on a formal black omnie covered in deep red embroidery and had two false teeth meant to look like fangs, but other than that she hadn’t done anything to her appearance. Another human had covered himself in green pigment and had two sets of false teeth that extended far past his own lips up and down. He concluded that, like Isla’s ghost, these must be terrifying creatures from human folklore.

The evening moved slowly for him. Isla flitted from group to group, admiring costumes and conversing with everyone. His human loved to talk. And she found a compliment to give every single Talin and human there. She practically gushed over the human baby dressed as a Tartin grub.

Personally, he couldn’t understand why all the humans found the fake eyeballs mounted to the top of the baby’s costume so humorous. Every time the infant moved his head, the eyes bobbed around, making the humans laugh. It was odd, but then again, humans could find the strangest things amusing.

Isla was enjoying herself so much it came as a surprise when she led him out of the building and to the area where they’d held the Night of Fire. The fire pits were still set up but empty. To his surprise, one of them was full of fresh fuel. There were also thick blankets and pillows on the ground next to it.

“Come sit with me,” she implored, making him realize she’d set this up.

He let her guide him to sit and waited as she set the fire pit ablaze, warming the small area around them.

“I have a gift for you,” she said as she sat on the blankets facing him.

“You already gave me the spiner-tape,” he said with a confused rumble. “On the Night of Gifts when we all exchanged items in brightly wrapped paper. You gave me an entire case of spiner-tape. Remember? And when you found the hidden flat bread, you gave me the prize because you know I’m fond of pickled tolk.”

She waved a hand in the air dismissively. “Spiner-tape and pickled tolk aren’t very good gifts.”

“But they are,” he argued. “I’ve already used the spiner-tape twice and ate half the pickled tolk.”

“I want to give you something better,” she said, ignoring his protest. “You’ve been so patient with me. I can’t tell you how amazing the last few days have been. Then I realized something today; I’m not afraid of your touch.”

He sounded an enthusiastic rattle. “Those words are the best gift you could ever give me!”

Biting her lip, she gestured at the blankets and pillows. “Well, I want to go further than words tonight. I thought maybe I could give you some pleasure back.”

“You don’t have to do anything,” he insisted, worried that she was pushing herself because she felt obligated. The last thing he wanted to do was ruin the trust they’d built.

“I don’t feel obligated,” she assured him. “I want to go further. I think I’m ready for your hands. Not that your tongue isn’t talented, but I really want to feel your hands on me. Could we do that?”

Her words affected him so profoundly that the blood shot to his groin, making him slightly lightheaded for a sub-mark.

“I can’t think of anything I’d want to do more,” he answered, trying very hard not to growl.

Suddenly, she looked apprehensive. “But we might need to stop.”

“ Loreline , all you have to do is make a single negative sound and I’ll stop. Remember the storage closet and the walking-torch leg?”

A confident smile unfurled across her face. “That’s right. You’re really good at the whole stellian thing.”

“You can tap on me, say no or stop, and everything halts,” he reminded her. The scent glands in his cheeks were full and aching. “But before we do anything, may I scent mark you?”

“I’d like that,” she murmured and climbed into his lap.

Isla

To Isla’s surprise, her heart wasn’t beating out of her chest. She felt calm and centered as she snuggled against Tisuran. As with all their previous intimate encounters, he kept his arms away from her, careful not to hold her in a way that would make her feel trapped.

Snuggling against his chest, she let contentment wash over her. “Okay,” she whispered.

He was sounding a strong, steady purr as he rubbed the scent glands in his cheeks into her hair. The air filled with the smell of sweet maple, causing her to take a deep breath. She’d never get tired of that smell.

Despite the cool evening air, she felt overly warm. Heat was radiating off Tisuran, making her feel like she was surrounded by her own personal furnace. Now that her hair was saturated with bonding oil, he nuzzled her neck and pushed the collar of her omnie out of the way so he could kiss her shoulder.

She kept expecting him to bring his hands up to help undress her, but he didn’t. The spark of frustration surprised her. Was she annoyed that he was being so respectful?

No, that wasn’t it. She was irritated because she wasn’t being more adventurous.

Determined to make up for her earlier timidity, she wiggled around until she was kneeling between his legs and facing him. Her hands were shaking as she pulled at the ties to the omnie. The heavy garment fell open, revealing the thin wrap underneath.

After shrugging out of the omnie, she reached for the ties on the wrap, falling into a familiar rhythm of untying the ubiquitous garment. Everything stalled once the ties released. Gripping the front edges of the wrap, she froze in place. Her heart sped up and all she could hear was a roaring in her ears. Frustration hit her at the same time fear made her start swallowing compulsively.

She wanted this. She wanted to touch him and have him touch her. Wanted to see him naked, something she hadn’t experienced yet. She wanted more than his mouth on her.

But her hands were locked tight. She couldn’t get her fingers to release. Tears gathered in her eyes, obscuring her vision.

What was wrong with her?

“I have a suggestion, loreline .”

She looked up to find Tisuran watching her with his knowing, bright amber eyes. She tilted her head. “What?”

“You tell me what to do. I’ll only act with your instruction, nothing else. I’ll be under your control at all times.”

His ceding control like that added a whole new facet to their intimacy that had never occurred to her. The thought of being in charge was appealing. She’d never been in charge of another person. She’d always been the worker bee or off doing projects on her own. She’d never had anyone answer to her.

A heady feeling of power blossomed in her chest, replacing the trepidation. “Take off your belt and pants,” she demanded, while still holding her wrap closed. “I want to see all of you.”

A brief rattle of excitement sounded alongside his constant purring. At least she thought that was what the windchimes-sounding rattle meant. “As my Isla commands.”

Confidence she didn’t know she had filled her. She could do this!