“It’s so damn peaceful and tranquil out here it’s easy to forget there’s a war on, and the world’s on the verge of ending,” I said.
“Yes, easy to forget…” Friya murmured, lost in thought. Suddenly, she reached into her bag and pulled out a flask. “Come,” she said, flashing me a swift smile. “We might not have another quiet and peaceful night like this, not for a long time. Maybe ever. We don’t know who will survive the battle and who won’t. Some of us will surely die. As for me, I don’t have that much longer left in this human skin of mine. Soon, I will shed it forever, and live for the rest of my days in the body of a dragon. Drink with me tonight. Let us be merry, for it might be the last chance we get. You too, Yumo-Rezu,” she added, looking at the slim, athletic enjarta with a gleam of what looked like lust in her pale eyes.
“You don’t need to ask me twice.” I grinned and took the flask from her. “What’s in here anyway?”
Friya flashed me a mischievous wink. “Try some and find out.”
I unscrewed the top of the flask and took a swig. The strong substance made me feel as if I’d sucked down a mouthful of liquid magma or molten steel. This stuff made the brandy old Grast the wagon driver was so fond of quaffing seem like a light ale.
“Fuck me, what the hell was that?” I asked, feeling the liquid burning a scalding passage through my innards.
Friya chuckled. “A special brew from my village. I brought it with me on this journey to remind me of home. This is the last of it, and I’ll never set foot in my village again—not with human feet, at least—so come; let’s finish it and enjoy the calm before the storm. Here, share this with us, Yumo-Rezu. You would honor me greatly by partaking, Dragon Goddess.” She took a sip of the fiery liquid, grinned, then handed the flask to Yumo-Rezu.
Yumo-Rezu stared at the flask for a moment or two with a look that was pure contempt. Nevertheless, to avoid insulting Friya, she took a tentative sip of the liquor. Both Friya and I watched with bated breath like two children who had just pranked their friend, waiting to see how she would react.
For a moment, the expression on her beautiful face was as cool and subtly disdainful as ever … and then her eyes almost popped out of their sockets, and she jumped up with such force that she almost toppled off of Fang’s back.
“It tastes like, like liquefied dragon fire!” she gasped, coughing and spluttering.
“Good huh?” I took the flask back from her and knocked back another hefty swig. “I gotta hand it to you Friya, your people know how to brew a stiff drink!”
“We do take pride in our liquor,” Friya said, before taking the flask back and glugging down a helping of booze that put even my large sip to shame.
“Let me try that dragon fire one more time before it’s all gone.” Yumo-Rezu grinned wickedly. Right now, I was pretty sure that the feisty enjarta section of her personality was dominating the mix. Yumo had always been one to seek thrills and push boundaries.
“Hey, leave some for me, you two!” I said. We each had one more sip of the liquor, then it was all finished.
We were by no means drunk, but the liquid packed a potent punch, so we were all buzzing a little. And ever since the three of us had set off on our own, I had noticed Yumo-Rezu and Friya subtly admiring each other. Now, after our little tipple, the checking out wasn’t so subtle anymore.
“I appreciate the sacrifice you’re making, Friya,” Yumo-Rezu said. “Becoming a living dragon is going a lot farther than most mortals would be willing to go.”
“I don’t see it as a sacrifice at all, Dragon Goddess,” Friya answered. “I see it as my destiny, my dream. I cannot wait for the transformation, truth be told. I have longed for it my whole life.”
“The sacrifice I’m referring to isn’t about your feelings, specifically.” Yumo-Rezu smiled lasciviously. “It’s a sacrifice on the part of others, who will be deprived of your immense beauty once you’re gone.”
Friya smiled, almost shyly, and batted her eyelids at the other woman. “Your beauty, Dragon Goddess, will be more than enough to fill whatever void is left by the passing of my physical body from this realm.”
“You two need to get an inn room,” I joked.
“I think a quiet, moonlit grove in the forest would suffice.” Yumo-Rezu shifted closer to Friya and traced her fingertips teasingly down the length of the wise woman’s tattooed arm. “But what I have in mind wouldn’t be half as much fun without you joining in, Vance.”
Friya took Yumo-Rezu’s hand off her arm and softly kissed the Dragon Goddess’s hand before she turned it over and gently nibbled on her wrist. In response, Yumo-Rezu bit her lower lip and sighed softly with pleasure.
“Yes Vance,” Friya said, “our desire for each other is incomplete without you. Please, join us. There’s only so much pleasure we can give each other. You, however, can take us to places we can only dream of.”
I didn’t need to be asked twice, and I stopped Fang. We all dismounted and, with one woman on each arm, I wandered over to a soft, grassy spot in the moonlight. I sat down, with Yumo-Rezu on my right and Friya on my left.
“Let’s start with a game,” I said, drawing Grave Oath from its sheath.
“This game looks like it might involve a little danger.” Yumo-Rezu liked her full lips with anticipation. “And you know how much danger turns me on…”
“Sorry to disappoint you, but there’s not much danger involved,” I replied with a cool smile. “It’s
