CH 10.
Eric found Tikeze had a voracious appetite for sex. Her ferocity was infectious, he'd meant to just get a 'sampling' of her, but they ended up in many positions all over the room. It didn't seem to matter what he did to her, so long as he kept doing it. Up against the wall, on all fours, on bottom, on top, however he had her she only wanted more.
He was completely spent and exhausted. The extended romp had the opposite effect on Tikeze. Eric lay panting, Tikieze climbed back on top to straddle him, grabbing his hands to plant them back on her breasts. Her eyes were wide, and seemed glow with a fire in them.
"Ohhh, one more time?" she begged with a sweet, cooing tone.
Eric chuckled at her. He had nothing left to go one more time. "You really are a sex monster, aren't you?" he asked.
"Oh yeah," She whispered hoarsly. Bending low to lick the end of his nose, she said, "You are not bad at all. I'll do whatever you wish."
"What I wish," Eric mussed. "I really wish you could get a good look at the inner city here, and show it to me without being seen."
Her eyes flashed and her grin widened. "As you wish, Master. I will need to kiss you, deeply."
They locked lips. As Eric kissed her he felt ... something get pulled out of him, then she breathed back into him. As they parted lips, she said in her sultry tone, "Rest, and close your eyes."
Eric did, then found he was looking down on himself. A thought came into his head. 'You are inside me, and I am in you. As long as you remain still. we are connected.'
Eric got up off himself. Looking down, he saw those large breasts on his chest. Hands lifted them up and wiggled them as Tikeze let out a giggle.
"You can play with these later, you want to see the city, right?" she asked. Then, he saw nothing but empty room. She'd vanished.
Eric's vision passed through the door into the cluttered room, through what used to be the front door, and into a large marble foyer. This cavernous room looked to be a meeting hall. Looking up, Eric noted the high domed ceiling above. The room had two arched entries. Eric no more that thought about going through one, and he was doing it, passing into a hallway where a pair of maids were scrubbing their way down the floor.
Coming out into a courtyard, Eric wanted to get a higher view, and was lifted up to rooftop level.
'Now this is the way to get a look around', Eric thought.
'I can do anything you want, as long as you are doing me,' Tikeze thought back.
Studying the layout of the buildings, Eric thought 'So, what is the price for this viewing? Nothing is free.'
Tikeze laughed a hearty laugh. 'I am quite surprised this worked. Usually, the one I draw from is either crippled or dead by now. You have a wonderfully large well of energy, I have drank from you deeply, and you appear to have an endless supply!' Tikeze thought happily.
'You draw on my energy to do this?'
'Any you taste sooo good! It was like we were made for each other! I feel we can do anything! Shall we make this city ours?' she asked eagerly.
'The city is already mine. These black knights stole it, I intend to take it back from them.' Eric thought heavily.
'Then let me be your hand of wrath.'
'So be it, let's go see who we have to kill.'
.
The Inner city of Gateway now reminded Eric too much of a knight's castle. Instead of homes, shops and placed to trade goods, it was a place of barracks, servant quarters, weapons smiths, and mansions for the ruling class. Open areas were parade or practice grounds.
In his drifting through the air, Eric came upon the scene of a trial. A man was on a platform, arms and legs bound as a knight in polished armor read off the charges of subverting their holy cause. Another Knight wearing a cape pronounced sentence, then the man was forced to kneel with his head on a block. A black hooded man chopped his head off.
'What a waste,' Tikeze thought in a sigh. 'Shall I kill them?'
'Not yet, I want them to see it coming,' Eric thought.
'Take me again!' Tikeze thought, very pleased with the sadistic idea Eric had in mind of making these men see what their demise was going to be.
'We need to return and plan' Eric thought, more focused on how to get rid of these knights. They did have an iron grip on the populace, but that also meant people would be more desperate to get rid of them.
Going back to his house, Eric noted that his place was nothing but a storage spot for furniture used during different events in the grand foyer. That meant it would also be a perfect staging area. The servants who stored the furniture only went as far as they had to. The kitchen area and his old bed room were empty, and his old storage closet only held some forgotten refuse.
Eric returned to his own body and immediately had Tikeze help him take down the wall between the old closet and the store room. Two walls later, Eric had made a path around the main room and into his bedroom and around into the kitchen. When they were finished, he had roughly half the house available and no one would readily notice. The doors to the main room he shut and blocked, just in case some servants got the idea to start using them.
Eric knew he had to be careful how he used Tikeze. By her own admission, she wanted to kill, and gained energy from taking life. To think of how to keep her busy and out of trouble, he first decided another good romp was in order. Not only to give her the energy she would need, but she was also very good at it, not to mention extremely desirable.
One thing Eric would need was followers. Tikeze admitted she could get into people's dreams, as well as read their thoughts. Eric gave her the task of reading people's thoughts, and finding out who wanted the Black Knights gone. For the people who did, she was to give them dreams of his imminent return, and give them a vision of the old woman's dwelling. Eric left Tikeze to her task, promising to return for her. He made sure she saw he had the stone disk, and went back down the tunnel.
The old woman's dwelling was lit when Eric returned. Her nephew was there at the small table. Seeing Eric come in, the old woman beamed him a smile. "Eric! this is my nephew Gregor. We were just sitting down to dinner, would you care to join us?"
"Thank you," Eric said sincerely, and took a seat.
Gregor was a fully bearded man with a thin but hard looking frame forged by years of poverty. He eyed Eric with a pair of mistrusting dark brown eyes. "So, you're this Founder?" he asked.
"Eric Carvon," Eric agreed. "I saw those weapons you've been gathering. Not the best, and that tunnel is a bad place to put them."
Gregor left out a snort. "You have a better place?" he asked in a challenge.
Eric nodded and said, "Up in my house. That's where I just came from. I figure there's plenty of room up there to store weapons, and I found a nice assembly area to gather troops. The only thing we need now, is good weapons and a place for training as many men as possible in a short of time as possible."
"And you will do this, and not turn us in to those butchers for a reward?" Gregor asked.
Eric eyed him. "Gregor, after I finish this stew your Aunt so kindly shared, I'm going to start moving those weapons in the tunnel up into the house and inspect them to see what's usable. You can help, or you can sit here and speculate if you can trust me. Me, I got work to do."
Gregor did decide to help. Eric and Gregor carried arm loads of weapons up into the old store room. Inspecting spears first, Eric found only half of them good enough for use as they were, and another few that had sturdy shafts. Moving on to the swords, only six were serviceable, and of those, Eric felt he could actually trust two of those in combat. The shields and swords he deemed ineffective, Eric put over in the kitchen area.
"Come back to see me?" Tikeze cooed from behind as her arms went around him.
For some reason, Eric wasn't surprised at her sudden appearance. He turned and swept her luscious body with his eyes. "I thought you were out reading people's minds?" he asked.
"I was, and there are many who ache to be rid of those black knights. I've given some of the young, eager men the vision you told me to. I suspect there will be crowds beating on your door," Tikeze said as she put her arms around him. "Maybe you came back to play with me some?" she asked with a crooked grin.
"Maybe," he said, and hefted her large breasts, feeling the weight of them in his hands. He then kissed her deeply, wrapping his arms around her. Tikeze moaned with delight. Eric kissed her until he began to feel light headed, then slid his hands back around to her chest grabbed to handfuls of breast and pushed her back.
"But first, there's work to do," he told her firmly.
Gasping at the sudden break in their kiss, Tikeze stared at him and said in a playful grown,"You TEASE!"
Eric grinned at her. "While you are looking for recruits, look for the knight's armories also. We'll need good weapons."
Casting him a hungry look, she said, "I WILL be visiting your dreams tonight."
"You better be visiting my bed. Until then, we got things to do."
"Yes, Master," Tikeze said, and vanished.
.
Tanthalas spend the next few days gathering reports and making sure the road for the coming army was secure from prying eyes. Sir Mondar kept up his monitoring of the Black Knights and preparations, and stepped up the search for Mr. Jackson. They combed the countryside, but the man was nowhere to be found.
Four days after the infamous dinner, a rider came into the castle to speak with Sir Mondar. The man was a spy who insisted on talking to Sir Mondar alone. Tanthalas happened to note that after the man spoke with Sir Mondar, Mrs. Jackson was called to go in and see him. A little later, Mrs. Jackson left, looking irritated.
Tanthalas was then asked to see Sir Mondar. A servant escorted him into the knights' office, then shut the door behind them.
Looking out the window, Sir Mondar asked, "Lord Tanthalas. Have you ever heard of someone returning from the land of the dead?"
Taken aback by the question, Tanthalas said, "I know it is possible, I was stuck briefly there myself once."
Sir Mondar let out a short chuckle. "I am not surprised. Tell me, if someone died, then were somehow brought back to live again, would they be the same person?"
"I can't really answer that," Tanthalas said cautiously. " They may look different, but I suppose if they are the same person inside, then I don't see why not."
Sir Mondar nodded. "That would make sense to me also," he mussed. "The man that was in here was one of our spies in Gateway. Mr. Jackson has been seen there. Our man found him due to a vision he had." Turning to look at Tanthalas, he said, "He had a vision of the Founder returning. He went to the place he saw in this vision, and one of the people there, the one leading the others who had arrived, was the man we know as Mr. Jackson."
"So, Mr. Jackson knows the Founder of Gateway," Tanthalas concluded.
"You might say that. The people there didn't call him Mr. Jackson. They called him Eric Carvon."
Tanthalas felt the skin on his arms pimple up. Eldarin had told him who that was. "He is in Gateway right at this moment?"
Sir Mondar nodded. "And he is organizing a revolt against the Black Knights. Are you aware of who Eric Carvon is to you?"
"He's my father," Tanthalas said. "Sir Eldarin told me about him."
"Yes, I also received that information ... and more. Do you know your father by sight?"
"I've met him in the past. I am sure I can recognize him. I can leave today to verify what your man said is true," Tanthalas said, and turned to leave.
"Lord Tanthalas, wait! There is an easier way to verify this information, and frankly, despite some people's claims, you have the right to know," Sir Mondar said.
"Sir Eldarin knows him by sight. If this Mr. Jackson is my father back from the dead, he can verify it," Tanthalas agreed.
"He can," Sir Mondar agreed. "But it is not your father who's come back from the dead, Lord Tanthalas. I believe you need to have a serious talk with Mrs. Jackson."
Tanthalas' mind whirled. Some of the comments Mrs. Jackson had said to him that were so strange at the time, were now making sense. She had spoke of 'the resemblance', but gave no identifying person. How irritated she had gotten at him for Mr. Jacksons; disappearance. Just like a mother talking to her son when she was mad at his father. Could it be? "I do believe I shall, Sir Mondar."
.
Racing through the castle, Tanthalas found Mrs. Jackson talking to the one of the gardeners as the woman was weeding some flowers. As always, Mrs. Jackson greeted him with a smile and a, "Lord Tanthalas, how are you today?"
"Fine, Lady Jackson," Tanthalas replied pleasantly as he studied her face. Her hair in the sunshine was auburn, similar to his. She also had the rare hazel eyes very uncommon in elves. "I think I might have seen Mr. Jackson," he offered.
"You have? Where?" she asked excitedly.
'I'm not sure," Tanthalas said with a shrug. "Dark hair, a face structure similar to mine, his nose looks like it has been broken?" he asked.
"Yes! Where did you see him? Has he returned?" she asked, beside herself in anticipation.
"There was one other thing I noticed," Tanthalas said. Drawing a line on his right thigh, he said, "He has a scar, right about here. Looks like maybe it was from a sword?"
'That is him!" she said firmly. "Please tell me, where is he?"
Tanthalas nodded. "Right now, he's still in Gateway. I haven't seen your husband in the last hundred years, but I know who he is," he stated.
Mrs. Jackson's face screwed up in anger. "If you haven't seen him, why are you playing this game with me!" she asked harshly.
Looking into her eyes, Tanthalas said, "I just described my father. His name is Eric Carvon. Please, I need you to tell me who you really are."
Mrs. Jackson's face fell. She broke contact with his eyes to look at the ground. Softly she said, "I am no one special, Lord Tanthalas. I'm just someone he saved."
"Are you my mother?" Tanthalas asked.
Mrs. Jackson swallowed nervously and said, "My name is Abby. That's the name Eric gave me. I am very confused much of the time, but I do know the woman who bore you died a long time ago."
"Will Eldarin tell me the same thing?" Tanthalas asked in a gentle tone.
Abby let out a snort. "He's afraid Eric will kill him if he says anything," she grumbled. Lifting her eyes back up to him, she said in a pleading tone, "I would love to say yes, I am your mother and I am very, very proud of you. The fact is I don't know who I am, except for what people tell me. All I know for certain is that the moment I saw Eric, I knew in my heart he was the only one who loved me and would take care of me for the rest of my life. He is a good man, Tanis. Somewhat rough at times, but a good man none the less. I can also tell you for a fact that despite what some people claim, your father never did anything bad to your mother."
Tanthalas was ready to cry at her near-confession. The only response he had for her was to step up and envelope her in a hug. She broke down into tears, and he followed suit.
.
"You must be joking," Eric said as he eyed the panting man who had returned after being gone a day.
"No, Mr. Car ... I mean, Eric. I followed Darin, he headed straight for Sir Mondar's castle. I am sure he was a spy."
Eric rubbed his forehead in irritation. "Great," he grumbled. His plans had been going perfectly. His old root cellar was now his new headquarters. The tunnel had three new offshoots thanks to Tikeze, hollowed out to handle weapons practice with the wooden swords and padded spears they had, his rebel townsmen were growing in numbers daily, and his house was now serving as a staging area for spies in the inner city, as well as a storehouse for the trickling numbers of battle weapons they acquired. Tikeze was giving him valuable information on who was who in the Black Knight's pecking order, as well as the routines of them and their soldiers. The last thing he needed was Sir Mondar charging in to help and stirring the Black Knights up into a frenzy when he wanted them calm and clueless.
Letting out a huff, Eric said, "Thanks for telling me. If Darin comes back, I want to see him immediately, say nothing about why. Don't forget your mandatory work detail, we don't want to arouse any suspicion."
"Sure, Eric. Going is easier now that I know we'll be getting those bastards," he said and left.
"Tikeze!" Eric snapped.
The demon appeared before him. "Playtime?" she asked musically as she bounced on her feet to make her breasts wiggle.
"No, time to scare the living shit out of someone," Eric said heavily.
Tikeze grew a smile. "Oh good. Who do I get to kill?" she asked.
"No one. Listen carefully, I need you to do this right," he said, then explained the mission.
After Eric told Tikeze her special mission, he went to check on the other tasks available people were performing. Going down the tunnel to the back of the food storehouse in the inner city, he found they had made it up to the floor in the back, and were now able to steal food from the back of the warehouse where it wouldn't be missed for months. The tunnels to the two armories were all but complete, within a few yards each of grabbing all the ready weapons. The old woman, Sally, in her small house, was organizing other women into weaving small rings of metal into leather jackets. Although not the best protection, it was better than nothing.
.
Tikeze followed Eric's instructions. Once she got to Castle Mondar, she stayed hidden and followed the senior knight around until he had a 'private' moment going to the privy. The knight sat down to relieve himself, and she appeared before him in full demon form, sporting her large bat type wings and horns that curved back on her head. As he saw her, she grabbed him by the throat. Lifting him to pin him against the wall, she used her hypnotic power to freeze him in place and seize his voice so he couldn't cry out.
She grinned broadly at his saucer sized eyes as he gapped at her. "Feeling a little vulnerable are we?" she asked in a light tone, showing her fangs. "I came to bring a message from Eric Carvon. It is quite simple, really. Stay away from Gateway until you are called for. If we see a single soldier, or even hear about one more spy, I will be back, and not just to give you a message."
Reaching out to grab his manhood and grip the base around her thumb and finger, she smiled at him as she squeezed and pulled just hard enough to elicit a gasp from the terrified man. "I have been forbidden to play with you, this time. So sad, really. I would very much enjoy eating you," she said and licked her lips.
She then hardened her face to glare at him. "Eric will call for you when he is ready. Do not make the mistake of going against his wishes!" She then vanished and returned to Eric.
Sir Mondar fell onto the seat. Holding his hand over his heart, he sat panting in fear, praying his heart would slow down before it exploded.