To Race the Wylde Wynd Ch. 22

The evening breeze rustled softly through the overhead branches as Zephyr and Nuva cantered along a narrow path. Chrysta had kept them to the ground eating pace for a couple of hours. Although their mounts were still fresh, Templer was beginning to wonder if they were going to ride the course straight through. Nuva grunted as if in agreement, then stumbled violently, almost flipping her rider over her neck. With difficulty she regained her footing but the next couple of strides were marred by a serious limp. Chrysta brought Zephyr to a sudden halt and slid off of him. Templer was off of Nuva before she came to a complete stop. The woman ran careful hands down both of Nuva's slender front legs then straightened up frowning as the mare held up the left one and looked pitiful.

“Humph,” Chrysta eyed the cream suspiciously, and the mare looked back in total innocence.

“Well I don't see anything wrong.” The woman glanced up through the trees, calculating how much light they had left. “I hate to stop for the night when there are better places ahead. The old adage, better safe than sorry seems to apply here.”

Zephyr stomped impatiently and the woman's eyes shifted to gold for a moment as she conversed with the big black.

“Are you sure?”

The woman sounded doubtful. Zephyr tossed his head and chortled at her. Chrysta's eyebrows arched in reaction to whatever the beast said and she shrugged,

“Okay, it's your back.”

With that she turned back to Templer.

“It seems that macho man here.” She stabbed a finger at Zephyr, “... Thinks that he can carry us double until we get to our planned stop. Are you game?”

The gunman looked at the big male who looked right back with an amused, arrogant challenge in his golden eyes.

“I don't see as how it would be a problem.”

“Okay, if you males think you are up to it, then who am I to stand in your way?”

She walked over and stripped the saddle and pads off of the black's broad back. The only piece of tack she left on him was the odd harness that encircled the base of Zephyr's neck. It carried the sheathed sword that she had used in her dressage demonstration.

Templer felt Azra stir a little in alarm as Nuva made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a snicker. Chrysta gave both destria a narrow eyed look but didn't say a word as she tied the now spare tack onto the cream's saddle. The priest watched in amazement as heading back to Zephyr, the rider grabbed a handful of his thick black mane, scrambled up his heavy shoulder and perched herself on the animal's bare back.

The gunman was sure he heard her softly mutter,

“I... am getting to old for this CRAP!”

When Chrysta had herself comfortable and was centered, she offered her hand and helped the Talon to swing up behind her. It only took him a moment to figure out that riding in this manner was going to be an interesting proposition at best. As the woman moved the black out into an easy walk, Templer realized that without stirrups there was very little to balance himself with. The gunman had to readjust the Trinity's holster so the big gun wouldn't be poking anybody (most importantly Zephyr) in uncomfortable places. Chrysta had arched an eloquent eyebrow at him when he had insisted upon bringing the triple bored handgun, but had said nothing when Azra had strongly backed him.

The man was also VERY aware that Chrysta's warm, firm butt was cradled snugly between his legs. It was hard to ignore the feel of their thighs rubbing gently where they nestled against each other. The fact that certain portions of his anatomy were pressed tightly against her strong back did not help the situation. The priest tried to wiggle back to a more discrete distance. Zephyr chortled and did SOMETHING with his ass end that scooted him forward, right back into the same disconcerting position. When Templer tried to scoot back again... Nuva, who was pacing quietly beside them snorted and used her big head to push him forwards.

“You might as well give it up and try to enjoy yourself.”

Chrysta reached back and guided his hands around her waist. He could tell she was suppressing her laughter.

“They won't give up once they have an idea firmly entrenched in their devious little minds.” She slapped the big black male's shoulder in exasperated affection.

“Now, hold on.” She warned.

The woman urged Zephyr to increase his pace and Templer tightened his grip, bracing for the jarring trot he knew was coming. He was surprised when Zephyr shifted into a gear that was as fast as the trot but seemed as smooth as silk. Nuva followed suite, and the gunman noticed that there was no trace of a limp in her flowing gait. She caught him looking at her and rewarded him with a cheeky wink.

“This is called a running walk.” Chrysta informed him over her shoulder. “It isn't as fast as a canter but it's a lot easier on Zephyr's back when he is carrying this big a load.”

Templer took her earlier advice and tried to relax as the big animals flowed along. It wasn't as hard as he thought it would be. Because he didn't have to watch the trail or handle any reins, he could look around and enjoy the scenery. There was a lot here in the way of plants and animals that he had not seen before. The forest in this river valley might have been here since before the Cataclysm. It was deep, and the huge hardwood trees they passed under, had the aura of being very old. These woods didn't have the hostile air that the mountain forests of the Arcanian wilderness had, but there was the feeling that there were ancient dwellers here.

Azra wasn't interested in enjoying the scenery. The outrider was relishing in the wonderful physical sensations that the gunman being pressed up this close to a desirable female was causing. The astounded priest could almost hear the demon humming softly as he inundated himself with pleasurable sensations. This sort of thing usually had Azra hiding himself in the dark corners of Templer's mind. The fact that the demon was actively indulging in it was more than a little disconcerting!

Because of this, neither the outrider nor the man was as alert to danger as they would normally have been. Chrysta had her attention divided between guiding the black and the cream along the twisting path and keeping herself and her passenger mounted. Dusk was darkening the surrounding forest when a flicker in the trees caught the gunman's attention. It was all the warning they had. Two scaly, long necked Terra-birds from hell burst from the trees on their right, two more came in from the left.

Templer quickly realized that these things only shared a Terra-bird's general shape. They stood as tall as a man on two heavily muscled legs. These ended in four strong toes, each well equipped with long, killing talons. Their front limbs sported three nasty hooked claws and their faces were nothing but red eyes and gaping mouths full of long, dagger like teeth. He could feel Chrysta trying to get her reins shifted to one hand to free the other so she could draw her sword. Zephyr started to slow in preparation to fight.

“No!” Templer tightened his legs, driving his heels hard into their mount's sensitive sides. With a surprised grunt the big black exploded into a driving gallop. The Talon's enhanced hearing had picked up on what Chrysta couldn't. There were more of the pack coming up the trail behind them. As one of the creatures on their left launched itself at them, Templer drew the Trinity with one hand whilst pushing Chrysta forward and down with the other.

“Stay down and drive!”

Was all he had time to shout. He fired across and over her back, catching the attacking creature in the face. His second shot caught the thing's partner, breaking its leg and sending it tumbling into the trees. A blur of motion had him shifting to the right and his third shot ruffled through Nuva's mane as he picked off one of the pack that had launched itself at the mare.

A heavy weight slammed into Templer's back almost knocking him off. Hot fire slashed across one thigh as curved talons sliced through skin and muscle. He heard Nuva scream, and the weight disappeared. The enraged mare had reached over and grabbed the beast in her fanged mouth. The gunman heard the cracking of bones as the mare's powerful jaws broke the thrashing creature's back. With a disgusted wrinkle of her lips Nuva dropped it and added insult to injury by trampling the mortally injured killer as she passed over its twitching body.

The Talon reloaded automatically as the monsters behind them started dropping back. He switched the gun to fully automatic bringing all eighteen of its loaded chambers into play. Motion in the trees had him snapping the gun up as different pack members took up the chase. The gunman managed to bring another down but the creatures evidently had some intelligence and they ducked and dodged using the trees as shields. With a sinking sensation Templer realized that the fact that the pack wasn't fast enough to catch them in an all-out, straight race wasn't going to help. The creatures were chasing in relay, hoping to eventually exhaust their prey and bring them down. Nuva had a chance of out running and out lasting them, but she stayed, stretched out at the black's side. Because of the extra load he was carrying, Zephyr was already laboring.

With a curse, Chrysta turned the big male, going off of the trail...

“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?”

Azra knew that with the trees slowing them down, they had no hope of out running the beasts. He also knew that with the interlocking branches closing over them that if Templer made the decision to shift forms, he did not have the wing room to get airborne.

“I am heading for the river.” Chrysta was breathless, working at threading two large, fast moving animals through the trees without the riders getting scraped or knocked off. “If those misbegotten things are anything like Terra-Birds, they can't SWIM!”

Two of the creatures who were faster than the others jumped from the trees trying to sink wicked talons into Zephyr's heaving rump. The big black squealed and caught one with both hind hooves almost unseating the gunman. It rolled to the ground. Templer slashed the other across its ugly face with his own deadly claws. The thing snarled and twisted away. Before it could jump again, Templer's shot made sure it went down. They broke out of the trees, and the gunman saw they had a clear run to the river. At least ten of the pack had broken off and were flattened out in a deadly race, coming up along the river's bank. The pack was trying to cut the destria off from safety. Chrysta was crooning at the flagging black trying to get just a little more out of him. The gunman took three more of the creatures down but realized that they were going to lose this race. He turned control over to Azra.

Zephyr staggered as the weight on his back suddenly increased. Azra flared his black wings wide. Their forward speed gave him the lift he needed to rise and then dive into the seven pack members who now blocked their path to the river. They went down in a writhing ball of flailing tails, scaly limbs, flashing teeth and slashing claws. The pursuing creatures slid to a stop to join the fray. The outrider's ploy worked, and a path opened for the racing destria to slip through. They pounded to the edge. This was not a good place on the river to cross. The water ran cold, fast, and deep. The black didn't hesitate to leap in. Nuva slowed for a moment, sending a distressed look after Chrysta. She then doubled back and plowed into the battling mess on the bank.

Azra quickly realized he was in deep trouble. He was badly outnumbered and the sheer weight of his adversaries had him off of his feet, pinned with his wings trapped beneath him and fighting for his life. The demon roared with rage, kicking, slashing and even biting. Even if he had the energy reserves to unleash a small portion of his strength... he had no idea how much distance his companions had put between them. Azra would not risk them getting caught in the blast. He was glad for his restraint when he felt Nuva's massive weight plow into the pile. The battling mare knocked the slavering creatures in all directions with the initial impact. The outrider roared again when she reached down, buried her fangs in his shoulder and yanked him out from under the pile. Kicking and squalling, the destria cleared a way to drag the demon to the river's edge. Once there, she released her grip and leaped into the roiling water.

Azra tried to take off but had not cleared the ground before three of the beasts hit him from behind. Their combined weight dragged him into the icy depths. Chrysta was right, the creatures could not swim. As a matter of fact, they sank like rocks. Unfortunately, because they had attached themselves to various parts of his anatomy, they took the demon with them! As he desperately worked to unlock their death locked jaws, Azra wondered if it were possible for an immortal to drown. He managed to get them off of him, but was too cold and exhausted to fight the vicious current. Even with the icy water, loss of blood and lack of oxygen were taking their toll.

He felt a rush of displaced water and Nuva's big body appeared downstream from him. The mare fought the current making it to his side and turned presenting her tail. He wasn't too proud to take the offer. He tangled his claws in it and with their combined strength they made it to the far bank.

As soon as Nuva cleared the water, Azra released her tail. He dragged himself halfway up the bank then had to stop. The outrider stayed there balanced on his hands and knees. He coughed and choked trying to clear the water out of his lungs. HOLY... it felt like he had inhaled half of the river! With a supreme effort he levered himself up and staggered away from the water. Azra was surprised when Nuva's big warm body appeared to support him on one side and Chrysta ducked under a torn wing to help support him from the other. The woman did not waste any breath with words. Ignoring the demon's protest that he was fine and could walk on his own, she firmly guided his wet, ragged ass away from the river. Azra tried to pull away and was rewarded with a rumble from Nuva plus a nasty look as the mare popped her fangs together. Suitably cowed, the demon let them drag him along. HE knew better than to pick a fight when trapped between two upset females!

They walked until they came to an open clearing. Zephyr was there. The black looked as bad as Azra felt. Chrysta insisted that the demon sit and rest while she stripped the wet tack off of Nuva. He couldn't help but feel grateful that he wasn't a destria, she made them walk slowly until they cooled off. Feeling a little useless, Azra rose and ignoring her dirty look, gathered some wood and ignited it with ether-flame. The sun had set and the breeze that sighed through the trees had a cold bite to it, especially if you were wet. He then carefully settled back by the fire and watched as Chrysta quickly and efficiently spread some type of salve on the animal's various cuts and slashes. He grew a little concerned when she approached him with the open container.

The demon couldn't stop his wings from sucking around his body defensively

“I don't need that!!” He snarled. “Remember... I am not mortal, there for I heal very quickly!”

Azra was disconcerted when Chrysta just flat ignored his MOST TERRIFYING LOOK and tried to pry his wings open. He pulled them in even tighter.

The woman finally stepped back with her head cocked in exasperation. After all, the demon thought smugly, he WAS stronger than her.

“Yes... I KNOW you heal fast, but it is silly to suffer while you are healing. All this will do is numb up the wounds for a while and prevent any infection.” Chrysta looked him dead in the eye, “Don't tell me you are AFRAID of a little salve.”

“Harrumph...” Was all that the outrider said as he tentatively opened his wings. HE wasn't afraid of anything.

A good half hour later... after many yelps, jerks and "STOP being a baby" comments, Chrysta seemed content with her work. The woman looked down at him. She had ultimately resorted to pinning him on his stomach and sitting on his back to reach the damage to his wings. “See that wasn't too bad now was it?”

Azra wondered if this was a trick question. Yes, the stuff numbed things up quite nicely EVENTUALLY. It stung like a son of a bitch when it first hit a wound. Chrysta grinned like a maniac and slid off of her perch. Azra slowly sat up, trying to preserve as much of his dignity as was left. Damn he was glad that Templer had no recollection of the events that occurred when he shifted. He would NEVER let his outrider live this down! A sudden frown marred the demon's aquiline features. He realized that Chrysta's hands were like ice, and she had been shivering while seated up on his back. He snagged her arm as she went by. Mother of Demons, her lips were blue!

“Get undressed,” The demon growled.

“WHAT!?” Chrysta stuttered.

Azra couldn't repress a nasty smile... ahhh paybacks WERE such a bitch.

“I did not stutter... STRIP! Or do you need some help?”

He popped the top button of her shirt off with one sharp claw to drive home the fact he was perfectly willing to back up the threat.

Outriders did not BLUFF!

The woman blinked in surprise as a second button followed the first.

“STOP... fine... I can do it myself!” Chrysta hastily peeled the wet clothes off, shivering even worse when the breeze hit her bare skin.

“NOW, come here.”
Azra purred as he opened his wings. For a moment she froze. Using her indecision against her, the demon caught an arm and pulled her body against his own warm skin. CRAP! It was like hugging an ice queen. He turned her around, sat her on his lap, and then folded his warm wings around them both. He was rewarded a few minutes later when her shivering stopped. Sighing, the woman leaned back against him of her own accord. Azra couldn't help himself. Dropping his head, the outrider inhaled deeply sampling her honest, spicy scent. He jerked back when she stirred, suddenly afraid he had overstepped himself.

A gentle finger traced lightly over the soft skin on the leading edge of his wing.

“Azra... I have been wondering?” For the first time since they had met she sounded uncertain. “Are you able to...?”

The demon, caught flat footed, answered her with brutal honesty.

“I do not know. Up until now I have never had the desire to sample the delights of the flesh while in physical form. I tend to isolate myself when my host is required to participate in that... type... of activity. The taste of lust is infinitely sweet, but it tends to leave me feeling rather sick. It is not something that I care to feed upon unless hard pressed.”

The demon waited for her to pull away at the hard edge in his voice.

That finger stopped its slow tracing and Chrysta arched her head back to look up at him.

“What about the taste of Love... surely you have had opportunity to...”

“My host avoids that sort of thing. Love is a delicacy I have never tasted and most likely never will.”

Her face was filled with sadness.

“That must really suck... for the both of you.”

It was his turn to blink. Azra could not remember a time when a human had looked at him with anything but fear or hate. It had been even longer since he had held a caring body close to his, or been touched by hands that were gentle and kind, instead of trying to maim or kill.

Azra smiled, a strange thing that his face wasn't use to.

“It is not too terrible. One cannot miss what one has never had. Constantine respects my feelings about lust and only inflicts it upon me when absolutely necessary.”

The demon closed his golden eyes enjoying the very physical feel of her warm body pressed against his.

“This is what I miss most in our bleak existence, the physical touch of another given in kindness not violence, the smell of a female not tainted by fear, greed or hate and the heart of a friend given in trust. It is enough that there is one person on this miserable world who cares for me, no matter my flaws.”

Azra opened his wings a little,

“SPEAKING OF Constantine, I really do need to...”

Chrysta turned in his arms, and placed her hands against his chest. Sliding them up around his neck the woman rose until she was kneeling between his legs, her face close to his.

“Yes... but before you go. I just want you to know this. I find I really like Templer, and I also really like you. Each of you are incredible and fascinating beings. Lust is a sweet and empty thing... but sometimes what starts as something purely physical can grow into something quite complex!”

She brushed his lips with a light kiss. “If we humans DO decide to indulge in each other’s bodies, please do not hide away. It is not possible for me to make love to Templer without also making love to YOU.”

Chrysta stepped away from his arms and moved to add fuel to the fire. Before Azra began his transformation, the outrider indulged himself one last time in the pleasure of watching the firelight play across her naked skin

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link to next chapter
https://steemit.com/fiction/@fetherhd/to-race-the-wylde-wynd-chapter-24