Saira - TI5 Read online

  "You're heavy," she gasped.

  "Now that ain't no way to talk to a gal if'n yer plannin' on frolickin' later. Yah just be out of shape, that's all."

  "Of course. What was I thinking?" Mari said and laughed at Maopa's indignant expression. "Let's take a shower and then see what mischief we can get into." Wiggling both eyebrows, she gave Maopa a rakish grin.

  "Mischief be mah middle name, sugah."

  "So," Mari said, "are you going to show me what's so special about girl-on-girl sex?"

  "Mah pleasure." She grabbed the bottom of Mari's tee shirt and pulled it up and over the taller woman's head. After tossing it away, she put her arms around Mari and pulled her close.

  Mari felt her body grow warm as Maopa's hands wandered up and down her back.

  "What do I do?" she whispered, her voice husky from the sensations coursing through her body.

  "Yah just lets me do mah thang, sweetie."

  Maopa ran her fingers around the elastic waistband of Mari's underwear, slowly pulled them down, and then motioned for Mari to step out of them. These, too, she tossed onto the floor.

  Kneeling, she stroked the long muscular thighs with her fingertips and then leaned in to kiss the dark mound in front of her. Inhaling deeply, she nuzzled it gently with her lips and then proceeded to draw her tongue up the stomach and along the ribs until finally capturing a breast gently between her teeth.

  Mari gasped at the unfamiliar tingling originating in her groin and moving upward. When Maopa finally stood up, she made eye contact with the fiery blue eyes of her lover. Passion flared, and instinctively both spirits leaned forward, their lips touching tentatively for the first time.

  Long arms wrapped hungrily around the shorter woman, who unconsciously returned the passionate embrace. They fell onto the bed and began to enjoy their first moments of physical love. Then came a reality check for both of them.

  * * *

  As much as Mari was enjoying Maopa's attention, she wasn't sure about some of her own bodily reactions. The building up of tension, the spasms in her stomach, and the incredible tingling between her legs as her lover continually stroked her with her tongue was driving her wild... well, almost. The warm liquid running down her pubic area and thighs felt a little creepy. All she could think of, between the spasms of pleasure and a sudden urge to pee, was how messy human sex was, and she wondered if something was wrong. Finally, deciding she had reached her limit, she thumped Maopa's blonde head with the fingertips of her right hand.

  "I'm sure this gets better with practice." At least I hope so, she thought, glad for once that Maopa couldn't read her thoughts. "But do you think there are any more clean sheets around?"

  "Dang, woman," Maopa said, her head popping up. Clear juices ran down her chin, and Mari jerked back slightly.

  "Do all humans do this?" she asked, slightly appalled at the wild-looking woman glaring up at her. Hair sticking up at weird angles didn't help the situation.

  "Only thems that don't have no spirits inside of them," Maopa muttered, shaking her head and wiping her chin with her right hand. "Here I be lovin' on yah and all you can thank of is clean beddin'. I knowed it be a long time since I done this, but didya hafta go and ruin the mood by thumpin' on mah head like that?"

  "Sorry, sweetie," Mari said, sheepishly. "You were really good. Really. It's just that all I can think of is how cold those wet sheets were when that damn sanitary napkin fell out of my underwear, and... well... you know the mess. You'd think I would have awakened instead of hemorrhaging all over the place."

  "That weren't no himragin. Just normal woman stuff. Why d'yah think we calls it the curse?"

  "I know. I know. Well, now I've gone and... and... Damn, I don't even know what I've done, but the sheets are soaking wet again and it just doesn't seem natural."

  "Like ya'd know what were natural. Of course it be natural. Them there juices is what lubreecates yah. Shows yah be enjoyin' yerself."

  "Oh. Umm... I mean. I know I was enjoying myself... kind of. At least I think I was." Mari wasn't quite sure now. "Maybe I just need a little more practice."

  "Not if'n this be how it's gonna be."

  "Come on, sweetie. This was my first time."

  Remembering her first experience and how horrified she'd been, Maopa relented. She gave Mari a quick kiss, hopped off the bed, and headed for the bathroom, hoping a quick shower would help her mood some.

  "Don'tcha worry 'bout it. First times ain't never the best, yah know. We jest needs tah go a little more slow is all."

  Sighing with relief, Mari followed closely behind. "That's probably a good idea."

  Maopa grunted, but didn't say anything else.

  Mari's thoughts went back to the wet sheets. "Ummm... about the sheets."

  Maopa stopped and turned to face Mari. "Yah shore do have a bug up your —"

  "I'm not sleeping on these sheets now," Mari said quickly, determined to get her way on this. "And tomorrow we're buying a new mattress. I can't believe how much body fluid humans lose. It's a wonder they made it this far in the evolutionary scale."

  Maopa finally laughed, her irrepressible humor reappearing. She really didn't blame her partner for being disappointed and maybe somewhat disgusted. Sex was something you developed a taste for. The thought made her snicker quietly.

  "I thank yah might be overreactin a bit, darlin', but dontcha thank we oughta wait till we leaves? Yemaya has plenty of money ta spend, but buyin' new stuff every time we dirty it could get mighty costly."

  Pushing the shower curtain aside, she adjusted the temperature to warm, trying her best not to laugh. To learn that the Earth Mother could be quite human amused her.

  "Okay. Then we'll just turn it over again, but I'm not sleeping on it if it's still wet."

  Maopa straightened up and bumped into Mari who had been standing directly behind her. Losing her balance, Maopa started to fall forward when she felt two powerful hands grab her by the shoulders and pull her backward.

  "Dadburnit, woman. What in tarnation's wrong with yah?"

  "Sorry, Maopa. I'm not adjusting very well to this physical stuff. Pretending to be Yemaya was so much easier than babysitting her body."

  Maopa snorted. "Next time, maybe yah'll thank before yah jumps in and volunteers us fer somethin."

  "Point taken." Mari released Maopa and returned to the bedroom. Staring at the bed, she felt as though the rumpled sheets were mocking her. She yanked them off and headed to the linen hamper. Several more sheets were stuffed inside, and another pile lay on the floor next to it.

  Then she felt the moisture sliding slowly down her legs. After tossing the newest used set of sheets onto the floor, she stomped back into the bathroom, her legs slightly apart in an attempt to keep her thighs from rubbing together. Without saying a word, she pulled the shower curtain aside and climbed in next to a very surprised Maopa.

  "Whoever makes those XXX movies should be shot," she said. "I'm beginning to think the X's mean exaggerated."

  Maopa snorted and then finished rinsing off, muttering under her breath.

  Mari suspected her lover wasn't very happy at the moment. This is one time I'm glad I don't know her thoughts.

  Twenty minutes later, the two emerged from their shower feeling a lot better. Not having to wear a pad or poke a tampon inside of her was a huge relief for Mari. Remembering her first experience with a tampon, she shivered.

  It had been both awkward and painful. Even Maopa wasn't much help, although she tried to read the instruction page while Mari made an attempt to follow her directions. Trying to accurately align the small bullet-shaped object with the slightly swollen and tender opening of her vulva proved more difficult than she imagined. The first tampon went in crooked. Immediately, Mari knew something was wrong and fished around with her fingers before finally finding the string and pulling it out. Holding up the offending object, she shook it vigorously.

  "You'd think you'd at least know what you're doing," she said accusingly and flung
it in the trash. She grabbed a second one, ripped off the plastic wrap, and took special care to gently push it in. Feeling victorious, she grinned at Maopa, who was still squinting at the fine print on the instruction sheet.

  "My grandchil' needs ta get some bifocles. She don't see worth a toot. This here print gets littler and littler," Maopa said, unaware of Mari's success.

  "We'll remind her." The Earth Mother already felt a lot better. She grabbed the paper and tossed it in the trashcan. "Now let's go do something fun." And they did.

  They decided to check out the Baltimore National Aquarium and flagged down a cab. Afterward, they hired a cab to take them to another small theater in a sleazy part of the city.

  "You ladies sure you want to go to this place? You don't look the type to be watching this kind of stuff," the cabbie said.

  "Just goes to show how looks are deceiving, doesn't it?" Mari said. "Besides, we're on vacation so we've decided to live large." She gave Maopa a questioning look. "That's the right phrase isn't it?"

  "That be it alrighty."

  "Okay. It's your money."

  Ten minutes after the movie began, Mari and Maopa walked out of the building shaking their heads.

  "That were the most disgustin' thang I ever seen."

  "Definitely. We can mark this place off our list. I can't even imagine why anyone would come to a place like this. Yemaya ought to report the owners to the authorities for allowing such disgusting behavior on the premises."

  "I knowed folks gotta take a piss now and then... but ta do it in front of ladies ain't fittin'. And yah was right ta tell him so."

  "It's a good thing I'm not in my true form. That young man would learn a few things about talking to a spirit like that. I may just pay him a little visit later when I'm my normal self."

  "Sounds good ta me. I'll help."

  CHAPTER 10

  INTUNECAT FELT the ripple as the intruder entered his realm. Only one person had yet been able to penetrate the barrier between the light and darkness. This was not that person.

  He remembered the day Lilith had arrived unannounced and uninvited. The revelation that his once impregnable world was vulnerable was disconcerting, but he soon forgot about that after getting to know his new guest. Afterward, he looked forward to her visits. Not only was she mentally stimulating, but he felt an inexplicable attraction to her. Her voice, her touch, her presence brought a warmth and light to his world that he would have thought impossible.

  "Do you always go where you're not invited?" he asked, unable to see what he knew was there.

  "Would you have invited me if I hadn't come unasked?" a voice answered.

  "You're female." He sighed melodramatically. "Why is it I can't keep women from barging in on my space?"

  "Do you wish me to answer your question?"

  "Would the answer prevent you from coming in the future?"

  "No. Only satisfying my curiosity will do that."

  "Then by all means, show yourself. The sooner I give you what you want, the sooner you'll be gone."

  A luminescent white cloud appeared in the darkness, its shape shimmering slightly before becoming a transparent haziness.

  "Who are you?" Intunecat asked.

  "I am Saira, a simple Traveler."

  "Simple? I doubt that. You've traveled to an unusual place. Do you always intrude where you're not welcome?"

  "I go where I must. To be welcomed is not important."

  "I see. How did you manage to find your way here?"

  "I followed a thread from Mari. It guided me to you."

  "Mari told you about me?" he asked, surprised the Earth Mother would reveal anything about him, let alone a way into his solitary sanctuary.

  "No. She keeps her secrets well. She hasn't betrayed you."

  "But you said she guided you here."

  "Not her. Her thread. You're a part of her past and her present, so your lives are forever joined."

  "And this thread has to do with our joining?"

  "Of course. Those you meet in your life and those they have met are forever connected to you, as you are to them. Existence creates many strands in lives and time, like a spider's web. In the beginning, only a few threads are woven but they quickly grow larger and more abundant, trapping everything that comes in contact with the web. It's very complex in its simplicity."

  Motioning for Saira to sit, Intunecat offered her a drink. Although it wasn't something he required, he was fond of the ritual. Saira politely refused the drink but sat down.

  "Why follow a strand to me now? I assume you've been doing this for a very long time."

  "Longer than even you can imagine. Still, it's what I do. You are a First Born, one of five. It's rare that I have the chance to meet you or your siblings. I must go where I'm pulled."

  "Siblings? I have no siblings," the Dark One said indignantly. "Those you speak of are not of my essence."

  Intunecat believed himself to be the creator of light and therefore the oldest living being. He didn't accept that Dis or the Twin were in any way connected to him.... And Mari, well, his interest wasn't in any way sexual. He had no need of such things. The mind was the attraction, and the Earth Mother had the sharpest mind of any entity he had ever met.

  "So you have no control over what you do or where you go?" he asked.

  "Not exactly. I can choose not to follow if I wish, but curiosity compels me to seek the source of my questions."

  "Meaning you don't have a choice."

  "I'm no different than you. I always have choices. Just because I follow my compulsion doesn't mean I'm not in control of my life."

  "So you say."

  "So I say."

  Feeling slightly disgruntled at his inability to get the desired reaction from her, Intunecat changed tactics. "This conversation is going nowhere. What do you want from me?"

  "It's what I wanted before I met you. I now have my answer."

  "To what? You haven't asked me anything."

  "I never intended to ask you anything. You wouldn't know the answer to my question."

  Intunecat grumbled something unintelligible. He wasn't used to being thwarted, and frustration only added to his irritability. "How can you be so sure?"

  "Because I have the answer now."

  "Must you be so evasive? Do you do this to everyone you meet?"

  "Do what?"

  "Forget it. Since you have your answer, perhaps you'll share it with me. Then at least I'll know why you came here."

  "Like I said —"

  "I know. To find an answer. So what is it?"

  "I can't say. Now isn't the time for you to know. Telling you could drastically alter the future. Even the First Born isn't immune to the damages tampering with the unknown can bring."

  "Then your work is done. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

  "No, you've done more than you'll ever know. You gave me the answer to one of my greatest questions. Thank you."

  "Does this mean you won't be coming back?" Intunecat asked, his voice full of hope.

  Saira grinned broadly. "Unfortunately, I can't answer that either. It will depend on those you meet in the future. Already you seek something from someone that raises new questions, but the tugging isn't very strong for now. One day, though, my curiosity will pull me here if the relationship prospers. The daughter of a First Born, who became the wife of a First Born eons ago, will make the future interesting if she should fulfill the desires of the First Born."

  Frowning, Intunecat understood the human impulse to stomp a foot. He was about to ask her for an explanation when she vanished. Perhaps it was intentional or merely an oversight, but Saira had given him enough information to know what had drawn her to him. Now he had questions as to what she meant before she left.

  "Females," he growled unhappily. "They can be so frustrating."

  Immediately, his thoughts turned to Lilith.

  CHAPTER 11

  THE CHILD WAS relaxing in her chair, staring at the fire in the hearth. Sh
e had just spent the night conversing with several demons about her plans for the future — her future, and theirs, if they remained loyal to her. Now she was wondering when the apparition would return, not realizing Saira was about to appear at the precise moment she had left. Soon, Caelene would remember the past differently, and Saira would leave, not realizing she had directly altered the future one more time.