When her thirst was slaked, she filled her waterskin and looked around. A grin crept to her face as she spotted a cony running back into the reeds. Later, she stretched out on the bank of the grotto as the sweet smell of the cooking meat wafted into the air. Xena went over her travel plans for tomorrow as she started her meal.

The merchant's guild in Willow River had paid her in gold to escort an emissary back from Dunwich, a city-state on the Berlandic coast. The merchants were opening trade negotiations for the first time since Dunwich had declared war with a rival nation across the Blood Sea. Talks had been stalled when the last two diplomats had failed to reach Willow River.

Xena had doffed her weapons harness, although she kept them within arm's reach. She toyed with the buckles of her armor as she stared longingly at the pool. It had been a week since she had left the inns of the valley, and the grime from the trail felt de- testable. This was a very nice place to stop and relax, but she knew that any other traveler, human or not, would reach the same conclusion. She assuaged her doubts by placing a blade by the water's edge as she undid the final clasp, then plunged into the water.

She came up gasping, her nipples painfully erect from the pool's chill embrace. She submerged again and dove to the deeper part of the basin, skim- ming above the glittering sand on the bottom. She swam to the shallow end and reclined on the gentle slope that jutted out over a twin pool downstream. Refreshed and fully content, she sighed lazily and stretched her lithe form out to bask in the summer sun.

Xena was right about the pool's attraction to weary, thirsty eyes. She probably wasn't aware that her naked, sensuous body added to the appeal. The scout, a man younger than Xena by better than five years, care- fully eased the branches back into place as he circled closer to the edge of the water. Apparently, the strange beauty was so intent on the pool that she for- got to check his side of stream when she arrived. He had been getting ready to move on to the next outpost along the border when he caught the scent of a cooking fire, followed by the splashing of a bather. Mindful of an ambush, he had made his way back to the stream.

He had gasped aloud when he saw the flash of skin and swirl of long dark hair beneath the surface of the pool. He ducked back into the woods, recalling stories of wood nymphs, maidens of the forest who would cause blindness in mortal men who were so brash as to gaze upon their flawless, naked bodies. But he had seen a pack and leather boots by the fire, and recalled that all the eternally young beauties in the stories were robed in gossamer gowns and fine jewelry. Curiosity had gotten the better of him as he ventured a peek.

The girl broke the surface of the water like a graceful dolphin, her head thrown back and dark hair streaming down her spine. He gasped again, this time with subdued admiration as she rose fully out of the water. The woman's face was the beauty of the sea under a full moon. Her eyes were the same soft blue as the open sky above. Her skin was nut brown from her jour- neys, just as his was. He noticed with astonishment that she bore several scars over her body, and the flex of powerful muscles and the feline grace of her move- ments betrayed her as a warrior. But still, even though her hands were not soft, he could see that her touch was, as she brushed her hair back, and her full, firm breasts and long, tapered legs would have made Princess Esmerelda herself furious with bitter envy.

The thought of the princess snapped him away from the girl's tantalizing image. He had no clue what this strange, and very exciting, woman was doing here. She could be the escort dispatched from Willow River, or she could be the one behind the sinister disappear- ances that had been plaguing Dunwich. With that grim thought, he drew his sword and strode toward the pool.

The maiden was gone.

He whirled around in a panic. She was nowhere on the opposite bank. He approached the pool, scanning the bottom as he made his way downstream. The other pool! He ran to the edge of the small waterfall and peered into the reeds lining the bank.

He felt a powerful wrench and found himself tumbling over the edge. He caught a glimpse of the girl, standing in the hollow of the falls, just before he splashed into the pool. His momentum drove him straight to the bottom, but before he could gain his balance he was hauled clear of the water, and gazed in- to blue eyes that were slitted with anger.

Xena cursed herself for being three different kinds of a fool as she pinned the young soldier down against the rocks. She cocked her arm back, ready to deliver a killing strike. Before she could follow through, she noticed that the fight had gone out of him.

"Mistress!!! I am a ranger of the Dunwich militia!"

She gathered two handfuls of the youth's tunic and pushed him flat. She straddled his legs and kept his gaze locked with the menacing fire that danced in her eyes.

"The castello advised us that an escort would be arriving from Willow River."

Xena's guard relaxed, though she wasn't satis- fied with the youth's intentions. The boy visibly wilted with relief and from the exertion of the brief but violent encounter. Xena noticed that the scout was several years younger than she was. And even though he was as covered with the road as she might have been, he was still very handsome. It seemed strange to her that he was still flushed and short of breath, then she realized with a start that she didn't have a stitch of clothing on. She also noticed something long and firm pressing up between her spread legs. She didn't have to look down to know that it was his erection straining against his trousers, which was all that kept him from sliding into her. His cock throbbed hotly, as if it had a mind of it's own - and had known as much.

Xena climbed off of him with a furious shove. Not out of embarrassment, since she was no stranger to men, and not out of modesty, since he must have been watching her for some time and there was nothing left to hide. It was because feeling him there -- so hard, so eager, and, as she surmised with a stolen glance at his powerful physique, so capable of giving her a sound, almost brutal, and very satisfying fuck -- had awakened a hunger in her that gripped at her insides and started a wet, tingling heat in her own loins.

"Where are the others?" Xena realized that she hadn't introduced herself or asked the troop for his name, and she was still trying to stop the butterflies in her stomach.

"I came alone."

"A single troop patrolling outside Dunwich's borders during a time of war? They told me to expect a party of ten, and report to the commander."

"I'm... I'm not supposed to be here, mistress."

Xena looked at him with puzzlement

"I am traveling to Calimport. I was assigned to the northern unit when I received news that Princess Esmerelda and her entourage had been captured while sailing south on the Sea Princes. I 'm supposed to re- port to the keep at Dunwich tomorrow."

"Why Calimport? There's no detachment there anymore. It's been an open city for the past three years."

"Yeah, exactly. I was going there to charter a vessel. A mercenary vessel."

"This princess means that much to you?"

"I'm a member of the house-hold guard. I should have been there."

"But why mercenaries? Even with the war, Dun- wich could dispatch ships to the rescue."

"They want to wait for a ransom demand. But I have a feeling that they've been captured by slavers. They aren't too big on ransoms, not when they can find a more worthwhile use for their captives, if you know what I mean."

Xena did, and hated knowing.

"It's not only for her. My cousin Justin was Princess Esmerelda's personal guard. He was enamored of her, and would have done anything to be at her side." The ranger shut his eyes when he thought of what price may have finally been exacted on his brave kinsman.

"It should have been me out there on the sea. Justin was in love. Esmerelda wanted him, too. But both of them knew that it could never be. Her father reminded them of that, and so did Justin's commanding officer. They found a way around it, though. Since he had distinguished himself as her tutor, he earned a rank in the house-hold guard. Since I had accomplished so much overseas for the war effort, I could choose my own duties. I chose the northern defense protectorate, naming Justin as my replacement. Now they could spend time together away from the city -- and her father. I was along on one of their missions to the Minros Archi- pelago. I don't think they got a wink of sleep, even though they never left the sleeping quarters."

He smiled slyly at her and she crossed her arms, trying to hide her swollen nipples. She had drifted into a daydream at the mention of Minros. She had heard all kinds of stories of the tropical paradise with lush greenery and beaches that had sand as white as sugar. Her mercenary officers, during a drunken feast after pillaging a rich town, swapped fantasies of banquet halls with endless fountains of wine and ale, steaming platters of food, and hundreds of small, half- naked, brown-skinned girls who had only grown faint wisps of pubic hair and would do any sexual act for the price of asking.

There was a new swordsman who had joined her army back then. He had stolen a few glances at her be- fore he had launched into his particular fantasy of the Golden Islands. His comrades roared at his dream of having two women pour fruit juice over him and giving him a tongue bath. The laughter cut short when he de- scribed one of the women. He rattled off all of Xena's obvious charms in language that was lewd and plain.

To everyone's surprise, especially Xena's, whose first reaction normally would have been to make a cut with her sword that would render his fantasy point- less (no pun intended), she returned a smile that was equally lewd and simply said, "Dream on."

Xena never admitted to anyone that she would share that dream.

She wanted to question this ranger further, but could tell his desire had shifted from her to the other half of the rabbit on the spit.

"You're welcome to share my meal," she said. He was reaching for the meat even before she finished. "But bathe first. I'm not in the mood to share it with someone who smells like a mule. Don't feel insulted. That pool's the first one I've seen in miles. The water feels great."

He started towards the privacy of the reeds.

"Stay where I can see you."

The young man glanced at her warily. "I know what a naked boy looks like," she said, totally aloof. "And I want you where I can be sure you won't sneak up on me in the bushes again."

The ranger flushed with embarrassment, then set his jaw calmly as he stripped.

Xena allowed a smirk as he turned away, the hot fingers of her gaze lingering on his ass. Rank did have its privileges.

"What's your name, ranger?" she called out.

"Milan. And yours."

"Xena."

Milan's eyes widened with recognition, then he flushed as he felt his heart quicken and his penis swell when he realized who had been pressed naked against him.

Xena wanted to laugh, but something touched her heart when he kept his gaze even with hers, even though so many emotions were running through his body and mind. One thing for sure, this boy could keep his cool.

"Have something to eat, Milan. We have to get moving."

#

The ship with the bright yellow sails docked smoothly, barely making a sound as it came against the pier where the sheik stood. The sheik was a man in white robes piped with golden thread. A single, huge diamond rested in a silver pendant that adorned his turban. The passenger of the schooner was a an obese middle aged man clad in a dark caftan. His own turban was as plane as his other garb, but on his hip rode an ornately jeweled dagger. "Greetings, Tahir Arrani, Master of the Bandar Guild of Assassins."

"Well met, Hafez Makhi, Lord of Corsairs," the aging assassin returned the elaborate bow.

"You're just in time, dear friend. Raiding has gone well this season." Makhi's pirates roamed the waters of the Blood Sea. Pickings had been slim, with more merchants turn- ing to Dunwich's navy and the marines of the Sea Prin- ces' fleet for protection as the war dragged into its second year. That was until Makhi's bold plan unfolded. They stood atop his solution to their problem now. The dock was not on firm land, but perched on the edge of a giant carapace. The cunning pirate had captured one of the zaraten, a race of gigantic seagoing creatures that were the size of an island and roamed the warm waters to the south. Makhi had established a fortress on the back of the mammoth turtle and docked his pirate fleet in the hollows of its shell. Arrani was one of the few people who ever knew the whereabouts of the floating citadel. Even if anyone could find it, they would have to sail through barrages from the catapults and bal- listae that ringed the stronghold and the face the five hundred buccaneers that manned them. Makhi planned to take Calimport, the city guarding the mouth of the Camroot River, then sail his raiders up the river and deep into the mainland.

"So, I hope it is good news, you bring my friend."

Arrani smiled grandly. "Yes. The guild will pay you with new weapons. The blockades are much easier to run these days. And the khans to the east have a weakness for your fair-haired wenches that lets me set my prices ridiculously high."

Tahir Arrani was the sheik's link to the slave markets of Bandar. Makhi had been raiding the coastline not only for treasure and provisions to sell to mercen- aries of the Blood Sea War, but had been earning huge sums with the sale of captured youths. The harems and brothels of the shady port cities were never full enough to please their greedy proprietors.

"Come, let us dine and celebrate good business."

They went back to his palace. The marble floors and columns were a welcome replica of the guild house where the two had started. There was a banquet of fresh fruits, meats, and warm bread spread out before them. As they were seated, Makhi nodded to his eunuch guard, who ushered in the latest spoils of the raid on the coastal cities.

Seven women, with hair like spun gold and ala- baster skin, stood in a line before the two. They were completely naked, as was the custom for the host to display his wives and concubines for his guests. In Makhi's case though, it was his sales pitch to his best customer. Arrani was transfixed by the voluptuous young slaves, who were drugged with the resin of a bitter herb that robbed them of their will and replaced it with animal passion. They wore the collars of appren- tice slave girls, with their hair pulled back by silk barrettes so that the buyer could examine their faces closely for blemishes or signs of misuse. Makhi's per- sonal concubines had prepared each one, oiling and milking their skins, shaving and perfuming their woman- ly charms for the act of love.

Arrani looked to his host for approval, who smiled and nodded his assent. He held his platter up for the slave boy. Instead of placing his dish there, he spit his unswallowed mouthful of food into the teen's hand and staggered to the girl in the middle of the display. He reached out with a greasy, trembling hand and hefted one of her large breasts. The areolas of which were huge and shell pink. He reached between her strong thighs with the other hand, running a ringed finger between the cleft of her plump labia. He only became aware of Makhi's voice when the eunuch guard pressed a scimitar under his chin.

"I said," Makhi intoned with renewed patience, now that he had the assassin's attention once more, "that that one is for final sale only. She is the daughter of a noble, so her hands and feet are not toughened from labor."

"I'll buy her right now!" the trembling guild master said as he reached for his pouch. "Afraid not, old friend," Makhi said bene- volently. "The padishah has made an offer already."

"I'll offer double whatever he did."

"The weapons shipment?"

Arrani balked at the thought He had bought en- tire barges full of slave women for half that price. But his eyes rested on the maiden, who had slid down to the furs that were conveniently placed in the center of the audience hall. Her eyes were almond shaped, like the elves of the Freehold woodlands, her lips full and parted moistly as she wrapped her arms round his knees. He had no chance to resist.

"Done."

Makhi cackled delightedly and beckoned to three of the women for himself.

Princess Esmerelda was only faintly aware of the man's hands on her breasts as he sucked each one of her nipples. As if in betrayal to her own body, they hardened underneath the bearded mouth. She seemed to view her own rape as if she were watching it from her bedroom window in Dunwich Keep. The voice that whis- pered into the old man's ear, telling how good his lips felt, was that of a waterfront whore trying to please a wealthy customer. The tongue that trailed down the side of his neck, tasting his salty sweat and the heat of his desire, belonged to a woman who had been deprived of a man's pleasure for long years. She watched the fat, hairy man press his engorged penis against her smooth thigh, the heat of it was urgent and barely con- taining his seed. The strange woman captured his head between her hands, began to suck on his outstretched tongue like it was a ripe plum, tasting the flavor of the morsel he had just eaten.

Arrani rolled his eyes with lust as the harem girl softly kneaded his scrotum and blew a sweet puff of breath into his open mouth. She swung her long, powerful legs over him and swallowed his drooling cock. He licked at the glistening, quivering folds of her pussy, mouthing the tender insides of her thighs and slipping the tip of his tongue experimentally into the pink pucker of her ass. Esmerelda moaned and stroked his cock firmly as he snaked his tongue farther in. She crawled forward on all fours, her legs spread wide, as she looked over her shoulder at him with lust filled hooded eyes.

The master assassin stroked his cock with an- ticipation as he stared at the girl's dripping pussy. He glanced up at the other females, who were rubbing their crotches as they watched their companion work on their guest. He motioned to one, a youngster who had just crossed into womanhood, to kneel in front of him.

She knelt and wrapped her arms around his waist looking at Esmerelda and licking her lips with longing. Arrani commanded Esmerelda to play with herself, then pulled the teenager's head to his waiting shaft.

Esmerelda leaned against a pillowed couch, the fingers of both her hands plunged into her pussy and anus as she watched the girl fellate the leering man. A drop of saliva drooled out the side of his mouth as he huffed with the girl's exquisite rhythm, and the young harem wench stretched her tongue out to catch it before she returned to her oral labors.

Arrani pulled her head away and motioned for her to lay with her head between Esmerelda's knees. He put a hand around Esmerelda's waist, his belly pressed against her smooth back. The slave girl stroked his cock as she flicked her tongue across Esmerelda's clit. She gave Arrani's cock an appreciative suck before she guided it into Esmerelda's wet vagina.

Arrani let out a hooting groan as he sank his cock into her. Esmerelda looked into his eyes, ran her tongue across her teeth with unrepentant lust as she wriggled her hips and met his thrusts. The old man couldn't keep up the pace long, and after a dozen or so thrusts he bucked twice as he sprayed his semen inside of her.

As he pulled out, the little slave girl jumped in and began to lick the seed from Esmerelda's shaven pussy lips. Eager to feel the master's thrusts for her- self, she wiped the spent juices from the inside of Esmerelda's pussy and smeared it between the cheeks of her own ass, slipping two fingers inside her rectum, then knelt prostrate before her master. The assassin found himself gripped with lust greater than anything he had felt before as he eyed the small girl's waiting pucker. He leaned forward and pressed the head of his shaft into her waiting ass. He was probably too big and she was not loose enough, but the harem girl's lust would not be denied. She pressed back with the strength of her supple young body and he penetrated her sphin- cter with a lunge that caused him to bite down on his lip. The girl screamed and rubbed her clit furiously as she pumped on his fat cock. Esmerelda was kissing the old assassin deeply, her hand at work between her own legs. Arrani shouted out with release as his seed spurted into the young girls bowels. The three of them collapsed back onto the furs and lay panting from their carnal exertions. The other harem girls soothed them with gentle massages and cool washcloths as they waited for their turn with the master.

Xena and Milan had reached the border by night- fall the next day. He had hidden his uniform beneath a set of flat black garments. They were on the oceanside cliffs, with Calimport one day away. From there they could enlist a mercenary crew and start hunting the marauders. Xena looked from the edge of the cliff to the lights of Calimport. She was delaying her mission greatly, but she had an especially bitter hatred of the slave traders in the east. If Dunwich lost its arms deal with the Willow River merchants, she knew where to buy more, and she'd have the money to get them herself! Milan stretched out on the blanket. They would- n't risk a fire, but with the full moon they wouldn't need any light. Xena came down from the promontory, taking off her cloak and sitting next to him. He could feel her warmth and heard her sigh as she lay back against the tree. He got up promptly and walked over to the edge of the cliff, looking into the night.

Xena walked over to where he stood. She touched him softly on the shoulder, felt him tense up.

"Was it something I said?" she said with more of a sarcastic edge than she intended.

"You're a woman."

"Congratulations, scholar, you've figured that one out. What do you mean , 'You're a woman?'"

"The hair, the breasts, the soft skin, that's what I mean!"

Xena was speechless. She had been expecting some sort of confession of male ego, like the ones she had heard from so many men who fretted at having a wo- man at their side in combat. Not this time.

"Ever since I could walk, I've done it with sword or lance in my hand. Justin was right when he teased me about being slave to a mistress called war. I was once a favorite of the princess, you know? I staved off her advances politely but officiously, talk- ing about duty and the king's trust, and all that. The truth was I was scared - scared of her charm and scared of how helpless I was starting to feel. At least Justin had the courage to try."

"A lot of men I've met would rather charge a phalanx of angry knights than admit their feelings for a woman," she said amiably. "Sad, but there's no shame there. And, yes there is more to a warrior's life than battle. There are some thrills that don't sing with the clashing of steel. There are some passions that aren't borne of fury, some lusts that aren't for blood. And now you want to know them."

"I know what I'm missing," he said, flustered, mistaking the meaning of her padded words. "That's what makes it so painful."

Xena stood before him, resting her hands on his shoulders and looking up, deeply into his eyes.

"Among the Sujel tribes there's a custom. They never marry, but before they go off to war, they hold a ceremony where they each choose a mate. They make love, and ride to battle with the next day. The Sujel are warrior tribes, both men and women, and not many reach old age. But those that survive are always carrying life forward off the battlefield.." She bit her lower lip and hoped that he liked what he had seen enough to take her offer.

"Are you uncomfortable with me?" Xena wanted to know.

"No," he answered.

"Are you uncomfortable that I am more experi- enced?"

"Not at all."

"Good. I want to share with you everything I know." Milan looked at her. Then kissed her softly. It was a sweet kiss, a kiss to dream on. The next kiss was a little more than a sweet one, and the next was some- thing else. He heard faint pings as she undid the straps of his armor, and he worked to free her of hers.

In a frenzy, they tore at each others clothing, until they stood naked before each other. She wrapped her arms around his neck and her body fit perfectly against his, as if she had lived just for this moment, had been waiting and hungering for him all her life. His touch roamed over the silky skin of her back, her ass, and between her supple thighs. He felt her lips part slightly, and the tip of her tongue brushed across his lips. He did the same and probed farther to meet hers in her mouth. Her tongue was a playful thing, slipping and wrestling with his. The soft strokes of hers seemed to promise much more.

She smiled warmly at him as they eased down to the blanket. They knelt opposite each other, content to stare with silent but unabashed admiration. Milan thought as he looked at her, that even though she was older, and was a warrior, her face was that of a child now - soft, full of wonder, radiant. Xena eased him onto his back. She knelt between his legs, with her hands resting at the tops of his feet. She slowly ran her hands up and down, up and down his legs. She took his cock in one hand and very gently cupped his balls in the other.

Xena gave his shaft a gentle squeeze and cares- sed it lightly with the tips of her fingers. Milan shut his eyes and let waves of pleasure roll over him. She kissed him softly, and kissed his chest then his stomach, dipping her tongue into his navel. She felt him begin to arch, recognized the language of his body. She stopped and squeezed his cock firmly. "No, no, not yet," she cooed, "There's more. There's so much more."

Milan let out a soft cry as the beautiful womans tongue ran along the underside of his erection. Her lips closed over the head and she sucked softly. She looked up at him as she slid it deeper into her mouth. She pulled her upper lip down over the top of it and flattened her tongue along the bottom. She bobbed her head up and down, adding wet, wonderful suction as she ran her hand over his chest and stomach. Milan felt his hands and feet, then his arms and legs start to go numb, all sense abandoning him except for the soft, moist grip of Xena's mouth and the licks of her tongue.

Xena watched his face and felt the grip of his hand, until she found his rhythm and kept at it. She decided not to tease him. She wanted to give him a climax that he would remember for the rest of his life, and knew that taking the edge off his lust would help him last longer when she finally gripped his cock in her very hungry pussy, which was already swollen and hot with anticipation.

She thrilled inwardly as she felt him flex and snap like puppet with its strings cut. His sperm squirted into her mouth in long, thick, scalding streams, coating the roof of her mouth. It was so thick it was almost like paste, and she couldn't swallow much. She could see the lust in his eyes when he saw his seed trickling out of the side of her mouth, so she shamelessly let it flow between her lips and down her chin. She gathered his cum with her fingertips then licked them clean, then licked up the semen that re- mained on his cock, all the while keeping her smoky, passionate gaze locked with his.

He pulled her up and kissed her deeply. Then rolled her onto her back and gripped her knees, pulling them up and open. He left a trail of wet kisses from her ankles, to her knees, and inside her thighs, stop- ping shy of her flushed, puffy lips. Milan ran the tips of his fingers gently between them, pleasure of his own filling him as her moans and sighs drifted to him. He slid his middle finger deep inside her, rubbing her clitoris lightly with this thumb. Her breath came in excited gasps, her head rolled back and forth as he sucked one of her large, pink nipples as he worked his hand faster.

Xena grinned with triumph, her eyes squeezed shut with ecstasy as Milan ran his tongue between the lips of her pussy. He took long licks that started at the bottom of her pussy and ended at her navel. He pulled the fleshy outer lips between his, sucking and licking with the wettest of intimate kisses.

"What kind of novice are you, young Milan? I've -- ohhhhhh -- never experienced a man who was as good with his mouth, as he was when he had talked me into bed!"

"Justin and I traded notes. I told him how to make the house-hold guard and win the princess's favor, and he told me how to please women. I used to dream of this at night as I slept alone."

"Mmmmm. Even Hercules, as strong yet gentle as he was, couldn't make me feel like this. Ahhhhh! Right there, Milan. Ohhhhh yesssss!"

Milan felt a flush of pride to be compared so with Hercules. He rolled his tongue and cradled her engorged clitoris with it. It was Xena's turn to thrash helplessly as he sucked gently. He squeezed her breasts, stroking her nipples between his fingers. Her teeth clenched and head arched back as a string of ex- plosions ripped through her brain and burned her loins.

Milan climbed up and kissed her deeply, letting the warrior princess taste her own dark, hot juices. Xena grabbed his ass and stroked the young stud's cock with satisfaction. It slid powerfully through her fingers as he groaned his eagerness to her. He was ready, and she knew he would feel well rewarded when he felt, with his cock, how hot and swollen her pussy was from his attention. She pulled him between her legs and scissored them into the small of his back. They kissed deeply, teasing each other with twists of their hips and sque- ezing each other's ass possessively. Soon they couldn't stand it any longer and worked their loins together. Milan felt the goose-egg head of his cock nudge the wet lips of her pussy open. He pushed his hips forward firmly. Xena's pussy seemed tighter than he thought it should, and he was afraid of hurting her.

Xena drew a sharp breath as her pussy stretched around his shaft. She looked up into his eyes when she felt him pause. She gave him a strange, weak smile and nodded. She stifled a moan as he finished his stroke, which caused a burning, stabbing sensation deep within her as he reached her limit and couldn't fit in any farther. Her eyes flew open and her face filled with animal hunger as he pulled out and thrust into her again.

Milan had never felt anything like this in his life. It was like he was part of her, at her very core, and the daggers of pleasure that shot through him as the lips of her pussy slid down to the base of his cock were lancing into her as well. Inside she was very warm, and the walls of her vagina were so slippery, but at the same time clinging to the skin of his shaft wonderfully. He saw the muscles of her stomach dance and flinched slightly as her nails raked his back. He thrust faster and her hands locked on his hips as powerful jolts racked her body. She seemed to go weak for few moments, then she wrestled him onto his back and squatted astride him..

"Was this what you were dreaming of when we met?" she purred, sliding lazily along him.

She crushed herself against him and clamped her mouth over his, her tongue invading his mouth ravenous- ly. As their sweat-slicked bodies slid over each other - Milan could feel Xena's hard, hot nipples poking into his chest as if they wanted to penetrate him. Their gasps and moans mixed together as they felt an immense wave of lust and pleasure build inside. Locked together and felt the world go into a spin as his cum surged in- to her body. They writhed as if they were impaled on the same spear of intense pleasure. Their breaths were like blast furnaces against each other's skin as they shared a few more strokes, wincing with the unbearably delicious friction. "Sleep, my warrior," she whispered as she felt the warm, soft blanket of slumber wrap around them. "The battle awaits us."

#

The mercenary ship docked just after dawn in the bustling seaport of Bandar. Though the city itself was just waking and opening for another business day, activity on the dock went on at all hours. The vessel docked across from two heavily laden cargo ships haul- ing textiles from the far east. Long trains of dock workers grunted under the heavy bundles as foremen cursed about schedules and lost wages. The two warriors were barely visible in the crush of humans and demi- humans that were scrambling frantically between the docked vessels and the rows of warehouses that separ- ated the shore from the market area.

"By the gods, I've never been in a place so con- fusing! And the smell!" Milan urged Xena to get them far away from a fishmonger's cart that had collided with one carrying pickled animal parts. The shouts were coming loud and furious in two different languages. Xena ignored Milan's queasy voice as she scanned the piers. She found the yellow sails that marked the slave ships, which were docked at the southern-most pier. As they neared the end of the pier, the crowd thinned out. Xena dragged Milan into a side alley that doubled as an open sewer.

"The ones in the red turbans and black pants are the harbor patrol. Avoid them at all costs. Most of them are drawing pay from the Assassin's Guild. Also stay clear of the ones wearing bright yellow, those are the slavers."

They picked their way to the adjacent street, which was crowded with spice vendors. The curving route led them to the market yard. It was several acres wide and jammed with stalls and carts bearing goods from all corners of the world. The air was thick with smoke from cooking fires and smoking dens as well as flies attrac- ted by food and animal droppings.

"There," Xena nodded to a row of long buildings with high windows. "Those are the slave pens. We have to enter near the far side to be close to the slave girls' market."

The auction yard was a covered area several hundred feet wide. The area in front of the pen for women awaiting auction was crowded with shouting and whistling men. Xena abandoned any thought of getting close right now. They could wait until the first round of bidding ended. By then the first wave of girls bound for the brothels would be leaving, with a surge of eager customers behind it.

Xena did stroll past the opposite end of the auction stand, where last-minute inspections and sub- sequent haggling was taking place. New owners were vigorously wiping off makeup used to conceal scars and blemishes or probing and sniffing genitals for disease, while the wholesalers dutifully feigned surprise. Milan gaped as he stared at a roped off area where a masked stud was systematically deflowering a line of women, since, by law, virgins could not be sold for prostitu- tion. Here and there, a bidder whispered to a guard and passed a handful of coins while a cohort discretely escorted a girl out of line.

"Why buy when you can just borrow, sweetmeat?" Milan turned to his side to see a woman in dark robes. She pulled aside the hem to reveal one of her long legs and her dusky bush. She opened her robe farther and revealed bare breasts the size of melons. "Only a day's wage, and you don't have to take care of me after- wards."

She pressed her case by running her hands up his legs as she grinned lasciviously. She gave him a playful squeeze and whispered an offer in his ear. Xena's hand shot between them and drew the working prostitute into a swift backhand slap. The harlot fell heavily on her ass, dropping Milan's coin pouch on im- pact. She glared at Xena, then bolted off.

"If I remember correctly, you told me the prin- cess was a blonde."

"Just admiring the scenery, mistress." Milan protested.

"Give me a break, ranger. She had a harelip."

Xena's lying, Milan thought. Even she wasn't looking at her face.

"The princess and her handmaidens are nowhere around here. Small wonder. What do we do next?" Milan asked.

"It looks like I get to visit some old acquain- tances," she said. The expression on her face told that the experience would be less than pleasant.

#

"Welcome back, Warrior Princess," greeted the man in rich, midnight blue robes. He wore his dark hair long and had a short goatee. A ring of gold adorned his nose and an elaborate pendant fastened his cloak. "How long has it been, one month, two . . .?"

"Four years, Senguro," Xena scowled at two body- guards that towered over her. They smiled warmly and fingered the hilts of their scimitars.

"That long, eh? Where does the time go? I hope you've come back to take me up on my dinner invita- tion."

"Not this time, Soft-Hand," Xena softened her face and smiled, but her hand was casually resting on her hip now, near the stiletto. "I came to ask about the slavers who are selling western women."

"Such information is hard to come by, mis- tress," Senguro was loosing interest already. "What makes you think I know anything about it?"

"A gold ring with a bloodstone lozenge set in it. The mark of a prime charter master for the Assas- sin's Guild."

Senguro dropped all cordiality and his thugs promptly gripped the hilts of their weapons. "Who do not brook invasions of their affairs! I could kill you now, Xena, and no one would say a word about it!"

"No, you couldn't, Senguro, because you're the last person who can afford to call the attention of the Guild Master upon himself. How much have you been hold- ing back this year, Soft-Hand? Three percent? Ten per- cent?"

"I would never cross the Guild! No one who's smart ever does!"

"And I'm the padishah's daughter!" Xena grinned mockingly.

Senguro waved his guards to stand easy. "You're going to be the end of me, Xena. All this, for a few lousy moments in North Haven."

"Most men would kill for that chance, Soft-Hand. Some have," Xena huffed, but they both knew it wasn't an idle boast.

"I know," Senguro said pleasantly. So what is it you require? The name attached to a poisoned blade? A head to ease a grieving widow's heart?"

"A girl, Senguro. A Dunwich maiden with hair like gold and elfish eyes. She probably was here within the last few days."

"The Guild Master left two days ago for the open sea. He sails back here through the Spindrift Isles, then departs for the east at the new moon."

"You're sure of this?"

"Have I ever told you wrong? I didn't think so. I accept your apology, milady, and you can join me for that dinner to express your gratitude."

"Looks like we part on bad terms again, Sen- guro. You'll have to stick to whatever nobleman's daughter you're sleeping with these days."

"Not the same, I'm afraid," he grinned as he faded into the shadow, bodygaurds in tow.

"Don't tell me that he. . ." Milan said with a trifle of jealousy.

"You believe everything you hear, Milan. That's your problem."

"Can we trust him?"

"No, but he hates the Guild more than anything else. It was his worst mistake, and there's no way out once you've stepped in. He never could think ahead very far."

#

The mercenary vessel, the Nightshade, made good time through the Straits of Colchos and headed for the open sea. They could make Spindrift Sound by nightfall of the following day, just in time to catch the Guild slaver as she navigated the reefs around the islands. The assassins would have to hug the outward side of the reef since the beasts prowling the open water were too dangerous and the Duke of Karmanka had a fleet guarding the shoreline.

#

They had just sighted the islands when the sun seemed to fade from the sky. Everyone was struck with horror by the sinister pall of fog that was rolling across the islands, and soon its tendrils floated to- wards the ship.

"Avast!" bellowed Captain Morgantheau, a veteran of seven wars on the Blood Sea and retainer to the Dun- wich navy. "Lookouts on the bow! Watch for reefs!" A lot of good that would do. By the time shallow water was spotted, they'd be on top of the reef.

"What kind of fog is this, Captain?" Milan's teeth chattered as the mist closed around the ship. The temperature had dropping severely.

"Devil's fog, boy," he spat into the steam ris- ing off the water. "These parts never see mist during the day."

"Sorcery," Xena agreed. She shrugged her cloak aside, heedless of the fog, her blades standing ready. They all noticed the island at the same time. At first, they thought they had been caught by some land-bound current, but a glance convinced them that they were holding their course. The island was bearing down on them, pushing a wall of water several yards high. The crew cried out in dismay as a huge boulder crested near them, which split open to reveal a cavernous maw that carried the reek of centuries from all the oceans of the world. The Nightshade was broken in half, pieces of her hull swirling in the monstrous wave. Xena looked on in horror as Milan was tossed into the air by the heaving deck and plowed under the waves.

"Get to the forecastle, mistress!" Captain Mor- gantheau shoved Xena up the ladder to the front of the ship. She had just grabbed the rail for support when the deck collapsed under Morgantheau's feet. He soon joined the rest of the hapless crew in the monstrous hydraulics that sucked the broken ship down.

Xena found a handhold on the lip of the zara- ten's barnacle encrusted jaws, her feet skidding along the water that surged past her. She felt a rough, cold hand seize her around the wrist and haul her clear. She was carried to the top of the crag and cast down at the feet of a band of buccaneers.

"Behold - Xena: Warrior Princess," scoffed Hafez Makhi. His grin was the last thing she saw before the butt of a spear put the lights out.

Xena was bound at the wrists and elbows with her legs in hobbles. The guards took either elbow and ush- ered her up the trail and through the gates of the citadel. The little procession drew the attention of dozens of pirates manning the trebuchets and battle- ments.

"Hey, look! It's feared warlord woman herself!"

"Looks more like fresh fish to me!"

"Hey, I want that bitch in my bunk tonight!"

"You can have her! Crazy slut will probably bust you in half!"

"She won't be so tough with three or four of us pinning her down!"

"I don't want her after YOU, Drago!"

"Hey, show us a little more skin, sweet cheeks!" The rogues crowded around the trail, wiggling tongues and grabbing crotches suggestively. The guards shouldered through them to the doors of the Guild House. They climbed a set of stairs that opened into the audience hall. Makhi was waiting there with Tahir Arrani. Several scantily clad blonde women sat among a pile of furs in the middle of the room. One of them matched Milan's description of his princess.

"Take her to the harem and treat her with the potion. She will be the new centerpiece of my collec- tion."

Xena went wild with outrage. Her lunge at the grinning pirate was aborted by the guards holding her chains.

"On second thought," said Makhi, "Entertain her in the lower chambers for a while. Do whatever you want, as long as you leave no scars. But I want her tamed."

Xena shouted with feral intensity, then the lights went out again as the guards subdued her.

Xena woke up with the feeling of something suf- focating her. She had a panic filled moment before she realized that she could still breathe through her nos- trils. Gagged, she thought, and blindfolded too. Her forearms and calves were bound in tight sleeves and a belt circled her waist. They were chained so she was spread eagle and hanging in the harness. She could tell by the draught on her skin that she was otherwise nude.

"Looks like she's coming around." The voice and the footsteps came closer. A hand carefully pulled her blindfold up to rest on her forehead. It belonged to a Nordic man in his early forties, body lean and hardened from combat. His grin, full of sharpened, silver teeth, identified him as Rostov, Hafez Makhi's prime assassin. "This is called the Spider, Xena. Our interro- gator uses this as the pedestal of his art. You proba- bly remember that his art is something that most of us do not have the stomach to witness." Rostov picked up a thick, wickedly curved hook from the table, letting Xena watch the light from a brazier full of glowing coals glint off it. He snorted and returned it to its stand. "No, we've got other ideas. A lot more fun, al- though someone's got to serve as the entertainment. Of course, we've picked you."

Five pirates barged through the entryway, curs- ing and snickering, tankards of ale spilling careless- ly. They cheered when they saw the naked woman hanging in the middle of the torture chamber.

"Hold up, boys, let's make her comfortable now." Rostov released a lever and pulled a set of pulleys, tilting the cruciform that held the harness forward. Xena watched the six men as they stripped down. Their hairy legs came into view, then they stepped close enough so she could see them hefting and stroking their penis' into hardness, like weapons being brandished be- fore the onslaught. Rostov was the first to touch her. He slicked a finger with his saliva, then rubbed it lightly on Xena's nipples, which hardened with the sud- den chill. The men grunted and whistled approvingly.

Rostov rubbed his erect cock on her face. He grabbed a handful of her dark hair, pulling her head back forcefully as he pressed his cock against her breasts. He grinned with satisfaction at the loathing and terror in her bright blue eyes. The others stepped forward and replaced him now, running their coarse hands all over the soft skin of her body. One was below her with his face buried in her tits, sucking and chew- ing on her nipples. Two of them were fondling her ass while they pumped their inflamed rods up against her thighs, while one was lapping at her cunt as he jerked himself off.

The huge black corsair with scars across his face was the one with first bid at Xena's sex. One of the others handed him a tray holding a cake of grease. He smeared it along the length of his huge black tool, eyeing the patch between Xena's legs licentiously while licking his lips. He smeared another handful of the lubricant over the lips of her pussy, working two of his fingers up inside of her. He kept the lips parted with his fingers as he steered the dark purple head of his cock into her.

A loud groan escaped his lips as he shoved his hips forward. His face was knotted with pleasure as he twirled and rocked his hips, wrenching his cock around inside her. One of the others had greased her chest up and was fucking his big erection between her breasts. The black man came first, roaring at the top of his lungs as he emptied his testicles in huge clobs of hot sperm, so much that it began leaking around his shaft as he mindlessly continued to slam into the girls body. The other squeezed her tits together tightly as he shot his load there, squirting his jism onto her neck and chest, rubbing his sticky fluid into her skin. Then the next man moved eagerly between her legs, ramming his cock in and pumping her with short, dog-like strokes. They took turns at her pussy until their cum had trick- led from her lips and made a puddle on the stone floor. Rostov stood back and watched the five thugs use her lavish body, his eyes wide with glee as he worked his inches. He only came forward when he was ready to pop. He grabbed her hair and held her head still as he rub- bed the head of his cock on her cheeks and around her lips. He snorted with satisfaction and growled loudly as he squirted his cum on her face and in her hair. The prime assassin gauged the time, decided to give the men another half hour before he would call in the concu- bines to clean her up and drug her for the master.

#

The floating citadel made its way east. The zaraten's massive limbs propelled it along at thirty knots, closing the distance inexorably with Calimport. When it stopped, the pirate crew set to a group of giant cogwheels. Groaning and swearing mightily, they turned the wheels until the piers were deployed from the recesses in the zaraten's shell. They went to work arming the frigates that would ravage the city and the coastline for miles. It was easy among the hustle and confusion for Milan to emerge from his hiding place and start climbing.

The ranger had been sucked into the giant tur- tle's wake when he hit the water. Realizing he had only seconds to escape watery death, he caught hold on the timbers of the folded pier and lashed himself to it with his pack harness. He rode along for the last four hours, until the creature slowed and the pirates' fren- zied activity made his ascent possible. He ducked through the jungle and made his way to the guild house. The servants loading fresh supplies had left the side gates open and he rushed into the house in a swirl of black robes.

He was overcome with rage when he found the cell holding Xena. The heroine was stripped naked and lashed to a bizarre device. He overheard the groans and crude cheers of the five brutes who were standing around the weird rack, groping at her while she hung in a leather harness and one fucked her. Xena's brow was covered with sweat, her eyes squeezed shut. Her face was flushed as she tried to breathe around the leather gag in her mouth.

He pulled back into the shadows, taking two heavy throwing spikes from beneath his robes. He pushed the door open and confirmed that there were six targets in the room. They had not noticed him, too caught up in their lust as they each awaited another turn inside the beautiful woman's silky womb.

He struck the ones waiting at the sides first. The spikes entered their throats, driving them to their knees as they fought for air. The man between her legs was next. The deadly ranger pulled two leaf-bladed daggers from their sheaths and plunged them up under the man's ribs. Xena could feel the man come inside of her, at the moment of death. His body instinctively trying to reproduce, even as it died.

The corsair vomited blood as the blades pierced his diaphragm and tore his lungs open. The other two, still exhausted from their penetrations, died before they could gain their feet when Milan cast the two daggers at them. One was killed instantly as it pierced his eye and lodged in his brain. The other clawed weakly at the cruel knife lodged in his neck as his lifeblood spurted from a torn carotid artery.

Milan used the body of the rapist as a shield when Rostov fired a small crossbow at him. He cast the body aside and leapt at the assassin. He bowled the older man over and grappled with him fiercely. Milan was a bit bigger, but Rostov was a veteran of hundreds of hand to hand battles. He broke Milan's chokehold when he shoved a palm under his chin, forcing his head back. The assassin had worked a dirk free from his robes and stabbed, but Milan easily caught and held his arm. He shoved Rostov's hand into the smoldering braz- ier. The assassin screamed as smoke and the smell of roasting pork filled the air. Milan finally sent him down with a fist to the back of the neck.

He retrieved his spikes and daggers, then re- leased the bindings from around Xena's arms and legs. She collapsed into his arms and he pulled the gag out of her mouth. Xena gasped gratefully and clung to his shoulder for support. "Milan," she whispered as he put his arms around her. He took water from a pitcher on the table and washed her come ccovered face. Looking around, he found a cloth to dry her off with, as well as her clothes and armor. She pressed her face into his shoulder and clung to him. Milan held her gently and reassuringly as her horror passed. With a deep breath, she composed herself and took her armor. They noticed Rostov stirring in the shadows.

"He's still alive," Milan said, slightly sur- prised.

"Not for long," Xena said, the steel back in her. She hefted a fallen scimitar menacingly and stalked toward the wounded assassin.

"Wait," Rostov croaked, "Don't kill me. . ."

"Tell me what Makhi has planned."

"Spare me and I'll tell you," he gasped as he clutched his seared hand in pain.

"Start talking, you bastard."

"He planned to have you drugged and taken into his harem. He was going to put on a show tonight to show you off as his latest conquest and acquisition to other masters of the Assassins Guild." The assassin spit out three of his silver teeth and continued. "They're celebrating before they overrun Calimport. I'm supposed to pick a lieutenant to put on a show with you after their feast. Please, let me go now!"

Xena's expression hardened as her grip tightened on the scimitar.

"No! You promised!"

"I did not," she said calmly as she rammed the blade through his heart, closing the shifty eyes for- ever.

"Help me hide these carcasses," she said as she tossed Milan the black pirate's uniform. "Then put this on."

"What for?"

"We have a dinner party to get ready for."

#

Xena duplicated the drowsy stare that she had seen on the faces of the harem girls. Milan held her by the elbow as they walked into the bath house used by the concubines. Three of them were waiting there, stripped to the waist as they prepared a bath for the two new arrivals.

"Rostov said to come here to get ready," Milan said, trying to act officious to cover his arousal by the three exquisitely beautiful and voluptuous concu- bines. One who appeared to be the leader nodded and they removed their skirts and jewelry. Two of them took Milan's hands while the leader took Xena's. They led them to the marble steps of the bathing pool and pro- ceeded to strip them.

They sat the couple side by side and one poured a pitcher of warm scented water over their heads. Xena was grateful as the water rinsed away the crawling sen- sations of the brutes' hands and their abominable seed. The girls lathered their bodies with soft sponges and massaged perfumed suds into their scalps. The leader was busy at work with a small razor as she denuded Xena's loins.

"The master likes to observe the small details," she offered in explanation. Xena nodded, then cast a dark glance at the girl who was grooming Milan and tak- ing the privilege of caressing and licking his fully erect penis. The ranger, shrugged, as if to say, "Hey, this was your idea" and lay back as the girl started to scrape his pubic hair away.

They were rinsed off and led to a pair of padded tables. The girls poured a sweetly spiced oil onto their backs, then rubbed handfuls of it into their own skins. They climbed onto the large tables, next to their guests. The leader straddled Xena's back and rubbed her shoulders. Across from them, one used her ample breasts to rub the oil into Milan's back. He had to admit, even though they were facing a battle where they were hopelessly outnumbered, he was having a great time. And even though Makhi was a pig, he sure could pick the most delectable women.

They turned them over and finished the rubdown, then led them to the harem room where a dozen other concubines lounged or slept as they waited for the couple.

"The master wants us to warm you up for your performance. But, it seems that the pleasure is ours, for once," The girls smiled appreciatively and with enthusiasm as the two hard-bodied warriors were led in- to the middle of a sea of pillows and scented bodies.

Delicate hands with painted nails reached out and stroked, caressed, teased them. They were joined by soft, warm tongues. Two of them had Milan on his back and took turns licking and sucking his stiff cock as a third offered her pussy to his mouth. A girl with short raven-black was kneeling between Xena's legs, brushing the insides of her thighs and her labia with a long feather. Two blondes massaged her breasts while another kissed her tenderly. The other girls caressed the en- gaged partners or paired off themselves until they could trade places.

Milan couldn't see Esmerelda around the chamber, but was sure she would be there tonight. He started to formulate plans but his concentration was broken when a wench with a long mane of red hair kissed him lightly.

"If you think you'll have enough strength for tonight," she asked demurely, "I was hoping that you would let me please you for a while."

Milan nodded, feeling quite overwhelmed. The girl kissed him thankfully and straddled him, taking him inside of her with a practiced thrust of her hips. Her vagina seemed to grab him greedily, then gave his cock an affectionate squeeze. She cooed and whispered to him. "The master likes this with me more than the others. This is my specialty. Lay back and let me do the work. I swear you won't be disappointed."

Xena had been similarly distracted when the brunette rubbed the tip of her nose and tongue over her clit. Xena decided to abandon the strategy for now and kissed the blonde back hungrily. The harem wench whis- pered into Xena's ear and got a nod of agreement. They arranged themselves on their sides, their faces to each other's crotch. The blonde began, kissing and licking Xena's slick pussy as she squeezed her ass. Xena plunged two fingers in and out of the girl's dripping cunt, teasing her clit with her tongue. She paused to look over at Milan, who was hanging onto the table pre- cariously as the red-headed girl rode him through wave after wave of orgasm. Xena winked at him and worked on her own girl.

When the harem girls had sated themselves, Milan and Xena crawled to a far corner of the bed and nestled down in a mound of pillows. The concubines took it as a gesture that the lieutenant wanted time with Xena for himself, so they left them alone.

"I think I've found a way to spoil their party tonight," Xena whispered. "The guards will be light since most of the pirates will be preparing for the raid on Calimport."

"Yes. We should be able to escape with the princess quite easily if we can prevent an alarm from sounding."

"I intend to do more than that," Xena said ominously. "Are you ready, young ranger?"

"As I'll ever be. Traveling with you, a man has to be ready for anything, it seems."

"You can't say it's been boring," she said. Despite the grim circumstances, she felt the flame of desire flare in her and she squeezed his cock playful- ly. She felt a rush of pride as his drained organ writhed and hardened in response. They embraced and kissed passionately, observing the Sujel custom once more as the harem girls watched them dreamily.

# Tahir Arrani took his place at the banquet, his prime assassin by his side and Princess Esmerelda lounging at his feet. Eight other sheiks from various cartels in Calimport and neighboring countries were in attendance. Each of the dignitaries had two slave girls chosen from the pens. Seated on his throne at the middle of the banquet table, Hafez Makhi watched his guests as they drank from gold goblets and feasted on the mounds of rich food. His normally stern face was broken by the smuggest of grins as the chosen moment approached. Using the edge of his dinner knife, he struck a small bell that produced a high, clear tone.

"My friends," he gestured to the assembled sheiks, "today we begin a venture greater than any other in the history of the Guild. We have proved what this citadel can do on the open sea. No merchant vessel can get by us. No fleet can stand up to us. In three days time, Calimport will belong to us! We shall claim the city and control the entire coastline. The mer- chants will have to deal with us, and Bandar will become the economic capital of the three continents! The agents of our guild are in place and have made pre- parations for our landing. Once Calimport is occupied, we shall sail our barges up the Camroot River, deep in- to the Berlandic plains, taking what the rich farmlands and mining towns have to offer. We shall take anything, ANYTHING, that we desire. . ."

On this verbal cue, the curtains to a vestibule parted and out stepped Milan, leading Xena. He was naked except for a leather loincloth, his bulging mus- cles glowing from the oil rubbed into his skin. In his hand, he held a silk cord that was clasped to the gem- studded slave collar around Xena's neck. She wore the diaphanous veils of a concubine and gold bracelets around her upper arm and a slim chain around one of her ankles. The eyes of the assembled crime bosses and harem girls crawled avidly over the bodies of the two performers. There were whispers as the rumors of Makhi's latest accomplishment were now confirmed.

Makhi clapped his hands twice, nodding to Milan. The costumed ranger undid the clasp at Xena's collar and seated himself on the couch in the middle of fur- lined floor. The musicians began a tune, then Xena started to sway her hips to the hypnotic rhythm. Her shoulders joined in, moving in counterpoint as she shifted from one leg to the other in the classical form of a harem girl's belly dance.

Milan, like the others, found himself absorbed by the undulations of her sleek abs. She moved her legs farther apart and snaked from side to side, the sinuous motion of her torso causing the men, and a lot of the women, to wet their lips. She danced around the edge of the floor with spins and leaps that allowed the slits in her veils to show long flashes of warm skin.

She stopped in front of one party. It was made of a man in his twenties, who was the youngest sheik, and a pair of dark-skinned women. She stepped in between his legs. He looked up at her as she twisted sensuously, barely an inch away from his face. She gave him the end of her skirt and spun on her toes away from him, unwrapping the skirt and freeing it with a quick snap of her hands as she reached the middle of the floor. She pranced forward as she shed her sheer harem blouse and came up to a man across from them. This time she dropped to her knees, her legs spread and her hands cupping her breasts for the man and the breathless women.

The man swallowed hard as she put her hands on his shoulders. She arched forward three times, pushing her chest out, her nipples grazing against him. She whipped her head forward, her hair floating around his face so that they could only see each other. He closed his eyes as she moved forward, her lips parted for a kiss, but then she turned and kissed the slave girl instead. She held the teen's face between her hands and offered him the girl's lips, which were still moist from the kiss.

Xena leaned back onto the floor, twisting over to her belly with a turn of her long legs. She crawled forward on her hands and knees like a sleek jungle cat to the next sheik. As she rose, she gathered her hair up and let it cascade back down to her shoulders, a motion that threw her breasts up and out. She placed a foot on his chest, then shoved him playfully onto his back. She stepped forward and placed her feet at the sides of his head, then squatted down as she spread her lips for him. His eyes were locked on the teasing strokes of her hands as she slid a finger inside her cunt, playing with herself to coax the moisture onto her lips. She ran her fingers around her clit, pulling the top of her pussy upward so her pink bud peeked out at him. The man stretched out his tongue towards the welcoming folds of her cunt. Xena let him lick there a few times, then moved on.

She plucked the berry that Esmerelda was going to feed Tahir Arrani out of her fingers. She slid the tip in and out between her lips a few times as she looked into the assassin's glassy eyes, then nibbled on the end of it to release the juice from it. She rub- bed the berry around her lips, on her chin, down her neck, around her nipples. She held the berry out for him to finally take into his mouth.

Xena resumed her dance around the room. Arrani placed a hand on Esmerelda's shoulder and spread his legs apart. She reached into his caftan and pulled his erect cock out, pumping it soothingly as they watched the dancer. It was a scene that was being repeated around the room as the crowd anticipated what was com- ing next.

Xena returned to Milan, passing her hands over the warmest curves of her body as if they were exten- sions of his imagination while she continued her ser- pentine dance. She spun around and dropped into his lap. When his arms went around her in reflex, she latched onto them, guiding his strong hands to her breasts and thighs as she writhed on top of him. She slid two of his fingers into her wet pussy, then waved them under his nose before she let him suck on them.

She turned over, her arms around him and her tits smashed against his hard chest. Some of the slave women watched with envy as she squirmed on his lap and ran her hands over the symmetric muscles of his back. Xena got up and lay on her back, her knees pressing his ankles until his legs were spread. She held one tit up to her tongue while she spread the lips of her pussy open for him. She ground into the plush fur as she fingered herself, letting the throes of her pleasure enchant the crowd. She turned over, her ass up in the air and pumping at Milan, giving him a good look at the way her fingers slid in and out. She spun over again and put her legs up at the sides of his neck and arched into the air, her body undulating. Milan kissed the smooth skin of her legs, which only seemed to inflame her more. She rolled back to the floor and held his knees as she pulled herself up, her nipples brushing the insides of his legs and her smooth belly coming to rest against his cock as they kissed.

She hooked her fingers into the top of his loincloth, pulling it off and freeing his cock. As she took his thick shaft in her hand, the audience closed in to watch. A couple got down on the floor behind her, staring at her exposed vagina. Others watched as she ran the tip of her tongue over his cock, tracing the outline of the large vein that trailed on the side. She sucked noisily and let plenty of saliva run down his shaft, performing for their benefit. Milan did likewise panting and groaning whenever Xena, did something ex- ceptional with her mouth. Their torrid display was having the desired ef- fect. One of the sheiks lay on the furs with a harem girl who mimicked Xena's fellatio as they watched. Milan got up with Xena's legs wrapped around him, her weight feathers to the knotted cords of his arms. Xena ground her crotch over his as they kissed and eased down to the fur. Some of the people were bold enough to reach out and stroke their bodies as they coupled, squeezing buttocks, tits and hard muscles. Xena climbed off, stroking Milan's cock to keep him warm and titil- lated as she scanned the audience. She picked out a petite, slim, brown-haired girl with innocent eyes. Xena grabbed the girl by the shoulders, licking the side of her neck and kissing her as she pulled her over to Milan, who was stoking his cock and breathing harder as he looked the wench up and down. The girl gasped as she was forced down on Milan's cock. Xena picked out the young sheik and pulled him down to the furs. He kissed her wetly as he grabbed her hips and entered her.

Milan looked over at Xena, who gave him a subtle gesture to wait. She caressed and licked at the young man until he tensed up, growling behind bared teeth as he locked his hips forward. She put her arms around his neck, moaning as she felt him cum inside her. The girl riding Milan dug her nails into his shoulders as she came, whimpering as Milan pushed her on her back and drove hard into her slit. He locked his mouth over hers as he filled her with his hot sperm.

When he pulled out of her, his cock made a small, soft pop, like the cork out of a bottle. Xena moved Milan out of the way and moved over the girl into a 69. The harem girl opened her mouth to catch the jism as it dripped from Xena's pussy lips, while Xena probed with her tongue to lap up Milan's cum.

The young sheik was back, still hard as a rock and wanting to penetrate her again. Xena smiled and lay back with her knees drawn up and wide for him.

Milan saw her give a get-ready signal, and noticed that the guards were eyeing Xena as she screwed the horny pirate and the two women that were licking the wetness from his own cock. The others had moved away in sticky pairs and were oblivious to their sur- roundings.

Xena's partner came again, collapsing into her arms, and this time she seized his chin and wrenched his head brutally, snapping his neck with a subdued crunch. Milan sprang forward and flung two of the thick furs at the guards. They were entangled by the heavy skins long enough for Milan to latch onto one's neck and lever himself up to plant a heel explosively in the other's windpipe. Xena heaved the deadweight from her and the crowd scattered in sudden panic. The slave girls milled about in a daze as their masters abandoned them.

Milan caught a hold of Esmerelda and held up the pendant that he had hidden, an ivory likeness of Thetis, goddess of the oceans. Esmerelda suddenly chok- ed and heaved. Milan steadied her as a trickle of dark fluid dripped from her mouth, the herb's toxins expel- led from her body by Thetis's grace.

"Milan?" The princess's voice was faint and the recognition in her eyes was faltering. Milan grasped her hands as if she were hanging from them over a cliff.

"Yes, my princess! We must flee, all of us. Can you walk?"

"As long as it's away from this horrid place."

"I'll gather the rest of our women. Xena will free the ones in the being held in the pens. We need to find a ship to get away."

"Milan! More guards!"

He rushed to help Xena stop the squads that had arrived. He relieved the corpses of the bodyguards of two heavy, fearsome scimitars, found another and flip- ped it to Xena. With a fierce war cry, he waded into the first wave of corsairs. His cry was joined by the shrieks of the dying as the pirates fell before the whirling blades of the ranger. Xena met her own opponents with unbridled fury, scattering them like chaff before the wind. The pirates' escape was thwarted by the fluttering roar and thunderous impacts of mis- siles launched by vessels of the Dunwich navy. The rogues scattered about the guild house, knowing that they faced certain death outside as the catapults flat- tened the fortifications as well as inside as the two warriors slew their fellow pirates until the floor of the audience hall was slick with blood. They decided that they stood a better chance against the bombardment and fled toward the frigates that had not been sunk yet.

When the last of the remaining guards fell dead, the two warriors led the kidnapped women out. Milan checked a girl who had fallen, then looked over at Xena.

"Are you hurt?" He could not tell from the arterial explosions of their victims if any of the blood was hers.

"Makhi will hurt worse." She said as she drop- ped the scimitar and reclaimed her weapons from a guard who had taken them for his own.

"The Lord of Corsairs will answer for many crimes after I drag him back in chains. Justice will be swift to claim that monster."

"It had better be. If I find him first, you can stop looking."

"Good hunting, mistress," he said, crossing his weapon with hers in parting. He gathered his charges to leave for the docks as Xena ran through the gloomy pas- sageways to the slave pens.

"Quickly, loyal ones! We must flee to the docks!" Esmerelda hurried the last of the slave girls to follow Milan and pried a broadsword from a dead pirate's grasp. She blocked the doorway as three buc- caneers moved to intercept them.

The thugs laughed at the naked girl with the sword, but Esmerelda was no novice to combat. She re- membered when Justin ordered her to fight nude one session. At first she was amused, thinking that he had finally worked up enough nerve to attempt seduction, but ceased laughing when she noticed the stern expres- sion on her tutor's face.

"There are some moves that you cannot make while fettered by armor," he had told her as he executed a spin and leap that seemed to belong in a ballet, except for the wicked jabs and cuts of the blade that would kill a man horribly. He taught her how to use her smaller size, speed, and acrobatic talent against larger, slower, armored foes. She was now grateful for the lesson.

The first pirate sheathed his sword and pulled a coiled whip from his belt. He was intent on taking a prize along on his escape. A whip was no match for a broadsword, but the scorned princess offered no quar- ter. The pirate saw the flash of steel and heard a sound that he was accustomed to hearing around the cook's butcher block, but by the time he realized his arm was missing the princess had already run through one of his comrades. The third was quicker to react, but not quick enough. He sliced through empty air as the princess hacked through the flesh between his neck and shoulder.

Esmerelda had just delivered the coup de grace to her first opponent when she heard mocking laughter behind her. She turned and saw Arrani waiting, licking the blade of his jeweled dagger as he sneered.

"So, my pet, you prove that the most beautiful things are always the most deadly." His leer changed to malicious snarl. "Time for play is over. Now I will carve more openings in your flesh for a different sense of pleasure."

"That kind of talk may cow a slave girl," she said, her eyes flashing as she raised her weapon, "but now you face a daughter of the Royal House. My retri- bution is at hand."

She lunged and dove between his blubbery legs, as if ducking into a small tunnel, except for the hand wielding the sword. With one smooth stroke, she emas- culated Tahir Arrani, almost splitting him to his navel. The assassin, in shock from the speed of the attack and the pain of the awful wound, doubled over and tried to face her. She turned and delivered the final blow, just as in her lessons. It was silent in the chamber except for the whistle of the blade, fol- lowed by the sound of the head of the assassin landing at the princess's feet. "For you, beloved," she choked. Dropping the gruesome weapon, she walked out of the guild house, into the light.

Xena found the slave pens and saw, to her relief, that the women were not drugged. With no time to find the keys, she smashed the locks off the doors and helped the women out. A dozen guards appeared at the entrance of the cell block, baring their weapons. Xena flew at them with her sword poised and a curse yelled at the top of her lungs, not caring that she was prac- tically naked against the wall of thugs and ranks of archers who were leveling crossbows at her. Athena, Blessed Goddess, she prayed, protect me as a strike my enemies. At least let me fight them long enough for the innocents to escape.

To her surprise, the archers pulled up their weapons, and the guards faltered in their advance. There was a deafening cry as the women of Dunwich rushed to their rescuer's aid. The guards, still stupidly thinking of the profits they would loose by killing the captives, held their fire and set in a position in front of the doorway. But the women, fighting for their freedom and filled with the fierce mettle of their city-state, joined the Warrior Princess in the fray. They fought with tooth, nail, broken fur- niture and bricks that had been loosened in the bombardment, screeching and striking until no marauder was left standing.

When it was done, seven of their sisters lay dead, and several others with serious wounds, but all the guards had been slain, pulled out of their armor and torn to pieces by the enraged women.

Xena organized them to carry the wounded out and sent them on their way, then stalked back into the main hall in search of Makhi. She did not have to search very hard.

"Come, Xena," he said as he drew his sword. "Show me what the mainlanders feared in you so much."

Unlike Arrani, who lived soft in his palace, Makhi was still one of the deadliest swordsmen on the Blood Sea. He met Xena's attack with ringing steel, sweeping her blade wide and pressing in for a quick kill. She brought a knee into his midsection, foiling his attack, but it left her flank open to the reverse of his swing. She barely dodged the lethal cut, feeling the bite of steel as the tip of the blade grazed her. The two opponents disengaged and circled, now conceding greater respect for each other.

The two battled without anything but near misses and glancing blows telling, but the aging pirate could not hold out for long against Xena's acrobatic defenses and the hammering of her twin swords. He faltered, overextending when he tried one last ferocious attack. She waded in behind a wild swing and thrust with one weapon, jabbing him in the shoulder, then the other knocked his blade out of his hands. She gripped the hair of his head, the tip of her sword leveled against his spine for the fatal thrust.

"If you have a god to pray to, corsair, pray that he's listening. In the name of all whose lives you destroyed and the scars that will never heal, die!"

Athena forgive her, she felt glorious.

#

Milan was relieved when Xena appeared at the dock. He had loaded the last of the women aboard a naval vessel and had sent them on their way back to the mainland.

"Where's our princess?"

"She's not with you?"

"She never left the guild house."

They backtracked and found her on the edge of the dock's watch post. Milan was struck with horror as the princess stepped out on the ledge. Her intentions were made clear by the anguish on her face.

"Let me die, Milan," she wailed desperately.

"No, my princess. I will not let the vile slavers claim final victory over us with your death."

"I am broken. They've taken my virtue, my dig- nity. They've taken Justin! Everything that mattered is gone."

"Everything but hope, and Justin's love for you. It takes more courage to live than to die, Esmerelda. Justin loved you, he would want you to go on, to live for him. He knew that if he should fall, his love would live on long after him, that it would comfort you when you were lost, would sustain you when you suffered."

Esmerelda's grief receded, the grotesque horror of the citadel faded with her memory of Justin's kind face. Wise, cheerful, smiling and saying that it was a good day for a ride out in the countryside. Her grief was no longer for her fallen champion, but for herself, for having to continue without him by her side. She stepped away from the ledge and fell to her knees as she let the sobs finally come. Milan took her in his arms and carried her back to the ships. Xena remained a respectful distance away to leave their grief private. So he has held and comforted me like that, not long ago. The princess has done no wrong, but how many women have suffered at the hands of my men while I laughed about it? Hercules, my friend, my love, when you held me in you arms, I felt so secure, so supported, that I had a dream of stripping off my armor and weapons and burying them as symbols of the part of me that hated, that lusted for dominion and the blood of those who stood in my way. But then I realized that I must bear my arms still, this time to defend. I will defend those who cannot defend them- selves. I will defend those who would suffer at the hands of people who are like what I once was.

"Milan, we must go," she called.

"Where, mistress?"

"We must finish this place. Listen, this beast we ride, it does not normally roam about the waters like this. Someone is keeping it active. It takes strong magic to do so. We must stop them and release this beast from its enchantment, or the citadel will be occupied again. Follow me!"

They paused to do battle with small knots of brigands along the way. Dunwich ships had docked and marines were routing the pirates stranded on the float- ing citadel. The ships cast off and chased down the frigates that were escaping. Milan ordered the marines to fall back as Xena led him towards the massive head of the zaraten. They were stalled by archers who were holed up in the heavy bunker until marine grenadiers threw flasks of burning oil through the arrow slits. The two warriors led the charge into the complex. "Kill the one with magi's robes," Xena said as she cut down a brigand who had survived the flames.

"I see him," Milan said as he picked a harpoon from a rack on the wall. The magician was too busy try- ing to steady the wounded zaraten to cast another spell. The ranger heaved the missile and it smashed through the body of a man in black and gold robes, al- most passing completely through him. With the enchant- ment dispelled, the zaraten acted in its own defense and started to dive.

The heroes headed for the edge of the shell where a Dunwich ship had came alongside. Princess Esmerelda waved for her soldiers to hurry as the living island sank. A wave of panicked slavers swarmed to board the ship, but were repelled and cast back into the foaming sea.

"Looks like we've won," said Milan, "We've des- troyed the black heart of the beast, now its tentacles will die off."

"I'm afraid not," Xena said grimly, "The limbs will grow new beasts. The factions within the guild will now vie for power, and when they reform, they'll be back for vengeance.

"It will be their last mistake," Esmerelda said as they watched the burning ships slip beneath the waves. The water was thick with the flotsam of the ruined fortress and the bodies of the marauders. "When we get back, the first thing I will ask of my father is the curettage of the port cities. The guild and the slavers will be no more."

"Bandar's government is rife with corruption," the captain of the naval ship interjected. "The city will go to war to protect the guild."

"Then let there BE war! These wretches kill our neighbors and sell our children. They will not be able to hide behind the throne of a spineless noble anymore. It won't matter if we keep our mining colony across the Blood Sea when our own city is not safe."

#

Princess Esmerelda went to Willow River as emissary, with Milan and Xena as her escorts. They completed the task, and the objective of Dunwich's military shifted from holding the mithril mines to pa- trolling the borders and sea lanes. Xena was right about the slavers. Though the might of the guild had suffered from the defeat at Calimport, and even more so in the weeks that followed as the bid for power was on, the markets had already appeared in other cities. As long as Esmerelda and Milan lived, though, they vowed that the women of Dunwich would not be among the unfor- tunate females sold there.

Xena accepted the princess's offer to stay in the keep. She was happy to be close to Milan, who had elected for garrison duty. But as the days passed into the cool winds of fall, she had begun to think more of the hills of her homeland, of the songs of the women during the harvest season. The pleasant citizens of Dunwich, all of a sudden, seemed indifferent. Their easy charm seemed to pale as her need to return home deepened. Milan sensed the change in her and tried to get her to talk about it, but she could never bring herself to say what was going on inside of her. She didn't know how to tell him why she must leave or, more importantly, how to convince him that she needed to go on alone. Esmerelda had noticed Xena's plight. She asked her about it one night.

"You have been a very gracious host, Princess," Xena reassured her, "and I've felt very welcome here. Everyone has been kind, but I must leave you now. I must return to my homeland."

"I wish you well, Xena. You'll be welcome in our city if you ever come this way again." Esmerelda worried her lip and shook her head, saying softly, "I wish we had more warriors like you. And it looks like I loose my personal guard once again."

"What do you mean? With Justin gone, Milan is even more committed to ensuring your safety."

"Not likely," she said. "I've seen the way he looks at you, how his heart opens every time he hears your voice."

"He can't come with me. I've too far to go to reach my home." She shut her eyes, remembering her last words with her mother, remembering the words of defi- ance and bloody ambition. "It may not be my home any- more."

"He loves you, Xena."

"He may love me, but he needs you. That's more important to his own happiness than being at the side of his first lover."

"Will you tell him?"

"When I can find the heart to. If I ever can find the heart to."

"You can. You must. Your feelings are strong, but they have a price."

"It's too great!"

"Yes, Xena. But even though it hurts, there's comfort in such pain."

"I don't understand."

"Poor woman. I guess you don't. And there's nothing that can be done to change how things are or to lessen what you feel. Alas for you, Warrior Princess. And alas for the man dear to us both."

Milan was writing at his desk. It was his four- th draft, finally one he was willing to sign, and he did so carefully. He spread a pinch of sand to dry the ink and rubbed his eyes. Tomorrow he would promote his lieutenant and they would both be there when he pre- sented his resignation to the castello. He had turned the problem over many times in his mind, but he always came to the same thing. Something was bothering Xena, something that she wouldn't talk about. And if there was a solution to her troubles, she wasn't finding it in the city. He was determined that she wouldn't have to search for it alone. This time, he would not let his career defeat his feelings for a woman. There was a soft knock at his door.

"If that's you, squire, you're dismissed for the night."

He gawked as Xena entered the room. She was clad in a silken gown. A pale blue, see-through garment that. . .

It was the first time he had seen Xena like this. When she was in her armor, weapons in hand, she had always projected power, but this was a different kind of power. Different, but by no means weaker.

Esmerelda was right, Xena thought. There was something precious in the pain itself. A lump formed in her throat and she looked shyly at the floor as she tried to remember the speech she had rehearsed all afternoon in her suite. The words evaded her as Milan rose and opened his arms for her. You never showed me this side, Hercules. When we parted, I knew it was for the best. But now I want to stay! I want to ride with him through the meadows in the spring. I want to share my dreams with him, as he has with me. I want to not have to wonder where I can spend the night safely or when I'll be eating again. I want to be able to greet people without worrying if my weapons are within easy reach. I want to hold his power when we are in bed, to feel his heartbeat against my breast and hear how sweetly my name sounds in his whispers while we make love. But it cannot be so. I have a dark road to fol- low, and he cannot be part of it. This part of me can- not live right now, not with the wraiths of unforgiven sins grasping for me in my sleep.

"Why are you crying, mistress?"

She looked at him, the desperation almost wreck- ing her. "Don't call me that, Milan. We are more than warriors."

"Aye, dear one," he said as ran his hands through her dark hair, brushed his lips against the delicate skin of her neck, the soft spot behind her ears.

On the brink of tears, she was robbed of any chance to tell him. The comfort of his arms was some- thing that tore away her resolve. She had faced sword and arrow and fist, most of the time without so much as a flinch, but she fell to his gentle touch, cowered at the aspect of losing him to the cold, empty future she faced.

She stepped away from him as she slipped the straps of the filmy gown off her shoulders. The sadness gave way to something else, something that was much more urgent and replaced the ache in her heart with fire. The gossamer fabric floated down to her feet, and she stepped out of it as she took Milan's hands, tug- ging him onto the bed with her.

Xena's body was feverish, insistent as she arched against him. Her strong thighs squeezed him as they kissed. Her fingers locked in the lengths of his hair as he kissed her chin, her throat, the hollows of her clavicles. He could feel the throb of her pulse beneath her skin as his lips caressed the curve of her neck. His hips rocked powerfully with a slow rhythm. She rubbed her calves along the back of his legs, sque- ezed his ass and felt the muscles there flex as he continued his wonderful strokes, but he wouldn't come yet. Her hands clenched the sheets of the bed into sweaty bunches. Milan took her hands in his, raveling his fingers with hers, pulled them over her head as he sped up. Xena screamed out as their flesh pounded to- gether. She felt his wonderfully hot seed spurting into her wonb, and screamed in ecstasy again.

In a few minutes, they were interrupted by bang- ing at the door. Milan poked his head out the door and whispered a lame, embarrassed excuse to the alarmed servants while Xena giggled. She'd rarely done that, especially not around a man, but she could not deny the feeling as they grinned at each other sheepishly and laughed together once the servants' footsteps receded.

He climbed back into bed with her, rolling and tangling in the sheets while they rained soft kisses over each other. This time their embraces were relaxed, more tender, as the flames of lust softened into the warmth of affection.

Afterwards, she got up and looked out the bal- cony at the city that was still asleep. The evening air was crisp and her joy was tempered as she realized she still didn't know what to say to him. She realized that she was hurting them both, but she didn't know what to do. Milan was sitting on the edge of the bed, reaching out to her.

"Come back to bed, Xena, there's still some night left."

"Hold me, Milan," she said, grateful for the darkness that hid the suffering in her eyes. She knew that this would have to last her a long time.

#

The morning sun streamed through the window and warmed Milan's face. He shifted in the pleasant feeling of drowsiness, reached out to put his arm around Xena. He felt only the rumpled sheets were she had been, al- ready cool. The room was silent and empty when he sat up and looked around. He pulled on a robe and started to go to her quarters, but he stopped before he even reached the door. He already knew what he would find. And even though he was bitterly disappointed, he wasn't too surprised. He looked from his window at the world that was waking. It was a clear day that was indif- ferent to his sorrow as the woman of his heart rode out of his life.

The lands where she was riding were sunlit, the sky was the same soft blue as her eyes. He watched it all through his tears.

The End