Ancient Thought by Viola Grace (literature books to read txt) 📗

a person she was, and all of the ancients had signed on for it. She had a bit of trouble eating the raw meat, but she cut it into slivers and got it down.

Today she was meeting with Aloth, the Hirn. She had been able to do some research on the species, and to her amazement and amusement, there appeared to be at least one human involved with a member of the descendant species. It was rather funny if a strange coincidence.

Aloth was one of the two males that Oshuan had warned her about. She stood up from the disk and looked into the forest. The shadows moved, and he stepped forward, dark mahogany coloured, huge rack of horns, and deer-like features. He was tall and had all the charm of a rutting stag. The nudity didn’t help. His erection was large and weeping, so she said what she was thinking.

“Did you just finish jerking off?” She used her disapproving teacher voice.

He paused as if he was shocked that she hadn’t shrieked or tried to get away. He titled his head. “You are the new novice?”

“I have been upgraded to Master. I am Master Elizabeth of the Alliance Protectorate of Terra.”

He bowed gracefully. “An honour to meet you, Master Elizabeth. I am Aloth of the Hirn.”

“I would shake your hand, but I think there has been plenty of shaking already.”

His mouth twisted, and he laughed. “Fair enough. You aren’t wearing the clothing I sent.”

“Oh, I am, but I have also done some research, and this outfit is not for historical memory but for your own titillation. So, you will speak with me first, and if we can make an agreement, I will remove the outer robe.”

He clapped in delight. “This way.”

She knelt and picked up her disk. He paused. “Why don’t you leave that here?”

“I don’t want to, and I don’t want you so overtaken with memory that you can’t lead me out, so this way, I can leave you in peace when we are done.”

He frowned, shrugged, and led the way further into the woods.

Their destination was a good distance into the woods, but she could see the sky, so her disk could take her out of there. He was fairly close to the monastery, but it was still a long walk.

There was a pool with a small waterfall, moss-covered rocks, and a set of seats with a table that had been carved out of the native rock.

She sat on the stone seat that was across from him, and he had nuts and berries as his lunch.

He smiled. “Go on, help yourself.”

She took a few of the berries, bit them, and spit them out. “Bleah. Bitter.”

He frowned. “They are sweet and in season.”

She shook her head. “I don’t know what it is, but since I have been on Mathlu, my sense of taste has been taking tremendous swings.”

“How long have you been here?” He cracked open a nut and handed it to her.

“Six months or so? Not long.” She took the nut, and her mouth burned.

Something else was going on.

* * * *

Yelfon contacted the avatar. “Where did you send her today?”

“Why, Yelfon, so happy to hear from you. Who are we talking about?”

“Elizabeth. Where is she today?”

“Oh, we finally had to send her to Aloth. Why?”

He cursed and lifted his arms up, embracing the other form that he hadn’t summoned in centuries. He flew skyward and used his contact with Elizabeth to pull him to her as quickly as possible.

The link that he had created while she slept near him was getting fuzzy, and he flew faster.

* * * *

Libby frowned, and she tried to stand up. Her legs were weak. “What is going on?”

“You have partaken of my favourites. It is a pity that you haven’t tasted more, but you have had enough to take on some of my memories.”

He moved around and knelt in front of her.

His mind pressed into hers, and she saw herself bathing and laughing in the water, turning slowly in front of Aloth and wearing the miniscule straps that comprised the outfit. She mumbled, “These are not memories; these are fantasies.”

He stroked a hand down her cheek to her neck and shoulder. He could not undo the clasp at her shoulder, so he tore it.

She slumped to one side while he played his little fantasy porno in her mind. The images went white when she slammed the disk across his face. She picked it up and hit him again and again, working through her rage at what he was attempting.

When he was out, she threw the two pieces of the disk onto the ground next to him so he would know what hit him.

She felt a tremendous warmth approaching and looked up. “Holy...” A huge crimson and silver bird was hanging above her. It was larger than a three-story building, and curls of mist or smoke were coming from it. If she was on Earth, she would have called it a Simurgh, but here... she had no idea.

The bird moved, and a talon shot out and caught her, pulling her snugly against a warm and feathered belly. The bird flew away from the forest, from the monastery, and along the plains. Libby didn’t know what had her, but it was either going to make her a snack or keep her safe. She was really trying to come up with a third choice.

On the edge of a mountain bordering the plain, the huge bird gently set her down. There was a whirring of smoke and mist, and Yelfon was kneeling next to her. “You are all right?”

She blinked. “Yelfon? That was you?”

He nodded and looked at her shoulder where the clasp had been torn. “Did he injure you?”

“No, but he was working up to it. That guy is a serious pervert. I wonder how many novices he has used that psychic seduction on?” Her hand shook as she tried to put the side of her robe back in