Page 25 of Agor the Merciless
Lyra pulled out his leather-bound book of recipes and spells.
***
Night fell and Agor hadn’t returned. Zoe walked between the stone walls, counting twelve steps one way, before turning around and counting twelve the other way. Her nails left sharp marks in her palms each time she reached the wall. Her skin itched and her muscles tightened as the craving grew stronger than it had been all day. When the sun was up, she could handle it, but when it went down, it was as if she transformed. Like a werewolf under the full moon.
She sat on the bed, then got up after a few seconds, picked up a cup of water but didn’t drink it, fixed the furs, straightened clothes, and moved a candle, keeping busy while her stomach knotted and her legs shook. The garage, the engines, and not being allowed to use tools didn’t seem important now compared to what her body wanted, so she hugged herself and kept moving.
Footsteps finally thudded down the tunnel, getting louder, and Zoe rushed to the entrance, where she pulled the curtain aside and waited. Agor came through the low doorway, duckinghis head. He had dirt stuck to his green skin and a scratch running along his arm. He smelled like the forest.
Zoe stepped in front of him before he could cross the room and grabbed his arm.
“You’re late.”
Agor stopped and looked at her hand, then her face.
“The patrol took longer than…”
“I don’t care.” She moved closer. “It’s time.”
“Time?” His forehead wrinkled.
She gripped his arm harder. “You know what I need.”
He started to speak but stopped, because in all their nights together, she had never been the one to start things, and she always let him lead.
“The rope,” she said, pointing to the iron bolt above their bed. “The belt. The salve. Now.”
Agor didn’t move, just looked at her. Then his whole face changed as he understood that she wasn’t just allowing this anymore… She wanted it.
“Please.” Her voice broke. “I can’t wait a minute longer.”
When he didn’t answer, she grabbed his leather vest and pulled herself up. She kissed him hard. She pulled back and said against his mouth:
“I need it. I need you.”
This got through to him, so he put his hands on her waist and lifted her up, carrying her to their bed, where he set her down and stood up to get undressed.
Zoe tugged off her own clothes with shaking hands. She didn’t care how she looked, she just needed to make the empty feeling go away.
Agor stopped halfway through taking off his pants when he realized this changed everything, since she had never taken off her clothes first, had never asked for the ointment, and had never started this ritual they were doing every night. He staredat her yanking at her shirt while her eyes showed how much she needed this, her skin looked hot, and her body wanted what he gave her. She needed this as much as he did
He took the rope, smiling.
Chapter Fourteen
Night after night, the ritual repeated, with Agor tying Zoe’s wrists above her head and using the belt on her before applying the ointment. One night, when he stopped at his usual count, she twisted to look back at him.
“Hit me again,” she said.
He paused with the belt hanging from his hand. “That’s the usual amount.”
“I want extra.” She pulled against the rope. “Make it hurt.”
Her request puzzled him, but he added a few more strikes, hitting harder as she grunted and moaned from want rather than pain. Her demands stirred something in him – she wasn’t just taking what he gave but asking for more.
As days went by, she kept asking for more hits each time. The belt left dark marks that would’ve made most people cry, but her face relaxed when the cream touched the welts. Agor noticed the change in her – bolder requests, faster responses to his touch, and how the ointment worked quicker on her each day. Her body seemed to rush toward the magic now. He felt both confused and proud. His own desire took hold of him stronger than ever, and seeing her beg like she did erased his worries about her wanting harsher treatment.
During the day, Zoe stopped sitting by the cave or going alone to the stream. She started testing what she could get away with. One morning, she went to the garage and stood in the doorway, shoulder against the wood frame, one foot over the other. Grol bent over an engine while Tarn put metal parts on a bench. Both orcs looked up when she arrived, then went back to work. The captain’s mate was in a forbidden area, and it was better for them to keep their distance and not even address her, or they’d have to answer to Agor the Merciless.
