The Fifth Beast (ManxMan Chinese/Celtic Fantasy Story)

Chapter 12

Cumal opened his eyes wide, gasping for air like a fish. Niall instantly had a bad feeling about this.

"You did what?" Cumal asked in a small voice.

"He's all right," Niall assured him with false cheerfulness. "I didn't hurt him in any way, there are no broken bones, bruises or even abrasions. Didn't turn him into a thrall, didn't f&ck him half to death. Only until he fainted. He'll sleep it off and be as good as new. I need you to translate that I invite him to spend at least a couple of days here. Listen, would it be appropriate to offer him gifts? To invite him visit me in my castle?"

"He is still sleeping, right?" Cumal pulled the sheet off the bed and wrapped around himself, wasting no time getting dressed. "You've cast a sleeping spell, I hope?"

"Uh... No, I don't have any. I can only stun."

"You should've stunned him then!" Cumal muttered, running out the door. "Should've stunned him and asked me what to do! Right after he climbed through your window! Oh, demons of Anghaine, Niall, why do you always think with your other head?"

Niall followed him, surprised and bewildered. He used to do worse things in Ath Luain, in Daire Mac Cormac's service, especially during the Wild Hunt. And Cumal himself told a lot of stories about his adventures in Airenn. What exactly was he mad about?

He accelerated with magic, caught up with Cumal, who opened the door to his bedroom, and understood at once.

The bed was empty, the bearskin had been thrown to the floor, the knife disappeared from the headboard, and the wind was blowing through the open window.

Niall ran to the window, looked out, but naturally saw no one. How did this human gain strength to climb out of the second story window? After being f&cked twice by one of the Tuatha Dé Lords? Incredible.

"Shidda yarat!" Cumal groaned and covered his face with his palm.

"What does it mean?"

" 'Freaking Sidhe', if we are in polite society."

"You're jealous, or what? What's the problem?" Niall said, indignant. "You are always telling how you've been casting spells on humans and f&cking them, why shouldn't I?"

"Because I burned off their memory of it, you idiot! I hoped that I could burn the memory of this one too, but hell, I don't know if I could. I can manage an hour or two, not a whole night. Then again, I would have been unable to erase the fight: too many people saw it, too much time had passed. He would have just showed here again, and everything would have played out the same way. By the green hills of Erin, why didn't you just knock him out with magic?"

"Well, I could've, and then you would've lectured me that I threw spears at mosquitoes. He had no other weapon beside a knife. Should I have struck him with lightning?"

"Probably yes! Anything to make him feel like a man and a warrior, not a raped wench. I bet you're the first one to top him. And the first one to put a spell on him. You just can't imagine how much he hates you right now."

"What for? He liked it!"

"For this," Cumal raised his finger, "even more. Was it so hard for you to bottom? I know you love being f&cked hard. Ah, well, don't answer, I know. Too excited? Too afraid to burn his brains out?"

Embarrassed, Niall looked away. His friend always jeered that Niall was too serious about his sex partners and sex itself. Instead of being a libertine who wanted to have fun every which way, like Cumal, he treated sex like some kind of ritual filled with magic, emotions and hell knows what.

"So, the guy won't be able to tell anyone, that's for sure," Cumal mused. "But he will want revenge. Essentially, he must take revenge. All his retinue saw him lose the fight. Can you imagine, the young idiot also suggested before the fight that the winner should f&ck the loser! Which you so cleverly guessed without translation, Niall Mac Nechtan, because you'd got the same bad case of sperm poisoning! Now he will for sure call you out again."

"He is welcome," Niall grinned.

So he guessed right about the bet? Turned out that the barbarian really came to pay his loss, he just couldn't muster up enough courage. No matter, the second time would be easier.

He imagined winning a fight again, drawing blood again, this time over the guy's right nipple, for symmetry. And this time, he would definitely kiss him on the mouth in front of everyone. And say: "Come again, you know the way, I'll be waiting!"

"Oh, great, you've almost thrown out your tongue, like a dog salivating at a bitch in heat!" Cumal slapped him on the back of the head. Cumal Mac Ruadh absorbed the uncouth barbarian habits like a sponge. "Stop smiling. Look, you need to leave immediately. Come back when everything calms down. Come on, wake up your boy and get ready. Right now, without waiting for the morning, otherwise they'll waylay you on the road. Don't take the road to Ath Luain. And by all means, Niall, take Sencha or someone else to your bed. The celibacy is bad for you."

Niall nodded with false sincerity, knowing that he would most definitely not act on Cumal's suggestion. Not after this night with the young barbarian. There was no match for him among other young humans, and not every lord of the Tuatha Dé Danann was his match.

He had heard that the Kirinches were sometimes sold in the South as slaves. Maybe he should go there, take a look at the goods? Through the Sliabh Mis Cromlech to the Keeper of the South's castle Aed Slahne, it was a stone's throw from the slave markets...

"By the way, what does 'raiden' mean?" he suddenly remembered to ask.

Cumal snorted.

"Did he call you that? Nice. It's the Kirinches' god of thunder. Of lightning as well, I suppose. I'm not the only one who thinks you f&ck like a god, Niall Mac Nechtan."

Niall kissed his friend and began to dress. He didn't want to ride out at night, but when the owner of the house demands, there is no arguing with him.

"Come to Sliabh Mis as soon as possible. I haven't yet learned much about the kirins. And find out everything you can about this barbarian: who he is, where he comes from. What's his name anyway?"

"You didn't even ask!" Cumal laughed. "Be thankful that at least you've been introduced before the fight. And with your full title. Well, almost! 'The Steward' is difficult to translate. I just said 'yutao', which means simply 'a junior chieftain'. That's what his men call him. I kept waiting for the sworn brother to call him by the name, at least once, but in vain. That red-haired half-blood of an unknown origin is surprisingly quiet. He even orders his beer by pointing his finger at the keg. But his name — that I know. It's Tseren. What a beautiful name, by Danu. I keep thinking, is he just a mute, or is his tongue cut off? The latter, you know, would be very inconvenient..."

"You should just catch each other in some secluded spot and f&ck your brains out!" Niall happily repeated Cumal's own barb from before the fight.

"Because of your stupidity, now I won't get a chance!" Cumal growled, but without anger, in a friendly way. "Actually, I was waiting for this mysterious chieftain to introduce himself while accepting the challenge. The Kirinches are also expected to do so, it's basically a universal warrior custom. But apparently, he did not consider us worthy to hear his name. Although, there is another possibility. For some reason he could not give his real name, and lying is unworthy of a warrior."

"And there he was, lying shamelessly to my face: "I don't want you, unhand me!" Well, when he realized I was going to f&ck him, not the other way around. Listen, Cumal, with their attitude towards sodomy, how does he have such extensive experience?"

Cumal guffawed, "Women, Niall, women! Servant girls, concubines, maybe a wife. They tend to get married young here. Well, and occasionally a pretty servant boy, a waiter in a tavern, a drunken comrade. I haven't told you, but about a year ago in the forest I came across two Kirinches who were f&cking like rabbits. Oh my, what a show, I almost finished in my pants. They saw me, both turned pale and grabbed their swords. And I," Cumal closed his eyes dreamily, "didn't even say anything, just stripped. There was no need for further persuasion. They put me on all fours between them and f&cked me together. However, I had to burn off their memory anyway. I don't need anyone boasting in taverns how they f&cked an Elemental Lord."