The Son of Thunder

Chapter Sixteen

Some mature bits in this too.

Rhysya lay in the bed, her hands folded on her stomach. Her body was stiff. The Son fluffed a pillow and threw it on the floor.

"You can sleep with me. I don't mind," Rhysya said.

She most certainly did mind. She looked like a corpse. He was hunched over, one hand on his leg to support himself.

"Please?"

She had to stop assaulting him with that word. If she started crying, it'd be the end of him. But he needed to learn to control himself. This was an excellent exercise for his education.

He lifted the pillow and tossed it beside her, turned the lamp low. Rhysya scooted over for him and he lay down, his body as rigid as hers.

"Son, do you think I'm pretty?" she said abruptly.

He couldn't believe she asked him that. Why did she have to persist? Why couldn't she understand that they couldn't be together?

"Am I prettier than Camilia?"

His lip quivered. "I—guess so."

Rhysya put her head on his chest and clung to him. She wanted him to hold her, to respond to her. She wanted him to tell her it was all right. He tensed at her touch.

Rhysya ran her tongue over her lip. "Do you like to kiss me?"

"I love it."

"Then why don't you do it?" She rubbed her hand over his chest. It was hard for him to think of her as a young girl when she touched him like that.

"Rhysya." He lost the name in his breath. "You were right to stop me."

She couldn't keep the sob out of her voice. "I don't understand. If you're not mad at me for pushing you away, what's wrong?"

Lightening pinched his eyes shut. Why must he go over it time and time again? Why couldn't she see?

She rolled over and cried into his shoulder. Not the crying again. Her babble was indiscernible.

"Shh, don't cry."

She held him as closely as she could and as tightly as she could stand.

"Shh." He kissed her cheek. His body filled with fire, but he wouldn't lose his mind to hit. He put his hand firmly on her stomach and forced her away. She hit the wall and the back of her head hurt.

"Rhysya, stop. Listen to me."

She was whining and wouldn't let him touch her, batted his hands.

"Rhysya." He grabbed her wrists. "I'm sorry. This can't happen."

She ripped her arms away from him, punching him in the chest.

He shot up. He'd go to Shawna in the morning. He'd confess everything. She would place Rhysya with Warrior and give him Fatelle. Or—ugh—Eternity. No, he needed to go now. He was too volatile. He tore out of the bed.

"Where are you going? I'm scared. Don't leave me!" Rhysya hugged the blankets to her chest and bawled. "Lightening?"

He had the doorknob in his hand.

"I hate you!"

He wanted to stop the tear, but he'd been wounded. All those times when he'd been stabbed in the Playground were bee stings compared to this. This would scar as surely as a knife. He imagined Beast was in the room. He envisioned beatings and whips if he didn't stop, but he fell to his knees. Rhysya watched, her crying now soundless. He yelled at the ceiling, it wasn't fair. "I love you, Rhysya."

She threw the blankets aside and knelt opposite him, holding him to her, not allowing him to push her away. "I love you. I'm sorry. I do love you. I didn't mean it."

He found her lips and pushed her on her back. He wanted to turn the lamp up so he could see her, know that this was real. Know this wasn't a dream with the Mjel woman.

He took her leg and pulled it onto his thigh, pushed her underdress all the way up and rubbed his hand on her stomach. She was soft and well fed, though slim. His fingers twirled in the wiry hair between her legs and found that she was wet. His hands left her and tore at his kinsash, Shawna's hair. It fell to the floor and he worked on his leggings. He rubbed his penis.

"Rhysya," he breathed, knowing what he was about to do, but not finishing his prayer. He lay on top of her and guided his penis into the entrance of her body. She moaned. She relished his weight. She was too heady for pain. She wanted him kissing her now, this moment when she was united with him. She stared at the ceiling, not blinking, seeing nothing.

A scratching interrupted them. He left Rhysya there, pulled away from her so that she wasn't sure if they'd been together.

She listened, heard emptiness. She was about to draw Lightening back when the door creaked open. A starkly thin figure was in the doorway. The Son took his sword from the bedside and put his hand out to Rhysya. She started screaming. Lightening staggered to the door, panting and wishing for any other night. He swung his sword at the figure, but his head was foggy and he missed. Only Rhysya's screams kept him upright. He waved his sword around to keep the Acidonian figure away from him, but the figure dodged around him and was about to cut Rhysya. She ran for the bed. Lightening grabbed the figure with his bare hand and the Acidonian slashed him across the chest. He collapsed.

Rhysya screamed at the top of her lungs and clutched her robe at her chest. Shawna threw the door back, armed with a sword. Warrior and Beast were behind her, the rest in the hall.

Shawna cut the figure in half with one flick of her wrist. She took Rhysya by the arm and tossed her at Warrior.

"Lightening is hurt. The Acidonian cut him," Rhysya hiccupped.

Warrior passed her to Eternity.

"Beast, light a fire. Warrior, take care of the others," Shawna said. She brought the light up in Lightening's room. She didn't notice the disarray of his clothing and what she did notice she attributed to the labor of sleep.

She cut his shirt away and sucked at the three scratches on his chest. They were superficial, barely breaking the surface of his skin. She worked on them until Lightening started to wake. She finished cleaning the wound, then burned it shut.

"Beast, help me lift him onto the bed."

Shawna put her hands under his arms, his head rocking against her chest, and Beast lifted his legs at the thighs. Once they had dropped him onto the bed, Shawna drew the mask away from his face and ran her hand over his forehead.

"I will stay with him. See that Warrior takes care of Eternity and Rhysya. I must think." She rested her head next to Lightening's.