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Book III – Return to Earth

Chapter 5 – Unexpected Help

Despite being almost exhausted from his ‘swimming lessons’, Gael stayed up until James, looking equally fatigued, returned with his arm around Junafir’s waist. He dutifully informed their unofficial leader about the danger that lay ahead.

“So, if the orcas discover us on their turf they’re likely to harass us?”

“Yes, but not kill us, not outright, according to Kisha. They will, however, try to break up or flip over the raft. But she assured me that Merlin’s design is sound, and it would take a lot of orcas to destroy it; plus, we’ll have our weapons while they will likely be unarmed. The greatest danger is that someone may get hurt or drown in the process.”

James thought for a moment. “No, the greatest danger is if Ross got to them; then they might go farther than just harassing us. But there is nothing we can do about that. Do you still trust Kisha?”

“Yes, I do. She seems genuinely concerned for out safety.”

“Okay then. Tomorrow, after we learn to handle the boat and are pointed in the right direction, impress on her the danger we are already in and ask if there is anything more she can do to help us.”

“Alright.”

They went to bed then in their separate shelters, each with the comfort of a warm female body to hug as they thought about what the next day might bring. Such worries may have kept some people awake all night, but months of living hard under constant stress had taught them that it was better to leave such problems to their unconscious minds to sort out while they slept. They were both snoring gently within minutes.

The next day dawned bright and clear, with a gentle wind blowing in a favourable direction. They cast off early, paddling with oars carved from driftwood until they were beyond the reef and could use the sail.

Merlin proved to be a much better sailor than magician, and an adequate teacher. He had the females hopping about adjusting the ropes and the trimming the sail in the salt spray until they were all forced to strip down to bikinis. The males he had on the rudder, which sometimes took both James and Gael to hold against the strong ocean currents. Otherwise, they were working the oars to help them move against the wind or to turn when tacking.

Rather than head straight for the next portal he put the crew though their paces, teaching them how to tack into the wind and how to run in front of it. He showed them how to set the sail and the rudder so that they were still making forward progress on a close reach, where the bow was pointed just off from the direction of the wind, and when to switch to the other tack. By noon they were all exhausted, except for Merlin, who had done nothing more physical than shout insults at the males and crane his neck to get a better view of a female bottom or haltered breast.

Kisha was not officially part of the crew, so she spent most of the instruction time in the water, swimming around the raft, ready to help if anyone should fall in. And fall in they did. Gael and Magnus in particular had difficulty keeping their footing on the slippery and springy poles. Junafir, Coyotka and Chris were not much better off, but at least they had claws on their feet. James, Annie and Merlin, with their semi-prehensile feet, were able to move about nimbly in comparison.

“No wonder Terrans never developed sea power like the humans did.” Coyotka grumbled after being helped back on deck for the third time. “Not only do their feet get more grip but their lack of fur means they dry out quicker and are, therefore, much more comfortable. Hmmmm.” She pondered with a digit to her nose. “I wonder if the proportion of open water to land has anything to do with whether Primates or Terran lifeforms develop into the dominant species on a particular world?” She reminded herself to look into it when, and if, she got back to the university.

Lunch consisted of fruit and pre-prepared grains. Cooking in the shelter was possible, but James preferred to avoid a fire as much as possible, without explaining why to the rest. Gael, who knew about the threat from the orcas and how a column of smoke could lead them to an intruder, supported James’ decision.

The favourable winds continued to blow lightly in the afternoon so Merlin took the helm while the rest held a meeting in the shelter. James began by telling the others about the threat from the orcas and his fears that Ross may exploit the cetacean’s animosity towards off-worlders.

“Kisha,” he asked after explaining about his uncle and his favourite henchman, “is it possible that the orcas would work for someone like that?”

Kisha blew out a lung-full of air and gazed into the distance while she considered the possibility.

“Orcas are the largest of the dolphins,” she began, “and the animosity between sharks and dolphins goes way back. Most of them, the blue ones and the bottle-nosed ones, just want to protect their tuna stocks, and despite their cheery happy-go-lucky appearance they can pack quite a punch. The orcas though, they are just plain mean. They kill whales, which is sacrilegious to us sharks.”

“They are called killer whales on our world.” Annie told her.

“They are whale killers on this one.” Kisha shivered. “They are a high-form aquatic. Like us they have arms, legs and a degree of intelligence, but unlike us they do not believe in the sanctity of intelligent species, whether with fins or flippers or fingers.”

“Are the whales also high-form aquatics like you?” Coyotka asked.

“Not exactly. They look primitive with their fins and flukes, but they are a higher life form than any of us. Their intellect runs deeper than the oceans and their knowledge is broader than the seas. They are gentle souls that sing their wisdom for any that would listen and are capable of understanding. Sharks and some dolphins have evolved enough to recognize this, but orcas are a little more primitive.”

Kisha went on to explain how the orcas, like their cousins the dolphins, had no gills and could not breathe underwater. “But they can hold their breath for a long time.” She acknowledged. “When outnumbered by them a shark’s only defence is to swim deep and far, farther than they can without coming up for air.”

“Funny.” Annie commented. “On my world orcas are worshiped by some of our coastal indigenous people. They consider them noble and think the sight of one brings good fortune.”

“Must be a different gene pool from ours.” Kisha replied coolly.

“Bad asses, are they?” Gael commented.

“Yeah.” Kisha answered, gazing off into the sky. “Fucking gigantic cocks though.”

“What?” Junafir exclaimed. “I thought you sharks hated them?”

“We do! …. mostly. They are the bad boys of the sea. If they came upon a lone shark-girl like me they would tease her and push her around and wave those big pink penises of theirs at her for sure, but if she showed any weakness they might gang rape her. Several of our tribe have come back from such assaults broken in body and spirit. Other girls though, they seek them out.”

“They do?”

“Oh yes! The bad boys turn them on. Some sneak away just to get some of that sea sausage into them occasionally, but others go ‘full orca’. They paint their skin black and white, dye their hair and pierce their fins. Mostly they do it to piss off their parents, but some go as far as to run off to live with the orcas. Those ones are never seen again.” She shuddered.

“Yeah, we have something like that where I come from too.” Annie said, putting an arm around the shivering shark-girl’s shoulders. “We call them ‘Goths’.” Then she laughed. “I kinda look pretty goth now with the scars and hair thing and the smudge I put on to cut down the glare reflecting off my cheeks and such.”

“But in a good way.” Gael hastened to add.

“No sucking up during group meetings.”

James took control of the meeting back.

“Do you realize what it could mean if Ross has the orcas on his side?” He asked Kisha.

She cringed. “It means that they would not stop at just harassing you, and they would count anyone working with you an enemy.”

“Like yourself?”

“Like all the tiger sharks if they saw me helping you.”

James tread carefully. “Would the other tiger sharks come to defend you, or us, if the orcas attacked?”

Kisha looked confused and distressed. “It’s ... it’s not my place to say. Truces and feuds and wars are the business of the elders, not simple teachers and lifeguards.”

“But could they possibly offer us any assistance, or protection, at least?”

“I … I can’t … it is not my place to say.”

“Forgive me, I don’t mean to cause you distress, but we are in dire straights. You’ve already been a great help to us by showing us the way to the next portal, but ... if there is anything your people can do?”

Instead of answering Kisha cringed, tried to cover the tears that had sprouted from her eyes and then dove off the raft.

“I think I may have pushed her too hard.” James said as he watched the circle of foam she had made dissipate.

“She’ll be back.” Annie assured him. “She’s tougher than she looks.”

But Kisha did not come back that day, and she was still absent the next.

“Good riddance.” Merlin said when he was told. “She was just bait for the orcas. Without her we have a much better chance of making it to the next portal.”

James frowned. “A better chance? It sounds like you never thought we had a good chance to begin with.”

“I’ll admit that I would rather have returned to jolly ol’ England than try to cross orca territory but since you insisted on bringing me along I’ll do everything I can to get me … us … there safely.”

“Be sure you do, because if we have to sacrifice someone to the killer whales to put some distance between them and us you are the obvious choice.”

“Sure you can find the next island by yourselves, are you?”

“Kisha wrote down the directions for me yesterday, while you had the helm. Barring unforeseen weather you now have roughly the same status as ballast.”

Merlin left grumbling about ‘young whipper-snappers’ and went to sit in the shelter.

They raced ahead of a favourable wind all the second day.

“At this rate we’ll be there around noon tomorrow.” James said hopefully.

But the wind died shortly after nightfall. The sky was clear and the stars that Kisha had told them to steer by were visible, but they were barely making any progress. With no wind the current threatened to throw them off course.

“To bad none of you know enough about navigation to calculate the differential in order to get you to the island.” Merlin said, rather smugly.

James looked to Coyotka, but the coyote could only shrug. “Mathematically it is possible to calculate the drift and correct for it, but we would have to know the speed of the current, and I don’t know how to measure that.”

“There was a book by Mark Twain that explained it.” Annie said, her brows furrowed in concentration. “But I can’t remember how they did it. Something about swinging cats.”

“That was for punishment, flogging with a cat-o-nine tails.”

“Whatever.”

Merlin cackled, exposing a number of missing teeth. “Looks like you still need my expertise.”

Chris ground his fangs on his lower incisors. “Please tell me the instant we don’t.”

Merlin let a knotted rope with a weight drift behind the boat while he measured off the speed it was drawn out.

“Thus the term ‘knots’ for how fast a ship is going.” He observed. “Of course, you have to know how far apart tot tie the knots and how heavy a weight and …”

“Can you get us to the island?” James interrupted harshly.

“Yes, but only if you promise to take me back to the Earth I came from and release me when we get there.”

“What makes you think I’ll keep my promise?”

“You might not, but yon horse there will; he fairly drips with honour. If you swear it in front of him he will hold you to your promise.”

James considered the proposal for a few minutes. “Alright,” he said, “as long as you get us to Camelot and secure an audience with King Arthur. After that you are free to go with no obligations from us.”

“What about my father?” Magnus asked softly from the edge of the group.

James looked confused. “Your father?”

“Yes. This fraudster is obviously the same Merlin that recruited my father into his expedition to find the spear of destiny and later enticed him off of Medioterrae on some other fool’s errand. I would like him to tell me what happened to my father before we release him.”

“I have no idea what happened to your father, lad.” The old man said. Merlin looked serious for once, but no one doubted his ability to make a convincing face when he needed to.

Magnus held up the old tooth on its chain. “We’ll see.” Then he sat down, but continued to stare at the con artist until Merlin was forced to look away.

That night Merlin had them drop the sail and set the rudder on a particular angle.

“We can let the current take us until we can use what little wind there is to cut back to the island.” He told them. “Best rest tonight though, because if the wind is too weak you’ll have to row like bastards to get there before sunset tomorrow.”

James put the smaller members of the team on shift to watch the tiller through the night, knowing that the largest may need all their strength the next day.

The third day out dawned clear and, unfortunately, calm. The sea was like glass and even the ocean current had failed them.

“What now?” James asked Merlin.

“Now we row.” The scam artist said as he set the bow on a new angle. “And pray.” He added as he scanned the horizon.

James, Gael, Junafir and Annie took the oars, with Chris, Coyotka and Magnus spelling them off for short periods. It was important to keep the two sides balanced so that they didn’t end up going around in circles, but Merlin seemed to be able to sense when a course correction was needed, and he stayed at the helm throughout. The old man kept an eye out forward, while whoever else was not rowing was given an arc of the horizon to survey.

“What are we looking for?” Chris asked.

“Anything.” Merlin answered curtly.

Before the sun was halfway up in the sky Magnus, with his sharp stag’s eyes attuned to movement, reported seeing something off the port stern.

“It looks like a fin.” He said.

“A shark’s fin?” Gael asked hoping that Kisha had returned.

“It’s hard to tell. I’ve never seen anything other than Kisha’s fin and it looks too tall and straight for that.”

“Is it black or grey?” Merlin asked, looking concerned.

“It’s gone now, but it looked black. However, the sun was behind it so I could only see it in silhouette.”

James looked to the former Wanderer. “What do you think, Merlin?”

The greybeard bit his lip. “I think you should shut up and row harder.”

By high noon there had been several sightings and there could be no more doubt, the fins were black and tall, too tall to be sharks or ordinary dolphins.

“Orcas.” Merlin concluded. “And they know that we are here. They are just waiting for the rest of their pod to get here before they attack.”

Within an hour about twenty fins had gathered and commenced circling the boat at a distance as they slowly rowed toward an unseen island. Occasionally a broad back would breach the water and send up a spout of mist before sucking in air and submerging again.

One orca in particular was moving faster than the rest, travelling from one to another and lingering for a few moments before visiting the next in line.

“That will be the leader of the hunting party;” Merlin advised them, “passing on his plan to the rest. When everyone is briefed they’ll make their move.”

James and the rest let the raft drift as they loosened their weapons in their sheaths.

James was expecting a rush on one side or the other but was surprised when the leader surfaced right in front of the raft and asked for permission to come aboard. Seeing that the rest were still keeping their distance he agreed.

The orca climbed up onto the front of the raft, which dipped significantly under the weight of the large aquatic. He was bigger than Gael, and his skin was shiny and wet and bore numerous scars, and bulged with muscle. He had arms and legs and a prodigious tail, but otherwise was shaped like the orcas James and Annie were familiar with from Earth’s nature documentaries. His mouth was wide, and full of small sharp teeth, and he heaved in great lungsful of air now that he was on the surface, hyperventilating as if he was preparing for a deep dive. He was naked, other than some dark object hung on a thong around his neck. The tip of his pink penis was just poking out of a slit in his groin, with less than a hand’s width showing.

“What are you doing in our waters, land slugs?” He asked

They had discussed the possible encounters earlier and decided that James should answer first if they were engaged verbally.

“I am James of the clan Douglas.” The young man began. “I am the leader of my tribe, including the group that travels with me. Who do I have the honour of addressing?”

Merin had assured him that such an introduction would put the orca off, seeing as he would be no more important than a hunting party leader. It seemed to work.

The orca looked upset, but a life spent in a strict hierarchy forced him to answer in form.

“I am Skeena Blackfish, hunter leader of my tribe, and you land species are in our water, uninvited.”

“He’s just a guppy.” Junafir said as they had rehearsed should the one that engaged them be a male. “Let’s wait for his mother to get here.”

Merlin had explained that the orcas had a matriarchal society. “Young males may be the biggest and strongest of the bunch, but they have no real power or discretion. Remind them of that and you may stun them into indecision long enough to get away.”

Again Merlin’s superior knowledge of orca culture paid off. Skeena was flustered and the rest of his hunting party, who had been swimming in every smaller circles with just enough of their heads showing to hear what was going on, burst into laughter at his expense. This made the big orca even madder, and his cock retreated inside its slit as if in shame.

James thought he recognized the object hung by a clever knot on the end of the thong, and he asked Skeena about it as a further distraction.

Skeena held the round, dark object up. “This? This is a black pearl. They are abundant in these waters. We wear them to keep foreign magic from being used on us.”

“Then you are wasting your time.” Junafir sneered, playing the role assigned to her in hope that being confronted with a dangerous-looking female would throw the orcas off. “Magic doesn’t work here.”

“Not active magic.” The orca bragged, glad to show that he knew more than the off-worlders. “Passive abilities that would help enemies locate us,” he pointed to Junafir’s star sapphire, “or draw us in like wild fishes,” he jerked his head to the blue sapphire on Magnus’ sword. “Black pearls are a defence against such magic, which is why you did not see us coming until it was too late to turn away.” He chuckled.

“Fat lot of good it did you.” Junafir continued. “You’re here now, right where we want you.”

The killer whale laughed out loud. “You sure about that tiger lady? Yes, we know of your species. Not as week and puny as the humans, but females are not the leaders either, not like orcas. And no knowledge of black pearls either, I see.”

Coyotka could not contain her curiosity. “What is it about black pearls that we don’t know?”

Skeena looked smug. “Black pearls negate gem magic on this world, but on big magic worlds they do more, they destroy gems. We have males guarding the portal you are seeking and each has a black pearl as big as this one. If you try to strike them near the portal with your little magic weapons,” he made a dismissive gesture with his hand, “both gem and pearl will explode, and you will die in the explosion.”

“So will your men.” Coyotka pointed out.

Skeena shrugged. “Lotas of males in my pod; too many actually. No war with the sharks or rays for ages, very boring. Elder females will be glad to have a reason to mate again. And speaking of mating …”

The orca was staring at Gael, who had worn only a loose cloth around his hips. The cloth had shifted around and parted at the front while the big horse rowed. He glanced down and saw what Skeena was staring at and quickly covered up.

Skeena laughed again. “Obviously, you off-worlders got no trouble getting females to mate with you even if they don’t want babies. No need to mate with other males for relief. My friend Ross told me about that.”

“Ross?” James spoke up. “Tall bald human who likes black robes? He’s a friend of yours?”

“Oh yeah. We can’t kill him so we trade with him. He buys black pearls and gives us human females that his boss is finished with.”

Junafir and Annie bristled, remembering Nahal’s stories of the abuse she suffered at the fox’s hands, but James kept an even tone.

“And what do you do with them?”

Skeena’s cock slithered out of its slit again as the orca thought about the fun he and the others had had with Rory Douglas’ leftovers. “We fuck them, of course. Fuck them until they die or drown.”

All the females lunged toward Skeena but the males held them back. James made a hand signal and they sat back down, fuming. Seeing this the orca chuckled again.

“So, females not in charge. James, puny human is in charge. James and his horse and a deer with horns and an old man. And your magic weapons no work out here at sea. Bet they are very heavy too, hard to swim with, eh?”

His pack had been swimming closer and closer while they talked about black pearls. Now Skeena stood up, making the raft tip, and called them in.

“Get them in the water where we can pull them under.” He shouted. “And take any spears they might have on them. Ross said he would pay big if we bring him the right spear.”

With that Skeena dove off the raft backwards an instant before James’ sword passed through the space he had been occupying.

The orcas rushed the raft, hitting it from one side in an attempt to knock the inhabitants into the open sea where they could deal with them individually. But James and the rest were not completely unprepared. Strong points had been built into the boat and they just had to slip a foot into a twist of rope attached to the nearest one to keep from being thrown overboard. Thus they were able to stand their ground and fend off the attackers, killing or wounding several of them in the process.

The orcas tried to get under the raft next, but it was too heavy to flip over from there, and they were vulnerable to blades poked between the deck poles. They retreated and regrouped out of earshot of the raft.

Coyotka held up the pouch with the holy spearhead inside it and gestured to the shaft in her hand. “Should I use this now? They can’t stand against it.”

“No.” James declared. “If they see the spear complete, they will concentrate on you. The leader already has his eyes on Annie’s spear. That’s where they are likely to strike next. Do you agree Merlin? Merlin?”

Merlin stuck his head out of the shelter, where he had gone to cower when the battle started. “I agree. Above all else orcas are greedy. If they think they have captured a prize they are likely to leave with it. Annie,” the old can man addressed the girl with the emerald spear, “for the sake of your companions I suggest that you ‘accidently’ lose the spear when they attack again.”

She shook her head. “No. I’m not giving up my weapon in hopes that they might go away and leave us alone. Besides, I think we can beat them.”

“Don’t be so sure.” Merlin replied, pointing at something behind her before ducking back inside the shelter, where he began inflating pig bladders and tying them to his vest.

Annie and the rest turned around. Another twenty or more tall black fins had joined the fifteen or so remaining from Skeena’s hunting pack.

“Shit.” James said.

“That does sum it up rather succinctly.” Coyotka allowed.

“Any chance that they will accept Annie’s spear and leave us alone?” Chris asked.

“After killing several of their pod-mates?” Gael speculated. “I doubt it.”

James double wrapped the rope attached to the deck around one ankle as the flotilla of fins turned and began to rush toward the boat. “Looks like this is it then. Good luck all.”

The rest adjusted their ropes, raised their weapons and waited out the few seconds that felt like hours before the orcas struck.

Their bulk and the size of the boat served to help the travellers, that and the orcas lack of experience against armed foes. James’ and Magnus’ katanas flashed, removing clutching hands from arms. Gael’s broadsword separated heads from shoulders while Junafir’s cleaver sank into vital spots, severing arteries and large veins. Annie’s spear struck and cut, disemboweling the first to arrive when she swung it and piercing the ribcages of the next couple. But it was her spear most seemed to be after, and a few got their big hands on it before she could pull it back again.

Standing beside her, Coyotka used the shaft of the holy spear to great advantage. Since it was almost as enchanted as the spearhead it was indestructible, and almost unstoppable. Wrists and fingers broke under it when the coyote brought the wooden shaft down on the hands that were tying to pull the emerald spear from Annie’s grip. Behind her, Chris fired crossbow bolts into the ones still climbing onto the raft to discourage them.

For a few seconds it looked like the off-worlders would win, but then the new arrivals started to climb aboard.

“The females!” Coyotka exclaimed.

“And they have knives!” Gael pointed out. “Probably traded with Rory for them.”

Calling the weapons that the females wielded ‘knives’ was an understatement; they would be swords in the hands of smaller creatures. And they seemed to know how to use them as James and the rest were hard pressed to parry the lunges and thrusts. While they managed to inflict a few wounds they also felt the sting of steel when the females slipped past their guard.

Having shoved a female just slightly larger than himself away with a deep hole in her chest Gael found no immediate opponents opposite him. He whirled around to see how the rest were doing and felt a blade graze his ribs. But he took a split second to take in the whole battle before turning to slash back at his attacker.

James and Magnus were thrusting and blocking madly, while Junafir popped up between them to slash at any opening the attackers presented, but they were all bleeding from small cuts and breathing heavily. Annie and Coyotka were engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the ones trying to wrest the emerald spear from her and Chris, out of bolts and reduced to using the knives once owned by his fellow assassin, flitted about them cutting a tendon here or an artery there. He used his assassin’s knowledge of anatomy to inflict the most damage to the most attackers with the least effort, but he could not keep up; more and more orcas were climbing abord, and the sheer weight of them was likely to crack the hull any second now.

Geal shifted closer to James.

“There’s no stopping them, James.”

“I intend to go down trying.” James grunted, before gasping for more air; his lungs were on fire.

“Aye, likewise.” Gael said as he pushed another knife-wielding orca off his blade. It was replaced by two more. “It has been an honour travelling with you, James.”

James could hardly breathe from the effort he was putting into holding off the orcas, but he managed to gasp, “Likewise.”

“Let’s have at it then.” Gael said as he raised his sword over his shoulder for a sweep that would hopefully dispatch several attackers at once, even if it did leave his side exposed. “Can’t live forever anyway.”

But before he could bring the heavy sword around two of the three orcas facing him were jerked back into the water by their tails.

All around the raft orcas were being pulled under by some unseen force. Only the ones with all their arms and legs on the raft were left for the travellers to deal with. And deal with them they did, encouraged by the unseen assistance.

Gael cut the last orca facing him clean in two with a triumphant yell. James and Magnus moved like dancers to dice the ones on their side of the raft into chum. Junafir buried her mother’s cleaver deep in a solid skull, and almost lost it when the killer whale fell back off the boat. Annie smashed a face with the butt of her spear. Chris did a double crosscut that left him showered in orca guts. Coyotka, however, was losing her grip on the shaft of the holy spear to Skeena, who by now had figured out that there was something special about a stick that could crack orca skulls like snail shells yet could not be broken.

“Give – me – that – stick – woman!” he grunted as he used his greater weight to pry it away from her hands.

“Oh, why don’t you leave my friends alone?” came a voice from behind as he felt himself being pushed back toward the coyote by several pairs of hands.

He looked around. He was surrounded by striped bodies in various shades of orange and grey.

“Sharks!” he snarled. And he instinctively released the pole and reached out for the dark-haired female in the red and white tee-shirt that had spoken. But before he could get his hands on her he felt a pain in his arm and leg. Two of the larger male sharks had sunken their teeth into him and they were shaking their heads vigorously to tear his flesh away from his bones.

“Agggh!” he screamed, but his was only one of a dozen screams as scores of sharks fought with the dwindling number of orcas. Hands gripped, teeth flashed, knives cut deep, but the tiger sharks outnumbered the larger orcas four-to-one. Each dead shark that drifted away from the frothing water was joined by the corpse of an orca, but the orcas could not afford to keep up this battle of attrition.

“Retreat!” A big old female that had hung back called, adding a high-pitched whistle that cut through the mayhem around the raft. Immediately most of the orcas broke off and swam in her direction, including Skeena Blackfish. As soon as those that could still swim were gathered around her the matriarch made a rude gesture towards the sharks that were surrounding the raft and they all swam off.

Up on the deck the companions were kicking orca parts into the water. Kisha, her white shirt stained with red, climbed up too. Before long an older male shark half again her size joined them.

Annie rushed over to hug the bloody lifeguard. “You came back!”

“And you brought help.” James added, holding out his hand to the male that looked to be the leader of the tiger sharks. The shark ignored it. “Uh, Merlin, don’t they shake hands here?”

“A hug and a check nuzzle is the common greeting,” Merlin said as he emerged from the shelter, “and seeing as you owe them your lives you should go first.”

James spread his arms and awkwardly shuffled forward. Fortunately, the shark met him halfway and led him though the cheek nuzzling without to much trouble.

When they were done James rubbed his cheek where the rough shark skin had scratched it while the big shark rubbed his where the lad’s red beard had tickled him.

“I am Fin Biter. That, uh, is more of a title than a lifestyle description, by the way. We have been at peace with the orcas for a very long time, but when young Kisha here told us that they might be a threat to you we could not swim idly by. Especially after she told us about what the horse and his human girlfriend meant to her.”

“Aaannnd we don’t need to go into that.” Annie interrupted. “Kisha means a lot to us too, Mister Biter. Thank you for coming to our assistance.”

“And just in the nick of time too.” James added. “Another minute and they would have overwhelmed us.”

“Think nothing of it.” Fin Biter replied. “The peace was based more on avoidance than agreement. The orcas have been getting bold lately though, raiding on the edges of their territory, hunting whales.” The big shark spat on the deck in a sign of disgust. “Something was bound to happen sooner or later, and trying to kill intelligent species, stealing their things at the behest of an off-worlder with a questionable reputation was a swim too far.”

“Mister Ross.” Annie guessed.

“Rory Douglas.” Fin Biter replied before turn back to James. “Your uncle, I believe.”

“Believe me, in this case blood is not thicker than water.”

“Good to hear. Can we be of any further assistance? I hear that there might be some trouble waiting for you on the island.”

James grinned and scratched his chin. “Actually, Skeena gave me an idea about how to handle them, once we get there, but we’re not making any progress in this calm ...”

“Ah, a tow would be the least we could do.”

“You’ve done a lot for us already.”

“Like I said, we needed to deal with them, and your and your comrades reduced their numbers considerably, we hardly had to do anything.”

“Still, a tow will be enough.”

“And a little fist aid.” Kisha said, taking his arm to examine it. “You’re going to need stitches on some of these, bandages on the rest.”

She pulled his arm between her large breasts and James noticed that some of his blood was added to the stains already there.

“I’m guessing that none of that is orca blood.”

Kisha smiled shyly. “Maybe a bit from that big one that was threatening Coyotka.” She admitted. “I did nibble on him a bit, but the rest is from treating wounded sharks and your friends.”

Fin Biter directed a number of his stronger sharks into harnesses attached to the vine ropes that were rigged up by Merlin. He and Kisha rode on the raft with the off-world travellers.

It wasn’t as fast as with the previous day’s wind, but their progress was steady. At the senior shark’s suggestion, they did not approach the island until after dark.

“What is that glow on the top of the mountain?” Junafir asked as they drew near to the beach.

“Probably the orcas Skeena said were guarding the portal.” James answered.

Fin Biter grunted disapprovingly. “The island is on the edge of the orca’s territory and the portal is supposed to be accessible to all species, but it seems that Skeena and your uncle have been monopolizing it of late. After this last group of orcas is gone I think that the sharks and rays will have to occupy the island to ensure fair trade is maintained. Are you sure that you don’t need out help to deal with them?” He asked James.

James, who had spent much of the afternoon carving ‘Y’ shaped pieces of driftwood and fixing some elastic material from his pack to it, shook his head. “No this is our fight, and I don’t think it will take long to deal with them.”

“Alright then. Send word with Kisha when the island is clear and I’ll have a small colony of my folk move in. Meanwhile I’ll let the rays know that the island is to be open territory and that they are free to start a colony here too.”

James nodded as Annie moved over to Kisha.

“Kisha, you’re not coming with us?”

The young shark-girl shook her head. “Where you are going I would be considered a monster, and put you in danger just by my presence. Also, it is very cold there and very far from the tropical seas we tiger sharks thrive in. My skills would be wasted there.”

“Yes, I suppose. But I will miss you, and Gael will too.”

Kisha hugged the human and rubbed cheeks with her in the shark fashion, and whispered in her ear, “James said he won’t move on the sharks guarding the portal until dawn, and you two could use a moonlight swimming lesson.”

The rest of the sharks left them on the beach with much cheek rubbing and hugging. Fin Biter promised to keep shark patrols circling the island until they were gone. “In case Skeena or his matriarch sends reinforcements.”

James sent Chris up a path that could barely be made out in the dim light to reconnoiter the summit. The grey fox took Coyotka with him. He had begun teaching her how to scout, as she was eager to learn some practical skill that would be of value to the group. James and the rest made camp but did not lite a fire. His first order was for Merlin to be tied securely and guarded so he would not try to sneak off and bolt through the portal.

Coyotka appeared shortly after that with news that there were eight large male orcas guarding the portal. They had built a fire near the shimmering gateway but did not seem to be aware of their presence or their leader’s defeat. After taking some food and water for her and Chris she returned to their observation post on the volcano’s rim, where they would spend the night spelling each other off, ready to send a message down if the orcas made a move.

Kisha asked if James could spare Annie and Gael for a ‘swimming lesson’. James pretended not to know what she was really after and told them to go ahead. After the three left the beach Magnus chuckled and suggested that James and Junafir could do with a swimming lesson too.

“Or at least a bath.” The musician said. “You’ve been so busy you didn’t even notice that you are still covered in killer whale blood. I can watch Merlin while I work on my harp.” He held up a contraption made of driftwood, seashells and horsehair donated by Gael. “I bathed already, while you were talking to Coyotka.

James raised his arm and sniffed then winced at the result. “Thanks Magnus. I could use a break. We, uh, won’t go far. Whistle if there is any news from the summit.”

Magnus smiled and waved the two away with one hand before turning to tuning his homemade instrument. “Now, Merlin,” he addressed the captive con man, “what would you like to hear?”

James and Junafir moved along the beach in the opposite direction that Gael and the others had taken. As promised, they did not go far, just far enough to be out of sight but within range of Magnus’ whistle.

They dropped their clothes on the edge of the jungle before they waded into the surf and splashed each other until they were both soaked. Then James scooped up handfuls of the fine sand and rubbed some all over to scrub off the dirt and the blood while Junafir used her claws and tongue to comb the bits of their enemies from her fur. When he was done James submerged and shook his hair and beard vigorously to get the last of the sand out.

Dripping wet, they stood on the beach and used curved pieces of driftwood to sluice most of the water from their hides. Then Junafir gave a mighty shake and James laughed when her fur puffed up, but the breeze coming off the ocean was warm and strong and they only had to stand there for a short while before skin and fur was dry enough to lay down in the warm sand.

Junafir lay on her stomach and gazed at the second moon rising over the ocean. James tucked himself in beside her and stroked her tail, especially down near the base where it was most sensitive.

“What do you think is going to happen tomorrow?” She asked between low purrs.

“If all goes to well, we’ll clear off the orcas and be through the portal before half-noon.”

“Are you sure your plan will work?”

“It should. From what Skeena told us when he was bragging Ross must have used black pearls to destroy the portal on Medioterrae and other places. The one that Uncle Rory gave my father for me was big enough to blow up all of Dougs-ur-Mark if it had come into contact with the others while near the portal. Thank God my dad kept in its own pouch. If I had gone through a portal with it touching the other gems …”

“Do you think your father suspected?”

“Maybe.”

Junafir rolled on her back and looked up at James, who was up on one elbow.

“What happens after?”

“After we get back to Camelot? Trade Merlin to King Arthur for use of the next portal, I suppose.”

“No, I meant after all this? After we get Annie and you back to your Earth and your time?”

James rubbed her abdomen as he lowered his head towards hers. “I don’t know, Junafir. I don’t know where I will go or what I will do. But I do know that whatever or wherever that is, I want you to be there with me.”

As he finished his lips touched hers and they melted together.

They were very comfortable, laying head-to-head with their feet towards the sea. James rolled half on top of Junafir as their kiss deepened, and his left hand strayed up to her breast. He gave it a soft squeeze and rubbed his palm across her nipple, which began to swell against his hand immediately.

Her right hand came up to caress his side while her left snaked under him to emerge behind his head, which she pressed against hers as her rough tongue explored the inside of his mouth. His did the same to her as his head rolled gently back and forth under her hand.

Before they came up for air he left her breast and let his fingers walk themselves down the raised line of white fur that ran from between her breasts to her navel and then down to the cleft off her thighs. He knew she was ticklish down there, and he let his fingertips graze along the top of her short fur until he felt her struggling to keep the kiss going.

Instead of letting up he widened his range, running his hand softly around her belly and thighs, circling closer and closer to the mound of fur where they all joined. Her kissing grew more intense as a scent that even his human nose could pick up began to rise from that region. He cupped the mound of her sex with his hand and found that it was warm and wet to the touch. Just the slightest pressure on his middle finger made it part, and soon it was embedded between two wet, fleshy protrusions that seemed to be the origin of that alluring scent.

Junafir was gasping lightly and chewing on his lip between shorter kisses. James took the opportunity to pull his head away and down, planning kisses, nibbling and sucking on her neck and shoulder as he went. Bending his neck, he was able to reach her sensitive nipples with his mouth. They were both standing up through the sparse fur, trembling despite the warm breeze. He comforted each in turn with his lips and tongue.

Farther down, his hand was slowly moving on and inside her. She spread her legs to make room for his big hand, and her knees bent as her legs swayed back and forth to the rhythm of his fingers. The two middle ones were sliding in and out of her. His index finger was gliding across her clit, making it swell and shiver, while he tickled her anus with the tip of his pinky.

Now Junafir knew why humans never developed claws … it was so they could do this to their mates.

But James was eager to show that his fingers were not his only clever appendages. His lips left her nipples as he got to his knees and inched his way down the beach, licking her navel, sucking her fur, nuzzling the slightly thicker patch above where his fingers were working as he went.

Junafir lowered one leg as James brought one knee up and over and then the other. Then he lay down on his stomach between her legs. His tongue found her clit as he added his index finger to the others inside her. She gasped, as much from the warm wet feel of his tongue on her as the sensation of being stretched and filled by his long, thick digits.

His tongue flicked and circled the hard button of flesh that was now standing out at the apex of her sex. He traced the edges with the tip before sealing his lips around it to suck it in, where his tongue lashed it fiercely. He kept this up while she gripped his head between her hands and threw her own head back to watch the slow progress of the twin moons across the sky.

A shooting star bisected the heavens just as he withdrew his fingers and replaced them with his thick thumb. The fingers, damp with her juices, rubbed against her tailhole while the back of his thumb rippled across the patch of soft spongy flesh that had grown inside her and pressed up against his questing tongue, squeezing her clit between them.

“James … James … no … stop … don’t … I’m …. I’m going … Oh Maker … I’m … Arghhhhh!”

She tried to stifle her cries as twin explosions went of inside and out. She released James and spread her arms out on the beach, grabbing handfuls of sand and trying to crush them in her fists while her insides liquified and shot out of her. She clamped her thighs together tightly, trapping James’ head between them. He didn’t try to escape though, instead he pulled his hand away from her twat and tried to lap up as much of the liquid fire coming out of her as he could.

The feel of his tongue deep inside her and his lip on her clit brough about another, smaller orgasm, then another, and another. Each was smaller but sharper than the last, and she was gasping for breath already before the last one hit.

“Enough!” She half cried, half laughed as she spread her legs and wiggled her hips to make him stop.

“Enough of that, anyway.” He told her as he rose to his knees and shuffled in closer. She could see his cock swaying in the moonlight above her belly, and despite the lingering effects of several quick orgasms in secession she licked her lips in anticipation.

James pulled his hips back and guided his cock into her. It, along with his balls, had been aching for several minutes now. The warm sand of the beach had cradled it and provided rough friction as his body rolled in time with his tongue, making it hard and eager for an equally warm but somewhat softer place.

When the tip slipped down and into her he sighed, placed his cum-soaked hands on her hips and let it slide all the way in. She was so wet and ready after having half of his fist in there that there was no resistance. It went in smoothly until his hard abdomen was pressed up against her pelvis. Then he pulled back, slowly, and sighed again as the bulge of the head of his cock was squeezed by the walls of her passage.

He put his thumb on her clit before he plunged in again, but she pushed his hand away. “No,” she said, “give me a deep one.”

James knew what she meant. Junafir could orgasm from clitoral stimulation, or from rubbing on the pad of swollen flesh just inside her twat, and sometimes, like tonight, from both at the same time. But she could also be brought to climax by long strokes that went all the way down to the barrier of her cervix. She said that it gave her a deeper, more satisfying orgasm, one that set her cervix trembling and sucking at the head of his cock as it lay against it. But it only worked if, and only if, James could keep his cock going long enough.

That usually meant keeping it slow and holding off until his cock exploded in an orgasm so intense, he could hardly breathe for minutes afterward. Such an orgasm produced incredible amounts of spooge, and thus far had only happened when he was deep inside her.

A dozen stroke in James suddenly remembered something important. “Junafir, I don’t have any …”

“Shoosh.” She said, lost in the sensation of his slow, steady stokes. “I’ll take care of it.”

James assumed that she meant to douche in the salty sea water afterwards, an unreliable method of birth control at best. But he needed to concentrate on his own impending orgasm, or rather, concentrate to prevent it, otherwise her twat would be full of his spooge when she came and that sucking cervix would pull it in where the sea water could not reach it, to where an egg may be lingering, or on its way to meet it.

Damn, he thought, when was her last period?

Worrying about making her pregnant was helping to keep his mind of his own pleasure, and the sense of urgency in his balls abated while his hips continued to move on autopilot.

Look at the stars, he told himself, think about what happens if Junafir gets pregnant, think about how the woman you thought of as ‘Granny’ was actually your grandfather’s earth mistress because your real grandmother was a vixen, as was your mother … a really sexy vixen … wait, don’t think of that. Think of having kids with a tigress at eighteen, what that would do to your life … and look at the jungle, or the stars ... anywhere except at her beautiful, stripped body with her big breasts heaving and round thighs where you cock is sliding in and out like a piston … Look at the stars, dammit!

It was like being told not to think of pink polka dot elephants. The harder he tried to put sexually suppressive pictures in his head the quicker they morphed into erotic images. But fighting them off was doing the trick; he had totally lost track of time and was completely unaware that minutes had passed and that Junafir was about to cum again.

“Ahhhh …” she sighed and relaxed under him as a warm glow filled her. There were no fireworks or electric shocks or gushing fluids this time, just a sense of peace and excitement that started deep inside her and spread out to her extremities. Soon every part of her was tingling. Her fingers clutched and her toes curled as she stretched her arms and legs and neck. Inside, she could feel seldom-used muscles squeeze his shaft as her cervix kissed and caressed the head of James’ cock when it paused before withdrawing.

The vibrations increased as her body tried to milk his cock for all it was worth. It demanded that he cum, that he fill it with the spooge it thirsted for.

He looked down, saw her shaking with her tongue hanging out and her arms spread, saw how the vibrations were making her breasts jiggle and her belly shake, saw the dreamy look in her eyes as maternal instincts older than either of their species took control.

He had never seen anything so erotic, or so beautiful.

He tried to pull out, but he was locked in. “Oh God, Junafir … I’m cumming … soon …”

Junafir’s eyes snapped open. Fighting the urge to lock her arms and legs around him and bite his shoulder until cum shot out her nose she managed to sit up and clambered backwards. Her twat reluctantly released his cock, which hung pointing straight at her, but her womb continued to spasm as it ached for his jizz, and that ancient urge demanded that she take his cum.

Junafir lunged at James, knocking him back onto the sand, leaving his cock pointing to the stars. She scrambled forward and grabbed it with both hands, pumping it madly as if it would disappear should she stop. That was unlikely, as his balls felt like they weighed two tons and would burst at any second, but the interrupted comfort of her channel had put pause to his own impending orgasm.

“Come on, Jimmy, give it to me … give it all to me.”

Eyes half closed as if in pain he hung on the edge of cumming. But he could make out the raw desire in her eyes and the smile of satisfaction on her open mouth.

“Almost … almost … there …”

Junafir saw his eyes on her mouth and her smile broadened. She could satisfy him and her body’s desire to ingest his man-juice at the same time she realized. Bringing her head forward, but keeping her eyes on his, she took his cock in her mouth. Sealing her lips around it she pulled on his shaft and sank a good portion of it in before reversing direction. Catching the rhythm, she moved her face in and out faster and faster while her hands continued to stoke the thick, hard, slippery shaft, all the while keeping her bright green eyes locked on his pale blue ones.

“Ahhh FUCK!” James cried as his balls jerked up almost inside his pelvis and released a load of spooge that felt much too large to pass through the narrow tubes running from them to his cock. The pain of its passage was only eclipsed by the ecstasy it brought him. His jaw dropped and his mouth made a perfect ‘O’ as it continued its journey through his shaft, past her grasping fingers, forcing itself through the seal of her lips, and out.

Junafir had thought that she was prepared for the meal of liquid love juice but the amount that shot out surprised her. She tried to swallow, took a second wad right down the throat when she tried to suck some air in through flared nostrils and gagged. Some of the spooge went down but some was expelled against James’ belly and balls while she fought to keep his cock in her mouth. She succeeded and managed to catch the last few blasts before his stream was reduced to drips.

James felt that he would have fallen over on his back if she had not gotten a death grip on his cock. Junafir held it firm though, and even managed to pump a few more drops out of it before she pulled her head off and licked the errant drips from around her mouth before doing the same to the bits left sticking to him.

Her rough tongue on his still-hard cock made him shiver in the moonlight. “Junafir, if you keep that up …”

“You mean if you can keep it up.” She crooned as she rubbed her furry cheeks against his shaft, first the left, then the right, then left again. “I’m sure I can do my part.”

James bit his lip and whimpered a tiny bit as he nodded his head vigorously. The moons were just starting to get high, and they had all the time in the world.

* * * * * * * *

The next morning, they packed up their camp, freed Merlin’s legs so that he could walk but bound his mouth so that he could not speak and started up the volcanic mountain. They left everything except their weapons and Merlin in a spot below the rim while Chis filled them in on the details about the orcas guarding the summit.

“They are all gathered around the portal.” Chris reported. “Close enough that any magic, or counter-magic, will be at full strength.”

“And they are all wearing black pearls?” James asked anxiously.

“Yes.” Chris produced a small spyglass. “I could see them clearly though this.”

“Excellent. Are all the weapons prepared? Everyone know what to do?”

Seven heads, including Kisha’s, nodded. She had insisted on coming along in case anyone needed medical attention after the raid. Meanwhile she would stay back to watch the wayward Wanderer, Merlin.

They fanned out at the crest of the crater, and on James’ signal they all stood up and rushed toward the orcas guarding the portal … with their weapons sheathed.

“To the portal! To the portal!” James cried as they ran forward in a rough semi-circle. “Don’t let them block the portal!”

Hearing that, the black and white aquatics crowded together in front of the shimmering oval at the centre of the caldera. If the human and his band of off-worlders were hoping to burst through their line and escape through the portal they would be out of luck. Those with crude weapons lowered them to face the charge, while the others raised their massive hands, ready to grab and grapple. Skeena had assured them that the invaders would not dare to use magic weapons against them, although he had not explained why.

Twenty feet away from the line of orcas James signaled again, and the attackers all skidded to a halt well out of club or knife range. Before the orcas could figure out what was going on several of the off-worlders produced strange looking forked sticks with little pouches hanging between them and a device some recognized as a bolt thrower.

The leader of the guard party raised his large knife and bellowed, a prelude to any attack by orcas Merlin had assured them. While he was doing so hands went to pockets and belts to produce small shiny stones, which they loaded into the pouches on their sticks. The sticks came up to eye level and hands drew back the pouches on elastic ropes. Chris’ crossbow came up with a ruby-tipped bolt loaded in it, and they all let fly at once.

James had only time and materials enough to make three slingshots. With Chris’ crossbow that gave them four shots to a volley. The ammunition was the remainder of the gems from his pouch. They were small, but Magnus had examined them earlier and assured James that they all had magical properties, just not as powerful as the big gems mounted on their weapons.

They had practiced on the raft with small stones that Fin Biter’s people had brought up from the bottom to determine who were the best shots. James, Magnus and, surprisingly, Coyotka had earned the slingshots, so he doled out two gems each, while Chris mounted the last two on bolts he had whittle. Once they expended their magical ammunition they would have to resort to knives, but James was hoping that it would not come to that.

The results of the first volley were dramatic. They had all aimed for different orcas, every second one from left to right in the same order as they were deployed opposite the aquatics.

“Aim for the top of their chests, where the pearls are hanging.” James had instructed, and three had struck close enough to set off the explosive reaction that they had expected. Two of the orcas had their heads blown clear off their shoulders while the third was left with a gapping hole in his chest.

The remaining orcas panicked. Some rushed forward while others stood their ground. The travellers reloaded as fast as they could at fired at the ones attacking. This time they scored two hits. Not bad for moving targets, James thought as the nearest orcas went up in a spray of red. Then they loaded ordinary stones and a bolt that was just a sharpened stick and slowly advanced on the remaining three.

The rest of the orcas, not knowing that their enemy was out of magical ammo, abandoned their post and ran for the rim on the far side. James let them go, but dispatched Gael, Magnus and Chris to follow and keep them moving. “You’ll be able to use your regular weapons once you’re away from the portal.” He assured them. “Once they are in the water Fin Biter will make sure that they don’t linger.”

The three rushed after the fleeing orcas.

“Junafir,” James said, turning to face the tigress, “You, Coyotka and Annie go fetch Kisha and Merlin.”

“What will you be doing?” Annie asked before she turned to join the rest.

James pulled his Katana out of its sheath. “The one with the hole in his chest is still alive,” he replied with no show of emotion, “but not alive enough for Kisha’s bandages or Magnus’ amethyst to be of any help.” He gestured towards the rim with the sword. “Go now.”

Annie swallowed, turned and began walking slowly away, but before she took three steps she heard the faint hiss of a blade cutting the air, a dull ‘thunk’, and the sound of something heavy rolling across the scree that covered the ground around the portal.

She did not look back.

Gael Tholkes © MarcusXLight

Junafir Pawstone © Frostlupus

Kisha © Frostlupus

Chris Cinereo © Kyroo Echos

Constance “Coyotka” Jotkowska © Coyotek

Magnus © Thwaitesy