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Book III – Return to Earth

Chapter 4 – Swimming with Sharks

James and Junafir returned to the campsite to find Merlin trusted up like a turkey.

“What’s up with him?” He asked Chris as he dropped an armload of dry wood near the fire pit.

“You don’t want to know.” Chris replied as he fiddled with a small, damp leather pouch that clinked when he twirled it between his fingers.

James shrugged and set to making the fire. It took a little longer than usual to light because his ruby’s magic was weaker here, but not too long.

A short time later Annie and Gael returned from the opposite side of camp with more wood and a lot of twigs in their hair. James noted the lack of quips coming from Chris and Coyotka about the pair’s state and guessed that they had almost lost the conman Merlin while the rest were off ‘gathering wood’ or fishing, in the case of Magnus. Perhaps it involved the fake magician, but they had him tied securely now so, no harm no foul.

They kept a watch that night, with Chis insisting that he be woken at the start of each shift to recheck the prisoner’s bonds.

They got up at dawn and had a cold breakfast rather than rekindle the fire. It proved to be a wise decision as they heard a large party on horse go by on the road in the same direction they had been travelling before detouring. The clank of heavy armour was clear even from a field away.

“We should get going.” James said to the others. “We need to put as much distance between us and the road as possible before they find the break in the hedgerow.”

Chris removed Merlin’s ankle bracelets after Annie got another vine rope around his waist.

“One false move and I’ll hobble you.” He whispered as he straightened up. “Gael would have no trouble carrying someone as skinny as you.”

“Want to slap me around some too?” Merlin sneered. “I though that was more the coyote’s thing.”

“Once we’re done with you, I swear ...” But James was already on the move and they hurried to follow.

James set a fast pace and took few breaks. Even Merlin seemed to sense the urgency of the situation as he did not complain the whole morning. He saved his breath for giving directions.

As the sun neared its zenith Merlin directed them toward a thick stand of old trees. There was an overgrown path leading into it that would have been easy to miss if the fraudster had not pointed it out. They followed it to the centre of the copse, where a gigantic old oak stood, charred and blackened from some ancient fire that had killed it.

“A massive lightning bolt stuck it a hundred years ago.” Merlin offered although no one had asked. “The strike opened up a portal to Hawaiki.”

“Where is it?” James asked. “I don’t see any portal here.”

Look inside the tree.”

James peered into the hollow truck. There was no portal in front of him. He looked up and saw only charred wood. He looked down and saw nothing but a black pit under the tree. Then, as his eyes adjusted, he detected a slight shimmer around the edges of the pit. Grasping the ruby on his sword he mumbled a quick torch spell and the inside of the tree lit up instantly. The place was certainly magic.

In the fiery light it was easy to make out the portal. It was about three metres down, and it was horizontal.

He passed the information on to the others.

“Can portals be horizontal?” Magnus asked. “I’ve never heard of the like.”

Coyotka scratched her chin. “Neither have I, but I don’t see why not.” She glanced at Merlin, the former Wanderer, for confirmation.

“They are rare,” the fake magician told them, “but they do exist. This one has escaped discovery due to its location under the burnt-out tree. If it wasn’t for the Waystones ...”

“Waystones!” Coyotka shouted. “Another rumour confirmed!”

“Do we really need to ask you to explain that?” Gael asked dryly.

“Yes, no ... I mean, sure, only someone who has studied the Wanderers for years would have heard of them, but it’s how they find new portals, you see.”

“Back up a bit.”

She could hardly contain her excitement. “Okay, right. Well, most portals are right there out in the open where you can see them, in volcano caldera, along earthquake fault lines, in storm corridors ... but many small ones are hidden, like this one, in caves or in trees or behind waterfalls. The wanderers were rumoured to have a means of finding those hidden portals ... the Waystones.”

The others turned to Merlin.

“Yeah, okay. Wanderer secrets are not my concern anymore anyway. It’s true. The Wanderers had a collection of special gems that could lead them to previously undiscovered portals. The greedy bastards only let the most senior members use them though. Imagine how easily I could have given them the slip if I had one.”

Chris’s eyebrows went up. “Given them the slip? Are you saying that the Wanderers are after you too?”

“They do have this rather strict rule about going rogue and revealing their secrets, like the location of these uncharted portals. The punishment is totally disproportionate to the crime, in my humble opinion.”

“What is the punishment?”

“Death. They are relentless about it. Never stop searching for miscreants.”

“Like you?”

“Uhm, yes.”

“Great.” Gael rolled his eyes. “Another group after us because they’re after you.”

Merlin shrugged. “Welcome to the party, horsey.”

“So, what’s on the other side?” James asked.

“A beautiful tropical island, with coral beaches, fruit trees, a lagoon full of fat fish ...”

Chris interrupted. “Sure, and when we jump though that portal we’ll fall to our deaths onto it from a great height, admiring the view all the way until the final splat.”

Merlin looked hurt. “You malign me.”

“You’ve done a fine job of maligning yourself.”

James stepped between the two. “Okay. Put a cork in it, Chris. Merlin, what is the other side of the portal like?”

“It’s a vertical portal, at ground level, like you’re used to, in the cone of an extinct volcano. It’s an old volcano, not too tall, so the walk down will be easy.”

“And we’re supposed to trust you?” Chris injected.

“We don’t have to trust him.” Annie said. “This close to a portal our magic will be at full strength. I’ll just dangle the old guy on the end of a vine and if it’s a trap he’ll be the one caught in it.”

“And if he’s counting on us to send him through first because he has allies on the other side we’ll be playing into his hands.” Chris pointed out.

“So, what do we do?” Annie asked.

“We send me through first.”

Everyone looked in shock at Magnus, who had spoken.

“You can’t send Merlin though in case he has friends waiting for him on the other side.” The deer-man explained. “And you can’t send someone valuable to the mission through first in case it’s a trap. Since I’m the least valuable member of the group I should go first.”

“Magnus, no!” Junafir protested.

“You are a valued member of our team.” James insisted.

“No.” Magnus said calmly. “I’m not. You just let me tag along to look for my father because I helped you fight Aldreda and Morholt. James, you have a flaming sword, Gael’s can shoot lightning. Annie and Junafir can kick ass with or without magic weapons. Chris is a trained assassin and Coyotek knows pretty much everything. And me? I sing while my magic lute plays happy tunes. I’m the obvious choice.”

James opened his mouth to protest but Annie put a hand out to restrain him.

“He’s right.” She said. “Magnus is the one that has to go.”

“And we shouldn’t be wasting time talking about it when trackers could already be on our trail.” Magnus added as he took the sword Paul Collieman had gifted him out of his sash and handed it to Chris. “Hold on to this for me, will you?”

“Sure, Magnus”

Magnus turned to Annie. “A vine, if you could, sweet lady.”

Annie blushed a bit at the form of address while she grew a good strong vine from a tendril that hung from the dead oak. It grew quickly as her magic was back up to full strength this close to a portal. When it was thick enough to support three men Magnus’ weight and long enough to get him through the portal she wrapped the end around his waist and made it grow back on itself so it would not slip off accidentally.

“You’re all set.” She told the stag.

“No need for further formalities then. One tug means ‘reel me back in’. Two tugs mean ‘reel me back in fast’.”

Without further ado Magnus stepped up into the hollow trunk and dropped feet first through the portal a few meters below.

The rest waited for a sign, hardly breathing in anticipation. Would the line stay taut or go slack? Would one or two tugs come from the other side, or none?

It seemed like minutes had passed but it was only a few seconds before Magnus stuck his head back through the portal and called up to them.

“Merlin was telling the truth. I came out on soft ground. When you come through alternate rolling left and right to clear the path for the next ones.”

“We’ll pass through as soon as we remove any sign that we stopped here.” James told him.

They spent several minutes carefully eliminating their trail around the oak and laying a false one to a nearby creek, all under Merlin’s direction as he seemed to know a lot about covering his tracks.

“They’ll think we took to the water to throw them off and will waste a couple of days searching the banks for where we came out.” The shyster assured them. “By then even our scent will be gone from this copse.”

They gathered by the dead oak. Annie cut the vine to Magnus before the others went through so they would not get tangled in it. James stood by the stump and called out, “left, right, left, right, left” as each stepped up to jump down the hole. Merlin, still attached to Annie by the original vine, went second last, with James bringing up the rear.

When James jumped he felt a lurch in the pit of his stomach as the world changed from horizontal to vertical. Then he came up hard on top of the wizened wizard.

“Was that my left or your left?” Merlin asked in a pained voice from under the muscular lad.

James rolled off the old man. “Get up. We need to check this place out to make sure it’s safe and I don’t want you anywhere near the portal while we do.”

Merlin grumbled but complied. Annie led him a hundred paces away and tried to extend his restraining vine around a large boulder but try as she might the sprout would not grow.

“Looks like our active magic does not work on this world.” She told the rest as she used rope from her pack to secure the conman.

Several others tried their active powers to no avail. Even Magnus could not coax his magic lute into existence.

“Looks like I will have to make myself an instrument.” He shrugged.

Chris gave Magnus back the sapphire sword and they left the deer-man to watch over Merlin while the rest crawled up to various points on the rim of the old caldera to survey the island.

They compared notes when they returned. It seemed that the island was roughly round, only a few square kilometers in size, lush and green, with sandy beaches along the shoreline and an encircling reef.

“There are a couple of big breaks in the reef, with deep water extending almost up to the beach.” Coyotka reported. “Looks like the fishing will be good there.”

“I saw ripe fruit on some of the trees,” Gael told them. “and coconuts on some of the taller ones.”

“Lots of driftwood on the beaches too.” Chris confirmed. “We could live very comfortably here for an extended period if we had too.”

“But we won’t.” James asserted. “Even if the portal we dropped down is well concealed I would not put it past Ross to find it and follow us eventually. He seems to travel between worlds much faster than anyone using the known portals. Maybe he even has one of those Waystones.”

Merlin had to admit that it was a possibility. “Someone senior enough in the Wanderers might be able to steal one and sell it; it would be worth a fortune, enough to pay off a mountain of debt.” He added wistfully.

“That fit’s my uncle Rory’s pattern.” James mused. “He likes to get someone in debt way above their head then blackmail them to get what he really wants. So, let’s move on to the portal that will put us on the other side of Camelot as quick as we can. Where is it?” He asked Merlin.

“About three days sail due east, depending on the winds.”

“What! We have to sail there?”

“Sure. It’s on another island. You didn’t expect to swim there do you?”

James’ hands were reaching for the old man’s neck as Annie and Gael tried to restrain him, but they weren’t trying very hard.

“What are we supposed to use for a boat?” Chris asked, while he pondered which of his poisons inflicted the most painful death.

To his surprise Merlin answered, “From driftwood and jungle vines. Woven palm leaves will make a sturdy enough sail that will last for a much longer trip.” The conman looked around with surprise at their incredulous expressions. “What? None of you has even built a boat before?”

The Terrans mumbled about how far the sea was from where they lived while James and Annie, who came from the waterfront city of Kingston, looked embarrassed.

“Well, looks like you need my help more than ever.” Merlin grinned.

“I swear, if I ever run into you again after we deliver you safe to Arthur …” Chris began.

“Then you can thank me for saving your sorry asses not once but several times.” Merlin finished for him, leaving the fox fuming.

“Okay.” James interceded as his temper subsided. “I should have asked about that before agreeing to come to this water-covered world. My bad. Now we need to organize ourselves so we can get off this island as soon as possible. We’ll start by setting a watch on this portal.”

“In case Ross shows up.” Coyotka confirmed.

“And also to prevent our bogus wizard from slipping back across.” James added.

Merlin faked a pained wince. “Awww, you still don’t trust me?” Then he mumbled. “You are smarter than you look, dammit.”

Annie moved close to the portal where her emerald’s magic would work and wove a tight mesh of vines to block unwanted visitors, and slow down escaping con men. James quickly devised a system where someone would always be hidden at the edge of the volcanic cone, near a pile of rocks that could be sent tumbling down the hill to alert the others in case of trouble. Chris took the first watch to build a hide while the rest went down to the beach to establish a camp and start collecting material for their boat.

Merlin drew the design on the sand near where they would launch the boat. “Wanderers need to be able to improvise transport wherever they find themselves.” He explained as he drew. “We learn to ride all sorts of dumb animals, camels, llama … horses … and how to sail, drive a car, fly an airplane, pilot a rocket … all sorts of things. I could build you a bicycle out of wood or a set of skis from yeti bones if the need arose.” He glanced up at Coyotka with a grin. “All very practical stuff, nothing theoretical or ‘academic’ about it.”

“Now I want to kill him.” She muttered.

“Do they teach you how to fight?” Gael asked as he sharpened his broadsword for the wood that would need chopping.

“Some Wanderers learn the martial arts, but it’s a strenuous, sweaty, time-consuming endeavor. Others, like myself, prefer to talk our way out of bad situations. A battle of wits where the opponent is usually unarmed, as it were.”

“I’m no genius,” Gael admitted, “but I know bullshit when I hear it.”

“You see?” Merlin said to Junafir, who was coiling vines she had collected from the trees. “That is the innocent naivety I was talking about earlier. You can’t fool rubes like that but then again you don’t have to, they are inherently peaceful and helpful, providing they aren’t aware of one’s, uh, checkered past. Unfortunately, once they are they feel compelled to assist the authorities by putting the heat onto you. Speaking of heat, you must be very warm in the sun with all that fur. You should take off those rags you have wrapped around your breasts and, uhm, … loins … before you suffer from heat stroke.”

“You should shut you face before you suffer from sword stroke.” James snarled.

“Leave him be, James.” Junafir advised. “He’s just a dirty old man trying to get a rise out of you. You promised to ignore him, remember?”

“He makes it very hard to ignore him.” Her boyfriend grumbled.

By dusk of the first day they had built a camp with shelters made of palm fronds leaned against slender branches lashed to the trunks of sturdy trees. The outline of the boat had been carved deep into the sand and they had made a list of the types and sizes of logs that would need to make a stable boat large enough for all of them and their supplies.

The next day work began in earnest. James, Annie and Gael, being the strongest, began chopping and hewing wood for the twin hull Merlin had told them would work best. Junafir was assigned to collect vines and cut fronds from the treetops, which she could climb easily with her tiger claws. She also threw down dates and coconuts to add to and diversify their food supply.

She took turns on watch too, alternating with Chris, Coyotka and Magnus who helped collect whatever Junafir threw down along with low hanging fruits when they were not on watch or sleeping.

At the end of the third day the boat was already taking shape and the weaker members could spend their time weaving the sails while the stronger ones scoured the beaches for driftwood for the deck and the shelter they would build on it. They exhausted the supply on the nearest beaches early, so Gael and Annie volunteered to circle the island to search the far beaches.

The assignment would also give them some time away from the others. None of the couples had been intimate since arriving on the island due to exhaustion and lack of privacy.

Merlin had advised them to only take the lightest wood, and preferably long, straight, slender pieces that could be lashed to the frame at the ends. “But not too soft or rotten, mind.” He had said. “They have to be strong enough to support one’s weight when you move about adjusting the sails but no more than that. Only the shelter in the center of the boat will have planks strong enough to hold all of us at once.”

Their plan was to go counter clockwise halfway around the first day, examining the piles of driftwood that were stacked at the back of the beaches, selecting the best pieces. These they would place on the sand above the surf for collection on the return trip. The next day they would do the other half in the other direction.

When they were well out of sight of the camp they relaxed a bit. There seemed to be plenty of the kind of wood they needed so they did not search as diligently as they might. Instead, they made a game of it, chasing each other along the beach with the long slender poles, running through the surf and diving into the waves to escape each other. As lest Annie did; Gael would not put his head under water.

“I, uh, never learned how to swim.” He explained. “The pond near Dougs-ur-Mark only came up to my waist so there was no need to.”

He did not mind when Annie splashed him tough, and they both relished in the clean feeling after having days of sweat and dirt scoured with beach sand and rinsed away with salt water.

They carried on around the island, piling the best wood on the beach for collection later while continuing to fool around. Gael was clearly excited and eager and he commenced a game of grab ass, slapping Annie’s hard butt and trying to pinch it when she wasn’t looking. She kept away from him, giggling like a kid again, all the while looking for a soft shady spot to collapse in surrender on.

She scrambled over a low wall of volcanic rock that separated the beach they were on from the one on the farthest side of the island. She ran along the edge of the surf, thinking about how it would feel to make love half in and half out of the water. Gael followed close behind, put out a hand to stop her … and froze, his eyes fixed on something laying on the beach twenty or so metres away.

Annie followed his gaze. At first she thought the object was a piece of twisted driftwood, carved and smoothed by the wind and waves. Then she realized that it was a body, a naked body laying in the sand. They were too far away to make out much more than that it appeared to be female, if the large round breasts pointing up at the sun were any indication.

“Is it … is she … dead?” Annie whispered.

“I don’t know. I don’t see any footprints leading to here though, so I suppose she could have washed up on the beach.”

Annie bit her lip. “No signs of a ship wreak though.”

“You think she may be a spy for Ross?”

“Only one way to find out.” She replied, drawing the spearhead that doubled as a dagger from its sheath.

They closed in quietly, keeping to the edge of the surf so the sound of the waves would cover their approach. As they drew nearer they could make out more details.

The figure on the beach was, as Annie had guessed, definitely female. She was laying on her back with her eyes closed, though whether she was unconscious or not they could not tell. Her closer leg was bent at the knee and the far one was stretched out. Her arms, half buried in the sand, were at her sides. Most of her skin was pale orange with dark grey stripes, like a tiger but without the fur. Her torso was white from under her chin to the inside of her thighs. That included a pair of large, firm, orange-tipped breasts.

Annie was not sure what kind of creature it was. She had a full head of dark hair with golden highlights at the tips, like a human or Terran might, but ears that stuck out like an elf’s. Yet the shape of her snout and the luster of her skin gave them the impression that she was somewhat … scaly.

She was also very attractive, even to Annie, who had once wondered if she might be a lesbian because she found some of the cheerleader types attractive while sharing the gym shower with them. This large-breasted female was not only attractive, the human thought, but exotic and … a little erotic the way she was laying there.

“You should go poke her.” Gael whispered, raising his sword to the ready position.

“What? What makes you think I want to pork her?” Annie replied, louder than she had intended.

Several things happened in quick succession then.

The figure on the beach opened her eyes, large golden eyes. When they focused on the scarred human girl with the muscular physique and half a head of hair it screamed and tried to cover its breasts and groin with its hands. The scream startled Annie, who stepped backwards, tripping over Gael’s hooves. Gael, tossing his sword to one side so as not to cut Annie accidentally, fell backwards into the surf just as a large wave was breaking. The retreating wave dragged him out into the deep as he flailed the water helplessly with his big arms.

“Oh my God! Gael! No!”

“Hel- <glug> -p, help me! Annie!”

Annie was wearing with a pack full of tools she had felt would be useful in cutting the poles free, along with the sheath for her spear and the pieces of the shaft. It was all held on by leather straps that criss-crossed her torso. She fought to free herself of them, knowing they she could not save Gael while they weighed her down. In her haste she dropped the spearhead, and thus did not have it in hand when a stripped orange form pushed her aside and dove into the water.

The last thing Annie saw before the creature that had been on the beach disappeared under the surface was the long. finned tail that had been hidden beneath it as it lay in the sand. The naked figure was some kind of shark, and it was headed directly toward the helpless stallion.

Annie was scared, certain that the shark-girl was after Gael. She searched around her feet for the dropped spearhead but another wave had just broken and the water was full of sand. She felt around, glancing up to see the dorsal fin of the shark closing in on her lover quickly. Then, before she could think what to do, the shark struck.

Annie wailed as Gael went under, pulled down by the shark that had come at him from under the water, away from his strong, flailing arms.

The water where the big horse had gone down looked like it was boiling. Annie stood still in shock, looking around for someone or something to help. That’s when she saw the spearhead half-buried in the sand a dozen steps away. She must have moved along the beach without knowing it when Gael was being dragged out by the undertow. She ran to fetch the weapon before another wave could cover it completely.

She reached it just as another large wave broke. Plunging her hand into the warm water she felt the haft and held on tight to it as the wave washed over her. It threatened to pull her out to sea too, but she dug her feet in and leaned against it. As soon as the wave released its grip she wiped the salt water from her eyes and turned to where she had seen Gael go down.

The water there was calm. There was not even a red cloud to mark the spot. She stumbled backwards and fell flat on her ass near the edge of the water. Gael was gone.

Through her shock, Annie heard splashing to her left. The shark was emerging from the water, and it was carrying her lover’s head!

No, she corrected herself, it was dragging the whole horse by the head. There was no sign of life in him. Had she severed an important artery or merely drowned him? Annie wondered dully. It did not matter, she decided; Gael was gone.

But why was the shark dragging his body up the beach? A curious part of her mind asked though her grief. Did the cold-blooded creature intend to eat her lover right in front of her?

Not if she could help it. She gripped the haft of her spear and began to stand up. The shark caught the movement out of the corner of her eye.

“Hey!” It called. “Can I get some help here? This guy’s no lightweight.”

“Huh?”

“Help me drag him out of the surf. I can’t save him if the waves keep washing over him.”

Stunned, Annie shambled over to where the shark was trying to haul Gael’s great bulk up the beach. As she passed the spot where the shark-girl had been laying she saw that several items of clothing had been laid out to dry. Among them were a double-strapped bikini bottom, a red whistle on a cord, and a white t-shirt with red lettering. Her eyes registered the word spelled out on the shirt but her brain refused to acknowledge it.

The shirt read: ‘Lifeguard’.

As Annie covered the last few metres the shark swung around to the far side of Gael, leaving an arm free for Annie to grab. They dug their toes in and between the two of them they were able to pull the horse far enough up the sand that the surf was barely touching his hooves.

The shark moved fast now that Gael was clear of the water. She rolled his head to one side and checked his throat for obstructions. Some sea water came out but nothing else. Then she tilted his head back, pinched his big nostrils shut and brought her head down on his.

Annie saw rows of triangular teeth and for a second she thought that the shark was going to bite Gael’s head off, but then her brain caught up with her eyes and she realized what the shark-girl was doing - she was giving the drowned horse mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

The shark blew in and Gael’s great chest rose a bit. When the scaly lifeguard unsealed her lips his chest fell again, then stayed still. The shark blew in four, five more times, feeling along the horse’s neck for any signs of a pulse. Then she drew a deep breath and blew as hard as she could. Gael’s chest rose further than before.

Suddenly the horse began sputtering. Salt water gushed from his mouth as he started to choke. The shark turned his head so that it would not fall back into his mouth, then she rolled him over on his side so that the remaining water could drain easier.

Gael struggled to get up.

“No, stay down until you can talk.” The shark advised as she held him down. “Let all the water get out of your lungs first.”

Gael’s big brown eyes found those of Annie and she saw confusion there.

“It’s alright.” She said in a soothing voice. “She knows what she’s doing.”

Gael relaxed and closed his eyes as he coughed up the last of the sea water.

When it was clear that he would recover the shark-girl got up and ran to where her clothes were. She kept her back to the two strangers as she quickly pulled on her bikini bottom and t-shirt. The whistle she stuffed into a waist pack.

By the time she came back Gael was sitting up and Annie was rubbing his back. He looked up to the shark and spoke.

“I guess I owe you my life. Thank you.”

“Oh no.” The shark replied waving her hands in embarrassment. “It’s my fault that you fell in in the first place. I should not have screamed.”

“Understandable, when you wake up from sunbathing naked to find two strangers staring down on you.” Annie said. “We should be the ones apologizing to you.”

“You did startle me a bit.” The shark admitted. “We don’t get many strangers around here, not since the Wanderers stopped coming, and you’re the first ... gee, I’m not sure what you are. You’re the first non-aquatics I’ve ever seen. Are you both the same species?”

Annie and Gael laughed. “No.” He replied. “Annie here is a human, from Earth, and I’m Gael, a Terran from Terra. More specifically, I’m a Terran horse.”

“Ah! Like a sea horse!” The shark exclaimed, drowning her fingers along her face to indicate a long snout. “I can see the resemblance. My name is Kisha. I’m a higher-form aquatic, A tiger shark.” She turned to and fro on her feet to display her stripes.

“We have a tigress in our group.” Annie told her.

“Oh! I’d love to meet a real tiger! To compare stripes, you know?”

This close, Annie could make out more details about the shark-girl, like that she had small fins on her forearms and calves, and that she had gills on the sides of her neck, but they were closed at the moment.

“Can you breathe underwater as well as on land?” She asked Kisha.

“Oh yes, all the higher-form aquatics can. We’re born on land and our gills only develop as we get older. Until then we have to be very careful around the water.”

“Thus the need for lifeguards.” Gael surmised.

“Exactly! I also teach the little ones how to swim safely until their gills come in.”

Annie could tell from the starry-eyed look on her face as she told them about her job that teaching was Kisha’s true vocation. It made her wonder if she had found hers in her art, or was there something else that would fill her heart the way this slender shark-girl’s had been filled?

She realized that Kisha had said something she had not caught. “Uh, sorry?” She said, shaking her head to clear it. “You were saying?”

“Are you vacationing here on the island?” Kisha asked again.

Annie did not know if Kisha knew of the portal and was leery of telling her in case she shouldn’t. She could not ignore the question though.

“No, we’re building a boat so we can travel to an island three days east of here.” She offered.

“Ah! You must have come through the portal on top of the old volcano. Hardly anyone ever uses that one, or so I was told. That’s why I always choose this island to sunbathe, less chance of running into anyone.”

That settled the portal question, Annie thought. “After we leave it should quiet down again.” She assured the aquatic. “Although if you ever see a tall bald human in black you should take to the water and get away from here as fast as you can.”

Kisha looked excited. “Is he bad man? Is he chasing you? Can I help?”

“How do you know that we’re not the bad ones?” Gael asked.

“No one who looks like she did,” Kisha said, pointing at Annie, “when she though you were dead could be that bad. And you looked back at her the same way when you thought you were about to be eaten by a shark.” She laughed.

Gael looked embarrassed. “On our worlds, sharks are ruthless killers.” He confessed.

“We’re pretty good hunters here too.” She replied with a toothy grin. “But we only hunt for lowest-form creatures, fish, seals, wild pigs, that sort of thing. Anything with enough intelligence to communicate, whether they have arms and legs or just fins, we leave alone. Sharks are very caring, helpful and nurturing creatures here on Hawaiki.” Then she turned her head and frowned before adding, “Not like the orcas.”

Before Annie could ask her to elaborate Kisha’s face lit up again. “I can help you build your boat and guide you to the island you’re looking for. Then I could meet your tigress friend and any other exotic species you have in your group.”

Annie looked to Gael, who shrugged. “After saving me I cannot refuse, but I also think your help would be useful and appreciated, so, sure. We’re camped on the opposite side of the island, but we have to go that way,” he pointed the way they had come, “to pick up wood we selected for the boat.”

“Oh, I can help with that. If you pile it up and lash it together I can tow it along behind me in the water. I’m a very strong swimmer.”

Gael could tell that from the slender but well-defined muscles on her arms and legs, by her broad shoulders and, because her t-shirt was bunched up under her breasts, revealing her rippled abdomen.

Annie caught him staring down at the shark’s torso and noted that Kisha’s well-rounded breasts were mostly visible through the soaked shirt. “Hey!” She warned him with an elbow to the ribs.

“Ah, okay.” Gael said as he recovered. “Annie and I will collect the poles and she can bring them out to you in the water. I’ll stay on the beach because ... well because I can’t swim.”

“Oh!” Kisha moved in close to Gael and put her hands on his broad chest. “I can teach you. A couple of hours in the water with me and you’ll be swimming like a salmon in spawning season.”

“There’s an appealing thought.” Annie said dryly.

Gael saw the look on Annie’s face and swallowed. “Ah, maybe another time. We really should be getting the wood back to camp.”

They moved out. Kisha proved to be a great help and they were able to collect twice as much as they could have dragged back by themselves.

The others were surprised to see their two companions return with no wood, and even more surprised when Annie pointed out to sea where an enormous pile of poles was approaching seemingly under its own steam. When it got closer and they saw the dorsal fin of a shark towing it they were almost speechless. While Kisha hauled the wood toward the beach Annie and Gael explained.

The rest were happy to meet the aquatic when she waded up out of the surf, then they all set to helping her pull the pile of wood apart and bring it up to the building site. When they were done James invited her to join them for a dinner of roast pig.

“Chris shot it this morning with that miniature crossbow of his.” Junafir explained to Annie as Kisha unabashedly traced each of the tigress’ stripes with a wonderful expression on her face. “Merlin had us burn a bunch of wood down to embers and wrapped the pig in banana leaves after Chris gutted it. Then he buried the pig and the embers in sand on the beach. he said it would be ready by nightfall.”

“That’s how we do it here.” Kisha assured them. “I wonder how he knew?”

“Indeed.” Coyotka said in a flat tone.

With a guard on the portal and his Wanderer training proving so useful Merlin had been allowed to roam freely about the camp during the day. He could usually be found trying to spy on the females when they bathed when he wasn’t supervising the building of the boat or making some other gadget to make life more comfortable, for him mainly. But his attitude toward the tiger shark surprised them.

Rather than ogle or cozy up to the comely shark-girl he stuck his nose up and turned away in disgust.

“What’s wrong?” Gael asked him away from where Kisha could hear. “Don’t trust sharks?”

“It’s not sharks I’m afraid of.” The old conman said in what appeared to Gael to be a rare moment of honesty. “It’s what comes after the sharks.” Gael pressed the greybeard for more but Merlin refused to elaborate.

At the barbecue that night Kisha plied the rest with questions about their species and their worlds and all he places they had seen on their journey. She opened up a bit about herself too when asked about her folk.

She told them about her swimming school and her work as a lifeguard. She shivered when Coyotka told her how she had gone from a poor cub in a dessert village to the largest university on her world.

“There are some big islands near the equator here with desserts in their interior.” She told them. “An aquatic caught there without a flood supply of water will dehydrate in no time. Arid places are the thing I try to avoid most, next to rude people,” she said with a glance at Merlin. “I love to sunbathe though, as long as the sea is close enough for a refreshing dip when I get too hot.”

“Who doesn’t?” James said, unaware that he was staring at her full figure as the flames of the fire pit danced over her. Junafir noticed though, and she playfully tackled James to distract him before dragging him away into the dark.

“Strange that two such different species should be mating.” Kisha said as she watched them disappear giggling into the jungle.

“Is mating restricted to your own species?” Coyotka asked, mostly to expand her knowledge of aquatics, which was woefully thin, but also because she had already been fantasizing about slapping that silk-skinned, round ass while pegging any number of her orifices.

Unaware of any ulterior motives, Kisha answered matter-of-factly.

“We do tend to stick to our own when it comes to choosing a life mate. Most of our adolescence is spent seeking just the right one, the one that you will be happy with for the rest of your life. But before making the choice there is a lot of sex play.”

“Really?” Coyotka’s ears pricked up. “Do tell.”

“Higher-form aquatic sharks can regulate their reproductive system. From the time we reach adulthood we participate in sexual intercourse for pleasure with many others in our tribe. Sometimes also with other higher-form species. We do it in pairs, usually male and female, although sometimes with a same sex partner. We also like mixed groups, with three, four, five and even more participants. Whoever is in the mood with nothing better to do, basically.”

Kisha went on to explain in a straightforward manner how they would swim around, teasing each other, coupling with one then another, or forming long chains, providing mutually fulfilling genital stimulation to each other, leading to almost simultaneous orgasms.

“But there is no release of eggs or sperm like in the feral species.” She added. “Reproductive copulation is reserved for monogamous couples.”

Kisha paused and her audience was silent for several moments. Then Coyotka stood up.

“Chris, come with me.” She said. When the fox stood obediently she grabbed his hand and lead him off in a direction different from that of James and Junafir.

“What’s come over them?” Kisha asked.

“Your description of the shark mating habits has piqued her academic interest.” Annie chuckled. “She’s gone away with Chris to, uh, discuss the cultural ramifications.”

“Oh.” Kisha said with a yawn. “Would you mind if I slept here by the fire? The cool sea breeze will keep me moist while the fire keeps me warm.”

“Sure.” Gael said, his trust in the shark-girl complete. After hearing her candid descriptions he did not think that she was even capable of lying. “Annie and I will be in that shelter over there if you need anything. Good night.”

“Thank you, and your friends, for your hospitality. Good night.”

Gael and Annie retired, picking up Merlin, who was already trussed for the night and taking him to a small shelter as they went.

They did not make love that night, for fear of disturbing their new friend or getting the false wizard in the next shelter too excited. But they caressed each other tenderly as they drifted off into a light, watchful sleep. After a while they heard the others come back to camp and then Coyotka heading up the side of the volcano to relieve Magnus. After that they slept more soundly.

Neither thought it strange that Kisha had managed to avoid talking about her tribe’s politics or the relation between them and the other higher-form species on Hawaiki. They had not even noticed Merlin’s knowing sneers as she spoke of her life. Had they done so they might have asked a few more direct questions.

The next few days flew past. Everyone except Merlin seemed to enjoy Kisha’s company, and the work on the boat went faster with her help. After she brought the best wood from around the island they were able to float the twin hulls, and she could help lash the cross pieces on from underwater without having to come up for air. Apart from that, her buoyant attitude keep almost everyone’s spirits light.

The boat was almost ready to sail and there had been no sign of Ross or other trackers from the alternate Earth’s medieval Britain. James announced that they would set out sail at dawn the next day rather than try to learn to sail in what was left of the afternoon. He directed that all their stores except what they would be wearing the next day to be stowed onboard. The shelters they would leave on the beach for the next storm to dismantle.

There were still several hours of daylight left when they were done. Kisha swam out to sea, as she often did when she got hot or bored. James and Junafir wandered off down the beach in one direction, while Chris and Coyotka Went up to the top of the volcano together to share the next shift and watch the sun set from the top of the island. Magnus came down and told Gael and Annie that he could watch Merlin if they wanted this last evening together. The horse and human thanked him and set out along the beach in the opposite direction from James and Junafir.

The two walked hand-in-hand to a beach that they knew could not be seen from the summit due to the height of the palm trees behind it. There they removed their weapons and propped them against a log where they would be easy to reach before they wandered down to the water’s edge, where they stopped to kiss and caress each other while the gentle surf washed over their feet.

They paused, each peeling off their shirts in unison and tossing them well above the water line before continuing. His chest was bare, as was hers because with her small breasts on her wide, hard pectorals she had no need for a bra.

Annie relished the feel of Gael’s broad, solid chest with its covering if tiny soft hairs. It felt like velour under her fingers. She pinched one of his nipples playfully and stroked his tail with the other hand.

Gael loved the feel of her smooth, hairless skin under his rough, calloused hands. Either of her small breasts would fit into his palm easily, but it was the firmness of her ass and the ripple of muscle under her skin that he appreciated most. He kissed the edge of the burn scars on the hairless half of her head because he knew her skin was sensitive there.

Shorts followed shirts, leaving her in a tiny bikini bottom that was almost a thong. She usually wore them when she had lustful designs. Gael had on a loose, light linen undergarment that would have passed inspection a few hundred years ago on Earth. It had no fly and it was held up by a cotton cord around his waist that was tied in a bow at the front. He claimed that it allowed the air to circulate around his balls and cock better than the tight underwear James favoured.

Annie was just about to suggest that they continue in a horizontal position on the sand when a splash just off the beach drew their attention. Stepping back from each other and ready to run for their weapons they watched the water.

They both breathed sighs of relief when Kisha stood up in the surf.

“Kisha, what are you doing here?” Annie asked, somewhat disappointed. She hoped that the shark had not been spying on them.

“Magnus told me that you had gone this way.” Kisha explained. “I came because there is something important that Gael needs to know.”

Gael looked at Annie and shrugged. Annie considered retrieving their clothes, but they had been working around Kisha in the water wearing not much more than they had on now for the past few days. Annie shrugged back and waved the aquatic over.

“What do I need to know?” Gael asked with a bit of trepidation when Kisha was standing in front of them, biting her lip and looking nervous.

“It’s not my place to say … I mean, it is sort of because of my job … but … well …”

Annie shook her head impatiently. “Spit it out, girl.”

“You need to learn how to swim.” Kisha said in a rush, moving close to Gael and placing her hands on his chest for emphasis.

Geal laughed, mostly at Annie’s expression as she watched the shark-girls hands drift across his chest.

“Is that all? You made it sound like a life-or-death problem.”

“But it is, don’t you see? Anyone can fall overboard, especially if they are inexperienced, and it takes time to turn the boat around and go back to rescue them. If you can’t swim, or at least tread water, you might drown before they get to you.”

“Well, I’m not too worried about that with our favourite lifeguard around.” He said as he took her by the wrists and gently pushed her hands back before Annie blew a fuse.

“But what if I’m away, or … occupied.”

“I know you volunteered to guide us, but I guess that eventually you will need to get back to your own people.” Gael said thoughtfully. “There are other precautions I can take, like wearing a floatation device. Merlin said he could make me one from coconuts and jungle hemp. It should keep me afloat long enough for a good swimmer like James to get me.”

Kisha looked pained, and hesitant, but she did not give up.

“Gael, you know I said that sharks were kind and helpful …”

Gael was stunned. “Did you not speak the truth?”

“Yes, about that, yes. But there are other high-form creatures in Hawaiki’s oceans, ones that are not so friendly and helpful. Ones that do like the idea of land creatures sailing freely on their seas. Most are just bullies, and would not deliberately set out to kill anyone, but they would not feel guilty if some of you drowned after they overturned your boat either. They will just laugh through their blowholes, claiming that’s what you get for venturing out on the sea when you can’t swim.”

“Are you talking about whales?” Annie asked in disbelief.

“Oh no. Whales are sweet and wise old souls. It’s the orcas you have to watch out for. They even go after sharks when we’re in their territory. So please, please, Gael, for Annie’s sake, let me give you swimming lessons.”

The shark-girl’s hands were back on Gael’s chest. The horse looked over her head at Annie.

“I think we should find James and let him know about this.”

“Junafir said she was taking him halfway around the island and then into the jungle so they wouldn’t be disturbed.” Annie confided, then she thought a bit. “Disturbing them sooner just to tell them won’t change anything. The news can wait until they get back, but swimming lessons can’t, not if we want to start early tomorrow.”

Gael scratched his chin. “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt, although I doubt that you can teach me much in the time we have left. Kisha.”

“Oh, no worries. I’m the best! Even if I do say so myself. We can start right now, in the shallows.” Kisha tugged eagerly on Gael’s arm.

“I’m coming too.” Annie said with a frown. “In case you need help convincing him.”

“Sure, the more the merrier. But first let me get rid of this thing.” Kisha crossed her arms and grabbed the bottom of her shirt, pulling it off and flinging it on the beach beside their cast of clothing in one smooth motion.

“I’m glad you guys are going topless.” She said as she waded out to waist deep water. “That shirt gets cold and clammy in the air when it’s wet.”

When the water was up to her navel she stopped and turned to face them.

“Ready?”

Gael tried hard to tear his eyes off her perky breasts. “Uh, sure. Where do you want me?”

“You are going to lay face down in the water while Annie and I link arms and support you. You’ll be practicing breathing between strokes and kicking your feet to help propel you fist before we move to deeper water.”

As she grasped Kisha’s wrists and felt the shark grip hers Annie thought about how this kind of lesson was for beginners, kids that the instructor could normally hold up by themselves. With someone as large as Gael though it took the two of them to keep him from sinking while Kisha told him how to move his arms and legs, and how to turn his head to breath between strokes.

Once the big horse found the rhythm she could feel him trying to pull away from them. That was not the only thing she could feel. Something thick and meaty was growing where her right wrist crossed his lower abdomen. She was sure that he would be pitching a tent in his undergarment and was glad that he was face down. She couldn’t really blame him though. With two females rubbing against him as his body twisted one way then the other in his attempt to mimic Kisha’s instructions. One of which had the most interesting, scaly skin.

As Gael’s stoke improved Kisha jerked her head to indicate to Annie that they should move into deeper water. They did so slowly, raising their arms to keep the stallion on the surface as they went. When just their heads were sticking out Kisha mouthed, “one … two …” and on three let go. Annie did the same a split second later.

Gael swam ten metres out to sea before he realized that he was on his own. He panicked when he tried to stand up and could not feel the bottom, and he began flailing about again. Kisha dove under the water and came up beside him, propping him up and calming him down until he stopped kicking and waving his arms about ineffectively.

“You were swimming.” She assured him in a cheery voice. “And doing a fine job of it. We’ll practice that some more in the shallows but first, I want to teach you how to tread water. That will keep you alive longer than swimming can.”

Annie frowned at the way the shark-girl was hugging her stallion while the lifeguard talked him through the movements that would keep his heavy head above water. She moved in, telling herself that she was helping to hold up the top-heavy horse, but mostly because she wanted to stay close to her lover in the presence of the slender aquatic.

It was a little awkward, with arms and hands going everywhere on the wrong bodies, but Kisha did not send Annie away. Sometimes Kisha’s large breasts would be on either side of Gael’s arm, sometimes against his chest. She also wrapped her legs around him several times so that she could demonstrate the proper arm movement. Annie countered by shifting herself between the two, sometimes squeezing in against Gael and other times being pressed up against Kisha.

Every minute or so Annie would run her hand down the front of Gael’s shorts to check if all this physical contact was making him excited. At first she was glad to see that his cock was no more inflated than when she ticked him through his clothes, but her constant checking was having an adverse effect. It was like she was teasing him under the water, and while he fought the urge his cock did not listen, and it continued to swell.

Kisha backed away from Gael and let him tread water on his own for a couple of minutes. She nodded her head with a smile and told him that all that muscle was heavier than fat and tended to weigh him down, “But if you move slowly and efficiently you can lay back and keep your nose above water still. Let’s try that, shall we?”

“Uh, no. I can’t … I mean … not right now.”

“Oh, who’s the big scaredy catfish? Here, let me show you.”

Annie, who was aware of why Gael was too embarrassed to lay on his back tried to wave her off, but Kisha was relentless. Many of the young ones lacked confidence and she though that was Gael’s problem. The best way to overcome it, in her experience, was to support him while firmly pulling him into the correct position.

Ignoring their protests, she put one arm around Gael’s shoulders and the other under his hips and rolled him back.

“Okay,” she said as he began to tip back, “let’s get you all … Wow! … I … I mean … Oh dear. Look, … no don’t look … I won’t look …” But she was looking, and her golden eyes had gone wide at the sight of the top half of Gael’s cock sticking out from his shorts.

“I, uh, I mean, look, this happens to the kids all the time, these unwanted … not quite this … big, but anyways .... I will go down … I mean, ‘it’ will go down … except that cord seems to be cutting off the circulation to it and trapping all the blood inside.”

It was true. Gael’s cock had inflated considerably after poking out between his abdomen and his shorts and the cord was restricting the free flow of blood to the point where the top half had gone bright red.

Kisha’s lifeguard instincts kicked in. Airway – breathing – circulation, she had been taught as the top three priorities. Gael’s airway was clear, his breathing was fine, if a little ragged, but prolonged circulation problems could result in the loss of a limb … or something as thick as one of her limbs, that could result in a deadly infection.

Kisha acted fast out of instinct and removed the source of the blockage. She reached out and pulled the string on the cord’s bow, relieving the pressure. It also relived him of his undergarment as the loose linen billowed and drifted away while Kisha tried to rub feeling back into the effected area.

Annie was shocked, at first. Her instinct was to slap the offending hand away but deep inside she knew that Kisha was only trying to help. Besides, Gael’s arms and legs had ceased to move as the blood rushed back into his penis and she needed to help hold him up out of the water.

Someone said once that God gave males a brain and a penis but only enough blood to run one at a time, she recalled. That seemed to be the case now for Gael, as his jaw went slack and his eyes rolled back in his head.

“Oh my flippers, he’s going into shock.” Kisha wailed.

“No.” Annie said slowly. “I’ve seen this before. It’s more of a sex stupor.”

Suddenly realizing what she was doing Kisha dropped the heavy penis. “Oh dear! Your mate! I’m so sorry if … I didn’t mean to!”

Annie could have stuck her nose up and scolded the shark-girl, or she may have grinned and shrugged it off. But truth be told, the sight of Kisha’s slender hand on her lover’s cock as her large breasts bobbed in the water was kind of a turn on for her too. Gael had told her about his one same sex encounter and joked that he should bring in another guy to help him with her, but that was as far as any talk of a threesome ever got. Thinking now about how the shark’s smooth skin had felt against her, especially when Kisha was squeezed between her and Gael was giving her the female equivalent of Gael’s current state, and a few ideas.

“Gael is not my mate.” Annie told Kaisha with a sly smile as she pulled Kisha’s hand back to Gael’s cock and set her to stroking him inside her larger fist. “Not yet anyway. We’re both still in that phase you described as ‘playing around with sex’ I guess you could say.”

Kisha was a bit flustered, but she didn’t try to pull her hand away.

“I … I didn’t think you approved. Sorry, but you seemed like the jealous type.”

Annie shrugged as well as she could while treading water and holding Gael afloat with one hand while she guided Kisha’s hand with the other.

“I was, I admit. Gael was the first guy who has been interested in me for me, not just to fuck me and brag to his friends about it. I wanted to protect what we had and turned down several offers to join in with others along the way, but I mistook inertia for stability. It’s time we tried something new.”

Now that his blood was circulating better, especial in the penis department, Gael was beginning to register some of what was going on.

“Annie, you don’t have to … you know I would never …”

She leaned over and kissed him. “Shush, you silly pony. This is something we’re doing together.”

Gael wisely shut up and let her kiss him, long and deeply. Then Annie reached out and pulled Kisha into the kiss, alternating between her equine lover and the young shark-girl.

Any reluctance Kisha felt about coming between the two disappeared. She leaned into the kiss and doubled her efforts on Gael’s cock. Behind his back her other hand and Annie’s met.

Gael had unconsciously started waving his arms in the slow, swishing pattern Kisha had been trying to get him to replicate. At the same time his legs scissored. It was a natural movement; one he often did on land when he was laying on his back letting Annie pleasure him. In the water it provided extra lift at that end of his body. Had the two females released him he would have stayed right where he was.

They didn’t release him though, not right away. They sensed that his weight had been removed from their arms but that just let them concentrate on other things as they kicked gently on either side of him. Those things included caressing his large fuzzy balls and taking turns seeing who could drive their tongue farthest down his throat while wiggling out of their bikini bottoms.

Neither was a match for his tongue, or his lips for that matter. Horses were blessed with an abondance of both, and Gael could French kiss with the best of them, even if he still was not clear what ‘French’ was. He was no amateur with his fingers either, and his log arms were well suited for reaching the lower regions of his companions.

Before long they were a symbiotic raft of erotic pleasure, with three pairs of legs providing lift while hands and tongues wandered about freely. Gael found both girls’ ready and eager for his digits to penetrate and stimulate their neither regions, while the girls alternated kissing his face and sucking his cook. Their stroking never abated either, since they could not get more than half his cock in their mouths at a time it left a good double-hand width free for manual manipulation.

This could have gone on until all three had cum, and it would have been wonderful, but Kisha had another idea.

“Want to see how we do it here on Hawaiki?” She asked Annie with a mischievous grin.

Annie removed her mouth from around Gael’s prick and nodded eagerly.

Kisha smiled and let go of Gael before diving under the water. The big horse’s legs sank but he was able to use the arm on that side to compensate and soon he was upright in the water with Annie under one arm, kicking his legs gently with his cock sticking out in front of him.

Suddenly Kisha was there under the water, circling the two closely, darting between their legs and sliding up their backsides. Each time she passed she touched some tender place, tracing the line of Gael’s thigh here, drifting a digit between Annie’s vulva there, or poking between Gael’s firm butt cheeks and around his anus. She moved fast, and her caresses were fleeting, but intimate, and exciting.

After a few passes Annie released Gael and began to show off her swimming skills by imitating the striped torpedo. She could not move as fast, or dive as deep, but she knew all of Gael’s favourite spots and how to handle them. She even managed to get a few good ones in on Kisha when the aquatic lingered close by.

Gael had forgotten completely about how deep the water was as the two females swirled and swan about him. Jus the act of trying to touch them tenderly as they moved past was keeping him afloat. He even ducked his head under now and then to see where they were and tried to catch them as they played around him. The sea was quickly becoming a second home to him.

Annie’s swimming was improving also. Strong shoulders and thighs propelled her faster and faster through the water despite her less than streamlined shape. While she could never hope to catch Kisha in open water, she was able to get her hands on the shark-girl in the restricted space around Gael, and her grip was inexorable. She forced them to surface and jammed her face against Kisha’s as soon as they broke free of the water.

Gael slid in behind the aquatic and wrapped his big arms around them both. His erect cock bobbed and slapped between their legs until Kisha clamped it between her thighs. There was enough left sticking out in front of her for Annie to get one hand on it. She wrung the sensitive tip in her fist while her other hand groped between Kisha’s legs.

They had been drifting closer to the beach as the gentle swells pushed them in and Gael found that his feet could touch bottom again. He planed them firmly in the sand and coral then turned the shark-girl around to face him. That involved lifting her up and over his stiff cock and swinging her around while Annie continued to rub the tip.

Once she was straddling his dick again he asked, “Are you sure you can’t get pregnant from this?” In a breathless voice.

“One hundred percent.” She assured him.

He wasted no more time. Pulling his hips back as far as they would go he slid his cock back between her legs until he felt the soft lips of her vagina against the tip. Annie’s fingers were already there to guide him. With her help he was in. He lifted Kisha again so that she was perched on the top of his cock. She wrapped her slippery legs around him as he slowly lowered her down.

“Tell me when you can’t take anymore.” He advised her.

“Don’t worry about me.” She huffed. “Our males have pricks just as long and thick as yours, two of them actually.”

“Two?”

“Yeah, but they only use one at a time.”

“Well, thank the Maker for that.” Feeling like he needed to impress the more experienced shark-girl, Gael drove in hard.

“Woof! Maybe not quite as big and thick.”

“You want me to stop?”

“Great Rays, no!”

Taking a firm buttock in each hand Gael lifted while she used her strong thighs around his waist to help to help. They fell into a steady rhythm with her rising up almost out of the water each time and splashing down again as his cock repeatedly impaled her.

Loath to be left out, Annie climbed up on her tail so she could reach around and caress Kisha’s firm breasts and tickle her clit between thrusts. Her own sex was open and looking for some excitement also, which she found on the slick shark shin of Kisha’s tail. The scales were small and gave her skin a pebbled feel, like she was covered in tiny teeth. Going back towards her tailfin felt smooth, but in the opposite direction it was rough, deliciously rough in Annie’s opinion.

With Kisha rising and falling in Gael’s steady hands Annie rode her tail like she was busting broncos. Just like the riders in the rodeos she had seen the tricky part seemed to be holding on. Fortunately, Kisha did not seem to mind that Annie had a death-grip on one of her breasts and a couple of digits wedge between her clit and Gaels pounding cock.

The two females were easy to lift as long as they were in the water, so Gael did not tire, but the warm water on his balls and the way the current caressed his cock when it was exposed threatened to bring him to a conclusion faster than normal. He needn’t have worried though, his warm-blooded cock was doing the same to Kisha, with some help from Annie’s fingers.

It was Annie that came first though. The erotic sensations brought on by her first threesome, and first time having sex with a fish she supposed, brought her quickly to the edge and in just a few minutes she was over it.

“Son of a …” she spat through grit teeth as her hips jerked against Kisha, drawing out the orgasm as long as they could. She closed her eyes and rubbed her fingers against Kisha’s clit savagely, not wanting to be the only one feeling that way.

Kisha succumbed as much due to Annie’s clever digits as the hot cock slamming her insides. She had to remind herself not to bite Gael on the shoulder, as sharks were wont to do during particularly good sex, as his hide was nowhere near as tough as her fellow sharks. Instead she screamed out the name of the Hawaikians’ greatest deity.

“Moby! Take me Moby! Take me nooowwwwww …”

When she came her twat tightened around Gael’s cock, the way it would to keep a shark mate’s sperm inside for more effective fertilization. The sudden squeeze and internal flood of she-shark cum was the final straw for him. Trapped inside her his cum had to force its way though the tube inside his cock before filling her up, and the sensation of it blasting through brought him delicious pleasure and pain.

Wiggling and writhing, the three were locked together in an intricate lover’s knot. Orgasms lingered, sending bolts of electrical current from one body to another like their circuits were fused together. They could not move independently if they wanted too.

That’s when the rogue wave hit.

It hit them broadside, sending them tumbling and spinning in the boiling surf. The wave slammed them against the gritty slope where the water deepened them threw them up into the air. Time and again their heads broke the surface but each time Gael or Annie tried to gulp some air they were pulled under again and ended up swallowing more sea water.

Only Kisha with her ability to breathe underwater was able to keep her head about her.

As they rolled into the shallows she mustered her strength and dug her feet into the shifting sands before the undertow could drag them back out. Scrambling and crawling between the two gagging mammals she hauled the waterlogged menage-a-trois a safe distance up the beach.

Sputtering and spitting Gael finally deflated enough to slip out of her and thus freed Annie’s hand, which had been trapped between them.

“Th- ... thanks.” He gasped. “That’s the second time you’ve saved me this week.”

“Well, I couldn’t very well let you drown ...” she replied as she reached out to fondle his half-erect cock. “... not when we still have a couple more hours of daylight left.”

“Hey!” Annie said as she sat up and wiped the wet sand from her face. “When am I going to get my turn?”

Kisha rolled over and crawled up between Annie’s legs and grinned her toothy shark grin.

“For you, my fleshy friend, I’m going to demonstrate what we call ‘the rapture of the deep’, and ...” she added, running her tongue over those dental daggers, “... I’m going to trim your pubic hair at the same time.”

Gael Tholkes © MarcusXLight

Junafir Pawstone © Frostlupus

Kisha © Frostlupus

Chris Cinereo © Kyroo Echos

Constance “Coyotka” Jotkowska © Coyotek

Magnus © Thwaitesy