Sleight of Hand
5
Caretakers
DAYS IN HADES and nights in Paradise stretched on for months. I was working at physical therapy six or more hours a day. I was working in the store four hours a day where I practiced sleight of hand. I graduated from wheelchair to walker to crutches. Lisa worked right alongside me. Every exercise I did, she did twice. She was determined that she would be as fit as was required for an excursion on Chaos. When I was working at Shannara, Lisa took instruction in self-defense and Tai Chi. Not to be outdone, Cadence also took martial arts. Twice a week, all three of us went to an archery range and worked for at least an hour. It was hard to find a longbow. Even a recurve bow was a little unusual. Cabela’s had a million different compound bows, but no one goes hunting with a longbow. Olympic archery is done with a recurve bow with a men’s pull of 48 pounds. That was what we were able to get.
I did a lot of studying and research regarding handmade weapons. What could I get and/or make quickly when I arrived on Chaos? Try finding out how to make a slingshot without anything elastic. I knew they existed, but finding instructions on how to make one and then how to shoot with it was insane. I waded through more freaky survivalist shit than I wanted to know existed. But some of it was very useful. Not only did I need to learn to make a sling, it had to be made out of the clothes I was wearing. Without a knife.
And at night, I made love to Cadence. That in itself was motivation to keep working on my physical conditioning. In a month, I could get on top. Cadence loved it the first time I crawled over the top of her and planted my flag in victory. She screamed so loud her mother came in to watch. When we were finished, she crawled into bed with us and spooned behind me.
I graduated to two canes. I made them myself. They were absolutely no use at all in the house as the wooden end would slip on the tile or hardwood. I didn’t have carpet because it was harder to roll the wheelchair across. I supposed I could change that, but I kind of liked the stark plainness of the hardwood. Of course, I could have put rubber feet on the canes and they wouldn’t slip unless the floor was wet. But I knew rubber would not be allowed through the portal.
“Don’t even consider it,” Lisa growled when she caught me looking at the sapphire ring. She scared me out of my wits. “I don’t think you are ready, but when you say we go, we go. Together. I will not have you running around on Chaos without a caretaker.”
“You know you will be considered a companion when I take you to Chaos, don’t you?” I said.
“I will be your caretaker. On Earth or on Chaos. You have Persephone on Crossroads.”
“I need to go soon.”
“Linc, are you letting your desire for Persephone control your judgment?” Lisa asked. I looked at her and pulled her to me in a hug. She melted against me.
“You know me so well,” I whispered. She lifted her lips and kissed me. Really kissed me. “You’ve read the books on companions and caretakers, haven’t you?” She nodded. “So, you know both of them are supposed to provide for my needs,” I chuckled.
“Linc, the only thing I won’t do is fuck you. I made a vow. I won’t break it. Not here and not on Chaos. I’ll hold you, bathe you, give you a hand job, a blowjob, or let you rub between my modest little tits. I’ll even make sure my daughter is clean and shaved for you. But I won’t fuck you. Are there any other needs you think you might have?” she asked.
“I love you, Lisa.”
“Even now that you and Cadence make love every night? Don’t think I don’t hear you when I’m here,” she laughed at my embarrassment.
“Honey, I would have you both in bed with me every night if you let me. Cadence has already said you are welcome.”
“Sometime. But still…”
“I know. You won’t fuck me. That’s all right. I don’t want to fuck you. I want to make love to you,” I said.
“Oh, Lincoln! When do you want to go make Persephone your lover? We’d better do it soon.”
“Tomorrow morning. I’m strong enough now that I can convince Sandy of just about anything. I can go to Crossroads and not only continue physical therapy, but learn combat skills that I’ll need on Chaos. I haven’t found anyone here who will teach me to throw knives or use a bolo. I need to learn every kind of defense that doesn’t involve me moving around on my legs,” I said.
“Don’t tell Cadence.”
“Not until we get back.”
“Make love to her tonight. Make her know how much you love her,” Lisa said, hugging me tightly.
“You’ll be right here with me to make sure I do it right.”
Lisa and I stood before the portal in the morning and examined each other. I noticed she had a couple interesting combs holding her hair in a bun. She just grinned. She looked at the two canes I was propped on. I grinned. We were both dressed in just sweatpants and a T-shirt. I held my left cane up and she stepped into my embrace. Together, we stepped into the wardrobe.
We felt a queasy disorientation for a second and then a bright light. We were standing in the portal room on Crossroads. The wall opened in front of us and Persephone swept into the room. She was wearing a silky adaptation of what we’d call spandex. She was dripping sweat.
“Hero Lincoln!” she exclaimed as she ran to me. She was in my arms and I kissed her. It was as if we’d just parted for the day. She was comfortable and sexy and loving and right. I responded to her immediately, her pheromones enhanced by her sweat. “Lisa Caretaker,” she gasped as she pushed herself away from me and hugged Lisa. Lisa took Persephone in her arms and kissed her as passionately as I had.
“I am so happy to see you, Persephone Caretaker. What have you been doing?” Lisa asked, holding Seph at arm’s length to examine her sweaty body.
“Working out!” Persephone said. “I know how hard you are working on Earth and I wanted to learn everything I could to help you when you arrived. Oh, Hero Lincoln! Have you come too soon? You don’t look ready!” She looked at my canes as we made our way to the next room.
It was beautiful.
“I still need more work, but I’m far enough that I thought we could train here for a while before I head out on my first mission. Seph, this room is beautiful. So elegant and yet so comfortable. How did you know what I’d like?” I asked.
“Lisa Caretaker and I had a long discussion about decorating while you were asleep,” she giggled. “Did I do okay, Lisa?”
“I think he’s already given you his answer,” Lisa laughed. “I’d suggest another round in the healing chamber before the two of you get frisky, just to be sure he hasn’t injured himself in his therapy and training. Our technology for monitoring such things is not as good as yours.”
“Oh! I just wanted to go straight to the bedroom,” Seph moaned. “You will make me yours today, won’t you, my Hero?”
“Before this day is ended, my love, we will be bound together as mates. But Lisa is right. I’m still getting incredible and unpredictable pains. I feel so spastic at times. Healing chamber first. And you can shower.”
“Okay,” Seph said. “Perhaps Lisa Caretaker will help make sure I am clean for you,” she whispered. That did nothing to soften my erect cock. Nonetheless, I was led to the healing chamber and sank into it with a sigh. It might look like a coffin, but it’s a really comfy one. She closed the lid and I was out.
Lisa and I sat on the sofa with Seph between us. We kissed her and petted her from both sides. The poor girl had come half a dozen times and we hadn’t even parted her legs.
“Is there an outdoors here, Sephie?” I whispered.
“I love it when you call me ‘Sephie.’ Can’t we make love now?” she asked.
“I really want to see the sky,” I said.
“I don’t know,” she said. She puzzled a moment. “Computer, is there an outside here at Crossroads?”
“Crossroads is a habitable moon with vegetation and minimal animal life. Within the grounds of the Crossroads portals and hero accommodations, there are no harmful species.”
“Can we go outside?” I asked.
“There is no rule against it,” the disembodied voice said. “You must, however, remember that outside the artificial habitat, the gravity of Crossroads is about 80% Earth norm. Don’t jump.”
“I would like to go outside with you, Persephone,” I said. “I want to see the stars.”
“Computer, please show us the passage outside.” Walls began to open. “Oh. Is there enough atmosphere to breathe?”
“There is an adequate oxygen-nitrogen supply to sustain life, but you will begin to feel light-headed within ten minutes.”
We walked outside.
It was beautiful. The arc of a huge disk hovered on the horizon. “What is that?” I asked, not expecting an answer.
“The planet Horace,” the disembodied voice said. It sounded like it was in my ear. “Crossroads is a moon in orbit.”
“Can you show us Earth, Cassandra, and Chaos?” I asked. I had no idea what might be possible here. The voice followed me outside. Why not all the rest of Computer’s function? I noticed that Lisa watched from the door, not intruding on my special moment with Persephone.
“Earth trajectory would only be visible from the opposite side of Crossroads. Cassandra’s star is located in the cluster seventeen degrees to your right at an elevation of thirty-eight degrees. Chaos orbits a solitary star just appearing over the horizon of Horace, slightly to the left of center and ten degrees higher. Of course, you cannot see the planets orbiting those stars.” Computer seemed to take great pleasure in giving information about the universe as if we were school children. I suppose from its perspective we were.
“Look at it all, Persephone,” I said. “Isn’t it glorious?” Her breath was coming in small gasps and I knew we needed to move back inside quickly. “Out of all that universe, all those stars, we have come together from light years apart. We are unique in all the Cosmos. We have found each other to love.” Persephone fainted in my arms. I guess having an orgasm in thin atmosphere isn’t the best thing to do, especially when your date is using two canes to walk around. Lisa moved as quickly as possible in the low gravity and scooped Seph up in her arms. I followed her inside and the door to our little habitat silently closed behind us. Moving from 0.8 g to earth normal almost collapsed my legs under me. Lisa staggered as well.
Lisa carried Seph to the bed and we crawled in on either side of her. I leaned over and kissed Lisa deeply. I knew what she was thinking. She wouldn’t do this with her daughter, but Lisa and I were about to make love with Seph as our intermediary. If Seph could orgasm from just being told that I loved her, she was about to have an exhausting night. We put little kisses all over her face and Lisa said, “Three restoratives, please.” Three little vials appeared on the bedside table and we got one to Persephone’s lips. She drank it down as her eyes fluttered open. Lisa and I each took the others. What a charge!
“Do you mean it?” Seph asked. “We are here to love each other?”
“All three of us,” Lisa whispered. “And when Cadence joins us, there will be four. And each of the damsels Linc brings back to Crossroads will expand our love that much more. Will you make love to us, Persephone?”
“Oh, yes. Teach me about love as you know it on Earth.”
Lisa and I did our best. We kissed our Cassandran lover and each other. We petted her and massaged her through multiple orgasms. We suckled together on her breasts. We explored every inch of my diminutive caretaker with our fingers and with our tongues. Lisa planted herself between Seph’s legs and licked her to such a powerful orgasm that she passed out again. And then she sucked on me until Seph awoke and took the restorative from us.
“Are you ready, my virgin caretaker?” I asked as I opened her lower lips with my manhood.
“How is it said on Earth, my Hero? Please, pop my cherry!” I pushed and actually heard the pop as I broke through her hymen. Persephone gasped with the combined sensation of pain from her tearing hymen and orgasm as her lover pushed into her. Her scream of ecstasy was deafening and Lisa covered Seph’s mouth with her own to mute the sound. Seph stiffened and then went slack as she passed out from the overstimulation of her pleasure centers.
“Can you wait for her, love?” Lisa asked. I was clenching my butt cheeks together in an attempt not to come while Seph was unconscious.
“This is difficult.”
“Give it to me. You’ll still be hard and back in her before she wakes up.” I pulled out of Seph and Lisa slurped me into her mouth, stroking me with her hand as she sucked on me. I exploded.
“I love you, Lisa!” I said. “I love you so much.”
“If you didn’t, I would never have accompanied you,” she said, licking her lips. “My, but she is tasty on you.”
“I had no idea you swung that way,” I laughed as she continued to nurse me back to hardness.
“I fell in love with Persephone when I read her file. When I saw her picture, I was lost. I was panicked to think that you might choose one of the other two.”
“It was never a contest.” Lisa pulled me back to Persephone and I pushed inside the younger caretaker. Even having just come it was almost more than I could bear to be gripped in her tight sheath. Seph moaned and her eyes fluttered open.
“Oh, my Hero,” Seph sighed. “Will it always be so wonderful?”
“Well, unless you rush to the healing chamber and get your hymen fixed, it won’t hurt as much,” I laughed. “But my dearest Persephone, I will always try to please you with my love.” Lisa ordered another restorative for the girl.
“You… You are still hard and in me!” Seph said in amazement.
“I haven’t come in you yet,” I said. “Do you want me to, love?”
“Oh, yes! Yes!” she called. She immediately set to work rocking her hips against mine and encouraging me to slide in and out.
“I am sorry that this won’t take long, my love,” I said, feeling the pressure building.
“Not long? You have outlasted any man on Cassandra already, from what I understand. Perhaps all of them put together. Fill me. Fill me, my love!”
I didn’t waste any more time fulfilling her request. My balls contracted and my cock pulsed. This once again sent Persephone over the edge, but she held to consciousness as she rode out her orgasm, squeezing around me and pulsing with her pleasure. I kissed her deeply and looked into the depths of her blue eyes. Finally, my spent cock slipped from her warm embrace and I moved beside her.
“Warm wet washcloth and dry towel, please,” Lisa said. The requested items appeared on the nightstand and Lisa lovingly bathed Persephone’s privates.
“You have taught me so much about being a caretaker already, Lisa,” Seph said.
“How so?”
“The way you have cared for me as I was lost in my Hero’s love. It has shown me how important it is for me to make our damsels’ experiences more than just a copulation for impregnation. She needs to feel the love and care that we all have for her,” Seph said. She reached up to kiss Lisa softly.
“We say on Earth that a child conceived in love is far more cherished than one conceived in lust,” Lisa said. “It is certainly true of my daughter.” I looked at her, puzzled. It was hard to imagine her in love with Wilson. Or even in lust.
For three months, Lisa and I trained in earnest with Persephone. I made additional progress with the stability of my legs, but continued to use my canes most of the time. I drilled a hole through the top end and attached a leather thong so I could take my hands off the canes while I was standing and not lose them. This enabled me to perfect my skills with a bow and to learn to throw knives. I’d never shot a crossbow before and felt that the amount of time it took to load it was a distinct disadvantage over the recurve that was common on Chaos.
I continued to practice magic tricks with my cards and with scarves. With my canes and limp, I was obviously not a warrior. There was a class of entertainer on Chaos, however, that was all but immune to harassment. Even in medieval times, people had a strong desire to be entertained. Music, juggling, and even little skits were a sought-after pleasure. People still wanted to laugh and forget the misery of their world, if only for a few minutes.
Persephone introduced me to the strange lute-guitar combination that was popular on Chaos. It had five strings and no frets. Combined with the prevailing pentatonic scale, it was a challenge for me to make music. I wanted one of these back home on Earth.
I also practiced with my sling. It was one of the simplest weapons to construct and, if mastered, was deadly. Think David and Goliath. Persephone gave us instruction on survival skills that neither Lisa nor I had ever studied. She showed us what type of dry wood and tinder would start a fire most quickly. Lisa soon became adept at the old art of rubbing two sticks together.
And we both got acquainted with the basics of personal hygiene, Chaos style. We learned which trees would feather if a branch was smashed with a rock. A toothbrush like this would only last a few brushings, but there wasn’t going to be any minty fresh toothpaste and electric toothbrush on Chaos. We found that salt was the best cleanser, but was often not available. Then there was the fact of no toilet paper on Chaos. But anywhere there was a stable, there was likely to be a supply of corncobs. Soap was also going to be an unusual luxury and would most often be harsh. We learned to wash with the sand from the bottom of a cold stream.
Through it all, Lisa did everything I did, even picking up the rudiments of playing a wooden flute to accompany my cithara. Not once did I hear her complain. Persephone drove us to perfection, but still held Lisa up as a kind of role model for herself. There were many times at night when she saw to Lisa’s needs before mine. I loved her all the more.
At last, it was time to choose a mission. Seph was still concerned that my legs were not at a hundred percent, but we all agreed that adopting the roles of entertainers would lessen the liability. We also decided that Lisa would parade as a man beside me, rather than dress as a woman. The night we cut her hair was one of weeping. Persephone carefully arranged the locks in a wooden box and swore she would keep them forever.
That made it difficult for Lisa to keep her bone combs in her hair, but we used the expedient of wrapping a bandana around her head and holding them in that way. When it came to our clothes, they were sturdy but worn. I asked for scissors and cut through the side seam at two-inch intervals. These cuts were made six times from the frayed bottom up. I called it a decoration, and wove two bandanas through the cuts. My hair was now longer than Lisa’s and I tied it in a bandana as well.
“I don’t get it,” I said. “It sounds like she’s settled in and is happy in her life on Chaos. What kind of distress is she in?”
“It is a very unusual situation,” Persephone said. “Ariel Songbird has been on Chaos for five years. Her name only once came to the top of the distress list and before a hero could be dispatched her name was removed from it. In her first month, Ariel gained the attention of a rich mine owner. He bought her contract from a local theater and made her his private entertainment. Of course, that was not all he wanted. The first night she was with him, he raped her. Rape and beatings are not uncommon for damsels on Chaos. We actually do our best to prepare damsels, but with our culture on Cassandra it is simply impossible for a woman to believe that men can be that aggressive. Of course, the basic enzymatic incompatibility of Chaos men and Cassandra women caused the expected burning of the genitals on both parties. The man was furious and took it out on Ariel’s mouth, thrusting his cock so deeply into her that it damaged her vocal cords.”
“I could go kill him,” Lisa said firmly. “Not a problem.”
“Too late,” Persephone continued. “When he realized she could neither sing nor give him sexual pleasure, he sent her to work in his mine. We have lost damsels in the mines before and that is when her distress triggered a mission profile. It would be a difficult one because it involved going into the mountains and into the mine in order to find her. However, she arrived just in time to see the mine slaves revolt. They were led by a berserker who emerged from the mine just as the owner and half a dozen well-armed guards brought Ariel to the foreman. Two crossbow bolts passed completely through the man and he was cut on his leg by a sword. That was the entirety of the damage. The mine owner and six guards lay dead. The supervisor of the mine and his guards had already been killed.”
“So, she was able to escape then,” I said. “And found this innkeeper who would protect her.”
“The berserker is the innkeeper,” Seph sighed. “Ariel tended his wounds and nursed him back to health as the other miner slaves stripped the bodies. They left Ariel and Jules with a wagon and horse, a sword, a money pouch, and what food was left in the mine. They were lucky at that, and it was only Ariel reminding them that Jules had just set them free that gave them that much of a reward. Freed slaves tend to grab whatever they can for their own, even when it is stealing from each other. When Jules was healthy enough to travel, the two hitched the horse to the wagon and left, avoiding the town where the mine owner lived and moving south. They had a number of encounters with would-be bandits and Jules proved a formidable opponent. They collected enough goods and treasure from vanquished foes that they were able to purchase an inn and have been there ever since. On a dozen different occasions, Jules has reminded ruffians that his damsel is not for sale and that they can’t take her from him. Ariel is content, loved, and seems to cherish her protector.”
“Which brings us to the point of why she is in distress,” I said. “Granted, she is not having a baby, but it seems that this berserker cherishes her and protects her. He seems to either be content not to have sex with her or they have found a way to avoid the burning. Maybe he’s a eunuch. Why is her situation urgent enough to call for a hero?”
“He’s dying.”
“He won’t be there to protect her any longer,” Lisa sighed.
“Not only that, after a damsel has been off the charts for so long, it is rare for her to be given a rating that will inspire a hero when so many are in immediate danger. I believe that if you do not rescue her, she will be dead within a week after Jules. That could be any time. We believe that he has the mining disease. So much dust and mineral has been inhaled in the mine that it destroys his ability to breathe,” Seph said.
“Black lung disease,” Lisa said. “Once that amount of particulate enters the lungs, there is no way to clear it. It becomes cancerous and destroys the lungs.”
“Exactly.”
“I think we need to plan this mission, my Hero,” Lisa said.
The bank vault was exactly what we expected. We paused to see that we were still dressed. Lisa had her hair combs. I had my canes, my cards, and my bandanas. We grinned at each other. What weapons?
Persephone had prepared us very well for what we would find when we arrived, including the stench. She’d rubbed scented oil on our noses before we stepped through the portal. After a quick check of the bank lobby, we opened the vault door fully and simply walked out and onto the street. This was a pretty good-sized town, but we didn’t stick around to sightsee. Persephone’s research had shown that sixty percent of belligerent confrontations took place on the main street or in the inns and taverns of a town. Thirty-five percent were encounters on the open road. Only five percent of the confrontations occurred in open country or on the backstreets of the town.
We quickly rounded the corner of the bank and moved toward the alley behind. It intersected a small road and the housing density quickly dropped as we moved away from the center perpendicular to the meridian. It even smelled less foul as the congestion of the main street fell behind us. Yes, there was still effluent in the road, but this, too, decreased as we moved uphill behind the town. I guess it’s true that shit runs downhill. Apparently, it all collects on Main Street.
Our first goal was to find ourselves a campsite and establish a base of operations. About a mile into the woods, after leaving behind the last dwelling that could justifiably be called ‘in town,’ we found a clear-running stream and a place to camp. Lisa set about starting a fire and getting a lean-to set up out of the brush that was plentiful on the ground. I set about preparing weapons and finding food.
The initial part of getting a weapon was easy. I tore strips off my trousers, braided them into a sling, and set about finding stones for several purposes. Some stones I chipped apart through the simple expedient of banging them together. I suppose for a while we were as noisy as a quarry. It was time to find food.
I walked upstream a few hundred yards, leaving one cane behind and using the other as a stabilizer for my legs. Then I sat down to wait. A squirrel was the first thing to venture out. I let it explore and flick its tail for a while. In about half an hour, all the normal forest sounds had resumed and other animals emerged. I tried to decide what would feed us the best and finally chose a fat rabbit that came to the stream for a drink.
The rock from my sling stunned it. I used the sharp edge of my chipped rock to slit its throat and let it bleed out. Then I headed back to camp. Lisa had a good fire going outside our lean-to and I set to work skinning the rabbit. I’d learned from some of that crazy survivalist “literature” I had read that if I made a small incision just behind the rabbit’s head and then pulled from there with one hand while holding the head with the other that the entire skin would peel off intact, and sure enough. It worked. She had a spit ready for it and had found a wild onion, which she stuffed in the carcass before spitting it. I sat next to her and kissed her.
We’d been on Chaos for over four hours and had not spoken to each other. We were that well prepared.
Blessings on you, Persephone!
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