Courts and Cabals by G.S. D'Moore (best e reader for academics txt) 📕

I was flowing in the zone, and over the last few weeks, I’d learned more and more about whatever gift this was. Despite having to take a few days off after Dani’s hit, I was back in the gym preparing for my dance with the devil. Lilith paid for x-rays of my arm, and it turned out the dwarf’s hit only caused a hairline fracture right below my rotator cuff.

Those results had to be bullshit, because a dwarf didn’t hit a squishy human like me, at full power, and just slightly break something. My arm should be shattered into a dozen pieces, not back to normal in a few days. Despite everything Lilith, Dani, Xamira, Xander, Aden over a Skype call, and even Amanda’s extensive body of knowledge suggested, no one had any idea what the fuck was going on with me.

My initial fascination about being different was beginning to fade. There was being different; as in supernatural and extraordinary, but then there was being different. The latter was consumed by weirdness that made others uncomfortable. I had a dwarf, succubus, two imps, and an Anima mage looking at me like I had three heads. All on top of being days away from the fight of my life.

The nerves from everything were building, and they nearly penetrated my bubble of calm. I heard Amanda stop typing, like she was waiting for something to happen, but I pushed those feelings back down. I needed all my attention on Dani.

As it turned out, that was wrong. My sight flared a warning. One of the things I’d learned about my gift – or curse depending on how you looked at my situation – was that I didn’t need to physically see something coming at me. A spike of foreboding was enough to tell me I needed to be somewhere else, and the second I had to act saved my ass. I dropped under Dani’s blade and rolled away. A heartbeat later, Xamira’s stomp smashed into the pad.

I sprang back to my feet and faced off against both women. This was not the threesome I had in mind. Amanda chuckled from her chair and continued typing.

“That’s enough,” Lilith’s voice cut through the adrenaline pumping through my veins. Even with my gift, Dani and Xamira working together was going to end in an ass whupping.

Both women relaxed at the succubus’s command. I was breathing hard, but otherwise I felt good. Months of conditioning, on top of the unarmed, and armed, combat training was paying off.

Despite a death sentence hanging over my head, my life was pretty fucking awesome right now. I had a fat bank account, a hot dwarf jerked me off once a week, and I’d fucked half the women in this room. The only downside was my old friends. They were a little standoffish, but I couldn’t blame them. They didn’t want to attract Aveena’s attention. We still talked and met under the bleachers when I had time. If I lived through the next ninety-six hours, we could put this mess behind us, and I’d be a very happy man.

“He’s all yours,” Lilith stood and gestured for Dani and Xamira to follow her out the door.

Amanda continued to type the last of her notes, before shutting her laptop and examining me. I felt pressure on my mind, and instinctually resisted. After a few deep breaths, I relaxed and let her in. It wasn’t like the time in the library that left me puking my guts out. This was just a probe. She’d done it enough times that it didn’t freak me out anymore.

“It’s the same,” she concluded. “After you exit your flow-state, whatever is empowering you steadily drains away. You’re completely normal right now except for a slight aftertaste of power.”

She pursed her lips in thought as she got to her feet. She’d shed her coat and winter pants upon entering the humid gym. Despite the mousy appearance I noticed back in the library, Amanda had a decent body. I didn’t know if it was magic, good eating, or an exercise regimen that I hadn’t seen, but she looked like she could make the cheerleading squad at any other school in America. She didn’t have the obvious curves of the other supernatural women I knew, but she still looked good in the school t-shirt and running shorts.

“What are you feeling right now?” she asked as she stepped forward.

“N . . . nothing,” I stammered. There was nothing more embarrassing than thinking of how a girl’s tits would fit in your hand, when that girl could read your mind.

“White noise,” I thought, and tried to think of nothing. That was the best way to shield your thoughts, but as she stepped into my space it was hard. Other things were getting a little hard as she pressed closer.

“What is it about sex that is so fascinating?” she asked.

“What?”

“Sex . . . fornication . . . fucking . . . why is it all that people think about?” she still seemed clinical in her approach, but there was an underlying vulnerability in her eyes.

“Well, it feels great,” I replied with a hesitant smile.

“Pleasuring myself feels great. Eating chocolate releases many of the same endorphins, and a multitude of drugs are available to give a person a blissful mental state,” she checked off mental items on her fingers. “Why is the act of inserting a penis into a vagina so . . .” she trailed off, clearly frustrated she couldn’t quantify something into words.

“Is this . . . an invitation?” I wondered, and took half a step forward. Her calculated expression vanished, and she glared at me. “I guess not.”

“There is nothing new for me to experience,” she swatted away the entire idea of having sex like it was some annoying fly buzzing around her head.