Will sank to the ground, hugging himself as the misery threatened to swallow him whole. The feelings were so powerful that he wanted to die. No, she wanted to die. Laina had devoted herself to the suffering of the poor, secretly trying to assuage the guilt she didn’t even know existed within her. Filling her days with a passion for charity that had driven her from the age of fourteen until the present, as she stood on the cusp of full adulthood.
It’s all right, he told himself, speaking to her. We were children. It wasn’t our fault. It wasn’t anyone’s fault.
She felt his acceptance, his forgiveness, and something similar came from her in return, but they were still forlorn, ravaged by the storm of emotions that the meeting of their souls had unleashed. Until he felt strong arms encircle him, pulling him back to his feet. “Shhh, emshee,” cooed Darla softly, using a pet name he didn’t recognize. “Shhh, it will be all right. Come with me.”
He let her lead him, and Darla took them out of the middle of the road to the shelter of a doorway so they would be less visible. She stroked his hair and kissed his brows gently. “Relax, emshee, breathe. You must get control of yourself,” said the bodyguard.
It felt so natural that it was several seconds before Will realized how intimate Darla’s treatment was. She kissed me? His body felt a familiar, yet unfamiliar stirring as his sadness faded. Unsure of himself, he slid one hand down to check his—Oh, holy fuck! In the confusion he had forgotten what body he was in.
He probed the region for a moment more, curious, then he felt a sudden surge of anger coming from the other half of his joint-soul. Stop!
Will was paralyzed with a welter of strange emotions, from curiosity, to fear, to disgust. He wasn’t entirely sure where each originated from. Is it incest if I want to see how everything works from the inside?
It didn’t help that Darla was still trying to bring him, or rather Laina, back to her senses. “Wake up, emshee! We must go. You cannot wallow in your emotions here.”
Laina was forlorn, and desperate, and while they were two, she felt terribly alone. Lifting her chin, she gazed into Darla’s warm eyes. The other woman’s eyes scanned the street behind her for a second, then her lips parted and she darted in for a quick but passionate kiss. She pulled back after barely a second. “There. Are you awake? There is no time for this!”
Will was awake. He was terribly, amazingly wide awake, and the danger of the moment only made things worse. He could barely remember the last time he had been so horny. Despite the change in anatomy, the feelings were similar, and he could feel a compelling heat growing in his lower regions, as well as an increased sensitivity that seemed to include his entire body, which was relatively more intense than what he had experienced as a man.
The beast reared its head within him, and he pressed Darla back against the door as he nuzzled her neck, the line of her chin, and then finally brought his lips back to hers. The Arkeshi received his passion willingly, but her eyes widened a moment later. “It isn’t like you to be so forceful, emshee, you—”
They both froze, then Will pulled himself away. “Forgive me. I’m not sure who I am right now.”
“I thought he vanished. You—you are both in there?” exclaimed Darla.
He nodded. “Forgive her, she wouldn’t have done…” He paused as his brain worked through the moment, processing what had happened. She kissed me first, but she thought I was Laina. His internal perspective reversed itself, and Laina’s thoughts reached him. You didn’t realize. It wasn’t you that wanted her. It was me.
Will’s eyes locked onto Darla. The former assassin wasn’t just Laina’s bodyguard, she was his sister’s lover. “Ohh…,” he said slowly, letting his eloquence fill the air.
A loud explosion rent the night, and rocks and debris flew through the air. Will quickly constructed a force-dome to shelter within, while at the same time the earth elemental surrounded them with a heavy stone dome. He heard heavy boards hitting the stone a few seconds later. I had that. You didn’t have to use the elemental!
How was I supposed to know what you were doing? returned Laina. Her frustration permeated his chest. This is getting too confusing, she added. What are you doing?
Feeling guilty, he put his hand back down by his side. I was just curious.
Don’t touch my breasts.
I wasn’t feeling it with the hand. I wanted to know what it felt like from the other side, he tried to explain.
Just don’t. Don’t ever. And if we get out of this, I never want to hear another word about it. None of this happened!
He couldn’t argue with that. Deal. Let’s just hope this is over before we need to go to the bathroom.
She sighed, taking control of their lungs for a moment. “Why did you have to say that?” groaned Laina.
“Say what?” asked Darla, who was standing beside her within the earthen dome.
“Sorry,” said Laina, then Will nodded. “I was talking to myself.” Damn, this really is confusing, he thought. By the way, thank you.
Her response was a nonverbal feeling, a question without words.
For coming to help me tonight. I would be lost and doomed if you weren’t here, he explained.
You’re welcome, she replied, and the words carried her emotions with them, a surge of warmth that washed back and forth between them, like a wave caught perpetually between two shores. A resonance seemed to grow, and the wave became higher and higher, until at last she managed to put an end to it. Enough of that. I’m going to have nightmares for years after this.
He smiled inwardly.
Chapter 43
Darla wanted to return and wake Tiny, but Laina had changed her mind. Will wasn’t sure what was right, but since it was her body he felt it best to leave the decision to her. “We can’t leave him to run loose in Will’s body. The man is mad. He might well get killed, and then where would we be?” she said aloud.
I wouldn’t stay. This is only temporary, one way or another, Will reassured her silently.
Shut up, came Laina’s response. You can do stupid things and get yourself killed when you have your own body back. Until then don’t be an idiot. You’re in my care for now.
The Arkeshi sighed. “He will be easy to find, since he’s in the middle of all the commotion, but it’s unlikely you can approach without being seen.” She eyed Laina’s dress with mistrust.
“Speak for yourself,” said Will, lifting one hand. He quickly constructed a chameleon spell and then cast it on himself, fading into near-invisibility before adding a silent-armor spell to complete the set.
One of Darla’s brows went up. “I suppose there are advantages to having both of you in there.” She lifted the hood of her cloak, and the enchantment on it activated, producing a similar chameleon effect. A second later her turyn also shifted, blending and fading. It wasn’t a visible effect, but somehow it made her even harder to find. His eyes kept sliding away if he let his concentration slip.