Dragon Hunter

Chapter 15: In the Crosshairs

The high priestess quickly nodded.

"I know of such a place," she indicated. "Follow me, my lord. I will lead us there!" With that, she turned and began to move quickly in the direction she and her escort had first appeared from.

Nodding, Cooper made to follow. Only to find Vannea's escort unexpectedly taking hold of him in surprisingly strong grips. Then, in a flurry of motion, they were bearing him back against the rock wall that formed the back of the ledge space.

Hitting the rock with enough force it elicited a grunt, Cooper lifted a brow.

"What, didn't I shoot fast enough or something?" he asked.

"We give you fair warning, top sider," one of the still hooded and masked noriquien women tautly said. "Her Grace, the blessed High Priestess of our mistress, the Goddess of Shadow, may Her Glory Never Fade, must remain pure and unsullied to carry out her tasks as the spiritual leader of our people."

"O-okay," Cooper hesitantly replied with a frown. "And you're telling me this, why?"

"Her Grace is obviously drawn to you, top sider," another one of the small group tightly noted. "Her favor and desire for you grows by the second. It is obvious to any who can see."

"I'm not encouraging it, if that's what you're suggesting," the big human said somewhat defensively. "I'm just doing what we agreed I'd do. Kill dragons. She's the one putting her hands ..."

"You cannot reciprocate, top sider!" yet another of the group interrupted him to hiss. She reached up and pulled her mask aside and Cooper found himself swallowing hard in an attempt to control his surging hot blood at seeing her revealed face. 'Like, what the actual fuck!' he shouted inside his mind. 'Are all noriquien women this heart-stoppingly beautiful??'

"You mustn't give in to your passions, even though she is your bloodsworn slave," the now revealed dark elf woman said. "It is imperative that she remain pure, untouched by male desires and passions."

"Okay, okay!" Cooper held up his hands in surrender. "No touching the high priestess in any way. I got it. You've made your point." His eyes narrowed.

"But I have to know. Something flipped the switch for her," he said, looking at the dark elf that was unmasked. "She went from coolly professional to putting her hands all over me."

The dark elf woman searched his face for a moment with her violet eyes.

"If you are not aware of how physically attractive you are, top sider, even for a round ear human from another universe, then your brain is damaged," she dryly noted. "Tall, powerful, and filled with ancient magic ..."

"How could she not be?" the first of them to speak, jumped back in to say. "We all are!"

"Easy," Cooper said, looking at her with a raised brow. "Let's keep things professional here. I just wanted to know if there was something I could do ..."

"To stop her from desiring you?" That from the unmasked woman. "Far too late for that, top sider. She is smitten."

Her expression became thoughtful.

"However, there's no need to suffer pointlessly. The Shadow Guardians exist to serve. We also understand the demands of passion and need. Should you find your blood stirred by her Grace past temptation, which you will, with her being your bloodsworn slave, satisfy your urges with one of us."

Cooper blinked even as his heart skipped a beat, his eyes wide as he stared into the unmasked dark elf's serious face. Was this dark elf woman actually telling him to ...?