Mage's Choice (Stand Alone Tales Book 15) Read online

  Krys is pulled across dimensions by a mage who wants to feed her to a sleeping monster. She should have gone out with friends instead.

  One minute, Krys is in the shower; the next minute, she is swept across time and space to act as an offering to an ancient protector locked in stone. The rules are simple. She fails any of the challenges, and she can go home, but she is a determined over-achiever.

  A mage is assigned to keep her maintained, and he is also her coach and reference guide when it comes to dealing with the challenges and the complications of being a human on an alien world. Nen is a good instructor, and he has an eye toward her wellbeing.

  The moment that the protector wakes, he requires power. Krys had no idea that Kel was going to have to get it from her.

  Power turns to pleasure and exponentially clarifies and produces more energy than ever before.

  She has three days to help save a world, and then, she will be sent home. How can life at home compare with the embrace of two men who make her their entire focus? Well, mainly men... a lot of something else.

  The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  Mage’s Choice

  Copyright © 2020 by Viola Grace

  ISBN: 978-1-989892-42-8

  ©Cover art by Angela Waters

  All rights reserved. With the exception of review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the express permission of the publisher.

  Published by Viola Grace

  Look for me online at violagrace.com.

  Mage’s Choice

  Stand-Alone Tales Book 15

  By

  Viola Grace

  Chapter One

  Krys was nearly done with her shower—all the important bits were done—and she was facing the spray and letting the day wash away when everything went silent. Everything. The rush of water was gone, her music was silenced, and the world went dark. The cold came whooshing in and wrapped around her. Her body turned to ice.

  The sound of chanting was the first thing that she noticed. Shivering uncontrollably was her next realization. In the distance, she heard sobbing, but she was mad. Heat wrapped around her and lifted her off the ground while the chanting took on a frenzied tone.

  The heat ran in through her open mouth and inside via other available orifices, and her rage at taking place in a supernatural porno rose to the surface. She screamed, and the chanting stopped. She was dropped to the hard floor and got up on her knees, looking around at the figures in hoods and cowls with glowing staves. Of course, they were. She didn’t hallucinate halfway.

  She looked at the man in front of her. “What the actual fuck!”

  He chuckled and walked toward her, crouching down and touching her chin. “Excellent. They brought sheep; I found a wolf. At the very least, he will have a selection to choose from. Come along.” He held out his hand.

  She looked at his hand and did an assessment of her situation. Her limbs were rubbery, so it would be best if she had help, but she hated help.

  She slapped her hand into his, and he pulled her upright. He blinked in surprise when she was only a few inches shorter than he was. “Very nice.”

  Krys made a fist and plowed it into his abdomen. He gasped, and the other guys in hoods rushed forward. He waved them off.

  “It’s fine. It’s fine. Miss, come this way. You are the last to arrive, and so you will need a quick round of grooming, and then, you will be dressed for the trials to begin.”

  “Trials?”

  “Our world is in danger, the stars are falling, and we only have one reliable weapon to destroy them. He’s currently asleep in the throne room, so we need to make him an offering to wake him.”

  “Offering?”

  “We have acquired fifty women from across the stars. One of them is likely to appeal to him. When he accepts the selection, we will have our defense.”

  She frowned and walked next to the weird guy in the odd robes. “So, you are in acquisitions?”

  “Stellar magic. We can see through the stars and study other worlds. Your world is in a remarkable state of conflict between ancient and advanced. It is amusing to observe.”

  “Lovely. So, you are a magician.”

  “Of sorts.”

  “Great. So, what kind of trials?”

  “Nothing invasive. Just stand there, sit there, lie there. That kind of thing.” He waved it off.

  “Doesn’t sound like much of a trial.”

  “It is up to the candidates to determine how complicated this process gets.” He smiled.

  “Uh-huh.” Krys could feel warm, moist air blowing toward her. “Uh, I just had a bath.”

  “That is as may be, but you will be properly groomed from head to toe, and then, you will be dressed. I will be waiting for you on the other side of the grooming chamber.”

  She blinked. “What the hell is the monster you are trying to wake up?”

  He smiled. “Oh, he’s a drake, more or less. A drake in human form. Mostly human form. You will see.”

  “I had better not see. So, you can send me home, right? I mean... when this is over.”

  He looked surprised. “Of course. If you are not chosen, you will be delivered back to the moment in time and space where I found you.”

  She smiled. “Great.”

  He opened a door, and two women were standing there, apparently waiting for her. “Make sure that she is thoroughly prepared.”

  Krys was about to turn and ask him what that meant, but she was hauled into the baths and strapped to a chair with her legs spread. She cursed them out when they waxed her brusquely, then oiled her skin, scraped it, and then they put on manacles before stretching her arms up to a hook in the ceiling.

  One of the women murmured, “Apologies, we have been told to hurry.”

  Krys was on her toes and spun around so that they could make sure that everything below her collarbone was completely hairless before she was pulled to another chair where her nails were trimmed to a neat length and buffed to a glowing silver.

  Her toenails were tinted the same silver, and the next station she was at was a division of five braids that were bound together and then hung with about two dozen bells.

  The final stage was a dark, gauzy gown that was belted with a dark blue metal chain studded with more bells. Bells also were clipped to bands on her wrists and ankles.

  “So, this is for what purpose?” She lifted her hand and examined the cuffs. They were made of the same blue metal as her chain belt.

  “To summon the beast.” The woman who spoke approached with a collar.

  “Don’t you fucking dare.” She growled. She didn’t care that this was a fun fantasy brought on by too many B movies and an obscene amount of cheezies. She wasn’t wearing a collar.

  The woman paused. “You have to have this with you. It is protocol.”

  Krys held out her hand. “If I have to wear it, I will, but not on my neck.”

  She glared at the final woman before the door. “And if you are going to put those chains where I think you are going to, I will beg to differ.”

  There was a chain that obviously went around her waist and another that was designed to go from front to back.

  The woman blushed and handed the links directly to her.

  Krys wound them around her wrist, and she sighed. “Right. Is there anything else that you want to pin on me before I go out there?”

  The woman wi
th the chain thong shook her head. “No, miss.”

  “Good. I guess I will be meeting with the idiot mage on the other side.” The groomers around her bowed, and one pulled the door open.

  Krys walked out, barefoot and catching a chill in parts of her that hadn’t been exposed for half a decade. The sting from the waxing hadn’t worn off yet.

  The mage was waiting for her, and he straightened. “Well, you clean up well.”

  She snorted. “Right. Can we get this over with?” She gestured, and his gaze caught the extra chains on her wrist.

  “Aren’t those supposed to be...”

  She snarled and prodded him in the chest. “If anyone tried to floss your ass with a piece of metal, how would you react. No collars either. I am only going to entertain this fantasy so far.”

  “Fantasy? Are you under the impression that this isn’t happening?” Understanding dawned in his weirdly pale blue eyes.

  “Of course, it is, but eventually, I will wake up on the floor of my shower or something and have a concussion.”

  “Right. That isn’t what is going on here. I will be happy to tell you, but right now, we are late for the first trial. So, will you please come with me?”

  She frowned. “Right. Let’s get this over with.” She took the hand he held out to her, and they walked at a good clip down the hallway.

  She was trotting, and her feet were making soft sounds in the hallway. She hadn’t been given shoes, but fortunately, the floors were clean.

  They jogged about half a kilometer before they stumbled into the event itself. Even in her dreams, she was late.

  Her handler got a frown and a gesture to the empty space on the floor next to where the other forty-nine women were kneeling.

  Her mage stepped to the side, and she knelt, making as little noise as she was able. The bells weren’t making any noise, which was odd.

  She glanced at the woman next to her and rested her hands on top of her thighs, sitting with her head up.

  “There are three asteroids heading toward our world. They will be here in three days, and we need to summon our protector.” The older man wearing mage’s garb with the hood back looked them over. “Our master mages have sought you out one by one and brought you here as our best offering to the protector. It is our earnest hope that one of you will be able to cause him to rise.”

  Krys had a pretty good idea what kind of a rise they were trying for if the ladies were all wearing the chain thongs.

  “Our first trial is simple. One by one, you will lie on the altar, and if you are suitable, you will continue on to the second trial.”

  She looked at the altar, and it appeared to be a simple basalt slab. On the corners were gemstones that were currently a creamy white. So, there was going to be some kind of light that glowed or flashed or something.

  The first woman was taken, shaking and a little bit of grey under her medium brown skin. Her hair was a fantastic purple that matched her eyes. The woman was instructed to lie on the altar, and a few seconds later, she was asked to rise.

  The next woman went, and the same thing happened, but on the third woman, the stones on the edge of the altar glowed brightly.

  Four women in total made the altar glow, and then, it was Krys’s turn. She walked over, hopped up without the help of the head mage, and she relaxed for a moment before the world got bright around her.

  She sat up and stepped off the altar, getting back to her place in the line with the rejects.

  The head mage grabbed her by the arm and marched her over to the keep pile. “Very funny.”

  She snorted. “I thought so.”

  He gave her a black look, and her keeper snorted and followed her and the others into the next trial. Apparently, they had just passed phase one. Time for phase two.

  Chapter Two

  The next chamber had a pathway that ran through the center, and a dozen rings of blue flame were arranged over the pathway with enough room for the ladies to walk and not much else.

  The head mage tapped his staff on the stone. “Ladies, to prove your ability to deal with the protector in a manner befitting his station, you are required to walk through the rings and into the throne room.”

  The first woman was called, and she walked toward the end of the chamber, opening the door and then stumbling through.

  The head priest was irritated and a bit nervous. “You. Nen’s pick. You are next.”

  He was looking at her, and Krys shrugged and walked the path. The fire came close to her, but the heat that it started wasn’t on her skin. She stumbled as her pussy clenched. “What the hell?”

  She took another few steps, and the fire throbbed through her genitals. The chain thong wrapped around her arm heated and pulsed, giving her the final clue as to its purpose. She glared at the mage who was apparently named Nen, turned, and walked through the remaining ten rings with increasing pulses of pleasure hitting her until at number eleven she stood and shivered as a quick, hard orgasm ran through her. She breathed deeply and then stepped under the next arch and staggered into the throne room.

  She looked around, and the woman who had gone first wasn’t there. Her handler entered the space. “That was well done. I have never seen that before.”

  She looked at him, a fine sheen of sweat on her body. “What? A walking orgasm? I call that a Tuesday.”

  He chuckled. “It is probably as well that you weren’t wearing the other chains. You never would have made it.”

  “So, three more to go?”

  He nodded. “Those who don’t feel the fire will be redirected to another location for the return to their homes.”

  She glared at him. “So, if I hadn’t reacted, I would be on my way home?”

  “Apologies, but yes.”

  “Fuck.”

  He grinned. “You do like that word.”

  “It sums up a lot of things.” She walked up to him and prodded him in the chest with two fingers. “You picked me? What the fuck for? Seven billion people on my planet and you could have picked any one of them. Well, you had your choice of three and a half billion if you were only looking for women. Why not some nice, cheerful virgin?”

  His eyes widened. “You aren’t a virgin?”

  “Not a chance. Not for over a decade.”

  He looked nervous. “I have no idea why the magic picked you, but you are here now, and you seem to be just what he desires.”

  They stood together until the final woman stumbled through with her handler behind her. There were no others.

  The head mage walked in, and he looked at the two women, beckoning them forward.

  She looked attentive as he said, “Seated on the throne is our protector, and it is your responsibility to wake him. He will protect our world, as you will be on it. I leave it to you. Your third challenge is to wake him.”

  Krys looked at the other woman, who was shaking and grey. “Would you like to go first?”

  The woman shook her head. “No more, please.”

  Huh. Krys looked at Nen, shrugged, and walked toward the huge throne sitting in shadow, and as she got closer, she could make out a large figure with horns, huge feathered wings, and a tail curling around the arm of the chair. It was like a demon and angel had collided. His features were beautiful and crisp, his head slightly bent.

  She looked him over and decided that she would use a forward assault. She hiked up the gauzy dress, gripped him around the neck, hauled herself up until she was kneeling on the throne with him between her thighs, and she kissed the stone of his lips. She licked softly, holding his head between her hands. She rocked up and down on him, mimicking sex for a moment. She finally sighed and eased away from him. “Wake up, or I am gone.”

  She stepped down and walked back toward Nen, smiling. “There, did my best, I am going home now, right?”

  Nen grabbed her shoulder and turned her around as the stone she had just been grinding on stood up and shook himself with a treme
ndous crack of sound as dust flew off him. Nen covered her with his cloak and ducked his head.

  She was about to thank him when she was yanked away from Nen and slammed into a very warm and very hard body. He spoke to her, and she couldn’t make out the words, but she understood them nonetheless.

  “You are not leaving me, offering. I woke; now deliver what you have promised.”

  She reached back and patted his thigh, moving her hand up to his hip, then his abdomen, and that is when her heart started thudding in what she recognized as panic. She looked at Nen, and he looked apologetic as she was wrapped in the arms of the protector and flown out of the throne room, the wall behind the throne exploded in a rain of small stones.

  She kept her eyes studiously closed as air flowed past her.

  “It seems they have not advanced as far as I would imagine.” He chuckled. “You don’t seem to be from this world.”

  She squinted and looked up at him. “No. I am not from around here.”

  His eyes were glowing with the blue-white fire that she had seen in the rings. “Ah, I see I have gotten you to look at me. Did you think this was a dream?”

  She blinked in surprise. “Something like that.”

  “I thought as much. You seemed genuinely shocked when I grabbed you. Even more than when you began to have your way with my person.”

  She blushed. “I didn’t mean for... I mean, I was just making sure it wasn’t one of those robed idiots.”

  “Your handler seemed attached to you.”

  “I doubt it. I punched him and have cussed him out and prodded him.” She blinked. “More than once.”

  He chuckled. “It sounds like he made a good choice. You seem strong enough.”

  “For what?”

  He paused, his wings beating heavily to keep them in a strange, waving hover. “You don’t know?”

  “Um, I just got here, was slid into a bath, and wrapped in this very ineffective material. Then, I went through the trials. What is going on?”