Chapter Three – Canoe Conversation

  That afternoon, Holly and Billie were resting after their morning of work.

  The clouds had burned off, and Khanna and I were working on our canoe at the top of the beach cliffs. We had a clear view of both Lonetree Ridge and the skyscrapers rising out of the ocean.

  I was using my ax to chop through the wood of the tree, cutting out a seat. Khanna had a wedge of sharp rock that she was using to clean up my work, smoothing away the rough flakes of wood. We’d already carved our two paddles, and we had a ton of rope to tie stuff to the boat.

  I’m not sure I’d ever seen someone as happy as Holly when Khanna had shown her how to chip flint to make an edge sharp enough to cut with. We’d found flint on a trip to the mountains surrounding Club Sleezenak.

  We were almost done with the canoe. Khanna wasn’t very excited about it.

  “Khanna does not understand why we go to towers out in the ocean. It seems dangerous. How good can salvage be?”

  “Mostly I think we we’re going for the coffee,” I said. “No. I’m kidding.”

  Khanna scowled at me. “Sid Marshall always joking. Be serious with Khanna. She’s afraid.”

  “Don’t be afraid,” I said. “I have my magic. I can scan the waters to make sure we know where the monsters are, so we can avoid them, okay?”

  Khanna wiped the sweat off her face. “Khanna still thinks too dangerous. We have food, shelter, and water. What else do we need?”

  “That’s the thing,” I said. “We don’t know. I’m hoping we find some supplies that will make exploring easier. We need to find the Foiros Waystation in Sector X.”

  That brought on another scowl. “Exploring too dangerous. Khanna and Sid Marshall have good life here. Khanna even getting used to the bitches. Though Khanna never trust them.”

  The huntress had given me the perfect time to bring up Billie’s concerns. And yet, did I trust that Billie would jump into bed with me? No. I didn’t. She seemed too fucking fickle to ever commit. Why was I risking what I had with Khanna for the chance to sleep with Billie?

  Well, I’d promised her I would, and I was a man who kept my promises.

  “Fuck it,” I whispered in English. Then I went to Khanna, grabbing her hand as she scraped the splinters off the inside of our canoe. “Khanna, there’s something I want to talk with you about.”

  Khanna looked me right in the eye and smiled. “This is about you, the bitches, and fochacha.”

  Fochacha was an interesting word. The closest word to it in English was “to fuck” but it meant more than that. To the Fabrikata Enclave, where Khanna had grown up, it had more of an animalistic aspect to it. Their word for lovemaking was momachecha, which was also one of the words they used to describe eternity and marriage. Momachecha was more about the soul than the body.

  “That’s right,” I said. “With you and I, it’s momachecha. With them, it would be—”

  I was so surprised when tears sprang into her eyes. She then dropped the flint scraper and ran from me. She didn’t just hurry away at a jog, no…she went sprinting down the coast, running as fast as she could.

  It was almost like she was afraid of me right then.

  Like with Billie, I had a simple solution to that. I took three huge steps and then leapt, the muscles of my legs glowing. I went floating down and onto the sandy trail on the cliff edges. I hit and spun.

  But because she was optimized, the huntress was faster than Billie and tried to race by me.

  I grabbed her, which might have been a mistake. Her momentum spun us both around, and we wound up on the ground, with me on top of her.

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  She had her eyes closed, and she was crying, tears leaking down her face. Then she was sobbing.

  A second later, she pulled me down, kissing my face, and holding me tight.

  She was little but oh-so strong. I let out a grunt. Was she trying to squeeze me to death. Why was she crying? Why was she kissing me with such passion? Why were all the women on K’Shaul so emotional?

  “Khanna, what’s the matter?” I asked.

  It took a few minutes, since she was crying to hard.

  Even when she tried to talk, she couldn’t.

  After several deep breaths, she managed actual words.

  I felt her hot breath against my ear. “Sid Marshall says it is momachecha. Khanna feels that too. Khanna was lost in the night. Sid Marshall, full of light, found her. Khanna was lonely and her heart was withered. Sid Marshall gave her life, breath, a full heart. Khanna will never be lonely again. It is momachecha. Khanna never feel it before. She wanted it, but she never felt it.”

  I pulled back, resting my weight on my arms. Even with her tear-stained cheeks, she never looked more beautiful to me.

  “Why did you run from me?” I asked.

  “Khanna not run from you. Khanna run from herself. She was too happy to hear you say we are in momachecha. She flees before Sid Marshall changes his mind.”

  “That will never happen, Khanna. I’ve always wanted to find someone, someone I could trust, and I know I can trust you. But I need to know more about your past. I need to know more about your world and the Fabrikata Enclave.”

  She closed her eyes. “In time, Khanna tell you. But Khanna feels shame. Sid Marshall will understand, maybe, since he shares momachecha with Khanna.”

  Then it hit me all at once. “We’re married, aren’t we?”

  Her eyes were open, staring into my soul, so trusting and full of love. “In just a handful of nights, we have known such love. Khanna forbidden to marry back in the Fabrikata Enclave for she was a handmaiden. That has changed. She is on K’Shaul now. Khanna is free forever now.”

  “That’s right,” I said. “You’ll be free as long as I’m breathing. We’re not just going to survive here. We’re going to thrive. You have my word.”

  “And Sid Marshall never lie.”

  “That’s fuckin’ right.”

  Then I kissed her, savoring every second.

  What had we even been talking about? Oh, right. Suddenly, neither Billie nor Holly seemed that important.

  We were close to Privacy Rock, and so I picked her up and went there.

  We’d added another woven mat there and some soft grass as well as some leather blankets. It was our little home away from home, and for Khanna and me, it was where we had the best sex of our lives.

  In seconds, we were naked, and I was inside of her.

  She was so warm and wet around me, so alive and excited, and with every thrust, she let out shrieks of pure pleasure. I’m not sure I’d ever seen her so turned on. It wasn’t just that we were together, taking care of our animalistic needs, it was more than that. We were joined in our pleasure, in our hearts, and with every moment, we grew closer and closer.

  Until it was too good.

  She pulled me down to kiss her. Her hungry little mouth found mine, though kissing was hard. We were gasping, breathless, at the intensity of our connection.

  Then it was happening, I was coming, deep inside her. Over and over, we shared in each other’s ecstasy.

  I wound up on my back with her resting on my chest.

  “What do you mean handmaiden?” I asked.

  “The Fabrikata Enclave are all women, and we serve the Iron Descendent, the Last Chieftain, the Insatiable. But no, Khanna not serve him. Khanna ran away to the Shade Forest. But that all Khanna tell Sid Marshall for now. Later. Right now, Khanna just want to hold her specha momach.”

  “Specha momach” meant– “special one that fate brought to me.”

  I felt that as well. I wasn’t to press on her revealing more, though I was dying of curiosity. We lay for a bit before I knew we had to go. I didn’t want Holly and Billie to worry. They liked that Khanna and I worked on our canoe within earshot of Lonetree Ridge.

  Getting dressed, the huntress gave me a wicked smile. “You want to fochach those other bitches, don’t you?”

  “I have you,” I said. “I don’t need them.”

  That made her laugh. “The Fabrikata have stories of men always wanting new pucha.”

  It wasn’t rocket science to know what pucha was.

  “Maybe that’s true,” I said. “But why do I feel like you are teasing me? You’re okay with it, aren’t you?”

  She smiled, and it was both sad and weary at the same time. “Khanna knew she would have to share you. Khanna knows how to share. Khanna also knows the touch of a woman. K’Shaul gives us desires. Maybe Khanna feel bad that your other bitches have to do without. They don’t have to. Khanna has your heart. They can have a turn with your dicha. Maybe Khanna watch like old slut did.”

  So, in the end, I did have her permission. At the same time, I could see she was conflicted. In time, I knew that she would eventually tell me all about the Fabrikata Enclave. It was just going to take a while.

  We walked back to the canoe, but I left Khanna to work on it alone. I wanted to check in.

  That’s when I saw the curtain of light, racing across the water, northwest of Lonetree Ridge.

  It was the first time we were seeing a Ravana Storm in K’Shaul.

  Holly and Billie were up on the watchtower above the bus, pointing and screaming.

  The black clouds, streaked with lightning, were heading right toward us. The heat of the storm hit me all once while the thunderous roar of the cataclysmic storm set my teeth on edge.

  What new kind of landscape was it bringing to K’Shaul and would it drop that new territory right on top of our new home on Lonetree Ridge?

  Land of the Lust: Guns of K'Shaul), so if you can't wait, you can run on over there to keep on reading. And if you have some extra cash and like the story, I have a PayPal.