The Hunting Party

THE HUNTING PARTY
(Based on a retouch by Sam Leo)

By C

It was about noon when the three hunters reached the Peninsula. It took no special gift to tell that this place was magical: the insects that had tormented them for a week now disappeared; a cool breeze now rendered the tropical humidity bearable; and that breeze carried with it a strange but pleasant perfume: something like cloves and cinnamon.

"That's their scent," said Sam.

"You're sure about that?" asked Dave.

"Oh yeah. You can't forget it. I can't, anyway."

"How do you want to do this?" asked Joe.

"We won't see anything today," said Sam.

"Well, just in case . . . ." said Joe.

Sam sighed. "Just in case . . . . No harm in a camouflage spell; no harm in keeping our arrows nocked . . . but we won't see them today." So, camouflaged, their bows at the ready, they advanced.

It wasn't long before the forest began to thin out. Soon they had come to open ground, dotted here and there with palm trees. "More camouflage?" Joe whispered. "No," Sam answered in his normal voice. "We're just wasting energy as it is. Sooner or later, they'll figure out we're here. These ladies are as smart as they get." After this exchange, they went out into the open.

For the rest of the day, they moved forward without seeing a thing, except a few birds of scarlet, green, or yellow plumage. Tempting, but they decided to save their arrows. At sunset, they stopped under a big palm tree. They set up their two tents (by agreement, Joe and Dave would share one tonight and Sam would get the other). Then they made their dinner. Sam said a fire would make no difference; but Dave and Joe thought doing without would be safer. "They already know," said Sam as he settled down for a cold meal.

They made a few stabs at conversation, but the tension was just too great. Soon they decided to turn in.

"Remind me that this is worth the risk," said Dave.

"It's worth the risk," said Sam. "Now try to get some rest."

Surprisingly, their anxiety dissipated as soon as they lay down. Within minutes, each man was asleep.

At about midnight, Sam awoke, or thought he did. He was still lying on his back, but he was out in the open and had a plain view of countless stars. Where had the tents gone? Where had his friends gone? He smelled the strange perfume, stronger than ever.

Quite suddenly, a woman appeared before him. She was naked, and beautiful, with almond eyes and long black hair that reached to her waist. Her arms and legs were slender, but well-formed. A black semi-diamond decorated her groin, and though Sam tried, he couldn't keep his eyes from drifting there. "I'm Tomiko," she said. "I'm one of the guardians of this place. Why are you here?"

"I . . . I don't know," said Sam.

"You seem like a nice man," said Tomiko. "But you've brought bad men with you."

"Bad?" said Sam.

"Yes. They want to hurt me and my sisters. You don't want that to happen, do you?"

"I . . . don't think so," said Sam.

"Of course you don't, because you're a good man," she said. Then she came up beside him and knelt down next to him. "Do you think I'm pretty?" she asked.

"You're . . . lovely," he said.

"Would you like to touch me?"

"Oh yes."

Very gently, she took one of his hands and placed it between her legs, so that the fingers brushed her slit. Her pubic hair was very soft. Sam stiffened suddenly, and a groan escaped him.

"It's all right," she said. "It's all right. Just a touch now, but you can have more . . . if you help us."

"H-how?" asked Sam. His voice had a strange sound in his ears: thick and slurred.

"One of the bad men is named Dave. Tomorrow, at about noon, you'll see me and my sisters. Dave will want to . . . to shoot us with arrows." She gave a little whimper and put her head down.

"Hey," said Sam. "It''s OK, it''s OK." He tried to get up to comfort her, but he didn't seem to have the energy.

"No," she said, a few tears running down her face. "It's not OK--not unless you help us."

"What do you want me to do?"

"Play along. Pretend that you're about to shoot me, and then . . . turn and shoot Dave. Do you understand? Turn and shoot Dave."

"I understand," said Sam. "But . . . what about . . . what about Joe?"

"We can take care of him if you just take care of Dave. Are you sure you understand what you need to do?"

"Turn . . . and shoot Dave."

"You've got it!' she said, and a delightful smile crossed her face. Then she leaned forward and kissed him. "Thank you. I'm so grateful." And with that she was gone.

Sam sniffed the beguiling perfume on his fingers, then went back to sleep.

The three men woke early the next morning. They felt wonderfully refreshed and were eager to resume the hunt. They ate a hasty breakfast, packed up, and headed out.

They saw nothing until about midday. They were approaching a large cluster of palms when, all of a sudden, three nude women stepped out from the trees and faced them. All were beauties--almond-eyed and black-haired. Tomiko was on the left. Next to her stood her sisters, Michiko and Midori. Although three men were advancing on them with arrows nocked and ready, the women seemed quite unafraid. In fact they were smiling. The air was heavy with their cinnamon-clove scent.

"Hello Sam," said Tomiko.

"Hello Dave," said Michiko.

"Hello, Joe," said Midori.

The men stopped. No more than fifteen feet separated them from the women.

"It's time for you to help us," said Tomiko. "Sam, turn and shoot Dave."

"Dave, turn and shoot Joe," said Michiko.

"Joe, turn and shoot Sam," said Midori.

They turned. Sam aimed his arrow straight at Dave's heart. In much the same way, Dave was now targeting Joe. Joe's arrow was ready to skewer Sam's gut. Then all three turned back, took quick aim, and let fly. Sam's arrow hit Tomiko just below and between her breasts. Dave got Michiko in the belly. Joe got Midori in the belly too, but higher, near the diaphragm. For a moment, the girls just stared, shocked and unbelieving. Then, groaning bitterly, they fell to the ground.

The men ran up. The girls lay side by side, blood streaming from their wounds. They moaned and clutched at the arrows with hands from which all the strength had departed. Every now and then, one of them would kick spasmodically. This was a prelude to the death orgasms that would soon be racking their bodies.

"Oooh," said Dave. "Sweet . . . really sweet."

"You got that right," said Joe.

Sam said nothing; instead he just gazed intently at what he had wrought.

Tomiko looked up at him and, with obvious effort, spoke. "You've . . . destroyed us. H-how?"

"Well," said Sam, "it takes work, but you can block that kind of magic--if you know it's coming."

"How . . . did you know?"

"You don't remember me, do you?" he said. "Ten years ago, I was here with my best friend Eric and my brother Bob. You played your little trick on us then. I . . . I killed my own brother. He killed Eric. Eric would have killed me, but the arrow didn't fly straight. I nearly bled to death, though. You must have thought I was done for, or I suppose you would've finished me off."

"Y-yes," said Tomiko. "I . . . do remember now. You were . . . obviously dying . . . . No need, we thought . . . to kill you."

"It took me nearly ten years to figure out the antidote to your magic. But I had the time . . . and the inclination."

"And now," said Tomiko, "w-we're . . . repaid . . . in our own coin."

"That's about it," he said.

"So," said Tomiko. "You . . . you have us. Can there be . . . no mercy, clever hunter?"

"Sorry, pretty girl," said Sam. "No first aid; the arrows stay in till you're all done kicking."

"C-can't be . . . much longer," said Tomiko, then cried out as a spasm shook her body.

"We can take some of the edge off," said Sam. He knelt down and slipped a finger into Tomiko's slit. He worked back and forth and gently kneaded the girl's mons Veneris as he did. Without any urging, Dave and Joe crouched down and did the same for their girls. Soon the three victims were groaning and kicking without restraint--but their pain seemed well-balanced by pleasure.

Near the end, in a lull between spasms, Tomiko spoke again. "H-have you caught others . . . more beautiful, clever hunter?"

"No," said Sam. "I've bagged more forest fays than I can count--but you three!--you're the loveliest by a mile."

"Doesn't it . . . p-pain you . . . to destroy us?"

"A little. But I'm enjoying it, too. Just keep kicking, pretty girl; you're almost there."

And so she and the others did, till the last tremor had worked its way through their bodies.

When it was over, the hunters tied the women by their ankles and hung them from a tree to bleed them out. They used basins to capture every drop. They were also careful to sponge up every bit of blood from the litter of palm leaves where the three had lain.

That night, when they had made camp, they sat around a fire and toasted each other, their cups brimming with fay blood.

"It's true," said Joe, "it doesn't clot!"

"No," said Sam, "it doesn't, though it's thick as all get out. And I swear that all the other stories are true, too. With an ordinary forest fay, you might get an extra year--maybe two. Drink this stuff, though, and you're talking centuries."

"To long life!" said Joe.

"To long life!" said Sam and Dave together.

THE END