Swing and Thrust: A Harem Fantasy (Sword and Sorority Book 2) Read online

  SWING AND THRUST

  A HAREM FANTASY

  Scot C Morgan

  SWORD & SORORITY BOOK 2

  Copyright © Scot C. Morgan (2019).

  All rights reserved.

  https://scotcmorgan.com

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review, or for personal use of a purchased copy on the purchaser’s various devices.

  This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Cover illustration by Anna Lakisova.

  https://anna-lakisova.com

  Efforts were made to make this a clean manuscript. However, type-o’s or other small errors occur. Please email the author about any errors you discover, so they can be corrected. There is a link to do so on the author’s website.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Thank you for reading

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Books By Scot C Morgan

  Chapter 1

  'What if something happens to her before we can find her? Before we can get to Yedia?

  I'd been running Nithia's words through my head off and on since she'd said them to me. I wondered if we actually would be able to find the other woman from Earth we'd heard about. Being the summoned Guardian, I felt like it was my fault she'd been transported to Galderia—same for all the others. The guilt and uncertainty was stressing me out. I pushed it out of my mind again, for now. On top of everything else, it was too much to deal with. I needed an evening of carefree relaxation. Tomorrow, I decided. I'll deal with it tomorrow.

  A day had passed since Cormac's funeral, and my women and I were doing what we could to ease our minds despite my inner struggle with guilt and all of us missing him. I'd fought Cormac, then fought by his side. He shared his treasure with me and gave me the sword I carried. He trusted me with Tara—his adopted family, and he sacrificed his life to save her and me on a mission he could've chosen to ignore. I would never forget him and I vowed to myself to follow in his footsteps when it came to watching over Tara, keeping her safe.

  To him, she was like a sister. But Tara had chosen to join Alara and Nithia as one of my women, and as a sister to them. I never had a girlfriend on Earth, but on Galderia, my new home, three women called me theirs and themselves mine. Life was good.

  Jan, grateful I'd taken out Ruja Kurg, scourge of the town, treated us like family—not in the same naked-hotties way Alara, Nithia, Tara, and I were family. Definitely not! Jan was matronly and we were happy to know her. But… She'd have joined in if I gave her even a hint I was up for it. So, I was careful as shit not to give her the wrong vibe. In reality, I think she just gave me that impression to give herself a laugh at my expense. I didn't mind too much. She'd done a lot for us. She said we were welcome to stay at her inn as long as we needed and we'd always have a place there as long as she was alive. Lingering around for days or even weeks sounded great, but we would depart for Yedia in the morning. I knew it would be a long journey, probably rife with danger, but it had to be done.

  But for the rest of the night, I wanted to think of going north to Yedia no more. I sat with my chair tipped back against the wall, my feet up on another. Well into my third drink and thanks to Jan's herbal compresses, I could barely feel the wounds I'd suffered from Ruja's blade two nights ago.

  Alara, Nithia, Tara, and our new companion Victoria were dancing together in the clearing made in the middle of the room—their hair bouncing, along with other choice parts of their bodies. The tables had been pushed out to form the makeshift dance floor after the group of musicians began their third tune, a lively one made to get people on their feet. The light fast strokes on the fiddle-like instrument, rhythmic clapping from most of the people in the room, and the melodic and spirited singing of the woman in the band filled the room with energy and drove away heavier cares, at least for a while. The air was laden with the aroma of roasted boar and freshly baked bread.

  Evenings at the inn were often filled with people having a good time, Jan had said, but she made a point of kicking everything up a notch this time in celebration of the downfall of the town's kingpin, Ruja. The back alleys and shadows still crawled with the creatures from the town's underbelly, but with Ruja out of the picture, Jan and the other members of the quiet resistance to the criminal network had renewed energy and hope. Thus her desire to make the night into a full-on party.

  I never was much of a dancer. The few times I went to some clubs back on Earth, I felt too awkward to get out onto the dance floor. Now, reclining in my tipped-back chair, it wasn't that the thought of dancing gave me anxiety, it was more that I was completely content to sit back, sip my brew, and enjoy the view. Third mug, so maybe that was a factor, but I got a little dizzy as I stared at the bobbing rotating parade of well-formed asses ten feet in front of me. Why would a man move? Alara, Nithia, Tara, Victoria, and okay, a couple other local girls, all dancing, were giving me a show straight out of an after dark T&A movie—at least the teaser scene. Knowing it was just a matter of time before my three women and I would be upstairs in our complimentary room playing out the rest of the movie made the experience all the more enjoyable.

  Monica wasn't dancing. She was at the table with me, sitting a few feet away.

  "Do you think she's safe?" her face looked like she was revisiting what she had been through before she'd found us at Cormac's inn. "I mean, with the people up there-"

  "In Yedia," I said.

  "Yes. Are they…good people?"

  "They're not working for the dark overlord of the planet, if that's what you mean," I said. "Alara says they mostly keep to themselves. Coming down this far is unusual."

  "But we're going to find her, right?"

  "That's the plan." I looked away from Monica for a moment. The feeling that I was somehow responsible for her, the mystery woman up north, and several others being in Galderia was weighing on me again. "If she's there, we'll find her and…" I didn't know what exactly I'd do once we found the woman. And I'll give her the ol' in-out to send her home. Sheesh. "This is too complicated."

  "Huh?" Monica said.

  I didn't realize I'd said that aloud. "Oh. Nothing," I said. "I just mean-"

  "Yeah," she said. "I know. Who would've thought something like this would happen? Who could've dreamed something like this up?"

  I looked into her eyes, but I kept the answer to myself. I could, evidently.

  When the music kicked up, and my drink kicked in, our conversation died out and we sat quietly listening and watching the rest of the room—or the dancing in particular, in my case. Ever so often, I caug
ht her looking at me with a curious expression on her face. I got the impression she was considering my innate ability to send her back to Earth, but I'd decided to leave it to her to make the move. It wasn't like I planned it this way—sex with me sucks all the Galderian magic out of Earth women transported here. Was I an asshole because spooning after the deed was not only out of the question, but it'd be wham bam, never see you, ma'am? I knew she wanted to get back home—to be with Brad and to see Sydney again—but I also suspected she really had a thing for me. Or maybe she was just afraid of the whole transporting-across-the-universe thing. I wasn't sure, but it made stuff between us complicated, to say the least.

  I missed Sydney too. Comparing her boobs with Monica's had been how it all started that day back in class in Austin, and now she was gone, and Monica would someday be gone too. Yeah, I'm being ridiculous. After all, I'm staring at three gorgeous asses belonging to three amazing women, all of whom choose to be with me and to share me. Somebody smack me upside the head for complaining. Still, Sydney and Monica were there before any of this and somehow they were my last connection to who I was before I became Den the Conqueror, Guardian of Carnera…Savior of Galderia. Okay, I made that last title up.

  I chuckled. I wasn't really that full of myself. It was more of a joke. How ridiculous is this whole adventure, I thought.

  "Hey!"

  I snapped out of the conversation in my head at hearing Monica. "Oh, sorry. What did you say?"

  She looked irritated, not mad, but evidently she'd been trying to get my attention while I'd been contemplating the tale of Den.

  "I said, do you think it will be a difficult journey to Yedia?"

  She looked concerned. She didn’t seem like she was complaining about the trip. She, like all of us, knew going to Yedia was a roll of the dice. We had good reason to believe we'd find another of our fellow Austinites—a babe, no doubt. Why would it be any different this time? To date, it was three for three, as far as those who also got sucked into Alara's priestess magic wormhole when she summoned me. She and I figured they were dragged along since I was thinking fondly about each of them when my ticket got punched.

  I heard Jan's voice behind me. "You'll make it there, whatever happens along the way."

  I looked back over my shoulder. Jan was smiling. She gave me a reassuring nod, then she addressed Monica. "And you make sure he stays out of trouble."

  A smile slowly formed on Monica's face, but I could tell she put it there to be polite. "I'll do my best," she said.

  Jan reached over and gave Monica a pat on her shoulder. "That's all any of us can do. Isn't it?"

  I felt comforted at what Jan was doing. I knew we were about to head off on a long-ass trip to Yedia, a place up north which Jan had told us was strange, filled with people she didn't quite understand, people who didn't like to mingle with outsiders. But despite the unknown challenges I knew awaited us, Jan was checking up on us and somehow her attention settled my nerves. She'd basically taken us in as family, fed us, gave us a warm bed, dressed my wounds. For a moment, I thought of my mom, but I started to get choked up and I didn't want to go down that road in front of everyone.

  Monica stood up. "I'm going to the ladies' room.”

  "Over there.” Jan nodded toward the back of the room.

  "Yeah.” Monica signaled she already knew. "Thanks." She left the table and headed through the crowd.

  Jan put her hand on the back of Monica's now empty chair. "You mind?"

  "No. Of course not," I said.

  She pulled the chair out to give herself enough clearance between it and the table to sit, then she settled in and turned sideways to face me. "You know they're welcome to stay here."

  "What?" I said. "Who do you mean?"

  "Any of them. All of them. I can put them up here while you journey to Yedia."

  I glanced over to Alara, Nithia, Tara, and Victoria. Monica had already gone into the restroom. "I've thought about it." I turned my gaze back to Jan. "Truth is, I want to keep them safe, but I don't know if that means we all stick together or if, as you say…"

  She nodded and smiled. She seemed to appreciate my concern for the safety of my companions, even if I clearly didn't have it all worked out. "Truth is I don't know any better than you do what the right thing to do is. I just wanted you to know my place is here for any of them…and for you, if ever any of you need it. After what you did for me, for the town—getting rid of Ruja…I just wanted you to know you always have this place."

  I put my hand on hers. "Thanks, Jan. It's good to have somewhere you can go." I glanced to my women again. They were still dancing, and now laughing. It was a magical sight to behold. Looking back to Jan, I said, “They wouldn't stay even if I asked them. Not that your place isn't great, and you. But they aren't the sort of women to sit at home while I go and have all the…fun." I smiled as I thought how each of them challenged me in her own special way. "Maybe that's why I'm so taken with them. They've got strong minds about what they want."

  Jan looked over to the dance floor and I did too, just as Tara's back was toward us. She was leaning forward toward the other women and her rear was pushed out and up toward Jan and me. She was moving her ass around slowly in a sort of figure-eight pattern. Then she started shaking it in a fast jiggly motion. Her loin skirt failed to keep pace with her wild movements.

  "Oh, my," Jan said.

  "Yeah." That was all I could get out.

  I shook myself out of my trance, then I noticed all of the men—and some of the women—seated around me and in front of me were entranced as I had been.

  "Maybe that's not the only reason you're so taken with them," Jan said.

  I looked at her. She was grinning at me. There was no denying the strength of her claim. I shrugged. "They do have a certain power over me. That much is true."

  She laughed and slapped my upper arm playfully.

  We each took a moment and watched the women dancing. Jan scanned the rest of the room too. I figured she was checking on things—making sure nobody was getting out of hand, seeing if anybody needed anything.

  "I know you're going to Yedia to find that other woman," Jan said. "But the dragon."

  "Yes," I said. "I will learn what I can about dealing with the dragon. If what you say is true, maybe they can offer some advice…or some help getting it out of Pertlass. Though I still say going back in there and killing it would-"

  "No!" Jan's expression instantly turned serious. "That would bring more of them…fully grown ones. Pertlass would be lost. It can't be killed here, but it can't stay here either."

  "Yes. Alara said the same thing. Can't it just be moved?"

  "In theory, yes," she said. "But until Ruja's men are gone, going back in there to move a dragon is-"

  "Yeah, I know," I said. "It wasn't easy getting in the first time. I wouldn't want to push my luck and try it again any time soon."

  "I've been talking with some of the people in Pertlass who've been trying to take Ruja's network down for a long time," Jan said.

  "Yeah, about that." I reached down and unfastened the pouch of gold I had tied to my belt. It was a good portion of what Cormac had given me, not all of it, but it was still more than five year's wages for a successful merchant, from what I'd been told. I set the pouch on the table in front of her. "Here. This is for the resistance."

  She looked surprised. She didn't reach for the pouch right away, instead glancing at it and then to me several times.

  I nodded toward the leather pouch. "Go ahead. Take it. It's the least I can do. Maybe it'll help the good people of Pertlass."

  I saw a tear build in the corner of one of her eyes as she slowly slid her hand over to take hold of the pouch. She moved her fingers a little as she squeezed it, evidently feeling the contents.

  "Thank you," she said, drawing the pouch closer. She loosened the strap cinched around the top of it and opened it slightly, taking a quick peek inside before closing it up again. "That's…Thank you, Den."

  "I
just hope it helps."

  "Oh, it will. Thank you."

  "There's something else I want to ask you about."

  Jan put the small pouch of gold inside the larger wider pouch she had tied against the front of her apron. Yeah, she was wearing a fanny pack. "Go ahead," she said, closing up the leather fanny pack.

  I looked around to make sure no one was sitting too close. I didn't want anyone to overhear. "Thautus Kurg."

  Jan's expression was frozen. I waited for her to say something. With her lips still pressed closed, she moved them around a little, like she was thinking what to say.

  "What can you tell me about him?" I asked.

  "I can tell you he's the reason Westerly has seen dark days for the last many years."

  "Westerly?" It was the first time I'd heard the name.

  "Here," she said. "The land west of the sea. We call it Westerly. Well, some of us do. It's an older term, I suppose."

  "I see. But he's across the Sea of Ronak, right?"

  Her eyes widened. "Oh, yes! If he was to cross over to here himself…well, that would be the end. He does enough hurt from afar, though—sending his minions to do his bidding. And the likes of Ruja." She reached over and patted my hand. "At least we don't have to worry about him anymore."

  She stopped patting my hand just as her brow furrowed and the skin between her eyes wrinkled.

  "What is it?" I asked.

  She shook the worry off her face. "I was just thinking what Thautus will do when he hears of Ruja's death. But nevermind. I don't think that would be enough to bring him. From what I heard, he never cared that much for his cousin."