Praise for the writing of Jet Mykles Dark Elves 1: Taken Dark Elves 1: Taken is sinfully erotic. Like the bad boy your best friend hates and you'd die before introducing to your mother, it tantalizes with the power of deep, dark fantasies and the promise of pleasure unparalleled. Rather unlike most of those bad boys, Dark Elves delivers. Jet Mykles knows exactly what readers want – and serves it up with striking prose and stunning images. -- Sage Grayson, author of Computer Crimes: Comming Home (coming this summer from Changeling Press) Ms. Mykles has woven a wonderfully decadent and rich tapestry of lusty high fantasy. Taken is everything Erotic Fantasy should be! -- Morgan Hawke, author of ISD: Victorious Star (Loose Id) There's nothing more compelling than art that tells a story, and I find myself following Jet's story through her images, wondering what the next scene will bring. -- April Martinez, Loose Id cover artist (www.graphicfantastic.com) Exotic, erotic and sinfully spicy. -- Daria Karpova, author of Loose Damonds (Loose Id) Taken's graphic imagery, both in words and pictures, is a hot and delicious feast for the senses. The reader will enjoy each bite. -- Treva Harte, author of The Deviants (Loose Id) DARK ELVES 1: TAKEN Jet Mykles www.loose-id.com Warning This e-book contains sexually explicit scenes and adult language and may be considered offensive to some readers. Loose Id e-books are for sale to adults ONLY, as defined by the laws of the country in which you made your purchase. Please store your files wisely, where they cannot be accessed by under-aged readers. * * * * * This book is rated: For substantial explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable (multiple partners, homoerotic sex, BDSM). DISCLAIMER: Many of the acts described in our BDSM/fetish titles can be dangerous. Loose Id publishes these stories for members of the community in which these acts are known and practiced safely. If you have an interest in the pleasures and pains you find described herein, we urge you to seek out advice and guidance from knowledgeable persons. Please do not try any new sexual practice, whether it be fire, rope, or whip play, without the guidance of an experienced practitioner. Neither Loose Id nor its authors will be responsible for any loss, harm, injury or death resulting from use of the information contained in any of its titles. Dark Elves 1: Taken Jet Mykles This e-book is a work of fiction. While reference might be made to actual historical events or existing locations, the names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. Published by Loose Id LLC 1802 N Carson Street, Suite 212-29 Carson City NV 89701-1215 www.loose-id.com Copyright © March 2005 by Jet Mykles All rights reserved. This copy is intended for the purchaser of this e-book ONLY. No part of this e-book may be reproduced or shared in any form, including, but not limited to printing, photocopying, faxing, or emailing without prior written permission from Loose Id LLC. ISBN 1-59632-096-6 Available in Adobe PDF, HTML, MobiPocket, and MS Reader Printed in the United States of America Editor: Raven McKnight Cover and Interior Artist: Jet Mykles www.loose-id.com Chapter One Even in the early evening noise of the tavern, Diana’s silence was deafening. Gala sat beside her, nursing an ale gone flat. Waiting. “I’m going after him,” Diana finally announced, standing. Gala shot to her feet, her hand darting out to take Diana’s wrist. “You can’t!” she protested, even though she knew it was hopeless. Diana had that look on her face. Diana’s fine, dark brows lowered. “I can. And I will.” “But you’ve heard the stories about the mountains,” Gala insisted, following as Diana stormed toward the stairs that led up to their rented room. “Bah! That’s just what they are. Stories. I’ll agree that passing over the mountains is probably a hard trek, but they’ve not even been gone a day! We can catch them, get my money back, then come back here.” Gala wasn’t so sure. Although they were new to the area, she and Diana had heard tale after tale of both the Rhaen Mountains and the Dark Forest. The mountains, it was said, were impassable save by a very few caravans owned by masters who’d traveled the route countless times. But even they were often beset by natural forces, and people almost always disappeared through travel misfortunes. The stories about the Dark Forest were more sinister. Those included tales of entire bands entering the depths of the forest and simply disappearing, then the bones of some of the victims showing up neatly arranged toward the safer outskirts of the forest. Neatly arranged so that it was sure no animal could have accomplished it. And the bones, from what anyone could tell, were always those of the male victims. Female victims were never seen nor heard from again. Rescue parties sent after those missing either never returned or returned with wild stories of black phantoms and sinister magic. But Gala had known Diana since childhood and had traveled with her as her only companion for the past five springs. She was the untrained healer, the pickpocket, the negotiator. While Diana was the fighter, the instigator, the lure. Together, they’d managed to get enough odd jobs to stay alive as they continually wandered. The previous night, Diana had been cheated, her money stolen, and the culprit had taken off in the morning -- while Diana was passed out cold -- with one of the mountain caravans. It had taken Diana most of the day to recover from the thief’s blow to her head, but once she’d recovered, her anger flared. And Diana’s anger, once sparked, did not die easily. Diana hefted her bag, quiver, and unstrung bow and faced Gala across the tiny room they’d shared. “I know you don’t like this idea,” she said, visibly trying to rein in her anger. “You don’t have to go with me. I can be back by tomorrow night.” Resolute, Gala shook her head. “Where you go, I go. We’ve been through worse before.” Even angry, Diana had to smile. But it was brief. Then she was out the door. * * * * * The track was easy enough to follow. The thief, in fact, had been the one to tell them what they now knew of the caravans that crossed the mountains. There were only two tracks that any caravan would take, both wide enough to fit the typical merchants’ wagons. The High Road was actually faster, but more treacherous, as it went over one of the tall mountains. The Low Road added weeks to a trek, but it was safer, even if it skirted the edges of the Dark Forest throughout most of the journey. “Camp is held on the road, as well,” Gala recalled the charming man telling them. “No one’s allowed to step foot off the road.” “Why not?” Diana had asked, already intrigued by him. “Too dangerous. Anyone who loses sight of the road never returns.” Diana had laughed. “Never?” Gala recalled the oddly serious look in the man’s sparkling blue eyes. “Never.” Gala, for one, believed him. Although the twisted oaks and soaring elms that lined the path were gorgeous, there was a sinister cast to them. With true night fast approaching, Gala became certain that eyes were upon them. Diana was mostly silent, still smarting on the back of her skull where the thief had struck her. What words she did utter either had to do with their travel or with the questionable parentage of the thief they now tailed down the Low Road. The forest closed in around them. Sunlight was left behind. Evidence of plenty of wildlife grew around them. “These people are insane,” Diana said suddenly, gesturing toward a covey of quail that scurried boldly across the road. “This place is a wealth of game.” Gala stirred at the change of subject, but only nodded. She adjusted her seat in the saddle, yawning to shed the apathy caused by the gentle roll of her horse’s gait. “Where’s this ‘dark danger’ we were warned of?” Diana scoffed as the last vestiges of sunlight disappeared and plunged them into thick, gray twilight. Even so, Gala saw her friend’s hand drift toward the sword at her belt. “Should we make camp?” Gala asked, spurring her mount to walk abreast of Diana’s. “No. Let’s keep going. The caravan will be making camp soon. We should catch them before daybreak.” Gala nodded, her eyes darting from shadow to shadow. Night had fallen on them abruptly, and only the scant moonlight provided illumination to the path ahead of them. To either side was inky darkness. They rode in silence for a time. “It’s warm,” Gala realized. Diana took a moment to judge, idly rubbing a hand against her chest. “It’s got to be the trees,” she stated. “No breeze.” Gala nodded, but continued to look about. Why was she flushed? Of a sudden, her tunic was either far too tight or her breasts had swelled. The saddle between her legs grew increasingly uncomfortable as she realized she felt ... aroused? “Diana,” she murmured, finally conv...
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