Trapped

jaw, tear muscles, and rupture the esophagus just by solidifying, then when they pulled their arm free, your throat would come with it. «
    Granuaile swallowed and put a hand up to her neck. » Thanks for the visual. «
    We were once more on the billowing skirts of Olympus, but this time we were on the western side. There was no reason to search for an appropriate spot; now that Olympia knew of our need, she was only too happy to guide us to an appropriate place to continue Granuaile’s binding. Similar to the cave on the eastern slope in that the required thornbushes also provided cover for the entrance, it was situated a good thirty yards or so from a small creek that would provide us with water. The ceiling of the cave was lower, it wasn’t so deep or comfortable as the first one, and something small and furry had left pellets of shit scattered about, but it would serve. We scouted patrol routes for Oberon and plotted escapes before we cleaned out the cave as best we could. Connecting with Gaia didn’t take quite as long—less than a week, since she’d been expecting us—and soon I was stabbing Granuaile with a thorn as if we’d never been interrupted.
    Modern tattoo guns can pierce the skin about eighty to one hundred twenty times per second. I can do it with a thorn about once a second. The tip was sharpened and hardened with a binding, but still it was painful and slow and bloody. And sometimes I’d get a bit distracted.
    Because. You know.
    Granuaile’s bare leg.
    Underneath my hands.
    There are hosts of mental tricks you can play to keep your libido in check—thinking of baseball is just one—but it’s a near-constant battle when there are thighs involved. Smooth, toned thighs that curved and … oh, damn. And eventually we progressed far enough up her leg to where she had to take her shorts off.
    I know tattoo artists barely notice such things; when they’re on the job, flesh is just a canvas to be bloodied and inked. But I wasn’t a jaded tattoo artist, and Granuaile’s body wasn’t simply a canvas to me. It was more like the Holy Grrrail, pronounced with a rolling Scottish rumble.
    She wanted to shed her underwear at the same time, but I stopped her.
    » Keep those on, « I said, silently asking the Dalai Lama to help me give up all earthly desires. She was still my apprentice.
    » Why? I’ll just have to take them off later. «
    » No, we’ll work around it. «
    » But it’s silly. They’ll get all bloody and nasty. « She had raised her butt off the floor of the cave and had her thumbs hooked in the sides. The top was already partially down, and there was that beautiful flat expanse between the valley of her hips, leading down to—gods!
    » I promise to buy you a new pair. Just. Please. Keep them on. «
    » Oh. I see. « Her voice was toneless as she lay back down and turned away, hiding behind a shoulder. » You’re still pretending. «
    A bit wounded at the accusation, I replied, » I’m not pretending at all. I’ve always made it clear that our relationship needs to remain strictly professional. «
    » Right. You go on and keep telling yourself that. You can’t hide it anymore, Atticus, so just stop, okay? You know we both have feelings that go beyond that. «
    » We can’t go beyond that, Granuaile. I won’t. «
    » And what happens when I’m fully bound? May I do as I please then? «
    » Technically, yes. The earth will recognize you as a Druid and answer your call, and you’ll be free to go wherever you wish. But new Druids typically remain with their archdruids for a short while to learn how to shape-shift well and to travel the planes properly. «
    She twisted around to face me, a scowl on her face, and then she punched me hard on the arm.
    » Ow! «
    » You’re being willfully dense! For a man who can see the bonds between all living things, you’re remarkably blind to ours. Have you been filtering them out of your vision, seeing only what you want to see? «
    Panic filled my frontal lobe and I tensed, though I’m sure all Granuaile saw was my mouth drop open. She was right—I had been filtering quite extensively; I was seeing only what Gaia needed me to see to get the binding done. And then I realized that was a weak excuse.
    » Um, « I said. The truth was, I could have looked at Granuaile in the magical spectrum anytime I wished in the past twelve years, and I hadn’t done so unless I needed to teach her something. When I did, I always filtered out everything