I watched the mage pace the length and breadth of my farm, his boots kicking up dust where corn and beans should have been sprouting. He paused and made some notes on a scrap of paper, then turned and marched down one of the bare furrows toward me. I steeled myself as he approached, his silvery-blue hair dancing around his face as the dry wind moaned across the land.

"One ilae and seventeen coins," he said and I felt like I'd been kicked in the gut.

"My- My Lord," I said, "I don't have that kind of money." He didn't seem surprised.

"I suppose it's fortunate, then, that my assistant is still recovering from our last endeavor; you have time to get the money. We'll be back in a week."

"A week?" I said. "My Lord, I need this rain now."

He arched one thin eyebrow and regarded me with hard blue eyes. "What do you suggest, then?"

"I--My Lord, I don't know," I stammered, taken aback. "I just--Please--"

"How old are you?" he asked suddenly.

"Nineteen."

He regarded me for a moment. "Fine, I will perform the spell tonight, on one condition."

"Anything," I said, and the corner of his mouth twitched in a smirk.

"You will assist me with the spell."

"Me? I'm not a mage."

"Really?" he said with mock disbelief. "I guess it's a good thing I am. All you need to do is provide me with a certain raw material." There was that smirk again. "Don't worry; I'll do all the work." I didn't know what he was talking about, but I doubted I'd like this better if I did. "Are we agreed?"

My eyes swept the desolate land. "What choice do I have?"

"That's the spirit," the mage said with a smile. "Now, go rest yourself. I'll expect you out here at midnight. Don't be late."

*****

Just before midnight, I headed out into the middle of the field, wrapped in a heavy cloak. By the pale green light of the waning moon I found the mage, squatting in the dirt and writing in the dust with his fingers.

"I was about to come looking for you," he said as I approached. "Remove your cloak." I opened my mouth to protest; the night air was cold. "And your shirt."

"What for?" I asked, pulling the cloak tighter about me.

He rose and dusted off his hands. "Short and sweet, a mage uses emotion to fuel his magic. Of course I will draw on my own emotions, but I am getting old and jaded, and experiences do not move me the way they used to. You, on the other hand, are young--life is still new. Are you a virgin?"

"No," I said, speaking before I could think. My heart was pounding. He couldn't be suggesting--

"Have you ever been with a man before?" I didn't answer. I couldn't. "I thought as much." He stepped toward me, unbuttoning his shirt as he did. "Relax, I fuel my spells with lust, not fear." For some reason, his words weren't a comfort. I stood rigid as he unfastened the clasp of my cloak and pushed it back off my shoulders. He peeled my clothes off, his dark eyes lingering on my naked skin, and then pulled a small jar out of his pocket. With the cool, slippery contents, he drew some kind of symbol on my chest, just above my heart. He held his hand up to my chest and his skin began to glow with an eerie violet light. The symbol on my chest flared and I saw something in his face I never would have expected: compassion. "You really are scared," he said, with none of the previous mocking. "It's all right." He reached up to trail his fingertips down my cheek. "I won't hurt you."

I jumped as he fell to his knees before me, only his hands on the backs of my thighs keeping me from pulling away as he took my limp cock in his mouth. I choked on a whimper as he sucked and licked, his attention making me hard. My legs trembled, my knees buckling readily when he pulled me down on top of him. Straddling his thighs, my face was inches from his--I could feel his breath on my cheek--and I kept my eyes downcast, watching as one hand wrapped around my stiff cock and the other delved into that jar of slippery stuff.

I drew a startled breath as his slick finger slipped inside me. I didn't like it at first, but he began to stoke something inside me that made me forget my discomfort and fear. I gasped and groaned, trying not to squirm as his hands filled me with a desperate pleasure, drawing me to the brink and holding me there.

"Hold still," he murmured, his voice husky. "Just a little more." I grabbed him, my fingers digging into his shoulders.

"Please- please--" I gasped. His hand tightened around my cock and he gave it several quick, firm stokes, his finger rubbing deep into the center of that exquisite pleasure. I cried out as I came and the night lit up with brilliant streaks of violet lightning.

"Thank you," the mage said, and I whimpered as he pulled his finger out of me. I needed to get up off of him, but I couldn't move, by body still trembling with the echoes of my orgasm.

Tat. Tat tat-tat. I turned my face to the sky and a heavy drop of rain splashed across my cheek. I gasped, then laughed.

"You did it!" I cried, and then I kissed him. He tensed, then wrapped his arms around me and opened his mouth, his tongue slipping past mine, stroking, exploring. I jerked back, suddenly remembering in whose arms I was. "I still can't pay you," I said, breathless, as the rain poured down.

He smiled and lowered me to my cloak. "I'm sure we can work something out."