by Jamie Hawke
In spite of my awkwardness, as the attacks came one after another—mostly in the form of those black whips and some green light and plants coming to life, I was holding my own. Considering that these ladies were part of the legendary Nine, I felt pretty damn good about myself. Flurries to distract them, ice claws and stone skin and anything else I could think of.
The best part? My XP was jumping up with each hit! Apparently, they were so badass, I didn’t even need to kill them to gain the experience.
Moronoe came at me with full physical strikes this time. She knew my ability to attack mentally now. She knew I wasn’t going to take any shit. Unfortunately, physical fighting had never been my strength. I was a mage, dammit. Not a kung fu fighter or GI Joe or whatever!
Her eyes lit up when she landed that first punch to my gut, then caught me with an elbow to my jaw.
I staggered back, muttering a half-spell that came out garbled.
“Won’t work,” she said with a laugh. “See…” Gesturing around herself, light flared to reveal a set of runes. Apparently, she had created magic-cancelling runes in the area where we were fighting.
“Then you can’t use it either,” I spat at her, blood flying out with spittle.
“Eh, I think I can take you.”
“Let’s see, then.” Honestly, I had little to no confidence in my skills, but felt pretty damn good about my willingness not to die, and my desire to return to my team.
Her next attack was a kick to my leg that made me want to collapse, but I lunged forward to catch her with a headbutt. That strike didn’t hit its target, which I had meant to be her face, however, it turned into a simple plowing of my forehead into her left breast. I bounced back onto my ass while she stepped away, holding her tit and growling in anger.
“That fucking smarted, J.” She stood with a finger pointed at me. “How’d you like it if I head-butted you in the nuts?”
“I wouldn’t like that at all,” I admitted, realizing that I was spread-legged, nuts out for the attacking. Shifting, I moved to a kneeling position, ready.
She paced, the rune glowing beneath her and around us. The other two were just outside the boundary of its magic, watching. Gliten shot a green burst my direction, but it faded in the air at the edge of the rune.
“He’s mine!” Moronoe snapped at her, then came at me again. A fake left followed by a leap and a superman punch that sent me stumbling. Not only was I getting my ass kicked, but it was by a nude woman. A nude woman who, in spite of appearances, was ancient. This didn’t seem fair.
If there was one thing I’d discovered about myself, though, it was that I was a quick learner. So, the next time she came in with another attempt at an elbow, I moved left and out of the way, throwing a wild haymaker that—to my surprise—hit her in the throat.
She fell back, gasping for air, and I took the chance to use what I could to my advantage. For one, I had learned at Gertrude’s house that my transmutation powers weren’t affected by such runes. I broke the rune, molding the ground with my magic so that it did the opposite of what she intended and would amplify what I would do next. I hit her with an ice wall and mumbled, “Gorffwys.”
It almost surprised me when she passed out. The other two, though, were there, moving in… still nude, although the green one had darker green energy moving over her in semi-concealing ways.
“You two don’t have to do this,” I said, hands up in warning. “Moronoe has lost her way. But us… we can still be friends.”
“Sure, give us all the details,” Mizoa said. “Everything you know.”
“Oh, details.”
“You know, the locations—Gertrude’s research.”
“I’m just a guy standing here in this… what, dream world?” I held my hands out, unashamed. “Nude, having just gotten my ass kicked by a woman. Do I look like I have answers? Locations?”
That actually caused Mizoa to pause, although Gliten simply scoffed and continued her approach.
“Release her,” Gliten said.
“I’m telling you the truth,” I said. “Fully exposed, putting myself out there. What’s there to hide?”
Even Gliten paused at that, although it might have had more to do with her eyes roaming over me, a hint of a smile forming. God, I wasn’t trying to show off. It was just that I was already naked, and they had already seen it all. Using what I had available to make a point seemed to make sense.
“We’re all trying to find the others,” I said, seeing the opportunity and hopping on it. “Instead of fighting each other, instead of this…” I motioned at me, at Moronoe asleep in the ice. “Don’t you think there’s a better way?”
Gliten glanced back at Mizoa, noting the doubt there. When she turned back to me, there was at least a hint of curiosity. The green glow from her eyes faded slightly.
“Rune magic isn’t something most witches can do,” Moronoe said, causing me to jump. But, when I turned to her, she was still asleep. The voice wasn’t in my head, like with Riland, but coming from all around. “Thing is, I knew you were capable. And therefore, suspected you’d try this.”
“How does that… make… sense.” The words weren’t coming out any more, I realized. Even as I thought I was saying them, I wasn’t. Our surroundings blurred, colors mixing and flowing along amidst each other.
I wanted to shout out, to ask where I was, but the pain that hit me gave me the answer. Mostly because I wasn’t feeling it as myself, but in my real body, the body that I wasn’t occupying at the moment.
Knowing this, though, I was able to process where we were—and the answer was simply, inside my mind. Or my thoughts, maybe. And what made that horrible was the idea that she had been using rune magic on my mind. Horrible, and… exciting?
As the colors flowed around me, I focused and thrust out my hands. The colors stopped, Gliten and Mizoa watching me and our surroundings with confusion. Moronoe stood, ice melting from her body and hanging around her like a dress, not fully melted and not fully frozen.
She glared at me, then the frozen colors. “You’re stronger than I gave you credit for, aren’t you?”
“I’d like to think so,” I replied.
“Time to push the limits, then,” she countered, but before she could move, a voice reached me, a slight twitch in it. It didn’t say anything at first, more of a wordless call. Then it hit.
Take me, Mizoa’s voice was clear. Take me, now!
Of course, that could mean something very different in another setting, but I knew she was referring to Rianne and Avalon. The only problem was, I didn’t know if I could fully trust her. Regardless, we needed to get out of that situation, so I reached out a hand and mentally replied, Get me out of here, and I’ll bring you to her.
Waves of sand pelted me, tearing at my flesh through my barriers, and then there was something soft, warm, and pulsating. A body, nude. Mizoa! Her dress had unraveled out around her and behind, then suddenly shot forward and took us both, sling-shotting us out of there.
“TRAITOR!” was the last thing we heard, echoing up from Moronoe.
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Mizoa’s nude body was still pressed to me, torn clothes all around us, some draped over her shoulders. Fucking hell, something hurt—ah, it was my bleeding scrotum.
“Allow me,” she said, noticing and running a glowing finger along it. Her healing touch tingled, causing me to moan with pleasure. The only way I kept myself from getting hard again was to imagine her as E.T., that healing touch being his as he said, “Ouchhhh.”
It worked, at least, as did the healing.
“Thank you,” I said, trying to think of her like a doctor. A nude, very beautiful doctor.
Don’t get me wrong, this lady was gorgeous. Stunning. But not one of mine. Not on the team. And that meant she wasn’t of interest to me, in that way.
I sat up, very conscious of Mizoa’s eyes on me, and even more conscious of the fact that I was nude and she had just healed my scrotum with a gentle touch. But what caught my atten
tion for a brief moment, almost long enough to distract me from those thoughts, was the beauty of our surroundings.
This was a different part of Avalon than any I had been to before.
“Home,” Mizoa said, standing, hands clutched to her chest, eyes glistening. “As beautiful as I’d imagined it.”
“Did you imagine coming without clothes?”
She eyed me, even smiled, and then started walking. “What better way for a man and a woman to walk in the Garden of Eden?”
“Sorry, but you’re not Eve, and I’m not Adam.”
“Aren’t we, though?” She spun, hands moving to her hips as she eyed me. “You and I, in this place of paradise. We could recline on each other’s flesh, stare up at the clouds… make love.”
“Don’t.”
She arched an eyebrow. “Ohhh, I get it.”
“Sorry?”
“Don’t ever apologize for your sexuality. You want to go pole-hopping or whatever you call it, be my guest. Maybe we can bring you a sweet treat, one you can suck on all day. The three of us could be happy.”
“Stop.” I held up a hand, trying to block that image from my mind. “No, I—it’s just that I already have ladies in my life.”
“More than one lady?” She laughed. “At least you’re putting that gorgeous meat-stick of yours to good use, then.”
I nodded, feeling more uncomfortable now that she had complimented my dick. “I am, thank you.”
With a shrug, she turned and started walking again, but after a moment, spun back around and laughed with a toss of her hair. “Hold. Isn’t it you who should be leading me?”
“Right. Only, I don’t know where she would be.”
“But you do know who we’re looking for?”
I nodded. “Rianne… Your mother.”
Mizoa nodded, pursing her lips in respect. “Sexy and not stupid. Those ladies have quite the catch.”
“Thanks?”
“How do you find her?” Mizoa turned, hands on her hips again.
“Last time, I think… maybe my powers called to her? Or she found me?” As I tried to remember, a warmth took hold, and it flooded back. With a smile, I said, “Rianne?”
“All you have to do is ask,” Rianne’s voice came from behind, and we spun to see her there, gazing at us with a curious smile. “But… why are you nude?”
Mizoa, for the first time, looked embarrassed at her nudity. I covered myself as well, but smiled to see Rianne.
“Long story,” I said.
“The best kind, in my opinion.” Rianne beamed as she attempted to hold back a laugh. She succeeded. Ending it with a smile, she waved her hand and rose-colored light rose out of the ground, moving around Mizoa and forming a flowing robe around her. With a glance my way, she hesitated. “Maybe we leave you like this?”
“Not sure Ebrill and the others would appreciate you ogling me,” I replied with a chuckle.
She laughed and waved her hand, giving me a little skirt. They both chuckled, but I stood my ground.
“Nothing wrong with a kilt,” I said, trying to own it. The skirt was more like rosy silk than a kilt, but whatever.
Mizoa took her mother in an embrace. Her eyes met mine, and I took my cue to give them a moment. Eyes on the trees around us, light reflecting off a row of leaves and hitting small bugs—fairies, maybe?—as they darted about above us. Purple flowers in clumps attracted those things, whatever they were, and a gust of wind flew by in a way that reflected light and shot it out as rainbows on the ground below. What it was in the wind that could do so, I would have loved to know.
A thought hit me, though, and I put my hand up in the air, hoping to sense if there was any part of this that was an invasion by others of the Nine. I spun to look at Mizoa, suddenly suspect of her being there, wondering if she had brought in some of the bad ones. Rianne took her by the hand, looking at me with a pleasant smile, and shook her head. If she trusted Mizoa, then I needed to as well.
What then? Again, I reached into the air, sensing… but there were no other signs of the Nine, only pleasant sensations like smooth kisses caressing my skin.
“Careful, there,” Rianne called out. “He’s taken.”
I frowned, confused, but then realized that she wasn’t talking to me. Rainbows flashed again, this time along with giggling, and three clear forms danced into the air. They were only visible by the way the light reflected to show their forms for a moment, then they were gone.
Answers came to me, flashing up on my digital screen. Anemoi, or wind spirits.
“Harmless?” I asked, but saw that the two ladies were in a discussion. “All good.”
Walking along, I wrapped my arms around myself. Not that I was cold, since the magic of Avalon kept it pretty much perfect. But, the idea that there were spirits or gods or whatever floating around, watching me, was a bit off-putting.
I must have kept walking for a while, because I when I came out of my thoughts, I was at the grassy edge of a cliff, looking out at a distant waterfall. What the hell was I doing there? Going between senator talk to making love with multiple women, now here connecting Rianne with her daughter… who was one of the Nine.
There had been a simpler time, one when watching waterfalls had been only about enjoying the rush of water and the escape into nature. I remembered a time after a breakup, my first, actually, when I had gone with my parents on a hike out to a waterfall much like this one. Less magical, technically, but not the way I recalled it. Twin Tiger Falls, or something like that. They had let me walk on ahead of them on my own. And I simply sat there, wondering why I couldn’t cry. Weren’t people supposed to cry after a breakup?
As then, I sat down and watched the waterfall, and thought about what it would be like if I lost my current team of ladies. Would I cry, then? I laughed, thinking of the idea that maybe I wouldn’t, then shook my head, wondering how I could find the thought humorous in the least. To my surprise, there was an actual tear in my eye! Whether from laughing or a hint of a sad thought, I couldn’t tell.
Or maybe it wasn’t a tear at all, I thought, realizing that the spray from the waterfall was hitting me since the wind had shifted. Fuck, if I lost even one of these ladies, I would be a mess. And likewise, if we didn’t find the rest of them—starting with Yenifer. Not as lovers, I mean. That wasn’t necessary. For some reason, so much of it was going that way… but I wasn’t sure why. Part of the magical effects, maybe? I couldn’t quite understand it, otherwise. My success with the ladies had never been great in the past, aside from Steph. And since she had been bewitched or whatever had been her situation, it didn’t exactly count.
“Were you crying?” a voice asked, and I turned to see Mizoa watching me. Rianne was gone, and Mizoa had a glow about her, one that showed me the conversation had gone well.
“All… good?” I asked.
“Complicated. But, my mother and I had some catching up to do. We’re on the same page, now, and she’s fully convinced me. We will stand against Moronoe and the others.”
I blinked, eyed her, and nodded. “I wasn’t, by the way.”
“What?”
“Crying. It was the water from the…” I indicated the waterfall.
“If you were to cry, though,” she said, “this would be the place. Stunning, isn’t it? You can see why Moronoe wants to take it from you.”
“Is that what she wants?”
Mizoa shifted her hands up and down as if weighing something. “More or less. My mother explains it like this—there’s no more powerful access point to magic than Avalon. When one group controls it, they have the advantage. Ironic, then, that using it causes more chance for the other side to be able to make a move on it.”
“Balance, I suppose.” Glancing back in the direction where Rianne had gone, I asked, “She’s really your mother?”
Mizoa nodded. “Not that I had much of a chance of getting to know her, what with the state of this land. Moronoe raised me as much as anyone did, but she showed her true natur
e early on.”
“And your father?”
“That is a more complicated answer.”
She waved a hand as Rianne had done. Rosy light rose around us again, only this time completely surrounding us, becoming the land and sky and everything in between. For a moment, all I could see was the light, then it faded to show an entirely different environment. The light had formed a canopy over us, what appeared to be a war tent of the olden days. There was a glint of metal from outside, but with golden light and silver waves, like it wasn’t really there—as it probably wasn’t.
In the middle of the tent, an old man in gray robes sat on a field chair, bent over some parchment with books stacked nearby. He looked like someone I should know. Like someone everyone knew, but I couldn’t quite place it.
“This was him,” Mizoa said, walking around to the other side of the old man, watching him. As I stepped closer, too, I saw that he was writing runes. A spell, it looked like, one that involved traveling a great distance and imbuing someone with amplified powers.
To my surprise, the old man looked up. He eyed me, then Mizoa. With a slight movement of his lower lip, he took her in as if trying to never let that image go, then stood. He walked to her, held out a hand. She put hers out too, and for a moment they seemed to touch, then took each other in an embrace.
As they met together, the rosy light flew in on them and, just like that, we were back, not in Avalon, but in the mansion. Only Steph was there, eyes on me first, then on Mizoa. Her eyebrow arched, then the corner of her lip went up.
Mizoa curtsied to her, then eyed the door. A moment later, it opened for Megha, the gargoyles behind her.
A nod to them, before turning back to me. “They will come back for you. Remember that. And be ready. Also…” She glanced at my red skirt and grinned. “Thank you.”
“You’ll stay for the fight?” I asked. “Help us?”
