Elusive Prey

by Cheek, Jason

  “I think you need to listen to orders, Group Leader,” Guard Seales warned, as she uncomfortably watched the disaster unfolding before her eyes. “Besides, I don’t think Centaurs are Beast-Kin-” she started to add, when her Group Leader reached out and grabbed a handful of tit-flesh and squeezed.

  “Who let this filly out of the barn?” he leered disrespectfully. “Beast-Kin women should know their place,” he said, laughing directly into Fylreh’s face.

  The retribution was swift and brutal. One second, their Group Leader was mauling the filly’s chest and the next he was on the ground screaming in agony. Guard Seales didn’t know if she should be angry or applaud the Horse-Girl as she choked back a bark of laughter while Group Leader Inman’s horrified screams echoed around the courtyard.

  “She stabbed me in the dick … she stabbed me in the dick!”

  “Find Star,” Fylreh ordered Rocky, as she turned around and snatched the next mouthy guard up and brought the terrified Human up to her face.

  “You will let these Humans in to see Lord Ironwolf or I will personally beat the ever loving shit out of all of you!” Fylreh said, quoting one of Star’s favorite sayings that she’d picked up since meeting him.

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  (Second Assault Group: Star in the bath with Helgath, Neristhana, and Neysa)

  Laying back in the pool of hot water, I was enjoying the feeling of the heat seeping into my bones and feeling satisfied with a job well-done. Giving Neysa a bath was never an easy task on the best of days. Mostly, I think that was because she liked to make a game of it. Next to me, Neristhana and Helgath were speaking in low voices as I reviewed everything that happened throughout the day. My migraine, the fight with Domenic outside the game, the strategy we used to pull Domenic out of the trap, escaping from the Orc horde, and dealing with that Dil-Hilth here in Palnisdale.

  Today had honesty been one of the craziest gaming sessions I’d ever had in my life. I was secretly wishing that I could just fall asleep in the game and not have to deal with taking care of my body in the real world, when Neysa suddenly shot out of the water.

  ‘There’s something wrong,’ Neysa’s alarmed thought shot through my mind like I’d suddenly grabbed onto a live wire, as I shot to my feet. Surging up out of the pool in the direction of my equipment belt, I heard the distinctive sounds of the Silver Dire Wolf’s wet paws struggling for traction on the granite floor, while Neristhana and Helgath sprang out of the water behind me. Snatching up the Dark Blade of Lord Kayden and the Vicious Executioner's Axe of Cruelty, I heard the door to the royal bath being ripped from its hinges as Neysa shot out into the corridor.

  Sprinting for the doorway as naked as the day I was born, I heard the wet patter of Helgath and Neristhana’s footsteps racing behind me. I didn’t even try to slow down as Neysa shot off down the corridor. Angling my trajectory through the ruined doorway, I bounced off the far wall with my shoulder and kept running, when I heard the pitiful whimpering of a wolf pup being beaten to death. The soulful cries of terror coming from somewhere above us tore at my soul as I heard the anxious rumble of various voices calling for someone to come kill the beast.

  ‘They’re killing Rocky,’ Neysa’s mental cry of rage burst in my mind as the wailing yowls grew in intensity. I could feel her helpless fury as she scrabbled to a stop at the base of the stairwell heading up to the first floor. In a last ditch effort to stop what was happening, the Silver Dire Wolf threw her head back and let out a ferocious howl that sent shivers of fear running down my spine. You would’ve had to have been deaf not to hear the bestial promise of retribution and death that reverberated through the keep.

  Whatever horror show that was happening above us instantly stopped as Neysa’s savage howl was greeted with an exuberant cry of recognition from Rocky. With a fearful intensity, Neysa bounded up the steps as I crashed into the wall of the stairwell behind her. I’d barely taken three steps by the time the Silver Dire Wolf had made it to the top of the stairs. As Neysa disappeared around the corner, Helgath and Neristhana raced passed me a second later like I was standing still.

  Fuck if I was going to be tail-end Charlie, I mentally roared in frustration, as both women disappeared around the next corridor. A second later, I cleared the top step and blazed after the three of them into the main hallway. Immediately, I began casting buffs on the four of us: Enhanced Mage Armor, Holy Shield, and Light’s Blessing, I barely managed to get all of them cast before Neysa hit the foyer. Finishing Arcane Speed, Bone Shield, and Bone Fangs on myself, I followed Helgath and Neristhana into the foyer not three seconds later to see an enraged Neysa standing over a terrified Lady Tinder whose broom was still skittering across the floor from being knocked from her frozen hands.

  I don’t know if I’d ever seen Neysa so angry. The desire that was radiating from her to rip the woman apart was almost palpable as the rest of the maids and valets cringed in terror. If the old hag had managed to kill the pup, there was no doubt in my mind that Neysa would’ve ripped her to shreds. With an unconcerned thought I cast a Regeneration on the whimpering pup as Ulia, Keela, Rayne, and Brenna came charging out of the opposite corridor with their weapons drawn and in a similar state of undress.

  “We’ll deal with her later,” I roared over Neysa’s rumbling growl, “first we find out what happened to Fylreh!” Hearing his mistress’s name, the Earth Shock Wolf pup ran for the closed double doors that led to the courtyard while yapping urgently for the rest of us to follow. Giving the Chamberlain a withering look, Neysa bounded for the closed doors. Still ten feet away, she leaped into the air with all of her might and blasted the doors open in a feat of pure strength that was stunning.

  Almost immediately the shouting and sounds of battle died away as Neysa’s thunderous growl rang throughout the courtyard. I barely registered Helgath, Neristhana, or the rest of my companions as they raced out into the courtyard ahead of me. All that I could think of was that the filly wasn’t bound to me in any meaningful way. If there was another one of those Dil-Hilth or something like it, there might not be a way for me to Resurrect her. That thought alone spiked my adrenalin through the roof as I charged out into the courtyard ready to slaughter everything in my path.

  The crazed look on my face must have been something, because the crowd of people seemed to flinch as my gaze passed over them. In that split-moment, my eyes took everything in. A pissed of Fylreh stood in the center of the courtyard bracketed by five dirty homeless men. Four were fighting back to hindquarters with the Centauride, while a fifth held two bound men on the ground.

  What confused and pissed me off the most was seeing that they’d been being attacked by a group of Royal Guards. There had to be nearly ten severely injured men scattered across the ground towards the open gate, while another ten, that were beat to hell, were still facing off against Fylreh's group. In that same moment, another group of twenty guards suddenly ran up with their weapons drawn with a harried looking Guard Leader Cleaver at their lead as I began to have a conniption of epic proportions.

  “Sheath your weapons and stand down,” I growled in barely controlled fury, as I began stalking down the steps. “Or I’m going to kill every mother fucking last one of you!” Even though I was naked, I moved with a purpose and confidence that said I owned this place. While there was a certain bravado due to the situation, in the back of my mind, I remembered the old adage that there’s few things as disturbing as being attacked by a naked man.

  “Get a load of the naked halfling,” one loud mouth joker called out, confident in the additional guards running up behind him. My Identify immediately popped his name over his head, Graham Cooper – Guard Sub-Group Leader Level 41. Before I could rip the man a new asshole, Guard Leader Cleaver did it for me

  “He is your Overlord, moron!” Guard Leader Cleaver shouted in a Drill Sergeant voice, as the group of guards that had been fighting the filly looked at their boss in confusion. “Someone tell me how you fuck up watching the gate this badly before
I start killing you myself!”

  “It all started when that Horse-Bitch stabbed me in the dick,” one of the injured guards whined out from where he was doubled over on the ground. Another Identify marked this idiot as Giles Inman – Guard Group Leader Level 43.

  “Only because you grabbed her tits first,” a female guard snarled in outrage. From what it looked like, she’d been the only one that hadn’t joined in the fighting. Another Identify showed she was Lillian Seales, Royal Guard Level 40.

  “My apologies, Overlord Ironwolf,” Guard Leader Cleaver said, giving me a bow of respect as looks of absolute terror flashed across all of the guards’ faces. In that second, they instantly realized just how much they’d fucked up. “I’ll lock them up for tonight so they can think over their many failings, if that’s alright with you?”

  “I need a Priest,” Inman shrieked, as he held up his bloody hands, one of which was holding onto a certain severed head, while completely not understanding that his life truly hung in the balance. Though, the horribleness of his wound was probably the only thing that saved his life in that split-second.

  “Reattach that scrawny thing yourself,” Guard Leader Cleaver said, tossing him a Healing potion as he signaled his people to drag the guards away.

  “It would just be easier to kill them all and use their corpses as zombies,” I snarled, as I watched them go. The absolute seriousness of my words along with the zombies standing around the courtyard was enough to make it through to even the most thickheaded of the bunch. Several of the men even pissed themselves in fear. Looking away from the disgusting wretches, I turned back to Fylreh and cast a Regeneration on her and the five men that had stood with her. There was a startled gasp from the remaining guards present at this display of power as the spell lit up around the entire group simultaneously.

  “Overlord Ironwolf-” Guard Leader Cleaver started to say, as I ignored him and walked up to Fylreh who was just scooping Rocky up in her arms.

  “You’re such a good little wolfy,” Fylreh cooed, as the Earth Shock Wolf pup happily lapped at her cheek with its rough tongue.

  While ignoring Guard Leader Cleaver might have seemed rude to some, in that moment, it was honestly for the best if I didn’t talk about Inman and his crew until I’d cooled off a bit. While Fylreh wasn’t my woman anymore, she was still a friend and important to me. I always laughed when I heard about some women acting offended when a man said their woman. Was that any different than when a woman said their man? Nope. That’s because there was usually a certain amount of possession in any normal relationship, being offended by that was just pure ignorance. It was just as ignorant as thinking you had any right to say anything about someone you’d broken up with.

  Seeing Fylreh fussing over the little puppy was oddly endearing to me and showed a side of the Centauride that I’d never expected to see. For some reason, it made having some rando guards manhandle her like she was a piece of meat even more offensive, if that made any sense. Taking a deep breath to control my bubbling rage, I forcibly kept my cool, knowing that Fylreh didn’t like personal things being discussed in public. So instead, I focused instead on the situation at hand.

  “What happened?” I asked Fylreh, meaningfully looking between her, the two prisoners, and the five grimy men that were now standing at attention as the rest of my companions and soulmates walked up behind me. If anyone was having trouble not looking at all of the skin, they hid it well. Smart, because I might have lashed out something fierce if someone had been dumb enough to make a spectacle of it all.

  Not that everyone was naked. Only Ulia, Helgath, and I had rushed out buckass naked. Everyone else had at least a shirt or underwear that they’d managed to grab along with their weapons. My mind stopped its meandering as the filly started to talk.

  “I heard these humans tell the gate guards that they’d captured two of the Iron Falcon Mercenaries and wanted to bring them to you,” Fylreh explained, as she dismissed her pet and focused on me. “I informed the guards at the gate to let them through and send a messenger for you, but they refused and decided to-” The filly paused looking for the right term to use.

  “Act like idiots?” I helpfully offered, as Fylreh gave me a sharp nod. Without saying a word, I turned to Guard Leader Cleaver.

  “I’ll make sure everyone is fully aware of the standing orders,” the man said, as I turned to the homeless man that had stepped forward.

  “Overlord Ironwolf,” the man snapped out sharply, as he gave me a fist salute. “Gregor Carter at your service.”

  I swear the man seemed familiar, I thought, as I looked him up and down while he introduced himself. The quick Identify I did didn’t help me remember him any better either. I was just as confused as before as Gregory Carter – ex-Royal Skirmisher Level 48 appeared over his head. Thankfully, the homeless soldier respectfully continued without being prompted.

  “My comrades in arms heard you talking about helping the homeless soldiers on the streets when you were passing by earlier,” Gregory said, the heartbreaking earnestly clear to hear in his voice. “When the guards announced the call for all the soldiers that had been released by General DeKhayed to return to the Royal Forces and be reinstated, we also heard about the alert that was issued for any information regarding the Iron Falcon Mercenaries.”

  “When we informed the guards at the barracks about having seen these two in a nearby pub,” Gregory shifted uncomfortably in embarrassment.

  Growing up dirt poor, I understood Gregory’s shame well. Once you lost the ability to care for yourself, you simply became homeless. The word carried with it an unsettling connotation in any society. Once you were labeled as homeless, you lost any individual identity and simply became one of the dirty horde of disgusting people living on the streets begging for food and money. Some people felt sorry for you, while others ridiculed you, but that was because everyone knew the simple truth. One bad decision or unlucky occurrence and any of us could be right there with them.

  “They guards processing us back into the Royal Forces dismissed our information.” He glanced at his comrades, before continuing. “So we left the barracks and decided to capture the mercenaries on our own.”

  “I fear that they’re up to something tonight,” Gregory said, his voice hardening in anger as he looked at the bound men on the ground. “When we nabbed them, they were talking about the rallying point they were heading to, but they clammed up once we caught them and refused to say another word.”

  “You did well, my friend,” I said, clapping Gregory on the shoulder as I glanced over at Fylreh. “In more ways than one.” Understanding my meaning, the man stood up straighter as I meet the rest of the men’s eyes in the group one by one, doing my best to express the gratitude I felt. As my eyes turned to the terrified mercenaries, my face hardened while Helgath came walking up beside me to grab my bicep with a clawed hand.

  “Go ahead and back up,” I said in voice as cold as the grave, as the ex-Skirmisher hurriedly backed away while looking at his buddies questioningly. “I don’t think there’s going to be any problem getting one of these traitorous scumbags to talk.”

  “We’ve got nothing to say to you,” the Mercenary nearest to me snarled, as the two men pushed themselves up to their knees to glare at me with their hands still tied behind their backs. A quick Identify marked him as Orson Fletcher – Swordsman Level 40 – Iron Falcon Mercenary while the other man sneered at me.

  “You’ll be dead soon one way or another after Milo is finished with you,” the second Mercenary taunted, as I ran another quick Identify, Edwin Ryder – Swordsman Level 40 – Iron Falcon Mercenary.

  Walking up without saying a word, I hacked the head off of the closest man with my Vicious Executioner's Axe of Cruelty. As the ex-Skirmishers and Royal Guards leaped backward in surprise, the man’s head rolled across the ground to stop at the base of Fylreh’s front hoof, Helgath squatted down and collected the soul stone we were going to use for the next part.

  I paid no
attention to the surviving mercenary’s curses as I began to cast my Raise Zombie spell. Partly, I didn’t pay attention because this next step was somewhat delicate, because neither Helgath nor I had tried this before. The problem was that we were both maxed out in the number of zombie pets we could have up at one time. If I’d had the rest of my gear on, this wouldn’t have been an issue, but sometimes you had to go with what you had. Thankfully, after my soulmate was able to share her Spirit with me via our link, we decided to give the same trick a try for sharing our unused Intelligence points that weren’t being used to create a new pet slot. While I had thirty-two points, Helgath had twenty-six, which meant that together we were able to squeeze out another zombie pet between the two of us as long as we stayed in contact with one another.

  The other part was that neither of us particularly cared about the man’s threats or curses one way or the other. I’d promised those that had sworn to me that they’d either serve in life or in death, but either way they would honor the oath that they’d given to me. As far as I was concerned, all of the Iron Falcon Mercenaries had chosen death after the crimes they'd inflicted on the people of Darom, Telrain, the Guardian Knights, and the royal family. So, as the spell began raising the man’s companion as a zombie, I explained to him what was going to happen next.

  “Swordsman Edwin,” I said in a calm voice, as the man glared at me hatefully.

  “The Dark take you,” Edwin cursed, as he spat in my face. “I knew you were a sick fuck after I saw your zombies. There ain’t nothing you can do to make me tell you what you want to know!”

  “Oh really,” I laughed out loud, ignoring the globule of spit running down my cheek. “We’ll see about that!” As the Raise Zombie spell completed, there was a fearful murmur behind me as the new zombie easily broke through the rope that had bound its wrists.