by Eric Vall
I took a few more hard knocks to the stomach between the strikes of Big Guy’s sword, and the automatic maneuvers I made were nearly out of my control by this point. I countered his attacks until my sword was completely battered and bent, and then I threw it aside and broke the earth apart.
Big Guy swiftly dodged the trench, and when he circled around to deliver a deadly blow with his sword, I felt an uncontrollable surge of my powers shoot straight through my arms.
I tore a mass of stone up and brought it crashing down on the metal man, and as it crumbled around the sturdy arm he blocked himself with, I felt my powers shift gears once more. With a single wrenching motion, I ripped the entire metal machine apart, and steel flew out for several yards around the forest with bits of shredded copper wiring.
I stood there panting heavily while my rune gradually quieted down, and when my vision normalized again, Big Guy was nothing but a pair of tracks.
“What the hell!” Haragh gasped and came barreling over. “You killed him!”
“Give me a second,” I panted as my heart continued to slam in my chest. Every inch of my body ached from the throttling I’d taken, but with the elements of the healing rune scattered through my body just beneath the surface, I had the overwhelming sense of being completely fine.
I knew I was fine in fact, and when I paired this with the notion that I’d just taken on Big Guy and won, I realized I had a lot of work ahead of me.
“Godsdamnit,” I sighed. “I won.”
“I can’t fucking believe I just watched that happen,” Haragh muttered as he kneaded his massive hands. “It was unbelievable. You could have died at least ten times.”
“That was the point,” I chuckled with exhaustion. “I need to stop killing everything, man. I need practice controlling this rune.”
Haragh’s expression sobered immediately, and he studied me for a moment before he nodded his understanding.
“I could see that,” he admitted. “The rune’s taking things a bit far, is it?”
“Yeah,” I sighed. “I killed a couple mages yesterday and scared the hell out of Shoshanne. One of them would’ve killed me otherwise, but that’s not even the point. I should be able to not kill someone if I choose not to. That’s just basic self-control. I need to aggravate this rune, and then practice controlling the reaction it brings out in me.”
Haragh eyed the shattered remains of Big Guy.
“Well, I think you’ve found a decent solution,” he mumbled blankly. “You won’t catch me taking on that damn machine, but I can tell you with absolute certainty, if you need someone to try and kill you, he’s your guy.”
I chuckled and nodded as my knees shook with exhaustion, and then I sparked my metal magic and closed my eyes. I summoned every scrap of Big Guy from the forest, and while I focused on the schematics I used to create him, I let my magic piece him back together from the tracks up.
In about ten minutes, he was fully reformed, and Haragh summoned the channeling gem to hand to me.
I was a little uneasy as I mounted the gem into the central hub of Big Guy’s wiring, but the moment his eyes flashed to life, I sensed the same personality he’d always had.
“You alright, buddy?” I asked the machine. “I’m sorry about that last part.”
Big Guy turned his giant head my way, and after a slow nod, his sword shot out, and he turned to ready himself again.
I laughed and waved him off. “That’s enough for now, Big Guy, but thank you. Words can’t express how much I appreciate the dedication.”
The machine retracted his sword immediately, and I admired the terrifying presence of the massive metal guard.
“I’m gonna need you to help me train like this daily,” I told Big Guy, “but I have another important job for you down here. I sent Haragh to bring you because the village doesn’t have anywhere near the amount of protection it needs. You know these mages mean a lot to me, and if we’re gonna be sure the Master can’t get to them, I need your help.”
Big Guy nodded diligently, and I could tell he was ready and awaiting instructions.
“Keep a constant patrol of the perimeter,” I instructed, and I summoned my magic as I raised my palm toward the metal machine. With my intentions set in my mind, I channeled them into Big Guy like I’d done the first time I formed him, and I could tell he was absorbing every order. “Watch the western woods especially and pursue any possessed mage who tries to get into the village. You’re not to harm anyone else, and if there’s a mage of ours who is in trouble, you will go to their aid and defend them as if they were me or my women. You got all that?”
The gem in the center of Big Guy’s chest was burning a blinding shade of indigo now, and his sinister gaze held mine as he nodded once more. Then he turned, and I watched him head into the forest and branch off to the left to begin his first patrol.
Haragh let out a low whistle.
“If I ever get possessed,” he mused, “do me a favor and kill me yourself, alright? I don’t wanna die at the hands of that machine.”
I grinned. “If you ever get possessed, I’ll kick your ass for being a dumb shit. Then I’ll probably chain you up and peel your skin off.”
“That’s real decent of ye’,” the half-ogre chuckled. “Thanks for that.”
I clapped the man on his broad shoulder as we turned back to the house, and while I headed inside to get back to work on the snatcher, Haragh and Stan left for the pub. I told him to stop by the training fields first to help out, but he pretended he couldn’t hear me while he began telling Stan all about Barnik and how much he’d like the guy.
Back in the shop, I eyed the two forearms I’d just completed, and once I dragged the snatcher’s base back out from under the table, I turned my attention to the elbow joints.
My own joints were aching after my session with Big Guy, but the relief I felt outweighed everything else at the moment. I’d found the solution I needed for my trouble with the rune, the village was adequately guarded at last, and from the sound of it, training was going off without a hitch across town.
Despite the looming threat of the Master’s reign in Illaria, I was honestly happy, and I formed the two elbow joints within two minutes without a thought. They were simple hinge joints which would provide the usual range of motion, but the shoulder joints would be ball and sockets to ensure he could aim with accuracy in any direction. I made these stout and bulky like Big Guy’s new upgrade because they would be the point the nets suspended from, and I used steel plating to form the upper arms next. I built them out at the shoulder to create the housing for the pulley systems and netting, but I only fused the elbow joints to the forearms before setting this all aside.
I needed to rig the mechanics before I assembled anything more fully, and I decided to create the netting first thing. Initially, I’d thought this would be a hitch in my plans since there was no nylon in Illaria, and simple rope could easily be shredded and snapped by any of the snatcher’s parts while he handled it. Then somewhere near four in the morning I’d realized my malleable steel invention would be perfect. It wouldn’t snap apart, it couldn’t be burned by an Ignis Mage, and it would be able to mold its shape to carry any number of mages the snatcher brought in.
I spent about half an hour in careful concentration as I altered the makeup of three large chunks of steel, and once I reached the pliable balance I was looking for, I moved on to forming threadlike spools of the stuff. The tying of the netting took the most time, but it felt a lot like creating a spider web with my mind, and as I sat back and let my magic meticulously form the netting one inch at a time, I listened around the village again.
Big Guy was already rounding the furthest reaches of the eastern edge of the town, and it didn’t sound like he’d encountered any trouble yet. The mages were moving on to firearms with Cayla, and Haragh had joined Barnik in the other field to apparently drink and brag about Stan.
I didn’t know how many hours passed as I slowly worked my way through the netti
ng, but the sun was already dipping toward the western horizon when I finally finished the first one. I let out a heavy sigh and stretched a bit while I headed to the kitchen, and I found several more bottles of wine and a wealth of breads and cheeses waiting for me.
The women had woven baskets of fresh fruits laid around too, and when I pulled over what I thought was a breadbox, I found a store of dried venison that smelled so good I was drooling in an instant.
I made up a quick meal for myself, and as I gnawed on a chunk of venison and returned to the shop, Ruela prowled behind me licking her chops.
“No way,” I told her firmly. “You go kill something if you’re hungry. I’m not your master.”
With a heavy groan, the beast curled up at my feet, and I started on the next net while I worked through my food and wine. After realizing I was becoming really proficient with multitasking when it came to my magic, I got an idea, and I took a brief break to bring the rest of my weapons in from the trunk of the Mustang.
I left a few choice blades and a couple bazookas in there just in case, though.
Then I sparked my magic to keep the netting process going, and with a careful balance of focus, I was able to build some racks to mount on the walls of the atrium. Several times, I accidentally turned half the net into a rack, and a rack into a malleable rod, but I got the hang of it after a few mishaps.
Eventually, I had a rack for my guns, one for my glaives, another two for daggers, one for swords and bows, and a final rack above the worktable to mount the bazookas.
Then I took all of the ammunition the women had left on the shelf of gold since there was nowhere else for it at the time, and I created a solid steel cabinet beneath the corner of the table with enough shelves inside to organize everything by type.
The biggest shelf was filled with Dragir’s runed rockets, and the rest had compartments piled with cartridges and bullets.
I sighed happily as I closed the doors of the cabinet and fitted it with a latch, and when I stood and turned a circle in the center of the shop, I decided I was finally settled in our home.
Nothing but racks of weaponry and lofty shelves of metal surrounded me on every side, and on the worktable, the last net was already three-quarters completed. I lifted the loot of gold coins out of the fountain and returned it all to the chest in the far corner, and I couldn’t help grinning as I summoned Aurora’s chains from the bedroom floor to hook them on the wall near the wooden doors.
I would have to get some flint from the marketplace so I could light the torches whenever the Ignis Mage wasn’t around, but for now I didn’t mind the cast of the evening sky glowing around the atrium. It was enough to work with, and it made the several Halcyan blades seem to glow in an otherworldly way. So, after a final admiring glance around the completed shop, I sat back at the worktable and finished the last knot of the malleable netting.
I was sketching out the pulley system when I heard Deya and Shoshanne coming up the lane, and Ruela promptly abandoned her post at my feet to wait for the elf at the door.
The women looked exhausted from their first day of training, but their eyes lit up when they saw what I’d done with the place.
“It’s the perfect place for you,” Shoshanne chuckled, and she draped herself in my lap with a sigh. “How did your work go today?”
I slid my palms along the woman’s plush thighs as I tucked a kiss in the nape of her neck, and her cheeks flushed at once.
“It went very well,” I murmured against her collar bone. “I think you’ll be happy with the results.”
The woman sighed and leaned into my touch as I pulled the strap on her shoulder down with my teeth, and Deya giggled from where she sat giving Ruela some much needed attention.
Then I noticed the erratic thrumming of a familiar heartbeat, and I froze with my lips still halfway to the healer’s breast.
“What’s wrong?” Shoshanne moaned.
I was about to respond when Aurora stormed into the house with Cayla close behind, and the half-elf hollered my name along the way.
“Mason,” Aurora hissed once more as she came to a huffy stop in front of me. “Get Pindor over here, now.”
“Huh?” I asked blankly.
“Pindor,” Aurora snapped.
“Why?”
“Because I’m going to kill him,” Aurora informed me, and I glanced over at Cayla to see she was just as confused as I was.
I sighed and shifted to let Shoshanne slide back to her feet, and while she and Deya casually left the room, I gestured to the torches mounted on the wall.
“Let’s take a step back,” I told the half-elf. “Can we get some light in here, and then talk about this?”
With a furious wave of her hand, the Ignis Mage sent searing white flames flying to the wall, and in the flicker of their light, I realized she really did have that look on her face that said she wasn’t fucking around.
“I thought Mina and Deli were gonna kill Pindor,” I tried in the hopes of easing the fire in Aurora’s eyes.
“No, I’m going to kill him,” she informed me, “and Cayla’s gonna help.”
Cayla looked over and blinked in confusion. “I am?”
“Yes,” Aurora assured her before she whirled back to me. “Get him over here. Now.”
I tried to come up with anything I could say to derail the blazing trail of death that seemed to be closing in around Pindor, but I was honestly becoming more intrigued by the second about the kid. I mean, how much could he fuck up in just a few weeks?
So, I focused on being reasonable.
“Why do you want to kill Pindor?” I asked. “Give me a solid reason, and I’ll think about getting him out here.”
“He left Mina tied to a bed,” Aurora said icily.
Fury sparked in my veins as Mina’s sweet face came to mind, but for the time being, I still tried to stay rational.
“He what?” I clarified.
“Pindor left Mina tied to a bed,” Aurora repeated, “for five fucking hours.”
“He came back five hours later?” I asked incredulously.
“No. Deli found her when she got home from the Oculus that night.”
I locked my jaw and calmly shifted the sketches aside.
“Yeah, I’ll get Pindor here,” I said through gritted teeth, and I left the house.
I caught the first mage I passed and ordered them to track down Pindor, and when I told them to make sure his ass was here within the hour, the mage blanched and sprinted for the stables.
Then I returned to the atrium, eyed the racks around me, and chose three of my favorite daggers. I was just sitting down at the worktable to decide how I was gonna handle the kid, when Aurora came in from the kitchen.
“Nope,” she sighed and caught the dagger I was holding before she pointed me toward the doors. “I trained Mina, so I get to torture the people who piss her off.”
“Yeah, but I trained Pindor,” I countered as I pulled another dagger from the table.
“And look where that led,” Aurora shot back.
She snatched the second dagger away with haughty huff, and I narrowed my eyes.
“Hey,” I replied, “I was gone when all of this went down. That kid fucked up on his own, and you know it.”
Cayla cleared her throat as she casually slid my two daggers out of Aurora’s hand, and then she handed them over and curled her arm around mine.
“You always get to threaten people,” the princess said with a pout. “We never get a turn.”
“You got to threaten Wyresus with me,” I pointed out, but when she cocked a brow, I couldn’t deny the situation hardly counted.
So, I finally let out a sigh and held my hands up in defeat.
“Fine, but don’t kill Pindor,” I ordered. “You can scare him or rough him up as much as you want, but he’s not an adult, so no blood spilled, got it?”
I looked at each lethal woman in turn until I was sure we had an understanding, and then I let Aurora shuttle me to the doors at th
e far end of the atrium.
“Here,” Cayla said as she shoved a lump of steel into my hand. “You can work in the other room, but don’t come out and spoil our fun.”
“What happens if I do?” I asked with a smirk.
“You’ll get whatever treatment we give Pindor,” Aurora snickered. .
I furrowed my brow. “His clothes stay on.”
Cayla rolled her eyes and gave me a final shove to get me into the spare room, and I shook my head as I sat at the table near the wall to get back to work. Shoshanne joined me with four thick volumes in hand, and Deya slowly undressed to slip into a scant lace dress I could see straight through.
She brushed a kiss across my cheek before she pulled the sea dragon scale from a shelf, and then she announced she would be practicing with the rune Nemris showed her in the bedroom. Ruela curled up in her cave in the corner, and just as the elf left the room, there was a knock on the door.
At Aurora’s instructions, Deya trotted over to answer it, and the beautiful elf greeted Pindor as sweetly as ever despite her see-through attire.
“Oh, hello again,” Deya said lightly, and then she called back to the atrium. “The little boy is here!”
“Wha … ” Pindor rallied for a second. “I-I’m not a little boy?”
“Oh,” Deya mused, “my mistake. I am not accustomed to living amongst mages. How old are you?”
“Sixteen.”
Deya let a silvery giggle fall from her lips.
“That is very cute,” she told the kid. “When I was sixteen, I caught my brother skinning a sphynx, and he gave me a necklace made of fangs so I would not tell my father he stole his sharpest dagger. But then I entered my seventeenth year, and I learned how to control my power so I could cripple anyone who touched me.”
Based on the silence that followed, I figured Deya left Pindor standing there when she headed for the bedroom, and shortly after, I heard the kid’s feet shuffling into the shop.
“Oh hello, Pindor,” Aurora said with mock kindness.
“Hey Aurora,” he replied brightly. “I like your new friend. She’s … she’s nice. You look absolutely beautiful today, though.”
