by Eric Vall
“Quiet, sister,” the brunette whispered. “We can’t let them hear us.”
“I don’t know if anyone can hear anything over the horses and Roza,” I told the women. “But yeah, the quieter, the better.”
The two priestesses crept to the door of the room and concealed themselves as I had told them.
The men were still huddled in a circle in the middle of the stable, but one of them would look over at the door to the small room from time to time.
“It’s going to be hard to hit them from this angle,” Aleia whispered.
“Strike them in the legs to disable them,” I instructed the women. “Knock them down, and then go over and slit their throats.
“Okay, Jack.” Nicola drew her bow, and then she pushed the door open, jumped out of hiding, and let an arrow fly into one of the goblin’s calves.
The small man froze in shock for a moment, and it seemed like there was a delay in his pain registry because he didn’t even make a noise. A thick red stream began to trickle down his leg and onto his feet, but the other soldiers kept talking as if nothing had happened.
Then the injured guard pitched forward into the group, and the three remaining men shouted and jumped back in surprise. Their pinched goblin faces hardened as they looked at the door to the room, and they each drew a sword from their belts.
The blades were made out of cheap, thin-looking metal like the rest of the goblins’ weapons and armor, so I wasn’t at all worried about the three-against-two situation.
“They’re coming for you, but it’s going to be easy,” I told Nicola and Aleia. “Just cut them down like you have so far.”
“Yes, master,” the fairy growled, and then she rounded the corner with her sword brandished high in the air and Nicola close behind.
Roza’s wails seemed a little quieter in the main stable, and I could hear the two priestesses panting as they faced off against the three goblins. The small men’s jaws dropped open when they saw the beautiful women, and that gave my priestesses the chance to strike first.
“I’ve got the big one,” Nicola grunted, and as she held her sword in both hands, she slashed out toward the goblin soldier’s throat.
The brunette’s hit sliced the small man’s head clean off, and the sphere went flying across the room as the goblin’s body crumpled to the floor.
The two older soldiers stared at his headless neck on the ground before they looked open-mouthed at the priestesses again. One small man stepped back a couple feet and held up his hands, but the other lunged forward directly toward Aleia’s belly.
With lightning-quick reflexes, the fairy floated up off the ground and swung her sling over her head. She smashed a stone into the top of the guard’s bare, reddish skull, and the bone shattered with a horrible, wet thud. Thick red liquid and whitish brain matter sprayed up into the air, and the goblin fell to his knees in front of the strawberry-blonde.
“Please don’t hurt me,” the soldier choked as blood poured out of his ears, but it was clearly too late.
“One more,” I growled. “Get him!”
Nicola lunged forward with her sword again, but this time, the last remaining soldier parried and almost knocked her off her feet. The dark-haired woman stumbled to the side, but she quickly raised her sword high in the air and panted as she stared at the little man.
“I. Hate. Goblins!” the brunette shrieked as she attempted to stab the guard, but the goblin kept dancing away.
“I have it,” Aleia said from the air, and she swung her loaded sling at the man.
The rock missed, though, and it bounced away across the dirt.
The fairy gritted her teeth, put another stone in her weapon, and stared at the one remaining goblin soldier. She aimed and fired again, and her rock soared toward the man.
The standing soldier jumped out of the way in surprise, and Aleia’s projectile missed again.
Just then, Nicola slammed down onto the ground, and I realized the soldier she’d shot in the leg had grabbed the brunette by the ankle.
“Get up, Nicola!” I urged her. “The fight is almost over!”
The dark-haired woman struggled up onto her side and tried to crawl across the floor, but apparently the guard had a strong grip, and the brunette continued to struggle.
“Get off me, you little leach!” Nicola seethed as she tried to kick him off.
The still-standing guard dashed over to where Nicola was lying, and as he raised his sword over the brunette’s body and grinned, his gold teeth glimmered in the light from the torch.
“Now, it’s your turn--” the goblin man began, but suddenly, there was a noise in the corner of the room.
A huge puppy came sprinting out of the corner stall and lunged directly at the goblin’s face, and the dog knocked the soldier backward and away from Nicola before it pinned the small man down against the floor.
“Holy shit,” Nicola gasped as she looked at the animal, and then the brunette bolted upward and jumped to her feet.
The dark-haired woman took three long strides toward the downed goblin, and she didn’t hesitate even a fraction of a second before she sliced the goblin’s pinkish throat open with the tip of her blade.
The soldier attempted to speak, but only a gurgling gasp made it out, and it almost seemed like the noise came from the open gash in his throat. Then the goblin’s head fell to the side as his eyes bulged blankly, and it was clear the worst of the fight was over.
“Nice work, you two,” I praised the women. “Now, take the men on the floor down.”
Aleia walked over to the man with the arrow through his leg, and she raised the tip of her sword high over his neck before she brought it down directly onto his jugular, if goblins had jugulars.
The soldier’s neck exploded, and the fairy jumped back as blood sprayed all over her white clothing and her small body.
Nicola approached the mauled goblin and the dog slowly, and the animal began to whine. The brunette had seemed sure the black and tan beast was a puppy, but it came up to above her knees. It had the wrinkled face and body of a shar-pei, but the folds in its skin were even deeper, and its jowls hung down halfway to the ground.
“It’s okay,” the brunette cooed. “You’re a good boy. You attacked that man for me, didn’t you?”
The dog whimpered, put its head down, and wagged its tail, and Nicola began to walk even closer.
“Be careful,” I warned. “If it attacks you--”
“He’s not going to,” the dark-haired woman said. “I know he’s not.”
The dog didn’t move as Nicola approached the goblin’s head, and the small soldier shuddered as a yellow pool spread outward from beneath his bottom half.
“Kill the goblin, Nicola,” I told the brunette. “Hurry, we have to get--”
“Hold on, I want to try something,” the dark-haired woman responded with a shake of her head. She stared down at the huge puppy for a moment, and then she smiled a little. “Go get him.”
The puppy didn’t pause before it lunged for the goblin’s throat, and before I knew it, all the soldiers were down.
“Holy shit,” I breathed. “You just sicced that dog on your enemy with one command.”
“I like him,” Nicola chuckled with pride.
“We need to get out of here,” Aleia said in an anxious voice as she glanced around the dark stable. “Jack, is anyone else coming?”
I still couldn’t see inside the goblin lair, but I zoomed outside, and all appeared quiet.
“No one’s out there,” I reported. “Penelope, are you okay? All the men are down, and we need to go.”
“I’m fine,” the naiad gasped as Roza continued to shriek into her ear. “We need to get this baby out of here!”
“Come out to the stable quickly,” I told the blue woman, who quickly leapt to her feet and began to weave through the boxes in the storeroom.
I zoomed in on each of the goblin’s bodies to ensure they were dead, and none of them were breathing anymore. I wasn�
��t surprised, though, because the priestesses had totally kicked ass.
“There are so many dead goblins,” Penelope squeaked as she rushed out into the stable.
“I know,” I replied. “And now you need to get as far away from them as possible.”
“I want a horse,” the naiad said with huge eyes as she stared at the animals in the stalls. “Jack, it will help us get away.”
“You can try,” I sighed. “But if you hear anything, you need to run.”
“I’m bringing this dog,” Nicola declared, and when she hefted the gigantic puppy into her arms, it licked her on the cheek.
“Fine,” I sighed. “Grab whatever you want, just keep moving. I won’t have you getting into any more deadly situations today.”
The women all flashed big smiles toward each other, and I figured they’d earned themselves some upgrades of their own. If they wanted some animals around the convent, it was fine by me.
As long as they took care of them themselves.
Aleia ran over to the stable door, and she pushed it far enough open for a horse to get out.
“Hurry, hurry!” the fairy hissed, and since she was the only one whose arms were free, she dashed over to a stall. Then she started to shift back and forth as she stared at the horse inside with rising panic in her eyes. “I don’t know how to get a horse to move!”
“I got this,” Nicola grunted. “Hold my puppy.”
“They’re pretty small,” Penelope said with a look of doubt on her face. “Are you sure we can ride it?”
“It’s larger than most of these. Let me try,” Nicola answered, and she hefted the dog into Aleia’s arms, led the small steed out of its stall with ease, and carefully climbed onto its back.
Her long legs reached the horse’s legs, and she looked slightly uncomfortable for a moment, but she adjusted her body and nudged the animal in its sides with her knees. Then the brunette rode the horse out the stable door, and Penelope and Aleia followed her back out into the night air.
“It’s doable,” Nicola decided. “Besides, having a horse of any size for hauling things would be helpful when Aleia’s busy.”
“That’s true, but how are we getting all of this out of here now?” Aleia panted. “We have a baby, a dog, and a horse.”
“You fly holding Roza,” I commanded. “Then the other two of you are on horseback, and--”
“But my puppy!” Nicola hissed. “He can’t run all the way back to the convent!”
“He’s huge,” I countered, but I caught the brunette’s disapproving frown, and I figured she knew more about animals than I did.
She was the one with the animal husbandry powers, after all.
“Fine,” I conceded, “but it’s not gonna be easy to carry a puppy with the two of you on horseback. Don’t you think that’s putting a lot of strain on that pony?”
“Well, nothing could strain Aleia,” Nicola pointed out, and the fairy’s eyes widened.
“You don’t mean--”
“Yes, you’re carrying my puppy,” the brunette informed her. “Do not drop him!”
Aleia groaned, but she was clearly anxious enough to get going that no more arguments ensued. The strawberry-blonde just nodded and came over to retrieve Roza first, and once the little gnome baby was safely tucked in the makeshift sling across her chest, she hefted the leggy dog under one arm and cradled Roza’s back with the other to make sure she wouldn’t fall.
“Hurry!” I urged the women.
Nicola reached over and hoisted Penelope up in front of her, and with just a gentle kick to its sides, the small, brown steed began to gallop away from the stables with the two priestesses on top.
Then Aleia soared up into the air with the dog wriggling in her hold, Roza cradled by the other, her sword on her belt, and a bow she’d never even used over one shoulder.
“Wowww.” Penelope let out a nervous giggle as the women galloped away, and she attempted to grab the horse’s mane to hold on. “That was a lot of goblins.”
“I hope Aleia takes good care of Thunder,” Nicola worried while she tried to steer the horse.
“What’s Thunder?” Penelope asked.
“My new dog, of course,” the brunette laughed. “Don’t you think that’s a good name for him?”
“I didn’t really get a good look,” the cerulean beauty admitted as she looked back anxiously up the mountain. “I need to see if he looks like a Thunder.”
“You get to name your baby, I get to name mine,” Nicola told Penelope with a smirk on her face. “You’re okay on the horse, right, sister?”
“I should be fine, I think,” the blue woman said as she turned her head to look at the dark-haired priestess. “I’ve done everything else alongside the two of you. Jack will protect our daughter, anyway. She isn’t just an ordinary baby!”
“Of course I will,” I promised.
“Do you think Roza’s alright?” Penelope fretted as the horse made its way through the trees. “She was crying for so long.”
“She’ll be fine,” I assured the naiad as I checked in on Aleia. “Aleia is very gentle.”
“Is she still sobbing?” the blue woman asked with her lower lip jutted out.
“Of course,” I replied. “But she’ll be home with Nissa in just a couple minutes.”
“She’ll be okay,” Nicola tried to reassure Penelope as they reached the road at the bottom of the mountain. “Hey, is that Aleia up ahead?”
“Why is she flying so slow?” the naiad asked. “Is she alright?”
“I think she’s just struggling with a squirmy dog and a screaming baby,” I laughed. “She’ll be fine, though. Aleia’s a tough little fairy.”
As the horse overtook the fairy, the naiad waved up into the air.
“Hi, Roza!” the blue woman cried out. “You’re going to see your mama soon!”
“Was that Thunder barking?” Nicola laughed as her hair streamed back in the wind.
“Yes,” Penelope confirmed over the howling wind. “He doesn’t sound happy to be up so very high. Hey, what should we name this little guy?”
“The horse?” Nicola asked. “I think she’s actually a mare, but I thought we should also get Aleia’s opinion. The horse belongs to all of us, after all.”
“So, the dog is yours, but the horse is all of ours?” Penelope giggled. “Got it, sister.”
“I’m really happy you got Thunder,” I told Nicola. “He’s going to help keep you safe around the convent. Are you positive he’s a puppy, though?”
“I can tell,” the dark-haired woman said with a nod. “But he’s going to be huge.”
“The bigger, the better,” I laughed.
The women rode for a few more miles in silence, and although Nicola kept a brave smile on her face, I wondered how comfortable the brunette was on the smaller horse, particularly when she had to also hold on to a wobbling Penelope.
Still, the women made it work out just fine, and watching them bounce around on the beast was pretty enjoyable from my angle.
“I can’t believe we’re already at the gnome camp,” Nicola remarked as she skidded the horse to a stop. “What are we going to do with her? We don’t have a way to tie her up.”
“You stay on her back, and I’ll run ahead and ask the gnomes,” Penelope told the dark-haired priestess. “I’ll tell them Aleia’s coming with Roza, and I’ll get a rope. Oh, they’re going to be so relieved!”
The naiad hopped off the horse’s back and headed up toward the gnome camp, and Nicola sighed and leaned down over the mare’s mane.
“Are you tired?” I chuckled. “I can’t believe how crazy today has been.”
“I’m exhausted,” the brunette confessed as she squeezed the horse around the neck.
“All these animals really seem to love you,” I observed. “Not that I’m surprised.”
“They do,” the dark-haired woman admitted. “And I love them. Everything has been rough, as you know, but I can’t help but feel we ended up very lucky.
We got Roza, we defeated all those men, and we got Thunder and this horse. And the goblins might not even know it was us!”
“I don’t think they will,” I agreed. “No one should remember seeing Aleia after being knocked out like that, and the rest of the guys are dead, but we have to stay on our guard where the goblins are concerned. Now that we know there’s at least one clan of them within range of the convent, backup defenses are going to necessary. If only for my peace of mind.”
Nicola smiled lightly at my worrying tone, but she nodded in stoic agreement. “Anything you think is best, master.”
I didn’t miss the obedient timbre of her voice when she said this, and the notion warmed me all over my phantom body. I couldn’t help admiring her calm expression and steady hands while she stroked the long mane of her horse, and I wondered if Nicola was becoming as unwavering in loyalty as Penelope.
Her devotion was beginning to show in all sorts of ways lately, but seeing her like this, cool and servile after a battle, made me beyond proud to have her among my priestesses.
Maybe Nicola’s belief in me was bringing out the best of her in more ways than one.
“You should name the horse Luna,” I suggested while I watched Nicola’s slender fingers tangle with the mane. “It means moon. Then both of your new pets will have sky-related names: Thunder and Luna.”
“Luna… ,” Nicola repeated, and a grin spread across her face. “It’s perfect. Thank you, Jack.”
“Anytime,” I murmured.
Luna was deep brown in color, but she had a thick white stripe extending almost all the way both down and across her face. I was surprised to see the horse had extremely light blue eyes, and I wasn’t sure if that was a common horse thing or if it had something to do with being in this world.
I focused on Penelope and the gnomes, and the naiad had her arms around sobbing Nissa and Elowise. Wilfrim was pacing back and forth, and Balabar was sitting with the children and rocking in his seat.
“When are they going to be here?” Balabar asked impatiently. “You said they were coming.”
“They are, I promise,” Penelope assured the young gnome man. “We were just faster because Aleia’s carrying something extra that’s a bit uncooperative, but she’ll be back with Roza in a couple minutes.”
