Metal Mage 12

by Eric Vall

  Then I saw the grizzly man nod to each Defender who passed, and I knew they’d be in good hands. It seemed like ages since I’d been in these parts, but my mages and I had been treated well here, and knowing Krick and Bagneera had grown so fond of each other made me like the place all the more.

  Cold as it was, it seemed like the perfect way to end our three-day trek in the name of the Order, and the frigid climate gave my women a chance to put their new furs to use. They looked adorable as they clutched their shawls around them in the dusky blue light, and they clung to mine and each other’s arms while their hair whipped around in the wind.

  Kurna led the way to the five burly and bearded loggers at the gate, and as we entered the torchlight, the wind died down thanks to the forty-foot walls that closed the village in against the mountains.

  “Drinkin’ already?” Krick asked in a deep, gravelly voice, and my lopsided grin only grew.

  “No, he’s not drunk,” Kurna sighed. “Just slap-happy.”

  “Well, we can fix one of those, anyway,” Krick snorted.

  “Good to see you, Krick,” I chuckled. “This is General Kurna, he’s an Ignis Mage for the Order, and I’m sure you remember Aurora, Cayla, and Shoshanne.”

  “Hard to forget.” Krick nodded. “Always a pleasure, ladies.”

  My women offered their own greetings as they tried to get their hair back in place, and Deya snuggled against my arm while the burly loggers seemed mystified by her serpentine eyes.

  “This is Deya Naera,” I continued. “She wasn’t with us when we built the tracks through these parts.”

  “Hello,” the elf said with a sweet smile. “I’m pregnant.”

  Then Deya leaned her head on my shoulder, and despite their coarse beards, I could see how huge the loggers’ grins were while they considered the adorable woman.

  “Are ye’ now?” Krick asked the elf as he stroked his stout gray beard.

  “Mm-hmm.” Deya nodded. “Mason blessed me.”

  My day was just unfathomable to me at this point, but Deya’s proud little nod sealed it for me, and I couldn’t help laughing like a dope while my women giggled at the pair of us.

  Krick seemed to understand, though, because he let out a deep, rumbling laugh as he caught me by the neck, and he dragged me with him through the gates while my women and Kurna followed. The grizzly man roughed me up a bit as we headed along the grimy streets of the logging town, and he only released me once I wrestled my way out of his hold.

  “Ye’ bastard,” Krick growled. “No wonder you look like a drunk. Four women as pretty as that, and a baby on the way, too. I bet those others aren’t gonna stand by and let the pink one get a swollen tummy all on her own. You’ll probably have three more on the way soon. Lucky bastard.”

  “Yeah, life’s been pretty good since you saw me last,” I admitted.

  “Not from what I’ve heard,” Krick snorted. “Baggy says you’re runnin’ all over from Nalnora to Jagruel savin’ our asses.”

  I grinned at the pet name the rugged man had given Bagneera. “That too, but it all evens out.”

  “I don’t doubt it,” he muttered as he glanced back at my women.

  “How have things been going up here?” I asked as we made our way toward the loggers’ tavern, and in the fading light, the place looked more like a dungeon than ever.

  “Rollin’ in gold,” Krick said with a gravelly sigh. “This train of yours really is the ticket. We got the tavern expanded to add more rooms above the place, and with more timber heading south, we’ve been able to improve the safety regulations up in the mountains, too.”

  “I’m glad to hear it,” I replied, and I waited for the grizzly man to heave his full weight against the wrought iron door of the tavern for us.

  “Better stay here tonight,” Krick offered. “Storm’s blowin’ in, and we’ve got a few fires going upstairs already. Biggest bed’s in the last room at the end of the hall.”

  I smirked as he clocked me hard on the arm, and he waded through the crowded tavern ahead of us while I hung back to help my women along.

  The dim tavern was packed at this late hour with rugged loggers and their weather-worn women, and my Defenders already looked at home while they clanked large mugs of ale together. Heaping platters of bison and steamed greens lined the long wooden table they were seated at, and the nearby loggers clapped the mages on the shoulders to welcome them to the north.

  Haragh and Taru were tucked into a cozy corner table enjoying a private meal together, and Urn was laughing heartily when he beckoned us over to join him. Krick raised his booming voice above the din to order a round for us all, but when Aurora politely declined for the women, he let out another rumbling laugh at the grin on my face.

  Then the grizzly man insisted on a whiskey for me instead, and I dropped down on the wooden bench while my women tucked themselves on either side.

  After the piercing screams of the towns we’d been passing through this week, the raucous noise of the loggers was infinitely more enjoyable, and the scent of charred wood, sweat, and ale made me feel like kicking back and celebrating the end of our journey for a while.

  The conversation that took place around the tavern kept me entertained between discussions with the generals and loggers about Illaria’s next move, and it sounded like the people in the north were primarily interested in the size of the game they’d all managed to hunt down lately. My women giggled while the drunker of the men tried to impress them with tales of six-hundred-pound bears, and when Deya one upped them by bragging about the time she mauled a dragon, half the tavern broke out into booming laughter.

  I could tell none of them believed her, but she was so damn cute when she said it.

  About an hour after arriving, I noticed two men seated near Haragh and Taru who were distinctly clean-shaven, and they kept looking my way while they nodded and worked through their meals. At first, I thought Baron Ralish might have already hired a replacement for his butchered assassin, but then the two men came over to shake my hand.

  “Baron Flynt, it’s an honor to formally meet you,” one of the men said. “We didn’t get the chance to introduce ourselves at the meeting, but I assure you, your efforts on behalf of us all that night have not been forgotten. I’m Lord Vernich, and this is my brother-in-law, Lord Crall.”

  “Good to meet you,” I said with a grin. “I didn’t expect to see any of the nobility so far north this time of year.”

  “Yes, it was an impromptu journey,” Lord Vernich replied. “We’re rather fond of a good sport now and then. When we heard tell of a seven-foot boar in this area, we couldn’t resist having a go at it, but alas, we’ve had no luck.”

  “Got a few decent stags, though,” Lord Crall added. “We’ll likely head south on the morning train.”

  “Well, why don’t you ride with us?” I offered. “This is our last stop before we return to the capital, and there’s plenty of room and good food on board.”

  The two lords looked pleased with the invitation, and they immediately agreed to set out first thing in the morning. Then we chatted for a little while as they congratulated Aurora and I on our promotions, and I was glad to find more nobles who weren’t exhausting company. The two men could hold their own amongst the loggers, and Krick knew them well enough from previous hunting trips they’d taken in the area. Eventually, they bid us a good evening before they headed off for another round of drinks, and the night wore on into a blur of clanking pints and greasy, grilled meat.

  I was chuckling as I admired the way Krick and Bagneera could sass each other to no end when I felt Aurora’s lips grazing my skin, and she began toying with those two top buttons on my shirt as she nibbled at my earlobe.

  When Cayla followed suit on my other side, though, I cocked a brow.

  “Whaaat’s up?” I chuckled as I lowered my pint.

  “Mason, we need you,” Aurora moaned into my ear. “Now.”

  “We can’t wait any longer,” Cayla agreed.

&n
bsp; Then Shoshanne reached over below the table, and I jolted as she wantonly grabbed my cock.

  Within seconds, Aurora and Cayla were flat-out insisting I fuck them all, and since neither of them kept their voices down, the burly loggers around us were staring over the brim of their pints while the Defenders chuckled and shook their heads.

  “Uhh … ” I managed as I wrenched Shoshanne’s hand off my dick, but Deya just took her place, and now, Aurora and Cayla were biting at my neck.

  “Please, Mason?” Shoshanne begged.

  “I need you inside me,” Deya added with a pout.

  I couldn’t think straight with them all over me out of the blue like this, and before I knew it, my women were pulling me from the bench while the loggers laughed heartily at the state of me.

  “We’re gonna … ” I tried as my knees slammed into the table. “We’ll just … I’ll see you guys in the morning.”

  Then my women pawed at me all the way through the tavern, and their fingers began tearing my shirt open even though every eye in the place was on us now. I tried to keep them from stripping me down as I nodded to the two lords in the corner, but I couldn’t do much more than let the four women gnaw at my chest while they shuttled me out the side door. They erupted into giggles as they dragged me down the hall with them, but as soon as we turned the corner, they stopped and stepped away.

  “It worked!” Shoshanne giggled.

  I looked at my four grinning women as I furrowed my brow. “What worked?”

  Then I jumped about a foot into the air when Nulena appeared out of absolutely nowhere, and Aurora burst out laughing while I clutched my heart.

  “Well done,” the Baroness purred as she turned to the others. “Now for phase two.”

  Chapter 20

  “Phase two?” I asked with a slightly tipsy grin. “Holy shit. Is it assassination time?”

  “Yes, and your alibi is partially in place,” Nulena informed me. “I’ve arranged everything and will be killing Baron Ralish in about forty minutes. Now, I will need you to make violent love to your women for the rest of the evening, except I’m borrowing Aurora for convenience.”

  Aurora practically skipped over to Nulena’s side, but I caught her by the crook of her arm before she made it.

  “We agreed Nulena was handling this.”

  The half-elf tipped her chin defiantly. “And Nulena agreed my powers would be incredibly useful.”

  “You’re a head of the Order,” I reminded her. “Wasn’t the whole point of having Nulena do this to keep either of us from becoming suspects?”

  “I’ll keep her concealed,” the Baroness assured me.

  “That’s not … that’s not even the point,” I scoffed. “Aurora, this man paid to have you killed. I’m not--”

  “Delivering me on a silver platter,” the half-elf mocked in her best Mason voice, and I ground my teeth. “Yes, I know, you’ve made that speech. However, I will be concealed, and damn it, Mason, this jackass hired someone to have you killed, too! I’m doing this.”

  I kept my grip firm on Aurora’s arm mostly out of desperation, but also because I couldn’t let her go. The way I’d felt at Temin’s castle when I saw the man in green eyeing her and Deya came rushing back to me, and just the thought of something going wrong tonight made my knees go numb with worry. More than anything, I needed to do everything I could to keep my women safe these days, but I could tell by the fiery look in Aurora’s emerald eyes that I actually had no say in this one.

  Which felt like bullshit to me, even though it probably wasn’t.

  “I’m going with you,” I decided, and I released the half-elf.

  “What?” Nulena snorted. “Mason, I have orchestrated this all specifically to ensure you won’t be associated with the crime. You cannot be there.”

  “I’ll be concealed,” I said in my best Aurora voice.

  The half-elf flushed in irritation. “How are you supposed to keep your alibi if you’re there?”

  “He won’t be there,” Nulena said, and she stepped between us while we stubbornly glared at each other. “I can only transport one other person with my shadows, and Baron Ralish’s estate is thirty-seven miles from here. If both of you insist on going, I have no way of getting us there.”

  “Not true,” Deya sang. “I can get you all there.”

  My eyes went wide as we all looked at my beautiful elf, and suddenly, I wished I’d kept my mouth shut and just let Aurora be stubborn on her own.

  “I can fly you all there as a dragon, and then back to Garioch when it’s all done,” Deya said with a giddy smile. “This will be fun!”

  “No,” I croaked. “No! Not okay. Back to plan A, no one is going except Nulena.”

  “Well, I do need Aurora’s assistance for this particular murder,” Nulena interjected.

  “Mason, you don’t get to decide everything, you know,” Aurora scoffed. “Since when am I some pathetic little creature who can’t kill a man in seconds flat? You know damn well I can do this, you’re just being overprotective.”

  “I know!” I groaned as I rifled my hair. “My brain is fully aware that you can do this and you don’t need me there to make sure you’re okay, but my daddy demon is saying something more along the lines of kill everyone, lock all of you in gilded cages, put those cages on a mountain ten thousand feet up, and rig tripwire explosives for two miles around just in case!”

  I took a long, shaky breath after this outburst, and while my women blinked at me with pink cheeks, I felt like it was way too hot in this frigid tavern. I was so worked up, my heart was pounding like a jackhammer, and I kind of wished I’d cut myself off at ‘kill everyone,’ but I couldn’t do anything about it now.

  “Aww,” Deya moaned after a beat. “Mason, you’re so cute when you’re a demon daddy.”

  “Daddy demon,” I mumbled.

  Aurora sighed as she shook her head, but when she met my gaze, I could tell she understood my predicament, and she could only offer a wry smirk.

  Then Nulena interceded. “We are wasting valuable time. Both of you will join me, Deya will fly us there, and for the sake of Mason’s sanity, she will remain in dragon form and keep hidden on the baron’s roof the entire time. No exceptions.”

  “Okay!” the elf agreed at once.

  My brow crinkled as she pranced over to join us, and my eyes dropped straight to her cute little belly. Then I instinctively pulled her into my arms.

  “You have to promise me you won’t be found,” I told my pregnant lover. “I mean it. No getting curious and peeking through windows, no circling the grounds because you’re bored, and absolutely no hunting. Anyone could hear you mauling shit from hundreds of yards away.”

  Deya straightened up a bit, and her violet eyes burned with determination.

  “Mason Flynt, I will be the stealthiest dragon in the world for you,” the elf informed me.

  “Good,” I chuckled.

  “Excellent, now that this is all handled,” Nulena continued, and she turned to Shoshanne and Cayla. “Mason’s alibi is in your hands. Do you think you can do whatever it takes to ensure it is indisputable?”

  “We will not let you down,” Cayla assured the Baroness, and the two women looped their arms together in solidarity.

  “We are one hundred percent dedicated to this mission,” Shoshanne agreed.

  “Lovely,” Nulena purred. “Then Deya, meet us in the foothills behind the tavern.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Deya said with a bounce, “but where am I supposed to transmute?”

  “Krick said the room at the end of the hall upstairs has the biggest bed,” I told the women. “We’ll join you all there as soon as we’re finished.”

  The three women left kisses on my cheeks before they hurried off, and when I turned to Aurora, the half-elf wore a deadly grin on her lips.

  “Let’s go assassinate this asshole,” she said as she raised a hand, and I delivered a crisp high five.

  “Hell yeah.”

  The Bar
oness smirked at the two of us before she headed down the hall, and despite my nerves, I was stoked to see the mysterious woman at work for once. Aurora was twice as excited as me, though, and we couldn’t help snickering like we were sneaking out of work early rather than tarrying off to kill a nobleman.

  Nulena quickly led us to the back of the tavern, past the kitchens, and out another wrought-iron door, and the wintry night air bit at my skin as I formed a staircase to take us over the forty-foot wall. The landscape was so barren here, there was nothing to distract from what we were up to, but the moon hadn’t risen yet, so it was pitch black as we scaled the other side and swiftly headed into the foothills.

  Then we gathered in a rocky clearing where Deya could find us, and Aurora squeezed Nulena’s arm in her excitement.

  “You get to meet dragon Deya!” the half-elf squealed. “You’ll love her, she’s so cute as a dragon.”

  “I’m sure she is,” Nulena chuckled as she turned to me. “Now, before we begin all of this, I need your word you will still love me when we’re done.”

  I furrowed my brow. “Yeah … I don’t really fall in love with people and then randomly change my mind.”

  “Yes, but this is … ” the Baroness trailed off while she wrung her hands, and I could tell she was trying to find the right words. “The thing is, you have a type of work I abhor. It disgusts me to know you risk your life for silly humans who should mean nothing to you.”

  “Thanks,” I snorted.

  “But I love you anyway,” Nulena continued. “I’m even attracted to this unnatural sense of honor you have despite how much it confuses me. I’m only asking that you try to be accepting of me in the same way, because I enjoy my work. I like gathering the secrets of these swine, and I like turning all of it against them. I like heightening their terror and extending their suffering, and I like ending their useless lives at the perfect moment.”

  “Woah,” I muttered, but then I hiccupped, and Nulena arched an eyebrow.

  “How much have you had to drink?”

  “A normal amount.” I shrugged. “Look, I know you’re kind of … evil … but I’ve known that for a while now, and I still love you, okay? I’m just as attracted to your way more unnatural inclination to ruin people’s lives in the most underhanded ways possible. It’s confusing, but trust me, I’m not changing my mind, especially not over a prick you’re killing for the sake of me and my women.”