by Joshua King
“Everyone, this is Juvalia, my little sister.”
Hearing a girl who towered over all of us be referred to as ‘little’ was strange, but coming from the even bigger man, it was endearing. The love he had for her glowed in his eyes when he looked at her, and I knew when he was fighting his way out of the fortress, his determination to live and get back to the village hinged on her.
“It’s nice to meet you,” I said. “I’m Hayden.”
“I know,” she said through an even wider grin.
It felt like she should be gripping a poster of me and a permanent marker outside a backstage door. I didn’t hate it.
“Does Mama know we’re here?” Erral asked.
First ‘little sister’, now ‘Mama’. This was not fitting in with my perception of giants.
“Yes. She has cooked everything in the kitchen. And everything in Greselda’s kitchen. And Lone’s.”
Erral laughed.
"She's excited to meet you," he said. "Come with me."
We walked down into the village, the two giant siblings' arms linked as if the young girl still wasn't ready to let go of her brother for fear he might disappear again. Not for the first time I wondered how long Erral spent in the Dark Fae fortress, and what it must have been like for his family when he walked away and simply didn't return. It was easier when I thought of him as being a solitary being. Even when he mentioned going home to his family, it was easier to imagine something along the lines of a loose confederation of individual beings, banding together out of necessity and convenience, than it was actual close family ties. Seeing him with his sister proved there was much more to him and it made what the Dark Fae King did to him even more cruel and unforgivable.
People were streaming out of the building and gathering around a large fire in the middle of the village when we got down to the center. Several looked up at us and turned to each other, whispering as they scurried away back into the buildings. They returned seconds later with arms full of food and jugs. Some carried blankets they laid out around the fire to create a festive, celebratory atmosphere. Erral brought us to the edge of the fire and began introducing us to those standing there. We'd met two more of his sisters and several friends before a hush fell over the group. We looked around and I saw a man far larger even than Erral coming toward us from the far end of the village. A crown carved out of stone and studded with glinting pieces of minerals perched on his head and his clothes were a balance between royalty and armor. Erral bowed to him as he approached.
"This is Valmont, the leader of my kind. He's been eagerly anticipating your arrival here, Hayden."
I bowed my head to the massive giant.
"Thank you for having us in your village," I said. "It's so good to see Erral again, and know he was able to get home safely."
"The honor is ours," Valmont told us. "We thought we had lost Erral forever. I can't even begin to express to you how much it means to us that you made it possible for him to return home. Since he came back and told us of what you did, I've wanted to be able to thank you personally. Please, accept my deepest gratitude and admiration."
I was honored by what he was saying, but the gushing also made me slightly uneasy considering they already knew I'd be coming. It wasn't a surprise to them, but I still didn't know why.
"With all due respect, you knew I'd be coming to the village. Erral already told me you've been expecting me."
"I have been," the Giant leader admitted. "But that doesn't change how we feel, having you here, or what you did for one of our kind. We knew you would eventually make your way onto our mountain, but we didn't know what you would do for Erral. Rescuing him came purely from your strength and bravery, and those of the men and women who follow you. You were always meant to be here, but to allow him to come back to us is beyond anything we could have expected. You risked yourselves to save him. Thank you."
"You're welcome."
Valmont grinned and opened his arms to encompass the roaring fire and the platters of food and jugs of drinks piled on stone tables and across the blanket draped across the ground.
"Join us," he said. "Today is a day of celebration. By the mark on your arm, I see you've accomplished what brought you here to the mountain."
I looked down at the band that wrapped around my forearm. It still tingled slightly, but the sensation was a reminder of what I'd done.
"You know about my Sanctification," I said.
It wasn't a question, but a confirmation that there were others throughout the underworld who not only knew Malakan, but had been entrusted with being a part of the sacred and mysterious process that was ushering me into the role I was born to hold.
"Yes," Valmont said. "The great warlock came to me and told me to expect you. The Giants have long been overlooked in the war, but Malakan never forgot us."
"You've been a part of it?" Aurora asked.
"Of course, we have. We have stood strong in the resistance since the beginning. But my kind tends to keep to itself here on the mountain. It's easier for us this way and there are few if any other species who would happily welcome us among their kind."
"I would," I said.
He smiled softly at me.
"Which is why you're here. Please, sit and eat. Enjoy being here. You've earned your rest and your time to celebrate. It's easy in a time of war to think of nothing but the conflict. But tonight, we honor you and what you're doing. Don't be fooled. The rest of your sanctification may not come as easily as this challenge, but you've taken your first step and it is a great one for you and for all of the Underworld."
The nine of us sat down on two huge blankets with Erral and his sister. Seconds later, an older woman with eyes like Juvalia appeared in front of us and lowered a massive platter to the ground in front of our blankets.
"This is my mother," Erral told us.
"Marcella," she said. "And you," she smiled at me even as tears started to form in the corners of her eyes. They were the size of raindrops and glistened like ice in the light of the fire, "you are Hayden."
"Yes. It's good to meet you."
"Thank you. Thank you so much for saving my son. When he didn't return, we thought we'd lost him. What that creature was putting him through…" She shuddered and stopped herself from saying anything else. "You brought him back from an unimaginable fate and I will be forever in your debt."
"You don't need to be," I told her. "Really. I'm glad I was able to help him."
She choked back tears and gestured at the platter.
"Eat," she said. Her expression suddenly changed to concern as her eyes flickered over to Aurora. "Oh. I'm sorry. You probably don't…"
I held out a hand to stop her.
"I do," I told her. "So does Stephana." I gestured at the men on the other blanket. "And Bex and Bugs."
"Thank you for cooking for us. Everything looks delicious," Bugs offered.
"I might try a few things myself," Aurora said with a smile. "After all, I've heard that continuing to eat normal food might be good for vampires. You never know."
She smiled at me slyly and reached for what looked like a chunk of meat wrapped in golden brown pastry. She picked it up and popped it into her mouth.
"Good." Marcella sounded relieved. "Let me know if you need anything else. You all will be staying in my home and the home of my brother tonight."
She smiled again and moved away from us in a manner I probably would have described as scurrying if it wasn't so hard to imagine a creature as big as her scurrying. We all reached for morsels of the different types of food filling the platter. I hadn't noticed the hunger gnawing low in my stomach until the first bite touched my tongue. The flavor was rich and savory, but unlike anything I'd ever eaten before. Part of me wanted to ask what it was, but I realized I didn't actually care. The likelihood of me even knowing what it meant if Erral did tell me what I was eating was probably low anyway, so I decided to just let the delicious food be something new to enjoy about the Underworld.
&nb
sp; We'd been eating for a few minutes when Valmont stepped up in front of the fire. The sun had set, creating an entrancing glow around the blaze. He lifted his arms and began to speak. Immediately, my attention was drawn to the huge man and I felt locked into him as I ate and listened to the stories he wove for us. His words surrounded me, creating an environment of their own as they imparted me with the knowledge of this area of the Underworld. He told us legends of the mountain and stories of the various species that lived here. Finally, he told us of the origins of the Giants. His voice rumbled like thunder in the distance as he shared the myth of how his kind came to be.
"This mountain is where the giants have always had our home. Behind us is Unina, the Mother Mountain. Long ago when the Underworld was still young and our mountain was little more than a mound of dirt and rock at the foot of the mother, a human woman fell in love. The man told her he was a god but when he learned she was carrying his child, he fled from her and came to the Underworld. She followed him even though she didn't know if she would ever find her way back to her world. While she was here, she learned he wasn't a god, but a demon, and wanted nothing more to do with her or their child. She bore his son right here and in her grief, died beside him. Unina saw what happened and, sympathizing with the heartbroken woman, took the baby as her own. She raised him with her own children. He and the hill on which he was born grew up together, each growing tall and strong because the Mother Mountain loved them so much. That love carried through the generations and even long after the mother and all her children went quiet, that man's family continued on with the size and strength of the mountains."
18
My hands brushed at my cheeks, trying to get any stray tears away before anyone could see them. The women around me were struck silent by the story and Bugs hadn't stopped stuffing morsel after morsel of the food in his mouth, his eyes not blinking once as he stared at Valmont.
"You see, Hayden, that's why we've been so adamant about our place in the war," Erral told me. "This mountain is our home and we've always lived peacefully here when left on our own. We don't want to be told how to live or to have to worry about anyone coming in and trying to take our home or our way of life from us."
"Anyone like Darian," I said.
Erral nodded.
"Giving the realms power over themselves isn't about dividing the Underworld and disrespecting the factions. It's about honoring each species and letting us do what is best for us. No species can rule another species as well as that species can rule itself."
"I don't want to rule," I told him. "That's never been what I want. Being Prime and ArchWarlock isn't a plan for me to take over the Underworld and force everyone to do my bidding. I don't want to squash the other species. When I take full power, I want to do it peacefully and let all the species co-exist and cooperate with each other. Except the butterflies. Fuck the butterflies. They can live in the forest all alone and scare the hell out of each other."
Erral laughed.
"You'll get used to them," he said. "They aren't so bad after a while."
"They're up here on the mountain, too?" I asked.
"Some."
"Well, shit."
"Malakan told us you are a good man and will be a good leader," Valmont said.
"I don't know if the whole good man thing is entirely accurate, but I'm going to do everything I can to be a good leader."
"You are a good man," Valmont argued. "Even the best stumble sometimes. You can't expect someone who has been lost their entire life to easily find their way."
Marcella walked up to us again and picked up the now-empty platter. She only got it away from Bugs after he licked his fingertips and swept all the crumbs and remnants off so he could stick them in his mouth.
"You all should be getting to bed," she said.
"She's right," Valmont agreed. "You've come a far way and put yourselves through so much, but there's much more ahead of you. There's no way to know how long it will take to find the next challenge or what it will put you through when you do find it. All you can do is be prepared and as courageous as you can be to face whatever comes. That means getting your rest. Marcella will show you to the houses. In the morning, I'll tell you more of what I know."
Around us, people were still eating and drinking, but many of the women had started carrying the platters and jugs back to their houses. A few of the men were pouring small containers of water along the edges of the fire, gradually making it smaller so the light softened throughout the village rather than extinguishing it all at once. Marcella waited until we got to our feet and when we reached for our bags, she waved us off.
"Erral and his brother will bring those for you," she said.
We followed her to a house and she gestured at the front door.
“This is my brother’s house. It will be very comfortable for a few of you.”
We exchanged glances and Bex, Jaxxim, and Bugs stepped forward.
“Thank you,” Bugs said. He turned to the women and me. “Have a good night.”
“Goodnight, Bugs,” I said. “See you in the morning.”
We waited until they had gotten inside, then followed Marcella to another house on the other side of the village.
“This is my home,” she told us. “There is plenty of space. You are welcome here for as long as you would like to stay.”
We thanked her and she led us into the house. From the exterior appearance, I expected the home to be similar to Malakan’s stone chambers, but when we stepped inside it looked more like my parents’ house in the other world. There was a familiarity about it even with the details that reminded me I was definitely not back in the little suburban neighborhood where I grew up. Like the dizzying ceilings, the massive scale of everything inside, and the somewhat disturbing rug I was all but certain had been made out of a Murghat.
“Mama, my siblings, and I have rooms in the front of the house,” Erral told us. “Down the hallway is a second wing. There is plenty of room for you there. We don’t have any clothes around small enough to fit you, but if you leave what you have outside the door, Mama and Juvalia will make sure it’s clean for you tomorrow. Feel free to take a bath and make yourself at home.”
“Thank you, Erral.”
“Goodnight, Hayden.”
We headed down the hallway and found a large round room with massive furniture. Our bags sat on a table in the center beside a pitcher and cups. The sound of running water to one side caught my attention and I followed it to another room. Instead of the shower or bathtub I expected to find, a natural spring flowing from the wall tumbled down rocks into a pool that flowed in a narrow stream and disappeared into a crack in the wall on the other side. Aurora, Stephana, and Brielle walked up beside me and Aurora groaned.
“That looks amazing,” she said, starting to peel away her clothes.
Stephana and Brielle followed her lead, stepping out of their shoes. I was about to reach for the button of my pants when Ashe’s hand wrapped around my wrist. She guided me out of the room and through to the other side of the large communal space. We walked into another large room and quietly closed the door behind me. I opened my mouth to speak, but she stood on her toes and pressed her lips into mine. I hungrily returned her affection and let my tongue slip into her mouth. They danced together for a moment before I felt her removing my jacket and her mouth left my lips. She began kissing down my neck and I opened my eyes to see the surprise waiting for me in the center of the room.
Ahead of me, laying on a mat covered in pillows and a light blanket, lay Lilly. She was wearing a sheer nightgown, her nipples poking through the fabric, her head resting on a soft pillow with her long dark brown hair spilling onto the mat below her. She smiled at me as Ashe continued down my chest, unbuttoning my shirt as she went. Soon she had knelt before me, her hands grasping desperately at the button of my pants.
My cock pushed hard into the seam, hoping to find her hot breath as fast as possible. She kissed along the shape of it, pressing them
against me, as her fingers worked the button open. With one motion, she yanked them down from my waist, making my cock spring out, and the cool air on my balls made me desire her touch even more. She wasted no time, taking me into her mouth and moaning loudly as my cock throbbed against her tongue.
As Ashe lavished my cock with attention, I met eyes with Lilly again. Her smile turned devious as her hand slid down her body, running over the hardened nipples at the peak of her large, soft breast, and down her side to her thighs. She filled her hand with her nightgown and pulled it up until she was exposed completely from the waist down. One hand filled itself with her breast and the other dipped down between her thighs and slid between the folds. Her eyes refused to leave Ashe and myself as her lips parted and she groaned as she rubbed her clit with her glistening juices. I longed to taste her, and before I knew what was happening, I saw her begin to rise from the mat, floating inches above the ground.
Lilly looked around her, marveling at her rise, as she continued to float higher and then closer to me. I knew I was doing it, but I couldn’t understand how. The feeling of raw magical power was coursing through me, and as Ashe wrapped her hand around the base of my cock and flicked her tongue underneath my sensitive head, I felt like I could lift her to the moon if I needed too. Instead, I pulled her closer to me, higher still until she was just the right height, until she was right in front of me, her thighs settling on my shoulders, giving me a perfect view of her fingers dipping inside her.
I heard giggling from below me and Ashe released me, quickly working her pants off and standing to kiss me. As she released my kiss, she turned and bent over, displaying herself to me, and I took her by the hips and pulled her to me. My cock plunged into her and I heard her yelp in pleasure as I buried my face in Lilly’s pussy. My tongue slipped through her folds and found her clit as I rocked my hips into Ashe at an even pace. Lilly’s fingers ran through my hair and her thighs squeezed my head as Ashe held onto my hands and I pounded into her.
