by Jez Cajiao
Titan
UnderVerse Book Four
Contents
Titan
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Interlude – Thomas
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Epilogue
The End of Book Four
Copyright © 2021 by R J Cajiao
Published through MAH Publishings Ltd
Editing by Stephanie of Lit Forge Edits
Cover by Chris Cold
Typography by May Dawney Designs
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author/publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This is a work of fiction, all characters, places, spells, realities and secrets of the Upper and Lower Realms are entirely my own work, and if they offend you, it’s not intentional. Probably.
Thanks
I always thank my family, because they’re awesome, and without them, there’s no way I could do this, especially not getting the books out as quickly as I do, but I do need to stress one thing.
I can only write at the speed I do, because I have an amazing team behind me. My Wife Chrissy, first and foremost, going without sleep many a night, deliberately not waking me to take my turn with the little men Max and Xander, because she wants me to be well rested. Thank you my love, I do notice, and I do appreciate it.
My Artist Chris, my Editor Stephanie, and my Typographer May all do an amazing job with often little time, and less than clear directions. (Or as my wife says ‘Fluffy Communication’)
Mainly though there are two groups that you might not know exist, first there’s the sheer boundless bravery of my ARC readers, including when they get the manuscript last minute and they pull out sheer bloody heroic efforts to get it read and back to me, so take a bow; Scott, Denny, Shawn and Neil, not to mention others who come and go, you are all damn well respected, believe me.
Secondly, there’s my writing group. A small dedicated group of other Authors who talk shit, give abuse, and always encouragement, help me to hit my targets, and provide informative discussions, like at what speed you’d hear a ‘thwack’ become a ‘shukkk’, not to mention the abuse we all heap on Kev.
Because he deserves it.
Thank you Dawn, Kev, Lars, Mike, Nathan and Darla, again, as well as others, who drop in and shout encouragement and vanish again.
Prologue
“What?!?” Snarled Barabarattas, Lord of Himnel, as he spun on the unfortunate victim of his ire. “What did you just say?” His voice dropped to a low growl.
“Uh… well, you see, m…my lord…” The messenger stammered. “The guard… they said… uh…”
“Cletus!” Barabarattas screamed, and a few seconds later a dark-cloaked figure materialized from the gloom obscuring the back of the room, stepping free of the heavy black velvet curtains as though lingering there, out of sight, was perfectly normal.
“Yes, my lord?” Cletus Thane asked calmly.
“Is this true?” The fuming lord hissed. “Some thieving nobody has raided my city, stolen my ships out from under me, stripped my Stockpile, and murdered my citizens, all while you caroused and chased tavern wenches?”
“It appears so, and he’s not exactly a nobody. You did declare war on him, after all…” Cletus replied unconcernedly. “I do vaguely remember seeing the Legion storm past while I was being sick in a gutter.” He strode forward, rubbing his eyes and yawning, filling the room with a stench of stale ale and vomit.
“Gods, man!” Barabarattas gagged and waved his hand to dispel the fumes. “I’d have you killed for that…”
“…If you could.” Cletus finished for the city lord, shaking his head. “We both know you need me, my lord, and until you no longer require my services, I am irreplaceable. Besides, if you killed me, who else would act as your representative in… certain deals?” The seething noble glared at Cletus, who smirked before glancing at the thoroughly terrified messenger.
“He knows too much,” Barabarattas snapped at Cletus, who turned and smiled lazily at the messenger, who paled at the sharply pointed teeth revealed.
“True…” The pale man said languidly, then burped again, wafting the foul odor away from his face and looking confused. “Well… I don’t remember eating that… oh well. Sorry, old boy.” Cletus’ right hand flicked out, and a thread of black light flashed across the intervening distance to splash across the messenger’s face, bursting like water before solidifying and emitting an evil red light. The messenger started to scream, frantically grabbing at the silken strands that joined his face to the creature’s hand and trying to pull them free. His terrified shrieks only grew in intensity at finding that whatever flesh touched the inky material was bound to it. His life-energy began to leech away, carried down the threads to Cletus’s hand in flashes of dark red.
It took a bare handful of seconds, time which seemed far longer for the messenger, but soon the thread released, retracting back to Cletus’s wrist, and disappearing from view as he lowered his sleeve casually.
“By the Dark Lady, that’s better…” Cletus muttered, wiping his face with the palm of his hand. His pasty white complexion had darkened to a light olive, and his teeth gleamed as he smiled, the points glittering as they shrank back down and resumed their normal, human appearance.
“I didn’t give you permission to indulge your filthy habit in my presence…” Barabarattas gestured angrily at the husk that had collapsed to the floor. “Get rid of that and find out what the hell happened last night! Gather your team and go; use your test subjects and get me back what is mine!”
“Why, of course, my lord…” Cletus replied sardonically, dropping into an elegant low bow with his arms held out to the sides, then snorting and strolling off to vanish into the pre-dawn darkness of the citadel. Cursing, Barabarattas summoned a servant to dispose of the corpse that Cletus had so arrogantly ignored.
“Send someone to the Dark Legion…” He snapped at the quivering servant as the man tried to drag the corpse from the room, “…ask the High Priest to attend me at his earliest convenience…. and send in the head of the Guard! And my Headsman!” He threw himself into the tall wing-backed chair by the window and glowered out at the city, gnawing on a knuckle in frustration.
No matter what he did, everyone was going to hear about this, and that was all he needed… especially after the months—years, even—of work he’d put into smearing the Leg
ion. Everything was ready; a few more weeks, and he’d have been able to kill them or absorb them into the city guard. Either way, they’d have been out of their damn Enclave, and he wouldn’t have to worry about anyone finding out about the caves underneath it anymore…
“And send for the city planner! I need to start building!” He roared abruptly, ignoring the servants who frantically huffed and puffed as they dragged the fully armored corpse out of the door.
Chapter One
I woke up slowly, blinking at the light that filled the cabin. Oracle’s hair left behind a tickling sensation as the gentle breeze from the open porthole sent it drifting across my cheek.
I frowned for a second, shifting slightly, and smiled to myself as my brain caught up with the events of the last day—well, several days, I supposed—but with the amount of time I’d spent unconscious, it had all blurred into one for me.
I reached down idly and felt her warm skin under my fingers, causing her to stir as she realized I was awake. The world… hell, my reality had changed so much in the last few months that I’d never have seen this coming in my wildest dreams, but as she shifted around, propping herself up and looking down at me, I couldn’t help but smile, happy beyond anything I’d ever known. I was in love.
Oracle was stunning. Not just physically, though I had to admit that was definitely part of the package. Her ability to adjust and alter her physical form, and us sharing our minds, meant that she was able to be exactly what I found most attractive and arousing at any particular time. The part that I loved most, though, wasn’t her looks… or her figure, as much as last night and this morning would lend the lie to that.
It was her mind, and her soul. I’d spent forever worrying about us taking this final step, becoming partners in the bedroom as much as partners in mind and companionship, despite us both wanting it for ages.
One of the reasons I’d remained unsure had been the whole ‘master’ situation, as I was literally the High Lord of Dravith, Lord of the Great Tower, and she was bonded to me as a companion. That bond left me quite firmly in the position of Overlord, with all the responsibility and power that entailed. Taking advantage of that power to satisfy my needs sat a bit wrong with me, especially as when we’d met, she had been an amorphous wisp, with absolutely no sexual experience or capacity, really. That had changed when I allowed her access to my mind, and she’d picked a form she discovered that I’d like.
Unfortunately, to do so, she’d scanned all the women that had made a lasting impression in that way in my mind. As I was in my early twenties, and had, like most of my contemporaries, spent a lot of time wrestling with myself… literally… while watching porn, well… She’d managed to make herself so beautiful that an entire generation of Hollywood starlets would cry themselves to sleep over comparisons, complete with a figure that made a certain Kardashian look flat-chested and boring.
The combination of her body and my own subconscious reactions to it, and the fact that she’d spent years observing the various races that inhabited the Tower, watching them do everything from talking shit to trying to break each other in bedroom Olympics, and… well.
She felt my hormonal reactions, and because we shared our minds, it had a hell of an effect on her too, turning her from curious to obsessed, and I certainly hadn’t helped it. With my mind and body being injured so much of late, my self-control was practically non-existent.
I thought back to the girls in the Baron’s citadel, shaking my head unconsciously. I’d been a prisoner, and they worked there under the control of a magical Geas, as maid companions. Once I’d realized the Geas compelled them to do as I ordered, I’d been very careful not to order them to do anything, but one night they’d explained honestly, even bluntly, that while the Geas could compel them into bed, and some had used it that way, that wasn’t why they were having sex with me.
It wasn’t simply because I was fucking irresistible and hung like a horse either, unfortunately. Instead, it was a mixture of the girls liking me for me, and a bit of planning that could only be defined as a mercenary sensibility.
The girls knew the Baron was a monster, a noble of the UnderVerse who was hell-bent on returning to that… this, Realm. They knew that those who pleased him would be taken along, and that whoever actually secured the Great Portal to the UnderVerse would become a Prince of the Empire, at the very least.
They essentially wanted to guarantee their own futures. The girls were recruited from pleasure houses and brothels around the world, trained to serve the nobility and paid a stipend; if they wanted more, they needed to catch the eye of a member of the nobility.
I’d felt terrible when I’d first learned about the Geas, worried that I’d taken advantage of unwilling partners… but as time went on and I actually started to understand, I realized that they’d basically laid it all out before me as a ‘business proposition,’ in a sense, and they’d admitted that they were using me. I got all the fun I could handle, and they got the lives of pampered courtesans in the UnderVerse, if I survived and won.
If not, ‘so sad, too bad,’ and ‘next please…’.
It had taken Oracle and I some time to really understand what was going on between us, and she’d grown, emotionally as well as physically, in the time we’d spent together. Her consciousness had evolved from an almost child-like curiosity to that of a full-grown woman who was comfortable with what she wanted.
Wonderfully comfortable, I reflected, admiring at her naked figure as she sat back upright and straddled me, smiling, as I remembered the night we’d just had.
She brushed her hair back from her face, pushing her lower lip out to blow an escaped strand of hair upwards with a light puff, before smiling down at me. Her hair had shifted from a golden blonde when I had fallen asleep, to a deep lustrous red this morning, her skin pale, soft as silk, and her muscles taut and firm.
I sat up, taking her in my arms and kissing her, reveling in the sensations of her gently biting down on my lower lip and shivering as I ran my hands down her back to settle on her full and firm ass…
“Lord Jax!” a familiar voice called from the door, followed by a heavy trio of thumps that rocked the thin, hastily built wall, let alone the door itself. “Are you awake? I’m coming in.” The door opened before I could so much as break the kiss, revealing Grizz, who paused, then grinned.
“Get out, Grizz!” Oracle and I both ordered, and he shrugged, his cheeks reddening as he got an eyeful.
“Ah! Sorry, boss, and sorry, uh… boss lady? Augustus sent me to see if you were alive, and, well, you are!” He kept grinning, partly out of relief and partly because Oracle was admittedly a hell of a sight.
“Out!” Oracle repeated, throwing our shared pillow at his head as he laughed and closed the door so quickly, the entire wall shook.
“Think that was deliberate?” I asked Oracle, sighing.
“Him walking in, or them sending him?” She countered.
“Yes,” I said, shaking my head. “Both, I mean. He deliberately walked in, probably not thinking about it, or thinking he might be able to wind us up with something, and probably saw more than he expected to. I guarantee you that Augustus and whoever else wants us would have suspected what he would do. Sending a blunt instrument rather than a scalpel to do a job does work, after all.”
“It’s just messy,” She said, and I grinned.
“Shall we get him back?” I asked.
“Oh definitely, and Augustus, too. I think Hellenica will help us there. You know she likes him, right?”
“God, yes; it was a bit blatant,” I replied as she leaned back slightly, arching her back and making sure I got a hell of a view.
“So… shall we get dressed, or…?” She raised one eyebrow and glanced down suggestively.
“Jax, I’m sorry to interrupt, but…” Grizz’s voice filtered through the door. “Prefect Romanus said he needed you on the bridge, if you were able.”
“He’s fucking listening to us, isn’t he,” I said flatly t
o Oracle.
“He really is,” She agreed, crossing her arms in annoyance. I summoned a fountain of clean, cold water by the doorway, causing the water to splash and run under the door as Oracle fired off a particularly weak Lightning Bolt. I watched with silent amusement as she deliberately adjusted it into a zap, rather than a stunning effect.
“Gahhhhh!” Grizz screamed, followed by the satisfying sound of a huge, fully armored Legionnaire dancing out of the spray.
“He deserved that.” Oracle huffed regretfully as she shifted, resuming her normal diminutive size. Her wings lifted her into the air, a short black halter top and hot pants materializing to cover her assets, and I sighed, dropping my feet over the side of the small cot to rest on the wooden deck.
I felt the faint shudder of the Airship as it changed direction slightly, the engines firing in a controlled burst, before dying away to a steady ‘thrummm’. I shook my head again, standing and stretching, while a multitude of tiny pops and clicks protested the night spent on the cot. It was small, tight, and while better than the floor, the benefit wasn’t by much.
We’d actually managed to break it twice overnight, and the rudimentary fixes weren’t likely to hold a third time, so I folded it up and leaned it against the back wall. Grabbing some boxers and tugging them on, I couldn’t help grinning as Oracle made exaggerated eye-rolls and wolf whistles at me.
“We can’t all just magic clothes up, you know,” I said, hopping on one leg as I pulled my Drow Gloom spider silk pants on. They were a little… okay a lot, stained and scruffy, but they were undoubtably the most comfortable clothes I had. As I dressed in the rest of my gear, casually pulling armor on, and settling weapons into place, I reflected on the fact that going everywhere fully geared for war was the new normal for me.
“You ready?” Oracle asked me as I checked to ensure that my various sheathes and pouches were all secure, twisting at the waist to make sure nothing was caught on anything.
“Yeah, come on.” I nodded to her. “Time to go play with the Legion, I guess.”
