“Love, I thought you said you would not let out these weapons?” Brooke asked.
“Yeah, but that was before I realized a thousand dragons are about to call the area home. And while most of us will be gone in three days I thought it would be more realistic to have everyone get familiar with a weapon they’ll use once I go and kill every Tiaxm I can find.”
“Then do we get weapons too?” Tohka asked.
“Just you, Babe. Meeka is only deadly with her knives and Brooke won’t ever give up her tomahawks. Brooke though is getting greaves to protect her legs when she kicks. Meeka’s already chosen a set of bracers for her forearms, but your style is more appropriate with this.” He pulled it out of a pocket. “You’re not too happy in close range or can shoot a bow with the accuracy of hunters, but this will be more you.”
“Rope? What good it rope…”
Cage ended her protest. “It’s not rope, Tohka. It’s a whip. You are a midrange fighter. This was the only whip locked up at the Stronghold. For good reason. Only a woman can use it. When we get home I’ll show you the forms, but you will find this much to your liking. None can escape your reach if they get within twenty feet. You can whip this around someone’s neck and strangle them, or trip, slice skin as well as leather armor. Wrap it around an enemy sword and jerk it out of their grasp. It’s made of tiny metal rings all linked together like chainmail and can shave flesh from bone. And so long as you hold the grip, it’s magic will not harm you. It only reacts to a woman. And the spells I managed to recreate will latch onto only one individual woman. No other woman in the tribe will be able to master this half as well as I believe you can.”
She immediately began chewing on her bottom lip nervously as most eyes leveled on her. Tohka came forward and reached with her left arm and as soon as she touched the slender handle the crystal in the pommel glowed brightly and she felt the surge of mana rush inside her and learn everything it needed to know. She pulled it back with a shiver, but not before seeing his eyes narrow. Insecurity set in as she asked “What is it, Cage Love?”
Before he could answer the sun-colored beauty rumbled “Soldiers arrive, Moril Two-… I mean Moril.”
Heads turned out past the ocean as the chieftain came forward carrying both a new lance in one hand and a edged rapier secured to her back with her hair braided to highlight her tattooed neck and shoulders. “How many come, Xamii?”
The dragon lifted her head and narrowed her eyes as she counted the line flying down in formation. The tribe silenced and left her to work and in that time Megdline arrived out of her golden light with Frill right at her side. She smiled just as Xamii said “Behind General Barbav are seventy one soldiers.”
“Nattan would want his soldiers to bond to our warriors first. Soldiers, then Gralla’s, casters… makes sense.” Cage considered. “They are all extremely powerful and are coming here in style.” He grinned as he noticed what they all wore. “These soldiers will likely secure the perimeter and be ready to do their new Rex’s bidding.”
Moril touched one of the four rings and turned to her predecessor. “Cage, by what do you mean they come in style.”
“You’ll see soon enough. It’s your show. Better get ready.” Is all he said.
As chieftain of the Utala, Moril drew herself up and into a powerful woman now in her prime of beauty after bonding to Xamii. She looked maybe nineteen, but her sharp gaze held a dangerous predator behind such beauty. Just one look at her was what anyone needed to see to know she was the undisputed leader of the tribe. She wasn’t anywhere near the strongest or most powerful, but she wouldn’t bow down to anyone. When she spoke, it was with complete confidence. “Xamii, please verify it is indeed General Barbav.” It took but a moment to have her partner grunt in acceptance. “Good. Cage, go ahead and allow her and the one behind her through first.”
“All done.” He said as the general and fist soldier passed through the opening.
“Elder’s, come beside me. We’ve gone over what will happen. The rest of you, take your places. At the moment that orange soldier holds no allegiance with us till he vows himself to me as his Rex.”
Everyone took position around the chief. Cage stood right behind Moril with Ghosts Bane’s tip buried in the sand, but the round pommel was gripped firmly. Brooke had both her tomahawks out and ready behind her daughter who held her little dagger close. Meeka and Tohka stood behind the elders. Tohka though secured her whip around her thigh sheathe, but gripped her knife till getting more comfortable with her new weapon.
The powder blue general was the first to crest the bridge. Ulon and Poli let them pass between them. The orange one was a huge male, but his approach made the tribe gasp when they could finally see.
He was the first fully armored dragon any of them had ever seen. A twenty foot wide strip of plated metal lay along his spine, wrapped around his chest and all the way up his neck where it attached to a helmet. Only the bottom of his jaw remained unprotected. In his massive hands were claw extensions and a thick plate on the pads of his hands and feet. Along the edges of his wings was a razor sharp edge and a curved stinger lay secured to his finlike tail. But beneath his armored chest stuck out the handles of two great swords, both of whom were over two hundred feet long. If dragons were fearsome before, this armored soldier would make a first impression piss in their pants.
General Barbav kept her mouth shut, but as soon as she and the soldier reached the bottom of the bridge, the male began speaking, but no words reached the tribe.
None moved or whispered as the two approached. Cage and his women all were ready to lash out at any deception.
Moril raised her hand when they came close enough to say “Thank you for the kind words.” as expected of her to keep up the ruse.
The male’s silence vanished when he removed his spell and smiled. “Honored I am to be first to swear loyalty.” The look in his eye meant it. “I am, Quelek, Rex Moril Two-legs. I am to be your military advisor and general. I humblly request to swear my allegiance to your rings to serve as your vassal in any way you see fit. I swear to protect your life or any that succeed you as Rex of the Cage Island colony. Do you accept my allegiance?”
“I do.” Moril said and all four gold bands flashed with light at the same time as Quelek’s orange eyes flashed. There was barely a spike in the surrounding magic, but Moril then said “As you are my first soldier I command you to make the bond with a fellow warrior superior to other warriors. Will you accept this?”
“Who will I be honored to share my life with?” The armored reptile proudly asked the group of humans.
“Me, Great Dragon.” Elder Metak said as he came forth. He had been forced to bond with the strongest soldier by every member of the tribe. He accepted their wishes. “I am Elder Metak.”
“Then set your magic weapons aside and bind yourself to me, Young One.” Quelek turned his armored hand over and made a large orange ball of magic as Metak lay down his new spear and sword. He then came close and pushed his old bones to climb into the palm and walk into the light.
Chapter 3
The tribe eagerly awaited what would happen in complete silence. Elder Shania and the rest of her elder sister-mates held hands with worry from the moment their man vanished into the large ball of light. Just looking at the gauntlet armoring the dragon was scary and making a fist would effortlessly destroy the one they loved. Seconds passed like hours for them. When two minutes passed the orange light simply disappeared and it its wake left everyone speechless.
Elder Metak went in and old man and came out young. His posture made him taller as no longer did his back and knees bother him. His skin glowed with vitality as a deep copper of healthy prime. Every scar and wrinkle had vanished along with his slightly flabby stomach which tightened into an eight-pack. Muscles were corded and rigid beneath the skin, standing out. The most shocking was his hair, no longer was it white with age, but long and silky black. His tattoos seemed to stand out more strikingly and not a scar marred his m
ale physique. Even the color of his many beads seemed to stand out more strongly over his left temple.
He looked at his hands with wonder as arthritis no longer plagued him and he made a fist that could pummel enemies without hurting. His clear, light brown eyes twinkled as they looked between two claws that looked more like giant scythes and found all six of his loves on their knees crying.
“Thank you for this, Quelek.” Metak said.
“We will deepen our bond later. Go see to your females.”
Metak suddenly jumped without realizing he now commanded bodily magic and shot fifteen feet high before landing awkwardly and got right back up. He felt a bit dizzy, not realizing yet how to separate natural from supernatural strength, but he didn’t need to as his loves came to him and fussed over how beautiful he was.
Moril said. “Quelek, I now leave you to do as you wish.”
“I shall move to the side and be your protector until all have been sworn under your leadership.” He then did just that and laid down, but remained on alert.
“My love, you are as handsome as I remember.” One of his loves said.
Metak found one he sought and stood. “Cage, how do I look?”
“You got rid of those old man balls.” Cage played before making a mirror out of thin air. “Take a look. I’d say your about my age in looks now.”
A smile split Metak’s face. “Not only do I feel good, but I look it. Ha! I can get hard so fast again!” He proudly displayed his rigid lance.
Shania said “Moril, send for the next. I need to be young again to take that without hurting myself. Metak was a fierce mate when he first looked like this. He fathered many children for a reason.”
Metak gave her an evil grin. “I expect more children with each of you. None of you will sleep with the energy I’ve got back. I will not stop.”
His six laughed. “Why wait?” Another said as she hungered for her man already. “I’m ready now. One of us should stay and bond and get another as he ravishes us.”
“Shania, we’ll be in our room. Hurry back when you’re done.” Metak said as he threw two over each shoulder and ran hard for their tree. Shania cackled as their three others rushed off to be with their insatiable man.
“The next is on her way.” Cage promised as he smirked at the lone elder while picking up Metak’s spear and sword. “When you’re done binding, remind him not to let his dick forget his weapons. He needs to remember them or risk losing it all.”
“I will.” She promised as she laid down both spears along with her new sword and his.
Several minutes later another dragon swore loyalty and Shania exited a young and full bodied woman with high, perky beasts, long legs and the muscles of her stomach stood out slightly. Everyone was surprised at her transformation for she looked almost twin to Brooke except the elder’s nose and cheekbones weren’t as acute. She gave promises to her new dragon friend and sprinted faster than she’d move in decades, gathered her weapons and disappeared to be with those she loved.
Minutes later exited one elder holding her sore flower and said “Maybe we should have waited.” It made human and dragon alike laugh deeply. She smiled while shaking her head when Meeka asked if she wanted healing.
The rest of the day was spent binding all soldiers to warriors. Only the elders were bust catching up with their new body’s and re-exploring rekindled desires. Everyone else had more control than the former elderly. By the time all dragons successfully spoke honor to their new Rex and bound to a human, night fell.
“She was the last soldier, Moril.” Xamii rumbled as the armored crimson dragon reared back to remove her helmet and speak with Zatal as he was her new partner. More than fifty new partnerships lined the beach, some out over the water. So far it was working well.
“Good. Cage, any word on the…”
“Yeah.” He said while rolling his shoulder and his mates getting to their feet from around the fire. “Just got a message from Semek. They located a large asteroid floating around the sixth planet that will be ideal for our needs. It has no ice or dangerous compounds except for some moisture on its exterior and I’ve locked its tracer to my diamonds. It will be one hell of a teleport, but this island is going to be one tenth of what is coming. I’ll need to rest, but in the morning the barrier will have reached an appropriate size to accommodate the mass. All hands will be needed. Even with all my power it will be too heavy to set down.”
“A tenth?” Moril could barely believe such measurements.
“Yep.” Cage scratched his head while Meeka came up carrying a tuckered out Ananna while Sean leaned against his short spear. “We’ll need big for our new friends to call home. You better make sure all are well rested. Ulon and Poli are spreading word of the sheer volume that we’ll be bringing.”
His whole family gathered around and before the chief could speak again he created a huge black board and flew off into the darkness. “Such nonchalance.”
Xamii gave a great shrug. “As expected from a warlock. Nothing bothers them long. They excel in confidence. But none can compare to him for certain.”
“If you need anything, tell me, but with your strength I know you’ll also be needed.”
Moril noticed a glint in her friends yellow eye before she said “I would not mind a scratch I cannot reach. It has been some time since my mates have been at my side. Mind?” Xamii lowered her large body.
“My pleasure.” She said and got Chala’s attention and together they climbed and used their knives to scratch her dragon’s scales and laughed as she purred in complete pleasure.
Cage knelt in front of his loves as they again all held the pain orb. They placed their books down, but Tohka sat down a sheet of paper he made from copying the whip sequences from his warlock training manual. “Something the matter, Cage Love?” Brooke asked as they all withdrew from the orb and rubbed their sore hands.
“Little bit.” He admitted and looked specifically at the newest addition to his heart.
Tohka said “You had that same look when I grabbed this.” She lifted her coiled whip of a dull gray metal.
“For a good reason. For a few moments you scares the shit out of me.”
“I did?” Her eyes widened completely. “What did I do?”
“Do you guys remember my reaction when I absorbed a little of Granny’s mana on our first night here?”
“How could we ever forget that!” Meeka shivered. “Few times have you scared me so completely. You do not remember just how bad your reaction was, especially for us and Daku. He was clearly going to kill Megdline while we got you into the water to cool you down.” Her innocent blue eyes showed that time still haunted her.
“Well that is why I was so concerned.” His eyes turned back to Tohka. “When you grabbed your whip I watched as the little bit of mana I applied to it bind to yours.”
“Are you saying…?” the nurturer swallowed a lump in her throat.
The warlock opened his hand to show off three coin size crystals he had bought the day before. “All I did was put a few seconds worth of my mana on these crystals. They have no wards or anything else other than my power.” Cage handed them each one. “I really do not want to try this, but I must know. Your kind of mages can absorb mana from different sources and I need to know if mine also can be safely given to you.”
“Wait!” Brooke now showed fright in her expression that drained of color. “You want us to risk what happened to you on us?” She clarified.
“Yes. I can only absorb my own magic and mine alone, but if you can draw my power into yourselves safely then you can tap into the gems I’ve already given you as well.” He prompted. “Please do this for me. I need to make sure what I saw from Tohka wasn’t a trick of my eyes.”
The three beauties stared at each other with all showing great hesitation as they remembered how horrifying his reaction was. Eventually Brooke said “Loves, I’m the strongest so I should go first. If anything bad happens I’ll be strong enough to recover, but if
something goes wrong I need you to do as we did for him.”
“Then maybe we should change location to the tub.” Meeka proposed. “We’ll need water should we need to trap her in ice.”
“Great idea!” Brooke said and the four of them went upstairs to run a hot bath.
It didn’t take long for them to enter and sit, but Brooke decided to sit right on Cage’s firm lap and felt his male needs teasing her flower. She grinned and looked over her shoulder. “If this works you can fill me, but now I must concentrate.”
“Hey, I can’t help it. You three know what happens when you sit on my lap in here.” He grinned. “But right now I’m worried for you. Just lean into me and I’ll hold you still, should anything go wrong.” Cage then wrapped his arms below her floating breasts, locking her arms against her side.
Brooke’s heart pounded in fear as she bent her elbow and raised the gem with her man’s symbol imbedded inside. She listened as he whispered what to do as both Meeka and Tohka held her long legs together. When she nodded, they tightened their grasp and sent a thought to the object. Immediately she could sense power it contained and knew right away it was her man’s. The quality was his alone as she felt comforted by it, much as when she knows he enters the room. She couldn’t help smiling and feeling her heart slow and relax. Her mind then imagined tugging a little bit, like pulling on rope. The power didn’t resist her want and flowed into her body. Her mind cleared and she said “What a good feeling. It is like when we all cuddle together after much sex.”
Empress's Endgame (Book 5 and final of the Death Incanate Saga) Page 9
