by Eric Vall
“The journey will still take nearly a week,” Cayla said with a frown.
“Not the way I ride,” Aurora replied with a wild grin.
Cayla opened her mouth to respond, but then she caught my eye.
“What is it?” she asked me. “You have the strangest expression on your face right now.”
“It’s nothing,” I said as I rubbed at the scruff on my chin. “Well, it’s an idea, but not a very well-formed one.”
“An idea about what?” Aurora questioned with a curious tilt of her head.
I looked back to Cayla. “You said that the journey to Cedis would take a week on horseback?”
“Thereabouts,” she replied. “Why?”
“Because I think I might have an alternative mode of transport,” I said as the seed began to germinate in my mind. It was a crazy idea, but no more crazy than building guns to slay mythical, murderous creatures.
“Like a boat?” Cayla asked. “It takes twice as long to travel the river Amris, and in some places, the water is dammed up or too dangerous to traverse.”
“It’s not a boat,” I replied with a shake of my head. “I need to give this a lot more thought and, honestly, it might not come to anything so don’t hold your breath. But, if I can get it to work, we can reach Cedis in two, maybe three days.”
“How would this be possible?” Cayla questioned skeptically. “Magic? Would we sprout dragon wings and fly?”
“There’s a little bit of magic involved,” I said with a sly smile as I considered the possibility of making an airplane someday, “and perhaps a vision from the gods. But first, we have to finish the weapons for King Temin. Once that is taken care of, I can look further into this crazy idea of mine. So, let’s get to work.”
With our new plan set in motion, we doubled down on production. Aurora and I were already like a well-oiled machine, so within a few hours we had processed a good majority of the raw ore, and I began to mold and shape them into the necessary pieces.
As I completed each part, I set it on the tabletop to my left where Cayla stood waiting. The slender woman worked meticulously as she assembled gun after gun. I quickly found myself mesmerized by the nimble movements of her fingers, but I realized I couldn’t ogle her and use my magic efficiently at the same time. I berated myself for being so easily distracted and forced myself to focus on the metal between my own hands.
When the sun was low in the sky, and the workshop had grown dim, I finished shaping a final spring and sat back on a rocky stool I haphazardly created. My shirt was damp and heavy with sweat, and a dull ache had started up behind my eyes. I rubbed tiredly at the bridge of my nose and took a deep breath as I looked over to the women working quietly beside me.
“Dear gods,” I muttered as my eyes went wide. “H-how…?”
Cayla spun the open cylinder of the revolver she was holding and then glanced over the finished gun one last time before she looked up at me.
“Sorry,” she said with a smile. “What was your question?”
My mouth opened and closed silently as I continued to gape over the nimble-fingered woman’s shoulder. The gun rack in the corner of the room was nearly full with finished pieces. I had to have made the parts for thirty unassembled guns, and nearly all of them sat polished and ready for use.
I glanced back to Cayla to find her checking the lever of the last rifle I had just finished. When the trigger gave a satisfying click, the raven-haired beauty grinned.
“You nearly kept perfect pace with me,” I said in disbelief as she put the rifle on the rack with the others. “That’s… incredible.”
“Well, Aurora helped some once she finished her work with you,” Cayla said with a small smile.
“She is being modest,” the half-elf chimed in from her perch on a squat stool several feet away. “By the time I arrived, she barely had any work left to do. Furthermore, she’s nearly twice as fast as I am with the pieces. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say she was a mage of metal, too.”
Cayla tried to duck her head shyly, but she sauntered rather proudly back to my side. My eyes snagged on the swing of her ample hips.
“The work becomes soothing after a time,” the raven-haired maiden said with a shrug. “I found I rather liked it, but in the end, I was only putting pieces together. The two of you were doing the real labor.”
“Still,” I said in awe, “at this rate, we’ll be finished with the first batch by tomorrow.”
“Which means we could leave for Cedis the day after?” Cayla asked with bright eyes. She was really worried for her kingdom. I wondered if she had left her family back there. Her parents perhaps, or maybe a child and husband.
I mentally shook myself. That was really none of my business. Cayla had come to me for help, and I had promised her I would give it. That was all.
“Maybe two days from now,” I corrected with an apologetic smile. “I still need to give King Temin a demonstration and also meet with Serin’s blacksmiths to talk them through the non-magical production process. There’s also the issue of our transportation.”
Cayla frowned. “Is there anything more I can do to help hasten things?”
“Accompany us to dinner?” I offered with a grin.
“What?” the raven-haired maiden said in surprise. She hadn’t been expecting my answer. To be honest, I hadn’t either.
“Accompany us to dinner,” I repeated as I committed myself to the idea. “Aurora and I need food and rest to combat the physical drain from using our powers. We can’t do anything more tonight. So, join us for dinner. That way we will all be well fed and well rested when we start again tomorrow at dawn.”
Cayla glanced between Aurora and me. “Are… are you sure?”
“Of course,” I replied, and the half-elf nodded agreement. “You brought us breakfast. Let me return the favor.”
“Well, alright,” Cayla replied with a warm smile. “I haven’t seen much of Serin after dark. I’m excited to see what Illaria’s capital looks like under the light of the moon.”
“She is beautiful,” Aurora supplied with pride in her voice.
As I looked between the half-elf and Cayla, I couldn’t help but think that the city, no matter how enchanting, wouldn’t be able to hold a candle to my current company.
Once I had resealed the workshop, the three of us returned to Serin together. The night air was crisp and cool and smelled strongly of pine as we made our way through the foothills toward the capital. When we had passed through the gates, Aurora led us quickly to the marketplace where we purchased hot meat pies and warm mulled wine. We ate while seated on the lip of a fountain in the center of the market and the chilled mist was like heaven on my skin after a hard day’s work.
When we had finished our meal together, Cayla returned to the inn where she was residing, and Aurora and I made our way back to the Oculus. Sore, tired, and full of good food, we fell into bed together but, unlike most other nights, we quickly fell asleep tangled in each other’s arms with only a few kisses shared between us.
Sometime in the middle of the night, however, I bolted upright in bed with a gasp.
“Nemris,” I muttered into the darkness, and the goddess’s name tingled on my lips.
Beside me, Aurora continued to doze peacefully, but I was wide awake now. Already, the dream, or rather vision, I had was fading around the edges. I needed to make sure I didn’t forget anything.
Carefully, so as not to wake the slumbering half-elf, I crept out of bed and donned a new pair of clothes. As I tiptoed toward the door, I quietly snagged a few spare pieces of parchment Aurora had on her desk and a nub of charcoal. I slipped out the door less than a minute after I had awakened, spurred by my dream and the magic that sizzled excitedly in my blood.
I only hoped the blacksmith wasn’t in his workshop at this time of night.
And that he wouldn’t mind me commandeering his space one more time.
When dawn arrived, I still had not returned to sleep. My eyes burned from the strain, my sore bod
y protested the lack of rest, but my mind was spinning a million miles a minute. My idea was quickly coming together. For the first time, I thought I could really do this.
“Mage Abrus didn’t say anything about you needing my shop again,” the blacksmith grumbled as he lumbered into the shop just as I was packing up to leave.
“This is just a side project,” I said with a tired, apologetic smile, “and I only needed it for the night. Had to get my ideas down on paper and start tinkering with them before I forgot.”
The blacksmith grunted, but he didn’t say anything more as he went about lighting the forges. Like Aurora, it seemed he wasn’t a morning person.
I finished collecting my pages of drawings and diagrams as well as the few, small metal pieces I had started constructing. The bigger components I would have to craft in my own workshop, near the mines. I was going to need a lot more ore for this project.
I met Aurora at the tunnel that led out of the Oculus. The half-elf crossed her arms and scrutinized me from head to toe.
“Mornin’,” I yawned as I rubbed at my tired eyes.
“Good morning,” Aurora replied as she continued to study me. “Where were you? You were not beside me when I awoke.”
“I was down in the blacksmith’s workshop,” I explained apologetically. “I was struck by an idea in the middle of the night, and I needed to experiment a little.”
“And it could not wait until morning?” Aurora asked as she cocked an eyebrow.
“I am at the whim of my muses,” I declared dramatically. The effect was ruined somewhat as my jaw cracked with another yawn.
Aurora was silent for a moment as she considered me with her piercing, emerald eyes.
“Were you with Cayla?” she finally asked at length. By her tone, I knew she wasn’t asking if I had been working with the raven-haired maiden.
“W-what?” I sputtered as I nearly choked on air. “No, of course not. I was alone. You can ask the blacksmith. He arrived as I was leaving.”
“Easy,” Aurora said with a laugh. “I was merely curious. I did not mean to make you defensive.”
“Sorry,” I muttered as I rubbed at the back of my neck. “I obviously didn’t get a lot of sleep last night. We should get going though. We have a lot to do today.”
Aurora hummed noncommittally as we started our trek down the Oculus tunnel. The corridor was dark and shadowy, so I couldn’t see her expression a few minutes later when she abruptly said, “You know, Mason, if you were with Cayla, it would not upset me.”
Her comment floored me, and I stammered as I struggled to find a response.
“I-I was alone, like I said,” I repeated. “But… what do you mean by that?”
“I mean that I am not blind,” Aurora teased, and I could barely make out her profile in the gloom. “I know that you are attracted to her. Do not try to argue that you are not. It will just embarrass us both.”
I bit my tongue to keep from doing just that.
She was right after all. I did find Cayla sexy as all hell.
But I thought the same of Aurora, and my feelings for the half-elf were a little stronger since we had already saved each other’s lives and spent many a night in bed together.
“I-I didn’t want to hurt you,” I finally admitted to the dark. In the distance, I could see the end of the tunnel illuminated faintly by the rising sun.
Aurora reached out and touched my arm. The two of us came to a stop and faced each other.
“But that is what I was saying,” the half-elf replied softly. “If you were to act on your feelings for her, it would not bother me.”
“It… wouldn’t?” I asked skeptically.
“Do you still find me attractive?” Aurora asked bluntly as she stepped into my personal space and pressed her chest up against mine.
“Lethally,” I responded hoarsely as my breeches quickly grew tight.
“And do you wish to continue our nightly trysts?” she questioned huskily.
All I could do was groan in reply as she ran her hand up from the waistband of my pants to the hollow of my throat.
“Then, as long as you are honest to me about your feelings, you will not upset me,” Aurora said as she leaned up and pecked a quick kiss against my lips.
“J-just like that?” I said as I cleared my throat and willed some blood to return to my northern brain. “You’d be fine if I were to… court Cayla?”
I felt Aurora shrug against me before she pulled away. “Only humans demand unrealistic, monogamous relationships. The Nalnoran elves take on many spouses and lovers, so do many other species. It is not as taboo or as uncommon as you might believe.”
“And do you… desire to take on other lovers as well?” I asked as I tried to keep the ice out of my stomach.
“No,” Aurora replied simply, though her voice was slightly teasing. “The human part of me is stronger than the elf in this regard. I do not feel the need for anyone else.”
“Well,” I said as I swallowed past a dry throat, “that is… good to know. Thank you for informing me.”
“You are welcome, Mason,” Aurora replied as we started walking down the dark tunnel again. “Though if you wish to entertain any true hope of courting Cayla, I would suggest you wipe the drool that seems to appear spontaneously on your chin whenever she walks by.”
“I do not drool,” I groaned. Then, a little more hesitantly, I added, “Do I?”
“A little, but I found it to be rather endearing, so perhaps she will, too,” Aurora teased, and her laughter echoed down the tunnel.
Thankfully, I didn’t have to worry much about my over productive salivary glands once we reached the workshop. Cayla was sitting against the stone wall of the shop again when we arrived, but from the second we said good morning, the raven-haired beauty was all business. Now that she knew how close we were to finishing, and therefore to departing for Cedis, her insane work ethic doubled. She didn’t have an actual, physical one, but I definitely felt the petite woman crack the whip once I opened the workshop doors.
The morning passed like a fever dream. Perhaps it was the sleep deprivation, or just my own eagerness to return to my new side project, but making the final guns seemed to take twice as long as it did the day before.
I was entirely shocked to find that the opposite was actually true.
“We’re… done?” I said in disbelief as I looked at the empty table in front of me and the full rack of weapons on the wall.
I turned to Aurora and Cayla for confirmation. The former looked just as surprised as I felt. The latter looked smugly satisfied.
“I believe we are,” Cayla replied as she stood back and placed her hands on her hips to admire her work.
“It’s barely past noon,” I muttered. I rubbed at my tired eyes to make sure I was seeing things correctly.
Yup, we were still finished.
“Someone better inform King Temin,” Cayla said with a victorious smile.
“I will tell Abrus tonight,” Aurora said as a grin of her own stretched across her face. Cayla’s sense of triumph was infectious. “Temin will probably want to schedule a demonstration for the morning.”
“What shall we do until then?” Cayla questioned as she turned to look at me.
My eyes drifted toward my leather bag, and I thought about the papers and diagrams within that I had created feverishly in the dead of night.
“Oh,” I said as excitement began to bubble in my blood. “I think I have just the project.”
“Does it involve bat poop?” Cayla asked as she puffed a lock of black hair away from her forehead.
“It does for you,” I laughed, “but mine involves horsepower and rubber.”
Chapter 14
“What… is it?” Cayla asked the next morning as she and Aurora circled the project that I had spent half of yesterday and all last night working on nonstop.
“This,” I said with a tired but triumphant smile, “is our mechanical steed, or at least it will be once I’m finishe
d with it. With this, we can reach Cedis in half the time.”
“It does not look very much like a horse,” Aurora observed dubiously. The half-elf reached out and tentatively touched one of the cool steel bars that made up the frame. She moved like she was worried the thing might bite her, and I couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Don’t worry, it’s not alive,” I said as I patted the metal flank of my creation. “It is just a machine.”
“How does it work?” Cayla questioned as she turned her curious eyes from the frame and back up to look at me.
I grinned, took a step forward, and swung my leg up to straddle the metallic frame I had created. Level with my waist was two handlebars about a foot long, and as I wrapped my fingers around them, a wave of nostalgia washed over me. I cranked my wrist even though there was no throttle to toggle and remembered the purr of the engine as it rumbled beneath me.
Most of my life on Earth had been practical, sensible, and boring. However, there were a brief few years after college that I might have gone a little stir crazy as I started my very respectable but soul-crushing nine-to-five job at the steel production company. One day, I went out and impulsively bought a Harley-Davidson 2006 Street Bob. It was a brand new model, customized in silver and black, and god did I love her.
When I wasn’t at renaissance festivals or with my nose stuck in a fantasy book, I was usually in my driveway, tinkering away at ‘Bobbie,’ as I called her. I learned her inside and out, and after a few years, I could take her apart and put her back together again in just a matter of hours. I would have kept her forever if it weren’t for the winter of 2011. A driver skidded on some black ice and went through a red light. I miraculously was fine, perhaps because I had a certain goddess looking out for me, but Bobbie was not so lucky.
But now, perhaps, she could get a second chance.
Bobbie 2.0.
With a few magical modifications of course.
Aurora cleared her throat and broke me out of my reverie. I looked up to find her and Cayla gazing at me expectantly.
“Sorry,” I said with an apologetic smile. “Got lost in thought there. Anyway, think of this as a horse and cart in one.”
