by Randi Darren
Reaching in, Vince grabbed hold of one scale and popped it to one side. Wrenching his blade into the gap, Vince cut a giant gash into the Dragon’s flesh.
Then he practically went shoulders deep in the creature.
With a cry of victory a minute later, Vince popped back out of the hole with a giant chunk of quivering red meat.
Sitting down on the dead Dragon’s shoulder, Vince began to eat the semi-pulsing heart.
His red-and-black world of anger and fury began to dim. Along with his senses.
And cares.
Taking big mouthfuls of the heart with every bite, he chewed mechanically.
Surprisingly to him—especially since he hadn’t noticed—a group of what looked like Dryad women appeared around him.
None of them were familiar to him.
Staring at them one at a time, Vince continued to eat the heart, daring them to interrupt him.
The number of Dryads continued to increase as he ate.
Finishing off the gigantic chunk, Vince felt sickeningly full. To the point that he might vomit.
One Dryad in particular stood several feet in front of the others.
She was pretty, with brown hair and green eyes. A very standard Dryad look.
Looking to that one, Vince held up his hands and shook his head a bit at her. “What? Never seen someone eat lunch?
“You know which way Yosemite is?”
The Dryad blinked and watched him curiously.
She turned to another Dryad and said something in a language he didn’t understand.
They spoke for several seconds before the first one looked back to him.
“Far to the north. You’re in the Tri-lliance territory. This is the Santa Rosa grove,” she said.
“North. Got it,” Vince said.
Vince stood up, then promptly passed out, falling flat on his face.
Chapter 9
“You will bring Vince to Red! Now!”
Vince came awake, the shout piercing straight through his head.
Opening his eyes, Vince squinted through what felt like morning sunlight.
He was laid out on something comfortable, but he had no idea where he was.
Looking around, he realized it seemed to be the inside of a small hut.
“Bring Vince to Red! Now!”
Sitting up, Vince ran his hands over himself in a self-check.
Everything was exactly as it should be, though he wasn’t in his armor anymore.
“No, Red will not listen. You will bring Vince here now! Red will start killing otherwise.”
Sighing, Vince pressed his hands to his temples.
She means it, too.
“Red!” Vince called out loudly. “Relax, I just woke up. If they wanted to hurt or harm me, they could have already.”
“Vince!?” Red shouted.
There was a grunt, followed by the sounds of feet.
Then the door to the hut exploded off its hinges. Red flew through it at full speed and landed on him before it even hit the ground.
Pressing him to the ground in the same moment, she looked into his face for a second.
Then her head slammed down into his chest, her hands digging into his shoulders tightly.
“Bringer. Vince. Red was very worried. Very worried,” she said, her feet bunching up beneath herself on his thighs.
Reaching around the Cursed Undead Beastkin heart-eating monster, he held her and gently patted her on the back.
“I was pretty worried, too. Killed the Dragon, though, and lived to tell the tale.”
“Red found the Dragon. Red approves,” said the Beastkin.
“How long has it been since I flew off, as it were?”
“A day. Red chased all day and all night to find you. Red is very tired and hungry.”
Such a dedicated little monster.
“I’ll feed you in a little bit, then again later. Alright? You did very good, Red.”
Vince gently stroked Red’s back and scratched at her ears.
Looking down at her a with a bit more attention, he found her clothes looked as if she’d been dancing with a saw.
They were not much more than scraps of cloth hanging off her.
“Red is tired,” she said, then yawned. “Red wants to sleep.”
“Go ahead and sleep then. I’ll stay right here. Need to talk to my hosts after all as well. They did help me out when they had no reason to do so,” Vince said.
“Dryads. Dryads just want a man. Vince already has Dryads. No need for them,” Red said, then shifted around on top of him.
Her snoring started up immediately after she stopped moving.
Sitting up slowly, Vince managed to maneuver Red’s head into his lap, and continued to scratch her ears.
“Hello, the outside, could someone come in here to discuss… everything… with me? I’m afraid I can’t move,” Vince said at a reasonable volume.
A woman’s head appeared in the doorway.
Vince immediately recognized her as the woman he’d spoken to the previous day.
“She is… calm now?” she asked.
“Red? Yes. She’s asleep,” Vince said, continuing to rub the sleeping Red’s ears.
“We are a very warlike Dryad grove, but even we could not hold her back once you spoke,” the Dryad said. “No one was harmed; she just… threw us aside.”
“Red is special,” Vince said. “My name’s Vince, if you didn’t catch that from Red’s shouting. What’s your name?”
“I am simply grove-mother to everyone. We have no names here,” said the Dryad, stepping into the door. “You may call me Betty, if you must name me.”
“Betty? Betty it is. As soon as my companion wakes up, I’ll be leaving. I appreciate you taking me in and giving me shelter. If you’re ever in the neighborhood of Yosemite, look me up and I’ll repay my debt to you,” Vince said.
“I’ll keep that in mind. Though… I may simply call upon that debt now. We’ve been here a very long time, and the Tri-lliance has left us alone. It would take too many resources to capture or cull us. Resources they weren’t willing to call up previously,” Betty said. “Could we ask for sanctuary of Yosemite?”
“So long as you’re willing to join the Wooden-Heart grove, yes. That’s where all outside Dryads join into first.”
Betty nodded her head, then shook it once.
“We’re our own grove. Could it not be possible to allow us to set up somewhere else and merely be an enclave? We could agree to utilize whatever men you chose for us, if that would help matters,” Betty said.
“How… many of you are there?” Vince asked, suddenly suspicious.
“Several hundred.”
That’s a lot of Dryads. Alright… let’s… bring them back with us, I suppose, and see what we can do.
“And you’re willing to uproot your grove and carry it north?”
“We all have our seeds. We… prepared last night. We assumed that you’d wish to leave, as we do. Based on the fact that you killed a Tri-lliance Dragon, we assumed you might be from Yosemite.
“We thought we’d go there.
“Then ask for sanctuary from it’s ruler. We have heard tale that he’s a friend to Dryads, and has his own Dryad grove.”
Vince didn’t immediately respond, not quite sure what to say.
“Is this untrue? Is he not a friend of Dryads?” Betty asked, looking unsure all of a sudden.
“Ah… yes. I’m a friend of the Dryads.”
“Good. So you know of his Dryad grove?”
“Betty,” Vince said, wondering if she didn’t know who he was. He hadn’t really introduced himself other than simply Vince, so it was very possible. “My name is Vince. Vince, the lord of Yosemite.”
Betty nodded her head slowly, then stopped. She was staring at him, her green eyes wide.
“You are the lord of Yosemite? Not a warrior he sent to dispatch the Dragon?”
“I am indeed the lord of Yosemite, who has a personal Dryad grove of women who al
l share my seed.
“And I think I could take you in as a secondary grove… but let’s—”
Betty fell to her knees, then bowed low to him, pressing her forehead to the ground.
“Take us in, Lord Yosemite. We won’t survive the Tri-lliance out here much longer. Their army is near and would use us for their own purposes if they could.”
Vince grimaced at the response.
“Right. You said their army is nearby?”
“Yes, my Lord. They are to the north of us.”
“Ah… alright. We’ll… head out tonight. Get everyone packed up and ready. Seems like we’ll be playing hide-and-seek, to a degree.”
***
Betty kept her Dryads back from Vince. None came close to him if they could help it. Only Betty remained in his company.
Throughout the day, he watched Dryads come and go to speak with Betty, but they all avoided meeting his eyes. And they all stayed as far away from him as possible.
Even now as they watched the enemy encampment, only Betty was nearby.
“Betty, why do your Dryads avoid me?” Vince asked, deciding to get straight to the heart of the matter.
The Dryad leader was staring down the hill toward the Tri-lliance army. They were waiting for the moon to set before trying to slip through.
“They have not been with a man for almost a year now. Your… display… the other day ignited fires in them. They remain away from you because they cannot control themselves for long.”
“Sorry. Wasn’t my intention. Though… how old are you, Betty? If you witnessed the same, that must mean you’re—”
“I’m a raging torrent of lust and desire. I would take your seed by force if not for your companion,” Betty said, her eyes sliding to him.
They were a brilliant and glowing green. “That was the original plan. Take you with us and replant our grove with you as the center. I would have sent an offering to Yosemite in exchange for you.”
“Ah… well… you have amazing control then.”
“No. She would kill me, that’s all,” Betty said, then turned her face back to the enemy encampment.
Ok. They’re all rather emotionless. It’s… strange and disconcerting.
Will need to ask Meliae or Mouth about it.
They’re very much not Dryads, yet they are.
“Red would kill you, yes. If this was a year ago, Red wouldn’t kill you, but would bargain with you for her meals,” Red admitted. “Red is… trying to not be Red.”
“Moonset should be shortly,” Betty said, then got up to walk away. “We will prepare.”
No sooner had Betty left than Red crawled into Vince’s lap and pressed her face to his neck, her hands against his chest.
She’d been extremely close and affectionate since finding him.
Oddly so.
“You alright, Red? You’re acting more like Meliae or Ram… Ramona,” Vince said.
His mouth had turned to ash at the Dragonnewt’s name. He’d tried not to think about her. About the fact that she hadn’t returned, but the Dragon who’d chased her off had.
He feared for her, but he could do nothing for her.
“Red realized Vince is very important,” Red said against his neck.
“I imagine so, since you feed from me,” Vince said with a chuckle, reaching down to scratch the base of her tail.
Her near nakedness through her shredded clothing had a marked effect on him that he was trying to pretend didn’t exist.
“Red can feed off hearts and blood if she needs to. Leila and Red experimented. Bringer doesn’t need to feed Red all the time anymore. Red just… Red just… enjoys… Vince’s life essence.”
Vince felt a soft and wet sensation on his neck. It felt like Red’s tongue and lips.
“Red wants to drink and eat from Vince all the time. But Red… wants to mate and lay with Vince even more. Red wants it desperately.
“There was an ache in Red’s stomach when Vince was carried off. It hurt. Red felt anger and regret. Anger that Red had not mated with Vince, and regret too.”
Unsure how to respond, Vince continued to scratch at Red’s tail.
“Red will mate with you. Red will not eat you. Red wants to do this thing in a bed. Leila will have to wait her turn,” Red said.
Feeling a brief flash of pain on his neck, Vince winced.
“Kinda hurt there, Red.”
“Red is sorry.”
“What’d you do?”
“Sucked too hard on Vince’s flesh. Red has been practicing under Mouth’s direction on vegetables.”
“Did… you just mark me?” Vince asked, amused.
“Red marked you. Dryads will learn their place or Red will kill and eat them.”
Soft footfalls coming their way got Red to scoot off Vince’s lap, but she stayed close to his side.
“We’re ready. Shall we get going?” Betty asked.
“Might as well. You keep your girls on the far side; I’ll take the interior.”
“My Dryads are warriors. We can fight.”
“And if they did, the enemy would think they were under attack.
“One person, though? A thief or an intruder.
“Go, keep to the plan.”
Betty grunted, then left.
The sound of Dryads moving through the brush was audible. Though it sounded a lot like the shifting of trees and branches in the wind.
“Red could kill most of them… but Red is not confident in killing them all. Red should mark Vince more.
“That will keep them away.”
“Later. Let’s get moving. Any questions?”
“Red will kill guards and move north to guide Dryads. Vince kills guards and moves east to draw away pursuit.
“Simple.”
“Right. See you back home then. It’s a straight shot from here.”
Vince slunk away through the bushes and took up the line of attack he’d built out in his head earlier.
It was pitch black out, but he could see reasonably well.
Now that he thought about it, he felt like he was bursting with energy. He could even see better than he had previously.
Need to eat more Dragon.
Vince got thirty feet before he found a guard.
His saber had been irreparably damaged by the Dragon’s scales, forcing Vince to simply ditch it.
Leaving him with only his hunting knife that’d somehow stayed attached to his person.
The Dryads had no bladed weapons to spare him, either.
“Who—” started a male voice.
Vince came up out of a bush with a right hook. His fist grazed along the man’s unprotected jaw, snapping it to one side.
Crumpling to the ground, the guard became a puddle of useless armor and weapons.
Landing atop the man like a wolf, Vince jammed the hunting knife into his throat and swung it one way, then the other. Practically decapitating the man.
Yanking the sword free from the man’s belt, Vince got to running again.
Everything is just… falling apart.
Vince was alone with his thoughts for the first time in… ever. Sprinting through the woods, he heard shouts from behind him.
They’d found the body already, surprisingly.
An army to the south, an army to the east, and then this force to the southwest that hasn’t even done anything yet.
And I’m running around in every direction trying to put out fires. Need to focus on one problem and solve it.
Suddenly, another soldier came into view up ahead.
Vince turned towards the silhouette and charged headlong at it.
Turning sideways as he passed, Vince swung for all he was worth at the soldier’s neck.
Passing through it as if it were jelly, Vince almost stumbled with the leftover force.
The trees whipped by as he got back into a good running form.
We’ll go south. That’s the main thrust of the army, and the biggest problem. Gerard and the other t
wo can handle the east.
And with one Dragon down, Yosemite should be able to hold out more effectively, and maybe even engage them.
South. South where Fes and Petra are. That’s where I need to be.
That’s where I should be.
Not running in the woods. I shouldn’t have even gone back to Yosemite, honestly. I could have tackled that later.
The shouting and yelling from behind him was now carrying up along the east side of him.
Turning to the right, Vince began angling himself deeper into the enemy camp.
Lashing out with his sword as he passed by the next soldier, Vince let go of the blade when it caught in the trooper’s ribs.
Good enough. That should get them after me. Now it’s just a midnight run.
Setting a distance-eating pace, Vince ran on, making sure to attack any guard that came up in front of him.
***
Vince was watching the area surrounding Yosemite.
The Dragons had been waiting last time for people to enter the area before they attacked.
There hadn’t really been a way to spot them until it was practically too late.
“Red doesn’t smell them… but that doesn’t mean they aren’t here,” Red said, shaking her head.
“Yeah… me neither,” Vince said, staring out at the field.
“And there’s two more Dragons?” Betty asked.
“There was. But that was before I killed the third one. Maybe they buggered off after that,” Vince said.
“We’d never seen a Dragon before. They don’t normally send them out of the south,” Betty said.
“So I hear,” Vince murmured. “I guess we just walk out there and see if they’re there…”
Red grunted, then sprinted out from cover straight into the middle of the field.
“Red will confirm this! Keep Vince safe! Do not try to take his seed or Red will kill you!” shouted the Beastkin over her shoulder.
Betty eyed Vince hungrily, then looked back to Red.
“If she dies, I’m going to mount you,” Betty said.
“Uh huh… my other Dryads or wives might have something to say about that.”
Betty sighed, her hand tightening around her staff.
“You reek of life and earth. Power and magic,” she said.
“So I’m told. Did I mention I’m a grove?”
