by Aaron Crash
Rhee found us next. She was all suited up and ready to go. She gripped her new favorite weapon, the chakram. “Hello, you two. We’ll have sex, and then we’ll go find Broom. Dryx is getting ready to leave. I took care of her Quickening while you two were down here. I like it that she has to have sex daily or else she’ll lose her wings. It’s how I’ve felt my entire life. Sex every day!”
“Every day,” I said with a dizzy grin.
Rhee took off her big hat and set it down and then started undoing the buttons on her blouse. Before long, both she and Figg were naked. We were up so high, we could easily duck behind the balcony’s wall so no one could see us.
Unless you were flying. Dryx came down and joined us, kissing me, Rhee, and Figg. I found myself lost in the bodies of my women. My Escort.
Afterward, Figg hurried down to the New Pier and the newer wall, while Rhee climbed on my back. We’d gotten new traveling supplies, new gear and food, and plenty of water. Then we took off. Flying with only one woman on my back was so much easier. Rhee hardly weighed a thing.
I was getting used to sharing the sky with Dryx. I liked glancing over at her. She’d smile at me as we raced across the grasses. We didn’t have much of a plan to find Broom. We figured we’d find her on the obsidian highway, Dvey’s Road. We could save her a day of travel if instead of walking all the way to the Yellowmud, she took the old road, but that one had long since been reclaimed by the grasslands because Foulwater was such a toilet and no one went there.
We were going to change that.
We flew all the way to Dvey’s Fountain. My stone hut and the copse of trees had become like a way station on our way to Sweetleaf. The sun was getting ready to set. We hadn’t seen Broom yet, which was a bit unnerving. We figured we’d sleep there and continue the search the next day.
Rhee slid off my back. She came around and looked into my eyes. “Thank you so much for doing this for me, Axel. I really appreciate it.”
“I’m also doing it for Broom,” I replied.
Dryx landed, still in her leather armor and her red boots. The sword sheaths were still brown. We would need to dye her entire armor red so she’d match. Her white wings were as fluffy as ever.
I shifted human and stood in the fading light, naked. I wasn’t exactly excited about sleeping on the stone slabs. And it was a shame that dinner would be raw taggoggo root, dried fish, and rice balls. Maybe I could open a Taco Bang at Dvey’s Fountain. Or would that be Taco Bell? Thinking about tacos made me miss nachos, which made me sad.
Rhee and Dryx started to unpack our gear and get the little stone hut ready for the night. I walked to the fountain. I felt something in the air, something indescribable. On the wind, I smelled it, a subtle flavor of orange blossoms and the smoke of a fire.
I sniffed the air and approached the fountain. It wasn’t Dvey anymore. It was a Homo Draconis, this one with a long stone beard falling from his serpentine chin. His wings were outstretched, and his hands were clasped to his chest, holding a sword. The water poured out of the sword and down the blade. I wasn’t sure why the statue had changed, or when it changed. That statue looked familiar, though, and I was reminded of the old man I’d seen in the basement of the Temple of the Good Ancients. Raagnis Agnaala, the shifter hero of old, ancient, and long dead. Or was he?
I approached the fountain. The sun was near the horizon, and there were long shadows. Clear water tumbled down the fresh stone and into the basin. I cupped a hand and drank from the waters. That was when the water turned a shining purple color, and I heard a voice, a familiar voice.
“Axel!”
“Dad!” Yes, it was my father, Steven Drokharis.
“Axel, we know you were here at some point. I can only hope you’ll come back. We are looking for you. We’ll never stop looking. There is magic involved here, powerful magic, and we think we know who might be doing this to you.”
I stomped into the water. I grabbed the head of the dragon man in front of me. “Dad, can you hear me?”
But no, this was like a recording, and I had tripped it. Sabina must’ve been able to detect our presence here and altered the fountain with Ksu magic as a message to me.
No. A word came to me. Enchantrix. This was Dragonsoul magic. This was the kind of sorcery I would have access to once I unlocked my Anjagar Dayva powers.
My father’s voice fell away, and he said something I couldn’t hear, which was strange, because he’d been clear as bell not a second before.
Another voice followed. “Okay, Steven, what in the fuck do I do? Is this like voicemail? No one has used fucking voicemail in fifty fucking years.”
That was my mom. That was Mouse.
I grinned, and tears came to my eyes.
My dad, as ever, was patient. “Mouse, we can only send him this message. It’s not like a phone call. Just tell him how you feel.”
When she spoke next, my mom’s voice cracked with emotion. “Axel, I love you. I miss you so much. I was afraid something like this would happen. I knew at some point you’d be put in danger because of who we are and what our family does. Being King Arthur and the Round Table knights isn’t the safest occupation. I hope...”
Her voice broke.
Tears blurred my vision as I smiled. I didn’t need to see anything. I only had to listen.
My mom continued. “I hope you’re doing well. I know you never wanted a peaceful life, but I hope you’re finding some peace. We’re going to find you. Hang on until then.”
Another voice piped up. It was Tessa. “The rest of us miss you too! And I know you’re making wherever you are a better place. It’s what we do.”
A familiar voice broke in. “Axel better be kicking ass and taking initials because he ain’t got time for names.” That was Uncle Jared.
After all the memories of his almost death, hearing him alive and talking shit made me smile through my tears.
He wasn’t done. “I had this weird dream the other night, Axel. You breathed rock. It was super strange.”
“Not so strange,” I replied though he couldn’t hear me. “It sounds like my Ksu magic will eventually pay off.”
The next person was Sabina, Reggie’s mom. It felt so good to hear her Spanish accent. “¡No manches! I can only hold this open for so long. Say you love him, everyone.”
Then I heard the entire gang—my dad, all my moms, my uncle, even my buddy and brother forever, Cooper. Cousin Timmy was there and his father, Bud. And my pain-in-the-butt sister, Regina. They all told me they loved me in a big chorus of voices.
All the names of my mothers came to me. All fifteen, and I didn’t get every memory back, but I got a whole bunch. All the images and happiness of my life back on Earth growing up in the Infinity Ranch just north of Cheyenne, Wyoming.
I opened my eyes, and the purple light was gone, but the dragon statue remained. We wouldn’t be calling this place the Dvey Fountain. No, it had a new name: the Dragon Fountain Way Station, and I was going to be coming back here a lot, just in case I got another message. Or maybe I could send messages of my own.
Dad said he knew who might be messing with my life. That some asshole might be blocking my very powerful family from coming to get me. I didn’t think it was a coincidence that my father’s voice had grown indistinct at one point. He’d probably named the asshole.
Just another mystery I would solve eventually.
Even on another planet, cut off, I felt the love of my family.
And I had to smile. If my father and his wives ever finally got to me on Caranja, we could do a lot of good. That might or might not happen. For now, I was on my own, and it was up to me to work for the good of my friends and for the town of Foulwater. Hell, I wasn’t going to stop there. I wanted to change the world so everyone could live in peace.
Dryx and Rhee crept up, both their eyes wide. They’d started a little fire in our house, more for cheer than heat.
“What was that purple light?” Rhee asked.
“My parents,” I sai
d. “You know parents, always calling and sticking their nose into your business.” I made the joke even as a tear slid down my cheek.
Chapter Thirty-Four
WE ATE IN SILENCE, near the fire, in our little stone home.
Dryx wasn’t one to talk when words weren’t necessary. As for Rhee, she could tell I was feeling a whole bunch of emotions. I was relieved that my family was okay. I was happy to have heard their voices, and I was glad to remember my mom and some of the good times we’d had together.
That made me want to get home, and it made me wonder how I could tell them I was okay. Well, they knew that because Sabina had felt me here the day before. Hence, they changed the statue and left me the message. If only I could leave them a message in return.
Dryx finally stood. “I will stay on this continent. I will help you get home, Axel Drokharis. I will work to get Finniwigg Nightshine more of these brands. I enjoy you as I’ve never enjoyed another man in my life. I will not have sex with other men. If I find another Jataksha woman, however, I will want to fuck her. I like the Quickening with other women, and I miss women with wings.”
Rhee laughed. “Hear that, Axel? Dryx has spoken. Very well then.”
Dryx frowned at the elf. “What I have said is very dramatic. I have my own family back on Rydd R’Tah. Doubtless, they think I’m dead. And the sky king has his enemies, and I am not there to fight for him. He is a good king, and he keeps the peace. This Xid is wracked by trouble, ruled by foolish leaders, and there is the threat of this ancient evil returning. The Gurgaloids are proof of that.”
Rhee stood and hugged her.
Dryx went to talk. Rhee shushed her. “No, Lalindryx. We don’t need words right now. We welcome you. I agree with you. I might screw another woman, but the only pinga I want in me is Axel’s.” She turned and gave me a big smile. “Because you are so special, funny, amazing, and strong. I feel safe with you. I want Broom to feel safe. I don’t think she’s had a home in a long time.”
“I don’t think so either,” I said. “And I wonder about her. She kept saying it wasn’t ‘her time.’ I wonder what that time is like. Do you know?”
“Beans, you people!” a voice erupted.
We turned, and there stood Broomhelga Hurroom, all eight feet of her. She was three hundred pounds of smiles and fun. No, probably more like four hundred pounds. She grinned that crooked grin. And she snorted. “How desperate are you people? You came back for me, didn’t you? Kinda pathetic.”
Rhee let out a shriek and sped over.
Dryx and I walked out of our house and stood in the weeds. The sky warrior crossed her arms. “I am not pathetic. That big ugly girl is pathetic. She clearly had no friends—”
I raised a hand. “Lalindryx. We’re going to be nice. And yes, Broom sometimes says the opposite of what she means. Still, show her some kindness.”
“Kindness? This world doesn’t need kindness. It needs truth.” She scowled.
I didn’t fully agree. For some people, the truth was an unnecessary hammer—it might toughen them up, but it also might break their bones.
Broom set Rhee down. The giant redhead came over, a little sweaty from her travels. Her massive fiery mane was frizzy, as was the tuft of hair on her tail. “Hey, you’re that Jataksha girl we had to rescue. You all right? From what I heard from the city guard, they were going to do all sorts of weird things to you. Good thing we were there to save your butt. You good?”
Dryx stiffened.
I searched Broom’s face and only saw a kind of stupid hope that Dryx would thank her. Or at least be nice to her. And yet, I was sure the big girl had heard everything the sky warrior had said. And look at how quickly Broom had disarmed her and shifted the conversation.
Was that stupid hope? Or was that a mask? How much of Broom’s act was an act?
“I am very fine,” Dryx said awkwardly. “And you have my thanks.”
“Oh, I’m always saving people, so for me it’s no big deal. It might be for you. I’m just glad to see my friends, and I’d like for us to be friends. Not that I need more friends. I already have so many.” Broom did her snort of laughter.
I couldn’t help but hug the big girl. It was like being hugged by a tall, freckled bear. Her skin felt good on mine, and I lost myself in her massive chest. It felt odd to be with such a big woman. I could make it feel more normal.
In her arms, I shifted into a Homo Draconis. I grew right upward until we were the same height. We held each other. Broom laughed. “Your scales are softer than I would’ve thought. And drier. Beans, I’m hugging a dragon. Look at me.”
Rhee’s face was covered in tears. “Look at you, Broom. Just look at you.”
The giantess turned, and she smiled, and yet, in her eyes, there was sadness even as there was gratitude. Broom wasn’t your typical woman, and it might take us years to really understand her. I was willing to take that journey.
“So, people, are we going to fly to Foulwater?” Broom asked. “How is that going to work?”
I wasn’t sure. Trying to carry both Broom and Rhee wouldn’t be easy on me. And even if I carried Broom, Dryx wasn’t built to fly long distances lugging another person around.
“We’ll figure that out in the morning,” I said.
That night, we talked and laughed, and Broom told us stories. She’d gone to Hannek Cash and Filly Goose for traveling supplies. She was rather scandalized, dealing with such people who lived in the lawless Mazes. We’d pay them back, and I hoped to see them again at some point.
Broom did say that the Stallion King had sworn revenge on me and Foulwater. She wasn’t sure if that meant he was trying to brew up another army of demons, not that their first attempts had been very successful. Or did it mean we’d find an army of centaurs and giant women at our walls? If that was the case, we’d add another layer of stone to the top and make it even taller.
Rhee had another possible scenario. “What if they tell the Praachi Mariners about me? The Mariners could come. They have an army of assholes they could throw at us.”
Broom snorted. “What if the Wynnym attack you on land and the Mariners hit from the sea? That would put us in a pinch.”
I liked that she’d used the word “us.”
Firelight glowed on Dryx’s face. “We will defend Foulwater from any attack. We are mighty. And we will only grow stronger. Our swords sharper. Our screams louder.”
I thought about asking her about that banshee shriek that she used in battle and her hu’kay, but it was late, I was beyond tired, and we all went to bed.
Not all of us. Broom took the first watch. She was more comfortable outside, so she sat on the ground with her back to the outer wall. I fell asleep looking at her broad back. The next morning, I had my tea and my bidi by the wall, listening to the morning birds and the trickle of the dragon fountain.
Long story short, I still wasn’t the flyer I’d been back on Earth. Trying to maneuver through the air with an eight-foot-tall woman on my back was too difficult, and so, we ended up walking, with Dryx flying reconnaissance.
We found the old road, called the Seaway, according to Broom, and while it was overgrown with weeds and grasses, there was enough old stone for us to follow it all day long. We camped out another night on the grasslands, and I marveled as the two moons rose in the sky.
Of course, Dryx needed her Quickening, and I took care of her. Rhee wasn’t about to miss out on sex. She joined us. As for Broom, she said it wasn’t her time, and she went out walking while we did our business.
It seemed she didn’t really want to tell us about that mystery, and I wasn’t going to push it. Sex is a tricky thing for some people. We walk around, pretending to be logical creatures of reason, and yet, sex can turn us into animals, and we find ourselves doing strange things. Or maybe that’s just me.
We strolled up to the western gates the next day. The new constable, Dolori Kannaggi, wasn’t at her guard station. No one answered when I called out.
Dryx saw my concern
. She soared over the wall. I stripped and joined her, flying in my full dragon form. We sailed over the Old City. It seemed deserted. The Hintala Village was also empty. My heart was pounding.
Dryx gave me a worried look, and that really scared me. Dryx was basically fearless.
We found people, the entire village, at the New Pier and what we’d started calling the Newer Wall. That’s where I found the town, sitting in relaxing wooden chairs under canopies made from sailcloth. The destruction of war with the Aquaterreb families had been cleaned up, thanks to my summoner’s magical abilities.
Several sections of the wall had been flattened to create platforms; others were like diving ledges. There were even a few stone slides with water gushing down the moss-slickened surfaces. Our battlements had been turned into a fucking water park, and there was Figg, lounging in a chair, a tankard of cold beer by her hand.
With her left hand, she was smoking dully. She was dressed in a wispy beach gown, which covered everything and revealed everything.
Dryx and I landed on the flattened wall where Figg was sunning herself. I shifted into a Homo Draconis. “Finniwigg Nightshine! No one is watching the front gate! And these walls were meant to keep our enemies out. But now? It’s like a beach party.”
“We’re celebrating, dragon boy,” Figg slurred. She got up, wobbling. She was lit like a Christmas tree. I pulled her close, while seeing everything that was happening around me. This was a party, or actually, the second day of a party. It looked like we’d have a full seven days of fun debauchery, including the Festival of the Long Light.
Kids were laughing and giggling as they leapt into the water. Then they’d climb out of the ocean to do it again. Families were gathered together. There was Mumi, serving drinks and fried food out of the front of her bar. Her barflies were under a canopy.
The meaty woman saw me and waved. I waved back.
Uncle Dog and Granny Heehee were over there, and I was glad to see Dog had a new scar cutting across the top of his scalp. So he’d fought and gotten wounded. The heal spell had fixed him, but he’d bled for the town. I was glad. As for the party barge he’d bought? That was going to become town property all right.
