“You will wish I just killed you if you ever betray me,” Lucas exhaled in a tone that would terrify a statue. Zoey flipped again and kissed him on the neck. Slowly and sensually she worked her way up to his ear.
“I know. There is no place in this world where I could hide. No being that could shelter me. No power that could stop you from killing me. Nothing I could do to stop you from enslaving or torturing my soul for eternity if you ever so desire. This is exactly what I’m talking about,” Zoey went to catch his lips and push her tongue into his mouth. But only shortly, retreating as soon as he caught her tongue with his. Zoey slid a hand down his crotch.
“Hard enough to penetrate steel plates… it seems that at least this part of you is happy to have me around,” Zoey smiled charmingly and went back to washing herself. Lucas just kept lying in the bath, fully relaxed.
This will be a real bitch to deal with, literally.
“Still as up as it gets,” Zoey checked his pride after she was done washing herself. “I thought I wasn’t your type,” she smiled innocently as she flipped over to face him.
“Perhaps a little,” Lucas admitted.
“A little?” Zoey squeezed his bottom head, “this doesn’t feel like a little.”
“Perhaps a little more,” Lucas added.
“You sound a little confused. I guess I should let you figure it out overnight,” Zoey remarked and rose up from the bath. She went on to start drying herself.
“Running so soon?” Lucas tried.
“Running? I came here to wash myself, now that I’ve done that I have no reason to further disturb you,” Zoey replied sweetly.
“I do believe you have left behind some unfinished business,” Lucas pushed.
Zoey went to crouch down behind him, putting her head next to his.
“I told you I want to toy with the devil. The way I see it, what I left behind is exactly how I want it to be,” she whispered into his ear after she bit it. Then she gave him a long kiss on the neck.
“Good night,” she added as she rose and left the room.
Bitch!
17
Zerae
“Four thousand Faye from all three clans... that’s the largest force we have ever deployed,” Leena observed.
“Yeah… great,” Zerae confirmed bitterly.
“Don’t worryyyyy… you made a good plan, it will all be fine,” Astril hugged Zerae from behind.
“I know. Time to go to work,” Zerae remarked and stepped forward. The command tent was already full. The leader of the force was the matron, Mathilde Hellwind herself. In the end, Zerae was named her right hand while her sister Allicia was the left hand. Then there were other lower rank commanders.
“Always biding your time, daughter,” Mathilde breathed poisonously as Zerae entered. She was last. Zerae ignored it.
“Anyway, let us start. Zerae, darling, how do you suggest we should start?” she asked and everyone turned to Zerae.
Not a bad trap, but I saw it coming from a mile away.
“We need information about the enemy forces, so first and foremost, we need a detailed reconnaissance of the Palai fleet and detailed map of the coast to set up possible marching and escape routes,” Zerae laid out calmly.
“Allicia! Organize our troops into units, have them prepare for battle!” Mathilde ordered.
“Mother,” she nodded.
“Zerae! Go greet our ally, Ur’Thul’Gar of the Storm, tell him we are ready and at his disposal,” Mathilde added.
“With all due respect, Matron, as the War Leader I believe we need to take this more seriously,” Zerae contested.
“Are you saying that I do not know what I’m doing, my dear daughter? Are you saying I am wrong? That I’m stupid and underestimating it?” Mathile returned poisonously.
“No, matron,” Zerae bowed.
“I am the commander on this battlefield and I shall not be disrespected. Now leave,” Mathilde concluded victoriously.
“Well… that didn’t go well,” Astril remarked as they left the camp. Her, Zerae and Leena were flying toward Stormshriek, the fortress of Ur’Thul’Gar.
“She is taking it too lightly,” Leena agreed.
“Mathilde isn’t stupid, she has something up her sleeve,” Zerae contested.
“You wish,” Astril returned.
“Mathilde has been leading our clan since its inception. It wouldn’t be what it is without her.
“She told you that, didn’t she?” Astril refused.
“What are you implying?” Zerae sneered angrily.
“That perhaps we might take a liiiittle detour on the way to the Stormshithole or whatever it’s called,” Astril contested.
“We are not disobeying the matron!” Zerae rejected the motion.
“It wouldn’t be disobeying her, just a small delay caused by say… unfortunate wind,” Leena offered.
“No,” Zerae ended the discussion.
The fortress of Stormshriek soon opened up before them. Half mountain-half building fortress stood in the middle of the sea like a lone mountain. The fog surrounding it was thick to the point of only the shape of the fortress being visible. The three Faye flew into the fog and landed on what seemed to be a side entrance.
“Hello, giiirls,” a man in patched up armor greeted them. There were five of them by the entrance of the cave. They were armed.
“Tell Ur’Thul’Gar that Zerae Hellwind is here to see him, immediately!” Zerae ordered.
“Oohhh… the Faye… come along pleaseee,” the man motioned with a hand.
“Touch us or our mounts and die,” Zerae remarked and stepped forward. Astril and Leena followed. The place smelled of death and demons.
“Suuure… hereee,” he chuckled and motioned Zerae by putting a hand on her shoulder. Zerae drew her blade and spun. The man’s head fell to the ground.
“The fuck are you doing, you bitch?” one of his companions shouted. Zerae ran a blade through his gut, withdrew it chopped off the head of the man next to him in a swift, elegant spinning motion.
“You lead us to your master; you watch over our mounts. Anyone touches them and you all die,” Zerae sneered at the two remaining men. They were pale as death. “Now!” Zerae shouted and they jumped up in fear. One ran into the cave while the second one stayed in the position.
“Greetings, War Leader,” a tall black bearded armored man sitting on an overdecorated throne greeted them. His build was massive; his thick steel armor made him look downright huge.
“Ur’Thul’Gar,” Zerae made the slightest of bows. The room was large and crude, inside were about thirty other people. Zerae made a mental note of all of them. They were all staring at the three Faye. Their eyes shone with want and lust. It made Zerae’s skin crawl.
“What can I do for you?” Ur’Thul’Gar asked in an overly polite manner.
“Nothing. I am merely here to notify you of our arrival,” Zerae kept her tone steady and hard as steel.
“Wouldn’t that be a shame to waste this historic moment? Men, bring some wine! Come here, War Leader, let us have a cup first?” Ur’Thul’Gar motioned Zerae to a table. Zerae motioned Astril and Leena and all three of them went to the table.
“I don’t drink,” she remarked as she sat down.
Ur’Thul’Gar sat down to the table opposite of Zerae. “How was your journey?” he opened up.
“Boring.”
“Have my men treated you appropriately. I apologize for any trouble they may have caused… you see, they sometimes lack a bit of discipline,” Ur’Thul’Gar tried another topic.
“I have already seen to that. Are all your underlings this pathetic?” Zerae returned a question.
“I admit I am impressed… you seem to be every bit of the person you are said to be. As in every organization, we have men more and men less capable. I assure you my captains will meet your standards. Anyway, enough pleasantries. Please tell the matron we welcome your arrival and have prepared a small gift for you. Tell her to com
e with five hundred of her finest warriors so that we can set up our strategy. I shall gather my captains and look forward to seeing you in five days,” he laid out while running his hand through the thick black beard.
“Do you know anything about the enemy forces?” Zerae tried.
“Yes. Palai fleet, easily twenty thousand men strong spread across over a hundred warships. They are well trained, have battle experience and half of them are truly veteran. Their boats are tough and made to not catch on fire and to be generally resistant to magic. Their slings, catapults, and ballistae can target ground and airborne targets alike. Their capital ship, Angry Judith, has a slingshot strong enough to break a castle wall. As a whole, they are prepared to face any type of enemy, have no real weakness and are just about as bloodthirsty and ruthless as religious fanatics get. Their leader is admiral Elias la Grace, commander of the 4th Legion. He is more than a powerful magician who has spent past forty years killing monsters and pirates on the sea,” Ur’Thul’Gar revealed.
“You are surprisingly reasonable in your assessment,” Zerae evaluated.
“For a demon?” he interrupted her. She nodded cautiously.
“Overconfidence is a form of weakness our kind cannot afford. Edward Collward did and looked where he and his glorious Slaver Union ended. Killed like dogs,” he replied.
Wait… are you telling me Edward Collward was a demon prince? I will really need to keep an eye on Elizabeth and make sure she doesn’t find out. Not for as long as there is a Palai army around. She must never meet this man or any of the other princes.
“It seems we can actually agree on something. I hope you have more than a few aces up your sleeve,” Zerae smirked and rose from the table.
“Indeed, I have. Have a safe way home, War Leader,” he bowed politely and offered Zerae a hand. She did not take it.
“You really have no survival instinct, do you?” Zerae tossed up a rhetoric question as they returned to their mounts. There were about a dozen men around. They were trying to get to them, using heavy shields to block their attacks.
“I… I’m sorry milady… I tried to…” the man she left behind whimpered.
“Astril!” Zerae cut him off.
Before her voice left the air, the nape of his neck was opened by Astril’s blade.
“What the fuck?” the men turned. Astril smirked and charged them. Her swords were but a blur of yellow and blue. The man’s shouts soon turned into screams. Screams turned into silence. Silence of death.
“We head east,” Zerae commanded as they walked over the corpses to their mounts.
“Roger,” Astril smirked.
It didn’t take long before they saw the Palai fleet. Red sails with golden symbols filled the sea, painting it red in the evening sun.
“Zerae… he wasn’t kidding,” Astril remarked warily.
No shit.
“Leena, can you reach Sibyl through the Dream World?” Zerae asked.
“It will take me out for a few days… but sure, what should I tell her?” Leena confirmed.
“Tell her I need to talk to count Salazar of Xona. I don’t care how risky or troublesome it is. I need it as soon as possible. Trade for it whatever you deem reasonable,” Zerae stated.
“Got it… you will need to fly by yourself Wawie, please don’t drop me,” Leena smiled as she petted her wyvern. It huffed in approval. Leena fixed the traps on her saddle and pulled out a black ball the size of an apricot.
“See you in a few days,” she smiled and swallowed the black ball. In an instant, her eyes turned black and she crumbled into the saddle.
“Meh… so much for having a threesome tonight,” Astril breathed.
“We aren’t getting any rest. We are turning north-west, get ready for a long flight,” Zerae commanded and turned Belenus to the new direction.
“Oh, come on, we haven’t done anything in days!” Astril exclaimed, “I’m gonna get spider webs in there!”
“Spider webs? You think I didn’t see you with Chloe in the morning?” Zerae exclaimed.
“Meh, later then,” Astril sighed. “Where are we going, by the way?”
“To the cavern city, Langburn or however it was called.”
“Calm down. Yes, we are surfacers and yes, we aren’t supposed to be here. Just tell Jack Carlyle that Zerae Hellwind is here for a visit,” Zerae said slow and clear. She was standing with Astril in front of a gate. Large metal gate, the gate of the cavern city of Langburn. On the walls stood about fifty soldiers, all were aiming crossbows at them.
“Not the best start,” Astril whispered.
“Astril…”
“We will take you in, but you will need to drop all of your weapons and let us put handcuffs on you.”
“This is really going well,” Astril smirked, “NOT!”
“Shut up, Astril.”
“Alright! Don’t worry; we will not pose any resistance or be a threat. We just need to talk to Jack Carlyle,” Zerae reassured them as she slowly drew her sword and put it on the ground in front of her.
“I like my swords, thank you,” Astril smiled charmingly.
“Astril!”
“Yea yea yea,” Astril tossed her swords and a bunch of hidden daggers on the ground as well. Only after they stepped ten feet away from the weapons did the guards open the gate and five of them cautiously walked forward.
“Get captured… check. The first step of our plan to conquer the world is done,” Astril wheezed as they were being brought through the city. The city was surprisingly pretty as everything had bright paint on it.
“What’s with all these colors? They are so pretty,” Astril smiled at one of the guards.
“Well… all is grey and dim in the caverns. If we don’t bring some color to our lives, who will?” she answered awkwardly.
“Do you know May? Pretty, blue hair, big boobies under breastplate,” Astril followed up.
The guard nodded cautiously.
“Please tell her that Astril’s here. She will know,” Astril said.
“I’m not just gonna talk to her because you asked me to. I will look like a total idiot if you are lying about knowing the prince!” the woman refused.
“I tell you, we’re not lying.”
“Alright, I will talk to her, but I cannot promise anything,” the guard agreed.
“Thank you,” Astril pecked her a kiss on the cheek.
“For the tenth time, I am Zerae Hellwind; she is Astril Hellwind. We are Faye, we are from the surface and we are here to meet Jack Carlyle,” Zerae answered with barely controlled irritation. The guard captain had spent past hour asking them questions, for some reason hoping to get a different answer this time around.
“Captain, you have a visit,” sounded from the door. He sighed and went to open.
“MAYYYYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEE,” Astril shouted in greeting as she saw May through the door. May blushed and pretended she didn’t see anything.
“I apologize for the intrusion, captain, but I will take it from here,” said Jack Carlyle.
“Sir,” the captain bowed.
“I apologize for the rude introduction, but our protocols are rather strict,” Jack opened up as he had the guards release them.
“I knew you would come for me,” Astril caught May into a hug and whispered into her ear before biting it lightly.
“Not here,” May tried to push Astril off.
“Astril!” Zerae sneered.
“Later, sweetling,” Astril gave May a soft kiss on the neck and moved away.
“I am sorry for the interruption,” Zerae turned to Jack, “and I am sorry I am not here without needing something.”
“Please follow me, we can speak more in my chambers,” Jack motioned them. Few guards followed them, carrying their weapons.
“I apologize once more, our protocol doesn’t allow weapons to be carried by non-citizens inside the city,” Jack explained.
“It’s alright,” Zerae smiled.
“What can we help you with, War
Leader?” Jack asked politely after they sat down in his office and exchanged pleasantries.
“I know how this is going to sound, but I need a place to hide a few hundreds of my people. They will be released war prisoners, it will likely be for a few months and I know I do not have enough to offer for it. We can pay all costs after we recover them from here and all I can offer is some counter service,” Zerae laid out.
“That’s… definitely not what I expected. We will need to speak to my father about this”
“Lord Joneth Carlyle, ruler of Langburn, heir of ash, head of house Carlyle,” Jack Carlyle introduced his father.
“Zerae Hellwind, War Leader of the Faye, heir of the Hellwind clan,” Zerae bowed as she introduced herself.
“What can our city do for you, War Leader? You seem to be in a hurry, if I may be blunt,” the lord observed.
“I know how this sounds, I know it’s not appropriate or by any diplomatic protocols. But please hear me out. My people got dragged into a war we shouldn’t have. We are Faye. We know no fear, know no surrender… but it doesn’t mean we have to die. I need a safe place to hide whoever might get captured during this war and then gets freed afterward. A place where they will not be found until the war ends. A place like a city in the Caverns. I know I do not have enough to offer for it, yet here I am asking for help. We will cover any costs you have after we recover our sisters from here and I offer any service we may be able to do in exchange,” Zerae laid out carefully.
Legacy of Death: Revenge (Legacy of Dreams Book 2) Page 16
