Bonded Spirits

by Jake Daniel

  I saw only red. I wanted to kill this man more than anything in my entire life. I couldn’t do so without risking Gwen’s life, though. If I killed him, his thugs could still kill her. I took a deep breath.

  Striker jumped off the wagon and called up to my position on the wall. “What’ll it be, Logan? Are you prepared to die at this place like those before you?”

  I closed my eyes and focused on Master Teng, who had positioned himself at the bottom of the wall below me. I spoke to him in my mind, hoping he’d understand what I was asking. “Make her float.”

  I waited several seconds and moved across the top of the palisade. I walked toward the center and pulled their attention toward me. “Do you really think you and your, what, forty men will actually be able to break through these walls?” I wanted the others that waited below to know exactly what we were dealing with, since they could not see how many of them there actually were. “Half of you will be dead before you even enter, and the other half the second you do. Are you ready to die today? Because I am.” I kept my eyes locked on his.

  As I focused on Striker, I saw Gwen’s body lift slowly into the air out of the side of my vision. I knew I needed to keep their attention, so I walked further down the wall with all eyes locked on me. Striker’s thunderous laughter filled the air. “Alright boys, we gave him a chance. Light it up.”

  Several poachers rushed forward with large crates followed by ones with lit torches. They jammed the crates into the base of the palisade and shoved the torches into strategic spots in each one.

  It didn’t take long for the black smoke to alert me to the fact it was on fire, a few seconds later the first explosion rang out, taking out a chunk of the wall and catching the base of the palisade on fire. Thankfully, the majority of the wall held.

  I turned to Fap’zak and nodded. The goblins and lizard folk rushed to the top of the wall with arrows nocked. There were twelve total atop the wall now, with another six waiting down below with arrows held at the ready.

  I spun and turned to face Striker. “So be it.” The poachers readied their weapons, but before they could aim, I motioned for the archers to fire. Several arrows cut through the smoke as the goblins and lizard folk nocked another round of arrows.

  Within seconds, all hell had broken loose. Several more explosions rang out as I ran back over to the top of the stairs. I brought my gun up to my shoulder, but the smoke was too thick to see anything to shoot.

  The wet wood from the freshly cut trees had prevented them from going up in flames, but the explosions kept coming. I ran back down to where Teng was untying Gwen.

  I ran over and sliced the bindings from around her feet and the centaur ripped away the rope from her wrists. Before I could even say anything, Gwen grabbed the second knife from my waistband and held it at the ready. “They need to pay.”

  The battle intensified, and the screams of several of the men beyond the wall rose through the air. I was optimistic that we may actually hold them off, but the heat from the fire was too much, sending a section of the wall tumbling down and claiming the lives of two of the goblins. I yelled out, trying to get their attention. “Everybody back, the wall is coming down!”

  The others rushed off the wall and gathered around me. I led my makeshift army to the nearly completed market. The display area actually made for a decent shield from the oncoming fire from the poachers.

  Striker appeared through the area where the wall collapsed and prompted his men to move forward as if he were a civil war general.

  I aimed through the opening in the wall and shot, knocking a poacher off his feet and onto the ground. He rolled around in pain as I readied another bullet. The remaining goblins shot arrows as fast as they could.

  Gwen appeared at my side and sent a round from my new pistol flying at a hunter. I gave her a small smirk and shot, taking out another poacher as more men rushed through the smoke.

  We waited at the half finished market as long as we could before falling back to the manor. We broke out the windows and rained arrows, bullets, and even knives down at the men. Doing everything in our power to hold them off.

  I ran upstairs and stopped as I reached Cress and Shah. “You two, help the others, don’t let them in!”

  I rushed into the room and saw Dahlia motionless on the bed. For a moment I thought she was dead, but her chest rose and fell very slowly, her breaths shallow as she struggled against whatever was afflicting her. “Hold on, Dahlia, it’s about to get loud.”

  Gwen rushed to the window and tossed one of the new chairs out through it. She shot her pistol down at the men until she ran out of ammo.

  I shot several more times and fished around in my pocket for additional rounds. I was nearly out, and the poachers kept coming.

  Striker walked behind the others with a torch and set everything ablaze as he walked through. He started at the farms, torching all the crops, then the market, before stopping in front of the manor.

  I loaded a round and aimed at his head. I was about to pull the trigger when the door burst open and several men rushed in. Gwen and I spun simultaneously, and I shot the man, blasting a hole where his dick used to reside.

  Gwen screamed out as the poachers reached her. I lunged forward and smashed one of them across the face with the butt of my rifle. A solid crack rang out inside the room as I split the man’s head open.

  I pulled back in the opposite direction and brought the barrel of the gun screaming forward and into the eye socket of a second man, sinking it deep inside and prompting a round of blood curdling screaming from the injured man. I pulled the gun out with a sickening slurp and spun on my heel to face the next attacker and brought another round in the chamber. “Alright mother fuckers, who’s next?”

  Four men rushed forward through the door. I fired off two shots as fast as I could, landing a direct strike into one man’s heart and the other only missing by inches but still incapacitating the bastard. Unfortunately, that was all I could get off before they had Gwen and me surrounded.

  Striker entered the room after they had us secured. He walked over to the bed where Dahlia laid motionless. He ran a finger from her throat, over her breasts and down toward her waist.

  “Get the fuck off her, you piece of shit.” I struggled against the men, nearly breaking free until two more men came over to help.

  “Oh? What’s the matter, couldn’t save this one? Shame she’s dead, would’ve made a fine piece of ass.”

  His words hit me like a punch straight to the gut. My eyes darted to Dahlia’s motionless body. She was completely pale, all remaining color had drained from her body. “Dahlia.” I whispered. He was right, I’d failed her. I watched her chest for any sign of moment but it remained still.

  Dahlia was dead.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  I tried to push off the floor toward the bed, but they pushed me back to the ground. Their bindings cut into my wrists, but I didn’t care. I needed to check on Dahlia; I had to see for myself.

  Gwen struggled next to me and kicked a man in the chest, collapsing his sternum and sending him writhing in pain on the ground in front of us.

  Striker stepped close to me and bent down into my face. “Don’t worry, Logan, I’ll take very good care of her.”

  I knew at that moment that I would do everything in my power to kill this monster. The men lifted me violently and dragged me out of the room and out to the front of the manor. I was helpless as they dragged away Gwen and the four men held me to the ground.

  Striker exited the manor with Dahlia in his arms. He walked up to me and threw her down on the ground next to me. Her body remained motionless in a heap next to me. Her once sweet nectar smell was noticeably absent.

  An attacker reared back with a fist and smashed me in my mouth. I spit a mouthful of blood from my busted lips into the man’s face as stars obscured my vision for several seconds before clearing slowly. I spit again and prompted another fist to the mouth.

  It felt like he had knocked my t
eeth out, but when I checked them with my tongue, they were all still in place. The other three men joined in and rained punches down on any area of my body that they could.

  The warm sensation of blood rose to my face as they continued to punish my face. A heavy fist came in and smashed my nose.

  I shuttered as I felt the bones in my face fracture. My eyes swelled shut, the only thing that made me remove my gaze from Striker as he watched with an eerie smile across his face. The beating continued for another minute. One of the longest minutes of my life. My face felt as if they had smashed it with a meat tenderizer.

  Striker’s voice finally rose above the others. “Enough. Leave him to me. Gather the others and get them back to the ships, we need to get them to Ambirn by nightfall.”

  I spit a wad of blood out onto the ground and struggled to breathe. It broke me. I’d felt nothing like this in my life. Every fight I’d ever gotten into I was the victor. I was more upset that I let them get a hold of me, not the fact that I was so badly injured.

  A few seconds later, I felt someone’s presence near my head. Striker’s voice rose as a loud whisper. “You fucked up. I know where you’re from, Logan West. I wouldn’t normally do this, but I’m going to give you a chance, there’s a small piece of me that feels that I owe it to you from… past transgressions against your family.” He grabbed my hand and shoved a small piece of cloth inside. “That will lead you back to where you belong. I’d like to think we all deserve a second chance, especially because it’s apparent you don’t have a fucking clue what you’re doing here. Don’t end up like your mother, you fucking idiot.”

  I groaned and with the last bit of energy left in my body; I threw the cloth at the man. I kept my eyes closed and could see from his outline he was currently standing over me.

  There was no way that this man knew my mother, or what had happened to her. I pushed the thought out of my head and focused on his outline. I knew I could sweep his legs out from underneath him, and if I could do it fast enough, I’d be able to disarm him before he even knew what had happened. Of course, that would be a lot easier if I could move my legs.

  I laid there helplessly with Striker laughing above me. “Suit yourself, don’t say I didn’t offer. Goodbye Logan.”

  I kept my eyes closed and saw the outline of my rifle coming down at my head. Fuck.

  A warm sensation surrounded me, and I knew I had to be dead. I opened my eyes slowly and met Dahlia’s beautiful emerald green eyes. “Dahlia? Are we dead?” She seemed at peace. It was as if we were in a dream.

  She said nothing, instead she moved her head forward and pushed her lips against mine. Her lips felt magical, actually everything about this exact moment felt magical. Pale pink walls which cast a soft glow enveloped us.

  I took in a deep breath, savoring the smell of her sweet nectar as we kissed. Her arms wrapped around me and I suddenly realized I was completely naked. When or how that happened was a mystery, but I wasn’t complaining. She moved her hands up and down along my back, tracing intricate designs on my back as our kissing intensified. Her soft sweet tongue danced over mine, her sweet nectar filled my body and made me feel energized.

  It took me several seconds before I noticed the cuts and bruises on my arms and across my body. I suddenly remembered what Striker and his men had done to me.

  I reached up to my face and felt the open cuts below my eyes and near my mouth. I moved my hand away slowly. Blood from my open wounds completely covered it.

  I closed my eyes and kissed Dahlia more passionately, trying everything in my power to ignore the pain that currently wracked my body. I shivered slightly from the pain, but refused to take my mouth off of hers.

  Flashes of yellow and emerald green darted across my eyes as they remained closed. The streaks swirled and churned, exactly like they had the first time I’d ever seen them. I mentally wrapped a strand around Dahlia, holding her close to me. I followed it by another, and a third, until I couldn’t wrap any more.

  The spirit glowed brightly and spun around our bodies in a tight circle. The strands expanded and contracted, pulsing around us, but no matter how crazy the spirit was flowing, I refused to take my lips from hers. I kissed her more passionately, tasting her, savoring her.

  She let out a moan as she pulled me closer and reached a hand down to my now completely hard member. She wrapped her soft fingers around my length and stroked me as she had earlier that morning.

  She reached down with her other hand and stroked with both hands. Her slow and steady pace quickened and the bands of spirit that currently enveloped us.

  I opened my eyes and the bands of glowing spirit remained, spinning wildly as I stared into her eyes. She pushed her soft breasts into my chest while keeping her hands busy down below. She leaned close and whispered in my ear. “Logan, I want you.”

  Her hands wrapped around my shaft tighter and she pulled me close until my tip rested on her soft folds. Warmth radiated from within her body as she moved her hips, brushing her wet mound across the top of my length. As she rocked back and forth, the soft glow of the walls surrounding us grew bright red. She had me wrapped inside of her.

  I was inside of Dahlia, wrapped inside of her petals. Her sweet nectar filled the air and grew stronger with each stroke of my shaft.

  I moved in rhythm with her, pushing my girth toward her each time she brought her hands forward, pushing my tip closer and closer to her entrance. She moaned sweetly as she kissed my neck, taking her time with every inch.

  I felt the wounds on my face transforming, healing, until I couldn’t feel pain any longer. I rocked my hips and ran my length along her soft folds.

  She let out a small moan of ecstasy and finally aligned her opening with my tip. She let out a scream as I entered her and bit down on her lip.

  I pushed forward slowly so I wouldn’t hurt her, but that seemed to be the least of her concerns at the moment as her hands fell to my ass and pulled my length completely inside her warm channel.

  A brilliant flash of light burst into my vision, just as it had with Gwen the first time. The petals that surrounded us pulled me in closer, as if they wanted to ensure that my entire length was deep inside of her.

  I moved my mouth to her erect nipples and kissed and nibbled each one, eliciting more cries of passion from the Alraune.

  She moved her hips faster and her body convulsed wildly around my rock hard length. She moved against it, pushed herself down on top of it until she reached orgasm, sending torrents of hot liquid nectar flowing out of her and covering my length.

  Her sweet smell was intoxicating, and when it mixed with the warmth of her channel, it sent me over the edge. She held me close, pulling me tight as I emptied my seed deep inside of her.

  The glowing strands of spirit that had circled around us absorbed into our bodies and slowly faded as we attempted to catch our breath.

  I kissed each of her breasts and crept back up along her long neck and stopped at her soft lips. She gave me a seductive smile as the world churned around us and her petals opened, revealing the now darkened sky. She kept her eyes locked on mine. “Thank you Logan West, you just saved my life.”

  I sat stunned for a moment. I had not had a woman tell me that after sex before. I mean, it was good, damn good. I brushed her long wavy green hair back out of her face and behind her ear. “Saved your life? I’m pretty sure it’s the other way around.” I lifted my hands to my face and stood slowly, ignoring the fact that I was still completely naked for the time being. “You completely healed me.”

  “Yes, but it was you that allowed me to tap into the spirit of Aurilon to do so. Your core is so pure. I could feel the energy flowing from you and I could harness it. But that’s not the most amazing thing. We’re bound, and because of this, I have regained my strength and I can spread my seeds. Your essence flows inside of me, even now I can feel my seeds absorbing it and becoming stronger. Alraune’s must be able to spread their seeds to connect with the world and ensure the survival of ou
r species. I just, well, you know.”

  I furrowed my brow. “Do you mean you were that ill because you hadn’t bonded with anyone else? You know I would’ve done... that, or whatever we just did, in a heartbeat. I was just trying to be respectful.”

  She gave me a shy smile. “I know. However, bonding is a very special thing. Not to mention dangerous for some. You were in terrible shape when I woke earlier, so I knew I needed to take the chance that it may work.”

  “Dangerous? What we just did? I don’t understand. How was that dangerous?”

  “You’ve already bonded with Gwen. She unlocked the Sight skill in you. That skill demands so much from your core, that it’s rare for anyone to be bound to anyone else once they have it. Most who tried have died.” She leaned forward and kissed me softly before continuing. “You, Logan, are different though. Like I said, your core is pure. Only those with the purest cores can bind with more than one.”

  I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I didn’t exactly feel different, but then I remembered the bright flash of light. “That flash of light, that was us binding, wasn’t it?”

  “Yes. That you could remain conscious during the binding is another mysterious aspect.”

  “Stay awake? I would’ve kicked my own ass if I’d slept through what I just experienced. How did you heal me though? I feel better than I did even this morning.”

  Dahlia let out a soft laugh. “It is the spirit. The nature magic that fills Aurilon. It is what saved you, saved us. By us bonding we tapped into that magic.” She shook her head and blushed. “I’ve heard bonding is very difficult for humans. I’m not sure if it’s because you’re an Other-worlder or what, but you are extremely special, Logan West.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  The house and each of the other buildings smoldered around us. I found my clothes a short distance away. I was still a little unbalanced, but when I looked at my body, everywhere there had been a wound was healed, without even so much as a scar.