The Heartstone Saga

by Archibald Bradford

“So you decided to help out after all huh?” Nina grumbled.

  She regretted it immediately though as the Witch stared at her, holding her in place like no one save her mother ever had before.

  It was a long ten seconds before Olena spoke again.

  “I always intended to help, little giant. But I forgot my comically oversized hammer at home.”

  Nina cleared her throat, once again striving, and failing, to shake off the discomfort the Witch so easily engendered in her.

  Then Olena surprised her by letting out a sigh, a mortal moment of weakness that didn’t suit her, though she followed it by pulling the Gigas over to sit in her lap, Nina simply unable to resist.

  “Always the warrior breeds charge forwards. Never thinking, never looking anywhere but directly ahead. Witches help sideways. We protect the blind spots that the enemy would otherwise exploit. The one time we failed in this marked the ruin of the Valkyrie. And the Amazons weep for them!” Olena laughed darkly, sending a strange chill down Nina’s spine as eldritch light seeped from the Witch’s eyes; “Given half a moment I would take your bond-sister over my knee and spank her bottom raw for the stupidity she and her sisters displayed so long ago in keeping such a secret from us.”

  “You! I would-” Nina sputtered as her instincts warred within her.

  Part of her wanted to murder the impertinent woman for talking smack about her angel, while the larger part was instinctively paralysed by the Witch and her chilling wiles.

  “You would... what?” Olena cooed as she stroked one finger across the giant’s brow; “You would kiss between my thighs? Kind you are to offer, but we have not the time.”

  A trapped volcano, the Gigas burned with humiliation, unable to do anything as the other monster girl held her in sway.

  At last Olena took pity on her, or grew bored of her game.

  “Why do you think I am here, little Nina? I was tracking those Ogres so that the attack on Garland could not be repeated while your brave and stupid bond-sister leads her brave and stupid army into the Chimera’s very obvious trap. We Witches help sideways.” She finished, repeating her earlier claim.

  Suddenly she leaned over, as if unable to help herself, and licked the sweat off of Nina’s cheek with a moan.

  “Ah! The power in your anger and pride! I could wield even the forgotten Wyrds if I could put a harness on it!”

  Olena grabbed her chin and licked her again, seeming to savour the taste of her.

  The tiny giant was no stranger to having her face licked by other monster girls, having grown just as accustomed to it as Nameless.

  But it was a sign of loving affection when Erica and Milly did it; their instincts and kind hearts driving them to care for her and the others, to groom their hair, or sweep away their tears.

  This... was not that.

  This was lewd and selfish and just fucking awful.

  “You suck.” Nina said with a sniffle as she trembled in place.

  “Only once in the last fifty years. And my… former fuck-buddy wasn’t really into it. As for your contempt, I ask that you consider this-” Olena swallowed suddenly as genuine emotion found her again, having to take a deep breath before she could continue; “My son recently lost his child to wasting sickness, and his wife after she tried to kill him in her own grief. And instead of being at his side, I am here. Forced to listen to one immune to that dreadful disease whine because I do not fear her enough.”

  Nina’s jaw trembled as she was unable to refute the heartfelt words, but she couldn’t back down.

  “You could kill Evadne right?!” She demanded in tearful desperation; “Can’t you just take some blood and give a wave of your hand to make her die?!”

  Even emotional as she was, the Gigas still couldn’t struggle as Olena held her tight in her lap, even while the guilt of killing so many innocent monster girls emerged amidst her emotional crisis.

  Safe to say, the Witch would have been her last choice for consolation, but misery makes for strange bedfellows.

  Olena pulled one of her bone needles out and tapped it hard against the swell of one of Nina’s breasts, the flesh yielding to it only up to a point.

  “If my needle could pierce your skin I could curse half the world with the passion and power in your blood. And if it ever pierced the flesh of the demon-touched, I would wither and die in moments. Life cannot spring forth from ashes. Magic cannot come from death. Nor can magic influence death. Entropy is not magic. It is nothing. I fear nothing, and so should you.”

  “What does that even mean?!” Nina demanded, her pain making her forget her fear of the strange Witch.

  “It means the Chimera is not mine to kill. Something you well know.” Olena gripped her tighter in her lap, whispering intently into her ear; “Harness this. You have done so all your life with your rage. Don’t puss out on me now.”

  It was at that point that the Gigas finally accepted that the Witch was helping, just in the weirdest and shittiest way possible.

  Finally Olena pushed her out of her lap and stood.

  “Now you must go. And I must follow. But not you. My curse kept the surviving Ogres in place, but it has since failed. I think they will return to Evadne, but I do not know for certain. I will find them and do what I must, just as you did.” She made a dismissive wave of her hand to send Nina off; “Go, cute little red girl. Whack the Chimera with your silly hammer and spank your glowing sister for me.”

  Nina shook her head in wonderment.

  “You are so fucking weird.”

  “I’ve been called worse. Now run along.” Olena paused and slowly licked her lips, pinching her nipple through her shawl; “Unless you want to mess around? I’m sure the Ogres and the big evil demon lady will keep for at least one good orgasm.”

  It was almost hurtful how quickly the mortified Nina fled, Olena’s eyes glued to her ass as she did.

  The Witch let out a mournful sigh as she traced her fingers over the saliva on her lips.

  “Foiled lust. Worthless. I really need a new fuck buddy.”

  Chapter 48:

  Drowning

  Already some of the faster moving Tenebrae had slammed into the wall of Longinus shields with predictable results, but a few of them had chosen to bypass it altogether; because although the legionnaires were dauntless, far too many monsters were agile or athletic enough to simply leap right over them.

  Tactically speaking such a reckless assault was unwise, as the humans and monsters waiting immediately pounced on them when they landed on the other side, but it often came with a terrible cost.

  There was a painful scream as a young Aegis cadet was taken down by a charging Wolfen, darkness in her eyes as she ignored the glancing blows from the Antlions’ cudgels and proceeded to rip the poor woman apart.

  The first casualty of the day.

  Meanwhile one of Alcaia’s Amazons grappled a struggling Lapine to the ground, the pitiful creature hissing and spitting at her as the much stronger warrior restrained her with sheer strength.

  “Bind her! Quickly!” The Amazon called out.

  Amidst the Aegis group supporting their center, Grant sent Linda over to trap the girl’s hands and legs with her clay.

  They had barely carried the bound girl off when the bulk of the Tenebrae slammed into the Antlions’ shields and combat began in earnest.

  The pride of Longinus held, but the assault continued unending, with more and more Tenebrae trying to claw or push their way through to take revenge for children not their own.

  And just as she had with Avita’s workers, Volka was right there to meet them; she would fly to wherever the fighting was fiercest and the Tenebrae would quail as her aura seeped into them, making it that much easier for her to lay into them with her shield and a narrow baton.

  The first of the captured girls was soon brought to Nameless, but a problem emerged when the Amazons carrying her arrived.

  “We cannot find her heart! She doesn’t have it on her!”

  Booker�
�s expression soured as he looked around the field, the ever increasing pressure on their legions keeping the Antlion queens occupied.

  “If she swallowed it than these girls are as good as dead!”

  “No.” Nameless disagreed immediately as he set his palm against the struggling Lapine’s exposed belly; “I think I could still reach them if that were the case. Her heart isn’t with her at all.”

  “It can’t be far though.” Milly reasoned.

  Her black spear was gripped tight in her hand, and she very badly wanted to be fighting amongst her Amazon friends, but without Nina to protect Nameless…

  “How are we supposed to reach them all anyways?!” Erica cried out in frustration; “It’s not like Volka’s aura is doing anything more than making them sort of… woozy!”

  She was amongst the most desperate to save the Tenebrae, her memories of being in a similar state still able to haunt her if she dwelled on them to long.

  Nameless chewed on his lip as more and more captured Tenebrae were brought to him, until the Myrmidons had to shift their formation around to better protect their queens.

  “Don’t panic Erica.” Sadie Essig urged; “The heartstone have to be here somewhere.”

  But panic seemed an appropriate response.

  Yes, the Aegis had them outnumbered, and a great many Tenebrae had been subdued already by its skilled members; but the problem was keeping them that way, because every girl that they captured tied up more and more of their resources. The stronger the girl, the worse it was.

  The Longinus line couldn’t help with it either, too preoccupied ensuring that there still was a line.

  Like a drowning person pulling the one saving them under, the captured Tenebrae were a weight around the waist of the Aegis forces and the effects were starting to show, with increasing numbers of wounded needing to be taken to the medics behind the command group.

  “We’re drowning.” Nameless mumbled as he looked over the girls, while the people in charge fretted as they sought to find a solution.

  “What? What did you say?” Booker demanded.

  At this point, Nameless and Sadie were the experts when it came to Tenebrae, and the senior Aegis councilor was desperate for them to prove it.

  “We’re drowning!” Nameless repeated, eyes wide.

  An idea had struck him and he all but threw his thoughts at Volka, heedless of the fact that she was a little bit busy.

  Her wings beat several times as she was forced to withdraw from the fighting to process what he was suggesting, the roiling mass of Tenebrae was emboldened by her departure.

  “Will it work?” He called out with his voice and his mind as she landed at his side.

  “I… I don’t know! Such a thing has never been attempted!”

  “We have to try!” He said.

  “What do you need?” Commander Morrow barked.

  She was in charge of their evac units, and things were getting desperate as the wounded piled up, so her patience was nonexistent.

  “Time! And as many Undines as you can give me!”

  Booker was listening and immediately turned to Juni, who nodded and used her magic to put out the call.

  “What are you going to do?” Sadie asked as Xalanth kept a pair of Katje subdued.

  The temporary ties that held them had come undone and the Dragon held them immobilized so that Milly and Erica could redo them.

  “What do you think?” Nameless smiled like a maniac to show more confidence than he felt; “I’m going to save the world!”

  It had been a promise he and Volka had repeated many times, but for once he actually believed it himself.

  Water was already forming around him as several Undines heeded the call and a minute later he was explaining the plan.

  “Listen up girls! We’re going to use your Sacred Current! We need rain, lots of it! Volka, I’ll need you, because I’m making this up as I go!”

  The Valkyrie made a noise in her throat as she looked back towards the fighting, but she had to trust that whatever her husband was proposing was their best option.

  “I am yours, my love. How shall we proceed?”

  Abruptly there was a harsh scream from not far away as the barbed tail of a Manticore tore into someone’s unguarded flesh.

  The sound served to remind Nameless of the weight of his choices.

  What if he was wrong?

  “Focus! My Husband! You have chosen a path, let us walk it together!”

  It took some doing, but at her urging Nameless was able to push down his emotions, to ignore the sounds of the mayhem around them, a must if he wanted to have a shot at stopping it.

  Once in control of himself again he had the Undines and Volka join hands around him, then sat in a crouch and reached out with his thoughts.

  Immediately he felt the steely warmth of his Valkyrie’s mind against his.

  I am here Husband.

  It chafed her greatly to be away from the conflict, but it was what was necessary.

  Unfortunately, it was also what Evadne was counting on.

  When it became clear that Volka wasn’t returning to the fight a dark tornado appeared above the Tenebrae, and suddenly the Chimera was there; flapping her wings as she watched the chaos unfold, her arms spread wide and the sound of her laughter drowned by the din of battle.

  And the moment that she spotted her, Xalanth leapt into action.

  “Queens of Longinus! I leave my lady in your care! I go for Evadne, for she has lived far too long!” The Dragon rumbled as she squatted down, preparing to take flight.

  There was no response from the queens, though that was to be expected: they were far too busy directing their forces to mince words.

  “Be careful!” Sadie called right as Xalanth took to the sky.

  Only partially aware of what was happening, Nameless focused ever inwards, Volka doing likewise.

  Tiny blue dots of light filled their mind as the Undines joined them, similar to how they had helped him heal the mental trauma that Juni had suffered from nearly being burned alive.

  Remember girls, we need your water to touch all of their stones, wherever they are hidden, or this won’t work. Bring the rain!

  A swelling chorus of voices echoed in his mind as the Undines combined their psyches to bring about his will.

  Juni’s voice chirped above the others, as he knew her best.

  It will be as you say Aegis, the Sacred Current shall guide us this day!

  Gone were the silly gossip girls he was used to, instead he was surrounded by the raw elemental power of water and the majesty befitting it.

  Meanwhile Xalanth exploded ever upwards, her roar shaking the ground at their feet as she called out their true enemy.

  “Evadne! Last of the Chimera! Wretched whore of entropy! Your madness ends here! I am Xalanth! Flametongue and shaker of the earth, scourge of the very darkness you wield with such impunity! Come forth and die on my claws!”

  Her roar actually caused the Tenebrae to hesitate for a moment, forgotten survival instincts overriding the hateful emotions that Jonathan had instilled in them in the face of the Dragon’s wrath.

  But the overwhelming memory of their children crumbling into ashes in their arms quickly spurred them onwards.

  Evadne’s eyes narrowed when she spotted the Dragon and heard her challenge, a predatory smile spreading across her face.

  She was only too happy to oblige.

  Her dark wings flapped to bring her high up in the air to where Xalanth hovered, a cloak of shadow surrounding her as the demon brought out every ounce of its power that it could.

  “Ah, Dragons! Always so dramatic!” Evadne’s voice taunted from within the shadow.

  A moment later she emerged from the darkness again, and she was terrible.

  All but her face was now wreathed in armoured blackness, her snake tail hissing and whipping back and forth in a frenzied rage.

  There was no preamble beyond that.

  Xalanth breathed fire at he
r, and this time, far enough away from the humans and others fighting below, she held nothing back.

  Evadne cast her arms forward and formed a shield of absolute darkness just before the inferno engulfed her. The whooshing roar of Dragon-fire lit the sky and everything below in an orange haze.

  Even high in the air as it was it still warmed the battlefield considerably as one of the oldest monster girls in existence let loose with her power.

  The furious Dragon breathed and breathed on the demonic Chimera, intent on ending her once and for all.

  Once her fiery breath ended there was a long pause as the air crackled and snapped with hazy heat.

  Evadne’s shield of darkness was not unscathed: shadows dripping down and off of it like melted candle wax.

  But it held.

  Her taunting voice cut through the crackling haze as her cold and shadowy miasma began to seep out to replace it.

  “I told you Xalanth! You are not the strongest anymore!”

  Evadne threw both arms forth, palms first, her remaining fingers curling into claws as she answered the Dragon’s breath with a beam of darkness that would have punched a hole through a mountain.

  Her attack slammed into Xalanth as she crossed her scaled arms in front of herself defensively, absorbing the blow with a grunt.

  The icy cold touch of nonexistence sought to claim her, but she was a match for it.

  As Volka would be quick to point out, some things are meant to exist.

  Once the shadows of entropy faded Xalanth uncrossed her arms and roared.

  “WRETCH! You seek to unmake ME?! One whose bones were forged in the fiery heart of this world?!”

  The Dragon lunged forwards and with a crackling boom her fist connected with Evadne’s armoured chest and cast her backwards.

  But just as with her fire the Chimera shook it off quickly, her bat-like wings halting her freewheeling flight before she spat black blood to one side and snarled at her enemy.

  “Then I guess I’ll just have to beat you to death you overgrown lizard!”

  She was smiling again.

  Chapter 49:

  The Folly of Yana Brael