by Eric Vall
It was me.
The creature blinked his deep amethyst eyes, the exact color of my own, and stared at me with a sense of curiosity. His dark brown hair hung just past his ears, and I realized I hadn’t cut my own since I’d arrived. Was it really that long already?
It was like looking into a mirror.
What the fuck was going on?
“The riddle,” Alyona hissed from behind me. “It must have meant the doppelbeast, not a dragon.”
A doppelbeast, that was a new one.
I nodded as I took another step closer, and the beast did the same without dropping its gaze. I stepped forward again, and now I stood within a few feet of the giant tree. I was close enough to see it had a large door carved into its trunk, and I knew the relic had to be inside, since I could practically feel its magic emanating from inside the tree.
As soon as I tore my gaze from the beast to look at the door, though, he growled and revealed rows of dagger-like teeth. It was such an odd thing to see my face on this creature as his mouth opened much further than my own to expose his fangs. He gnashed them together as I jerked my head back toward him, and then he crouched into an attack position. His clawed hands clenched and opened while he kept his eyes on me.
So, I wasn’t going to be able to just stroll in and grab the artifact.
The dryads rushed out of the trees behind me, and I glanced over my shoulder to see Laika had pulled out her broadsword and stood in front of Alyona. Then two more of the doppelbeasts strode around the other side of the tree, though they had taken the appearance of Trina and Polina.
“Ha, they aren’t as good looking as the real things,” Polina scoffed.
“Never agreed with you more.” Trina scowled.
“Let’s get the party started.” I grinned and rushed my lookalike as I conjured a fire sword.
I could tell I took the beast by surprise, but he recovered quickly and lengthened his sharp claws like a cat. I swung the fiery blade at his neck, but he blocked it with his razor-like nails. Then he slashed his other hand at me, and I ducked the blow and heard his clawed hand whistle above my head.
The doppelbeast growled in frustration before he sidestepped my next strike and reached for the base of the tree, where he pulled out a long, wooden weapon shaped like a cricket bat. The flat part of the board was covered with intricately carved designs, and the handle was wrapped with some kind of leaf as he gripped the odd sword and swung it at my face.
I met the blow with my own blade and swung it around as Laika had taught me. As I sliced down, the beast stepped back, but my sword nicked his arm. He howled in agony, and gray blood dripped down to the forest floor.
As my doppelbeast stumbled back, I looked over to see Trina and Polina in a desperate battle with their lookalikes, while Marina stood back. The third dryad’s emerald features were scrunched into a frown, and I could tell she didn’t know who to fight.
Then I saw movement out of the corner of my eyes, and my opponent looked up with rage in his eyes before he swung his blade across my body. I tried to turn away, but the glancing blow reverberated hot pain through my right shoulder.
“Oh, fuck, no,” I growled.
I had to take advantage of the weapon I’d chosen for this fight.
The beast lifted his wooden bat above his head and brought it straight down, but I took my fire sword in both hands and lifted it to block the beast’s. Then I focused on the fire and imagined the flames growing higher.
Suddenly, the doppelbeast’s wooden weapon caught fire, and the flames licked across the blade toward the handle.
He dropped it in surprise, and before he could react, I swung my blade once more and sliced through his neck. I took a sharp breath as I watched the head that looked like mine roll across the ground and land at the base of the tree, and then the head almost seemed to melt as it took on a different shape.
The beast’s head transformed into a gray blob, though its sharp teeth still protruded from its open mouth. It resembled an alien with its odd color and wrinkly skin, but then the body before me crumpled and took on the same gray shade as it hit the ground.
Suddenly, words flashed across my vision.
Predation: Activated
Skill: Mimicry
Badass.
I turned to check on the dryads, and I jogged over to Marina, who stood silently off to the side as her sisters wrestled with the doppelbeasts.
“Who do we help?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” she murmured. “I got pushed back, and when I looked up, I couldn’t tell who was who anymore.”
The beasts didn’t have their large teeth revealed, and I couldn’t see any clawed hands as they punched and flipped each other around.
“The doppelbeasts can only mimic looks!” Miraya called out from the tree line.
“Only looks?” Marina repeated with a blank stare.
Ravi sprinted over to us from where the others waited and pointed at the four women in combat.
“They don’t have your sisters’ memories or anything,” the phoenix said. “You have to use something they know.”
“Um, okay,” Marina murmured, and I could nearly see the gears turn in her head as she tried to figure out what to say.
“Anything your sisters would know,” I prodded.
“Who do you love?” Marina suddenly shouted.
Two of the dryads looked up in complete confusion, but the other two continued to fight as they responded.
“Lord Evan!” the two cried out.
I conjured a fiery bow and arrow, and Ravi created her fire daggers. Then we launched our weapons at the two imposters, and the doppelbeasts caught fire within seconds.
As the flames leapt up their bodies, the beasts began to howl and screech before they turned the same gray color as my look-alike. Their burnt bodies fell to the forest floor, and the dead silence of the forest returned.
“Holy shit,” I muttered. “That was weird.”
Polina stood over the dead doppelbeasts and stuck out her tongue. “See, I told you they weren’t as good looking.”
“Very true,” I chuckled. “It seems like they were guarding this tree.”
“The relic is probably hidden inside,” Naomi said as she jogged over to us.
We stared at the huge tree with dark brown bark shaded by leaves the size of dinner plates. A man-sized door had been carved into the trunk, and I took a few steps closer to investigate. The portal nearly blended in with the tree, and it had no handle or obvious way to open it.
“Any ideas?” I asked as the women began to crowd around the door.
“Yes,” Alyona affirmed, and then she stepped forward next to me and pushed gently on the wood.
The door swung open without a sound.
“Ah,” I exhaled and rolled my eyes at myself.
Inside, the tree was just as dark as the forest, and I lit another fiery orb as I stepped into the room, but my eyes had barely adjusted when I felt a familiar tug.
Then I bolted toward a hallway to my left amidst the surprised sounds of the women.
“I’ll be right back,” I whispered over my shoulder.
I walked a few steps into the hall and then leaned against a door to my right. The call came from inside, so I twisted the knob and pushed into the room. Its interior was nearly bare. No decorations hung from the walls, and only one piece of furniture adorned the room. The table sat against the far wall with a bare wooden chest on its surface, so I lifted the lid to the chest, and my eyes widened at the contents.
Gold. The narrow wooden box was filled with the piles of gold coins and jewelry, and each piece of jewelry contained several gems. Rubies, emeralds, diamonds, and sapphires glimmered in the light of my fireball, and a grin stretched across my face as I tossed the lid to the side. The box had no designs etched into the wooden surface, nothing to indicate the gold and jewels belonged to anyone.
Finally, a treasure I could take.
I opened my spatial storage and began to dump
piles of the treasure into my horde, and hundreds of gold coins and jewels sparkled in the light of my fireball as I lifted handfuls into my storage.
When I had emptied the box, I backed out into the hallway and returned to the others.
“Did you find anything?” Naomi asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Nothing that concerns you,” I replied and clenched my jaw.
“Ooookay,” the lizard mage said, and her hands lifted in surrender. “Just wondering if you found the relic.”
“Not yet,” I muttered. “There were a few more rooms down that hallway.”
I led the women back down the hallway, and we opened several doors that led to empty rooms before we reached the last room in the hall. The door was plain like the others, but an odd sense of dread radiated from behind the closed portal. The feeling seemed to penetrate my bones, and it reminded me of the coldness I’d felt at the sight of the Sundex.
“It’s here,” I murmured, and then I twisted the knob and pushed into the room.
The Bow of Wellston hung on the opposite wall of the large room, and an orb on the ceiling bathed the bow in a golden light. The simple wooden weapon curved in a perfect arc with a long, thick string anchored into each end, and the stark white grip stood out against the deep mahogany of the rest of the wood. I peered around the room, and it seemed to be empty except for the bow. Dozens of large, flat stones covered the floor and walls, and the air seemed colder in this room than in the rest of the tree.
“It’s beautiful,” Laika breathed with wide, gray eyes.
“And incredibly dangerous,” I added. “I can feel it. Can’t you?”
“I can feel its neutrality,” Ravi murmured. “Like it is from magic, but it pays no mind to who is wielding it. It does not choose sides.”
“That makes sense with the lore,” Miraya agreed, and the spirit brushed a lock of silvery-white hair from her face. “The bow simply gives its power. It is neither pure nor dark.”
“Well, we better get it back before someone we don’t want to have it gets that power,” I replied.
I stepped into the room, and the feeling of dread became stronger. I felt it so powerfully, I almost didn’t hear the walls make a clicking sound.
I ducked just as four arrows from each side whistled above my head and crashed into the opposite walls.
“What the fuck was that?” I growled.
“It’s protected,” Alyona replied. “It isn’t magic, though.”
Ahh, old school human traps.
“So, I need to know which of these stones to step on,” I said as I recalled some Indiana Jones movies. “If it moves, then it’s part of the trap.”
“I can try something,” Miraya suggested, and she pointed her finger at the stones ahead of me and murmured a few words. Then a wisp of white magic left her fingertip and swirled around to the floor. The smoky coil spun around for a moment, and then it blew back and forth over the stones and left a trail of its path until it reached the stone directly in front of the bow.
“What’s it doing?” I asked.
“It found the first path to the bow,” Miraya answered. “It’s the only one that was completed, so no one else has been to the bow since it was placed here. If you follow the trail, you should be able to reach it.”
“Cool,” I said, and the spirit raised an eyebrow but didn’t respond.
I stepped gently onto the next stone with the wispy white magic floating above it. The stone didn’t move, so I continued to the next one. I hopped back and forth along the zigzag trail Miraya’s spell had left for me until I reached the final rock, and then I stood in front of the golden light for a moment before I leaned forward and pulled the bow from the wall.
As soon as it touched my fingers, a nearly godlike feeling of energy vibrated through my hand down to my feet. I felt more powerful than I’d ever imagined, and I knew in that moment no one else would take this from me. I would be the ruler of anyone and everyone I desired, and not one person would be able to stop me.
“Lord Evan?” Alyona’s soft voice pierced through the images of conquering and taking everything in this land.
I shook my head and looked over at her innocent, violet eyes as they stared at me with concern.
“Are you alright?” she asked.
“We can’t let anyone get this,” I growled. “I’m putting it in my spatial storage. No one can get to it there.”
“You don’t want to carry it, my lord?” Laika asked in surprise.
“It would make you an even more formidable opponent,” Ravi agreed.
“No,” I rumbled. “No one should have this. I’d destroy it if we knew how.”
The women looked at me with open mouths, except Miraya who seemed to know exactly why I was bothered by the weapon.
I slipped the bow into my spatial storage without another word and strode from the room, and my women followed me out of the tree hideout and back into the forest.
We had to figure out how to keep the Bow of Wellston out of the hands of anyone else.
This weapon was more dangerous than anyone had ever realized.
Chapter 12
We followed the path out of the Bileu Forest and climbed back onto the wagons in silence. Miraya sat with us this time, and she put her hand on my leg and squeezed. She seemed to know how much the Bow had bothered me.
Laika flipped the reins, and the wagons started forward with a jolt, but no one spoke for the first few minutes as we traveled along the sand back to Kana.
I wasn’t sure why no one else feared the weapon. I’d felt the cold dread from the moment we neared its hiding spot. I wondered if I would have noticed it earlier if not for the doppelbeasts and the treasure. Even now, the Bow seemed to be calling out to me from my spatial storage.
Evan, conquer this land.
We both know you want to rule over it.
Just fire one shot, I can help you.
I could see why the gods weren’t fond of humans possessing such a weapon. It would lead to a war that no one could win. Luckily, I was strong enough to resist the Bow’s calls, plus it was tucked away inside my storage. A human would have to carry it rather than use spatial storage, and I doubted they could refuse the Bow’s invitation for long.
I was lost in my own thoughts about the Bow until Naomi finally broke the silence as she turned around in her seat to face me.
“So, what does it feel like?” the lizard Demi-Human asked, and her amber eyes stared at me with genuine curiosity.
I clenched my jaw and looked away. The last thing I wanted was to talk more about it.
“I mean, was it like holding raw magic?” Naomi continued. “It seemed to have a strong effect on you.”
I opened my mouth to respond then closed it. I didn’t want to fight with her, but I also didn’t want to explain the power I’d felt with the Bow in my hand. I wasn’t worried one of them would want to take it from me. I was more concerned I’d talk about the power and remember how strong it was, and then I’d want to keep it for myself. The Bow was too powerful for any one person to handle, even a dragon like me.
So, I shook my head and kept the thoughts to myself.
Naomi raised a magenta eyebrow at me and then huffed before she turned back around.
Miraya squeezed my leg again, and Alyona laid her head on my shoulder.
“I don’t want to be tempted,” I murmured to the two women next to me. “It calls out to me. And if I’m worried for myself, I’m even more concerned for everyone else. No one should hold that kind of power in their hands. It could corrupt anyone.”
“You don’t have to explain yourself, my love,” Alyona whispered back. “You know what’s right for our people.”
“I agree.” Miraya nodded her head. “You have proven yourself time and again. You have a pure heart, and if you say no one should have the Bow, then we will help you make sure that’s what happens.”
I dipped my head and closed my eyes as I laid my head back. The sun beat down on my face, and
beads of sweat gathered on my brow. It seemed even hotter out here when I knew I had the fate of the world on my shoulders and the voice of the Bow in my head.
I wondered if I could escape the calls in my spiritual sea. So, I focused on the water and the beach in my mind’s eye, and suddenly, I sat on the sand. The dark water of my sea drifted up the beach, and the calm waves brushed against my feet. The movement of the water soothed me, and the Bow’s voice didn’t reach me here.
Then I looked out on the water and noticed something had changed. Several white ropes were anchored into the beach and then pulled tightly out over the surface of the water. I counted eighteen ropes that glowed in the light of the moon overhead, and I frowned in confusion.
What the hell were those?
I stood up and walked over to the spot where all of the ropes met on land. Then I reached out and touched the closest rope. Suddenly, images of my memories with Alyona appeared in the night sky as though I watched a movie projected onto the black canvas. I watched as the first time I saw her, the first time I kissed her, and the first time I healed her rolled across the screen.
Holy shit, what was going on here?
I pulled my hand back and reached for another rope. The next series showed Laika in the cave when I’d first woken up in Inati, then the night she and Alyona had introduced me to the harem life.
I touched another rope and then another, and I watched as my times with Valerra and Ravi played across the night sky.
Then it clicked.
The soul bridges that formed when I’d finally taken Miraya. In my spiritual sea, the soul bridges appeared as actual connections. The more I stared at the ropes, the easier it was to see each woman had a set of two ropes so far, with Alyona, Miraya, and Laika’s being this thickest, so I deduced the bridges were in progress and the time I spent making love to them strengthened our bonds.
I wondered if the bridges would continue to build every time I filled one of my women with my seed? Was there an end to the bond? Would my women gain some of my power?
I’d have to ask Miraya about this later.
When I opened my eyes, I realized we’d finally arrived back at the city walls. I blinked a few times to adjust to the sunlight as the guard opened the gate and waved our caravan through, and we ignored the waves and shouts from the people we passed while we quickly made our way to the castle.
