Atomic Mage 3

by Carter, Garrett

  Distracted by Laurith catching a fish twice her size in her dog-sized dragon form he missed the group of mermen and women who bowled over his Dia and tried to run her through with an assortment of long pointy make-shift weapons.

  Reacting quickly to the assault on his Xandia he seized the group in a crushing grip though his mental reflexes were slow in stopping his wives from retaliating from the sneak attack.

  Halting his dragon mate from eating one of the bleeding and bruised merpeople he kept the grin off his face, barely, as his Xandia and Sabine broke a few ribs as their coils tightened around their chosen targets.

  A second from telling his wives to stand down after they got their shots in on the struggling attackers his mental communication was overwhelmed by the intense sonar-like blast he felt against his mental shield.

  "EVERYONE STAND DOWN!!"

  As the disorientation from the blast caused his focus to waver Cade cursed as most of his captives escaped into the gloom of the city.

  Turning a glare to the culprit of their unjustified release he calmed himself with the idea that they all hadn't gotten away, his Dia and Sabine still held their captives in an even tighter grip after the loud mental shout.

  "I am guard commander Tandef and I will have an explanation as to why the peace of my city has been disturbed."

  Glancing at the commander before scanning over his wives and finding them and their children unharmed he floated to the irritated man ready to tell all and have justice served to the people who had attack him and his family.

  Shock followed by rage flew across his face as the commander ordered his men to "secure the land dwellers" before calm eclipsed his rage and irritation.

  Capturing the armored men and women swimming at them with hate in their large eyes and weapons directed at his family, Cade decided to test the mermen's mental protections starting with the commander.

  Smashing into the merman's mental defenses the battle between his mind and the commanders caused Cade to grow a grudging respect for the mental abilities of the man though the incredible durability of the shield he threw his power against didn't stop the man from slowly falling to his will.

  Feeling the commander's mind fall under his control as the impressive fight he had put up ended with the feeling of absolute exhaustion flowing from Tandef's helpless mind Cade let an explosive breath leave him that he hadn't known he had been holding before he began to figure out why the man had felt the need to assist their attackers.

  "Do you know the ones who attacked us?"

  The jerky nod he received after his question made him dive deeper into the man's mind and what he found was almost unsurprising.

  Finding the memory he was looking for he watched as the commander talked in hushed whispers with the merman in Sabine's clutches.

  "They told Alara they were going shopping before their audience with the king, you will find them and begin an altercation. After which I will approach and apprehend them. Once we have them under proper guard I will speak to the king about the madness of making deals with the land dwellers and once they have been banished from our waters we should hear no more of them spoiling our city with their presence."

  Giving the man an irritated frown as he watched the other merman swim off towards where his family floated in the water Cade decided he and the Tandef were going to have a nice long conversation that he hoped wouldn't end in the man's death.

  Fighting an undersea war with the merpeople didn't sound like a particularly pleasant way to spend his time in their domain, he would much rather bring the commander to his side and with that thought in mind, he readied himself to converse with the man who had sent his people to attack his family.

  Taking a calming breath as his blood began to boil at that thought he instead reminded himself how much he wanted to not become a despot and to give the biased man a fair chance to change his mind.

  Rising the surface of the merman's mind Cade found himself in an underwater armory, full of shelves of beautifully cared for weapons gleaming in the bioluminescent light and ready for use.

  Turning around he found Tandef's mental twin sitting calmly behind a coral desk, hands crossed in front of him as he waited for his gruesome end from the brown-skinned man who had invaded his mind.

  Catching the outwardly calm man's feeling of resignation to his fate Cade sat in the chair in front of the desk instead of making his own, he hoped he could salvage something out of this idiot's poorly thought-out plan.

  He had been deadly serious when he had talked to Qetch, the mermen would fall under his care if they did well by him and his boot on their necks if they decided to fight the progress he was offering.

  The safety of his family would allow no less extreme measures.

  "You will give me the answers to the questions I ask with no deception or misdirection or I will break your mind open like an egg and scoop what I want from your shattered psyche. Am I being perfectly clear?"

  The defeated nod and murmured "crystal" was all he needed to begin his questioning.

  Giving the now glaring Tandef a smile after their long talk Cade found he might have liked the man if he hadn't tried to hurt what was his.

  "I think we can work together to ensure the security and safety of your race, all that I need from you is your acceptance of my rule. WITH the understanding that much will remain unchanged and what changes I bring will benefit the merpeople as a whole."

  Offering his hand to the disgruntled man to shake he kept his smile in place, he had explained his plan to the commander, the third highest-ranking member of the merpeople, if he declined then boot to necks it was.

  "Full autonomy and the dome?"

  Nodding to the two things the commander had latched onto during their talk his smile grew genuine as the merman's webbed hand clasped his own.

  "Thank you Tandef, I really do mean that. I have my own take to complete and I am not one to micromanage. Answer when and if I call and your race will prosper and see just as much of me and mine as you wish."

  Letting the grim expression that grew on the commander's face go he left his mind with a barely suppressed breath of relief.

  Returning to his physical body Cade gave his wives a smile of victory before asking his Dia and sweet to let their captives go.

  Receiving a curious look from his two wives they let their captives go after a "please" from him.

  Joining them in the shell paved street he sent the mental replay of the conversation between Tandef and him and was knocked back a few feet by his goddess small form.

  Enjoying her curves against his for a few moments he caught her whispered "amazing" and held her all the tighter.

  She and all his other wives were worth any effort to keep them safe and his forever if he had anything to do with it.

  "Shopping?"

  Their laughs and giggles at his question were answered by him being carted off for more fun and cart duty, and he wouldn't have it any other way.

  Sliding up behind his Beth as they waited outside of the royal chambers Cade slipped a hand under her robe and enjoyed the soft skin of her plump thighs below his shielded fingers.

  "Mmm hello husband, are you ready to talk to the king and queen?"

  Wishing the barrier of his shield wasn't between them he nodded into her firey hair and laughed as his sweet encircled their waists with her long tail.

  "They would be fools to turn us down, besides all of the money they stand to save from producing their own arms and armor the other opportunities our mate's offer will bring to their kingdom should more than make that simple decision for them."

  Turning his head to the side and collecting a kiss from his little snake he let his disappointment go as they were interrupted as the doors in front of them opened.

  Floating them through with his shields he couldn't find it in himself to feel embarrassed by the lack of decorum their entwined bodies displayed if the king decided he wasn't going to listen to what he had to say just because he didn't like th
e fact Cade couldn't get enough of his wives then maybe a new king was needed.

  His worries were for naught as he watched an older merman and woman seated on two thrones at the back of the room exchange a few hushed words followed by a titter from the woman and a quickly muted peal of laughter from the man.

  Floating to a stop in front of the two shaking merpeople Cade introduced himself and his wives.

  "Thank you for agreeing to have us in your beautiful city, I am Cade Willmartin and these are my wives Beth and Sabine. I would like to begin our discussion with the assurance that while we hope to gain your kingdom's favor and trust, I would be remiss in leaving out our primary task in coming to your domain under the sea. I and my beautiful wives have the arduous task of conquering this world."

  Letting his words sink into the king and queen's minds he regretfully separated from his two loves and created seating and a table for them to begin their presentation.

  Raising his hand and giving the king a hard glare as the bluish color of his body almost turned purple with suppressed rage he was glad he and the commander had their little talk as the man floated next to the king began to whisper into his ear.

  Seeing his two wives were ready to begin he opened his mouth to speak and was distracted by the beauty that swam into the room and took a seat at the queen's "feet".

  Assuming by her unmolested entrance into the throne room that the woman was the princess of the kingdom he recovered his wits and with only a giggle from his sweet signaling he had been caught he began his offer.

  "King Lundar, Queen Orsta, and Princess..."

  A smile bloomed on the mermaid beauty's face before she replied simply "Stena".

  Returning the grin he continued.

  "Stena. I come offering the prospect of a new age for your race. I have conferred with the merchants in Opect and Krumash and have brought them to heel. I and my beautiful dwarven wife's family own the largest mithril mine on the Zeme continent. Our incredible achievement has provided me with the opportunity to place a one-time offer at your feet. Swear allegiance to me and I will provide you with the ability and knowledge to produce your own arms and armor, build homes that light up the deep dark of the sea, and transportation that will protect your people from the threats of the monsters that circle your borders, animal and man alike."

  As the commander laid out the details of their deal to the still fuming Lundar after his speech, Cade waited patiently for the man to submit to his veiled ultimatum.

  "And does your offer come with the usual sacrifices of man and material that the other surface dwellers have tried to force from us?"

  Enjoying a tally in the win column as the call for guards that he had halfway been expecting failed to emerge from the king's pursed lips, Cade responded eagerly to the almost respectful tone of the king.

  "I find myself without the need of your fine men and women all that I require from your allegiance to me is to answer when I call and I mean to accept my request for your audience be that mental or physical no matter the circumstances. Once I have you or your successor's presence I will respect your kingdom's response after you answer my summons."

  Disbelief colored the king's countenance as Cade finished his explanation of what it would mean to fall under his "rule". He and his Dresk had no interest in hearing every little detail when it came to how Protea was run, their worries were, he hoped in the near-ish future, to become more of a cosmic nature.

  Watching as the blue tint of the king's skin and scales grew a few shades lighter as Tandef delivered the mental message Cade had given him during their meeting of what he was capable of, he sat behind his wives as his part of the process was completed.

  Seeing the king recovered from his shock after he watched Cade eliminate slave camps in less time than it took to blink, erase hordes of orcs and trolls from existence, and pull an army of men under his control through his marriage to a dragon he created a spy eye back home and let it wander around his home as his Beth and Sabine laid out what he would be providing as his part of their deal.

  As a bird's eye view of his Mina's agile body in motion drew his attention as she moved gracefully across the floor of their dojo on silent padded feet towards his pixie he again was amazed at his first wife's skill in combat, her swelling belly not diminishing her lesson in artful grace one bit.

  As they clashed his estimation of his Eve's progress in her training rose a few notches as she held her ground against his Dresk's flurry of attacks.

  Her lack of proficiency with her chosen weapon for their bout showed though as instead of deflecting the overhead strike from Mina's single blade she instead tried to push the taller woman back with her shield.

  Sliding to the side and letting an overbalanced Eve slip by her Mina deflected her clumsy attempt to use her sword in her other hand to swipe at her legs and lazily swiped the edge of her other training blade against the back of the other woman's neck as she stumbled forward.

  "That was passable Eve but the next time I give you an opening like that you must temper your eagerness. Deflecting that strike would have either left me open to properly use your shield or forced me to disengage. If you do find yourself overbalanced like that with an actual opponent you should duck or roll to a better position next time. I don't think our mate would handle one of his wives losing her head well."

  Leaving his sexy panther wife to address the issues with his alluring jaguar wife's attack he let their next bout go unwatched as he moved his spy eye around their home.

  Returning to the throne room and his physical body after a tap on the arm from his Beth, Cade found focusing on the task at hand difficult after watching his Laurith in the throes of passion as she pleasured herself on a bed of gold and jewels in her horde room.

  "Y... Yeah ok, what..."

  Barely hearing Beth's snort of amusement and Sabine's suppressed giggles as the vision of his dragon wife's swaying brown breasts and husky moans of need as she slipped her delicate fingers past her slick chocolate nether lips stayed with him for several moments longer than was proper for the situation he nevertheless endured his tight slacks with a promise to help her "finish" when he returned home.

  "We have come to an agreement, my love. The merman kingdom will answer when called and we will provide them with knowledge and ability to put it to use, along with a mutually profitable trade contract."

  Giving his sweet a smile and nod he received the terms of their contract via a mental message from his Beth.

  The vehicles they would provide to the merfolk would allow them to both increase their fishing production while allowing them to keep the population of the rarer and more valuable species they hunted for trade in higher numbers and healthier populations.

  One thing that his wives had agreed to add to the kingdom's Poppy clones was a mount for a net launcher.

  Giving the idea a thorough examination he found he had no issue with the addition. If the mermen could find a way to use that for warfare purposes he would be surprised, the net launchers he had seen in Tandef's mental space would not survive very long in the open air and under pronged use.

  "That is acceptable Lundar, is there anything else?"

  "If you could wait but a few hours Mage Cade I would like to confer with my military advisors and the civil council on the terms for our vehicle order, my daughter will entertain you while you and your wives wait."

  Slowly returning to his seat after he began to jump from it after the king had requested a few hours to go over the terms with the people who would be using his creations he wiped the grimace off of his face as he nodded.