by Eric Vall
Chapter 1
“Mason!”
I furrowed my brow as someone began shaking the crap out of my shoulder, and I pried my eyes open just enough to see Shoshanne’s breasts bouncing violently above me.
I grinned. “Hey, there … ”
“Mason, I forgot the mages!” the healer hissed, and my eyes popped open wide. “I forgot to remove the runes! I fell asleep!”
I shot up from the bed and nearly flattened Deya, who was passed out in a sprawl across my legs, and Shoshanne’s hair was in a wild nest as she stood there terrified, hungover, buck naked, and with a bit of my cum still dripping down the side of her right inner thigh.
“Shit.” I scrambled to find our clothes on the floor while she tripped over her own legs and held her head, but then I froze.
The sound of chains rattling registered in my ears as my fingers slowly lost feeling, and I locked eyes with Shoshanne for less than a second before I bolted for the door. My heart couldn’t decide if it should be racing or stopping, but it settled for a middle ground as I cut through the clearing beside the house and came barreling into the infirmary.
Last night was a blur of flesh and moans after the women began undressing me and insisting I get them all pregnant, but I must have eventually passed out after cumming more than I’d ever done in my life. I had my healing rune to thank for keeping me going, too, because I remembered how determined Cayla had been to have me in her over and over again. Of all my women, I was pretty sure I fucked her the most last night, and in the back of my mind, there was a hazy image of her on all fours begging for more of my sperm while I finished up with Deya for the fifth, or maybe it was tenth, time.
Still, I couldn’t believe we’d all forgotten to make sure Shoshanne got to the infirmary, and now, every possessed mage gathered from the attack at the Oculus and the snatcher’s patrol were lying unattended at the edge of Falmount Rift.
Across the sea of chained up mages, I saw five of them were regaining consciousness, and one was already wrenching at his iron restraints so aggressively, the stone mounts were beginning to crack.
Shoshanne crashed into my back and groaned, but I caught her before she could topple into the wall.
“Where’s the tranquilizer?” I asked in a low voice, but the healer’s eyes were only half open, and I could tell all the Rosh she downed last night was still wreaking havoc on her.
Then another mage began tearing at their restraints, and she groggily stumbled into the room.
“I don’t know,” she whimpered, “it’s somewhere in here.”
“You find the tranquilizer, I’ll contain the mages,” I ordered, and the healer nodded as she braced herself on the table to head for the storage cellar.
I would’ve loved to stand there admiring the naked woman shuffling away as fast as she could manage, and my lingering handprint on her ass cheek drew my full attention as I tried to remember when the hell that had happened.
Unfortunately, the air around me was already sparking with the static of the possessed mages’ powers, and I dragged my eyes away from Shoshanne’s creamy backend as I carefully moved forward into the operating room.
Right now, they couldn’t see me from the way they were chained down, and with their robes so covered in filth and muck, I couldn’t make out what their elements were. For all I knew, my lungs would burst with water at any moment, but maybe I’d be lucky and find they were only Terra Mages.
Then a second mage began struggling and suddenly ignited his chains, and I knew I’d have to get creative real soon.
My weapons were all in the house still, and I didn’t have a stitch of clothing on as I sparked my metal magic to summon my revolver. I’d hoped to have it in hand and clock the bastards over the heads before they even realized I was there, but then Shoshanne yelped as a wall of spare chains crashed to the floor, and the two conscious mages went stock still.
The others still rolled restlessly while they slowly regained consciousness, and my revolver slid into my grip behind my back.
I lunged with it raised above my head, but then I heard Shoshanne suddenly gasp and drop to the ground in the cellar, and my own lungs constricted. Flames shot at me, too, as I stumbled and grabbed my throat, and I managed to duck just before my face could be melted off for me.
My runes warred in my mind as I rolled and felt my head begin to spin from the lack of oxygen, but I made it to the Ignis Mage and brought the butt of my revolver down on his temple.
Shoshanne was knocking down everything in the cellar as her magic sifted into my lungs to save me, but only a sliver of air returned.
The Aer Mage on the table had a vice grip on both of us, and as I stood on shaky legs to head for him, his eyes locked on me. Then they locked on my dick, and for a split second, he was so caught off guard, his magic faltered. That’s when his own breath hitched from Shoshanne’s efforts, and I lunged forward to smack him over the head.
My lungs burned as I gasped and waited for my head to stop spinning, but the floor was bucking under me now, and I heard chains being thrown to the ground. I whipped around to see a Terra Mage with bloodshot eyes and a spindly frame rising from the operating table, and every stone mount in the place snapped open at the same time.
I sparked my Terra magic just as the possessed mage ripped the ground up, and my back smashed into the ceiling. I had a pit torn open under him, though, and as I softened my landing, he scrambled to bring himself back from the hole I’d dropped him into. The walls of the infirmary began to shake and break apart, and an ominous crack echoed through the ceiling as he bared his teeth at me.
That’s when Shoshanne stumbled out of the cellar with a giant vat in her arms, and as the Terra Mage turned, the shuddering of the stonework stopped at once while his brows shot up. He gaped openly at the nude, caramel beauty, and when I saw his robes shift from his instant boner, my vision practically turned red.
“Dude!” I scoffed, and I sparked my metal magic to lock his discarded chains around his neck before he could blink.
He slowly turned purple as his red eyes bulged from his head, and he dropped to his knees while he continued staring at Shoshanne.
As soon as he was unconscious, I reluctantly released him, and I tried to remind myself I didn’t want these mages to die, even though what the fuck? The guy was possessed and ready to kill me, but he still had the gall to get hard over my woman. Granted she was outrageously sexy, but that hardly excused it.
I casually kicked the unconscious Terra Mage as I sparked my Terra magic, and I resealed the broken mounts on every table in the infirmary. Then I smacked another mage over the head before he could get his eyes open, and Shoshanne gasped as she tripped.
Tranquilizer sloshed all over her breasts and belly to turn her caramel skin a rosy red, and the healer looked down in shock.
“Fuck!” she squeaked.
“Whaaat are you doing?” I groaned as I ran over, and I caught the vat of tranquilizer before Shoshanne could spill the last of it across the floor. “Where’s your healing staff?”
“Um … ” she mumbled.
“Godsdamnit,” I growled, and another mage began shifting in their restraints. I slammed the vat on the table and ran for the cellar, but as I turned full circle and eyed the absolute mess Shoshanne had made of the place, I didn’t see a single dart anywhere.
I had no idea what dosage of the strange brew would kill a person, but considering a single prick of a dart sent these mages under for ten hours, I knew I couldn’t just spoon it down their throats. Then Shoshanne mumbled something completely incoherent in the next room, and I clutched my hair as I tried to think fast.
I knew there were spare darts in the ammunition cabinet, but they were made of wood, so I just sparked my metal magic, dragged the who
le cabinet out of the atrium, and brought it to the infirmary as I simultaneously scanned the house for the silver of Shoshanne’s healing staff.
I found it tucked under a sleeping Ruela of all places, and I wrenched it free from the wolf’s weight to bring it soaring into the operating room.
The cabinet caught the doorframe and crashed to the floor just as I came running back into the room, but I managed to catch the staff in midair as cartridges, magazines, rockets, and darts scattered around the room.
I held my breath as I watched the runed rockets skitter across the stonework and knock into tables along the way, but thankfully, none of them exploded. Then I dove for a fistful of darts as Shoshanne dropped to the floor. I crawled over and propped her up in a seated position against the table as her eyes rolled back into her head, and even though the chains behind me were rattling louder and louder, I focused on connecting with the gem of the healing staff as I held it above her.
My eyes fell shut as the power of the gem connected with my focus, and in my mind, I could see everything beneath the surface of the healer’s skin.
“Woah,” I muttered.
Shoshanne’s veins and arteries glowed a vibrant purple as her heart beat a brilliant pink, and everything looked like a blacklight party inside her body as her organs shifted in various blues and greens. Her heartbeat was slowing, though, as the tranquilizer seeped through her skin, and everywhere it had splashed was turning a deeper hue of orange in my mind.
I had no idea how to use the healing staff, but I knew the healer had diluted the tranquilizer with it before. So, I just focused on the orange areas as I willed the gem to clear it from her system.
It responded immediately to my intentions, and like a magnet, the strength of the gem latched onto the tranquilizer. The heavy pulse of it drawing the brew out coursed through my palm where I clutched the staff, and my head felt heavier as I ordered the gem to speed up the process. Little by little, the orange began to fade to a light peach color, and after another couple minutes, there was no trace of the tranquilizer in her system.
Shoshanne moaned lightly, and once I was absolutely sure she would be okay, I opened my eyes to see her staring in horror over my head.
I jumped to my feet and sparked my metal magic in time to wrap another pair of discarded chains around a Terra Mage’s neck, and I dropped the darts I’d been clutching into Shoshanne’s lap.
“Get these laced fast!” I ordered, and she scrambled to her feet.
The Terra Mage’s eyes bulged as he landed on the floor with a bone crunching smack, and I ducked to avoid another bout of white-hot flames shooting up from the next possessed mage.
Then I wove at a crouch between the operating tables and popped up to plant my fist in the Ignis Mage’s face.
Shoshanne slid over cartridges with a handful of darts held precariously above her head, and I grabbed them from her to bury them in the arms of the last three mages regaining consciousness. They were out again in seconds, and I delivered a fresh dose of tranquilizer to the ones I’d had to take down myself.
Then I stood naked and panting in the middle of the trashed operating room while I waited to see if any others would stir, and Shoshanne looked my way as she clutched the edge of an operating table.
“So … let’s not tell anyone this happened,” I said as our eyes met.
The healer nodded vigorously, but then she clutched her head and suppressed a gag.
“You’re a mess,” I chuckled.
“I hate Rosh.”
“No, you love Rosh,” I assured her. “Trust me, I was there.”
Shoshanne blushed and looked down at the jewelry still stacked all up her wrists. “Did you make me these?”
“Nope. You and Deya stole those off the drunken mages last night.”
“I would never!” she gasped, but when I sent her an apologetic smirk, she dropped her face into her hands.
“No more Rosh,” Shoshanne mumbled. “No Rosh ever.”
I laughed as I came over to wrap the naked healer in my arms, and she shook her head in embarrassment.
“I almost unleashed these mages on all of Falmount,” she whimpered.
“Yeah well, I almost blew up the infirmary with us in it,” I told her as I eyed the rockets littering the floor. “We’re even.”
“I’m getting to work right this second before any of these other mages can wake up,” she decided.
“You might want to summon a hangover cure out of that healing staff, first,” I suggested, and Shoshanne snorted as she rubbed her temples.
“Will you stay with me in case the others begin to wake up?”
“Sure,” I chuckled. “I’ll be on dart duty. You just worry about getting those runes off.”
Ten minutes later, Shoshanne was capable of walking upright again, and I headed for the house to grab our clothes. My other three women were still tangled up on the bed, and they’d slept right through the entire ordeal in the infirmary. Even Deya was still passed out even though I’d nearly thrown her off the bed in my rush, and I shook my head as I gathered my clothes and Shoshanne’s little silk bodice and boots.
The healer let me take my time dressing her as she giggled and perched herself on the table, but once I finished tying the last two bits of lace together around her ample cleavage, she sent me a haughty look and hopped down.
“Time to work,” Shoshanne said curtly, and I grinned as she strutted off like she hadn’t just spilled half a vat of tranquilizer all over herself and nearly killed us all.
“Yes, ma’am,” I muttered, and I sparked my metal magic.
The mess of ammunition slowly rolled across the floor, and I filed it all away in the cabinet before I sealed the doors and sent it back to the atrium. Then I used my Terra powers to restore the cracked ceiling, walls, and floor before I headed for the bodies of the two mages I’d strangled.
I heaved them back onto their operating tables, but as I secured the restraints on the spindly Terra Mage with the bloodshot eyes, I furrowed my brow.
“I’m watching you,” I growled as I tightened his chains a little more than necessary, and I casually tilted his head in the opposite direction of Shoshanne.
The healer already had two runes removed as she worked with clipped efficiency, and after I readied a dozen more darts just in case, I dropped down on a stone stool beside a long table at the center of the room. My stomach let out an angry growl, but I didn’t want to abandon Shoshanne for even a moment until we were sure everything was handled here, so I decided to get some of my own work done while the healer sterilized her tools and moved on to her next patient.
There was only one thing I wanted to get done, though.
I scanned the perimeter of Falmount real quick to check that everything was in order, and then I closed my eyes and sparked my Terra magic to search for the image I’d been dying to get a look at.
After a minute of sifting through the many designs I’d been forming since I came to this realm, the schematics of the Master’s fortress I’d gotten from Hulsan gleamed in red at the forefront of my mind. I immediately recognized the spires, bridge, and strange walls Deya had described for me after her scouting mission, and there was no doubt in my mind this was definitely the same structure. Except now, I could see the interior walls, too, and I carefully rotated the image to get a closer look.
Halls intersected at impossible degrees that seemed to run diagonally from top to bottom, and they continued down into the mountain as they curled into long tunnels that led to massive underground chambers. Ten of the chambers were bigger than all of Falmount Rift, and one of them had to span as much space as Serin did. I furrowed my brows as I returned to the surface and began looking for an entrance, but then Shoshanne called my name.
“Huh?” I asked as I was pulled back to reality, and the healer pointed to four mages who were beginning to stir.
I grabbed a few darts from the table and headed over, and once I’d administered an extra dose of tranquilizer, I joined Sh
oshanne to check how she was doing.
“I’ve already finished nine of the mages,” she told me. “What are you doing over there?”
“Looking at the Master’s fortress,” I muttered, and the healer arched her brow.
“What? How?”
I’d forgotten there was little time to explain anything to the women after the confrontation with Hulsan the day before, so I filled the healer in as she finished removing another two runes. Her warm brown eyes went wide as the details piled up, and by the time I finished, she was gaping with her scalpel forgotten on the table.
“And what do the schematics show?” Shoshanne asked with eager eyes. “Did you find the entrance? Is he forming his own weaponry there? Does he--”
“I don’t know yet,” I chuckled. “I was just about to look into all of this.”
“Well, go!” she urged. “Why are you still standing here talking to me?”
I raised my brows as she blushed and realized how silly she sounded, and I left a kiss in her copper curls before returning to my stool.
Then I shifted my focus to the mapping of the fortress again, but after several minutes of scanning the place, it still made no sense. Even with the schematics right there in my mind, there was no logical explanation for how the mages could enter and exit, and as I feverishly scanned and rescanned every inch of stone wall from top to bottom, not a single seam came back to me.
I ground my teeth together and turned my attention to the underground chambers next, and while I worked my way through their walls as well, I began to locate small tunnels and offshoots into smaller chambers.
My pulse quickened as I followed one of these tunnels further and further, and in a few minutes, I found myself far north beneath the Draconis Mountains of Orebane.
The Master had his own underground network sprawling from his headquarters, but as I turned the image over and over, I could see no tunnels leading to Serin. I let out a tense sigh and gritted my teeth as I searched once more, but there was nothing that indicated how so many possessed mages had gotten into the Oculus from the Master’s fortress. The tunnels didn’t reach the surface anywhere they led, either, so how the hell was anyone getting in and out?
