by Eric Vall
“That’s the opposite of helpful,” I muttered, and I stubbornly ignored the fact my ally’s wife was pawing at me. “Moving on, there are three tunnels just north of here. Dragir’s army will be prepared by tomorrow, and I need yours to be ready by that time as… stop.”
Aliasa chuckled seductively and pulled her wandering hand back out of my pocket, and as Rhys and Dragir glared at me, Markus tried to ease his way closer to the door without anyone noticing.
I cleared my throat. “Like I was saying, I have my troops prepared, the ogres can offer twenty-five soldiers for each tunnel, and the dwarves--”
“Absolutely not,” Rhys growled.
“Keep your filthy ogres,” Dragir agreed. “The elves fight for themselves.”
“I thought you might say that, but to be blunt, there’s no way in hell you’ll survive this without… stop, woman.”
Aliasa chuckled once more as she left my belt buckle half undone, but she was so flush up against me now that I could feel the heat of her radiating through my clothes, and I hadn’t missed the soft little moans she’d been making against my chest all this time.
“Aliasa!” Rhys scolded.
“Without the help of my other allies, you won’t survive this,” I continued through gritted teeth.
“You will not survive this if you do not remove her from yourself in the next five seconds,” Dragir informed me as he narrowed his serpentine eyes.
“She’s your woman, damn it!” I shot back. “Both of yours! Control your fucking woman, yeah?”
“Aliasa!” Rhys tried again, and he came around the table to drag her away from me.
Then the elven woman scratched him across the face, disarmed him, and hurled the dagger at Dragir, and as both men tried to dodge her attacks, Markus dove under the table.
I just stood there and willed my left eye not to twitch again, and while I stared at the mottled woodwork of the table, Aliasa managed to break another chair over Rhys’ head, knock Dragir into the fireplace, and eventually latch herself onto me again.
Then she grabbed me by the jaw and forced her tongue into my mouth, but this time, I was miles past my initial state of mind.
So, I locked my hand on the scrap of leather she had tethered around her breasts, and Aliasa stumbled as I forced her back to the wall by her cleavage. Then I kissed her without reserve until her arms went limp at her sides, and when I finished, I kept her locked in place as I considered the way her orange eyes had softened for me.
“Sit down,” I commanded in a growl. “Or I’ll kill you for getting in the way of saving this world.”
“Ohhhh… ” Aliasa took a ragged breath as she blinked coyly up at me, and when she nodded obediently, I heard Dragir scoff from beside the fireplace. Then I finally released my hold on the tigerish woman, and she trotted to the last chair in the room before she quietly took a seat.
“Damn,” Markus mumbled against the floorboards.
“Markus, get up,” I sighed.
“Yep!” he quickly replied, and he crawled out from under the table before he shot to his feet and awkwardly adjusted his mage’s robes.
Rhys and Dragir looked dumbfounded while they stared at Aliasa, and I had the feeling neither of them had ever gotten her to listen even once in their lives. She was honestly less intimidating than Nulena, though, so I just nodded in approval at the elven woman, and Aliasa folded her hands on her bare thighs while she kept her vibrant eyes on me.
Then I turned back to find Rhys glaring at the floorboards, and Dragir busied himself with angrily dusting the ash off his half-burned cloak.
“The point is, both of you have no choice in this,” I continued. “If you refuse the help of my allies, you’ll die. If you accept their help, you’ll live. Which is it gonna be?”
“We do not require your savage brutes,” Rhys mumbled without looking my way.
“Do you require my mages?” I checked. “Because I’ve got two hundred of them ready to move out.”
“Two hundred?” Dragir asked in disbelief. “With powers like yours?”
“No,” I said as I crossed my arms. “The mages who are waiting in Falmount can wield fire like Aurora, suffocate their attackers with a wave of their hand, and burst a man’s lungs by filling them with water until they explode. Others can bury twenty soldiers ten feet under in seconds flat, but regardless of the powers they each harness, all of them are armed with my 1911s. However, if you want to be racist pricks about this, I’ll send my army to save the dwarves instead, and Nalnora can be overrun by the Master within the week.”
Rhys and Dragir exchanged a look before the green-haired elf spoke up. “What is a 1911?”
“This,” I replied, and I pulled out my pistol before I swapped my fireball magazine for a lightning one.
Then I aimed straight into the hearth, and when I pulled the trigger, lightning burst across the bricks and formed a chaotic web that popped and fizzled so loud, it was almost louder than Rhys’ yelp.
Both elven men jumped to shield Aliasa, but she shoved them over the table as she rolled her eyes, and while Rhys and Dragir scrambled to get out of range of the lightning, I studied the way Aliasa’s eyes flashed in the blue light.
By the time the lightning waned, her cinnamon cheeks were a deep red, and she locked her heated gaze on me as she instinctively stood to come over to me.
“I didn’t tell you to stand,” I growled. “Sit back down.”
“Yes, Mason.” Aliasa bit her lip again as she obeyed my command, and when Rhys and Dragir climbed back up from the floor, both of them were staring at the charred hearth.
“So, what do you think?” I asked as I summoned my Terra powers, and I repaired the bricks while the elves thought over their options.
“This weapon… ” Rhys finally managed. “If you produced enough for my army--”
“Nope,” I cut in. “Not happening. You want this weapon on your side, it’ll be in the hands of my mages, while the ogres tear the heads of your attackers for you.”
“I get to have one, though,” Dragir casually added, and he flashed the pistol on his hip.
At first, I thought this was to piss off Rhys before I realized Dragir was mostly talking to Aliasa, but the elven woman kept her eyes on me without seeming to notice.
“Yes, you have one that shoots fireballs,” I agreed, “but there’s no way I’d hand that weapon over to anyone else in Nalnora.”
Dragir smirked as he shifted his half-burnt cloak on his shoulders, and Rhys furrowed his eyebrows at his boots while he thought more seriously about my terms.
“Ogres in Nalnora,” the green-haired elf snorted.
“Mages and dwarves as well,” I added. “They’ll be here by tomorrow, and I expect both of you to keep your warriors in check, because if anyone kills my allies who isn’t possessed, I’ll bring all five of my women out here with more than just 1911s, and I won’t stop a damn one of them from destroying both your Houses.”
I locked eyes with Dragir as I said this, and the elf went pale before he abruptly turned to Rhys.
“Agree to his terms.”
“What?” Rhys grumbled.
“Do it,” Dragir growled. “If I told you about the way he allows his women to behave, you would consider Aliasa to be a goddess.”
Rhys raised his brows. “Isn’t just the one an Ignis Mage?”
“Yes, and she is even more unruly these days,” Dragir assured him. “The healer is entirely too powerful for her own good, the pale one has twice as many guns as before, and Baroness Batanova recently joined his--”
“Nulena?” Rhys gasped.
“Yeah,” I said with a shrug. “Do me a favor and tell no one. Otherwise, she’ll probably kill you.”
Dragir nodded in agreement, and while Rhys looked just as pale as him now, Aliasa was more flushed than ever to hear how I let my women behave.
“So… we’re all in agreement?” I asked.
“Yes,” Dragir answered for the room.
“Goo
d.” I nodded. “Aliasa, bring me a map of Nalnora.”
The sensual woman promptly got to her feet and began scouring through the mess she’d made during her fight with Rhys, and when she dug out a crumpled map, she brought it over and even smoothed it out on the table for me.
“Can I get anything else for you, Mason?” Aliasa murmured as she inched closer to my side.
“Something to write with.”
Once Aliasa returned with a shard of graphite, I ordered her back to her seat, and when she nodded and did as I said, Rhys’ jaw unhinged.
Then Dragir dragged him over to the table, and I summoned the mental image I had of the Master’s headquarters while I carefully compared it to the map of Nalnora. When I marked the three locations, Rhys and Dragir sobered immediately, and I made a small X where Howleigh was before I pocketed the graphite.
“What’s the safest route for my troops to reach these tunnels from that X without getting ambushed along the way?”
Rhys leaned a little closer to the map. “There is none, but my warriors could escort them to assist their efforts.”
“Mine as well,” Dragir assured me. “If you send them to the red cliffs just east of this X, we can lead them out of the way of the warriors Aeris keeps near the northeast border. If no time is wasted, it would be a five-hour trek to reach the first tunnel.”
“Probably another thirty minutes to the next and so on,” Rhys agreed.
“I can work with that.” I nodded. “How many elves can you each send to Falmount?”
“None,” Rhys snorted. “We agreed to let your savages cross our borders, not to--”
“Nulena,” I reminded the elf.
“I can spare forty elves,” Rhys offered as he abruptly changed his tune. “House Fehryn has expanded, but our army only numbers one hundred and twenty warriors.”
“How many fledglings?” Dragir asked.
“Only my son,” Rhys sighed, and I couldn’t believe how disappointed he sounded about this.
“I have twenty-five,” the silver-haired elf bragged.
“And you will be sending them to Mason’s village, yes?” Rhys chuckled.
“No, he will not,” I decided. “Dragir, if you can match Rhys’ forty elves, then that’ll be plenty, but I don’t want any fledglings.”
“Your loss,” Dragir muttered. “How do you intend to get our warriors to Falmount? Because sending your battle dragon is out of the question in my opinion.”
“And I fully respect your opinion,” I assured the elf as I folded the map and pocketed it. “That’s why Nulena will be flying on my metal dragon to retrieve your troops. They’ll be here just before sunup.”
“Why?” Dragir groaned. “We are cooperating. Could you send the woman who has no control over her air magic instead?”
“No, Nulena will do just fine,” I said with a grin. “Ready your warriors and warn them about the painful deaths they’ll suffer should they go against my orders. Markus and I are going out to track down the portals now, and I’ll make sure the troops I send to Howleigh have maps for you to reference. You’ll be escorting them to their posts by tomorrow afternoon.”
“We’ll see it’s done,” Rhys agreed.
“I appreciate it,” I assured the elf. “Before I leave, though, I’d like to toss out the possibility that Aliasa isn’t pregnant and only said she was to cause trouble for you two jealous idiots.”
All of us turned toward the sultry woman in the corner, and while Dragir and Rhys looked appalled by the accusation, Aliasa’s lips curled into a devious grin as her purple lashes fluttered.
“I think I am in love with Mason,” she purred. “He’s so much more… man… than you two. Yes… he’s amazing.”
“So, that’s a yes,” I sighed as I rolled my eyes. “We’ll be heading out now.”
I caught Markus’ sleeve on my way to the door, and the mage chuckled as quietly as he could while we left Rhys’ hut without another word.
“Damn,” the mage mumbled once we were halfway to the tree line. “I can see why you never got killed here. You just yelled at them until they did what you wanted.”
“I’ve learned a thing or two about dealing with elves,” I snorted. “Let’s get back to my dragon, and then you and I are discussing--”
“Defender Flynt! Mason!” Aliasa called out, and I turned around to see the cinnamon-skinned woman’s breasts jostling against her leather as she chased after me.
Then Aliasa crashed into my arms, and she clung to my vest while she gazed into my eyes with desperation.
“Take me with you,” she begged as her chest heaved against mine.
“No,” I said point blank. “I’m going home to my own trouble-making women, and you’re going to stay here, behave yourself, and not stir up any more shit between those two men until I’ve finished killing the Master. Understood?”
“But then after?” she whispered. “Take me after?”
“Just do what I say or I won’t even consider it.”
“Anything you say,” Aliasa purred, “for a kiss.”
I sighed as the elves on the nearby steps stared in silence, but I did end up kissing her because who the hell wouldn’t?
Aliasa moaned against my lips as I shamelessly kneaded her plush hips to pull her tight against me, and the sound she made when I roughly released her was enough to make me briefly consider hauling her back away from the husband, who didn’t know how to handle or satisfy her, to Falmount with me so I could tame her.
I had a war to win, though, and after seeing the way Rhys and Dragir got about Aliasa, I decided now was definitely not the time to steal another elven woman from Nalnora. Let alone a married one.
I didn’t need any more enemies.
“Go home,” I ordered, and Aliasa melted against me for a moment before she let go of my vest and promptly returned to her hut.
Rhys and Dragir were like statues in the doorway as she sauntered past them without any scratching or screaming, and after the two exchanged a dejected glance, Dragir left the hut with his hands rooted in his pockets.
Then he trailed far behind me and Markus while we wove our way through the jungle, and after I quietly called out for Deya, the black dragon met us about ten minutes from House Fehryn.
“Are you feeling alright?” I asked as Deya pressed her snout against me. “We have quite a lot of flying to do tonight, but if you’re too tired, I can--”
Deya screeched softly in protest, and I grinned as I patted her scaly forehead.
“You’re a hell of a dragon, you know that?” I chuckled.
The way the black dragon’s scales rippled as she tossed her head showed she absolutely knew this, and Markus laughed when she strutted a circle around me to show off her best features a bit. The sound of birds and lizards scattering while she carelessly flattened the ferns made me laugh as well, but Dragir only managed half a smirk when he reached us.
“I’m sorry about all that,” I said as I noticed how slumped his shoulders were. “I didn’t mean to upset you, but there’s no way a woman like her would get pregnant if she could just say she was and keep you both jumping around instead.”
“Yes… that makes more sense,” Dragir sighed heavily.
“You gonna be okay?”
“Certainly,” the silver-haired elf assured me. “I truly do not want to be a father, especially if I have to share the mother with an asshole like Rhys. This is better.”
“I’m glad you feel that way,” I said in earnest. “You can join us to track down some portals if you want?”
“No, thank you,” Dragir chuckled. “I will go home and focus on making weapons. This is something I understand much better than women.”
“Good idea,” I agreed.
“Hey, if it makes you feel better,” Markus tried, “my aunt’s just like that woman, and she killed the last man she pretended to be pregnant with.”
“Really?” Dragir asked as he perked up.
“Yeah, she’s been in the dungeons
for the last seven years over it.”
I grinned when Dragir gave an impressed nod, and I knew I didn’t have to worry about him being upset for long about the situation. I would have pointed out that Aliasa seemed more like the feisty type than a genuine murderer, but after hearing the little whimper she made after I kissed her, I decided to keep this information in my back pocket.
Who knew when I’d be back in Nalnora, and whether Rhys would still be catering to a woman he had no means of handling properly?
So, I just headed over to Deya, and once the three of us were ready to go, we flew back to House Quyn to drop Dragir off beside the crystal bridge. Seeing his twenty guards all bow to him seemed to put a strut back into his step, and after I reminded him to have his elves ready by dawn, I watched his half-burned cloak disappear into the fog while I tried not to chuckle too much.
Then I slid off Deya and pulled the map of Nalnora out of my pocket, and when I came around to her front side, she nipped at the edge of the parchment so I would show it to her, too.
“You have good night vision, right?” I asked the dragon, and she nodded. “Great. We need to get to these three areas.”
Once Deya studied the map for a moment, I pocketed the parchment again and mounted up, and as soon as we were high above the canopy, I raised my voice just loud enough so Markus could hear me over the wind.
“Now, the fun begins,” I told him.
“I don’t know, this whole night has been pretty fun,” Markus admitted. “Scary and confusing, but fun.”
“That’s the spirit,” I snorted.
“So, I’m guessing you want to know if we can sense rune magic through our element,” the mage guessed, “since the generals told us all the portals had to do with rune magic.”
“Exactly,” I said with a nod. “What do you think? Could it work?”
“No idea,” Markus said, “but it’s an interesting concept. My grandfather taught me about this process he used once to root out a harpy who was stalking through his trees to get at his livestock, and I feel like the same approach might be useful for this.”
“Good enough for me,” I chuckled.
