by J G Jerome
I yell, “Back off! I’ve got this.”
The Hunt backs off and makes a large circle around our prey.
I ask Eliana, *Are you all going to be able to withstand the nanobots?*
*I think we’ll be okay. The magic used to build us uses a similar energy as what I’m feeling from the nanobots. We fought a Grey Lord, or Dread Lord, a couple of times. It is painful, but with a little skill on our Lord’s part, it is survivable. We’ll be fine, Jack. Let’s end this!*
I address my foe, “Hello, Farouk. Since we’ve not met face-to-face, I’ll introduce myself. I’m Jack Jerome. I am supposed to give you Hakim’s regards.”
“How are you still alive? Hakim’s strength was close to my own!” he exclaims incredulously.
I tilt my head as I consider that question. I slide Morningstar back into his scabbard. “I’ll show you.”
Farouk throws a cloud of nanobots at me. They surround me and burn what little skin I have exposed. I ask Durec to shorten the sleeves on the mail as I flood the cloud in loving energy. I offer the nanobots to feed off my flesh. Slowly they take up my offer as the cloud dissipates.
I resume walking toward Farouk, and he throws his blade and whip into a new cloud - directly penetrating my sinuses and lungs.
Farouk sneers, “Fight that, Green Lord!”
I take a step back as I use the same tactic on this second cloud. It seems to accept, but the effort takes me out of time as the nanobots work their way through my system to my arms.
Farouk takes advantage by pulling a long dagger.
I am rapidly converting the nanobots to Living Shadows, but there are a lot of them! My lungs and sinuses are recovering slowly. I need a new tactic!
Farouk presses his advantage by running towards me and stabbing at me with the blade. I stand and look at him with what Solange calls my ‘patented Dumb Lord’ look. As he approaches I turn slightly to pull the taser from my left hip, blocking Farouk’s stab with Yoren, my shield. I turn the flashlight on pointed at Farouk’s face, which causes him to turn his face away. Then I trigger the taser.
I turn off the flashlight as I hear a gunshot. There is a bullet wound in the center of Farouk’s forehead, but the grey miasma pushes the bullet back out and and flows out of his forehead until the wound closes.
Farouk laughs evilly as he slowly gets back up. “I can create infinite amounts of the Grey Dread, and I can do it indefinitely. I can have it shield my body like that while wielding it as two weapons and throwing multiple clouds. You are not nearly powerful enough to be a worthy opponent for me!”
I say conversationally as I turn off the flashlight and tuck the taser in its holster, “I must say Farouk. I was surprised at the emotion when I killed your minion. I thought you gave up on love.” The burning stops as the Living Shadows settle.
My comment stops Farouk more thoroughly than the taser did.
He growls, “I’m going to make you all pay with hours of pain and suffering for her loss.” He throws a cloud at Ismael and three more around the circle of the Hunt.
I ask my Living Shadows, *Can you destroy his ability to create or deploy nanobots?* I get a negative response. I tell Yoren, *Sorry big fella, but I need my hands. Back to wristwatch, please.* My heart is warmed by his concern.
Then I blink to the far side of the circle and then immediately behind Farouk. Upon my arrival I press the taser flashlight into the base of his skull and activate it. All the clouds falter, but they don’t drop like they did with Hakim. I release the actuator and touch his skull with the knuckles of my left hand. Through that contact I will his skull to grow stalactites into his brain. I feel them start to grow, and Farouk stumbles away from me slashing blindly with his dagger as he pivots. I barely get Jacob up in time to deflect it, but Farouk is powerful. The blade overpowers my block and still cuts my right cheekbone. More nanobots flow from the blade into my flesh.
I have an idea. *Since the nanobots become Living Shadows, they must be alive. Let’s see what I can do with them once he releases them.* I step back and ‘remove’ them from the wound - throwing them back at Farouk’s face.
That works! They strike his face and start to burn his flesh! I reach for the cloud around Ismael, and pull them to me before throwing them at Farouk. He screams in pain and vomits more nanobots out to deal with the ones attacking him.
I reach for each of the other three clouds of nanobots Farouk threw at the Hunt. As each coalesces in front of me, I throw them at Farouk. Blood is running from his raw flesh after the second one. The third cloud results in Farouk’s cheekbones and jawbone appearing through holes in his facial flesh. Despite the pain he’s suffering, Farouk doesn’t stop whipping around wildly and spewing the miasma from his mouth and flesh.
I decide to give him some additional distractions. I pull my silenced pistol from my shoulder rig. I alternate between hitting him in the head and in critical joints - forehead, left knee, right eye, right shoulder, point of his jaw, right hip, etcetera. He spins with each strike and eventually drops to his knees, but more miasma leaks from each wound. He may not have been boasting when he said he could do this indefinitely.
I stop at twelve shots and decock and holster my pistol. I pull the latest cloud of nanobots from his mouth and throw them back at his eyes. Then I pull Morningstar and blink.
I blink in behind Farouk and swing Morningstar, focusing on technique and speed. As the blade bites into Farouk’s neck, flames blossom, cauterizing the wound. Farouk’s head drops to the ground. Then I circle the blade and execute a downward cut that bisects his toppling body - again cauterized with flames. I sheath Morningstar as he absorbs Farouk’s blood.
I pick up Farouk’s skull. Miasma is flowing out of his mouth and nose reaching for his body and trying to repair the burnt flesh of his decapitation.
I look down the mountain to Camili. I blink to the intersection just outside of town. From this location I can see there is a large, sharply pointed stone at the base of the mountain. I blink to the point of the stone and then immediately blink up into the sky in a series of short jumps until I’m higher than the mountaintop we were fighting on. Then I jump down one jump and slam Farouk's head downward.
I blink back to the intersection, but I have to do a roll when I arrive due to the downward momentum. I catch sight of Farouk’s skull and bump it gently to keep it on target with the point of the stone. Then it hits.
Farouk’s head explodes as it impacts the point of the stone. A cloud of nanobots swarm over the point of impact, but there are no pieces big enough for them to work with.
I reach out with my mind in an attempt to find Farouk’s soul. I suspect it was in his skull before it exploded. I search around, but all I sense are the nanobots. I call them to me, wrap them in loving energy. That’s where I find Farouk - his soul seems to be distributed among the nanobots. His soul is very angry. I remove Farouk’s soul from the nanobots, and then I direct them to my arm like I did the earlier batches.
Farouk’s soul rages at me in front of my face. I wrap him in a blanket of loving energy, ignoring his hate. Then I blink back to the mountaintop. The halves of Farouk’s body are slowly dissolving in the swarm of nanobots. I call them to me and give them the same treatment as all the others while Farouk’s soul quietly radiates hate through the blanket of love I have him wrapped in.
Remembering Farouk’s shout when I killed the Sidhe, I call out for Yasmine’s soul as he rages. I feel another presence join us, and Farouk stops raging. I feel warm loving energy radiate from the other soul and wrap around him.
I say out loud in Arabic, “Yasmine, I’m sorry I couldn’t find a better way to stop you from enthralling the Dragon. I wish you happiness in whatever comes next. Hopefully, you and Farouk can find joy, love, and happiness together. Please help him release his hate and learn the joy of love.”
I feel a positive response from her, and then the two of them slowly fade away.
I call out, “Harald, does anyone need healing?” I walk
over to him.
He nods, “If you could help Mick and Sean. Mick lost several tentacles, but the burns are making it difficult for him to regenerate them. Sean is having difficulty breathing.”
I check out Sean, one of the Thinmen. He has severe burns in his lungs. I don’t find any nanobots, so I just heal the damage. Selene and Sera join me to watch what I’m doing.
Mick is one of the tentacled beings. Four of his tentacles have been severed, but the stumps are nearly cauterized. I numb the nerves and excise the crisped flesh on a tentacle before closing the wound. Then I give it a shot of healing energy. Sera and Selene help on other tentacles as I talk them through it.
After their immediate needs are cared for, I check Ismael. I give him a dose of healing for burnt skin, sinuses, and lungs. Afterwards, the ladies and I make a round of the hunters of the Hunt sealing cuts, healing burns, and meeting them all.
Eventually I find myself standing before the Dragon. Again she is pressing her palms together. She says, “Namasté. Thank you for rescuing me from that Sidhe. She had me well and thoroughly enthralled. Fortunately, she was trying to actively control me rather than plant commands.”
“Hello. I’m Jack. It’s my pleasure to help. I just regret how I ended her control. I had to do a fair amount of killing when I was in the army. I’d rather not do any more,” I tell her.
She smiles, “My name is Aurora. I can see why my daughter is so enamored with you.”
Sera hugs my arm. “She has to get in line, Aurora. I’m Sera. This is my sister, Selene.”
I smile back, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Aurora. I’m sure your daughter is a lovely girl. It’s too bad I don’t know her.”
Aurora laughs, “You know her. She looks much like me, which is why I’m not going to show you my human form.”
I shake my head. “Okay, Aurora. I’ll pass on your regards when she reveals herself to me. I’ve got to go. Are you going to be okay here?”
She grins, “I’ll be fine, Jack. I live here. This is my home.”
I nod, “It’s a lovely place. I think eastern Turkey is gorgeous. I wonder if maybe I should build a residence out here.“
Aurora smiles, “I think you should. Goodbye, Jack!”
“Goodbye, Aurora.” I wave and walk away.
29 - Consolidation
Selene hugs my arm and says, “I like it here. We should definitely build a residence here. Lili could make a portal to connect it to Cottonwood.”
I shrug, “Actually, I like the sound of that. We can discuss it when we get home.”
I walk up to Cernunnos. “Well Harald, are we riding back?”
“Kind of,” he says with a grin. “Mount up.”
We mount up and take off behind Ralph and Harald. We ride hard and fast for about ten minutes, climbing higher and higher. Suddenly, a portal opens in front of Ralph, and he dives through it. Harald and the Hunt follow him through. We arrive in a huge cavern. The Hunt slows gradually and circles around the cavern until we are all stopped standing in a circle facing towards Harald.
The Lord of the Hunt addresses the hunters. “It was a good hunt. I saw that everyone contributed despite facing the most dangerous and capable prey we have chased in recent history. It was definitely one of the most important hunts that I’ve ever heard of. Take care of your equipment and meet in the hall for the tapping of the beer kegs. See you there! Go forth!”
Harald turns to me as the hunters cheer. “Jack, I appreciate you including us. My hunters will be telling stories of this hunt for centuries.”
I shake his hand. “I couldn’t have done it without the Hunt, Harald. I owe you one.”
Harald laughs, “I’ll take it out of your pocket the next time we play poker. We’ll take care of your mounts.” He points to a different corridor than the one everyone else ran into. “That corridor takes you to the portal to the Winter Court. Give my best to your family.”
“I will Harald. See you soon.” I wave as I march off to the Winter Court. Sera and Selene flank me and Ismael falls in behind just before I step into the permanent portal between the home of the Sluagh and the court of the Winter Queen of Faerie.
All the portals into the Winter Court have a guard station except two. One connects to the Schattenburg, the old European Winter Court in Germany. The other one connects to the cavernous home of the Host of the Sluagh.
The lack of a guard station doesn’t mean we aren’t met as we walk up the corridor to the main audience hall. Grace, Christie, and Megan gasp and rush forward to wrap Selene, Sera, and myself in hugs and kisses.
I introduce my ladies to Ismael, and then Grace takes over. “I’m taking you to the Faerie Queen, my King. This way.”
My Goblin Queen spins gracefully and leads us into the audience chamber. We walk back to the throne, but rather than going to the right towards the Chamberlain’s office and Ariana’s quarters, we veer to the left. As we pass behind the throne, Grace steps to a door guarded by Tiphanae and Charli. Grace ‘Vana-waves’ us through the door. I stop to kiss her and my other two lovers before stepping into the room. Inside, a conference room extends to my left and looks like it could easily hold twelve people around the table with another eight lined up in chairs along the wall.
Myra is posted to my left at the head of the table, leaning on the table and talking on the radio. Georgia is taking notes on a laptop to Myra’s left. Erica is on another radio and Annette is logging for her. Kristina rushes around the foot of the table past the open portal and throws herself into my arms. “Welcome back, Lord Husband.”
I pick up my most diminutive wife and kiss her soundly. All talking stops, and everyone stares at me as I release Kristina. I make my way to Myra. Just before I reach her I announce, “The Dread Lord is dead.”
“Praise the Goddess,” Myra exclaims as she throws herself into my arms. We kiss as the rest of the ladies reservedly applaud my announcement. I know they’re all happy that I’m back and the threat is gone. However, we’ve all evolved to the point that celebrating a death, even of a dangerous enemy, is not really a cause for joy. I get it because I am slightly melancholy despite my relief that Farouk no longer walks the earth.
I introduce Ismael to everyone. Christie tells him, “Dalia is recovering nicely. She’s sleeping, but we’re due to wake her in about an hour to eat something. Queen Ariana is hosting her. I can take you there.”
I interrupt, “I would like to get to Kuwait quickly and address all the rapists.”
Myra says, “All those there are dead. Lili marched all the males past Abu’s daughter, Alia, and allowed her to point out her abusers. Lili scanned the memories of all of them as they marched by. Those that failed the test were dismembered by the Goblins.”
I turn to Ismael, “Let’s take all of your boys to Kuwait. They need to pass the test.”
He nods. “I agree, Jack. Where are they? I’ll get them.”
Tiphanae calls from the door. “They’re in the dining hall. I’ll have them here in about five minutes.”
“Is that enough time for me to see Dalia?” Ismael asks.
Christie says, “If we don’t linger. I’ll take you. Let’s go.” She looks at me inquiringly, and I nod. She smiles and hurries out the door with Ismael and Megan in tow.
“Master, I need you to touch me!” Georgia calls. I laugh and walk behind Myra, giving her lovely bum a caress as I continue to kiss Georgia, Erica, and then Annette. Then I pick Georgia up out of her chair, which elicits a delightful squeal.
I sit in her chair, seat her in my lap, and cup her breasts in my hands as I pull her back into my chest. I murmur in her ear, “Is this better, Kitten?”
“Much better, Master!” she replies. “I was so worried about you. I’ve only been yours for a short time, and I was so worried I would lose you.”
“I had to do it, Georgia.”
She spins in my lap to look at me. “I know, Jack. There was a time when I saw a vision of the Dread Lord attacking you with the grey smoke, and
your flesh was burning. How did you escape that?”
I grin, “I didn’t escape it. I survived it by embracing it.” I look at the burnt off left sleeve of my coat and shirt to the intricate geometric pattern pulsing in my skin. “They all converted to Living Shadows when I embraced them. I had them join me on my arm, but I expected a band around my bicep. Instead, I have a full sleeve, and I feel them on my chest, too.”
Georgia traces my face. “You have them here too, and running down your neck.”
I’m surprised. “Really? I don’t feel them there.”
There is a chorus of confirmation from my ladies.
Myra says, “Merriam will be glad to take them off your hands. Maybe when we move into the Cottonwood house, and you claim her and Cassandra as your own.”
“Sounds like a plan, Myra.” I hear feet approaching the conference room. “Let me up, Kitten.”
Georgia jumps off my lap, and her unbound, full breasts bounce delightfully. I stand and wrap her in a hug. “Back to work, Kitten. I’ll reward you later for being such a good girl.”
She kisses me quickly and takes her seat. She looks up at me, “I can’t wait, Master.”
Yeshua, Ali, Faisal, and Azeem all troop into the conference room. Tiphanae takes up her post at the door.
I greet the men as Ismael walks back in with a loopy grin on his face. Christie and Megan sneak in and sit next to Kristina in the wall seats.
I stand behind Annette as I lay a hand on hers and Erica’s shoulders. Then I address the men.
“We’re all going to Kuwait through that portal. We will put things in order there, and then decide who wants to do what. I’m sure Ariana probably told you, there is a shortage of Sidhe males in the Winter Court, so any of you that wish to return will likely find a warm welcome - especially if you know how to treat a lady right.” I see Ali smirk, and Faisel doesn’t look particularly comfortable. “Yeshua, follow me. Ismael take up the trail position.” They nod at their instructions.
I kiss each of my ladies, including the two at the door, and then lead the men through the portal. Sera and Selene follow me through. I am immediately jumped by Chelsea as I walk through the portal, and she devours my mouth.
