by Dante King
Something flashed in Mahrai’s eyes. Her hand shot out, and she grabbed me around the neck, then pulled my head down. She kissed me fiercely and swiftly, ending with my lower lip caught between her teeth.
“Better make the most of you while you’re still here, then,” she said.
She shoved me back against the telescope mount and tore my robes open. One hand slid down the front of my pants and grabbed hold, making me shudder in excitement as she set to work. She pressed up against me, kissing my neck and chest, the nails of her other hand raking my back.
I slid my hands down her sides, one drifting gently across her belly and then up to caress her breast.
Mahrai grabbed my wrist and twisted it around, like she was disarming an opponent.
“Save the slow and tender bullshit for your princess,” she said. “I like my men strong and rough. You think you can manage that?”
I smiled. “I can manage.”
I twisted back, got hold of her arm, and forced her around, pressing her up against the telescope. I seized both of her hands and pinned them above her head with one of my own. I ripped open the front of her robe, squeezed her pert, pale breast tight, and pushed my body against hers.
“That’s better.” She grinned.
She tugged one hand free, grabbed me by the hair, and pressed my face to hers. We kissed wildly, our bodies writhing against each other. Then, she yanked my head back, slid her lips down my neck, and left a bite mark on the skin over my collarbone.
I took a step back and twisted her arm, forcing her to her knees.
“Well played,” she said, a flash of mischief in her eyes. “But what could you have in mind?”
With her free hand, she unfastened my pants and let them fall to the floor. She placed her lips around me, and I gasped as her tongue danced back and forth, making me tingle with pleasure. Her hand reached around behind to squeeze my ass, then ran down the back of my leg, nails hard against my skin.
I let go of her hand and placed both of mine on her head, combing them through her hair.
“You like that, don’t you?” She moved her head back. “But how about this?”
She grabbed me by the ankles and pulled my legs out from under me. I crashed to the ground and before I had a chance to get my bearings, she had scrambled on top of me, trapping me in place. She tore off the last of her clothes and cast them aside, then straddled my hips. As she sank onto me, we both moaned in delight.
She rose and fell against me, moving fast and hard, as though she was trying to beat me into submission. This was a fight I was happy to lose.
I slid a hand down her belly and pressed it between her legs, drawing a fresh moan of delight. With the other, I grabbed her breast, squeezing the flesh and pinching the nipple between my fingers. She ran a hand up and down my body while the other settled on my throat and squeezed not quite hard enough to choke me. The floorboards were rough against my back, but that just added to the intensity of the moment.
“You might have won earlier,” she said. “But I’m in charge now.”
“Really?”
I tried to grip her arm, but she knocked my hand aside. We grabbed hold of each other and went rolling across the floor, our bodies entwined in something that was almost close combat. Then, I was on my back again, and she was springing up. I leaped to my feet, grabbed her from behind as she laughed and tried to get away, and pressed her up against the wall. I wrapped one arm around her, pinning her close even as I cupped her breast, lifted up one of her legs with my other hand, and slid inside. Mahrai gasped, grinned, and turned her head. I leaned close and kissed her across her shoulder. I pressed against her with the same speed and intensity she had shown me, stabbing with the only weapon this fight would allow.
Our bodies shuddered as we slammed into each other again and again. She braced herself against the wall with one hand, while the other slid back and squeezed my ass so hard that I felt her nails dig in. I pushed harder, faster, building toward a climax.
Mahrai broke free one last time and twisted around to face me. We sank into each other, and she wrapped her legs around me as I pushed her against the wall. Our bodies ran with sweat and dust, our skin slid against each other, and our moans joined in a single chorus until we hit a glorious peak, my body tingling from head to toe, and she cried out as we came.
Laughing and gasping, I stumbled back from the wall, Mahrai still wrapped around me. I dropped her onto the sofa and then lay down beside her. She squeezed me tight, then collapsed, exhausted against my chest. Moments later, she was asleep.
I could feel myself heading toward sleep too. I grinned as I lay there, thinking about the day that had just passed and the one ahead. Our chance to liberate the valley and defeat the Unswerving Shadows was almost here. Things were going to get hectic, and I was glad to have Mahrai on our side for the fight. It would have been worth it just for our own private skirmish, but it was tomorrow that she would really come into her own.
Chapter Twenty-One
A loud thumping woke me with a start. I sat bolt upright on the couch. Mahrai did the same, her head shifting from side to side as she looked around for the source of the noise.
The sky beyond the balcony was gray, the first pre-dawn light casting back the darkness of night and promising a new start for the land. Down the mountain, the towers of Hyng’ohr stood silhouetted against that gray, sentinels against the change sweeping across the sky. Little did their inhabitants know that change was coming in a far more forceful form.
“Hey, hey, hey!” Kegohr bellowed as he banged on the door again. “You in there Ethan?”
“I’m here. Just give me a minute.” I wasn’t sure how he’d found us, but Mahrai’s moans had probably been broadcast through the whole fortress. Vesma and Kumi would probably have been surprised, but they wouldn’t be mad; we’d already established that the Swordslinger would have a many-to-one relationship with his wives.
Mahrai swore and jumped off the couch. She snatched up her clothes and started hastily getting dressed, pulling on her tights, bodice, and skirt.
Following Mahrai’s lead, I walked around the room and grabbed my scattered clothes. The frenzy of the night before had left them a little torn, but there was nothing that couldn’t be covered up by careful layering, for now at least. With less haste but almost as much speed as Mahrai, I got into my robes and belted them up. It was time to return to the world and the work awaiting us.
Mahrai watched impatiently as I finished getting dressed, her foot tapping as she stood by the door. Once I was done, I went over, flashed her a last private smile before we left our sanctum behind, and opened the door.
Kegohr stood grinning in the doorway. He was all geared up for war, with leather bracers on his arms and his mace strapped across his back. His grin exposed the tusks at the corners of his mouth and the sharp teeth between them.
“We’re about ready to leave,” he said. “Just waiting on you and Mahrai. Lucky thing I found you together.”
He winked, and I stifled a laugh. Mahrai barged past us, glaring at Kegohr as she went, and headed down the stairs.
“What are you waiting for?” she called back. “I joined your side to fight, not sit around giggling.”
We hurried down the stairs and into the war room, where Mahrai and I had left our weapons the night before. She took up her staff, while I belted on the Sundered Heart Sword and slung the Depthless Dream Trident across my back. Yono and Nydarth chuckled to each other but didn’t say anything audible.
We headed out into the courtyard where our improvised army was assembled beneath the obdurate stone walls of the fortress.
The remaining initiates of the Steadfast Horn Guild were clustered in one corner, Onvar sharpening his sword, Drek tightening his armor, Elorinelle checking the flights of her arrows. Their heads were held high, their bodies ready for action, buoyed by the confidence that came from having survived their first battle. The wariness that encounter had left also showed as each of them caref
ully assessed both their own equipment and the people they would fight alongside.
Most of those people were the Pathless who had gathered in the center of the yard. They were equipped with a mismatched selection of weapons and armor dug out of the depths of the fortress. Most carried heavy, two-handed weapons with blunt heads designed to crush and smash. A few had spears or long swords, and two carried shields. Several had war drums, and these stood at the corners of the group, ready to keep pace and assert order as they headed to war. In the small amount of time available to him, Ganyir had done a good job of getting his troops into line.
Tahlis sat on the steps leading from the war room, his spear resting across his knees and his blind eyes seeming to stare into the distance. As Mahrai and I emerged, he turned his head toward me, and his tongue darted out to taste the breeze.
“Had a good night, did you?” he asked slyly.
“Better than a night with a dusty old lizard,” Mahrai said. “For starters, I don’t have sand everywhere.”
Ganyir appeared at the top of the stairs behind us. He was fully armored once more, encased in his shell of metal plates. He raised his gauntleted hands, and the crowd went silent.
“For too long, the Cult of Unswerving Shadows has cast its pall across our land,” he declared. “Its cruelty and spite has seeped into our society like a poison, leading to pain and oppression. The blight runs so deep that the land itself has become sick, dried out and uninhabitable to those who once called it home.
“Today, we go to change that. Not just a small elite, but citizens from across the society of Gonki. Powerful Augmenters stand side by side with humble farmers and shopkeepers, because this is what makes us strong, not the single-minded pursuit of our own greatness that the Straight Path exalts but the willingness, the passion even, to lift up those around us.
“Today, we march on Hyng’ohr city. Mahrai’s golem, which for so long was a symbol of our oppression, will now become the tool of our triumph. It will make an opening, and we will seize it. We will fight our way into the city and liberate it from those who have ruined so many lives.
“Remember, we are liberators not conquerors, and these are our own people. Do not raise your hand against any of the population who go unarmed about their business or who are simply trying to stay safe. Seek out only those who would harm you and bring that harm down upon them. Teach them the lesson of what it means for justice to come.
“Our targets are Saruqin and the priests of the Unswerving Shadows Cult. They are holed up in the palace in the center of the city. Our focus is on getting to them, even if that means letting other foes get away. We have surprise on our side, but they have numbers, and we cannot afford to become bogged down. Our strategy is not to destroy the body of the enemy. It is to chop off the head and see the body fall.
“Raise your weapons high and lift your heads proudly. Ours is the true path, and today, our route is clear. We march for Gonki. We march for Hyng’ohr. We march for freedom!”
I stood in silence, a proud smile on my face, while everyone cheered and pumped their fists in the air. The drummers pounded the skins, a wild crescendo of noise that echoed, formless and proud, around the courtyard. Then, at a signal from Ganyir, they settled into a steady beat. The gates swung open, and we marched out to war.
Mahrai and I joined the head of the column, just behind Ganyir. My traveling companions were there, as was Tahlis. His initiates came close behind.
“At last,” Mahrai said, “I get to show that stuck-up prick Saruqin how I really feel.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Kegohr said. “Gonna knock some heads together until they’re ringing, you know?”
“The hard part won’t be getting into the city; it’ll be getting into the palace. Saruqin knows that half the population hates him, so he’s put his best troops between him and the rest of Hyng’ohr.”
“So, we save our Vigor until we’re getting close in, yeah?” Kegohr asked.
“Maybe you can, but mine will be needed before that. I have to summon the golem to get us through the gates. Of course, it can do a lot more once it’s through…”
While Mahrai and Kegohr enthused about the fight ahead, I turned to look at Kumi. She had her butterfly knives on her back and several water skins slung around her on leather cords. There was a twinkle in her eyes.
“You look a lot happier,” I said.
“I found a well in the fortress,” she said. “And plenty of water skins. Now, I can use my Wild Augmenting properly despite the dryness of this place. Lives are going to be saved today thanks to that well.”
“And thanks to you.”
She laid a hand on my arm. “You’re looking very chippery yourself.”
Her gaze darted from me to Mahrai and then back again. She smiled. It was a smile that made me amazed at just how lucky I’d become.
“I guess I am feeling good,” I said. “Good company and a sense of purpose really brightens my mood.”
Ahead of us, Vesma and Tahlis were deep in conversation. Some of Vesma’s earnestness had rubbed off on the lizardman, whose usual impish demeanor was replaced with a stern expression and serious voice.
“Tell me about these priests,” she said. “What can we expect?”
“Augmenting,” Tahlis said. “But not varied. Saruqin doesn’t encourage flexible thinking in his minions—probably afraid of what would happen if they got ideas of their own.”
“And weapons?”
“Some of them. But that’s not what we need to worry about. What we need to worry about is the demons…”
We marched on through the pre-dawn gloom, discussing the battle ahead while the world grew lighter around us. As the sun rose in the east, it cast a warm glow across city, mountains, and desert, and we reached the foot of the city walls.
Ganyir halted us a hundred yards from the mountain gate, then gestured Mahrai forward. She stepped into the open and raised her staff above her head, then brought it down. There was a crash out of all proportion to the weight of the staff as Vigor flowed from her. The ground shook, and the city walls trembled. My teeth rattled against each other.
A stone hand burst out of the ground. Another followed. They flattened against the earth and heaved. Slowly, the golem rose from the dirt beneath our feet, a being of solid stone. Dirt and pebbles pattered on the ground as it emerged, dragging itself first onto its knees, then to its feet, standing like a vast monument as it faced the gate.
Arrows shot out of the towers to either side of the entrance. They bounced harmlessly off the stone beast, and it stomped forward, indifferent to the projectiles clattering off its sides. The projectiles continued to strike it as it grabbed hold of the top of the gatehouse. The colossal minion steadied itself, swung its leg, and kicked the gates.
With a great crack and a shower of splinters, the gate doors gave way. They slammed back against the walls, leaving the way into the city clear. At a gesture from Mahrai, the golem stooped and walked through the portal. Within, there were cries of panic as guards saw what was coming for them.
“Charge!” Ganyir bellowed. “For Gonki!”
“For Gonki!” the Pathless shouted as they ran after him and followed the golem through the gates.
I was already ahead of them, my every step twice as long as theirs. The archers took a few half-hearted shots at us from the walls, and one of the Pathless stumbled aside with an arrow protruding from his shoulder, but within moments, the rest of us were through the walls and into the city.
In the streets beyond the walls, clan guards were rushing from every adjoining street to stop us. These were the men and women who had committed themselves to the Unswerving Shadows and the Straight Path, ready to kill and to die for it. They attacked with savage ferocity, neither offering nor asking for any quarter. Weapons flashed in the sunlight and crashed against each other. Together with the war cries of the warriors and the screams of the injured, they filled the air with a terrible cacophony.
An enemy guard lunged at me
with a vicious-looking spear, its blade barbed and its shaft spiked. I parried with the Sundered Heart Sword, then counter-attacked, slicing through his arm. He howled and swung the spear at me one-handed. I dodged, brought my blade up, and cut him down.
To my right, Kegohr closed his eyes and let out a deep, rumbling growl. His body glowed as the Spirit of the Wildfire flowed through him, lending him extra strength and fury. He took a running jump and hurtled through the air to land on the golem’s back.
Hanging from the rocky crags of the golem with one hand, Kegohr swung his mace with the other. Granted the advantage of height by hanging from the golem and extra strength from the Wildfire, his blows hit the guards like a wrecking ball. Bodies went flying as the golem strode through the approaching defenders, Kegohr laying waste to left and right.
Two more guards came running at me, maces raised high. I channeled mud Vigor and sent it down through the ground. The street in front of them turned into a Mud Entrapment, and they stumbled straight into the mire in their eagerness to attack.
One of the guards was more agile than the other. He managed to keep moving through the mud by wrenching each foot clear in turn and making large strides to minimize his contact with the mud. I waited for him at the edge of the Entrapment, and as he got near, his demeanor changed. He stopped his slow, careful steps and instead, started pushing forward through the morass, his weapon raised.
I needed to save my Vigor for the demons, cultists, and finally Saruqin, so I focused on avoiding any more martial techniques or arcane arts. I waited until he was almost at the edge of my trap, then swung the Sundered Heart. He parried with his mace, but without being able to move his feet and adjust his balance, the weapon was unwieldy. His weight shifted and struggled to bring the mace back around. I took the opportunity to lunge at his body, and he swung his weapon hastily to block me. Overcompensating against my feint, he brought his mace all the way down into the mud with a sticky squelch. As he struggled to free it, I stabbed at him again, and this time, there was nothing to stop me. He flopped over, blood running from his throat.
