Fit for a Goddess - Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The following day, as they walked, Delilah found herself watching Loresse’s black tresses swish back and forth across her scarlet-robed back. The motion was vaguely hypnotic, but something didn’t feel right about what she was seeing, gnawing at the back of the young cleric’s mind. Delilah’s brow furrowed, and she scratched her head.

Then, she had it! Loresse’s hair appeared to have grown several inches since the previous day. Fuller too. It had more body than she was used to seeing—something which simply didn’t make any sense. They hadn’t had an opportunity to bathe during their travels, so the slender elf’s hair should be as matted down and tangled as her own, shouldn’t it?

Before she could further speculate over the lushness of Loresse’s hair, however, a cry rang out from the ridge to their right. Two dozen short, stout beasties emerged from the trees, sprinting downhill toward the party at breathtaking speed.

They had been ambushed!

Delilah cursed herself for allowing Loresse’s hair to distract her as she watched the war party approach at breakneck speed. Goblins swarmed toward them, shoving each other as they jockeyed for position. Their screams were bone-chilling, their misshapen bodies gnarled with tensing muscle as their knuckles tightened over the handles of wicked-looking weapons.

Erikkan raced to the right side of the party to defend the others. He swung his polearm as the first of the goblins arrived, sweeping it before him to slice the two leading attackers in two. Their bodies fell, torsos rolling down the hill to land at Erikkan’s feet.

A half-dozen other goblins arrived a split second later, however, the nimble fighter raising the long handle of his spear to block a series of quick, hacking strikes launched by his eager adversaries.

More goblins flowed around Erikkan’s left side, threatening to flank him, so Delilah sprang forward to engage the creatures. She threw up a hand, sending a wave of magical enhancement toward her friend. She watched with satisfaction as she watched him push the handle of his polearm forward, his attackers stumbling backward under the force of his spell-bolstered strength. He swung again, cleaving two heads from their bodies, giving Delilah a grateful nod for her assistance.

Delilah, however, couldn’t help but notice that the aura surrounding Erikkan was an ember-like orange rather than the usual silver. There wasn’t time to ponder the change at the moment, however. Goblins were already raising their weapons to strike at her as she lurched to a stop to draw her weapon.

Monsters closed in on her from all sides. Delilah touched a hand to the head of her mace, willing magic to infuse the steel within it. An orange glow enhanced the pointy spikes of her weapon, making it far more deadly. Sliding her fingers down its shaft, she focused on lessening its weight, so that she could wield it more easily.

Giving the weapon a quick test swing, Delilah raised her shield, readying herself to defend against the small goblin horde that approached. In less than a second the first of them was to her, its weapon held high. She parried its harsh blow with her shield, then countered the blow by swinging down hard on its rusty helmet, hearing a sharp crack as the counterattack sent the goblin to the ground.

As quickly as she had dropped the first attacker, however, another took its place, its weapon sparking as it clanked against Delilah’s shield. Suddenly, a powerful burst of crimson and orange exploded in the midst of three approaching enemies. The goblins screamed as fire consumed them, batting frantically at their clothing as cloth ignited and flesh sizzled.

Delilah wrinkled her nose as the stench of smoldering goblin wafted to her nostrils, a look of satisfaction crossing her sharp features as the three combatants fell to the ground, flames still licking at their deformed, blackened bodies.

“Thanks, Lore!” Delilah called to her friend without turning to look, not wanting to remove her gaze from her enemies. “I love that fireball spell of yours. Too bad one casting takes pretty much everything out of you…”

Delilah swung her mace again, catching another goblin in the side of the head, sending him staggering to the side as another two swords clunked off her shield. She stole a glance at Erikkan, who, despite a pile of bodies at his feet, looked as if he were beginning to tire. Several knicks and cuts bled freely, sapping his strength, making each of his movements more sluggish than the last.

This wasn’t good.

Delilah re-focused her efforts on the large group of goblins still before her, wondering if she could hold her own against so many should Erikkan fall, when another ball of flame swept past her. The young cleric’s eyes widened in surprise as she felt a powerful wave of heat wash over her skin, and a moment later, it exploded in the center of the remaining horde.

Amazingly, this blast was even more powerful than the first! Far more powerful, in fact!

This time, the goblins didn’t scream and flee. They didn’t have time. They were simply incinerated, their crispy forms bursting into gossamer puffs of ash as searing gouts of superheated flame tore through their bodies as if they were made of tissue paper. As the last of their enemies were destroyed, Delilah and Erikkan turned to gape at Loresse.

The pretty mage wore a satisfied smirk, crossing her robed arms over her slender waist.

“How did you…?” began Erikkan.

“Where did that…?” Delilah said simultaneously.

The slender elf shrugged nonchalantly. “Why are you both so surprised? I have been practicing, after all. It’s only natural I’ve gotten a little bit more powerful.”

Delilah and Erikkan stood there speechless. Delilah cast a doubtful look at Erikkan, not entirely convinced by her friend’s explanation, but Erikkan simply shrugged and set about cleaning his blade.

Delilah’s brows furrowed. Just last week, casting a single fireball spell had been enough to wipe Loresse out completely for the better part of a day. Today? She had just cast a second such spell within moments—and it was far more powerful than anything Delilah had ever seen her pull off before. Something wasn’t right about that. Mages didn’t progress so far so quickly in both stamina and power.

“Let’s get going,” said Loresse. “Delilah’s goddess awaits.” She said the word ‘goddess’ with a sneer, as if it were a particularly nasty epithet.

Delilah blinked in surprise as the mage swept past her, her friend’s black mane trailing a floral scent as the slim elf stalked by. She watched the woman go, briefly wondering if the top of Loresse’s head seemed a bit higher than she was used to.

Had Loresse grown taller too?

Delilah stared in wonder briefly before shaking away the thought with a wry smile. No, that was impossible. She had to be imagining things. The mage’s newfound power had the blonde cleric’s imagination running wild with all sorts of unlikely thoughts.

Mages did grow in power over time. So Loresse was gaining power rapidly. As unlikely as her massive advance in skill seemed, it was hardly impossible. She must have had some sort of breakthrough, advancing in ability quickly over the past week. It was the only explanation Delilah could think of. Besides, having a more powerful mage would only benefit the group, right? She had just seen how much easier things were with a mage who could incinerate a dozen enemies with nary a wave of her hand.

The beautiful young cleric marched behind the young elf as they journeyed onward, her thoughts seeming to wind toward thoughts of her increasingly powerful friend as they went.

***

That night, Delilah found a dark corner between the tents, the light of the distant campfire flickering over the canvas fabric, casting long, angular shadows over her angular face. The cleric closed her eyes, her other senses becoming more acute as her mind no longer needed to process constant visual input. Hearing only the snapping and popping of the fire, the soft whistle of the late evening breeze, Delilah knelt in the grass. She reached out with her consciousness, feeling her way along the thread of faith that tied her to her goddess. At the end of the ethereal connection, however, she didn’t see the silver palace of her goddess’ abode in her mind’s eye as she usually did. Instead, there was a wall of amber flame before her, its blistering heat making her feel something far different from the typical calmness that she felt in the presence of her ivory goddess. Instead, she felt the slithering, twisting tongue of fiery desire. It was as if a wealth of angry passion lay beyond those flames, beckoning her to cross its burning threshold to see what dark, carnal pleasures might lay beyond.

Alarmed, Delilah’s eyes snapped open. She felt a bead of perspiration on her forehead, another running down each of her temples. She fanned herself for a moment, cooling herself off, before reaching up to wipe the moisture from her face. Her sculpted brows furrowed in confusion. Why was this happening? Why was she unable to reach her goddess?! Why did she find nothing but burning flame there instead?

It must have something to do with the monsters who had invaded her temple. They were blocking her from her goddess somehow. But if these flames were born of monsters, why did they have her feeling so… aroused.

Lost in thought, Delilah suddenly became aware that she was being watched. She whirled, her eyes shooting open, drawing the dagger at her belt even as she searched the darkness behind her for signs of movement.

But nothing was there.

She continued to scan the darkness for signs of movement but found none.

Her tense shoulders began to relax as she finished a slow, detailed surveillance of her surroundings. Her senses must have simply registered falsely. It happened sometimes. As she sheathed her dagger, however, she caught the hint of a scent. A floral scent, calming her frayed nerves and replacing her worries with a different sort of muted thrill.

Delilah knew that smell—it was the same one that she had detected in Loresse’s presence earlier that day!

The blonde cleric whirled again, marching straight for the campfire as her eyes cast about for her magic-wielding companion.

“Where’s Loresse?” asked Delilah, staring pointedly at Erikkan, placing her hands on her rounded hips.

He pointed to the young mage’s tent before taking a long draught from his water skin. “In there. She went to bed early tonight. I’m not surprised she’s tired. Not with the massive spells she was throwing at those goblins earlier.”

Delilah’s brows furrowed in confusion. She had been sure that Loresse had at least walked past her while she was meditating. The cleric crept stealthily toward the tents, not wanting to make a sound so that she could see whether the mage was truly asleep or simply pretending.

Delilah slipped her long fingers into the gap between the canvas flaps at the entrance to Loresse’s tent and slowly pulled one back. Loresse was inside, lying on her back, breathing softly in and out, clearly asleep.

Delilah let the flap of the tent fall back into place, thoughtful as she crept into her own tent for the night. She had been so sure she’d sensed the mage’s presence! Her goddess’ plight seemed to be playing all sorts of strange tricks on her mind these days...