Seleroan

Chapter 42.3

On reading the card, my first reaction was to scrub a very tired hand over my face and sigh.  I should have been absolutely livid.  And I would have save for one thing.

The skill was… good.  Like really fucking good.  With this one spell, Mia had nearly doubled my combat potential.

It was such an obvious pick, too!  Creating temporary minions?  I was a freaking Summoner!  It made perfect sense, but I had never even thought to ask. &nbs...

Chapter 42.2

That went over about as well as one might reasonably expect.  And being the subject of the ensuing, I felt my wisest move was to crawl under the bed and dig my way to safety.  However, lacking the necessary tools, I settled for the far less appealing option of holding very still and waiting for the lilim to return to sanity.

After all, how dare this Faen assume any right to me?  As an unbound whatever-she-was, her position within the hierarchy had already been fa...

Chapter 42.1 - An Ambition Revealed

This one is going to be broken up into 5 sub-chapters.

Also, just as an FYI, I will be opening up the all-in-one version of previous chapters to All Access Patrons once all sub-chapters have been released.  There isn't much need for them to be broken up like that in the backlog, and it makes the reading experience better for those who are catching up.

Thanks!

=========

Ha...

Chapter 42 - An Ambition Revealed

Have you ever seen one of those madcap comedies, like ‘It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World’ or ‘What’s up, Doc?’  If not, I would highly recommend them.  Great fun.

Their plots tend to revolve around a confusing series of disparate yet intertwined events involving lots of characters all striving towards some sort of MacGuffin.  Then, inevitably, it all sort of blows up at...

Chapter 41.4

For some while after, we lay there panting, just enjoying the afterglow. I had collapsed listlessly over top of her, but she did not utter a peep of complaint. She seemed content to let me enjoy her softness… though as often happened when we coupled, she had yet to release me, so I would not have been able to move even if I had wanted.

It was probably for the best. I was still feeling a dull ache down there, and my post-coital softening had reversed course way too soon. Usual...

Chapter 41.3

Torpor released me gradually, awakening dormant muscles one at a time. First a toe. Then a leg.

Faded remnants of dreams danced behind my eyelids while I waited. Endless hallways. A ghost town. That one heist thing in Ecuador, but where all the money had been replaced by chewing gum.

That had been weird. But pretty cool.

Especially once Arx had shown up out of absolutely nowhere to start kicking everyone’s ass. The ending in particular still stood out for me. It had been s...

Chapter 41.2

“Doubt all you like. I’m going in,” Arx announced, heedless.

Mia shifted her gaze from the woman’s receding form to the base of the tree. A couple of roots had twisted about an old outgrowth that had since rotted away, leaving a hole in its wake. It was just large enough to allow a person inside without difficulty, though she noticed Arx having to duck. Those horns certainly lent a great deal to the woman’s statuesque appearance, but they were not without their inconveniences....

Chapter 41 - Dreams and Dreamers

“‘Stits…” Arx swore under her breath as she gazed upward.

“Thank you,” Mia replied absently, her own eyes parallel to the Do-lilim’s.

For a moment, Arx continued staring up at the giant tree. It was as big around as a house and looked like it had once been tall enough to stretch to the clouds. However, it seemed to have rotted through and broken at some point, leaving only t...

Chapter 41.1 - Dreams and Dreamers

“‘Stits…” Arx swore under her breath as she gazed upward.

“Thank you,” Mia replied absently, her own eyes parallel to the Do-lilim’s.

For a moment, Arx continued staring up at the giant tree. It was as big around as a house and looked like it had once been tall enough to stretch to the clouds. However, it seemed to have rotted through and broken at some point, lea...

Chapter 40.5 - Merging

“Oh, that’s just perfect,” she exclaimed.  “And where did you come from?  Huh?  Answer me!”

The hole could not do much more than be a hole, but it certainly gave the impression that it wanted to shrink from her outrage.  None of this was its fault, it seemed to complain.

To one side, a pile of fresh bricks took the inopportune moment to emerge from the floor, complete with a bucket of freshly mixed cement.  A shiny, new trowel h...

Chapter 40.4 - Merging

Keeping my face carefully neutral, I lifted my hand and extended it toward her, fully intending to stop before anything happened.  However, when I saw the look in her eyes… the slight hitch in her breath, the way her shoulders bunched together, her lips parting in anticipation, somehow I forgot I was only pretending.

As gently as caressing a flower petal, I traced my finger across her cheek and drew a lock of hair over her pointed ear.

“As you wish,” I murmured softly�...

Chapter 40.3 - Merging

My vision swam for a few moments as I reoriented myself.  The last thing I remembered, I had been tackled to the ground by an extremely enthusiastic—and exceedingly topless—Jax.

I swear… one of these days, those girls are going to get me lynched.

Slowly, I spun on a heel just to take in my surroundings.  Though vaguely familiar, there was not much to look at.  It was just a room like you might find in any office building.  Drop ...

Chapter 40.2

As promised, here is chapter 40, part 2.  It should have released on Monday, 12am CST.  (If you are a VIP, ignore this.  You've read it already.)  Again, sorry to everyone else, but you did vote for this.  I can't think of a better way to maintain a set schedule.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

The three of us burst through the door at practically the same moment, a cloud of dust at our heels.  The wooden portal ...

Chapter 40 - Merging

Congratulations VIP Members!  This here is the complete post of Chapter 40 as an exclusive all-in-one package.  Your VIP-ness is finally rewarding you with something besides my gratitude.

So, what's the schedule going to be like for you guys?  Well, I could continue to just post these whenever they're ready.  Or (and I think this is slightly more fair for everyone else) I could post them whenever the first section goes live for All-access.

This is a trial run, ...