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Audiobook Release | Kane's Fate 3: Weretiger Legend of Meloria Academy

The Kane's Fate 3 audiobook is in your BF library ABLs.  For everyone else, pick it up on my website or on Audiobook Guild

Overview

Life as the prophesied white tiger shifter is never boring.

I’m constantly either fending off women, defending my school, or researching the Atroba, the evil terrorist cult hellbent on destroying the magical world as we know it.

Not to mention traveling all over the world to find more answers to this prophecy I’m a part of.

But with my friends and girlfriends at my side, we’ll save the magical populace from any and every threat.

Narration by: Robert L. Bradvica, Alyssa Poon
Length: 6 Hours, 26 Minutes

Werepanther Paranormal Hunter 7 Cover poll!

Arena Road: Collect and Train Warrior Women map!

I heard you guys like maps.

Arena Road: Collect and Train Warrior Women NSFW covers!

Yummm.

Arena Road: Collect and Train Warrior Women is out now!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B1LRDG8P

Court of the Shifter 5 cover poll

Artist is going to take the summer off, so I need to get this one and the next one done early.

Audiobook Release | Monster Girl Islands 13

Monster Girl Islands 13 audiobook is in your BF library ABLs.  For everyone else, pick it up on my website or on Audiobook Guild

Overview

Ben and his growing empire of monster warrior women have celebrated yet another victory, but if they are going to win this war against the orcs, they need to change the game. And to do that will require Ben convincing twenty-six different dragons to join their cause and fight against the orcs.

But first Ben has to make sure the Council of Dragons doesn’t kill him.

Narration by: Alyssa Poon, Robert L. Bradvica
Length: 7 Hours, 27 Minutes

Arena Road Chapter 4

“The woman is my property,” the hawk-nosed man sneered, and the grip of his hand tightened visibly again. “I’ll do as I please with her. Unless you mean to fight me for her?”

His voice was oozing sarcasm when he asked the question, and one of his perfectly arched brows twitched upward to accentuate his mocking expression.

“Sure,” I said with an easy smile. “I’ve got time.”

The man’s expression of arrogant composure flickered slightly, but he recovered himself quickly.

“How bold of you,” he said in a sardonic tone. He was clearly trying to seem bored and unbothered. “Very well. Choose your weapon. But choose wisely.”

He didn’t elaborate on this statement. He just gave me a cryptic, Cheshire Cat smile that was probably meant to unnerve me.

I shrugged carelessly. “Any weapon.”

The hook-nose man shoved the woman down by the throat, and I didn’t bother to maintain my own placid expression anymore as the fury uncoiled in my chest.

I let my face grimace. There was no need for me to tell him aloud that that was the last time he would lay a hand on her. If it were physically possible to melt someone with a glance, that bastard would be a puddle on the ground by now, and he knew it.

He sent me another smug little smile as he strode up to stand at the ready and wait for me to do the same. The crowd around seemed to realize all at once that shit was actually about to hit the fan, and they scattered like flies to stand further back and give us some room.

While this was happening, the hawk-nosed man casually slipped out a blade that was mostly cleaver-like, but with a weird, sweeping curve at the end that made it look uncomfortably like some fancy sort of guthook knife. The cutting edge of the blade was deeply serrated, too. This was clearly a weapon specialized for dueling to kill, and to do it in the most gruesome way imaginable.

The man intended to literally hook my guts out.

“Good luck, jackass,” I said under my breath, and I reached into my jacket to wrap my fingers around the grip of my gun.

I had to chuckle a little as I thought of the fact that I was dueling with this gun. Yes, my Smith and Wesson revolver was a hell of a lot better than the crude, Ye-Olde revolvers used for duels back in eighteenth century England, but it still seemed almost poetic that this was the weapon I had brought to a duel. Even if it was in another world, up against a smug, pompous son of a bitch wielding a butcher’s knife. Even chambered in .38 special, my little J-frame should take care of him easily.

Something about my inaudible mumbled comment and laughter seemed to make the man suspicious.

“What did you say?” he demanded, and his face showed a true undisguised scowl toward me for the first time.

I deliberated for a second. Then I gave him another smile. This one was slow and cold, and I did my best to send chills down the fucker’s spine.

“I was saying a prayer,” I finally replied. Then, after a short pause for suspense, I added, “For you.”

His ugly scowl deepened, and he seemed impatient now as I took my time in walking up to take my place in front of him. I had to struggle not to laugh again despite the seriousness of the situation.

“We duel to kill,” he said in a sharp, belligerent tone that dared me to contradict him.

I allowed my smile to widen. “Of course.”

His ugly expression remained while he gave me a short little bow. Judging by his face, the move clearly wasn’t made out of respect, and he seemed to be waiting for me to reciprocate, so I did the same.

As soon as I straightened up, the man bull-rushed me with his hooked blade in hand.

He was fast as hell, I’d grant him that, but the crude simplicity of the move still made me want to snort with laughter. There was no time to snort, though. I had to focus. My trusty little revolver would take care of this fucker just fine as long as I wasn’t careless.

My boots skidded slightly over the stone ground as I skipped to the side. Then I turned, raised a foot, and sent a sharp kick into the back of the man’s leg.

He cursed and stumbled to one knee.

Before he could rise, I raised my revolver, aimed, and shot him point-blank in the back of the head, execution style.

The little revolver only kicked slightly in my hand, and I was ready for it. I was also ready enough for the flash and bang that I didn’t really flinch from it, although it was far from pleasant for my ears to start ringing like hell. But like I had expected, no one in this place seemed prepared for it.

Every single one of them ducked and cowered in a single flurry of motion.

Soon, most of them realized that their doom probably wasn’t impending, and they started to straighten up. By the time they did, the hook-nosed man had already thudded limply to the ground. The silence that had fallen was so complete that the sound of his landing seemed to ring in my ears almost as loudly as the revolver’s bang.

I glanced around at the crowd to see if any of them seemed inclined to retaliate on the dead man’s behalf.

No one took a step toward me, but a wave of muttering ran through the whole crowd. The sound reminded me ominously of a hive of bees, and I decided it would be best to leave as soon as I could.

But first I looked around for the black-haired fighter to see how she was taking all this. She was already rushing toward me, and her expression seemed torn between shock and urgency. Her long, slender fingers were trembling visibly as they reached up to clench into my forearm.

“We must go,” she urged as she gave my arm a shake. From the way she raised her voice, it seemed like her ears were ringing, but she was recovering well, all things considered. “Keep your strange magic weapon ready.”

The look she cast down at the revolver was extremely unnerved, but she didn’t seem at all worried that I was about to turn it on her. My first response to this was a relief that was tinged with surprise. After all, I was just some stranger who had strode into her city with a terrifying deadly weapon and used it to kill… whoever the hell that guy was to her.

But all these thoughts fled my mind when I took in the appearance of the woman’s eyes up close.

Their color wasn’t quite the same in any one place. I saw shades of smoldering honey, orange, and red in her irises. And what was even more fascinating was that the colors didn’t seem to stay still, other than the whites of her eyes and her pupils. Those remained a color of deep, burnished bronze while the colors in her irises shifted around.

I couldn’t help but continue to stare into her mesmerizing eyes. She returned my gaze for only a moment before she shook my arm again.

“Be ready,” she repeated.

Then she hurried a short distance away from me and knelt by the dead man. My eyebrows shot up as I tried to anticipate her next move. Was she going to spit on his corpse or say a prayer for the bastard? I couldn’t quite tell.

But she did neither of those things. Instead, she knelt and fumbled with something on his belt for a second before she straightened up and came back to me at a pace that was rushed, but not quite a run.

She pressed something into my hand that was small and soft, but clinked and clattered slightly with every movement. I stared down at it and saw that it was a little velvet drawstring pouch.

I frowned in confusion and raised the pouch in my hand. “What exactly is thi—”

“Take it,” she said in a hushed voice. Her hands fluttered at me in a nervous, hurried gesture.

I nodded slowly and slipped the little pouch into the roomy zippered pocket of my jacket.

Then she pressed something else into my hand. It was a thick gold ring studded with what looked like emeralds and black diamonds. I looked back up at her with my mouth slightly open.

But she didn’t wait for me to speak.

She just latched onto my arm again and whispered, “Come.”

I cast another appraising glance around at the crowd as I allowed the woman to pull me along. The muttering was growing slowly in volume, and the people were stirring now and starting to mill around. No one moved to approach me yet, but I saw several angry fingers point in my direction.

My revolver definitely wasn’t up to taking on a whole crowd of people, and even if it could, I had no desire to fire at anyone else in the city. I had just wanted to take that motherfucker down.

And I had.

So I matched the black-haired woman’s hurried pace out of the stadium. I was four or five inches taller, but her long legs still managed to take the stone stairs two at a time. I did the same. She seemed determined to plow a path through the crowd herself, so I followed through the gap she left behind. I couldn’t help but feel impressed at the way she barged through them all like a little bulldozer despite her slender frame.

Once we got to the top of the stadium’s stairs, she halted me again with a hand on my arm. As soon as she had my attention, she pressed her whip and slender sword belt into my grip.

I was completely confused and figured I either had to drop them or take them, so I tucked the weapons under my arm and took the lead at a run. She followed me without hesitation down the wide cobbled road, and then I headed for the similar street that skirted the edge of the city.

As we ran, I found myself wondering how exactly I was going to broach the subject of where she’d be going next. Did she want to leave with me?

I felt a little thrill at the thought, but I quickly stifled it. We had hardly even spoken. I couldn’t just presume she was going to come along with me when I left the city. This was her home, and I was a complete stranger.

From another world.

Whatever happened, I was determined to see her somewhere safe, whether it was with me or somewhere in this city.

The sudden sound of footsteps coming up behind us made me grab for my revolver again, and I glanced back to see about seven people in ragged clothes right on my heels.

My movement caught the black-haired woman’s eye immediately. Her red-gold eyes widened as she looked my way, and she shook her head frantically. For the first time, she seemed slightly afraid of me.

“They belong to you now,” she said in a worried tone. She was hardly even panting despite the breakneck pace, although her voice jolted slightly with every step. “Why would you kill them?”

“What… do you mean… I own them?” I was panting slightly. I couldn’t even remember the last time I’d been able to go to a gym, much less do any sort of cardio. I had been on the road too much.

The woman didn’t respond right away. We were just rounding the curve in the main road that told me we were near the place where I had climbed in over the wall. Once we got there, I grasped her upper arm briefly to pull her to a stop, but I released my grip as soon as I did and then swayed slightly for a moment as the group of people on my heels collided with me one by one like a seven-car pileup.

Most caught their balance, but one of them teetered on the edge of tumbling to the ground. It was a white-haired woman in a long tartan dress who was built like a tea kettle.

My arm automatically shot out to steady her, and she sent me a grateful look with her sharp hazel eyes once she righted herself. But then the expression changed to confusion, and I saw it reflected on the face of the other six people who had just crashed into me.

The black-haired woman seemed similarly confused, and I tried not to get lost in her fiery eyes as she spoke to me again.

“Where will you take us?” she asked, and she looked around like I might live in one of the ramshackle buildings around us. “Where is your home?”

“I’m not exactly from around here.” I cast an uncomfortable look around. “And what did you mean when you said they belong to me? What were you talking about?”

“Your slaves, of course,” she said impatiently, and my eyes bulged out of my head.

“What?” I blurted out. “I don’t have slaves, I didn’t come here with slaves. How the… what?”

The woman waved my confusion away. “If you don’t live in the main city, then where is your home? In the Emerald Wood?”

I shook my head. “I came from outside the walls.”

“Outside…?” Her golden-bronze skin paled slightly.

“Well, yeah,” I replied, and now I was feeling a little impatient myself. I got back to the topic at hand and tried to put more emphasis into my voice this time. “I don’t want slaves. I’ve never wanted slaves, that’s… so fucked up. You’re all free now.”

The group of people was staring at me like I had just told them they were all fire-breathing dragons, so I went on.

“I mean it,” I insisted. Then I paused. “Well… If anyone wants to come with me, er, as free men, or women, then you’re welcome to. But I’m leaving the walls. Now. And I don’t want slaves.”

They all continued to stare at me like I was speaking in tongues. Then finally, the white-haired woman took off. Her dark shoes flashed out from under her floor-length tartan dress as she scurried over the cobbles and into the tunneled paths of the city. The rest of the group scattered immediately after her and sprinted off into the night.

Except for the black-haired fighter. She stayed with me. She didn’t speak, but she was looking at me steadily with her hypnotic eyes, and I couldn’t quite understand the expression in them. All I knew was that they seemed to smolder with the light of the sunrise that I knew would light the sky very soon, and I had to force myself to focus again. I was determined to be out of this city before sunrise.

“So,” I said as lightly as possible. “Are you coming with me?”

I didn’t want her to feel pressured to abandon her home, so I tried to seem as casual as I could, like it was all the same to me, and I forced myself to glance away from her. Never mind the fact that I felt like I’d be happy staring into those shifting red-gold eyes for all eternity.

After a second or two, I allowed myself to look back at her, and I realized it seemed like her pause was from sheer disbelief, not reluctance.

“Of course I will go with you,” she said at last. Her tone was quizzical, like she’d just been asked if the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. “I will go wherever you tell me to. You own me now.”

I blinked at this statement, and the cogs in my brain seemed to stop working momentarily.

I owned her? A human being?

What the actual fuck was going on?

“But I don’t want to… to own you,” I explained earnestly. “I want you to be free to do what you want, and go wherever you choose to. You know, like… a person. I just… I saw that asshole treating you like shit, and I couldn’t let him get away with it.”

She was still staring at me almost uncomprehendingly. I couldn’t tell if she thought I was a lunatic or not, so I hurried to amend my statement.

“I would be more than happy to take you with me,” I added. “I’m not trying to own anyone, though, I don’t even know what would make you think I did? I can tell you that I would never hurt you like that asshole in the arena did. But you don’t have to come with me if that’s not what you want.”

I tried to inject as much emphasis as possible into my last statement, to show her I meant my words. But she just shook her head, like the idea was ludicrous to her.

“I will go with you,” she repeated.

“We might not be able to come back,” I warned her. “Not just to this city, but to… well, anywhere in this entire world. I didn’t exactly come here on purpose, and I’m not sure how the portal thing works yet.”

I knew this was probably a hell of a lot for her to take in on the fly, but it was almost to the point of now or never. I could have sworn I heard voices shouting in the distance, although I couldn’t see anyone approaching yet in the light of the lanterns. I wanted her to understand what she was agreeing to, but I also needed to get the hell out of this place before some kind of mob came chasing after me. I didn’t really have time to launch into a full explanation of exactly how I got here and where I’d come from.

Suddenly I realized that the lantern light was accompanied by an ever-so-faint, pearly predawn glow in the sky, and I looked back at the woman’s fiery eyes to see her response.

“I…” She hesitated. “I will go with you, for now. Until you are sure about this… portal.”

“Okay, then,” I finally said, with a conscious effort not to sound thrilled at the prospect. “Let’s go.”

I was going to offer her a leg up to reach the plants that hung overhead from the wall, but she had already leaped up with her ponytail flying behind her. She deftly snatched onto one of the vines and then paused to look down with her fiery eyes and make sure I was following.

I jumped up beside her as I struggled a bit to keep her whip and sword in my grip, and we both scrambled up the latticework of vines, then down the other side.

The need to sprint was gone, but I still didn’t want to loiter around too close to the city walls. So I took off at a brisk lope, and the black-haired woman stuck by my side as we headed toward my truck.

I moved to pass her her weapons back, but she shook her head and nudged them back toward me. Then I nodded and shrugged, because I definitely didn’t mind holding things for a woman as impressive and downright gorgeous as her.

Even if it seemed more normal to hold a handbag rather than a whip and a shitty sword.

“So,” I began. “It sounded like that gargoyle thing called you the… In-doo-yah…? Is that your uh… race? Or your name?”

I was always careful with learning new names, because butchering pronunciations was something I sort of struggled with. Maybe it was because I grew up in a family and town full of Johns, Joes, Marys, and Margarets.

I wasn’t sure whether “Induya” was the black-haired fighter’s name or what, but either way I wanted to respect it, so I watched her face while I said it. She nodded as soon as I finished, and I even thought I saw a small smile play off her lips for a second. But the next second, it was gone, and she was responding to me in the same serious tone that she had used in our earlier interaction.

“Induya is my name,” she acknowledged. “But I am called ‘the Induya’ by most, to indicate my… my status, as a fighter.”

I frowned slightly. “So, it’s like calling someone ‘sir’ or ‘ma’am?’’”

“No,” she said in a matter-of-fact voice.  “‘Sir’ and ‘madam’ are signs of respect, like ‘lord’ or ‘lady.’ They are courtesies. But fighters are not given courtesies. We are given these fighting titles.”

“Titles…” I said slowly. “I guess that… makes sense?”

“Hmmm.” She glanced at me briefly. “You do not sound as if this makes sense to you.”

“True,” I chuckled. “I understand the concept of a title, of course. It’s just that adding ‘the’ doesn’t really sound like a title of honor? It sounds sort of like those people who say ‘fetch the child and bring it here,’ rather than ‘bring my daughter here.’”

“Yes.” Induya offered a frank nod. “This is what the title signifies. So you do understand.”

I raised my eyebrows and wasn’t quite sure how to react to this bizarre-sounding concept. The woman beside me was easily the most beautiful person I’d ever laid eyes on. Just being near her made me feel like standing up straighter and making sure my shirt didn’t have Pepsi or fry grease on it. And the way she carried herself proved she was a hell of a woman, even without knowing anything about her.

So something about her so-called “title,” rubbed me the wrong way. It made her seem like an object, or something not quite human.

It made her seem like something who was meant to be owned.

I swallowed hard and tried to discreetly look at her, and I found her expression completely unaffected by our conversation. Which only concerned me more.

What the hell was the deal with the customs in this world?

“Well, I’m going to call you Induya, alright?” I asked.

The woman whipped her head toward me with wide eyes. “That is not my title. My title is the Indu–”

“I know,” I quickly assured her. “But I’d prefer to not use titles between the two of us.”

Induya narrowed her hypnotic eyes at me, and I nearly tripped over my own boots as I stared back at her. Then she swiftly looked forward, and she only offered a small nod of acknowledgement.

I decided to try and keep the introductions rolling, even as my mind grappled to understand all the strangeness here.

“I’m John,” I said without any flare.

“John,” she repeated in a quiet voice. “Your name is strange.”

I snorted at what I assumed was a joke, but when she didn’t laugh as well, I frowned.

No one in the world thought “John” was anything but plain.

Then again, I wasn’t in my world anymore.

“Uhh… thanks,” I said with a shrug.

Then we fell into silence again.

I felt like a nervous teenager, and it vexed me. I was normally good at talking to people when I needed to be, but suddenly I seemed to have forgotten how to.

We were about halfway to my truck, and the blazing coral edge of the morning sun now peeked over the flat, empty horizon. It cast a soft pink glow over the whole desert, and for the first time, Spitfire became visible as more than just a big rectangular shadow ahead.

At this point, Induya came to an abrupt halt. I stopped and looked back at her questioningly. She was staring at the truck with her normally solemn-looking mouth open in a cute little “o” of surprise that made me smile to myself.

I quickly straightened my face as she turned back to me with a look of awe in her red-gold eyes. They were more radiant than the sun, and I turned to face forward again so I wouldn’t be caught staring as I continued toward the truck at a brisk walk.

Induya caught up with me and kept pace. After a few seconds, she spoke again.

“John.” She said my name carefully, almost like she was worried about tripping up on the one syllable just like I had worried with her own name. “You came here in your… war chariot?”

I opened my mouth, then closed it again and smiled.

“Yeah,” I chuckled. “Something like that. But I just call her my truck.”

“Which city did you come from?” she asked. “And… Where are your horses? Or your gorsicans?”

I immediately made a mental note to ask later what the hell a gorsican was, but for now I pondered how to answer her first question.

Her voice sounded intensely curious. It made me think I had been right in my earlier guess that the city didn’t get many visitors—or any at all.

I hesitated. “I came from a city… very far from here.”

In response, she just stared at me with a furrow in the smooth, golden-bronze skin of her forehead, so I thought I should explain more.

“A city in a different world,” I clarified, even as I realized how crazy I sounded. “My world is called Earth.”

Induya’s face seemed determined to remain stoic. Her jaw locked shut, and only the flaring of her hypnotic eyes gave any indication that she was shocked by my statement. It was almost cute watching her try to swallow that information without being affected.

I was admittedly impressed with how well she pulled it off.

She also seemed determined not to ask a single follow up question, so I tried to contain my smirk and nodded.

“Yeah, so…” I cleared my throat. “Here we are, anyway.”

We had arrived at the truck. I hurried to unlock it and opened the passenger door, and then I started lobbing things off the seat into the back of the cab as fast as I could. There was already a mess from earlier. I was just moving the mess around.

When the seat was clear, I offered Induya a hand up into the truck to help her navigate the climb up to the high ledge to get in the door. She looked like she might decline and try a flying leap the way she had with the vine earlier, but then she seemed to reconsider.

Her hand didn’t shake this time when she reached out to grab the arm I was holding out. I found her face almost impossible to read at times other than the very obvious “what-the-hell-are-you-talking-about” expression I had seen several times on her already, so I was glad to see some tangible sign that she was doing alright. At least, compared to her earlier shock after I obliterated her asshole of a… whoever that guy was?

“Can I ask you something?” I asked once I had leveraged myself into the driver’s seat.

“You can do as you like,” she reminded me.

She was wearing that already-familiar stoic look on her face once again.

I frowned slightly at this, but asked my question anyway. “Who exactly was that guy? The one I killed.”

“My backer.” She seemed thrown off, like this information was supposed to be obvious to me somehow. “And now you have taken his place.”

“Your backer,” I repeated thoughtfully. I was about to put the key in the ignition, but then I realized it would probably scare the hell out of her, so I decided to finish my line of questioning first. “So, what, he wins money if you win a fight?”

Induya nodded in a matter-of-fact way, and I sat back in the seat for a second.

“What do you win?” I asked pointedly.

She sent me an odd sideways look with her fiery eyes.

“I win honor and glory.” She had her chin up when she said this, but then she paused, and a slightly sour look came over her face. “Or… That is what I am meant to do.”

Her voice was filled with bitterness, and it definitely sounded like she had something she wanted to get off her chest. But I didn’t prod her to go on. I just waited as she bit down on her lower lip like she was trying to find the right way to say something. Then she leaned her head back against the headrest and changed the subject on me.

“I do not know what your Earth land is like…” She stated this like she was fishing for details to a question she felt too proud to ask, and I smirked a little.

“It’s quite different,” I replied. “Explain your world to me, though. I’d like to hear about it.”

“You wish for me to speak to you more?” Induya looked at me with more confusion on her beautiful face than I’d seen yet. “You want me to speak my mind when not responding to a question?”

“Yes,” I said, and I couldn’t believe I actually had to clarify this.

My impression of this world was getting more and more unsettling by the minute.

“Tell me about this fighting stuff,” I urged.

“Well…” Induya thought for a moment. “Women fight to settle disagreements between people, and to earn wealth for those who own us.”

“So your backers genuinely… own you?” I couldn’t help but ask.

“You are my backer now,” she pointed out, and she gestured to her weapons where they sat in my lap. “You own me. This is a simple concept.”

I sighed and rubbed my jaw distractedly as I tried to figure out how to phrase my next question. Before I could get to that point, Induya glanced around at the land surrounding us and frowned.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“You have not told me where your beasts of burden are,” she said. “Perhaps you should call them out so we can cover some ground before the day grows hot. This desert is unforgivable, even at its coolest temperatures.”

“Good point,” I muttered. “Alright, well… Brace yourself. This is going to be loud.”

She gave me a resolute little nod and looked around expectantly while I put the key in the ignition and turned it.

Spitfire made a noise that seemed part-grumble and part-roar when she started. Sometimes she leaned more one way or the other, and this time it was definitely more of a roar.

Induya leaped about a foot off her seat, but she recovered herself quickly and sat back against the seat with a dignified air. But then her fiery eyes roved around the outside of the truck, and she glanced down at the rumbling floor of the cab below us.

“So… your beasts of burden are… under the chariot?” she finally asked. “Or is it magic?”

“Errmmm…” I debated how exactly to answer this question. “It’s not magic, exactly. There’s a machine called an engine below us. It… makes the truck move. Or, the chariot.”

I decided I would need to ruminate on how best to describe an engine in a world where there seemed to be no such thing.

But in the meantime, Induya’s fascinated gaze at me putting the truck into gear and turning the steering wheel was threatening to make me blush beet red, so I asked her another question to distract the both of us.

“So you said you’re meant to win honor and glory when you fight,” I picked back up on our conversation from before. “But you’re forced to do it on behalf of the backers instead?”

She scowled slightly. “I am not forced to. Women have always fought to bring wealth to the backers. A woman is nothing but a slave if she does not learn to fight and earn her place in an arena. Fighting is very honorable, John. It is the bad backers who have made it dishonorable. My opponent’s backer was one of them.”

I raised my eyebrows. “What about yours?”

The woman pursed her lips like she shouldn’t speak her mind on this one, and I softened my tone a bit.

“I asked you a question,” I gently pointed out. “I want to know what you think about things, Induya. Please, tell me?”

Induya let out a tense sigh, but then she nodded in agreement.

“Scum,” she said with calm directness. “He was vain and cruel, and dim-witted enough to make his own prize fighter the target of his outbursts.”

She tossed her hair as she made this statement, and I had no doubt she was referring to herself, probably accurately.

Then she went on. “But my opponent’s backer was no better. He took her out of her home in the water and sent her against me with a wooden stick. What honor does that bring either of us as fighters?”

She shook her head scornfully, and I couldn’t help but agree.

Then I remembered something.

“So that was why you didn’t wound her in the arena when you had the chance to?” I guessed. “Because it wasn’t a fair fight?”

Induya nodded. “A fight that isn’t won on even ground brings no honor. As princess, my mother and grandmother were some of the best f—”

“Wait a second,” I interrupted. I was fucking floored, and the truck swerved as I did a double-take. “You’re a princess? A real one?”

Induya shrugged and nodded again.

My eyes widened. “And they treated you that way?”

I was including the way her backer had seemed prepared to beat the shit out of her in this question, but when she responded, I got the impression she didn’t even care about that part as much as the rest of it.

“Yes.” Her voice sounded grim and almost sad. “I have always wanted a backer who would value me as a fighter. One I would be proud to bring riches to. But they are rare. I have not had a good backer since my father died. He was backer for my mother and I. And I have not seen her in years. She must be in another city by now. Or maybe… maybe she is gone, too.”

When I looked over at Induya, I was shocked to see that her fiery eyes had changed color completely. Now they looked like two pools of deep blue water with the sun playing across their surface. Shards of azure, cerulean, and sapphire swam around in her deep blue irises. Her dark bronze pupils and the whites of her eyes were the only thing that stayed the same.

I forced myself to focus on her words instead of her strange and shifting eye colors.

“I’m sorry, Induya,” I said quietly. I wanted badly to reach over and clasp her hand or even just give it a pat, but I felt like that might be presumptuous even if it hadn’t been such a long way across the cab. After a moment’s reflection, I continued. “Is it like this everywhere in your world? Is there nowhere where you would be allowed to fight like… like you want to?”

“I think it is like this everywhere,” she said as she toyed with a strand of her jet black ponytail. “But I have no way to know for sure. The oasis cities are all separated by the desert. It has gotten hotter and hotter over time, until no one could cross it. There used to be trading caravans, but so many of them didn’t come back…”

She raised one golden-skinned shoulder in a weary shrug.

My next comment fled my mind as a big, faded-blue object swam into view ahead.

“Trading caravans,” I repeated thoughtfully, and I downshifted and braked slightly as we approached the object. “You mean like those?”

Induya perked up in her seat and craned her neck to look past me at the caved-in blue wagon to our left.

“Yes, just like those.” She ran her eyes over the busted wagon with a wistful expression. Their vibrant blue of her irises made the wheeled contraption look more faded and shitty than ever in comparison.

Her gaze traveled back to the windshield, but then something outside the passenger window made her whip her head to the right.

“Gorsican,” she breathed.

I stepped on the brakes and turned to look incredulously at the dead many-legged beast that was now rotting in the sun, then at Induya.

“That’s a gorsican?” I asked with complete and utter bafflement.

I thought her eyes were shifting from blue back toward golden-red as she looked back at me, because there were slivers of violet, lavender, and indigo drifting around in them now, with these tiny flecks of red-gold that reminded me of sparks over a fire.

Then I realized she had been responding to me, and I had completely missed what she said as I got lost in her eyes.

I gave my head a brisk shake to clear it. “Hmm?”

“I said that gorsicans used to pull our wagons,” Induya repeated in a tone of utmost patience. “And I asked you if you saw this one from your chariot when you came to my city.”

“Oh, I saw it,” I said darkly as I thought of my gruesome battle with the creature.

“It has a cloth on it.” Induya sounded puzzled. “A… flag? Did you see that, too?”

“Flag?” I asked, and I leaned forward to get a better look. “Oh. That’s my shirt.”

She turned away from the many-legged gorsican beast with my flannel still hanging on its stinger and stared at me wordlessly, like she was waiting for me to say I was just kidding.

I didn’t. I just shrugged.

“Your shirt?” she finally echoed. Her eyes were back to red-gold now, and they narrowed slightly in suspicion or disbelief. “Why does the gorsican have your shirt?”

“Well, it’s not because he asked nicely for it, that’s for sure,” I grumbled. “The ugly bastard jumped on my truck when I was passing by. I had to take care of him with some pepper spray and a tire thumper.”

Induya’s face crinkled up in confusion, but I couldn’t tell if it was from my choice of weapons, which probably sounded like complete gibberish to her, or the idea of me doing battle with the gorsican beast.

But after some reflection, the princess seemed to decide she believed me.

“A worthy victory,” she said with another grave look at the creature. Then she turned back to me with a little smile. “But this gorsican is no ‘he,’ John.”

“It’s a female?” I asked with interest.

Induya nodded simply. “They eat their mates.”

“Oh, so… Praying mantis rules. Got it,” I chuckled, but as I coaxed Spitfire into motion again, something else occurred to me. “Okay, new question. How exactly did people tame those things enough to use them as draft animals?”

“It was before my time,” Induya explained. “But I know that the coachmen made sure the gorsicans were well-fed, so they had less urge to turn on people. And the coachmen had whips, of course.”

“Carrot and stick,” I said with a nod of understanding. “What, er, did people feed them, exactly?”

“Flesh,” she said promptly. “They hunger for almost anything that walks on two legs.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “Of course they do.”

Soon the smooth, iridescent white road came into view.

“I have heard of this road before,” the princess said in a soft voice. “The old trade road.”

This was one of the few times I thought I could easily read her tone. She sounded excited, and maybe a little afraid.

After a few seconds, she spoke again.

“John,” she said with an air of formality that was oddly endearing. “Can I ask you a question?”

I smiled partly at the way she mirrored my language, and partly just because I loved that she felt safe enough with me to ask a question without fear of being throttled.

“Fire away,” I answered.

Induya frowned at the statement, and I chuckled at how adorable the golden-skinned beauty was when she was genuinely confused.

“‘Fire away’ means ‘go for it,’” I clarified. “Ask me your question.”

“What will you do with your pouch of Lord Vath’s wealth?” she asked a little hesitantly. “I mean… Are there truly no fighters to back in your Earth land?”

My mouth fell open. Lord Vath must have been the fatheaded man I’d shot back in the city. I had assumed the little velvet pouch just held some of those weird lumpy coins inside, or maybe some other kind of trinkets that would be useless back home. Beyond that, I had almost forgotten about it in light of everything else I was learning from Induya.

“Well…” I tried to decide which part to address first. “What exactly do you mean when you say ‘wealth?’”

“His gems,” she explained. “Backers always carry their wealth with them in pouches, and Lord Vath was a rich man compared to most backers in the city. His wealth is now yours since you won your duel against him.”

My heart sped up slightly at the idea that I might have a little sack of precious gems on me right this second.

I’d never held genuine gems before in my life.

I had no idea how much there could really be in so small of a pouch, and calling anyone rich in a city as run down as the one I’d just come from seemed questionable, but anything was better than nothing.

On the other hand, would gems from this world actually be worth something back home?

“I’ll need to take a look at them,” I said thoughtfully, and I tugged open the zipper of my coat pocket. “Here, will you check?”

Then I took the pouch out of it and handed it over to the princess, and she reached out to take it. Her long-fingered hands felt warmer than before as they brushed against my own.

“You… wish for me to view your own private wealth?” she asked uneasily. “John, a warrior is not permitted to–”

“You’re permitted,” I cut in and nodded toward the pouch in her hands. “Go on, open it up.”

The contents of the pouch clinked against each other as Induya poured them into her hand. When I glanced over, I saw a little pile of gemstones sitting on her palm. The rising sun gleamed off them and cast little panels of colorful light onto the princess’ smooth golden skin as she held them up for me to see.

My mind started to race, partly at the realization that these jewels actually looked valuable, and partly at the sight of the princess’ shifting red-gold eyes watching me.

I’d need to get used to that.

She looked extremely uneasy as she held the gems in her palm, and I got the impression women really weren’t allowed to touch the “riches” of this world. Even though it was their blood and sweat that earned these very gems for backers like the dead asshole in that arena.

But she looked so beautiful with the glinting of the gems dancing on her face. I instantly wanted to cover her in jewels to do justice to how stunning she was, and maybe even put a crown or something on her head.

She was a princess, after all.

Or I could just buy her some decent clothes and feed her better than her old backer had to start. I could make sure she was genuinely taken care of for once. Anything would be better than how I’d found her. And with these gems in my posession, my financial options seemed to be opening up just a little more.

Maybe.

I let out a measured breath as I put aside the thought of getting the jewels appraised for now so I could answer Induya’s other questions.

“There aren’t exactly fighters to back on Earth,” I said. “Well… There sort of are, but it’s absolutely nothing like the way things are here.”

The princess’ expression looked crestfallen when I glanced over at her again. She hurried to turn her face down and look at the pouch while she carefully replaced the jewels in it, but I was sure I caught a gleam of blue in her mesmerizing eyes first.

An idea slowly started to take shape in my mind. It didn’t feel entirely real yet. It still seemed as tenuous and unsolid as the portal’s fog that we would drive through soon, but it was an idea that made my heart rate speed up more.

I took a moment to get my thoughts in order so I could put them into words.

“You said the other oasis cities are like yours, right?” I questioned.

“From what I know, they are,” Induya acknowledged. “But there is no way to know for certain, unless…”

“Unless we go there,” I finished in a musing tone.

Going to the oasis city we were just leaving had proven an easy task in my truck. Assuming my trip through the foggy portal hadn’t been a one-time thing, I could easily cross further over the desert to look for more cities on another trip later as long as I made sure to fill up on gas first.

But that would be a pretty big assumption to make, considering I needed to make sure I could even return home through the portal in the first place.

Still, the idea started to take form more clearly in my head. When the fog came into view on the road far ahead and confirmed that the portal was still there, my heart leaped in my chest.

“So…” I took another glance over at the princess’ downcast face, and I slowed the truck’s pace a bit. “Like I said, I’m not completely sure if I can just go back and forth through this portal thing. But as I see it, there are three options right now. Option one is that I can’t come back. So, uh, you’d sort of be staying in my world, Earth, with me. I would take good care of you, but I would be lying if I said it was much like this place.”

When I looked over again, her face was still guarded, but she gave a little nod, like she was willing to hear me out, so I continued.

“Option two is that, uh…” I hesitated, then decided to just go ahead and say it. “We die. I mean, I don’t think that’ll happen, but again, this was my first time going through the portal. I just thought I should put all the cards on the table, or whatever.”

The princess’ eyes narrowed slightly, and I wasn’t sure if it was the prospect of dying or because “cards on the table” sounded like something absurd to her.

“I am brave enough to enter the fog,” she finally said with a proud lift of her chin. She hesitated for only a moment before she went on. “What is… option three?”

“Option three is that we’re able to return through the portal,” I said, and I kept my voice calm as I tried not to get ahead of myself. “Again, that’s not a sure thing. But if it is, then… well, would you like to go fight in other cities?”

She didn’t respond right away, so I hurried to add onto my statement.

“I would back you,” I assured her. “If that’s what you wanted, I mean. And… I would never hurt you like that Lord Vath asshole. Anyone who ever tries to lay a hand on you again can join him in hell.”

I made the remark in the same slightly offhanded tone of voice that I generally talked in, but I wasn’t kidding around about protecting her.

Her face went blank for a few seconds, and I couldn’t tell if it was from surprise or dislike for the whole idea. Still, I didn’t prod her. I just let her think about it while we cruised down the smooth white road toward the swirling fog.

“I am yours now,” she reminded me for what felt like the umpteenth time. But her voice got softer when she went on, and there was another rare note of shyness in it. “And I will go with you through the portal to your Earth land, even if we may not return. But since you ask… Yes, I would like to fight in other cities. This is my greatest dream, and I would like to fight with you as my backer and earn more riches for you… John.”

The solemn way she said my name made me grin again even before the excitement of the idea set in more.

We were about to drive through the glittery, glowing fog that had gotten me here. Back to Earth, where I would hopefully be able to get a nice little chunk of cash from Lord Vath’s jewels if they were even half as valuable as they looked.

But now, that cash seemed like it could be spent in an even better way than covering the golden-skinned beauty in finery fit for a princess.

I could load her down with weapons instead.

The cash I made could be used to buy weapons for Induya that would be far superior to the wooden weapons and the shitty black metal I had just seen fighters use in the arena.

I could buy new weapons for myself, too, I suddenly realized. I’d have to make sure not to go overboard and blow all my cash at once, but I was sure I’d be able to get myself a better gun at the very least.

My little old revolver had been enough to extinguish that Vath asshole with ease. If the other cities were anything like this one, I would be unstoppable walking in there with myself and this badass warrior princess both armed to the teeth.

And we would leave with more gems.

Gems that I could turn into more cash.

My dream of buying Spitfire suddenly seemed like it was within my grasp, and so did a whirlwind of other ideas that were just as exciting. I could have a life of adventure that I had never even imagined was possible outside my audiobooks.

And the stunning princess in my passenger seat would share it with me. Not only that, but she looked excited about it when I glanced back over at her. She was watching my face again with an almost eager expression, and her eyes were glittering with different colors like two mesmerizing prisms. I almost felt like I was looking at the sun with my naked eyes, and I had to turn away before I could find my words again.

“Let’s do it, Indy,” I said, and I smirked as the nickname rolled effortlessly off my tongue.

I saw her do a double-take in the corner of my eye, and I turned hurriedly to apologize before we got closer to the swirling fog ahead. Not everyone was a fan of nicknames, and this was a princess I was talking to, after all.

When I looked over, there was a little smile playing around her lips. The same one I had glimpsed for a second in our conversation earlier.

I smiled back and then turned forward once more.

Then we drove into the swirling fog, and Indy gasped as her hand suddenly shot out to grip my arm. The fog started to glitter and dance around madly in my vision again, but this time I was ready for it, and I reached up to pat the black-haired woman’s hand where it clutched me for support.

“Don’t worry,” I said as the portal consumed us. “This is gonna be fun. Probably. And I won’t let anything hurt you.”

I could have sworn I felt her grip relax ever so slightly beneath my palm, but she didn’t remove it just yet.

Excitement about the prospect of being able to come back to the desert world and carry out my plan coursed through me as we bumped down onto the gray road just past where I’d been driving last night.

The sun was in the same place in the sky as it had been in the world we just left.

Next to me, the princess’ red-gold eyes were wide and shocked. I had prepared her as much as possible for this on short notice, but I knew the sight of Earth must have stunned her almost as much as driving into the strange desert-world had stunned me. But she slowly withdrew her arm when she saw that the swirling chaos was over. I focused on the road and gave her some time to regain her composure.

Then a weird, wobbly feeling ran through my body that reminded me of returning to land after spending a long time on a ship, like I was regaining my sense of balance, or gravity, or something.

Just in time. I got my bearings quickly and realized we were rolling towards an on-ramp to the freeway, just past where I had disappeared into the fog last night. On my dashboard, the GPS flickered back into life.

It was in my rearview mirrors now, white and swirling innocently around just like it had been before.

There was a way to confirm whether or not I could pass through the portal again. I just had to act quickly.

“Hold on to your hat,” I said.

From the princess’ silence, I realized this expression probably made no sense to her, but it seemed like the warning tone of my voice was universal, because in the corner of my eye I could see that her hand shot out like she was going to grip my arm again. Then she froze in the middle of the motion and slowly drew her arm back to clutch the base of her seatbelt.

I checked all my mirrors in quick succession and craned my neck around. The area was still deserted. So I cranked the wheel as quickly as I dared to the left and thanked the damn heavens for Spitfire’s tight turn radius as we wheeled around.

If I’d been going faster, I wouldn’t have tried such a tight turn even in a cabover, but as it was, my old clunker handled it just fine. Soon we were rolling back toward the fog in the opposite lane.

The calm, stoic-faced princess let out a small squeak as we headed back into the fog. It happened just like before. The fog started to glow and glitter while it swirled furiously around us, and the feeling of weightlessness gripped me again.

And then, suddenly, Spitfire’s tires bumped onto the ground again.

We were back in the desert.

“Hell yeah,” I whooped as I took in the scene. It was the same scenery we’d left behind, and again the sun was in the same spot in the sky.

Now that I had confirmed the fact that we could pass through the portal again, I didn’t intend to stay here any longer. At least not yet.

So after we drove a short distance down the smooth, glossy white road, I turned the truck around again. I took it at a more purposeful pace this time since I had more notice, and I was sort of proud that I managed to wheel the old clunker around while staying on the smooth desert road.

“Ready?” I asked the princess as we approached the fog again.

She seemed to realize this was a sort of a rhetorical question, but she gave a brave little nod anyway. Soon we were hurtling through the glowing fog again.

When we bumped back down on the gray road again, I was fucking exhilarated, and it seemed like Indy was feeling the same, even if she tried not to show it too much. I could sense her excitement at the idea of going back to fight in the desert again later.

The surrounding area seemed as empty as ever and I was pretty sure by now that this mysterious exit was somewhere that couldn’t be accessed by anyone else, but I still took the time to check in every direction again before I changed direction. This time I pulled into the grassy abandoned parking lot where I had stopped briefly last night. It was on the corner of the little road, and it had two entrances. Thankfully, one of them led near the crossroad of what I now thought of as “Foggy Avenue” and another cramped little road. We bumped along it, and we just were far enough from the fog that I was able to unclench my teeth when we passed it by.

Then I took the few turns needed to get us back onto the fogless part of the road, and I picked up some speed as we approached the entrance ramp onto the freeway. When we passed onto it, the swirling fog disappeared in my rearview mirrors.

For a brief second, I had worried that the otherworldly princess in my passenger seat would disappear, too. But when I looked over, she was still there.

I felt like I had just driven out of a dream.

But it was real.

And from what I had just experienced, it seemed like I could go back at any time.

Arena Road Chapter 3

The lanterns I had seen from afar were all hanging from various places on the city’s buildings. From this vantage point, I could see that the buildings looked like they were made from a huge array of mismatched wooden panels. It almost made each building look like some sort of jumbled patchwork quilt, and some patches reminded me of the shingles of the little beach cottage I rented back in Washington. Other patches looked like random two-by-fours of unpainted wood that were all a different shade of brown like they’d come from a hundred different types of tree. I even spotted a few buildings whose lower parts were made of red brick, terra cotta, and even stucco, but those were rare.

The buildings were closely spaced, and they were all of different heights, but they all seemed interconnected in one way or another. Some were joined by little wooden rope bridges that connected their balconies or terraces. Others were connected by a room or terrace that bridged them on one or several of the upper floors.

As I stared at the city, I almost got the impression that I could have crossed through its entirety without even touching the ground once I was inside.

The cobbled streets that ran between the buildings were almost like tunnels because of the buildings’ connectedness and their irregular shapes. The whole setup looked almost claustrophobic, especially with how many plants there were that seemed to choke out everything in sight. There were all kinds of moss and vines crawling up through the cobblestones and cloaking parts of the buildings, and flowering vines hung from their eaves along with the bright lanterns. There was a wider cobbled road that seemed to run in a circle around the whole city, and it was flanked by a wealth of even more lush green plants.

But once I got past the exotic beauty of the greenery that swathed the city, I realized that it didn’t look very prosperous at all. The mismatched buildings were rickety and ramshackle, almost like they might topple over at a slight breath of wind.

Despite how well lit the city was, there were absolutely no people, or any other visible life, in sight. But I could still hear the people. The crowd in the distance was alternating between cheers and roars. I figured maybe that was where everyone had gone.

That would make sense, but it would also be a little inconvenient. If I couldn’t get a glimpse of the city’s inhabitants first, climbing down the other side of the wall would be a bit more risky.

My heart leapt when the sound of a laugh rang out from down below. I eagerly scoured the area with my eyes and soon caught sight of a few people walking down the wide cobbled road that circled the outskirts of the city.

Then they passed under one of the hanging lanterns, and I saw that only two of them appeared to be a human like me.

The third person was a short, slender woman who had dragonfly-like wings. The lantern light played across her wings and shone through them slightly, like they were translucent, and they fluttered gently as she walked. When she made a vigorous hand gesture in her conversation, the wings moved clearly with the motion of her arms. They were real.

“Holy shit,” I whispered under my breath. “A fairy…”

Then I noticed a dark, barrel-sized shadow trundling along the cobbles just behind the fairy woman, as if it was her pet. It seemed too big and burly to be a dog, so I wondered what the hell it could be. A pig? That would be a little weird, but possible.

But then the lantern light glanced off its dark, iridescent back and its thin scuttling legs. I repressed a shiver at the memory of the many-legged creature out on the desert, but this was something different. This was unmistakably… a giant beetle.

I blinked in utter shock. Then I squinted at the group to try and work out just how weird this situation was.

One of the men in the group was tall and lanky with long, flowing blond hair like Rapunzel. He was dressed like a damn court jester, though, and he was carrying something that looked like a ukulele. I could hear him strumming a mournful little tune on the strings.

There was another laugh from someone in the group. It was a high, silvery sound, and I thought it came from the fairy. They were almost right under me now, and I could make out the words she spoke next.

“Is that a dirge for all the coins you lost tonight?” she asked with a teasing note in her voice.

“Of course.” The Rapunzel-haired man’s reply came in a slightly deeper voice, and it had a similar bantering tone to it. “I’m in mourning for my wealth.”

“You shouldn’t have risked your coin betting on Azria,” another low voice said. I thought this remark came from the other human guy, whose hair was made up of tight auburn ringlets. “Everyone knows she’s been inconsistent ever since she changed backers.”

“Can you blame her?” the fairy replied. “She looks half-starved. I could practically see every bone in her body. They’re obviously not even feeding her enough.”

The human guy shrugged, and his tone was careless when he responded. “That’s just the way of things, Tala. The strong push through and win anyway. You should know that by now.”

“I do know it.” The fairy’s voice was fainter as the group passed me and strolled further away, but I could hear the stubborn note in it. “I wasn’t born yesterday. I just don’t think it’s fair that—”

“Let’s go back to the arena,” the blond man interrupted. “I heard that Nerenya will enter the lists later tonight. Maybe I can win my coin back…”

Then they were out of earshot. I watched the silhouettes of the three people and their pet beetle get smaller as they headed down the cobbled road.

There were some things in their conversation that made absolutely no sense to me, but one thing was clear: There was some sort of event going on, just like I had thought. It definitely didn’t sound like it was anything along the lines of football, though. Judging by what I had just overheard, this was some type of one-on-one sport, and all the names they had mentioned seemed like women to me. Maybe women’s wrestling was a popular sport in this world I had stumbled upon.

Either way, I decided it was definitely worth going to check out. I could still hear the screams of the crowd in the distance, and I wanted to see exactly what this sport was. If it was exciting enough to draw the entire city in to watch, I figured it must be pretty damn cool.

And two of the three people I’d seen had been humans, just like me. Yes, the man with the ukulele-like instrument had been wearing some fancy-looking clothes that bordered on medieval style, but from what I’d been able to tell, the auburn-haired man was dressed similarly to me. He had worn plain-cut dark trousers and something that looked like a loose linen jacket, along with leather boots. True, the boots hadn’t looked sturdy enough to be steel-toed like mine, but I was sure our attire was similar enough that my own wouldn’t seem too outlandish.

I decided to slip down the other side of the wall before the three people were completely out of range. It would probably be easy enough to find the event purely by the sound of the crowd, but it would also be nice to know a direct route to where I had entered the city. If I went straight to the arena now, I could commit the direct route to memory and then take the time to wander elsewhere if I wanted to.

I scrambled down the plants on the inside of the wall a little more sloppily than the way I had climbed it, but I needed to make sure I didn’t lose sight of the three people.

“Oh, and don’t forget their giant pet beetle,” I muttered to myself.

A giant beetle seemed a bizarre thing to even exist, much less keep as a pet, but it was preferable to the monstrosity I had just slayed out in the desert.

After my boots thudded to the grassy ground, I straightened my jacket and took off at a brisk walk to get the people back in my sights. As soon as they were in better view, I slowed my pace a bit to roughly match theirs. Even though I now knew my appearance shouldn’t seem too suspicious, it still seemed a little risky to be overtly stalking people around the place, no matter how innocent my intentions were.

The little group was still walking on the wide cobbled road that stuck close to the city wall. That would come in handy for me if things got dicey here. I could either scramble over the plant-covered wall at first chance or have it against my back in a fight.

I hoped nothing would happen that led to that scenario, but if it did, I would be ready.

My sighting of a real-life fairy in this town made me feel a deep thrill, like I really had walked into a fantasy book. But the existence of my many-legged nemesis out in the desert had already proved that this world wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows. For all I knew, there could be something– or someone– within these walls who was just as dangerous. I needed to be ready.

This thought made me reach under my bulky coat and feel for my gun, even though I had already triple-checked to make sure it was at the ready. In an unfamiliar city where I had no idea how things worked, it felt reassuring to have a weapon I would know how to use.

Judging by what I’d seen so far, a gun would also probably shock the hell out of the people around here since they didn’t seem to have much in terms of modern technology, at least not like the kind I had with me. That would make it as much a weapon of surprise as one of superior technology. A double-win.

I passed by more ramshackle, mismatched wooden buildings as I followed the now-straight cobbled road with the three figures just within sight. Sometimes, another faint silvery laugh from the fairy floated back to me, or another few notes strummed on the ukulele-like instrument, but for the most part they were out of earshot. We were getting closer to the source of the roaring crowd, too, and soon that drowned out any audible speech from the three people entirely as I followed them along.

I saw the occasional other shadowy figure striding between the cramped clusters of buildings, and I held my breath every time I passed one, but none of them even gave me a second glance.

Ahead of me, the three people had finally turned off the cobbled road that ran around the city. Another wide street had branched off sharply to the right, and as I increased my pace slightly to take the turn and keep the people in my sight, I saw that this street was just as wide as the one we’d been on.

It was a big contrast to all the other streets I’d seen criss-crossing through the city. Other than being more spacious, the cobbles seemed more even under my feet, and the lanterns that lined it were evenly spaced on tall wooden posts that even looked sturdier than some of the buildings I’d seen in the city. I got the impression that this was some sort of main pathway into the city.

Maybe it was a bit like back home, where the state would pay to pave the busy main highways to make them nice and smooth, but then turn their noses up at the less-trafficked roads and say they were the local city’s responsibility.

On this road, there were still more ramshackle buildings to the right of me, but on the left they thinned out and were replaced by grassy ground that was swarming with a huge variety of verdant green plants. Flowers hung from them like colorful jewels, and some of the blossoms even glowed faintly. When I saw a patch of radiant mushrooms that were all a good few feet taller than me, I couldn’t help but stop and stare for a moment. The mushrooms were weirdly beautiful with their pearly glow, but eerie as well.  They were just under the canopy of a forest that laid a short ways off the road. The trees were leafy and jungle-like, and their bark was hardly visible beneath the swarms of more flowering plants that climbed all over them.

That was when I saw the hazy, glowing orbs that seemed to float in the air just below the canopy of the forest. The orbs seemed to pulsate in a way that almost reminded me a little of the stars in the sky, but at the same time they had an ominous aura that reminded me of flickering fluorescent light bulbs in the start of a horror film. Or the deep-sea fish I’d seen in a documentary once that had luminous lanterns hanging in front of their toothy mouths to attract prey in the pitch-black water.

The creepy, ominous element of the lights’ beauty made me think better of my desire to go investigate the lights. I had a feeling I would become the equivalent of a little fish placing myself right within the grasp of some gaping, jagged-toothed jaws.

I was just about to tear my eyes away and walk onward when I spotted a shadowy little shape flying around in the air below the forest’s leafy canopy. From the way it bobbed and flitted around instead of flying smoothly, I guessed that it was a bat rather than some sort of bird or owl.

About a second after I came to this conclusion, something round and beach ball-sized descended from the canopy just above the bat. Against the silhouette of the glowing lights, I saw that it was hanging from a vine, and I wondered what the hell it could possibly be.

Then it split open in a way that made it look like a giant dangling Pac-Man, and the mouth-like gap was clearly bristling with a countless number of long, dagger-like teeth. They yawned open wide while the Pac-Man-looking thing descended on its vine. Then the whole mouth snapped shut on the unsuspecting bat. It disappeared without a sound inside the cavernous jaws, and the round thing reeled slowly back up into the canopy on its vine, like it was on a giant fishing line.

I stood there and blinked after it for a few seconds. The whole thing had happened so fast, yet at the same time it had played out with a gruesome sort of suspense that made me feel like it would be seared into my memory forever.

“Holy shit,” I muttered under my breath again.

It was the second time I’d said that in the last ten minutes, but I had a feeling it wouldn’t be the last.

This world, wherever the hell I was, just got darker and more intriguing.

Then I heard a rustle of motion in the canopy at the very edge of the forest, no more than six feet away from the edge of the cobblestone road.

I didn’t hesitate to hurry  forward. I now wanted to get away from the forest and its deadly, luring lights just as much as I wanted to see the reason for the screaming crowd, and I made sure to be doubly on my guard as I journeyed onward.

Luckily, I no longer had to worry about trying to catch up with the three people I’d been following, because I was now so close to the crowd that the screaming was almost deafening when it rang out periodically. As I walked on, something like a stone stadium opened up in the ground in front of me. The night was fully dark, but the flat stone arena way at the bottom was still flooded with light from more hanging lanterns than I had seen in the whole city combined. Some were hanging on wooden posts that surrounded the arena on all its sides, and even more hung from wooden archways above it. Just like the wide cobblestone road I had arrived here on, the stadium seemed like it was one of the nicest parts of the whole ramshackle city.

The rows of stone benches that sloped down to the arena were packed full of people, and there was some sort of commotion in the arena below. It looked like two people were being ushered out of a low stone gate that separated the flat arena from the bottom row of the stadium, but there was a thick cluster of people surrounding the two figures, so it was hard to even make out what was going on.

The crowd fell into another lull in their deafening shouts, and I scanned the top rows to see if I could find somewhere to sit. I could still see the arena fairly well from my position standing on the ground just above the top row, but I decided to join the people on the top stone bench and watch from there. Maybe I could overhear some conversation to get some context on the scene below, because I was already dying to know exactly what was going on.

And where the hell I was.

I made my way into the upper row and tried to act as casual as possible, like I did this every day. But I made sure to keep a wary eye out just in case anyone seemed put off by my presence.

The stadium’s benches weren’t as well-lit as the arena below, but from what I could see, it looked like there was a whole variety of beings in the crowd. I saw many who seemed to be human, just like the two men in the group I’d followed here, so I sat a respectful distance away from one of them toward the end of the stone bench.

He was an amiable-looking man who was dressed plainly, except for a mind-bogglingly large feathered hat that almost dwarfed the man himself. He didn’t turn toward me or question my presence, so this seemed like a fine enough place to sit for the time being.

Now there were two new people emerging down in the arena, and I could see that they were both women.

One of them looked human, at least from a distance. I couldn't make out her face too well, but I could see that she had smooth bronze skin. Her hair was tied up into a ponytail that fell in an inky black waterfall down to the small of her back. It rippled gently under the light from the hanging lanterns as she started to circle her opponent. She was wearing thin leather sandals with straps that wrapped around her legs, and every step she took in them looked graceful and deliberate. I was reminded of the sight of a panther stalking its prey.

In one hand, the black-haired woman was holding a leather whip with a dark metal spike at the end. In her other, she grasped a thin curved blade made of the same dark metal. Even from a distance, the blade looked shitty, like it was dull and dinted, and the woman’s clothes didn’t look much better. She was wearing only a skimpy silk tunic that must have been nice once, but now it was torn and ragged at the edges, and there were dried bloodstains on it. But despite all this, the woman still exuded an aura of fierceness and danger. She looked completely at home with the blade in one hand and the whip in another.

Her opponent was humanoid, but definitely not human. This woman’s skin was periwinkle blue, but its texture looked wrong somehow. It was wrinkled and pruned in a way that reminded me of someone who’s been in the bath for too long, and I grimaced at the almost-grotesque look of it. Her wispy hair was cropped into a pixie cut that was a faded shade of tea, and the way this woman carried herself was totally at odds with her black-haired opponent’s.

It was more like a gazelle caught in the cage of a lion. The steps of her frail and slender legs were slow in a way that seemed timid and hesitant rather than purposeful, like any misstep might mean death for her, and it seemed almost like she was unaccustomed to walking around on land.

I wondered if she was some sort of water being of the oasis, and if so, why she would choose to fight down in the hot and dry arena. And for that matter, why would she walk into the arena armed with only a simple wooden weapon?

Calling the stick in her hand a spear would be generous. It looked more like a short, sharpened wooden stake. Something I might hammer into some especially soft ground to pitch a tent, or maybe use for kindling in a campfire. It definitely didn’t look like it would hold up against the black-haired woman’s weapons, despite how shitty the metal may have seemed.

The crowd was still hushed compared to their earlier volume, and I wondered if it was a respectful silence because these two fighters were considered to be very formidable, or if it was the opposite, and the audience was just getting bored.

The quietness stretched on even when the fight began in earnest. It didn’t take long for the blue-skinned woman to brandish her wooden spear and rush at her opponent. The black-haired woman’s ponytail whipped through the air as she dodged nimbly to the side. She seemed almost bored despite the speed of her movement, like it was easy for her.

The blue-skinned woman whirled around and tried another rush, but her opponent dodged again.

When the blue-skinned woman was clearly about to try the same move for a third time, I could swear I saw the black-haired woman roll her eyes. This time the blue-skinned woman threw her whole body behind the thrust, so she was hurling herself at her opponent along with the weapon.

There was a collective intake of air from the crowd that wasn’t quite a gasp.

Then the black-haired woman dropped to a side-roll and snapped her whip at the blue-skinned woman’s ankles in passing. She easily could have slashed at her opponent’s wrinkly periwinkle flesh, but she didn’t even attempt to.

I was surprised, and I thought maybe the crowd was too, because there was an outbreak of muttering that ran in a wave around the packed arena. I couldn’t tell for sure whether it was shock, disapproval, or both.

But the blue-skinned woman’s risky headlong dive had put her in a vulnerable place. Her opponent was behind her now. The leather whip hadn’t quite sent her tumbling, but it had made her stumble enough that she was still scrambling to right herself when the black-haired woman completed her roll. By the time the blue-skinned woman had turned around, her opponent was on her.

There was no desperation in this leap. The graceful black-haired woman looked focused and deadly in motion.

The crowd erupted in screams of excitement again. I had a feeling these people loved the uncertainty, and probably would’ve been happy with any outcome as long as it wasn’t too boring.

Personally, I thought it was kind of an unfair fight. I found myself holding my breath as I waited to see what would happen.

In less than a heartbeat, the black-haired woman had her opponent pinned to the ground. Her dark curved blade stood out starkly against the fallen woman’s crinkly and pale-blue throat as it hovered there.

I could tell the fight was over, and the crowd seemed to think so, too. But they were still waiting on the edge of their seats, like they were looking forward to some sort of amazing finale.

Then the black-haired woman withdrew her blade.

The crowd’s excited racket immediately turned into a cacophony of outraged boos and hisses.

From the way the black-haired woman carried herself, the crowd might as well have been a cloud of buzzing flies. She shifted her whip to clutch it in her sword hand. Then she extended her free hand downward, palm open, in a gesture that was clearly recognizable to me, even as an outsider from another world.

She was offering her opponent a hand up.

I thought this seemed pretty fair, but the action clearly outraged the crowd even more. Still the black-haired woman disregarded them completely and waited patiently with her arm extended.

Her fallen opponent cast a look around that seemed skittish and fearful, but then her reaction bordered on friendly. She reached up and clasped the black-haired woman’s hand while she braced the elbow of her spear-arm against the ground to help her rise.

But at the last second, she brought up her short wooden spear and turned the rise into a lunge.

The wooden point drove into the black-haired woman’s upper arm, and she stumbled back. To my surprise, there was a pool of blood welling from the wound that was even visible from my position in the top row. The spear had actually wounded her.

It didn’t seem too serious, just bloody, but apparently something about it was significant, because several things happened all at once. First, two portly, green-haired women in turquoise robes rushed out into the arena. The black-haired woman tried to wave them away, but they grabbed her elbows and firmly frog-marched her to the edge of the arena.

I was distracted from this confusing scene by the sight of several gargantuan birds taking flight from different places around the arena.

Then I realized they weren’t birds.

They were gargoyles.

Or that was what they looked like. But they were made entirely of wood. I could even hear a faint creaking as they flapped their bat-shaped, woven-wood wings.

“Whoa,” I muttered in an undertone.

The feather-hatted man next to me turned at the sound of my voice.

“Shocking, isn’t it?” he lamented in a squawking voice that reminded me strongly of a talking parrot.

“Er… Yes,” I said vaguely without taking my eyes off the scene below. “Really shocking.”

The wooden gargoyles had all landed in the center of the arena and seemed to be having some sort of argument with each other. I counted nine of them, and I wondered if I could ask the man next to me what the hell they were without sounding suspicious.

I decided I would hint vaguely at it, but when I finally tore my eyes away from the arena to turn toward him slightly, the words died on my lips.

The man was just turning to face me too, and he was talking again, but the words didn’t even penetrate my brain. I was too busy trying to figure out what the fuck was going on with this guy.

The first thing that struck me over the head like a hammer was that the oversized feather hat wasn’t actually a hat. It was a live bird. A gigantic, tropical-looking bird with a beak like a toucan that looked about as long as my arm and four times as thick.

But the weirdest part was that the bird was the one talking. Its massive orange beak was clacking together with a force that reminded me eerily of the pincers of the many-legged beast out on the desert. Below it, the man’s eyes seemed glazed over and disinterested.

I finally realized I was gawking at this bizarre sight with my mouth open, and I hastily snapped it shut, but the bird didn’t even seem like it had noticed. It was still talking.

“… And oh, dearie me,” it went on with a mournful note in its squawking voice. “Flouting all the traditions like that… I expect they’ll have her hide.”

I nodded solemnly and then hurriedly turned my face back toward the arena below, partly to hide my look of confusion and partly so I could go back to watching what was going on. I couldn’t make head nor tail of the talking bird’s words, maybe because I had missed a good portion of them, so I would just have to watch and see for myself what was going to happen.

The two green-haired women were fussing over the black-haired woman’s wound in a way that seemed both meticulous and detached. They had just finished staunching the blood, and now they were applying some type of ointment. Even from a distance, I saw the black-haired fighter’s jaw clench, and the muscles in her slender neck stood out like she was tensing up from pain. But at the same time, her expression looked calm and far away, like this was just a typical day for her. The pain didn’t seem to bother her all too much.

That was probably a good thing, because despite the careful attention the green-haired women were paying to the fighter’s wound, they didn’t seem concerned with her obvious pain in the slightest.

My focus derailed when I saw one of them was now carefully tearing off a portion of green hair from her own head.

I watched with fascination as I wondered what the hell she was doing. And more interestingly, why the hell did her hair not look like hair at all?

Now that I was looking more closely, I realized that it looked like there were a bunch of green fruit roll-ups sprouting from her head like the long Fruit by the Foot ones.

She took the long chunk of hair, or whatever the hell it was, and wrapped it around the black-haired fighter’s wounded arm like a bandage.

“What the fuck?” I mouthed silently to myself.

The green-haired woman tucked the end of the weird, sticky-looking bandage neatly into itself and gave the black-haired fighter a light but callous shove to show she was finished with her.

The fighter looked like she was torn between gratefulness and embarrassment. Her expression reminded me of the time I fell off my bike as a kid and my mom rushed out onto the street to make a scene over my scraped knee.

Granted, this was no scraped knee, and the woman was definitely no kid, but I felt for her. I could only imagine how a proud, badass fighter would hate having people fussing over her in front of a crowd. But I still had to bite down on my lip to hold back a chuckle at seeing such a patently familiar expression here in this strange, magical world.

Things were still in a state of organized chaos down in the arena, and the crowd seemed content to sit and wait now, although I could hear people muttering. I could even see money changing hands already in some cases, although it seemed like a weird sort of money to me. It just looked like a bunch of dark, lumpy-looking coins that could only be recognized as metal because of the way they clinked together.

The wooden gargoyles still seemed to be arguing amongst themselves. Some were gesturing explosively with their arms while they talked. Others nodded or shook their heads in response. One of them raised its finger in what looked like a mixture of a threatening curse and a tut-tutting motion, and I even thought I saw another purse its wooden lips in an expression of disapproval.

Then I wondered what had happened to the blue-skinned woman. I had to rake the edge of the arena with my eyes to spot her, but I finally did.

She was standing stiffly in the middle of a cluster of people. Most of them looked human, and they were paying no attention to the blue-skinned fighter in their midst. Instead, their eyes were glued to the arguing gargoyles, and a few of them were wringing their hands anxiously.

Meanwhile, the two green-haired women were frog-marching the black-haired fighter over to stand by the stone gate. As soon as it was clear she was done being tended to, a knot of angry-looking people came boiling through the gate and surrounded her.

They  were screaming at her and all trying to get in her face at once, but I couldn’t quite make out their words. Two of them shoved her right on her injured arm without hesitation, and then she was shoved back the other way, only to get grabbed by the neck like a puppy.

My jaw locked together as I watched them man-handle the woman.

She didn’t seem afraid, but her body language clearly showed she would rather be anywhere but here.

One of the people in the group was a tall human guy with a hawk-like nose. He wore something that looked almost like a three-piece suit, and it seemed weirdly modern compared to the others’ clothes. He was clearly the angriest and most aggressive of the group, and he even grabbed the black-haired fighter by both wrists and twisted them until her knees buckled, which didn’t seem like an easy feat.

I winced for her before she even reacted for herself, and I felt anger rising steadily in my gut.

And yet the asshole still didn’t stop. I had a feeling he wanted to hear her scream or plead for mercy, and it made me clench my fists.

The black-haired fighter seemed determined not to give him the satisfaction. She didn’t even open her mouth to gasp or cry out. She just looked up at the man with something between loathing and resignation as he shoved her the rest of the way to the ground. It was like this had happened plenty of times before.

The rage inside me ramped up, but I pushed it back down for the time being. I wanted nothing more than to punch that smug fucker in the fancy suit, and I began to wonder why no one had intervened.

He seemed to be done hurting her, at least for now, but he was still looming over her with an aggressive stance that increased my urge to punch the self-assured look off his hook-nosed, aristocratic face. He glanced over at the gargoyles so frequently that he looked like a damn bobblehead from my place in the top row.

I couldn’t stand sitting there trying to figure out the significance of the gargoyles for any longer, so I finally leaned over a little to talk to the bird-headed man next to me again.

“They’re taking their sweet-ass time about this, aren’t they?” I asked in a leading tone.

“They certainly are,” the man— no, the bird— replied. His squawking voice was thick with disapproval. “Mark my words, whatever happens to the dark-haired wench next, it shan’t be easy to watch. Like I said, they’ll—”

He fell silent as the wooden gargoyles turned as a group to face the fighters and the people surrounding them.

But I was seeing red now.

It sounded like this bullshit abuse toward the dark-haired fighter was only getting started, and my body moved of its own accord.

Abruptly, I got to my feet and started squeezing past the people on the upper bench until I reached the stone stairs that led to the bottom of the arena. I wasn’t entirely decided about what I was going to do, but I was sure as hell going to do something. I wasn’t just going to stand there and watch that guy and his lackeys pulverize the black-haired woman.

Once I got to the stairs, I saw that they were almost as packed full of people as the benches. Some were sitting on the steps, while others were just loitering around on their feet.

I started pushing my way down and kept a constant stream of “sorries” and “excuse mes,” but I didn’t stop to see if they were well-received. I darted through every gap in the crowd, and when there wasn’t a gap, I made one.

Just before I got to the bottom, I saw one of the gargoyles had advanced forward more to talk directly to the fighters and the people surrounding them. The other gargoyles were waiting behind him. Up close, I could see their faces were even more expressive, and I definitely hadn’t imagined that disapproving expression before. Now, I could see it reflected on the faces of a few others among them, but some of the others were nodding sagely instead.

The one in the front seemed like their leader, and this was further confirmed when I saw a glowing red jewel pulsating in its head, although I had no idea exactly why it was so luminous.

I gave my head a shake and forced myself to focus. Curiosity could wait. Right now, I had a feeling the bejeweled gargoyle was in the middle of delivering some sort of verdict, and the beak-nosed man in the suit seemed like he was on the verge of throwing a full-on temper tantrum if it wasn’t something he liked.

I shoved my way past the people on the ground-floor bench and the others milling around in front of them trying to get a better view. People grumbled audibly as I passed, but I was gone before I could even hear their words.

Finally, I reached the front of the crowd, who were clustered right up against the low stone gate trying to listen in.

The bejeweled gargoyle was talking in the slow, ponderous, ringing voice of someone who likes to hear themselves talk. “… however, because the Induya did not truly wound the Phina, she was not victorious, according to the traditional rules.”

I kept my eyes fixed on the beak-nosed man’s face and saw his lip curl with rage.

But the bejeweled gargoyle wasn’t finished.

“But… because she clearly would have been the victor if she hadn’t chosen to be… merciful…” The gargoyle paused and shook his head with an expression like he was sick to his wooden stomach before he went on. “We have decided to treat this as a partial victory.”

It seemed like it took a few moments for the beak-nosed man to unlock his jaw before he was able to speak.

“A partial victory?” he snarled. “And what, pray tell, do I win in a partial victory?

“You may have half of the usual winnings,” the lead gargoyle said firmly. “Half of Lord Merze’s possessions. Of your choice, naturally.”

The beak-nosed man didn’t seem at all mollified by this. If anything, he seemed infuriated beyond all reason.

But something about the no-nonsense expression on the gargoyle’s face, or maybe the jewel on its forehead, seemed to deter him from venting his fury on the wooden creature.

So he turned to the black-haired woman and shoved her to the ground for a second time. This time he kicked her after. Then he kicked her again. And he didn’t seem inclined to stop any time soon.

Clearly, he considered her a safer target than the wooden gargoyle. And maybe she would have been on any other day.

But not today.

I shoved my way to the stone gate and barged through it like I owned the place.

I didn’t give a fuck.

“Hey, asshole.” I kept my voice calm but raised my volume slightly to be sure he knew I was talking to him.

He had yanked the woman back to her feet by the neck like a ragdoll, and he was holding her by the throat now while his other hand was raised in a fist. I could see the grip on her throat slacken ever so slightly at the sound of my words, and the woman sucked in a sharp gasp of air. Otherwise, the man didn’t move to react other than to turn his head and look at me as I shouldered my way through the little cluster of people.

He looked me up and down before he responded with a look on his face like I was a stray rat that had just wandered in from off the street.

“Are you lost, boy?” he asked in a tone of mock-sympathy.

He was maybe half an inch taller than me, but he managed to look down his hooked nose at me as he said it like he was on top of the fucking Empire State Building.

This guy was clearly a full on man-baby, and he wasn’t used to anyone standing up to him. He was used to being able to cow anyone in his path with a single look. And if that didn’t work, it’d be a fucking hissy fit.

So I ignored his taunts.

The woman was still in his vise-like grip and covered in red marks from the fucker’s kicking.

And even though I was itching to cave the guy’s face in, I kept my voice steady when I responded.

“Let her go.”

Arena Road Chapter 2

The trip over the endless-looking desert passed more quickly than I expected. The lights burned brighter and brighter as I got closer, and they almost looked like some sort of lanterns.

As I approached, I realized it must be a town or city, but I had no idea what kind.

One thing that became clear was that the place was surrounded by a solid wall. I reasoned that was probably why the only lights I could see were higher up. The wall blocked the lower ones.

Still, at a distance, it had been hard to tell whether that meant the walls were very short, or the buildings were just extremely tall. Closer up, I realized it was the former.

I was so busy looking at the town that I didn’t take much note of the shape looming out of the darkness just ahead in the desert at first. It was almost as tall as my truck, but not quite as long. By the size of it, it could easily have just been a shorter semi. Maybe that was why I altered my route to avoid it without even thinking at first.

I was right up alongside the shadowy shape when this realization penetrated my consciousness. I braked hastily and nervously flipped off my low-beams. I had no idea what a roughly semi truck-sized object might actually be in this world. It could be a fire-breathing dragon, for all I knew.

The shadow didn’t move. I stared hard at it for a few seconds, and then I made up my mind. I parked the truck again, unbuckled my seatbelt, and reached across to the passenger seat where about half of my personal belongings had landed in an untidy heap when I was rummaging through them earlier.

I found the bulky industrial flashlight I always carried with me and hefted it in my hand. I carefully avoided the region of the truck’s twin shifters as I heaved my upper body across the center console to roll down the passenger window. Then I propped the end of the flashlight on top of the door panel to point it straight out at the shadowy object and flipped it on the lowest setting.

The light still made me squint reflexively for a second, even though it was facing away from me. This thing packed all the blinding LED power that I kept out of my headlights.

It flooded across the twenty feet between my truck and the shadowy object.

In the light, I could see that the shadow was actually something that looked like a massive version of a Romani wagon, like one of those old trading caravans that were drawn by horses. I had seen the Romani kind before, and they’d been beautiful. They were like small houses on wheels with rounded roofs, brightly-painted wood, and intricately-carved with designs. Some of the designs had even been gilded with gold leaf.

This wagon looked very similar, and I could tell it must have been just as ornate once. But now the blue paint was chipped, faded, and peeling. In a few places, the light from my flashlight even glinted off the remnants of some type of gold inlay. The wagon’s rounded roof of the caravan seemed like it had caved in completely in the center, but the wide eaves were still there. There were even a bunch of things that looked like wind-chimes hanging from them.

The thing had clearly been abandoned for a long time. Parts of it almost seemed like they had disintegrated, while other parts must have been bleached from the sun. Whoever had ridden in this wagon and whatever beasts had pulled it were long gone.

I had just rolled up the passenger window when a movement from the top of the wagon caught my eye.

Something was emerging from the caved-in roof. Something huge.

It was too shadowy to see very well, but I could tell it was almost too big to squeeze out of the roof of the semi truck-sized wagon.

“Shiiiit,” I breathed.

As the shadow fully emerged, I tried to size it up. I reckoned it was about as big as an old Volkswagen bug, and that alone was enough to make me hesitate rather than just flipping my flashlight back on. As big as the shadow was, it moved in a weird, jerky way that seemed familiar somehow, but I couldn’t put my finger on what it reminded me of.

Whatever it was, it made my skin crawl.

In the darkness, I had no way of telling whether this thing—whatever it was—had taken much note of the sight or sound of my truck. Visually, my truck might just look like another caravan to whatever this thing was. It was basically a big boxy shadow on wheels. But Spitfire’s engine was pretty loud, even when it was just idling, and I had a feeling engines didn’t even exist here yet.

I decided to risk cracking the passenger window again so I could listen. I did it as stealthily as I could and moved slowly and carefully in the darkness to push down on the window crank with a feather-light touch. Whatever sound it made was too low for me to even hear.

But the big shadow on the caravan must have heard it. Its reaction was too perfectly-timed to be a coincidence. Immediately, it launched itself off the top of the caravan and sailed directly at my truck.

“Shit!” I cursed under my breath and flipped on my blinding high-beams. Then I hefted the big flashlight in my hand again.

Clearly I had been discovered, so I might as well see what the hell I was up against. If this thing really meant to attack me, maybe I could even blind it briefly.

My high-beams weren’t facing whatever was hurtling toward the passenger window of my truck, and as the thing got closer, it was jerking around too much for me to take a guess at what the hell it was, so even my flashlight was becoming useless. The best I got was a brief glimpse of the massive thing in its entirety before it slammed against my truck, and whatever it was, it had so many long, skinny, scuttling legs that I couldn’t even count them. They were lanky and segmented in a way that reminded me of a spider as they scrabbled at the passenger window.

“Holy shit,” I gasped.

My truck rocked ever so slightly on its wheels, but not as hard as I would have expected before seeing the creature in more detail. Whatever this thing was, it seemed to be about eighty percent legs.

Still, I didn’t want it anywhere near me or my truck. For a split second, I considered just speeding away and seeing if the scuttling fucker could keep pace with old Spitfire once she got up to speed.

But then something long and sharp scraped across the window. It squeaked and grated shrilly against the glass and left a long, deep gouge behind. I had only glimpsed it for a second, but the sharp thing had seemed like it was attached to one of the creature’s countless flailing limbs. All I had been able to make out was that it was about the shape and size of a sickle.

Then it happened again. Now there was a second gouge in the window.

“Hey, lay off, you bastard!” I growled. “Stop fucking with my truck!”

I had to get this thing far away from my baby, now. She deserved better than this vandalizing shit, and I sure as hell didn’t want to shell out more cash to replace all her windows.

But if I drove off, that risked leaving my tires even more vulnerable to the thing if it chased me.

There was another ear-splitting scrape against the glass that made my jaw twitch with anger. The thing was still scrabbling its limbs furiously and ineffectively at the window, so apparently it wasn’t very bright. But sooner or later, its persistence would pay off, whether it managed to puncture the window or puncture one of my tires by accident.

This made me realize I needed to draw it away from the truck, then kill it. There was no time to load my gun, and in any case I didn’t think this creature would be a very easy target. Too much of its body was made up of legs. They were all as thin as rails, and they moved insanely fast, too. It would probably be on top of me before I could manage to hit it with a kill shot.

And in the meantime, the fucker was scratching the hell out of my baby.

I could practically hear my boss bitching about the damage already.

There was no more time to think, and no time to worry.

I fumbled to flip up the compartment in the center console and snatched up a tire thumper and something that looked like a handgun, but wasn’t. It was a pepper spray gun. Thankfully it had a safety switch, so after I made sure that was on, I could stash the gun in my belt without any anxiety about it discharging randomly.

Almost as an afterthought, I grabbed my headlamp, too. The straps stretched snugly against my temples, and I flipped it on. Immediately, the whole inside of the truck was flooded with light.

“Perfect,” I grunted as I slung the tire thumper’s loop around my wrist.

Well, the situation was far from perfect. But at least I would be able to see without hefting that bulky flashlight around in one hand the whole time. And I would be able to fight off this crazy-ass monster that had crawled out of a Romani caravan in the middle of a desert.

What the hell had my night turned into?

There was another scrape against the passenger windshield. I gritted my teeth against the nails-on-a-chalkboard sound and focused on shoving open the driver’s side door and stepping out. Then I held myself tight against the side of the truck until I had slammed the door shut.

Heaven only knew what sort of havoc that thing would wreak if it managed to get inside the cab.

I braced myself against the side of the truck and leaped down to the ground. After that, I wasted no time in whipping the pepper spray gun out of my belt and switching the safety off. Maybe it wasn’t as good as a real gun, but it still felt solid and reassuring in my left hand, and so did the tire thumper in my right.

As soon as my boots thudded against the hard ground, the frenzied clawing, scrabbling, and scraping of the creature’s legs fell silent. But I heard a series of smaller thumps from the other side of the truck, and some weird clicking sounds.

It was on the move.

I backed away from the truck sideways as fast as I could without being careless. I desperately wanted to have something solid against my back as I fought the many-legged beast, but I needed it to be far away from my truck. And judging by the way it had easily scaled the side of the caravan it seemed to live in, this creature would’ve been able to get on top of my truck and leap down on me anyway, so it would’ve been useless.

I focused on placing my feet and watching for the creature to appear from the other side of my truck.

It didn’t.

“Where are you, you leggy bastard?” I muttered.

Suddenly, I heard some more furious scrabbling. It had more of a screech to it this time, and I suspected that the change in sound was because the creature was testing its luck on the metal of my truck’s trailer instead of the cab window.

The asshole.

I stopped momentarily and watched the truck with a mixture of wariness and fury. What was happening?

Then I saw the silhouette of the creature pop up on top of the trailer.

I growled aloud. “Son of a…”

I trailed off as an idea occurred to me, and I acted on it immediately: I turned around and ran flat out away from the truck.

It went against every instinct I had to turn my back on the creature, but I was hoping that sort of instinct went two ways. Whatever kind of beast this was, it was strong and fast and armed with deadly-looking stingers or claws of some sort. And it had been desperately trying to get into my truck. All signs pointed to it being carnivorous and most likely wanting to feast on my flesh.

Now, I was hoping that it shared something else with the big carnivorous animals I knew about from back home: prey drive.

After only a few thuds of my boots against the ground, I heard the weird crunchy thump of the creature landing again behind me. After another few steps, I turned sharply to face it.

Sure enough, it was coming right at me.

I considered myself to be a fairly brave person, but I still felt a thrill of fear in my stomach as the beast scuttled toward me, and my headlamp lit up every inch of it.

The best thing I could think of to compare it to was a combination of a tumbleweed, a spider, and a scorpion.

If it folded all its legs up, it probably would closely resemble a tumbleweed. As it was, though, the legs were all out. Just like the one I had seen up close through the window, they were all long and segmented, and they moved the same way a spider’s legs did. My estimate of there being a hundred of them seemed a little off now, but there were at least fifty.

There were other things as well that I had initially thought were more legs, but now I could see they were more like tails. These were skinny, too, but they stuck out in all directions haphazardly, like the thing was having a bad hair day.

Oh yeah, and several of them had stingers.

I couldn’t hold back a groan.

Those were the sickle-like objects that had gouged my window. And worse still, there had to be at least a dozen of them.

What the hell kind of mutant shit was this?

Cursing made me feel better, so I did it again as I raised the pepper spray gun ever so slightly. I wanted to be as ready as possible without appearing that way, because I wasn’t sure if me taking some sort of aggressive stance would make the creature more cautious. As much as I didn’t want that thing or any of its twelve-odd stingers anywhere near me, I also didn’t want them anywhere near Spitfire.

I couldn’t risk the creature scuttling back to take cover behind the truck, even temporarily. I needed it dead.

“Here, kitty kitty…” My voice was a little hoarse, but something about taunting the creature bolstered me. “Come here, you big ugly bastard…”

I kept my voice calm and gentle as I cursed the beast, its ancestors, any children and grandchildren it might have, and every aspect of its appearance.

My words started out as a joke and a way to release some of the tension I had built up, but as the creature slowed its pace, I realized it might actually be a good tactic. Maybe I could lure it closer before I doused its eyes with pepper spray.

“Your eyes are fucking repulsive,” I told the beast in my most conversational voice.

It was true. I could see its eyes now. There were eight of them, and they were dark and bulbous like overripe plums, but they were different sizes. Two of them were bigger and about the size of a small watermelon. These two eyes were side by side, but the rest of its eyes were like plums in both size and general appearance, and they were arranged below the bigger two eyes in a symmetrical upward curve that looked horribly like a smile.

The creature’s legs clicked disgustingly as it skittered closer in a slower version of its previous jerky stride. I kept my knees slightly bent as I shuffled to the side. The beast paused.

Then two thicker limbs suddenly poked their way out from the creature’s forest of skinny legs, and my next insult died in my throat.

“Pincers?” I groaned in a voice that was even hoarser, almost a croak. “That seems a little unfair, don’t you think?”

The two massive scorpion-like pincers creaked menacingly when they opened, and then they snapped shut.

I wondered if I was close enough to pepper-spray the bastard without being decapitated by those pincers. I wasn’t entirely sure, which made me very nervous. I needed to buy some more time.

“You sound a little squeaky,” I announced to the creature as I circled it. “I have some WD-40 in the truck, maybe we can—”

My voice jolted up an octave as the beast rushed at me, and I spun to the side like a fucking bullfighter, but I was still no closer to having a plan.

I didn’t have a choice. I was going to have to try and hit one of those big ugly eyes with my pepper spray gun and then beat the shit out of the creature with my tire thumper.

It turned to face me again. Now its gait was more cautious, almost like it was somehow tiptoeing around on those long, gangling legs.

I raised the tire thumper above my head, and the creature stopped and let out a loud hiss.

This was the first time I had been able to catch sight of its mouth. To say the least, it looked like an unpleasant place, and one that I wanted to avoid at all costs.

Then an idea leaped to mind.

I was tempted to do some sort of battle cry while I carried it out, but I needed the element of surprise until the very last second. I didn’t want the beast to jump or flinch away. I just wanted it to hiss at me again.

So I planted my feet and hoped I would get the same reaction as I slowly raised the tire thumper for a second time.

Sure enough, the creature hissed again.

I didn’t hesitate. I just brought the spray gun up and fired a blast right at one of those big bulging eyes. The pepper spray in this gun was more of a gel, and I had been impressed with the range when I tested it out, but never until now had I felt a surge of satisfaction while using it.

Then I sent a big blast of the gel right into that motherfucker’s open mouth.

It made a retching, gagging sound that sounded disturbingly human, and its lanky legs buckled slightly as it started to hack and choke. The pincer-tipped arms retracted back into its sea of legs as the creature reeled backward.

I blasted it with the spray gun again as I advanced and was rewarded with a sort of hissing shriek of either pain or rage. Then I swung the tire thumper in a wide, low arc to sweep the beast’s legs out from under it. Or at least, as many of them as I could manage to get.

It fell on its side, and one of its pincered arms thrust back out like a striking snake to snap at my face. But I jerked back and swung my tire thumper into the wide-open pincer with all my strength. There was a brittle, wet crunch that made me shudder slightly before the arm split wide open.

Then I ducked hurriedly under a stinger that flailed toward my face as the creature struggled to right itself. It was still coughing and choking like a cat hacking up a hairball, and I had to restrain myself from cheering in triumph when I sent yet another blast of gel down its open gullet from my pepper spray gun.

There would be time to cheer later. Right now, I had to go in for the kill.

The beast had lapsed onto its back now, and I used every ounce of my strength when I brought the tire thumper down on it. A few scrabbling legs got in the way, but they bowed and crunched under the force of my downward strike, and they finally snapped when the tire thumper made contact with the creature’s small, spider-like torso with a crisp, gruesome squelch.

I probably hit the thing several more times than was necessary to kill it, but I was sure I wouldn’t be able to rest until I knew beyond a doubt that it was dead and done.

When the torso split open like a cantaloupe, I felt disgusted but satisfied.

“Gross,” I muttered under my breath as I cast a final look back at the beast I’d just slayed.

Then I shook my head as I realized I’d never actually slayed a beast before. Ever. That kind of shit wasn’t exactly normal in the life of a man named John.

I returned to my truck with a weird feeling of exhilaration. As undeniably horrifying as the creature had been, something about the accomplishment of escaping death by its giant pincers and stingers made me feel more alive.

The night had just begun, and the mysterious city’s golden lanterns were still there, beckoning me on, just a short distance away.

And I was a monster-slayer now just like those characters in the novels I loved.

Fuck yeah.

I took another long look at it as I thought about my next step. Then I decided to drive a bit closer before I approached on foot. I didn’t know if there were any more of those giant, murderous insects lurking around, but if there were, then I figured this was where they’d be. After all, the one I’d just killed had been sheltering inside the old abandoned wagon.

So I swung myself back into my truck. But before I set off again, I took the time to retrieve my gun from its place in the cab and load it. If I did happen to run into another one of those creatures, this time I would know exactly where to aim a bullet. Or ten.

I stopped driving when I was sure I was within walking distance of the city. I was close enough to clearly see the outlines of a few treetops against the lights of the lanterns peering over the wall, and I could even make out what I thought was a tangle of leafy vines growing over it. It seemed like some kind of oasis, and I couldn’t wait to see what was inside.

My boots made muffled thuds against the hard, dusty ground as I approached, and I found myself glad I’d decided to be cautious once I got closer.

When I was about thirty feet away from the wall, I could hear an unmistakable roaring sound that reminded me of the moment when something big happens in a football stadium. It sounded undeniably like a crowd of people screaming, and at this point I couldn’t tell exactly what they were screaming about.

For that matter, I wasn’t even sure yet that they were people at all. What if I had stumbled into a world of some other humanoid? One that might give me about as much welcome as the vicious, many-legged creature out in the desert?

I kept this in mind as I approached one of the trees that flanked the overgrown wall and braced myself against its sturdy lower boughs. It allowed me to reach up and test the strength of the lattice of thick vines that hung down over the wall.

The plants felt surprisingly tough even after a few good yanks, so I got a good grip on one of the rough, leafy vines and started to climb. A few feet higher, the network of vines knotted closer together, and I was even able to use the ones below as footholds by setting my foot into each one like they were stirrups to help support my weight.

Ideally, from the top of the wall I’d be able to catch sight of some of this city’s inhabitants. Since I couldn’t automatically expect a warm welcome, I hoped I would fit in well enough to stride around among them without raising suspicion.

The roar of the crowd came and went intermittently as I climbed. I was sure I heard some sort of cheers and boos throughout them, like there really was some sporting event going on. Whatever it was, the crowd didn’t really sound close. The sound was definitely coming from inside the walls, but I thought maybe it was somewhere toward the center of the city.

Finally, I reached the top of the wall. Then I held my breath as I peered cautiously over to get my first glimpse of what lived in this mysterious city I’d stumbled upon.

Arena Road: Collect and Train Warrior Women. Chapter 1

New series from me.

I cruised down the highway with the sunset at my back. My truck’s cab cast a looming shadow ahead, but my headlights chased it away and replaced it with a calm yellow glow that was brighter than the dusty, cracked old lights that had been on the truck when I first acquired it. Now they were bright enough to carve a clear path through the growing darkness, but far from the type of glaring blue LED that would blind any cars driving in the opposite direction.

I was sort of the new kid on the block as a trucker, but I had already spent enough time driving at night to shell out a little for some minor adjustments to my beloved classic rig.

As the sun sank lower in the sky, a feeling that I’d already grown to love started to settle over me. There was something both calming and thrilling about night trips. Maybe it was the freshness of a new journey combined with the relative emptiness of the highway after most people had called it a day and gone home. It felt like the night was mine, and so was the road ahead.

And driving alongside the Columbia River Gorge was always a treat, no matter which highway I took. The one I typically took was Interstate 84 in Northern Oregon. But lately I had been putting more miles in on the second option, the one I was cruising down now: State Route 14 in Southern Washington. I did this partly just to switch things up, but also because Oregon’s road tax was high enough to make me grind my teeth at the prospect of taking that route too frequently.

Since my 1982 Marmon was small enough to squeak through the tunnels up on State Route 14, there wasn’t much to be lost by taking it instead of Interstate 84. The two highways ran parallel to each other, and the only thing separating them was the Columbia River Gorge. The gorge formed the border between the two states.

Both highways took me through the gorge’s tree-clad slopes and rocky cliffs, and either way, the river was constantly at my side. It made for a good companion at any time of day, but now, at sunset, it was especially beautiful.

The sun was low enough to wash the walls of the gorge’s tree-clad slopes and cliffs in a shade of cool dusky blue, but still high enough to breathe fire across the water’s glassy surface. When the night got darker, the silver moon would dance across the river instead.

During these times, I almost felt like I had stepped into one of the fantasy books I always listened to on my drives. The one playing now was an oldie, but a goodie, and I knew the rises and falls of the narrator’s voice so well that I probably could’ve told it myself.

But I wasn’t some bold, muscly badass like the heroes in the stories. I was fit enough to feel confident with my shirt off, which was a big improvement after my gangly highschool years. I’d also never considered myself a coward by any means, but at the end of the day, I was just an average guy, with an average body, and with the most average name of all time.

I was just John, an up and coming trucker looking for some good views and good travels.

Although, according to my boss, I was too pretty for the job.

Whatever the fuck that meant.

I shifted gears to climb one of the highway’s few slopes, and my surroundings were dim enough for my eye to immediately catch the sudden flare of hot orange-red behind me. It wasn’t as bright as the sun, but it was a hell of a lot closer.

“Dammit,” I muttered.

My phone was on the dash mount within easy reach. I reluctantly reached out and stabbed a finger at the pause button on the open BookFunnel app so I could listen to the engine.

I was irked by this little fire-show, but not exactly unnerved. Spitfire had earned her name by pulling this very same trick, spitting flame out of her exhaust pipe when I was hauling a heavy load uphill. But I thought I had resolved the issue with my last trip to the shop.

Spitfire was a bit of a clunker, but she was a classic, and I was probably one of ten or so guys in the USA still driving a Marmon cabover engine, so I was more than fond of the old gal. Fond enough to shell out an arm and a leg for repairs, which had proved to be a necessity. It was in my contract that any repairs to the truck had to be done at one of the shops associated with the company, even if it was an easy fix I could’ve handled myself. And of course, the company saw fit to charge me up the ass for every little thing.

During my last visit, they’d actually installed a pretty decent pyrometer, and it was something I tended to glance down at regularly by habit. It was almost second nature at this point. I gave it a closer look now to make sure I hadn’t missed anything.

I hadn’t. The temperature reading was still well within range.

A long sigh escaped me as I considered my immediate options.

The flash of fire from my exhaust pipe had only lasted for a second this time, but it still wasn’t something I could just ignore. Even though I was only leasing Spitfire now, I hoped to buy her outright once I could afford to. After that, I’d be able to do a full overhaul on the engine without my asshole boss finding creative new ways to wring money out of me in the process. If I could make it that long, an overhaul on the old girl would be cheaper than buying a newer truck. But for the time being, I needed to take care of these problems one by one when they came up, like sealing up holes in a leaky ship until it reached shore.

No, not a ship. A dreamboat.

Maybe it was a little janky at times, but the old truck was undeniably a timeless classic, and the thing had pretty much become my baby by this point. I needed to take care of her, even if I had to pay the damn shop for their overpriced repairs.

Luckily, I was just approaching an exit. I must have already passed the sign, but it had a long ramp I could already see. There was enough time for me to flip on my turn signal and triple-check my mirrors before I got over into the exit lane.

Then I down-shifted as I rolled down the sloping ramp and scanned over my surroundings. I had never needed to exit anywhere near this area of the highway. There were no restaurants where I could get a quick bite, and truck stops were scarce. I had also quickly learned that gas stations in this region tended to be small enough that they were annoying to maneuver even with my cabover’s tight turn radius. And even without that annoyance, it wasn’t my maneuvering that was an issue so much as the car drivers who parked like idiots and often felt the need to take up the few diesel pumps available instead of using one of the dozen other gas pumps.

By now, I knew I’d save myself a lot of headaches by fueling up strategically. And seeing exits as unhelpful as this one made me glad I had.

There was what might have once been a gas station just off the road, but it looked like it had been abandoned for decades. The building’s windows were boarded up, there were no gas pumps remaining, and the parking lot was being taken over by patches of short yellow grass.

Still, it was a good enough place for me to pull over and decide exactly what to do, and my truck trundled easily over the grassy pavement. Once I was off the road, I parked my truck in neutral and drummed my fingers lightly against the steering wheel as I considered my options.

A glance around me reminded me of all the stuff that would go flying if I tilted the cab forward to look at the engine. I’d been prepared for the necessity to take stuff out or secure it firmly in place since day one of driving old Spitfire in the event that I needed to take a peek at the engine, but in this case, it seemed a little pointless. I wouldn’t be allowed to lay a finger on the contraption even if I knew what was wrong.

The company would probably charge even more for sending someone out here to fix it. But I’d been working my ass off to work toward both buying the truck and having some amount of money stashed away, so I could technically spare the expense.

“Better to just get it over with,” I sighed.

It was no use dawdling here.

I was fine with waiting, but idling the truck until someone could come out to look at it went against my better inclination, so I prepared to turn it off as I snatched my GPS off the dash mount. I would need to tell the guy on the phone exactly where I was so he could make it out here.

I looked down at the GPS and froze with my other hand hovering an inch away from the ignition.

There was no exit marked on the map. According to the device, I was parked away from any sort of road whatsoever.

I frowned and pinched my fingers against the touch-screen to zoom out, thinking maybe it was some sort of glitch. But the highway was there, and so were all the other exits and various other amenities marked around them.

But in my current location, there was nothing.

There was also the fact that the little blue dot that marked my location on the map was blinking in a weird, irregular kind of way. It was almost flickering.

“Damned thing.” I scowled at the little device like it had personally offended me.

I could just picture the invoice from the mechanic if I called someone out here, especially at this hour. They’d probably already be charging me for the simple act of pulling a few levers to lift the cab or wiping a smudge of grease off their forehead, much less fixing whatever the hell was wrong with the engine. I couldn’t stomach having an extra few hundred dollars tacked onto the labor costs just because roadside service had to drive in circles trying to find me.

After some rummaging, I found the tightly-folded paper map I always brought along with me. I stretched it out awkwardly across the space beside me and smoothed out the deep creases well enough to see the surrounding area on the map.

It confirmed what the GPS had told me. There was nothing here.

I shook my head impatiently and decided to just drive on to the next exit before I called someone. That one was clearly marked on both the paper map and my GPS, and there were several stores just off it. It should be easy to send them my location from there. The pyrometer had stayed well within normal range, too, and my truck had only backfired the one time. I’d just have to make sure I gained a bit of momentum on the flat road down here before I drove up the mild slope back onto the highway. After that, I would take it easy and cruise a couple miles down to the next exit.

“You can do it, old girl,” I murmured as I gave the steering wheel a reassuring pat and acted like I wasn’t reassuring myself.

I put old Spitfire in gear and made sure to check left and right, even though by all appearances I was leaving the last remaining parking lot in some sort of ghost town. When everything seemed clear, I eased off the grassy paved area and back onto the flat road that led up to the entrance ramp back onto the freeway.

I had just straightened out when the fog started coming out of nowhere. One second, things were crystal clear. The next, it was everywhere and swirling across my windshield and the road in front of me.

“What the…?”

Washington weather could be fickle, and I knew fog tended to get blown in by the wind before it settled with the cool night air into the canyon-like gorge... but this seemed excessive even for valley fog. I could still see the on-ramp ahead, though, so I drove on straight and steady after double-checking that my low-beams were on. I even cracked the window to listen for approaching cars in case I couldn’t see them.

Then the fog got even thicker.

My forehead creased into a frown as I squinted doubtfully into the swirling whiteness. I couldn’t even see the damn exit ramp anymore, even though I’d been getting steadily closer to it.

I turned on my flashers just to be cautious and kept driving. I couldn’t exactly stop in the middle of the road. That would be even more dangerous than driving in this crazy fog. So I just kept my senses sharp and my grip on the wheel tight as I continued on at the same pace. As eager as I was to get out of the swirling fog, I didn’t gas it too much.

The faded yellow lines on the road below were still faintly visible, and I felt a surge of thankfulness that my truck was a cabover. I could keep a decent eye on the centerline to make sure I was heading straight, and I’d be able to see approaching cars better than I would in a conventional sleeper.

Then I hit a slight bump in the pavement, like the surface changed from rough to smooth, and I felt the beginnings of relief at the thought that it must’ve been the newer part of the road that connected to the entrance ramp.

But suddenly the fog’s slow swirl turned into a faster, chaotic motion.

Thick tendrils of it were rippling, whirling, and corkscrewing in every direction. It billowed in through my cracked window and writhed bizarrely around inside the cab.

My shocked inhale turned into coughing as icy tendrils seemed to force themselves into my lungs.

I rolled up the window as quickly as I could. The fog inside my cab seemed like it was dissipating now, and I took slow, deep breaths while I tried to ignore the fading white swirls around me so I could focus on getting through the ones outside. Whatever this freakish weather phenomenon was, I was determined not to get stuck in it. I was going to get through this. I had to be near the ramp by now.

But when the fog ahead started to glimmer, I couldn’t hold back a string of curses.

What the hell was going on?

There were halos of ghostly, colorful light dancing through the fog, with trails of glitter floating through them like stardust. I felt like I was driving through the sky during a solar storm with the colors of the northern lights swirling all around me.

This was insane. I was following both my CDL training and my instincts as accurately as possible, and for the first time, they were failing me. Nothing at truck school, or in life at all, had prepared me for swirly, luminous, blinding fog to descend on me out of nowhere. But there was no way I could be imagining this shit.

Then the truck started to vibrate from the outside, like I was going through one of those air blowers in a car wash.

“Son of a bitch,” I growled as my whole body shook.

It felt like there was a huge, crushing pressure all around. I tried to brake, but there was no response from my truck. I pressed the pedal down harder to be sure, but even when it was down flat, the truck’s pace didn’t change. I tried not to panic and tested my luck with the gas again instead, then the clutch.

Still, nothing happened. I couldn’t go faster, I couldn’t stop, I couldn’t even shift. I was just rolling along through this apparently endless magical fog.

Then, out of nowhere, the truck lurched forward with a suddenness that made my stomach drop. There was a horrible feeling of weightlessness as it continued to hurtle on like it had been launched out of a cannon, and I felt sure the wheels were no longer on the ground. The swirls of fog were whipping past my windshield faster and faster, and I started to feel sick to my stomach.

I kept my grip on the wheel rigid even though the idea of me being in control of the truck seemed laughable right now.

But it was a damn good thing I did.

The truck jolted down with a force that made my already-gritted teeth grind together audibly. I could easily sense the appearance of a hard, smooth surface under the tires again. But in front of my windshield, the fog was still whipping around like crazy, and I felt the truck wobble slightly.

I kept my grip on the wheel and tentatively pressed down on the clutch. My palm was slick against the stick as I tested its resistance. Then a wave of relief washed through me as it slid smoothly into gear. I knew it had less to do with the necessity of downshifting than with some sort of reassurance that the laws of physics as I knew them were still in place. At least I was in control of something.

I kept the flow of driving going, and felt another touch of reassurance when the gas pedal reacted the way I was used to it reacting.

When the fog started to finally thin out, it was like icing on the cake.

I couldn’t hold back a whoop of relief. “Finall—”

The word died on my lips as my surroundings came into view, and my jaw dropped.

The first thing I noticed was the road I was on. It stretched far into the distance ahead, but it wasn’t the road I had been on just a few minutes ago. It wasn’t like any road I had ever seen.

It was a pure, pristine white, and the surface looked smooth and glossy. The white color had a cool blue sheen to it that wasn’t glowing with light in the way the swirling fog had been. Instead, it was iridescent, like a moonstone. It was perfectly shaped, with an even surface and smooth sides that fell down to meet the ground around it.

And the ground around it was even more shocking than the road.

There was no landscape like this in Washington.

The surface looked barren and parched, with deep cracks running through its dusty umber-colored surface. Just like the road, it stretched off endlessly into the distance.

In every direction.

“Where… the fuck am I?” I breathed.

I had driven through Eastern Washington’s deserts on my routes before. They had been dry and hot during the summer, but still full of life in their own way. There had been a bunch of scrubby desert plants, Junipers and Sage Brush, and stiff yellow grass everywhere. There had been animals, too, like birds, rabbits, snakes, deer, and bobcats. I had even seen a few coyotes skulking around and blending in perfectly with the yellowish grass.

But the land I was in now was completely different. This strange hellhole of a desert made Eastern Washington look like a tropical paradise. There was no shred of evidence around me that suggested any form of plant or animal life. Just the hard-packed ground, the smooth white road, and the sun.

It was like a whole different world out here.

And I had a fluttering feeling in my stomach as I realized it really did seem to actually be a whole different world.

A world I’d passed through a crazy foggy portal to get through just like the dudes in the audiobooks I loved.

Holy shit, I sounded crazy.

The sun was one thing that didn’t seem quite as different as the rest of my surroundings. It was in the same place it had been before, at least, with the last sliver of the fiery orange disk just visible above the horizon.

I turned away from the unsettling view of the world around me to cast a hopeful look at my GPS. It was still in its place mounted on the dashboard, but the screen was black now, and it didn’t flicker back into life when I desperately pressed every last button on the outside of the device.

The same thing turned out to be true with my phone. I even fished around for the portable battery I always carefully charged up before every trip. I ignored my personal possessions going flying in every direction as I rummaged for my phone’s charging cord next.

Finally I found it, and I plugged one end triumphantly into the USB port of the battery. Then, more slowly, I inserted the other end of the cord into my phone.

I held my breath as it clicked neatly into place.

Nothing.

I felt a small jolt of surprise when I realized the little old rectangular clock on Spitfire’s dashboard was still working. The black analog numbers on its gray screen showed that a little over five minutes had passed since I left the grassy yellow parking lot.

It was impressive that old Spitfire’s clock had weathered the journey when my other electronics hadn’t, but at the moment, this wasn’t exactly helpful in helping me get home from… wherever the hell I was.

“Okay, then,” I exhaled.

Well, now that I’d ruled out calling for help, the next thing on my agenda was something that had less to do with survival than with preventing myself from losing my shit completely.

I had to prove to myself that I hadn’t gone insane. That I wasn’t dreaming, or having some sort of nervous breakdown and hallucinating all this.

So I swung open the door of my truck and descended carefully toward the ground. I made sure to keep a grip on the door until I found my footing, but then I found myself wondering why the hell I was moving not just with my usual carefulness, but with the slow caution of an elderly turtle.

I came to a halt.

After a few seconds, I realized it was dread that kept me from moving. I was flooded with it.

What would happen when my foot touched that glossy white road below?

I figured there were two scenarios. Scenario A was that it would be another one of my five senses confirming that this was real--that I was trapped in the middle of a vast, empty wasteland.

Scenario B was that I had gone completely off the rails.

Dread was fine, I decided. What mattered was proving to myself that I wouldn’t let that dread own me.

With that in mind, I took the last few steps down. I finished the last one with a brisk, decisive hop to land with both feet planted firmly on the ground.

And they did land. My black boots thumped hard onto the smooth white surface. I crouched and ran a cautious hand over it, and I watched the fading sunlight play off the iridescence inside. It felt and looked almost like some type of polished gemstone, and it appeared completely seamless.

I turned to look behind my truck in the direction I had come from. The white road stretched off in that direction, too.

But in the air above it… there was the same fog.

My stomach leapt with something between excitement and fear.

The fog was a pure, misty white with no colorful glow, just a smooth, gentle swirling to it. Just like it had appeared when I first entered into this crazy situation on the on-ramp.

I marched determinedly up to the cloud of fog but stopped a cautious few feet away when I remembered the way it had seemed to catch in my throat when it swept into the cab of my truck.

After a moment’s thought, I pulled off the button-up flannel shirt that I wore over a dark t-shirt. Despite my desert-like surroundings, the darkening air felt cool against my arms as I reached up to tie the flannel around the bottom lower half of my face so it would shield my nose and mouth from the fog. Then I tucked the hanging bottom of it into the neck of my dark t-shirt as snugly as I could so no foggy air would flow up from underneath.

Then I stuck both arms out straight in front of me and took a slow step into the fog.

I probably looked like a zombie, but I didn’t care. Not only was there no one around to see, but even if there had been, the benefit of caution far outweighed the risk of looking like a jackass in this situation.

The fog started to swirl around my extended fingers as I advanced, and I shivered slightly but took another step. And then another. The swirling intensified, and it started to encircle my arms, then my torso. It was almost like the foggy tendrils wanted to wrap around me and drag me away into the thickening center of the cloud ahead.

But then, after another step, I started encountering some weird sort of resistance in the air. It felt almost like trying to push the wrong sides of two magnets together. I couldn’t see what was stopping me, but I could sure as hell feel it.

After a few more steps, I couldn’t go any further.

I backed out of the fog’s chilly embrace feeling oddly relieved. It was true that I hadn’t been able to pass through the fog just now, but it was definitely, unmistakably there. And I had no idea how any of it worked, but one thing that seemed clear was that the fog was how I’d gotten here.

So the fog was one piece of the puzzle. The other piece must have been…

“My truck.” I almost whispered the words.

Spitfire, my tough-as-nails 1982 Marmon semi, was what had gotten me through.

A thousand questions leaped into my mind with this realization. Why? How? Was it just my truck who could manage a trip like this, or were there others? Was I the first person to come here, ever?

And more importantly, what the hell was this place?

The last shard of the fiery sun was just slipping out of sight below the horizon when I walked back to the driver’s side of the truck.

Then I froze there mid-step and stared at what I could now see in the distance across the vast empty desert.

Lights.

A bunch of them.

They were all blooming like golden flowers in the growing darkness.

My thoughts went into overdrive, and I tapped my heel briskly against the ground to release some of the nervous energy while I debated my next course of action.

If I hadn’t seen the lights, I might have just turned my truck around and driven right back through the fog.

Right back to call someone to come out and look at the truck, and then to deal with the outrageous cost of that minor task, along with the more substantial cost of any repairs, minor or not. And, of course, the unending bitching and moaning from my boss, who was essentially the reason for that outrageous cost.

But…

Why go right away?

I turned back to stare into the swirling fog again. It still appeared unchanged. It didn’t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon.

Why not stay for a while and explore? Why not seek out the origin of the mysterious lights? Any form of life that could exist in this empty, desolate land had to be something exciting. Something worth seeing.

Hell, I might be in a whole new fucking world. This was beyond anything I’d ever dreamed. This was the stuff of the stories I practically inhaled during my time on the road, and I was standing right here at the edge of the unknown.

I thought back to the way I felt on my night drives, how seeing the silver moon on the dark river’s surface made me feel almost like I had slipped into one of my favorite audiobooks.

Something else stirred in my chest as I turned away from the fog again and back to the golden lights that burned brighter as the sun’s afterglow faded away. Something similar, but closer and more tangible.

Something real.

I’d felt it for myself, this place wasn’t some hallucination. It looked completely out of this world, and whatever sort of civilization existed here was right there across the desert.

And I had my truck to cross over it.

Just to be sure, I hurried over the glossy white road to test the surface of the dry cracked ground. Under my feet, it felt just as solid as it looked.

“Fuck it,” I half laughed to myself.

Then I climbed back up with renewed energy and swung like a monkey into the cab of my truck.

Wanderlust was a very real part of what had drawn me to a career as a truck driver, and I couldn’t deny that my life on the road had helped to fulfill that somewhat.

But up until tonight, when I stared off into the distance with my eyes fixed on those glowing golden lights, I hadn’t realized how much I’d been craving more.

And it seemed like I may have just found more than I’d ever dreamed.

“Let’s do this,” I said under my breath, and I gave Spitfire’s steering wheel another grateful pat before I put the key back in the ignition.

She started up without a hitch and slid easily into gear. The truck bumped slightly as I directed it off the edge of the smooth white road and onto the dusty ground.

I didn’t know exactly where I was going, but I couldn’t wait to find out.

The OP MC 12 NSFW cover!

The artist did a great job on this one. I love Akina's outfit.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09ZYTD4J3

The OP MC 12 is out!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09ZYTD4J3

The OP MC 12 Chapter 4

I was elated with Akina’s choice, but I wasn’t done with her for the night. I still had a save point to take advantage of, after all, so I reset with a wave of my will power.

Chime.

I stood staring at Akina’s nude beauty once more, and this time, I launched myself at the bed with gusto. I claimed every part of her body with my mouth, and then I took her as my own once more.

Her orgasms grew stronger and stronger with each reset, but I was far from done with her.

Chime.

I fucked her sideways from behind until her back arched, and she drove her hips backward to meet each of my thrusts as she cried out in bliss.

Chime.

I taught her how to sixty-nine, and we both came in a glorious fountain of juices.

Chime.

I experimented with different tactics, and I pulled her hair roughly until a guttural growl escaped her lips. She must have liked it because it made her come harder than ever before.

Chime.

Chime.

Chime.

Each time I reset, I managed to give her an even more powerful orgasm, and they grew closer and closer together with each reset. By the time I was satisfied with the results, Akina lay in a puddle of her own love juices with her mouth hanging agape and her eyes staring off into infinity.

She was too out of it to even speak, so she didn’t make the same request to join me in Bastianville the last time, but I curled up behind her and pulled her against me before I fell into a peaceful slumber.

It was just before dawn when I awoke, if the pale purple light leaking in from the hole in the ceiling was any indication. Akina slept peacefully against my chest, and I was hesitant to move for fear of waking her up. I stared at her beautiful sleeping face for a while, but then my bladder called out for release.

I slipped carefully out from underneath the sexy sleeping desert dweller, and I replaced my chest with a pillow as smoothly as I could. Akina didn’t wake, so I stepped out of her tent to relieve myself. Her eyes were open when I reentered the tent, however, and she yawned before she flashed me a broad smile.

“How did you sleep?” she asked in a sleepy voice.

“Perfectly,” I breathed. “I actually don’t remember the last time I slept that good.”

“Good.” Akina grinned, but then she patted the bed beside her. “Now, come back over here and keep me warm.”

“Yes, ma’am,” I growled playfully.

“Bash…” Akina asked as I lay beside her, but then she fell silent once more.

“Yes?” I pressed in a curious tone, but I had a feeling I knew what she was going to say already.

Just another part of being the God of Time.

“Do you think I can… return to Bastianville with you?” Akina rolled over so she could face me, and she bit her lower lip nervously. “I don’t want to be away from you ever again.”

“Abso-fucking-lutely.” I squeezed her tightly. “I’ve been waiting for you to ask.”

“I was afraid you would say no,” Akina admitted with a sheepish smile. “So I told myself I would be satisfied with spending one night with you. But now…”

“There’s no way I could refuse you since I feel the same as you,” I explained. “I never want to be apart if we can help it.”

A smile as radiant as the dawn over the sand dunes spread over Akina’s face, and she leaned forward and seized my lips in a passionate kiss.

We cuddled until the daylight burned through the tent opening, and the heat of the desert day began to set in. Then we got dressed and joined the others for breakfast, and Zenda showed me the food they’d set aside for the two of us.

“Did you have a good night?” Eva asked in a teasing voice.

“Yes…” Akina blushed, but she nodded.

“Akina has decided to return to Bastianville with us,” I informed my ladies. “She’s officially a member of our little tribe.”

“We hoped so,” Caelia said, and she flashed the desert dweller a warm smile. “Welcome to the family, Akina.”

“That’s wonderful news!” Zenda gushed as she squeezed the desert beauty’s hand. “I can’t believe it took you so long to make the decision.”

“It wasn’t an easy choice,” Akina pointed out.

“Oh, we understand,” Eva assured her. “We just like to give each other a hard time every once in a while.”

“I can take some good natured ribbing,” Akina said, and a smile stretched her thin lips. “Thank you for welcoming me.”

“So much for leaving at dawn,” Caelia giggled as she flashed me a sly look. “Although, we were all up late celebrating, so I’m glad we weren’t rushed to leave.”

“Yeah, I’ll need to talk to the chiefs with us before we can head out,” I said. “I don’t want the tribes to feel like I’m abandoning them after I just established my power here.”

“What are you going to do?” Eva asked as a frown creased her brow.

“I haven’t decided just yet,” I admitted. “But I’ll come up with something. I always do.”

“You know we will support whatever you choose one hundred percent,” Caelia said.

“One of the million reasons I love you all.” I winked and blew the shopkeeper a kiss.

Then I munched on some of my breakfast as I thought about my options. I couldn’t leave the Kotar Desert unprotected, but now they had the alliance to lean on in my absence. If they could work together, then no threat would be too strong for them to face, but I still worried that the alliance would fall apart the moment I left the south.

I needed someone I trusted to stay nearby and keep an eye on things for me, but who?

There were several options to choose from since I wasn’t short on loyal followers, but not all of them would make a good match for the desert dwellers. I needed someone the tribes would trust, and that limited the field a little.

“What’s on your mind?” Akina asked in a curious tone after she’d cleaned her bowl. She handed the empty dish off to Zenda, brushed her hands off on her pants, and took the spot beside me. “You look deep in thought.”

“I just want to do what is best for the desert dwellers,” I explained. “I don’t want anyone to think I’m abandoning them by returning to my home.”

“You’ve spent a long time helping the people of Kotar,” Akina pointed out. “Everyone will understand that you have other responsibilities to attend to. Just be honest and straight with the chiefs, and they will accept your words.”

“I hope so.” I smiled, but it felt more forced than I wanted it to.

“The crown of the Archduke must be heavy,” Eva said in a knowing tone.

“You always have our support,” Caelia said.

“And whatever help we can give,” Zenda added.

“Thanks.” My smile was less forced the second time around.

I was one lucky god.

I had six amazing women to share my bed with, a beautiful daughter with more children on the way, an army of loyal followers, and more money than I could spend in a single lifetime.

I was determined to do the right thing with the luck I’d been given.

“Summon the chiefs to my tent in an hour,” I instructed with a curt nod. “I’ll address all their concerns before we prepare to leave.”

“Yes, Bash,” Akina said. “I will let them know right away.”

The desert dweller smiled before she left the firepit to do as I asked, and I exchanged a knowing glance with the other girls.

“She’s got spirit,” Caelia remarked in a pleased tone. “She’ll make a good addition.”

“Mahini will be overjoyed to have more of her people in Bastianville,” Eva added. “Akina will be a boon when we all start having our babies as well.”

“I know she will,” I said. “She’s amazing, and I’m obviously smitten.”

“It’s safe to say the feeling is mutual,” Zenda observed. “But only a mad woman would deny the charisma of the God of Time.”

“It has yet to happen,” I chuckled.

“And probably never will,” Eva noted with a smirk.

“Just as long as we all still get to spend time together,” Caelia said. “Then I’m happy for you both.”

“I’ll always make time for my girls,” I promised. “You have my word.”

“The word of a god is a powerful gift,” Zenda pointed out. “It means a lot to us.”

“It should.” I smirked. “Now, I have a meeting to prepare for. Wish me luck.”

“As if you need it,” Eva laughed. “Go. Take care of business. We will make our own arrangements in preparation for departure.”

“Get Jorgen and Corvis to come to my tent as well,” I instructed. “They should hear what I have to say, too.”

“Done,” Caelia said with a quick nod. Then the shopkeeper disappeared between the tents that dotted the landscape in search of my two commanding officers.

I made my way to the tent I shared with the three women, but it felt like it had been forever since I’d been there. After all the time I spent in the catacombs, and then spending the night with Akina, my tent was a welcome sight. I glanced over my belongings quickly as I waited for the chiefs to arrive, and Nameless squawked from outside the flap a moment later.

The little dragon had been spending more and more of his time aloft, but he still came down to visit me every morning to demand his breakfast. I fetched him some chunks of meat from the barrel in the corner, and I sat down to watch him enjoy his meal.

Delicious.

I wasn’t sure how much the little dragon knew, but his vocabulary seemed to be growing every day. His iridescent scales gleamed in the light of the sun streaming through the tent opening, and he munched happily on the meat as I watched.

I’d found his egg when chasing after the means to make dragonscale armor, and an accidental drop had led to his hatching secret being revealed. His egg needed live magma in order to hatch, but once I’d figured it out, he’d imprinted on me immediately after escaping the remnants of his shell.

Nameless finished his meal, squawked at me again, and then disappeared out the tent opening once more.

“So much for conversation,” I muttered to myself in an amused tone.

I couldn’t wait until I could have full conversations with the little dragon, but I was a patient god, and I wasn’t entirely eager to have him at his full size just yet. There was still much I had to teach him, and he was growing so fast, it felt like I was running out of time.

Were there more dragon eggs out there?

Nameless was very different from the only other dragon I’d seen in person, but Smiguel the firebreather had definitely been full grown when I vanquished him. Smiguel had been the size of a house, and he’d dwarfed every building he roosted on. In contrast, Nameless was the size of a bulldog, but he was quickly reaching German shepherd size. Smiguel could breathe fire from his snout, but Nameless had a lightning attack that had proven incredibly useful during my fight against the legendary Hydra. I wouldn’t trade my little dragon for the big one, that was for sure, but soon I wouldn’t have a choice.

A short while later, the three chiefs approached my tent, and Jorgen and Corvis were only a short distance behind them. The shaggy haired horse master stood out in strong contrast to his clean shaven hunter fellow, but neither of them wore the turban and scarf we’d adopted for our trek across the sands. The three chiefs were all in full regalia garb, and the colors of their turbans and robes marked them from their brothers.

The Kanuakian black and white stood out between the blue of the Casamoni and the brown of the Kimaku Tribe. Chief Kuaki wore a simple black turban with white veil, but he was the leader of the fire mages, and his warriors had earned a lot of glory in the Battle of the Monsters. Chief Ata of the Casamonis stood to his left in a blue turban and scarf over black robes. The nomads would finally have a home in the new territory, but I knew they would forever be protective of their Brumeux brothers. Chief Takini of my wife’s tribe was unveiled, and his long brown beard was braided into many sections like octopus tentacles.

“Thank you for coming here today,” I said as I gestured to the circle of pillows the women and I had arranged around the fire pit. “Please, have a seat. We have much to discuss.”

I spoke in the language I’d created out of a blend of the many tribal dialects, so I wasn’t sure how much of what I said would be understood, but it had been enough to communicate war plans.

“What is the meaning of this?” Chief Ata frowned as he pulled back his scarf to reveal a scarred face. “We must prepare for our departure. We’ve wasted much daylight already.”

“My people as well,” I agreed, and I inclined my head toward the pillows. “Please.”

“Very well,” the leader of the Casamoni Tribe huffed, but then he lowered himself into a cross legged position on the pillow behind him.

The others followed suit, and Jorgen and Corvis saluted as they took their places. I waited until everyone was seated before I cleared my throat, but then I got straight to the point.

“There is still a threat to the Kotar Desert,” I said. “And it may already be threatening the safety of my home.”

“You’re leaving,” Chief Takini said, and his brow creased into a frown as he pulled on his braided beard.

I glanced around the firepit to gauge the others’ reactions, and I saw frowns all around. No one looked pleased at the thought of me leaving, but it was time to leave the Kotar Desert and go on to bigger things.

God things.

“There’s another god out there,” I explained. “The God of the Plague. I believe he is responsible for the deaths of the villagers in the oasis we just left. He also infected one of the cocono trees in the Brimeux oasis.”

“The God of the Plague?” Chief Ata frowned even deeper, and he glanced from side to side at his fellow chiefs. “Do you believe these words?”

“The Great One has led us to victory more than once,” Chief Kuaki pointed out in a calm tone. The large fire mage hadn’t seen me fight personally, but his closest people had, and I knew he respected me. “It is time for us to take up his sword of justice. The alliance stands whether or not the God of Time is in the Kotar Desert.”

“Exactly,” I agreed. “Plus, you won’t be alone completely.”

“Where will this other god strike next?” Chief Takini asked. “How do we combat it?”

“There are a lot of questions remaining,” I allowed in a vague tone. “But I promise you I will hunt him down and remove this threat. The Kotar Desert will be safe from the God of the Plague, but this isn’t the only realm I’m responsible for. I have my home territory to protect, and I have to put them first right now.”

“We will fight in your stead,” Chief Kuaki swore. “The alliance will be honored. The Kotar Desert will see peace.”

I sat on a pillow, and right on cue, Eva, Zenda, and Caelia brought out the chalices and bottles of wine. The women served everyone a serving of the beverage, and I lifted my glass to signal for a toast.

“To the alliance!” I said, and everyone echoed my words. “May it forever bring peace to the south.”

“To the God of Time,” Chief Kuaki said as he lifted his glass again, and the others muttered an echo of his words as they all sipped their drinks.

“To the future,” Jorgen said, and everyone chuckled as they repeated the words.

“Thank you, Jorgen,” I said after we’d all toasted the future. “That reminds me, I have made a decision.”

“Sir?” Jorgen tilted his head.

I cleared my throat until all eyes were on me once more, and then I gestured to the hunter across the firepit from me.

“I hereby name Jorgen as the new Duke of Kotar,” I announced. “He will remain in the peninsula fortress and give out commands in my name.”

“And the name of your king?” Chief Ata questioned.

“I’ll alert him to Jorgen’s position,” I said. “And explain that the alliance works in harmony with the crown and me. We all want the same thing. Peace.”

“This could be a way for your kingdom to seize power in Kotar.” Chief Takini crossed his arms over his chest.

“This is a way to support you while I’m busy,” I said simply with a shrug of one shoulder. “Whether or not you accept his legitimacy is your choice. One way ends in peace. The other…? I don’t want to fight my friends.”

“Understood,” Chief Ata grunted. “But what if we need you urgently and your man cannot contact you?”

I racked my brain for an answer, but the chief had a point.

“If I may say something,” Zenda interjected in an apologetic tone. “I may have a way around the limitations of your fast travel amulets, but I need to get back to my library in Bastianville to do more research before I will know for certain.”

“That’s awesome.” My eyebrows rose in surprise. “Does that satisfy you, Chief Ata?”

“If you can do it,” the chief muttered.

“Those are my terms,” I continued. “It’s a way for me to continue to help you through the beginning of the alliance.”

“The Casamoni Tribe agrees to your terms,” Chief Ata said after a long silence.

I glanced at the others, and they nodded their heads.

“The Kimaku Tribe accepts your deal,” Chief Takini said.

“As does the Kanuaki Tribe,” Chief Kuaki added.

“Good.” I grinned.

“Sir?” Jorgen asked in Sorreyalian as he swallowed hard. “I don’t mean to question your plan, but are you sure about me being a duke? I’m not noble or anything like that.”

“I’m sure,” I said without hesitation. “Out of all the northerners following me, you know the Kotar Desert better than anyone except me now.”

“What does your duke say?” Chief Ata asked.

“He says he accepts his new role,” I said, and Jorgen smirked.

The meeting was dismissed a short while later, and I set about to write a letter to King Frederick. I wanted to let him know about all the things that had happened since I’d left the north, and to warn him about the dangers of the God of the Plague.

I also wrote a letter to Riondale at the peninsula to instruct him to meet the army on the trek north, and I explained to the general that Jorgen would be taking over control of the fortress.

I sent my most trusted scout, Trava, to Vallenwood in the north, and I knew without a shadow of a doubt my letter would make it directly to King Fred’s hands. Then I sent another scout with the message for Riondale to the peninsula, and I expected a much faster return on that message.

“What will King Fred think about this new god?” Eva asked as we watched the scout ride off across the sands.

“We’ll find out soon enough,” I said. “For now, let’s focus on getting everyone home safely.”

“Yes, Bash, of course.” Eva rubbed her growing belly. “We’re all ready to be home again.”

“I can blip you back tonight if you want?” I offered in a comforting tone. “There is a long road ahead of us.”

“I will remain with the army,” Eva insisted.

“She’s a stubborn one, Bash,” Caelia warned in a playful voice. “But I wouldn’t mind to, what do you call it? Blip? I need to check on my store.”

“What about you Zenda?” I asked. “The map is done. Do you want to fast travel back to Bastianville in order to work on production of copies faster?”

“I will remain with the army,” Zenda said. “I would like to get to know our newest sister better.”

“Akina,” I chuckled. “It will be hard on her to leave her home, so I’m not going to rush her at all.”

“She’ll come around,” Caelia promised. “We all had to make some adjustments in order to live happily together, but it’s worth the effort.”

That evening, Caelia and I clasped hands as I performed the fast travel ritual that would take me across the world to the other half of the amulet I wore around my neck. Blue wisps of magic circled us, and then we completely disappeared. When I opened my eyes, we stood in the middle of Bastianville directly in front of Caelia’s general store.

“Well, isn’t that convenient?” I chuckled. “Meet back at the house later?”

“Sounds like a plan.” Caelia stood up on her tiptoes to press a kiss against my cheek.

I glanced around in search of Mahini or Elissa, and I spotted the red-haired mother of my first born walking through the door of Caelia’s shop. The two women embraced, and then Caelia disappeared inside the store. I quickly crossed the distance between my wife and I, but she didn’t spot me until I was right on her.

“Bash!” Elissa squealed with delight as she threw herself into my arms.

“Lissy!” I laughed out loud as I spun my tiny goddess around in a circle.

Elissa wrapped her legs around my waist and her arms around my neck, and the beautiful redhead peppered my face with excited kisses. It was several moments before she released my head from her grasp, and we both laughed as my feet instinctively turned toward our home. We’d recently moved into our newly built castle, and I hadn’t had much time to enjoy the new environment just yet, so I was eager to get home.

“Where are you going?” Elissa giggled. “I haven’t finished my shopping.”

“I want to spend time with my entire family,” I explained.

“Mahini is still in training, and Sorena is with the night nurse.” Elissa repositioned herself in my arms. “The house is empty.”

“I have news to share, and I want everyone together for it.” I frowned as I glanced up and down the street. “Where is Mahini training at? I’ll fetch her while you grab Sorena.”

“I take it Caelia already knows whatever you’re going to tell us?” Elissa asked.

“Yes, I told the others in the desert.” I gently placed her on her feet. “Meet me back at the castle in a few minutes, and you’ll find out everything then.”

“Yes, Bash,” Elissa said, and I was surprised at how quickly she adapted a serious tone.

A short while later, Mahini, Elissa, Sorena and I were seated in the sitting room of the castle, and the two women fussed over the baby while I waited for the servants to clear the tea cups.

“What happened, Bash?” Mahini asked in an urgent voice. “What’s going on?”

“I’m bringing the army back to Bastianville,” I explained. “I need to make sure the town is safe. There is a new threat on the horizon.”

“What is it this time?” Elissa asked. “Another dragon?”

“Nothing that cool,” I chuckled. “This is another god. Someone like me.”

“Like the God of the Purge,” Mahini stated, and she pressed her lips into a thin white line. “I don’t like the sound of this so far.”

“This one calls himself the God of the Plague,” I said. “Don’t worry, I won’t let him anywhere near our family.”

“We believe you, Bash,” Elissa assured me.

“You need to find him before he finds you,” Mahini said, and a hand went to her swollen belly. She was getting closer to childbirth with every passing day, and that was another reason I needed to come back home. “Don’t let him find us.”

“I won’t,” I swore, but then I remembered the rest of the news I wanted to share. “Oh, yeah, Akina is coming home with me.”

“Really?” Mahini’s voice was full of excitement.

“Yep.” I grinned.

“How wonderful,” Elissa breathed. “You know we could use all the help we can get now that so many of us are pregnant.”

“Plus, someone to watch your back while we are at home with the children,” Mahini added.

“So we are all cool with Akina living in the castle with us?” My grin grew even wider.

“We will prepare a room for her,” Elissa offered with a nod.

“I can’t wait until we can discuss everything that has happened with her,” Mahini said.

I blipped back to the desert the next morning, but I made sure to get in lots of cuddles with my daughter, Sorena, before I left.

When I arrived back in the Kotar Desert, my camp was just beginning to rouse, and I gave out the command to pack up and head out. We’d spent a week camped out in front of the oasis where the catacombs lay, but now it was time to go home.

The camp bustled with activity a moment later, and everyone leapt to follow my orders.

It was a couple of hours after dawn when my caravan began to pull away.

We were on our way.

Bastianville awaited.

The OP MC 12 Chapter 3

We’d reached the end.

Everything made a lot more sense now.

The sorcerer had stumbled upon the means to summon the legendary monsters while on a mission to awaken the God of the Plague, but he’d bitten off more than he could chew and found himself a servant to the god he’d summoned. Fortunately, he was a dead sorcerer now, thanks to me.

My mind raced as I considered the implications of what I’d just found. This could change everything. There were more gods in Sorreyal, and they were people like me who were summoned from Earth.

Things were about to get really interesting in this medieval fantasy world.

I had to hunt down this other god and kill him like I had the God of the Purge, but considering how much of a challenge the mind controlling asshole had been, this wasn’t going to be an easy task.

I wasn’t one to walk away from a challenge, though, so I considered what I would have to do this time.

“What are you staring at?” Akina asked in a curious voice.

“Do you not see the words on the wall?” I asked. “They’re right there above the altar.”

“I see no words.” Akina frowned. “Maybe it’s only for the gods to see.”

“That makes sense.” I shrugged. “Mahini couldn’t see the words in my catacombs either.”

“Your catacombs?” Akina asked.

“The ones where I was summoned,” I explained. “I fought off a sorcerer intent on killing me to steal my power, and shortly after that fight, I found an inscription detailing my new abilities and powers.”

“So, what do we do now?” Akina asked, but she kept a tight grip on her flame sword.

“Explore the remainder of the catacombs before we return to our people,” I instructed. “Then we will send a team in to fetch that chest full of gold.”

“Our people will be happy we made it out of this death trap alive,” Akina observed. “There will be celebrations tonight, I can guarantee it.”

“Save me a dance?” I requested.

“Of course.” Akina smiled. “Now, let’s finish this up and get out of here. I’m craving some fresh air.”

“Me, too,” I chuckled.

I cast one last glance at the inscription on the wall before I turned away from the altar, and Akina led the way into the tunnels beside it. We found a few more skeletons guarding empty tombs, and we worked together to dispatch them efficiently. The low level enemies didn’t give either of us any trouble, but it showed there were still things guarding the catacombs the others who came before us didn’t kill.

I found a few more ancient, rusted weapons on the skeletons, but Akina took these and said she’d clean them up. Her interest in the dilapidated blades intrigued me, but I let her have her daggers and didn’t comment.

Once we explored the remaining tunnels, we made our way back to the surface, and I went back through every room we’d explored to make sure I hadn’t missed anything. I aimed for one hundred percent completion, after all.

We passed through the junction where the mummy had lain, and I glanced inside the room with the chest full of gold to double check my memory of its location.

Then we began the trek back up to the entrance.

“Well, that was fun,” Akina said as we made our way to the top of the spiraling tunnel, and then she cast me a quick and shy glance. “We should go on more quests with just the two of us.”

“You’re right.” I grinned. “We learned a lot, too. I can’t wait to tell the others about what I found.”

“Then you’re going to leave the desert, aren’t you?” I could hear the frown in Akina’s voice.

“Does that disappoint you?” I kept my voice soft and comforting.

“A little,” Akina sighed. “But I have no control over these things. I must accept my fate.”

“You make it sound like you’re going to die,” I chuckled. “Nothing bad is going to happen once I leave, and if anyone tries to fuck with the tribes, then I’ll come back with guns blazing.”

“Guns?” Akina asked as she cocked her head.

“Things from my world,” I explained as I turned around and illuminated her face with my flame spell. “They use powder to make a small explosion that sends a piece of metal great distances. They’re like bows and arrows but with metal.”

“There isn’t much metal in the desert,” Akina pointed out. “But they sound useful. Guns. Guns.”

She played with the new word for a while, and I turned back to the front of the tunnel. She’d learn a lot more about Earth if she spent any more time with me, and I looked forward to hearing her experiment with new words. I could offer to bring her back to Bastianville with me, but I wasn’t sure if she would leave her tribe behind in order to travel with my caravan north. There was a very good chance she would reject my proposal, but I had to find out for sure.

I made a mental note to discuss it with her later, and I returned my focus to the tunnel ahead of me.

Daylight streamed in through the open door at the entrance to the catacombs, and I extinguished the flame spell in my hand since I could see without it. The woods outside the entrance came into view, and we paused at the threshold to look around. The forest was quiet except for the occasional chirping of birds, and it seemed like everything was exactly how we’d left it.

“Let’s get back to camp,” I suggested. “I need to discuss what I found with the others.”

“Do you think something bad is going to happen?” Akina asked.

“My fight is far from over,” I said. “But it’s nothing I can’t handle.”

We made our way through the oasis, and we reached the tree line on the perimeter a short while later. The harshness of the sun striking the desert warmed my skin beneath my armor, and I licked my suddenly dry lips. Thankfully, I could see the banners and tents of my army waving in the wind, and Goliath waited on the edge of the oasis for me.

I mounted my steed, and I pulled Akina onto his rump behind me. Then the two of us galloped across the sands toward my camp, and Akina gripped me around the waist tightly as we rode. A scout came up to grab my horse’s reins as soon as we entered the camp, and we both slid off Goliath’s back to land in the sand.

“Thank you,” I said to the scout. “Make sure he has plenty of food and water?”

“Yes, sir, Great One,” the scout replied with a curt salute. “It will be done.”

“Good.” I nodded, but then I turned toward the center of camp. “Let’s find the others.”

“I need to check in with the other members of my tribe to let them know I made it back safely,” Akina said with a reluctant expression. “I’ll meet you at your tent later.”

“Can’t wait.” I grinned. “And thanks again for going on that adventure with me. Your presence made it much more enjoyable than it would have been if I’d been alone.”

“It’s the least I could do, Bash,” Akina said, and she smiled over her shoulder at me before she disappeared between the tents.

“Sir!” Jorgen’s voice called out from my left.

I turned to see the hunter approaching, and I greeted him with a broad smile. Jorgen had been a loyal follower of mine ever since I’d defeated the fire breathing dragon, Smiguel, in Castle Bullard. He’d originally been assigned to me from the duke, but then Jorgen and the others had chosen to follow me back to Bastianville, and they’d all sworn their loyalty to me and only me. I trusted him with my life, and with the lives of those I loved.

“What’s up, J-Dawg?” I asked in a pleasant tone.

“Scouts have reported movement to the west of us,” the hunter said. “They’re coming this way.”

“Who are they?” I asked with a furrowed brow. “How many are coming?”

“It looks like several tribes are traveling together,” Jorgen said. “They’ll arrive before nightfall at their current pace.”

“Well, we’ll be ready to greet them when they arrive,” I said. “I’m sure they’re friendly. We’ve already gotten rid of anything hostile in the Kotar Desert.”

“As far as we know,” Jorgen said in a pensive tone. “There could still be threats out there working against us.”

“Where’s Corvis?” I asked.

“Where do you think?” Jorgen snickered. “He’s with his beloved beasts of burden, of course. Shall I fetch him for you?”

“Yep.” I nodded. “Both of you come to my tent. I have new information to share with you and the others.”

“Yes, sir.” Jorgen saluted before he trotted off to find Corvis.

A blur of motion in the corner of my eyes alerted me to someone’s approach, and I turned just in time to catch Zenda in my arms. The blue-skinned beauty flung herself into my embrace, and she buried her face against my chest. Her algae-green hair tickled my chin, and I smiled as I tilted her head up toward mine. Our lips brushed against each other softly, and the Zaborian sighed into my mouth.

“Nice to see you, too,” I chuckled.

“I missed you.” Zenda’s sapphire eyes gleamed with delight at the sight of me. “You were gone for a very long time.”

“I’ve got news,” I said without preamble. “Meet me at my tent in a few minutes. Once everyone is gathered, I’ll explain what I found out.”

“Is something wrong?” Zenda frowned, and a line formed between her eyebrows. “What happened?”

“I’ll explain everything soon enough,” I said. “Find Caelia and Eva for me?”

“Of course.” Zenda smiled, and it was like the clouds parted to allow sunlight to hit my skin. She was breathtakingly beautiful, and the Zaborian historian was all mine.

I’d first met Zenda when I traveled to her home land, the Zaborial Isles, and she’d crossed an ocean to remain by my side. The blue-skinned beauty was the daughter of the High Priest of the Zaborial Isles, and she was a historian by trade. She knew more about the origins and histories of this world than anyone else I’d ever met, and together, we’d made the very first map of the Kotar Desert.

She slipped between the tents in search of my other two companions, and I watched the sway of her hips as she walked away. I couldn’t wait until the next time I had her alone in my tent, but there were more pressing issues to handle first.

Namely, figuring out what to do about this supposed God of the Plague.

I’d heard reports about the new god’s presence in the desert when I’d visited a peaceful tribe to the south, and a talking tree named Aang had fallen victim to the god’s power of disease. I’d made a promise to help heal him, but I still wasn’t sure how to do that.

Perhaps killing the god would reverse the damage the God of the Plague had caused, but I wouldn’t know until I tried, and there were a lot of steps to take before it came down to that.

Caelia and Eva soon returned with Zenda, and the two women pressed their bodies against mine into a tight embrace. Caelia’s chocolate curls tickled my neck as she laid her head against my chest, but Eva peppered my face with kisses an instant later.

Caelia had lived in Bastianville since before it was renamed in my honor, and she owned a general store in town. The shopkeeper was shy at first, and I’d had to work hard to earn her trust, but now that she’d come out of her shell, she was talkative, funny, and adventurous.

Evangeline Bullard was the daughter of the Duke of Bullard, and I’d first met her on my quest to kill Smiguel. The mischievous noblewoman had disguised herself as a soldier in order to join me on my quest, and she’d been following me around ever since. We were married in Bastianville, and now she carried my baby in her womb.

“Sir,” Corvis said from behind me.

“Corvis, my friend.” I turned to greet the shaggy-headed horse master with a broad smile.

Corvis was another member of the guard selected to help me kill the dragon, but I’d discovered his true talents lay in caring for the horses we rode. The horse master and the hunter stood shoulder to shoulder in full uniform, and they both saluted me in unison. They were starkly different from one another, but they’d formed a lasting friendship during their time following me.

“Good.” I looked around at the small gathered group surrounding me. “Everyone’s here.”

“Except Akina,” Eva noted. “Where did the flame sword wielder run off to?”

“She’s checking in with her tribe,” I explained. “She will join us later.”

“Sir,” Corvis said in a curious voice. “Is this about the group approaching our camp?”

“Not necessarily,” I said. “Why? Is there new information?”

“They still make progress across the sands,” Jorgen reported. “But nothing has changed.”

“Alright,” I said. “Let me know if anything changes, but as of right now, we treat them as friends first. If they pose a threat, we will handle it, but I’m confident it’s one of the tribes of the alliance.”

“So, why did you bring us all here?” Caelia asked. “Is everything okay? Did something happen on your quest?”

“Yes, everything is fine.” I laughed. “I just wanted to share some new information with my companions.”

“Out with it, then,” Eva said as she crossed her arms over her chest.

“There’s another god on the loose,” I said without preamble. “And I think this God of the Plague is also from Earth.”

Silence followed my words, but all their eyes widened as they processed the news. Little did they know, the God of the Purge had also been from Earth, but he had died before I could get any other information out of him.

“What does this mean for us?” Caelia asked. “Do you think this new god will be a threat?”

“He already is,” I said. “He gave a disease to a cocono tree, and I believe the sorcerer summoning the monsters was working for him, which means they’ve already moved against us.”

“So, what do we do?” Zenda asked as she bit her lower lip in thought.

“We do what we do best.” I grinned. “We hunt down the threat and eliminate it.”

“You make it sound so simple,” Eva said with a shake of her head. “But the God of the Purge required a special talisman just so you could get close to him. What lengths will we have to go through to fight off this new god?”

“It doesn’t matter,” I said. “I’ll do whatever I have to do to protect my people.”

“We know you will, sir,” Corvis said. “But we have to be smart about it. We don’t want to tip this new god off that we’re onto him, do we?”

“You’re right.” I nodded. “We need to be careful in our next steps, and there’s still a lot of information we still need to defeat this new threat, but I’m confident we can do it if we work together. Just like we always do.”

“With you leading us, there’s no way we can fail.” Caelia smiled.

“There may be bumps in the road,” I said as I stood to my full height. “But I always come out on top in the end.”

“Which is why you have all of our undying loyalty,” Jorgen said with a curt nod. “What’s our next step?”

“First, we need to get back to Bastianville and make sure the town is protected.” I glanced around at my companions, but they all had determined expressions on their faces. “The town has gained a lot of popularity, and everyone knows it’s my seat of power, so it’s safe to assume any enemies will look for me there. If they’re looking for me, that is.”

“We don’t know what this new god’s goals are,” Jorgen pointed out. “Is there any chance they’re harmless?”

“Not much.” I pressed my lips into a thin white line. “Plus, I promised the cocono tree I met, Aang, I would find a cure. We have to take care of this new god before he becomes a problem.”

“The other women will want to know about the new threat,” Eva pointed out. “We should leave for Bastianville immediately.”

“We can wait until dawn,” I said. “But yes, the goal is to return home as swiftly as possible.”

I heard a sharp intake of breath from behind me, and I turned to see Akina with a disappointed expression on her face.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“You’re leaving at dawn?” Akina frowned. “Why so soon?”

“I have to make sure my people in Bastianville are safe,” I said. “The God of the Plague could be there already.”

“Oh.” Her face fell even further, and she turned away from me. “Thank you for helping my people before you left…”

“Great One!” a familiar voice called from further into camp. “Great One, come right now!”

“I have to go,” I said to the fire mage. “But we’ll talk more later.”

“Alright, Bash.” Akina started to walk away, and I couldn’t see her expression, but her voice sounded dejected. “Until later, then.”

I frowned after her, but I had more pressing matters to deal with at the moment.

I trotted between the tents as I made my way to the perimeter of camp, and a group of people had gathered at the edge of the tent line. They were all facing away from the center, and their gaze fell on the sand dune to the west. I pushed through the crowd to get to the front, and I came up behind the scout, Trava.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“Look to the west,” the scout said as he handed me a spyglass. “The people I told you about are getting closer.”

“Alright, thanks,” I said as I accepted the looking device. Then I pressed it against my left eye as I scanned the dunes for people.

Sure enough, I spotted a caravan less than a mile away from us, and they were rising over the dune that stood between us. Judging by the colors of their turbans and robes, there were three different tribes traveling together.

I’d left the allied tribes back at the sorcerer’s fortress, and I’d given them clear instructions to make their way to their new territories to start a new life. These could be some of those tribes, but there was no way of knowing why they were here until they got closer.

“Someone fetch my horse,” I instructed. “And quickly! They’ll be here soon, and I want to meet them out on the sands.”

I had Goliath with me a few moments later, and I mounted up with a single leap. The soldiers and camp followers let out oohs and ahs, so I flashed them a broad smile as I took the reins in my hands.

“I’ll be back.” I nodded to the people watching from the edge of camp. “The rest of you should stay here.”

Then I kicked my heels into Goliath’s flanks, and the white stallion reared before he galloped across the sand in the direction of the oncoming tribes. Sand kicked up in our wake, but I kept my vision locked on the first people in the line ahead. Once I was within talking distance, I pulled Goliath to a halt, and I lifted my left arm into the air in greeting.

“Hello, there,” I said as I scanned the masked faces for any sign of a familiar person. “What tribes are you from?”

“I am Ojini of the Kimaku Tribe,” a man said in a clear voice. “My people fought at the Battle of the Monsters, and we seek shelter for the night among your camp.”

“We are from the Casamoni Tribe,” a man to Ojini’s left said.

“You don’t recognize me, Great One?” a younger voice asked, and the man to Ojini’s right began to remove his turban scarf.

It was Rystuni, the young fire mage from the Kanuaki Tribe.

“Rystuni!” I swung my leg over the side of Goliath’s neck, and I slid smoothly down to the sand before I reached to pull the young man into an embrace. “It is good to see you, my friend. Does that mean all your tribes are traveling together?”

“We seek the northeast corner of Kotar,” Rystuni explained. “Per your instructions, and we figured there was strength in numbers, so we decided to work together to cross the desert safely.”

“Smart move.” I grinned. “Of course all of you are welcome to camp with my people tonight.”

“We have much to celebrate,” Ojini interjected. “But let us save it for after we get our people together. I must bring word that we made contact with the Great One to the chiefs. They will want to see you for themselves, of course.”

“Of course.” I nodded. “I’ll have food and water brought to my tent. It’s at the very heart of camp, can’t miss it. I’ll wait for the chiefs there.”

“Yes, Great One.” Ojini bowed before he turned around and ran back down the caravan to a covered cart.

“I’ll walk with you,” Rystuni offered, and he bumped his shoulder against mine. “Any excuse to spend more time with a god.”

“There’ll be plenty of time for that tonight,” I said, and I jerked my chin toward my camp. “Come on, let’s tell everyone it’s time to party.”

I rode back to camp at a stately pace while Rystuni walked beside me, but we had to shout over the blowing wind in order to have a conversation, so we soon fell silent.

Once we returned to the group of people gathered at the edge of camp, I handed my reins off to a soldier with care instructions for my horse, but then I wrapped an arm around Rystuni’s shoulders and led him toward my tent.

“Tell me everything that’s happened since the battle,” I requested.

“We spent some time at the Brumeux Tribe’s oasis,” the young fire mage explained, and then his expression grew a little sheepish. “I met a girl…”

“Tell me,” I said in a demanding tone, and the younger man chuckled.

“Alright, so her name is Lona…” he began, and he continued his tale as we traversed the spattering of tents.

I listened to Rystuni’s story until we arrived at the center of camp where my tent had been erected, and Eva and Caelia stood up from their spots by the fire to greet us. Zenda exited the tent in a rush, but she slid to a halt when she saw Rystuni, and a smile spread across her face.

“Where’s Akina?” Rystuni asked after he’d greeted the other ladies. “I heard some members of the Kanuaki Tribe are still traveling with you.”

“Akina is around here somewhere,” I said. “I’m sure you’ll see her later tonight. In the meantime, I need your help getting ready for the chiefs’ arrival. I want to throw a feast, but I can’t do it alone.”

“Anything you need, Great One,” Rystuni assured me. “I am at your service.”

I sent the young fire mage on messenger missions throughout the camp, and before the chiefs even arrived at the outer edges, everything was prepared. Music played from around every campfire, and the smell of roasting meat wafted into every nose. The members of the three tribes dispersed among the tents to reconnect with Sorreyalian friends, but a procession of the chiefs continued toward the center where my tent stood.

I waited for them with Caelia, Eva, and Zenda at my side, and Jorgen and Corvis stood at my back. Akina stood to my other side in full battle gear, and she kept her metallic eyes trained on the oncoming procession. I kept my chin up, and my armor had been shined until it gleamed.

We made for an impressive welcoming party, that was for sure. The God of Time and his companions.

“Welcome,” I said in the mixed language I’d created out of all the tribal tongues. “Tonight, you rest among your fellow victors, and tomorrow, we forge a new life in the name of peace.”

“Greetings, Great One,” Chief Takini of Mahini’s tribe said.

“Thank you for sharing your shelter with us,” Chief Ata of the Casamoni Tribe added.

“It is an honor to be among heroes of the desert such as yourselves,” Chief Kuaki of the Kanuaki Tribe said.

“Then let’s party,” I announced, and I clapped my hands together.

Cheers echoed throughout the camp, and the whoops and calls of the tribesmember soon joined them. The combined calls filled the air, and the sound made goosebumps erupt along my flesh.

I had created a powerful force in the Kotar Desert.

And this wasn’t even all of the tribes.

I ate a large meal with the chiefs of the three visiting tribes, and we drank zuzu from the Zaborial Isles as the fire slowly died. The strong alcoholic drink burned my nose, but it’s taste was unlike anything else I’d experienced before. I had brought more than enough to share, and I kept the chiefs’ cups full for hours.

Then the dancing began.

It started out as one or two people wiggling and shaking along to the music, but then more and more people joined in until the entire camp was on their feet and moving in unison.

“Dance with me, Bash!” Eva requested as she grabbed me by the arm. “It feels like it has been forever since we danced.”

“I would love to,” I said as I wrapped my arms around her lithe waist.

I moved back and forth and sidestepped in time to the music while Eva laughed and clapped for my skills, and then we clung to each other as we danced wildly around. Caelia cut in to steal the next dance, and Zenda took the turn after her.

Then Akina stepped up to the stomping ground, and she flashed me a shy smile across the distance between us. I was heading toward her before my mind fully processed her appearance, and a moment later, she was standing right before me.

“Care to dance?” I asked as I held out my hand.

“I’d love to.” Akina smiled, and her metallic hued eyes glistened with delight. “I’ve been waiting patiently for my turn.”

Akina would fit right in with my ladies.

“Follow me,” I said, and I led her out onto the dance floor.

The beautiful fire mage and I twirled around as we went through the movements of the tribal dance, and I wasn’t surprised by the grace and agility the warrior woman showed with the motions of her body. I spun her around faster and faster, but then her movements became more choppy.

“Bash!” she laughed as she swatted my arm. “Slow down.”

“You got this,” I said in an encouraging tone. “Try to keep up.”

I continued to twist her fingers around in mine as she circled faster and faster, but then she lifted onto her tiptoes and spun around like a top. Akina was laughing as she fell into my arms, and I stumbled backward in order to keep my balance beneath the surprise new weight.

“That was so much fun,” she gasped out, and she gazed up at me with adoration shining in her metallic eyes.

“You’re so much fun,” I countered with a wink.

Then Akina suddenly leaned up, and she pressed her lips firmly against mine.

Time stopped.

Fireworks exploded in my mind’s eye.

I surrendered to the kiss, and I held her gently in my arms as I responded in kind. Our lips parted, and our tongues darted out to slide smoothly into each other. Then Akina moaned into my mouth, and my cock instantly hardened.

Fuck, she was sexy.

And I wanted her.

“I’m… I’m ready for more…” Akina muttered when we came up for air. “More than just a kiss…”

“Are you sure?” I arched an eyebrow as I pulled back to get a good look at her. “We have all the time in the world, there’s no rush.”

“I want to know you… fully… before you leave…” Akina avoided my gaze for a moment as her cheeks darkened.

Little did she know, once I had her, there was no way I was giving her up. But we could figure out the logistics later.

“As I do you,” I said, and I swallowed the lump that rose in my throat. She seemed so vulnerable in my arms, so feminine. It just made me want her even more. “I want to know all of you.”

“Then meet me at my tent later tonight,” Akina said in a sultry tone as she leaned up to whisper in my ear. “I’ll be ready for you.”

“Fuck yes.” I nodded. “I’ll be there.”

“I can’t wait.” Akina finally straightened up, but she hesitated before she pulled away from me. “See you soon.”

My entire body felt like it was on fire with desire, and I struggled to maintain my composure as I turned back to my companions. They waited with knowing smiles stretching their lips, and Eva shot me an encouraging wink.

“That looked fun,” Zenda noted in a pleased tone. “Does this mean what I think it means?”

“Akina has invited me back to her tent,” I explained, but I had a feeling they already knew.

“Then what are you waiting for?” Caelia chuckled. “Go to her.”

“You think it’s a good idea?” I asked as I scanned each of the women’s faces, but Eva looked smug, Zenda pleased, and Caelia amused.

“We know it is,” Eva said, and she turned me around before she pushed me away. “Stop wasting time.”

“I’ll see you in the morning,” I said over my shoulder as I flashed my women a wink, but then I turned my attention back to the trek to Akina’s tent.

I already knew which one was hers because I was curious about the beautiful warrior woman, so it wasn’t hard for me to find my way even with the growing darkness. There were plenty of campfires along the way, and torches jutted from the sand everywhere, so the path was illuminated.

I parted the fabric and gazed inside, but I was surprised by how large the space appeared from the outside. A firepit was situated in the center of the room, and some shelves held armor and weapons along the wall, but then my gaze landed upon the bed, and my breath expelled from my lungs in one big gush.

Akina lay naked atop the blankets, and she stretched languidly on her side as she stared up at me. A tan line showed where her armor pieces joined together, and I was surprised at the paleness of her large breasts, although it made sense that they would get less sun. Her metallic eyes were full of desire, and she welcomed me with a sultry look.

“I told you I would be ready,” she breathed in a husky voice.

I stepped inside and let the flap fall closed behind me, but I first went to the firepit to stroke up the flames a bit. I didn’t want my soon-to-be lover getting chilled at all, after all. Then I stared at her and looked her up and down, but I made a new save point before I laid a single finger on her flesh.

I wanted to come back to this moment as many times as possible before I let it go forever.

Akina would be mine.

“What are you doing?” Akina asked as she fidgeted beneath my stare, and a blush darkened her face. “Am I not to your liking?”

“Oh, Akina, you are completely to my liking.” I shook my head in awe. “You’re just so beautiful, I want to soak it in as much as I can.”

“Soak it in closer,” Akina said, and she curled a finger to beckon me over.

I obliged with slow, purposeful steps, and a mischievous grin spread across my face as I slowed my pace.

“I’m going to take my time with you,” I said as I inched my way closer to the bed, and I kept her lithe curves and toned stomach in my gaze as I stepped forward. “I’m going to give you the best night of your life.”

“I believe you,” Akina breathed, and her pupils dilated.

I kneeled at the foot of the bed, and I took her bare feet into my hands before I pressed teasingly soft kisses across the tops of her foot. Then I kissed her ankles, and her shins, until finally, her knees grazed beneath my lips.

Akina’s breath shook with each kiss, and goosebumps followed in the wake of my lips, so I continued to kiss up her body. When I reached her thighs, the desert beauty spread them ever so slightly, but it was enough for me to get a glimpse of her down covered crevice.

My entire body responded to the image, and I groaned with desire.

“May I kiss you… everywhere?” I asked.

Akina nodded, and her eyes were full of desire, so I pushed her thighs even further apart. Then I lowered my head, and I kissed the insides of her legs slowly and tenderly. I went north bit by bit, and soon, I was inhaling the aroma of her sweet juices.

Finally, I lowered my head the last few inches and licked her from bottom to top.

“Bash!” Akina let out a loud gasp, and her legs spread even further, so I got a good look at her juicy wet crevice.

I grabbed each of her thighs, and I lifted them onto my shoulders as I attacked her pussy with my tongue. I flicked the tip of my tongue across her node of pleasure over and over again until her hips began to twitch and her body began to shake. Her first orgasm was good, but not “best night of your life” quality, so I decided to start over.

Chime.

I stared at her beautiful nude form as the alarm sound rang in my ears, but then I stepped forward without waiting for her to ask. I paused at the bottom of the bed, and Akina peered up at me with that sultry, sexy look on her face.

Then I kneeled at her feet, and I took each foot in hand as I kissed it softly. Akina shivered with delight as I retraced my steps back up her legs, and I paused once more to get her consent before I started to eat her juicy pussy.

Once she nodded, I spread her legs and planted soft kisses along the inside of her thighs. I circled up to her abdomen and then back down the other side, and I continued to spiral closer and closer to her down covered mound.

“Yess,” Akina hissed with obvious pleasure when I got tantalizingly close, and I knew she was ready.

This time, I went even slower, and I licked her sporadically when I thought she would least expect it. With each flick of my tongue, her hips bucked upward, and her thigh muscles tightened around my face.

Then I really got to work.

I spread her lower lips open with my fingers until I could see her glistening clitoris, and I pressed my tongue against it from the bottom to the top. Akina bucked her hips, which shoved her pussy against my face, so I drove my tongue as deep as it would go into her tunnel.

She tasted delicious, and I wanted to lick her up.

This time, her orgasm shook her entire body like she was having a seizure, and she tangled her fingers in my hair as I slowly slid a finger into her pulsating entrance.

“Bash, Bash, oh, Bash,” Akina moaned as she thrashed her head back and forth. “How do you do that?”

I didn’t relent until she was begging me to stop.

“I can’t… I can’t take anymore pleasure,” Akina gasped out when I finally pulled back. “It’s too much.”

“What do you want me to do?” I asked in a husky voice.

Eating her out had only furthered my own need for release, and my cock was already making a firm outline against the fabric of my pants.

“Get naked,” Akina instructed as she pulled on my shirt. “I want to see the God of Time in his true form.”

“As you wish,” I chuckled.

With Akina’s help, I removed my shoes, shirt, and pants before I stood before her completely erect, and her eyes took in everything from my toned abs, my slim waist, and the hard on bobbing up and down.

“Like what you see?” I asked.

“You look like a god to me,” Akina breathed. “Now, come here and show me what you can do with that thing.”

“Happily.” I smirked as I stretched out on the bed beside her, but then her mouth was on mine, and all thoughts vanished. We kissed and tangled our legs together, and Akina ground her crotch against my thigh. I could feel the heat and the wetness coming from her, and my cock ached to be inside her.

Then Akina rolled onto her back, and she pulled me on top of her in the same motion.

“Take me, Bash,” she breathed in my ear. “I’m all yours.”

I didn’t need any further prompting, and I gripped my cock tightly in one hand as I stroked the tip against her entrance. Then I felt her lower lips part, and I slid inside with a groan of pleasure.

“Oh, yesss,” Akina moaned as she flung back her head.

“Fuck, you’re so tight,” I said, and I pulled back to thrust in again. This time was even smoother and tighter, so I struggled to maintain a strong hold on my self control.

“You feel so good inside me,” Akina murmured as she wrapped her arms around my shoulders and pulled me closer against her. “Go deeper…”

“Yes, ma’am,” I growled, and I pulled back in order to thrust as deep as I could go into her welcoming tunnel.

The walls of her pussy spasmed around my girth, and her nails dug into the flesh of my back, but I let her hold onto me as tightly as she wanted while the orgasm rocked through her.

Then I stroked my cock slowly in and out of her dripping wet entrance, and Akina gasped each time I filled her up completely. I went faster and faster, thrust harder and harder, until the sounds of her cries of pleasure filled my ears.

After several long minutes of this, my balls began to tingle, so I knew I needed to get a grip of my self control, or this moment would end before I was ready for it to.

I pulled out of her a little reluctantly, but I rolled her onto her stomach and helped her reposition onto all fours. Then I kneeled behind her and entered her with an ass cheek gripped in each hand.

“Uh, yes, uh, uh, uh.” The air expelled from her lungs in a guttural grunt with each deep stroke I gave her, and soon the skin of my legs was slapping against her ass cheeks in a staccato rhythm.

Shivers ran up my spine as my desire built, and I soon realized I was going to explode whether I was ready to or not. At least I could redo this moment as many times as I wanted to, and I wondered if I’d ever get tired of fucking Akina.

Not likely.

I reached around her waist and pressed a wiggling finger against her clit as I continued to fuck her from behind, and soon, I felt her pussy pulsate around my length.

We came in unison, and I clutched her ass cheek tightly as my load exploded from my body like a fire hydrant releasing its water. The spasming and pulsating pussy on my cock only served to lengthen and intensify my own orgasm, but then we both collapsed on top of the bed in a sweaty pile.

I rolled off Akina and sighed contentedly, and the beautiful desert dweller repositioned until she was snuggled up against my chest.

A few moments passed in silence as we caught our breath, but I could feel my new lover start to fidget, and when I looked down, she was biting her lip like she was biting back a question.

“What is it?” I asked as I cupped her face.

“Can I… return to Bastianville with you?” Akina asked in a hopeful tone. “I don’t want to leave your side.”

“I was hoping you would want to.” I grinned and squeezed her in my arms with relief.

Akina was mine.

Forever.

The OP MC 12 Chapter 2

The ringing in my ears subsided as I found myself back at my save point in the junction, and Akina was alive and well by my side. We’d only explored a small portion of the catacombs so far, and there was still the mummified creature to deal with. There was no telling what the thing had been when it was alive, but I was determined to make sure it stayed dead this time.

“Ready to explore?” I asked in a chipper voice as I turned to my companion.

There was no way I was going to let anything else happen to her again. She would be safe this time, and I would make sure of it.

“Whenever you are,” Akina countered with a wink, and she gripped the handle of her flame sword tightly. “I’m ready for anything.”

“Behind this door is a coffin with some plaque in an ancient language,” I said as I adopted the tone of a tour guide. “Nothing else to see, so we can skip it if you want.”

I kept my good attitude up, but I wasn’t sure if Akina could tell my nerves were still a little frayed from losing her. I didn’t want her to know anything was amiss, so I grinned broadly as I stared into her beautiful metallic eyes.

“I want to see if you’re right.” Akina laughed. “How do you know so much about someplace you’ve never been to before?”

“Chalk it up to being a god.” I shrugged, but I flashed her a mischievous grin. “You’ll get used to it.”

We opened the heavy wooden door, and it was just as I had described it. Akina’s eyebrows rose in surprise, but she didn’t say anything as we turned back toward the junction.

“What else lies up ahead?” Akina asked in a curious voice.

“Well,” I chuckled. “About that… There’s actually a mummy in a tunnel below us that is going to put up quite a fight. We’ll handle him together, but I want you to follow my lead this time.”

“This time?” Akina tilted her head to the side in confusion.

“Yeah, nevermind.” I grinned even wider. “Just keep your eyes peeled and your sword handy.”

“Yes, Bash.” Akina nodded curtly. “I will follow your command.”

“Good,” I said. “Now, let’s go kill the ugly fucker before he can kill us.”

“You really think the mummy is that powerful?” Akina asked as we continued on down the tunnel.

The image of her limp body flung to the side like a bag of potatoes flashed through my mind’s eye, but I shook my head to dispel the thought. She was safe now, and that was all that mattered.

“Yeah,” I sighed. “Just trust me on this one.”

“I trust you, Bash,” Akina said in a low voice. “Sometimes without reason, but you’ve yet to prove yourself false in any way.”

“And I never will,” I assured her. “You’re safe with me, Akina, I promise.”

“I believe you,” she murmured, and I looked over my shoulder to see the soft smile stretching her lips.

We made our way through the tunnels, and I took every opportunity to show Akina a good time. We laughed and joked as we traversed the dank corridors, but I acted like a tour guide the whole time, and I was proud of the smiles I caused to bloom on the warrior woman’s face.

Soon, we arrived at the tunnel outside of the mummy’s tomb, and my heart rate increased dramatically. I didn’t want Akina to die again, but I was determined to not let that happen a second time.

“Okay,” I said as I took a deep breath. “This is it. The mummy doesn’t attack until we open its sarcophagus, so as soon as we do that, we need to attack first.”

“Sounds like a solid plan.” Akina nodded. “Let’s do it. Together.”

“If I tell you to get back,” I said, “I need you to obey me immediately.”

“I got it, Bash.” Akina laughed. “Let’s do this already. What are you afraid of?”

“Nothing at all.” I plastered a confident smile on my face. “I just want to be extra careful with this mummy monster.”

“I am not an unblooded trainee,” Akina argued. “You can entrust me with a battle. If I die, then I die with glory.”

“You’re not going to die.” I frowned. “Not here, not today.”

“Relax,” Akina chuckled. “It is the way of my people to seek a glorified death in battle. I would make my ancestors proud.”

It sounded like she was speaking some sort of recitation, a phrase programmed into her by her cultural upbringing. It was like she didn’t fully believe in the words she was saying, but her people all believed a warrior’s death was the most honorable, so she had no other choice.

“Yeah, well, they don’t need to be proud of you for dying while you’re under my protection.” I shook my head. “Trust me, Akina, this mummy is bad news.”

“I am ready.” Akina gripped her sword in white knuckled fists. “Open the door.”

I nodded my assent, and then I pushed open the portal to the room containing the mummy. I reminded myself that I had a save point ready to go if things went south, but I wasn’t going to let the same thing happen twice.

We entered the dusty room, and Akina peered curiously around the space before her gaze fell on the sarcophagus. Her eyes widened, and I saw her swallow hard, but then she nodded at me to open the lid.

I pushed against the stone top until the sound of rock scraping against rock filled the air, and dust bloomed from the crevices as soon as I made a gap. The body wrapped in yellow stained cloth lay unmoving inside, but I knew that wasn’t going to last forever.

Then the mummy’s eyes began to glow blue, and it growled from somewhere deep in its throat. The cloth bound hands clutched the edges of its sarcophagus, and the body began to lift up.

It was awake.

“Get back, Akina!” I shouted, and I drew one of my panabas. I twirled the hilt of the blade around in my fist until I had a good grip on it, and then I swung at the mummy while it was still attempting to climb out of its tomb.

The blade struck against the magical barrier the mummy could summon, and the force of the impact flung me backward against the far wall. I instantly picked myself back up, but not before Akina drove into the gap to attack the mummy herself.

“Akina, no!” I called out in warning, but she didn’t heed me. Her flame sword crashed into the magical barrier, and she was also flung backward into the far wall.

Time to pull out the big guns.

I summoned a fireball and shot it in the direction of the sarcophagus, and the flames bathed the magical barrier before they went out. Then I shot ice shards, and they also smashed into the mummy’s shield, but nothing penetrated the magical force field.

I’d have to think of something.

And fast.

The mummy was slowly removing itself from the sarcophagus, but it kept its glowing blue eyes locked on us as it climbed out. The bindings around its face began to slide off, and the decimated remains of a corpse were visible underneath.

What the fuck was this thing?

I’d fought off draugr and skeletons in the past, and some had been able to use magic, but nothing close to this level of power.

I had to find its weakness.

“Bash!” Akina called from the other side of the room. “How do we kill it?”

“I’m working on that,” I mumbled, but then I raised my voice. “Attack together!”

The warrior woman leapt into battle, and I was a mere second behind her as we both lunged for the mummy. Akina’s flame sword whooshed through the air as she tried to get behind the barrier, but I kept the mummy’s attention focused on me by peppering its force field with fire.

Then the mummy turned toward Akina and started to ignore me, and I cursed under my breath as it lifted a hand toward the warrior woman. Ice shards exploded from the beast’s cloth bound hands, and the desert dweller had little time to dodge the attack.

“Watch out!” I shouted.

I was about to reset when Akina slashed through the ice shards with her flame sword, and the particles melted instantly upon contact with the heat. She remained uninjured, and I breathed a sigh of relief before I jumped back into the fray.

“What do we do?” Akina asked as she circled around the mummy to get to my side. “It’s more powerful than I imagined.”

“We keep trying until we find its weakness,” I instructed quickly. “Everything has a weakness, we just have to find this guy’s.”

We kept attacking in turns to keep the mummy’s attention away from us, but it was starting to feel like a game of cat and mouse. There was no telling how long the mummy could fight for, but I was determined to kill it once and for all.

“Akina, the hallway!” I called. “We’ll lead it away from this room until we can find someplace bigger to spread out in.”

Akina nodded her understanding before she jumped across the room toward the door, and the mummy’s eyes followed her movement. I inched my way around the sarcophagus until I was on the door side of the tomb, and then I took off running away from the mummy.

We dashed out into the hallway and then paused to look back, and the mummy was right behind us.

“Run, Akina, run!” I shouted. “I’ll catch up to you.”

“Promise?” Akina’s eyes scanned my face, and I nodded, so she turned and ran down the hallway.

I followed behind her until she went around a curve in the spiral shaped corridor, and then I slowed my pace and turned back around to face the mummy alone.

“Come on, you ugly bastard,” I muttered as I waited for the cloth wrapped monster to become visible.

I didn’t have to wait very long, and I was surprised at how fast and agile the creature was as it moved toward me. It swayed from side to side with each step, but it progressed steadily forward as it growled under its breath.

“Die, motherfucker!” I shouted as I threw everything in my arsenal at the mummy.

Ice and fire blended into a vortex of death as the two spells shot down the corridor toward the mummy, but its magical barrier stopped both attacks. Then I flung out a disarming spell in hopes that it would take away the force field, but nothing happened. The mummy wasn’t using regular weapons, so the spell must not have worked on it.

“I have to do something or it will kill us both,” I said out loud as I racked my brain for an idea.

I needed time.

Luckily enough, I was the God of Time, so that wouldn’t be a problem. I just needed to reset to my save point and try again.

Chime.

I was back at the junction between the tunnels, and I performed my tour guide routine for Akina once more, but the entire time, I was thinking up ideas for how to fight the mummy. My usual spells weren’t doing the trick, but I still had a few more tricks up my sleeve. There was nothing in this world that was unbeatable, and I never gave up on a challenge.

I was all about perfection.

When we arrived at the door to the mummy’s room, I made a new save point to lock in the progress we had made so far. Then I jerked my chin toward the portal, and Akina stepped inside. I was right behind her, and I already had my panabas in my hand and a plan in mind.

We opened the lid, but then I summoned my vines before the mummy even had a chance to wake up. The bright green tendrils grew before my eyes, and they wrapped the cloth bound undead corpse tightly in their grasp. I gave them a mental command, and my obedient vines left a small gap around the creature’s heart, or where I assumed it would be anyway.

The beast was restrained.

“That’s amazing,” Akina breathed as she watched the vines twist and turn around the mummy’s form. “I’ve never seen anyone else do anything like that. You are truly a powerful wizard.”

“I’ve picked up quite a few tricks since arriving in this world,” I said. “The vines have grown stronger over time, but at first I could only get a single plant.”

“Thank you for sharing your godly secrets with me.” Akina’s metallic eyes gleamed with delight.

“Not such a secret.” I smirked.

The mummy suddenly popped its blue glowing eyes open, and it began to struggle against the vines restraining it. Some of the plants snapped beneath the pressure of the mummy’s thrashing, but I inhaled sharply as I summoned even more to take their place.

Akina watched with obvious awe as I grunted and performed the hand movements required to summon my vines, but then I managed to restrain the mummy completely again.

“Drive your sword through the gap,” I instructed. “I don’t think it can summon its shield while restrained, so you should be able to attack it.”

Akina nodded curtly, and she strode forward with her flame sword gripped in white knuckled fists. I could tell she was afraid, but she put on a brave face and crossed the distance to the sarcophagus. Then she lifted her fiery blade high in the air before she brought it down with a guttural yell.

“Argh!” Akina groaned as she slammed her blade into the space between the vines on the mummy’s chest. The fiery sword cut through the bandages and disappeared inside the beast’s torso, and then the fire mage pulled backward with a foot braced against the base of the sarcophagus.

The glowing blue eyes flickered open and shut as a pained yell escaped the bandaged lips, and the vines twisting around the mummy’s hands were struggling to maintain a firm grasp as the creature thrashed.

Then the mummy’s eyes stopped glowing completely as it fell silent, and all movement ceased.

It was dead.

I took a moment to consider if I’d killed it in the most efficient way possible, but dead was dead, and I wasn’t trying to take a good situation for granted.

Plus, Akina was unharmed.

There was no guarantee that if I reset again that I’d get anywhere close to the same results, so it was probably for the best if we went ahead and explored the rest of the catacombs.

But I left my save point outside the mummy’s room just in case I changed my mind.

“Well, that was easy,” Akina breathed as she dusted herself off. “I thought you said it would be a challenge?”

“You never know with these things,” I said in a mysterious voice. “What would be a challenge for some would be easy for others. You did good. I’m proud of you.”

“What’s next, Bash?” Akina asked as she looked around the mummy’s room. “Think there’s anything else down here trying to kill us?”

“Anything is possible.” I smirked. “Now, let’s keep exploring so we can find out for ourselves.”

We continued on down the spiral toward the center of the catacombs, and the air pressure increased the further we went underground. The temperature began to rise, and water droplets gathered along the walls of the corridor.

Akina and I were silent as we made our way to the next chamber, but we were both still on guard for anything that went bump in the night. The light of my flame illuminated the hallway, but it sputtered like a torch as we descended down into the darkness.

We searched a few more rooms, but nothing jumped out to try to kill us, and we found no treasures. I was beginning to think we’d found everything the catacombs held, but there would be no way to know for sure until we reached the end.

“So, after this, what happens?” Akina asked in a curious voice. “You go back to your hometown? Or will you stay in the desert?”

“I need to return to Bastianville,” I said. “My people need me.”

“Are we not your people now, too, Bash?” Akina tilted her head to the side as she peered up into my eyes. The fear of losing me was plain to see in her metallic gaze, and it bit at my heart.

“The desert dwellers are my people, too,” I agreed in a soft voice. “I will always do everything in my power to make sure you are all okay.”

“What happens when you leave?” Akina’s worry grew stronger. “Do you think the tribes will continue to agree to the alliance? What if war returns to Kotar?”

“I will leave someone behind to watch over Kotar,” I explained.

Who that would be exactly, I wasn’t sure yet, but I’d think of something.

I always did.

We descended even further into the spiral catacombs, but then we came to another junction. Wooden doors surrounded a circular annex, and stone columns supported the dome ceiling.

Then I heard movement and a crackling sound coming from behind one of the doors, and I held a finger over my lips to signal Akina into silence. The warrior woman gripped her flame sword tightly, so I opened the door slowly and waited.

The crackling sound I’d heard got louder, and two humanoid skeletons emerged from the shadowy room.

I held my breath as I drew my panabas, but before I could even take a step forward, Akina rushed into battle. The dark-haired warrior woman yelled out a battle cry as she swung her sword sideways, but she sliced right through one of the skeleton’s spinal bones. The two pieces crumbled to the ground, but the next skeleton was right behind it.

Akina back slashed her way through the second skeleton just as efficiently as she had the first, and I raised my eyebrows in surprise at how quickly she’d dispatched them.

“Whoa, you are awesome!” I laughed. “You sliced through them like a knife through butter.”

“Thanks.” Akina blushed. “I was hoping to impress you. I hope you find me worthy.”

I wondered briefly what her motivations were. Was she going to try to get me to stay with her in the desert? Would she return with me to Bastianville?

When the moment felt right, I would ask her, but until then, I would just enjoy her presence.

“Absolutely.” I grinned. “You’re more than enough in my opinion.”

We entered the room the skeletons had come out of, and I held my flame spell aloft to illuminate the space. Dust and debris floated in the air, and a few urns decorated pedestals along the walls, but other than that the room was empty.

“What were they guarding?” Akina asked as she entered the room behind me. “There’s nothing here.”

“I know.” I frowned. “But they weren’t very good guards.”

“They are dead guards now,” Akina pointed out.

“Thanks to you,” I said.

“Come on, let’s keep looking,” the beautiful warrior woman suggested. “I want to kill more of those things.”

“Then let’s find you some more skeletons.” I laughed. “If that is what you desire, then I’m going to make it happen.”

We explored the rest of the rooms in the annex, but there were no more skeletons to be found on that level. A chest stood on an altar in an adjoining room, though, and the lock looked ancient.

I was sure it would be easily bustable.

I took out my dagger and wiggled the tip of it inside the lock, but nothing happened, so I resorted to my flame spell to melt the lock off. The metal glowed red as it slowly expanded, but then the arch splintered and popped off.

I waited until the lock was cool enough to touch before I twisted the remnants off the chest, and then I pushed open the lid to reveal the contents waiting inside.

It was full of gold, gemstones, and jewelry. I glanced at Akina to see her metallic eyes widened in surprise, and I grinned as I raked a hand through the coins and stones.

“Care to claim a necklace for yourself?” I offered as I held up a huge sapphire pendant and chain.

“I’d rather find a quality weapon,” Akina scoffed. “Where would I even wear something like that? It looks like a safety hazard on the battlefield.”

“Well, your life won’t always be full of battle,” I pointed out. “There’s peace in the desert now, and it’s going to last a long time. Trust me. Take a necklace.”

“Fine,” Akina relented, and she dutifully held out her hand.

“We’ll find you some new weapons too, I bet,” I said in a hopeful voice. “We just have to look.”

“The skeletons had some daggers on them,” Akina said, and her voice filled with excitement. “I never even stopped to look at them.”

“You’re wanting to back track now?” I arched an eyebrow. “Or wait till we find the next group of skeletons?”

“There’s no telling if there’s more or not,” Akina said. “We should double back to the skeletons to loot their bodies. That’s the desert dweller thing to do, though. You might not approve.”

“I’ll follow your lead,” I said.

We went back to the room where she’d fought off the two skeletons, and sure enough, a couple of daggers lay on the floor beside their boney remains. They looked pretty basic to me, but Akina handled them like they were treasures far more valuable than we’d found in the chest.

I’d have to send someone after the chest later, but it was too heavy for me to lift on my own, and I needed to keep a weapon in my fist.

Then we continued on down the never ending spiral of the catacombs, and I made a new save point once we reached yet another junction, but I swore I would get my one hundred percent completion if it was the last thing I did. I would find the end, and I would learn all the secrets this place had.

Akina stuck close to my side as we continued to explore, but she wore the sapphire pendant around her neck on top of her armor. I made a mental note to check the necklace and daggers for stats later, but then I focused on the corridors before me.

There were six doors leading away from the junction, and I once again chose the one on the far left first. It was easier to keep track of where I’d been that way, and I was all about efficient catacombs searching.

There were nothing but dead ends and empty tombs in nearly every room we searched, but the third door revealed a set of stairs leading even further downward into the earth.

At the bottom of the stairs was a cave-like room with natural stone walls and an uneven ceiling, but an altar stood at the very center of the space. It was big enough to fit a full grown man on top, and blood stains indicated that’s exactly what it was for.

I took a step forward, and a rush of wind swept across my face.

Then the wall on the far side of the altar began to glow, and an inscription appeared hovering in midair in much the same way as it had when I’d been summoned.

So lies death, pestilence, and disease.

Carry on but be aware.

Through your sacrifice release

Awaken the God of the Plague if you dare.

I’d done it. I’d found out where the God of the Plague had been summoned.

The God of Winning never failed.

The OP MC 12 Chapter 1

I contemplated the catacomb entrance that stood before me. I’d been there multiple times before, but this time was different.

So much had happened to lead me to this moment, it was hard to believe that it was real, but here I was. Once I’d defeated the sorcerer plaguing the desert with monsters, all the beasts died as soon as their master stopped breathing, and my army was victorious in conquering the sorcerer’s fortress. The great hydra burst into a million pieces as it succumbed to Nameless’s lightning, and the tiny dragon had claimed an entire head for his reward.

After the battle, the tribes then fully agreed to an alliance, and they each moved to their own territories peacefully. Some tribes members had remained in my army and would return to my hometown with me. After battling their worst nightmares and legends straight out of children’s tales, they were more than happy to stop fighting amongst themselves.

When he’d died, the sorcerer had a key on his person, and I instantly had a strong feeling that it led to the catacombs entrance I’d previously failed to gain entry into. The door to the catacombs had been recently opened, and it tracked with the timing of the sorcerer’s appearance in the desert. I’d taken the key for myself after killing him, and I held it aloft as I pondered all that had brought me to this place.

None of this would have happened to me if it weren’t for Mahini’s pregnancy and desire to reconnect with her long lost mother. That was what had brought me to the Kotar Desert in the first place, but I wasn’t going to leave while there were still unanswered questions.

I aimed for one hundred percent completion.

“Everything alright, Great One?” Akina asked from behind me.

The glow of the Kanuakian warrior’s flame sword illuminated the harsh lines of her stoic face, but her metallic-hued eyes gleamed in the light of her magical blade. Her brunette hair hung to her shoulders in loose waves, and her eyebrows were furrowed in concern. She was the only other person present at the catacombs, but everyone had insisted that I not go alone, and I’d gone along with it to keep the peace.

“Yep.” I grinned over my shoulder at her. “Just thinking about everything that’s happened recently that led us to this moment. But call me Bash, alright? Enough with the Great One stuff for now.”

“Okay, then, Bash it is. You’re reminiscing now?” Akina arched her brow in a questioning manner. “Wouldn’t you rather see what’s inside?”

“We have all the time in the world,” I countered with a flirtatious wink.

Akina blushed, but she didn’t say anything else.

We’d met shortly after I’d arrived in the Kotar Desert, but her tribe wasn’t the friendliest to me during our first meeting. I’d killed the Naga they were hunting, and they weren’t used to talking to northern people traveling with numerous tribes. After the warrior woman had witnessed my prowess in battle, she’d followed me loyally, and I got to enjoy her presence more and more lately.

Now, she was one of my companions, and we were on a quest with just the two of us while everyone else waited back at camp. Mahini, Elissa, and my daughter Sorena, were all back in my hometown, of course, but Evangeline, Caelia, and Zenda awaited me with my combined military forces.

My mind pictured each of the beautiful women I got to call mine. Mahini’s razor sharp pale blue gaze, Elissa’s loving gemstone eyes, Evangeline’s delicious and luscious lips, Caelia’s untameable curls, and Zenda’s pale blue skin and green hair all passed through my mind’s eye. They were all gorgeous, intelligent, and talented in their own ways, but I was glad it was just me and Akina right then.

I’d been wanting to get to know the Kanuakian warrior woman better for a while now, and the fact that she seemed open to getting to know me better only furthered my desire.

Maybe we had a future together?

“You may have all the time in the world,” Akina teased. “But I am mortal, and I can feel myself aging as I wait for you to try the key.”

“Fine,” I chuckled.

I made a new save point and gripped the bow of the key tightly as I entered the key into the hole, but I had to scrape out algae and moss before it would slide in all the way. Then I turned the key forcefully, and I felt more so than heard gears click and move. Dust erupted from the seams of the stone door, and the whole thing depressed backward.

“I guess it works.” I flashed Akina a broad smile over my shoulder, and she met it with one of her own.

“Well, go on then.” The warrior woman pushed against my lower back to urge me onward. “Light a torch or something.”

“Or something,” I said as I summoned a flame to the palm of my hand.

“Show off,” the fire mage chuckled.

“Your lack of patience is a weakness in your fighting ability,” I pointed out. “You don’t want to rush headlong into death, do you?”

“Sometimes.” Akina shrugged one shoulder, but then she twirled her flame sword around in her grasp. “Right now it’s just curiosity driving me forward, but I’m following you, so hurry up.”

It seemed the previously stoic warrior was coming out of her shell a little bit, and I couldn’t wait to see more of her true side.

“Alright, alright,” I laughed.

Then I stepped inside the tunnel of the catacomb.

The air was moldy smelling and rank with death, but I tried to only breathe through my mouth to avoid the stench. My dragonscale helmet only blocked some of the smells, and I hoped I grew nose blind to the rest quickly. The walls were solid stone and only two feet wide, so I had to shuffle sideways until the tunnel widened out some. Akina squeezed through the gap behind me, but she sighed with relief when the sides opened up a few feet later.

The walls were covered in carvings depicting images of death and disease. There were whole villages of corpses piled up beneath some carved flames, and I wondered what it meant.

Were they warnings or history?

There was no way to know for sure, but we still had more to explore, so I kept going. The hallway continued to widen until it was roughly eight feet between the walls, but it curved ever so slightly inward and tilted downward. I had a feeling we were spiraling below the surface of the ground, and the pressure of the air seemed to confirm my theory.

Maybe this was where the God of the Plague was summoned from.

I’d been summoned from within a catacombs by a sorcerer named Raijin Thornheart, but he’d always intended on killing me to steal my powers from the get go. The fucker hadn’t counted on me being able to reload to a save point, memorize the movements of him and his goons, and use my stubbornness to defeat all of them.

It wasn’t until after I’d killed all fifteen men that I’d learned I was the God of Time, and I’d been kicking ass ever since.

I’d claimed the closest town to the catacombs I’d been summoned to as my own, and it was renamed to Bastianville in my honor. It was called Addington before that because of the founder, Eldrin Addington, but the mayor had no qualms about giving me control over his town after I married his daughter. It had since grown in size and power until it more closely resembled a city than a village.

That wasn’t the end of my power, though, and I thought about how I’d been named Archduke by the King of Sorreyal, gained devout followers in multiple realms, traveled to distant islands to fight pirates, and conquered the Kotar Desert from a rampaging warlord intent on total domination.

But everything culminated in this moment, and I took a deep breath as I continued down the stone corridor.

The stench of death grew stronger the further into the catacombs we went, but then doorways began to open up to either side of us. We explored the alcoves as we found them, but there were nothing but urns full of cremated remains on stands inside. In video games, there would sometimes be gold or jewels inside such containers, but I wasn’t about to dig through the ashes of some cremated corpse in search of gold when I already had more than I could spend in one lifetime.

Akina didn’t say much as we traversed the corridor, but she leapt at each noise with a wave of her flame sword, so I could tell she was on edge.

“It was just a droplet of water falling,” I reassured her as she jumped again. “Don’t worry, nothing bad can happen to you with me around.”

“You can guarantee that?” Akina asked.

“Absolutely.” I nodded. “It’s one of the perks of being the God of Time.”

“How do you do so?” Akina asked with a curious tilt of her head. “How do you make sure everything works out in your favor?”

“It’s a secret,” I chuckled and winked. “If I told you, I’d have to kill you.”

“You are joking.” Akina frowned. “You would not kill me.”

“You’re right.” I laughed, but when I regained my composure, I fixed her with a serious look. “But really, it’s not something you need to worry about. It’s all part of my abilities as the God of Time, and that’s all you need to know.”

“Alright.” Akina flashed me a white lipped smile. “I trust you, Bash.”

“Good.” I nodded again. “Now, let’s keep moving forward, er, downward, or whatever direction we are headed in.”

“It feels like a spiral,” Akina pointed out.

“You’re right.” I grinned. “Let’s just hope it leads us somewhere cool.”

The alcoves grew larger and larger as we went down, and soon they more closely resembled small rooms. There were no doors, only archways, and it was easy enough to glance inside with my flame spell to illuminate the space.

Coffins and sarcophaguses decorated the larger spaces, and I was tempted to look inside for treasure, but I wanted to make it to the end first. Besides, they could be booby-trapped to ward off grave robbers, and I wasn’t going to take any more risks than were necessary before I found what I was looking for.

What exactly I was looking for was still a mystery, but I had a good feeling about the catacombs finally leading to answers.

“Watch your step,” I warned as the corridor twisted downward, and the footing grew uneven.

“I can see fine,” Akina countered. “Just focus on getting us through this maze.”

“It’s simple enough,” I said as I gestured to the side rooms. “This is a burial tomb, but I don’t know who for.”

“Maybe they’re ancient chiefs of the desert?” Akina suggested with a shrug. “Or people who lived in Kotar before my people came here?”

“Who lived in the desert realm before your people arrived?” This was a story I hadn’t heard before.

“Well, it wasn’t always a desert.” Akina spoke in a soft voice like she was sharing a secret with me. “This land is cursed now, but it was once lush with vegetation and jungle trees. The oases are the only signs of the old world still left. That’s why they’re so sacred to my people.”

“I thought it was just because they provide shelter from the harshness of the desert.” I frowned as I thought this over.

It was weird that the Southern Wild Lands could be so lush and rainforest-like while its neighboring realm was nothing but sand and dust. If it was a curse, then it could be broken, but that was a quest for another day.

“Of course, the water sources are vital to our survival,” Akina allowed in a thoughtful voice. “But there’s always been a reverence for the oases among my people that goes beyond means of survival.”

“That makes sense, though,” I said. “If there was a long history of a former people, it would have gotten lost in the sands of time. There could be villages and even entire cities covered in dunes, and we wouldn’t even know we were walking on top of it.”

“I’ve never thought about it that way.” Akina frowned, and a crease formed between her brows.

“Let’s keep going,” I suggested, and I jerked my chin down the corridor in front of us. “There’s no telling what we’re going to find, so keep your guard up, but don’t forget to have fun, too.”

“You are a strange god,” Akina said in a low voice.

“Darling, you have no idea,” I laughed.

We came to a junction where the tunnel began to open up into multiple avenues, and I paused as I considered which way to go first. I aimed for one hundred percent completion, so I chose the path to the far left to enter first.

It was drafty, and the roof looked like it was going to collapse in some places, but we walked slowly and determinedly forward. I held my flame spell aloft to illuminate the path ahead, but it was difficult to see where it led when it kept twisting.

We continued onward down the tunnel for several minutes in silence, but then the corridor opened up into a circular annex, and several rooms circled the center space.

“Time to explore,” I said, and I made a new save point before I attempted to open the first heavy wooden door. There was nothing but a coffin inside with a large stone plaque on the wall behind it, and the other rooms held much the same.

“It’s a dead end?” Akina frowned as she scanned the circular annex. “These rooms are nothing but tombs.”

“Sure, we’ve crossed off one possibility.” I grinned. “Let’s go back to the junction and try the next hallway.”

I was surprised we hadn’t encountered any monsters, draugr, or traps, but I was holding onto hope that maybe the sorcerer had already triggered or killed everything hostile inside the catacombs.

“Wasn’t the junction just ahead?” Akina asked as we made our way back to the section where the hallway split. “It feels like it’s taking much longer to return.”

“That’s because you’ve already seen this section,” I pointed out. “Time will pass quickly again once we make it back to uncharted territory.”

“It just feels like the hallway is stretching out,” Akina said in a worried tone.

Had she triggered some trap I wasn’t aware of?

Was there a trap that could play tricks on the mind?

“Are you okay?” I paused and held my flame closer to her face as I analyzed her eyes. “You look flushed.”

“I’m fine. I think.” Akina frowned. “You don’t feel like the hallway is longer on the way back?”

“Not to me.” I matched her expression. “You’re starting to worry me.”

“Let’s just get back to the junction.” Akina flapped a dismissive hand. “I’m sure it’s nothing.”

“If you’re sure.” I took a deep breath before I turned back to the entrance of the tunnel.

We walked and walked, but it did start to feel like the tunnel was much longer on the way back than it had been on the way down. Then a drafty breeze gusted toward me, and I breathed a sigh of relief when we stepped into the junction area.

“Do you need to take a break?” I asked while we were in the familiar space.

“Let’s keep going.” Akina flashed me a tight lipped smile.

We went into the second tunnel to the left, but we found another dead end. I was determined to figure out what was so important about these catacombs, but so far all we’d found were a lot of coffins and urns. My instincts told me the sorcerer had been to this location, and I wanted to know why.

The third tunnel kept on going for much longer than the first two, and I was starting to get a good feeling when it ended at another circular room. This one looked like a ritual space, though, and an altar took up most of the room.

Blood stains covered every inch of the altar, and ancient melted candles stood on stands in a circular pattern around the space. I used my flame spell to light them, and the room was bathed in an orange glow. The shadows spiked against the walls and highlighted the domed ceiling, but dust and debris sprinkled down from above.

The ceiling didn’t look the most secure, but I doubted it would cave in on us right away unless some sort of loud noise triggered it.

“Keep your voice low,” I warned Akina. “The ceiling looks unsteady.”

“Alright.” The warrior woman nodded curtly, and she pressed her lips into a thin white line.

I inspected the altar some more, but I didn’t find anything particularly interesting. Then we returned to the junction area to try the next hallway.

“What exactly are you looking for?” Akina asked in a curious tone as we headed down the fourth tunnel.

“I’m not sure,” I admitted. There was likely going to be a chance to reset to my save point, so it was fine if she saw me as less than godly for a few moments. “I’m fairly certain the sorcerer came here, but so far there is no evidence to support that.”

The fourth tunnel led to another ritual space, but this circular room had pedestals surrounding the rectangular altar. The pedestals were covered in amber encased monster heads, and I spotted all of our enemies.

There was the massive head of the hydra, the torso of a cyclops, and the shadowy form of a Vex, plus many others, but there were some spots on each exposed to the elements, and pieces were missing from them all.

An eye here, an ear there, and the wing of the Vex was gone.

Enough to summon more.

“This is it!” I laughed. “This is what I was looking for, Akina.”

“What am I looking at?” Akina glanced around, but she shuddered as she peered up at the intimidating open eyes of the hydra head. “Other than my childhood nightmares?”

“Evidence.” I grinned as I gestured at the missing spots. “The sorcerer took pieces of each of them, and he used those pieces to summon more into the desert.”

“You think this is where he got his army from?” Akina gasped. “Is that possible?”

“With magic, it is.” I nodded. “The sorcerer was a multi-elementalist as well as a summoner. I’ve never met anyone else like that besides me.”

“I don’t really like it when you summon the Naga for us to practice against,” Akina admitted. “It feels too real.”

“It helps if you’re prepared for the real thing,” I explained in a gentle tone. “But you never have to participate in anything you don’t want to.”

“I want to face my fears,” Akina said in a firm tone, and it sounded like she was trying to convince herself more than me.

We returned to the junction where all the tunnels branched off, and we chose another path to take that we hadn’t gone down before. There were only two tunnels left to explore, and then I would start checking in the coffins and urns for things I could have missed along the way.

“There doesn’t seem to be anything else down here,” Akina observed in a thoughtful tone. “Were the animal remains the only thing you were looking for?”

“It’s strange how empty this place is,” I said. “There has to be something else down here for us to find.”

We came to a closed wooden door at the end of the tunnel, and I shook the handle in an effort to get it open, but the knob wouldn’t budge.

It looked like it was time for some godly power.

“Stand back,” I warned. “I’m going to get this door open.”

Akina obediently shuffled back down the hall, and once she was a safe distance away from the door, I shot it with a massive fireball. The flames erupted and bathed the corridor, but my dragonscale armor protected me from the heat of the blast. When the flames abated, I noticed the door was scorched, but the portal remained closed.

Damn.

Next, I summoned my magical vines, and I instructed them to squeeze between the edges of the doorway to pry it open. The tiny plants squirmed across the stone like they were photosynthesizing at lightning speed, and the wood of the door creaked as they strained against it.

Then the door suddenly splintered inward in a thousand shards, and dust bloomed from the entrance until I was coughing and waving my hand in front of my face. I glanced at Akina, but she merely gave me a curt “go ahead” nod, so I turned toward the open doorway.

Inside, a shrine to a man covered in pock marks decorated the wall. Candles and incense sat below the image, and remnants of long dead flowers covered every surface. The inscription was written in an ancient language I couldn’t read, and I shot Akina a questioning glance to see if maybe she could read it, but she shook her head.

There was also a sarcophagus at the center of the room, and we inched closer to take a look at it. Akina stepped forward with obvious curiosity, so I let her take the lead.

“What do you think is inside?” she asked. “Sometimes people are buried with their valuables.”

“Could just be a really old dead body.” I shrugged. “Let’s take a look.”

Akina grinned briefly before she set her mouth into a determined line, and then we both pushed against the lid of the sarcophagus. The stone covering creaked against the bottom half, but then air seeped from the cracks like a pressure valve slowly being released.

With a final heave, the two of us managed to push the lid all the way over the edge, and it fell with a resounding thud. Then we peered inside with curiosity, and we found a mummified person wrapped in age-stained cloth. Dust circulated the air above the corpse, but then I noticed the swirls of debris rush away from the contents of the tomb.

The body inside began to shift, and a low growl escaped the ribbons of cloth across its face. Blue eyes glowed with magic through the coverings, and I staggered backward with Akina in tow.

“A real live mummy?” I gasped, half with excitement and half with dread.

Now, that was an interesting find.

The mummy slowly sat up and placed its cloth-bound hands on the rim of its sarcophagus, and it peered around as though gaining its bearings. Then its blue eyes turned in our direction, and another growl emitted from the unseen throat.

“I’ve got this, Great One,” Akina said in a brave voice as she stepped forward with her flame sword.

“Be careful,” I urged, but I wasn’t about to stand between a warrior woman and battle. I could always step in, or reset to my save point if I needed to, so it wouldn’t hurt to let her have some fun.

Akina marched bravely toward the mummy, and she swung the handle of her massive magical sword in a wide arch just as the undead creature was climbing out of its bed.

The mummy lifted a hand with a deep throaty growl, and Akina’s sword smashed into a magical barrier. The flames of her blade spread out against the invisible shield and revealed its conical design, but I wanted to see what Akina would do next, so I stayed back.

Akina bashed her sword against the barrier with ever growing ferocity, but I could sense her frustration mounting. I wanted to let her figure things out on her own first, but I could already tell what areas we needed to work on with her fighting skills.

She needed patience.

There was more than one way to teach patience to a fiery woman, but those were thoughts for another time.

Then the mummy jumped out of the sarcophagus with surprising speed, and he lunged for Akina’s throat with both hands before I even realized what was happening. The mummy’s face showed nothing but icy blue eyes as he started to strangle her, and Akina flailed as she tried to beat her sword against its back, but the undead creature ignored the blows as he tightened his grasp.

I was darting across the room before my mind even caught up to the scene, but then the warrior woman suddenly hung slack in the mummy’s hands, and he flung her to the side as his gaze turned toward me.

Damn.

She was dead.

This had gone wrong fast, but I knew a way to get around that.

Chime.

Backyard Dungeon 5 cover poll

Audiobook Release | The OP MC 8: God of Winning

The OP MC 8 audiobook is in your BF library ABLs.  For everyone else, pick it up on my website or on Audiobook Guild

Overview

I’ve defeated the God of the Purge, but the oceans and their island inhabitants are far from safe.

Pirates terrorize the seas, and people live in fear of slavery and death.

But what none of them know yet is that Red Hands the Pirate Bane has arrived, and I won’t stop until every pirate is dead.

Narration by: Christopher Boucher, Jessica Threet
Length: 10 Hours, 14 Minutes

Made in Hell 5 NSFW covers

Creamy...

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Made in Hell 5 is out!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09ZF8TVPS

Made in Hell 5 Chapter 4

It felt like eons since I’d last held the black fairy twins in my hands, and I wanted nothing more than for them to return to the manor with us. Madame Nyra was incredibly protective of her “darlings,” but perhaps the offer to become my captain could work as a bribe to get her to release Lux and Lixiss into my care.

But I always had to be the smartest one in the room when it came to Madame Nyra. She didn’t have an issue looking a demon in the eye, which was often a sign that I had to be cautious around someone. She had agreed to my terms in the past, and she had assisted me when I needed it, but I also had to be sure her own agenda didn’t interfere with my own.

The feisty fairy knew exactly what to do and say when she wanted to get her own way, especially if it was for her own gratification.

However, the offer to essentially run the Shadow Quarters and keep everything in check was something I knew she wanted. She wanted to have the power that came with sitting above everyone else, and as long as her fairies were safe, then it was definitely something she’d consider.

“Ooh, I like this new fruit,” Ashe said suddenly. “It’s quite spicy.”

My huntress was trying the orange I’d bought from the half-goblin, and every time she threw a piece into her mouth, she would wince like the fruit was hurting her.

“Spicy?” Sveila frowned as she removed the skin from her own orange. “I think you mean sharp. Oranges can be quite sour, but they’re normally very sweet and delicious.”

“The skin didn’t taste sweet and delicious,” Ashe snickered. “I thought I was going to be sick.”

“That’s because you’re not meant to eat the skin,” Sveila laughed. “You don’t bite into it like an apple.”

“Is that the same for most fruits?” I asked. “Because I prefer my food ready to go without having to prepare them first.”

“There are some you have to peel first, but most fruits can be thrown into your mouth as they are,” Sveila replied. “But there are also some that come with stems, like the core of an apple, so you wouldn’t really want to eat them.”

“That sounds like far too much information for us to remember,” Ashe giggled. “But you should try it, Atticus. I think you’ll like an orange.”

Ashe pulled apart the orange to retrieve a single section, but then as she handed it over to me, I noticed something strange about her fingertips.

“What’s happened to your fingers?” I asked.

Ashe dropped the orange like it was molten lava, and she let out a loud gasp as she stared at her hands.

The black, soot-like substance on her fingertips had started to clear, and her icy pale skin poked through like the sun on a cloudy day.

“What the fuck?” Ashe frowned.

My demon lover searched her arms and thighs, I assumed to see if the soot had cleared anywhere else, but it was just her fingers.

“Do you think the effect is wearing off?” she asked.

“I don’t know.” I shrugged. “I don’t know how long it’s meant to last for.”

“Maybe it’s the orange?” Sveila suggested. “Perhaps the acidity in the juice fights against the angel’s spell?”

“So I have to bathe in acid to clear my skin?” Ashe snorted. “Wonderful.”

“Well, let’s see,” Sveila said as she picked up the abandoned piece of fruit.

No one said a word as the Red Witch squashed the singular piece between her fingers, and then she rubbed the juices and pulp against Ashe’s arm.

“Now we’ll wait and see if anything happens,” she said as she licked the juices off her fingers.

“Why do you think it’s the acidity?” I asked.

“I’m not sure…” Sveila mumbled. “But I think I heard something once that if acid and alkali are added together, then they cancel each other out. Things like soap, or a product used for cleaning and bathing, are often alkaline, so what if the angel was trying to clean you, Ashe?”

“I bathe every day.” The demon scowled.

I quickly caught on to what Sveila was trying to say, but I could tell that Ashe took longer to work it out.

“I don’t think she means it like that,” I said. “To the angel, she’s purified and free from sin, whereas demons are considered to be at the opposite end of the scale. It’s clear the Holy Light would have killed you if you hadn’t managed to free yourself, and now you’re left looking like this. But maybe, in order to remove the effects of a purified power, you need to use the opposite?”

“Aaah.” Ashe smirked. “I get what you mean now. But surely it’s too easy if I just bathe in orange juice? Mortal magic and potions aren’t strong enough to fight off angel magic, we already know that, so there has to be more to it.”

The three of us stayed quiet as Sveila rubbed the orange mess away from Ashe’s arm, but unlike her fingertips, the blotches on Ashe’s arm were as still as black as night.

“It’s probably because your arm is a much larger area than your fingers,” Sveila said. “And you’re right, there will be more to it than just using oranges, but at least we know where to start. If acid, or citric acid, is used in the healing process, then that’s something to think about.”

“Madame Nyra might know something about it,” I replied. “Either that, or we can talk to Garrik and Elora. But we’ll clear your skin, I promise you that.”

The half-elf, Elora, knew everything about magical weapons and spells. She had almost been like Sveila’s mentor when the Red Witch needed to free the souls of her family from an amulet.

Ashe and I would have struggled when we first arrived in the Port of Rengfri if it wasn’t for Garrik and Elora’s help and assistance, and they had started to feel like our friends.

Garrik also owned our favorite weapon shop in the Shadow Quarters, so Ashe and Sveila always came up with new reasons to go visit him, and it always ended in us adding new mortal weaponry to our impressive collection.

It was incredible what these beings on the surface world could come up with when they were thinking deviously.

“I’m sort of getting used to the color now, but I want to go into the next fight just as strong as I already am,” Ashe said suddenly. “So if the angel has weakened me, then we need to find a cure.”

“That’s the right attitude to have.” Sveila smiled.

“We also don’t want you to have any issues with your strength.” I smirked. “You’re almost as strong as I am without these marks on your skin.”

“Almost as strong?” Ashe repeated with the makings of a grin on her face. “I’m not sure if that’s a compliment or not.”

“It definitely is,” I said reassuringly. “But if you’re both done eating, then we can head off to see Madame Nyra now, and then go from there.”

Sveila and Ashe were both keen on the idea, and they both wanted to see Lux and Lixiss as much as I did. So once Sveila had eaten the last of her orange, they cleaned up the mess on the table, and then we left the manor.

“We’re going to speak to Madame Nyra,” I said to the orcs outside. “We plan to be back before the sun sets, but like before, I want you to come and search for us if that doesn’t happen.”

“Yes, Atticus.” Oglzum nodded.

“Thank you,” I replied.

From the position of the sun in the sky, I could tell it was somewhere in the afternoon, perhaps the first or second hour, so we had several hours before the sun disappeared for the day.

I didn’t know how long we were going to be with Madame Nyra for, or whether the black fairies were going to trick us into staying longer. But either way, as long as everything went according to plan, I saw no reason why we wouldn’t be back before nightfall.

But when it came to the black fairies, I never knew what was going to happen.

At least I had Ashe and Sveila with me to keep the fairies away if they refused to let me leave.

“I love this time of day,” Sveila said as she pressed herself against me. “The way the sun lights up the leaves on the trees, everyone is happy…”

“Well, they’re happy until someone pisses them off,” Ashe snorted.

“And when it comes to the goblins, it doesn’t take much to annoy them,” I added.

“Okay, everyone is somewhat happy,” Sveila giggled.

The walk through the Grimmway was uneventful, and any passersby either nodded their heads in our direction, or they walked straight past us as if we weren’t even there.

Once we had entered the Shadow Quarters, we wandered through one of the alleyways that took us to the grand forest that surrounded this district. That particular section of the forest led us toward the mermaids’ cove, and I hoped it wouldn’t be long before I got to see the mermaids again.

Although it had only been a few days since I was last there, I craved to be with the leader, Naia, as much as I craved to be with Ashe, Sveila, and the black fairy twins.

The primal, demonic side of me became difficult to control when my women were involved.

But as we reached the entrance to the forest, we turned left and walked down the side street in the direction of the black fairy coven. Medusa’s Palace was straight ahead of us, and I’d always remember the fun we’d had killing gorgons within the ruins of that place.

Further down the street we turned onto, right at the very end, was Pixie Lane. A lot of our time had been spent in that area, especially when Sveila used to collect pieces for the bastard priest, but we’d had a lot of fun there, too.

Various smaller lanes fed off this long street, and the black fairy manor hid at the end of one of those lanes.

Madame Nyra’s manor was situated in between two other houses, and the forest continued to wrap around them on all sides. It would have been incredibly easy to miss Madame Nyra’s home if we didn’t know what we were looking for, because the entire building was covered in a magical, protective veil. It looked like there was nothing built between the two other houses, and the black fairies had to drop the veil in order for someone to enter.

However, because I was familiar with the fairies, I didn’t need to have an appointment to meet with Madame Nyra. As soon as the fairies saw us outside, they would drop the veil and allow us entrance.

“I hope they recognize me with this skin,” Ashe muttered as we stood in the seemingly open area of land.

“They wouldn’t be able to miss your eyes,” I replied.

“No one can,” Sveila giggled. “Apart from Atticus’, I’ve never seen eyes as incredible as yours before.”

“I know, they are quite wonderful.” Ashe smirked as she waved one hand in front of her face.

Before any of us could say anything, the air in front of us began to turn almost silky in texture, and a gray shimmer swirled around as it sparkled in the sunlight. A large black manor home quickly came into view in front of us, and a black fairy was spotted resting against the black iron gate that suddenly appeared in front of us.

“Hello Atticus,” the fairy giggled as she nibbled on one of her black-painted fingernails. “What a lovely surprise it is to see you here today…”

The fairy’s gauzy, black wings vibrated and buzzed in the wind behind her. Her silver hair ran down to her hips, and her entire outfit had been made from scraps of black material. A thin sheet of leather just about covered her perky breasts, but she used silk to cover her ass, and a piece of thin lace tied the two garments together.

The fairy stood there for a brief second, and then she unlocked the gate and allowed us to enter.

“Is Madame Nyra in her office?” I asked as we walked up the gated yard.

“You mean you’re not here to see Lux and Lixiss?” the fairy gasped sarcastically. “Why, my sisters will be so disappointed to hear that.”

“I need to speak to Madame Nyra first,” I replied.

“But maybe we can see the twins once we’re done.” Ashe’s eyes sparkled with excitement. “You know we can’t visit this place without seeing them.”

“It was my intention.” I winked at my demon lover.

“Good, because my sisters would be–”

“Prinna,” a familiar voice said from the doorway. “Are you inviting our guests inside, my darling?”

Madame Nyra came into view in the doorway of the black house with a curled smile on her red lips. She was much older than the rest of the fairies inside the manor, and this showed in her ragged wings and the gray roots that slithered across her dark hair.

“Of course, Madame Nyra,” Prinna replied. “Please, come this way.”

Everyone must have known why we were there, so Madame Nyra walked us down the deep-purple corridor that led to her office. A few more black fairies had settled themselves on the velvet chairs along the way, and they all gave us a coy smile as we passed them.

The interior of the manor always caught our attention, and I knew Ashe loved coming here just to experience the dark atmosphere. Well-used candles were sitting on dusty shelves with a selection of spider webs keeping them in place. Dried up wax fell down the walls, and more dust had settled on the wooden floorboards.

The corridor and Madame Nyra’s office were separated by a velvet green curtain, and the black fairy held back the makeshift door as she motioned for us to go inside. A second matching curtain ran behind Nyra’s oak desk, but I didn’t know what she kept hidden behind there.

“My darling…” Madame Nyra said softly as she took her seat. “Ashe, what have you done to yourself?”

“Oh, this?” Ashe held up her hands and snorted. “We had an incident with an angel, and now she’s covered me in this shit.”

“We were actually hoping you might be able to help with that,” I said as we took our own seats opposite the black fairy.

“But that’s not really why you came here, is it?” Madame Nyra smirked. “You cannot fool me, Atticus. I know you far too well now.”

“You’re right, it’s not.” I shrugged. “But I want to discuss this first, and then we can get onto the real reason why we’re here.”

Madame Nyra sighed, and then she reached across the desk as she took Ashe’s hand in her own. With gentle touches, Nyra ran her fingers across the demon’s skin, but a frown stayed etched between her black eyebrows the entire time.

“Have you seen that before?” I asked.

“I’ve heard of it,” the black fairy mumbled. “And this is all over your body?”

“Pretty much.” Ashe nodded. “There’s less on my stomach and back, but only because I was wearing a dress when the angel attacked us.”

“We have a feeling that acid or citric acid might work, but we don’t know,” Sveila added. “The marks seemed to vanish when Ashe was eating an orange, but we’d also need to include a potion that’s strong enough to fight against the angel’s powers.”

“I would also like to wake up in the morning and see that it’s gone,” Ashe snickered. “But none of us know anything about curing, so it’s hard to tell.”

“Unfortunately, I don’t know that much about potions and cures,” Madame Nyra said as she let go of Ashe’s hand. “As you’re all aware, I’m more into various beings and creatures. However, I have heard of angel powers before, and the effect they can have on people. And… Now, I don’t want to scare you, but you’d want to find a cure as quickly as you can.”

“What?” Ashe’s eye bulged. “Why?”

“This is due to the angel’s Holy Light, am I right?” Madame Nyra asked, to which we all nodded. “The Holy Light is an angel’s strongest power, and they use it to hold their target in place as they slowly burn their bodies. Purifying, and all that. The black marks are a side effect of that process, and should the angel return before you find a cure, then… Basically, it would be much easier for her to kill you.”

A growl rippled through my throat.

“So it does weaken her?” Sveila asked.

“Yes.” Nyra nodded. “Imagine the Holy Light is a fire, and as it swarms over an object, it slowly burns and destroys that item. It’s the same with our bodies. Now that Ashe has these marks, there’s less for the fire to work through, so the process won’t take as long, and that’s why you desperately need to find a cure. I think including an acidic liquid could work, but I wouldn’t know what else to add with it.”

“Well, that’s just fucking great,” Ashe sighed as she slumped in her seat. “Now what are we going to do?”

“We’ll find a cure,” I said with certainty. “And I won’t stop until you’re healed.”

“Not even a damn angel can get the better of me.” Ashe smirked.

“That’s the right attitude to have,” I said as my anger simmered down. “The angel might think you’re at a disadvantage, but we’re going to prove her wrong.”

“That reminds me,” Madame Nyra said as she leaned back in her chair. “Tell me more about this angel. Did she appear after the battle against the Church?”

“Yes, she–”

Before I could finish my sentence, the curtain behind Madame Nyra opened, and my two favorite twins skipped into the room as their black wings fluttered behind them.

“We apologize for the intrusion, Madame Nyra,” Lux giggled.

“But we couldn’t stay away,” Lixiss added.

“I should have known you two were going to come in,” Nyra said as she turned in her seat slightly. “But my darlings, what have I told you?”

“To always knock before we enter?” Lux asked.

“Exactly.” Their mother figure smiled. “You cannot just barge in here.”

“But how are we to stay away when Atticus, Ashe, and Sveila are here?” Lixiss asked. “We don’t have the time to knock.”

“Okay, okay, come on in.” Madame Nyra rolled her eyes playfully as she let out a light sigh.

The twins squealed as they skipped toward us, and then Lux jumped onto my lap while Lixiss sat with Ashe. I noticed how Lixiss played with Sveila’s hair with one hand, almost like they couldn’t bear sitting there without being able to touch all three of us.

Lux fitted so perfectly on my lap, and my arms automatically locked themselves around her tiny waist.

The only way I could tell the twins apart was by the tiny freckle underneath Lux’s left eye, but apart from that, they were completely identical.

Their skin was a luscious light-brown in color, their gray eyes were large and full of constant expressions, and their long dark hair fell over the front of their shoulders to stop it from getting in the way of their wings.

The mouthwatering scent of their arousal danced through the air like light billows of smoke as it drifted from a candle. Lux and Lixiss needed me, they desired to have me, and it was my mission to give them everything they wanted.

“Back to the conversation at hand,” Madame Nyra continued once the twins were settled. “You were talking about the angel?”

“Yes.” I nodded. “As soon as we finished with the Church, and we’d saved the undesirables, we noticed the angel in the sky. The bishop had been in the middle of calling upon his Holy King when the attack took place, so we believe the angel responded to that call.”

“Ew,” Lux said as she scratched the back of my neck with her nails. “Angels are nothing but trouble.”

“She should have stayed in the Heavenly Glade where she belongs,” Lixiss replied.

“Which is exactly why we’re trying to stop her,” I said.

“Well, I want you to know how pleased everyone is that the Church has been dealt with,” Madame Nyra said with a small smile. “I watched the hunt against The Blessed from my very window, and I couldn’t believe what I was hearing when a passerby told me about the bishop.”

“It was the right thing to do.” I shrugged.

“Yes, but it’s because you did it,” she replied. “That’s what everyone is pleased about. I’ve heard nothing but wonderful things from the nearby residents, and I know every undesirable feels the same way I do. We’re safe now, and that’s all down to you.”

“I suppose we’re not completely in the clear, because we still have to deal with the angel,” Ashe spoke up. “But I’m confident we’re going to get her holy ass before it’s too late.”

“And given everything you’ve done for us, I hope you know we’ll all help in any way we can.” Madame Nyra nodded her head once.

It was the perfect opportunity to bring up the questions that seemed to burn a hole in my brain. I needed to know if Madame Nyra would take on the role of watching over the Shadow Quarters to report back to me, but I also needed to have the fairy twins safe within my care at the manor.

However, I didn’t want Lux and Lixiss to overhear my plan, just in case Madame Nyra rejected the offer. So in order to have the conversation in private, I had to think of a way to get them out of the room.

“Do you think you could do us a favor?” I asked as I kissed Lux on the cheek and stroked Lixiss’ hair.

“Of course.” Lux ran the tip of her tongue across her red lips. “You know you never need to ask us twice, Atticus.”

“What is it you’d like us to do?” Lixiss asked.

“Do you think you could make us some drinks?” I queried. “It’s been a busy morning, so we could really use a refreshment.”

“Yes, certainly!” the black fairy twin exclaimed as she jumped off my lap.

“We’ve been trying to perfect a drink recently, so we’d love to know what you think of it,” Lixiss added.

“You know I’d enjoy anything you’d make for me.” I smirked.

“Try not to miss us too much,” Lux giggled as the twins linked arms and ran from the room.

A heavy silence covered the office as the twins’ footsteps echoed down the corridor.

“Why do I have the feeling you wanted them to leave the room?” Madame Nyra frowned.

“Is that what you think?” I asked.

“Atticus, my dear, I know you all too well these days.” She smirked. “So, what is it you want to talk about while my darlings are out of earshot?”

I leaned forward and rested my elbows against the desk. Madame Nyra stared directly into my bright, violet eyes. She never once looked away, nor did she wince as I inched closer.

“I need to start an army,” I said.

“You’ve already got one.” She frowned.

“Yes, but I need a bigger one,” I explained. “I have a feeling that this is just the beginning. Any fight against the angel will likely open up the wrath of the Heavenly Glade, and then there will be more of those little bitches to kill. Even though Ashe and I are strong enough to kill one angel by herself, we’ll need an army to hold off any of her backup angels before the city is swarmed. We’d need our own backup, and that’s where the army comes in, but that’s also where you come in.”

Madame Nyra didn’t say anything, but she pursed her lips in a way that made me think she had already caught on to my plan.

“Before we brutally murdered the incubi, they were in charge of this place,” I continued. “Obviously, I’m expected to fill that role, and I intend to. But Ashe, Sveila, and I are going to be far too busy to handle all the minor everyday tasks involved. Which is why we think you should be the one to do that for me.”

“Me?” Madame Nyra pointed to herself.

“You.” I nodded. “Are you up for it?”

“Yes, yes, of course!” She smiled. “As long as my darlings are safe and protected, you know that I’d love nothing more than to oversee the whole of the Shadow Quarters.”

“Good.” I grinned. “But in exchange for my allowing you to take over the village, there is something I want in return…”

“Okay…” the black fairy sighed.

I glanced behind me quickly to look at the curtain, and then I looked back at Madame Nyra.

“I want Lux and Lixiss,” I said. “I want them to live with us in my manor.”

“Again with Lux and Lixiss,” Madame Nyra sighed and shook her head, but I quickly stepped in.

“I have done nothing but help you, Nyra,” I reminded the woman. “I have treated your darlings exceptionally well… and you know they desire nothing more than to be in my care. These are my terms, and they’re not changing.”

The black fairy thought for a moment, and she tapped her nails against the desk as she glanced around the room.

“Okay,” she said after a short pause. “I will agree to your terms… But I have a few of my own.”

A stern expression crossed my face.

That wasn’t part of the plan, but I was willing to listen to them.

“If it’s pieces that you’re after, I’ll give you whatever you want,” I replied. “Lux and Lixiss are certainly worth any price you could place on them.”

Madame Nyra loved receiving sacks of gold pieces, and it was often the perfect bribe if I wanted something from her.

“I will not ask for money for my darlings,” she replied with a slight bite to her tone. “But I will ask that they visit me regularly. I’m confident that you can care for them, Atticus, but they will always be my darlings, and I cannot let that go.”

“Sure.” I shrugged. “They can visit you whenever they want, but they will always return to me at the end of the day.”

“In that case…” Madame Nyra paused as she sat up straighter in her seat. “You’ve got yourself a deal.”

Ashe and Sveila giggled and squealed beside me, and I couldn’t clear the grin that appeared on my face.

I had exactly what I wanted, and I knew I had received the better side of that bargain.

Lux and Lixiss returned to the room a few minutes later, and it was almost like nothing had even happened. I wanted to tell them to pack a bag, but I also wanted to keep the news a secret for a few more days. I felt like it was best to catch them off guard, and to surprise them with the news when they were caught unaware.

“This looks wonderful,” Sveila said as the twins handed over three tankards. “What’s it called?”

“We haven’t thought of a name yet,” Lux replied as she returned to her rightful place on my lap. “But let us know if you have any suggestions.”

A light, white foam bubbled over the lip of the tankard, but the drink inside it was a mix between blue and green. At first the drink had almost a floral scent, like the flowers I came across in the forest, but the flavors didn’t match the scent at all. It tasted bitter, almost like dragon’s breath, but there was a second flavor I couldn’t quite identify.

“Is that raspberry I can taste?” Sveila asked.

I didn’t know if I’d tried raspberries, so I wasn’t sure if that was the flavor on my tongue or not.

“Close.” Lixiss smiled. “They’re black raspberries.”

The drink left a fiery heat in my mouth after I had swallowed it, and part of me wondered if fire would shoot from me like a dragon if I dared to part my lips.

“It’s so good,” Ashe groaned. “I really like it.”

“Thank you!” Lux replied happily. “Do you think it needs any changes?”

“Maybe some more of those raspberry things,” I said. “But that’s just what I think.”

“We can add some more, sure.” Lixiss nodded. “It’s still a work in progress, so you can try the finished product when we’re happy with it.”

“I can’t wait to try it again.” I smiled at my beautiful twins.

“My darlings are incredibly skillful,” Madame Nyra said sweetly.

“Oh, I’m aware of their skills.” I smirked.

Especially when it came to the skills they brought to the bedroom.

The women then started a gentle conversation about the new dresses Ashe and Sveila had ordered that morning, and I sat back and enjoyed the drink while I played with Lux’s silky hair. The twins were interested to see the dresses, and Madame Nyra smiled like she was also eager to see the creations. But I was more interested for her to start her new job.

I could tell that the Shadow Quarters were about to change completely now that Madame Nyra was in charge, and I was eager to see her begin her new role.

But there was something else I still needed to sort out.

If the tabaxi agreed to take over the mining business, then that meant the manor would soon belong to him.

So I had someone leading the Shadow Quarters, and I potentially had someone taking care of the imps. But with the twins soon coming home with me, then we would need to find a new place to live.

A much bigger and decadent place.

Made in Hell 5 Chapter 3

As Ashe and I prepared ourselves to leave the holy building, we checked the scents in the air once again, just in case the angel had decided to return.

It would have been a stupid move to make, but the angel had already decided to devote her life to the Holy King, so returning wouldn’t have been the first stupid decision she’d ever made.

“Eurgh.” Ashe curled her lips in disgust. “Do you think she realizes she smells this bad?”

“I doubt it,” I snickered. “The angels probably think they smell like fresh flowers.”

“That’s even worse,” my huntress giggled as she slipped her dagger into her left boot. “Where’s the longing for smelling like unpurified evil? All of that angelic crap makes me sick.”

“You’re not the only one.” I grinned. “But at least we won’t have to suffer that stench for too long. We’ll be sure to murder that pathetic little angel as soon as the time is right.”

“I can’t wait.” Ashe smirked as she locked her fingers through mine. “And now we can get a plan sorted!”

“We certainly can.” I nodded.

With Ashe’s hand still in mine, we wandered outside and inhaled the fresh, evening air. The scent of holy evil was still thick in the wind, but it was almost insufferable inside the church, so at least it felt like I could breathe again.

I kept a close watch on the surface world around us as we headed back in the direction of the Shadow Quarters. The human parts of the city were completely deserted tonight, and when we reached our own part of town, the story was mostly the same. Apart from a few undesirables who still loitered in and around the taverns, the roads and alleyways were surprisingly quiet.

The stalls in the marketplace had been covered for the night until the sellers returned in the morning, and the lack of candlelight told me that the majority of village folk were asleep. They had no idea what had just occurred within the darkness of the church, but it would all come to light when Ashe and I faced the angel once again.

They definitely would not have stayed asleep if our recent fight had taken place in the Shadow Quarters. No one could block out the noise when a demon and an angel faced each other. They wouldn’t even believe me if I told them what happened when the holy and the damned came together.

I used to hear the comforting horror stories when I was trapped in my void in the Hellscape. Brave Lord Captains and Lord Generals would team up together in order to kill off an army of angels, and they practically redesigned the world around them with just one punch. Even I had trouble believing it until I was forced to join them in the hunt to track down those holy bitches.

Part of me thought I’d never see that day again, and now it was staring me in the face.

“Atticus!” a familiar voice called out suddenly. “Ashe!”

We had neared the entrance of the Grimmway, and we turned around to see Sveila skipping through the darkness of the alley. The three orcs plodded behind her, and one of the enormous beasts ran his arm under his nose to collect a congealed dollop of nasal mucus.

“Perfect timing,” Ashe said as she stepped forward to hug Sveila. “Are you coming from the cove?”

“Yes.” Sveila smiled, and then she wrapped her arm around my back. “I could tell the mermaids wanted to sleep, so I thought it was best for me to leave.”

I glanced up at the orcs and gave them a slight nod in order to thank them for their services.

“We look after witch,” one orc grumbled with his limited vocabulary.

“Thank you,” I said.

“I hope she wasn’t too difficult to handle,” Ashe giggled. “I know what Sveila can be like when she gets excited.”

“She was not difficult,” a second orc replied.

“That’s the right answer.” Sveila smirked. “But enough about me, what happened with the angel? Did you find her?”

Sveila’s amber eyes were wide open, and they glistened with pure excitement.

“Well, I certainly didn’t ruin my dress for nothing,” Ashe snorted as she motioned toward a tear in the skirt of her dress. “I mean, I suppose Atticus and I could have really angered the Church by fucking against one of their holy signs, but…”

“But if that was the case, then you would have nothing to wear at all.” I grinned. “I much prefer to rip the clothes from your body entirely.”

“Hmm, that’s true.” Ashe shrugged. “But yes, to answer your question, Sveila, we did come across the angel.”

“However, the little bitch fled before I had the chance to kill her,” I snarled. “So we can’t have a celebratory banquet just yet.”

“But that doesn’t mean it won’t happen, right?” the Red Witch asked. “Can we still kill her?”

“Yes, absolutely,” I replied. “She hasn’t returned to the Heavenly Glade. Every scrap of her scent would have vanished from this world at once if she had, and I doubt she will until she gets what she’s after. So that just means we have more opportunities at hand. We will be successful, I’m sure of that.”

“Basically, we should give our orders to Iris now, so the dresses are ready in time,” Ashe giggled. “Ooh, we’re going to look so pretty!”

“You always look incredible, no matter what you wear,” I replied.

“That’s the right answer, Atticus.” Sveila smirked before she gave me a kiss on the cheek. “But no one makes a dress like Iris.”

With my two women on either side, and the orcs stomping behind us, we walked down the steep hill that took us into the Grimmway. Unlike the Shadow Quarters, the undesirables in this district were still busy dancing, playing music, and getting drunk.

According to the clock tower in the Shadow Quarters, the time was nearing the first hour in the morning, so the undesirables had plenty of time to mess around until the need to sleep overtook their bodies.

“You need us to stay?” one of the orcs asked as we reached the turn off toward their wooden huts.

“No, that’s okay,” I said after I had been thinking for a moment. “But tell Larauk to send a few of you to my manor as soon as the sun rises. From now on, I want to have someone guarding the house at all times, whether we’re inside or not.”

“I shall tell Larauk.” The orc bobbed his head.

“Then I shall see you in the morning,” I replied.

The leader of the orc clan, Larauk, had started to fully trust me after we had saved them from the gorgons. Sveila had even worked on a spell to bring the fossilized orcs back to life afterward, so now these enormous brutes did exactly as I said.

Once the orcs had slumped away into the trees, Sveila, Ashe, and I wandered further toward the end of the Grimmway. I heard the relieved sigh Ashe let out as our maroon manor came into sight.

“I didn’t realize I was so tired until just now,” she said as she placed her head against my shoulder. “I wonder if it’s an effect from the Holy Light?”

“That’s possible.” I nodded. “It’s the first time I’ve been so close to someone when it happened, so I don’t know the full effects of it.”

“What’s the Holy Light?” Sveila asked.

“It’s one of the angel’s powers,” I explained.

“And it’s fucking painful,” Ashe groaned. “It felt like I was trapped inside my own body, and it was even difficult to look around, let alone free myself.”

“Then how did you get out?” Sveila gasped. “Surely the angel would have had the ability to kill you if you couldn’t move?”

Ashe and I went on to explain what we had to do in order to save ourselves, and I mentioned how my torment distracted her enough in order for Ashe to break free. I spotted the fear that coated Sveila’s face, and I felt like that was the first time the Red Witch had realized exactly what we were up against. I had explained that demons were the only creatures strong enough to fight off an angel, but it was hard for someone to understand that without really experiencing first hand.

“Does that not… scare you?” Sveila asked. “The fact that angels are just as strong as the demons who have made their way onto the surface world?”

“Not really,” I replied. “Angels and demons have been enemies for eons, so it’s nothing new to us.”

“But it’s definitely new to you,” Ashe giggled. “Say, have you ever wondered how rock faces seem to just crumble to the ground? Or have you ever seen giant fountains of water exploding from the center of the sea?”

“I’ve heard about it, yes.” Sveila nodded. “But I always thought that was the surface world falling apart.”

“That’s usually caused by a war between the Heavenly Glade and the Hellscape,” I snickered. “Battles and wars between them have been waged many times before, but this is the first time in a long time.”

“I had no idea…” Sveila shook her head softly. “And now I’m a part of one!”

“Hopefully you won’t need to be,” I said with a pointed look. “But we can’t rule anything out just yet.”

“You know I’ll be happy to do whatever you think is best.” The Red Witch smiled.

“I’ll keep you both safe, that’s for sure,” I said with certainty.

“You always do, Atticus.” Ashe smirked.

Our conversation came to an end as we entered the manor, and none of us wasted any time before we went upstairs and prepared ourselves to sleep.

But it wasn’t until I removed my dirty, dusty garments from my body that I noticed how tense my muscles were. It felt like I had pulled something in my chest, or perhaps cracked a rib, and pain wasn’t often something I dealt with. I normally had the ability to brush it off and wait for the injuries to heal, but this was different.

Even as I settled myself in the center of the bed, I had to stretch out my back in order to soothe the unpleasant ache. I knew it was due to the Angel Dust rope which had constricted my body like a serpent, and at least I knew what to expect when we faced the angel again.

Fortunately, I quickly forgot about the pain as soon as Ashe and Sveila curled up beside me. They drew circles across my chest with their nails, and their soft breaths blew against my skin as they slowly fell asleep.

I felt myself move around occasionally during the night, but I didn’t wake up properly until an angry voice echoed through the bedroom.

“That fucking bitch!” Ashe screamed.

The bed jolted as Ashe jumped up, but when my eyes slowly opened, my Infernal Huntress was checking herself out in the mirror.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“Is everything okay?” Sveila queried through a deep yawn.

“That fucking angel,” Ashe groaned. “My skin felt on fire all night, and now look! Look at what she’s done to me!”

Ashe spun around to face the bed, and her icy pale skin was completely covered in black blotches. It looked like someone rubbed soot all over her body. There were patches on her stomach where her pale skin shined through, but her arms and legs were completely black.

I found myself staring at Ashe’d body as the demon tried to wipe the skin clean, but nothing seemed to work.

“Does it hurt?” Sveila asked as she climbed out of bed.

“It’s itchy, but it doesn’t hurt any more,” Ashe replied. “But I can’t go around looking like this. I also planned on wearing my black dress today, and now there’s going to be too much black!”

Sveila carefully ran her fingers across Ashe’s arm, and I noticed the frown on the witch’s face like she was trying to work out what to do.

“Oh, fuck, Atticus,” Ashe gasped. “Look at your arms.”

“What?” I frowned.

But my confusion didn’t last for long, because as soon as I looked away from my demon lover, I noticed the scar that wrapped around my upper arms and traveled to my chest. The scar was dark red and angry, but there was also a golden shimmer to it, like my skin had been covered in the angel’s gold dust.

The marks on our bodies were side effects of the Holy Light and Angel Dust, and it explained the ache I’d felt the night before. But I didn’t know these wounds well enough to know how long they’d last for.

“The Holy Light must have been burning your skin,” I said as I went to stand beside my women. “But you managed to escape before it could kill you, so now you’re left looking like that.”

“But for how long?” Ashe asked. “And if this is still on my skin when we fight her again, does that mean the Holy Light will be more effective?”

“I don’t know,” I sighed. “I’ve only seen angels with her sorts of powers in battle, never experienced them myself. I suppose it could leave your skin more susceptible to burns, which would make the Holy Light more effective. But that’s only if your body hasn’t cleared up before we see the angel again.”

“I know a potion that can help you, Atticus,” Sveila said confidently. “And perhaps I can take a look to find something for your skin, Ashe?”

“I’m not sure if that’ll work,” I replied. “Angel magic is stronger than mortal magic, so part of me thinks the angel is the only one to hold a cure.”

“Fuck,” Ashe spat.

“But I’m confident these marks will heal,” I added quickly.

“They better,” Ashe replied as she attempted to rub the soot from her arms. “Because I had planned on visiting Iris this morning, and I can’t plan a dress when I look like this.”

“Maybe you could get a dress with long sleeves?” Sveila suggested. “Your boots will cover the majority of your legs anyway, and then it’s just your face and chest that’ll be on show.”

“Have you seen my dresses?” Ashe giggled. “My arms are some of my favorite features, so I can’t cover them.”

“Why don’t you visit Iris anyway?” I asked. “Buying dresses makes you happy, and Iris might know how to cover the marks.”

“I suppose we do need more apples because Gyor couldn’t get any…” Ashe mumbled. “And it would be nice to see Iris again… Okay! I’ll go! Oh, and the onyx blade would look so fucking hot with my skin! Ah, I love it!”

“That didn’t take you long to decide,” Sveila snickered.

“It never does when it comes down to my weapons, or purchasing new ones,” Ashe giggled. “Atticus is too demanding about spoiling us for me to fight the urge.”

“Good girl,” I said with a wicked grin.

Now that I knew my huntress was in a better mood, the three of us focused on getting changed, and picking out a dress was easier than Ashe first thought. Originally she’d planned on wearing her black dress, but she realized that her pink dress with black lace detailing tied in quite well with her blotchy skin.

“And the black and pink eyes!” Sveila cooed as she scooped her purple hair over her shoulder. “You look so good, Ashe!”

“I know, I do.” The demon smirked. “We all look amazing.”

Ashe held the handle of the onyx blade in her right hand, and then she tucked it into her leather belt.

I went without a jacket, because the sun that poured through the windows made me think it might have been warm outside. But Sveila chose her favorite red velvet dress, it had a thin gold belt that tied together around her waist while the sleeves were long and flowy at the cuffs.

Ashe was right, we all looked amazing, but I looked even better when I had my incredible women at my side.

Every motherfucker in the Grimmway wished they had what I had, but they just had to accept their fate.

I was pleased to see three orcs standing guard outside the manor as we left the main door. I didn’t know how long they had been there for, but at least Larauk had agreed to my order.

I recognized one of the orcs as being Oglzum because he had a finger missing on his right hand, but the others all looked the same, so I didn’t know their names.

“We’re going to the marketplace,” I announced as I shoved a pouch of gold pieces into my pocket. “If we’re not back by the time the sun is in the center of the sky, then I want one of you to head out and find us.”

“Yes,” one orc replied.

“The imps are free to enter and leave the house whenever they wish, and if Bennet asks to see me, tell him to wait in the kitchen,” I ordered.

“Bennet wait in kitchen,” Oglzum repeated. “We understand.”

“Good.” I nodded.

I wasn’t sure if my middleman, Bennet, had planned on coming to the manor or not, but he often just appeared whenever he had more sales to talk me through. He was still known for using a blue orb to sneak around, so he often appeared in front of us without anyone knowing he was there.

We headed toward the marketplace once the orcs understood their rules, and various creatures and undesirables covered the alleyways as they started their day.

It was no surprise to any of us that the banshees had created a raging fire, and I knew it wasn’t going to be long before they began to dance and chant. The sweet scent of succulent meat floated over from the stalls, and my stomach growled like an angry lava bear at the thought of sticking my teeth into the fresh meat.

Perhaps I would pick up some legs of meat for my women and I once they had finished in the dress shop.

“I feel like everyone is looking at me,” Ashe muttered as we neared Iris’ shop.

“Everyone’s always looking at us,” I replied. “At least they’re not screaming this time.”

“But they’re looking at my skin,” she urged.

“Let them look.” Sveila smirked. “Every woman around here wishes they looked as good as you.”

“That is true.” Ashe nodded as her confidence returned. “The pieces they would pay to look like us!”

“Which is why they’re incredibly jealous of me,” I snickered. “No other fucker has what I have.”

Ashe and Sveila curled into my side, and their laughter surrounded us as I gave them a kiss on the head.

They stayed in that exact position until we arrived outside Iris’ shop. The small building had green moss and colorful flowers that traveled from the ground all the way up to the roof. A calming yet spicy scent blew out onto the street, and apparently it was something called “incense,” but I had no idea what that meant.

Iris was busy at the back of the shop when we walked in, but a brilliant smile crossed her elven face as she noticed us. Her light-orange hair had been clipped at the back of her head, and her tiny, slim body had been covered in a forest-green dress that only allowed her hands and neck to be on show. Iris was incredibly shy, but I always caught on to her arousal every time the three of us entered.

It was like a soft wisp of a scent that called to me each time she shifted her body in any way, and the fact that she had no idea I could sense this made it even more alluring.

“Good morning,” Sveila said as she drifted over to the counter.

“G-Good… m-morning, Miss Sveila,” Iris stuttered. “Good morning, sir, and Miss Ashe.”

“Iris, I need your help,” Ashe said as she leaned across the counter.

I could just imagine the view the little elf had of Ashe’s breasts, but that was probably the demon’s plan.

Feisty little thing.

“Oh, what’s happened to your skin?” Iris gasped.

“That’s why I need your help,” Ashe said. “Do you think you can make me something that can hide this, but a dress I can also wear to a celebration?”

“I-I… uh, sure.” Iris shrugged. “I can do my very best.”

“Your creations are always the best,” I purred in a velvety tone, and that one gesture caused a blush to form across her face.

“Are you after long sleeves?” Iris asked as she tried to recover, but it didn’t work.

The sweet, delectable scent of her juices practically fell on my tongue, and it took everything I had in me not to allow my primal side to control my actions. I wanted nothing more than to throw Iris against the counter as I fucked her, and I wanted everyone in the Grimmway to hear my name as the elf screamed at the top of her lungs.

But I also knew that the dainty, mortal Iris was far too fragile for a demonic move like that, and perhaps I just had to wait until she was a little more comfortable around me.

However, that time would come, and so would she.

I’d make her cum so fucking hard that her body would be twitching for days afterward.

“So… like this?” Iris suddenly appeared with a sheet of black lace.

I had been so busy thinking about my fantasies that I hadn’t followed their conversation, but none of them seemed to notice.

“Yes, that would be perfect!” Ashe gushed. “Sveila, feel this!”

“I’m going to get some apples from the stall,” I announced as the three women continued to discuss materials. “I’ll come back and meet you here.”

“Of course, Atticus.” Sveila smiled. “I don’t think you’d enjoy this conversation anyway.”

“As long as you three are happy, that’s all that matters,” I replied.

I noticed Iris’ cheeks blushing instantly as I said “three” instead of “two,” and I chuckled softly to myself as I turned for the door.

The stalls were only a short walk from the dress shop, and I couldn’t smell the angel anywhere nearby, so I felt confident that I could leave the women alone while I bought a bag of apples. It was also the middle of the morning, and according to my minions, the angel waited until the sun had set before she began her scouting missions.

As I arrived at the marketplace, I noticed several undesirables wandering around and buying various items from the different stalls. A selection of black fairies had settled themselves extremely close to a stall that sold different materials. They were known for being extremely mischievous and sly, so the seller would probably find some cloth missing when they closed for the day.

The black fairies caught my attention as I waited in line for the fruit and vegetable stall, but they just smirked and winked at me. They knew I had guessed their intentions, but that didn’t scare them.

By the time it was my turn, the majority of green apples had already been sold, but there was also a new fruit I hadn’t seen before. It was small and round, like an apple, but it was orange in color and the texture looked thicker than the skin of an apple.

“Good morning, Atticus,” the seller said in a polite voice. “What can I get for you today?”

The man was a half-goblin, and he very rarely spoke, let alone in such a polite tone, but I just waved it off.

“What are those orange apples?” I asked.

“You mean the oranges?” The half-goblin picked up the fruit in question, and then he held it out for me to see.

“What is it?” I asked.

“It’s an orange,” he said in a slow tone like I was stupid. “It’s juicier than an apple, and it’s sharper in taste, too.”

“I’ll take three.” I shrugged. “And a sack of apples, too.”

I continued to sniff the air as the half-goblin threw a mixture of red and green apples into the sack. All I could smell were the salty juices of the meat legs, but I still wanted to return to the dress shop as quickly as I could.

“That’ll be three pieces,” the half-goblin said while he handed over the sack.

“Three pieces?” I frowned. “But the apples are at least six pieces alone.”

“Please, have the apples on the house today,” he replied. “We all know what happened with the Church the other day, and I want to thank you for ridding this place of such monstrosities. I’ve never felt free with the Church around, but now I no longer need to hide.”

“Okay.” I shrugged. “Thank you.”

“No, thank you,” he said. “I’m sure I speak for the entire district when I thank you for freeing us.”

There wasn’t much else for me to say, so I handed over the gold pieces, took the sack from the half-goblin, and then walked away. I knew the Grimmway would be pleased that the Church was gone, but it was the first time I’d really spoken to someone outside my group since the death of the vile bishop.

I returned to the dress shop to find the women in mid-conversation, and I overheard Iris saying that the new dresses would be ready in a couple of days.

“I can’t wait to see them,” Ashe said, and then she turned her head to look at me quizzically. “Did you buy more than just apples? Or is that something else I can smell?”

“Yeah, I bought oranges.” I shrugged. “They looked interesting.”

“Oh, oranges are delicious.” Iris smiled. “If you mix them with dew ginger, it makes them really tasty and more acidic.”

“What’s dew ginger?” Sveila asked. “I’ve never heard of that before.”

“It’s quite rare, but I know of some White Witches who grow it, so you can ask around to see if you can find some,” Iris replied politely. “It’s stronger in taste than regular ginger, but it’s soft like a banana.”

I had no idea what they were talking about, but I added ginger and bananas onto my list of new fruits to try.

Once we had finished in the dress shop, we said goodbye to Iris and then walked back in the direction of the manor. My theories from this morning were correct, and it was a warm day, but I didn’t sit out in the sunbeams like the rest of the Grimmway did whenever the clouds disappeared.

“The half-goblin gave me the apples for free,” I snorted as we all piled into the kitchen.

Bennet hadn’t arrived, so I assumed he had no reason to see me today.

“Really?” Ashe asked.

“That was very nice of him,” Sveila said.

“Apparently it’s because he wanted to thank me for taking down the Church.” I shrugged.

“That’s because everyone respects you, Atticus,” Ashe purred as she emptied the fruit onto the counter. “And soon the entire population of the Port of Rengfri will feel the same way.”

“That’s the plan.” I grinned.

“Oooh,” Ashe cooed as she spun back around to look at Sveila and I. “We were literally just talking about creating an army last night, and I think I have the perfect idea.”

“Go on…” I led.

“What if we take every man and woman from the Grimmway and the Shadow Quarters,” she explained. “They’ll almost certainly want to help you, especially against a fucking angel, and then we might have enough strength and power to defeat those little bitches if it comes down to that.”

“But I thought the angel is too strong for us to use mortal weapons?” Sveila asked.

“Yes, but imagine you’re trying to break something.” Ashe skipped over to the table and took a seat opposite the Red Witch. “If you apply a small amount of pressure, it’ll be hard to break this solid object. But the more you apply…”

“The easier it is to break it?” Sveila frowned.

“Exactly!” Ashe grinned. “If we have enough people on our side, then if this bitch-ass angel brings in her little army of backup, they can keep the holy soldiers back while Atticus and I do our thing. The angels will be dead in no time with enough force behind us. And we already know the Shadow Quarters will be running to us in order to be a part of your army, Atticus.”

“Do you think this angel will really bring backup?” the Red Witch asked.

“It most likely will.” My demon lover nodded. “And if or when that happens, we’ll need an army strong enough to distract and hold back the angels, otherwise we may as well just admit defeat right now.”

“I like the idea…” I muttered as I leaned back in my seat. “But there’s one thing we need to think about.”

“What’s that?” the demon asked.

“I won’t have the time to sort through every being who comes my way,” I replied. “I’ll need to make sure they’re the right people to join the army, but where will I find the time to get that completed?”

“That’ll also mean you’ll need someone to keep watch over the Shadow Quarters,” Sveila said. “They’ll need a leader.”

“A middleman who can qualify as a sort of captain,” I replied. “I’ll need someone for the residents to report to, but then they’ll report back to me. Especially if we’re trying to increase the size of my army.”

“Yes, exactly.” She nodded.

“Someone who commands their own level of respect,” I mused. “Someone the residents won’t question, and who won’t bullshit me in any way…”

The image of the perfect candidate instantly popped into my mind, and I felt the grin grow across my face at the other advantages that person brought to the table.

“I think we should pick Madame Nyra,” I said.

“Ooh, Madame Nyra would be perfect!” Ashe clapped.

“She already has all of those black fairies under her control,” Sveila replied. “So she’ll know exactly what to do when it comes to the rest of the district.”

The leader of the black fairy coven was perfect for the job, and I was sure she would be up for doing it. We’d helped each other out enough times now that the understanding between us was quite solid, and she had eyes and ears all over the damn city. That would serve me well in several ways.

But as well as Madame Nyra, I couldn’t stop thinking about two black fairies in particular who I would very much like an audience with soon.

Lux and Lixiss.

Made in Hell 5 Chapter 2

The entire church seemed to light up as the angel stood in front of us.

A golden shimmer floated through the air, and a white light shone from the angel’s mighty, feathery wings as they folded neatly behind her back. Gold dust drifted from her hands, her blonde and golden hair fell behind her shoulders, and a powerful rage took over my body as I took in the sickeningly perfect sight of her. She wore a simple white dress that stopped just above her knees, nothing at all sinful like the outfits in Ashe’s closet, and I imagined her Holy King had a strict rule about what his angels wore.

Still, her angelic beauty was fucking blinding, and I growled deep in my chest as I took in every pristine inch of her.

The angel looked back and forth between Ashe and I, and her golden eyes lit up with deep excitement as she surveyed her surroundings. I imagined this bitch thought it was going to be an easy fight, and perhaps she thought she’d be able to return to her Holy King once my demon and I had been slaughtered.

But if that was the case, then this angel clearly knew nothing about the inner workings of a demon.

It was my mission to rid this world of scum like her. I had already saved the Port of Rengfri from the sickening Church that brainwashed the residents, and now it was time to do the same with the angels. She’d soon realize the mistake she’d made, but not before I showed her who was really in charge around here.

A vibration rumbled in the back of Ashe’s throat as she stared down the angel, and I knew from that one look alone that my Infernal Huntress was preparing to charge.

There was something incredibly feral and primal about Ashe’s actions, and I’d be sure to reward her later once we’d defeated our current threat.

Then, in the blink of an eye, Ashe darted forward as she aimed for the angel. Her venomous nails tore from the tips of her fingers, and Ashe sliced the air with her hands as she attempted to tag the angel’s holy skin. One single drop of venom was enough to kill the mightiest of men, and I wanted nothing more than to watch the angel violently shake and quiver as her holy blood became congealed beneath her skin.

But then, before Ashe could tag the angel, the white light increased with enough strength to blind us, and my Infernal Huntress halted in her movements. She was locked in place by the Holy Light alone. It was like she was standing directly under the light of the moon, and the fact that Ashe couldn’t even twitch a single finger showed me just how powerful this angel really was.

But she wasn’t as powerful as I was.

The sight of Ashe trapped within the white, Holy Light caused a dominant rage to form deep in my sinews, and a fire grew in my opened palms as I pictured the angel collapsing to the church floor in a pile of dust. I urged my Infernal Blaze to cover my entire body, but I never made it that far.

Because before I could set the fire free, the angel threw one hand in my direction, and the golden Angel Dust that sprinkled from her fingers became somewhat like a rope as it tied itself around my torso. A burning pain forced itself through my skin and clothing, and the more I moved, the tighter the rope became.

“Argh!” I yelled as a piercing sting cut through the skin of my arm.

I couldn’t raise my arms or even move them away from my sides, and I started to wonder how long it was going to take for the rope to snap me into two pieces.

The angel was immortal just like Ashe and I were. Or at least, immortal compared to the dwellers of the surface world. But up against each other, angels and demons were more vulnerable to our powers. We could certainly be fucking destroyed, and one wrong move on our side could have been the end of Ashe and I.

We needed to be careful of the light and the golden shimmer, but we also needed to be smart and strong enough to break ourselves away from the angel’s hold.

I tried to twist my body from side to side, and I used every ounce of energy in my body to free my arms, but nothing seemed to work. I glanced over to where my beautiful demon stood in the bright light, and I wanted nothing more than to reach out and grab her.

It looked as though Ashe’s body was limp, but also made from stone. She was slightly slumped over to one side with her head back, but she appeared fossilized in that position.

Just the sight of Ashe in such a vulnerable position caused my blood to boil, and I threw back my head as I screamed into the ceiling above me.

“Ooh, Atticus,” the angel cooed as she shot me a violent smirk. “How pleased the Holy King will be once he receives his gift.”

Her voice was high-pitched and almost musical, like one of those fucking stringed instruments they were known to play. It scratched and burned my ears, and it almost felt like her voice was a power in itself.

“You’ll have to kill me first,” I snarled. “No amount of Angel Dust will be enough to defeat me.”

The light that surrounded Ashe slowly began to dissolve as the angel paid me more attention, and that was when an idea came to mind.

If I could distract the angel for long enough, it would give Ashe the chance to break free. I had no idea what my huntress was thinking about, or if she had any plans of her own. But what I did know was that we had to work as a team in order to take down the angel, and my idea could have been the only way to do that.

Perhaps if I could mentally torture the angelic bitch. Then it would be enough for Ashe to rip herself free from the light.

“I bet your so-called Holy King is shaking in this throne at what I’ve done.” I smirked. “I killed the bishop in a beautifully violent way, and his screams will live in my mind forever. Tell me, did you hear his suffering all the way up in the Heavenly Glade? It was a glorious sound…”

The angel’s face scrunched up in anger as I taunted her with my words.

“His blood still remains on the floor, and I’ll never forget the way his skin felt beneath my hands as I squeezed the life out of him,” I continued. “His neck was so fragile that it snapped and shattered like a thin sheet of glass. You should have seen the look in his miserable eyes as I kicked down the door. He knew he was dead, and no spell or power was enough to stop me. The wrath of a demon is far too powerful a thing once it’s really been unleashed–”

“You’ll never get away with what you’ve done!” she screamed with enough force to shake the wooden beams around us. “It is my mission to take you to where you truly belong, and I won’t stop until I have your dead heart in my hands! But not until I take every sinner you love away from you. They’ll be the first to visit my almighty Lord and pay for their hideous deeds.”

Her threats didn’t scare me, and I wasn’t going to lose a minute of sleep over it, but the more she screamed and attacked me with her words, the more the Holy Light faded. Ashe had managed to free her left arm from its hold, which was when I knew my plan was working.

“Hey, I wasn’t done, it wasn’t only the bishop I killed,” I chuckled darkly. “The priests, the Blessed, and every holy follower who stood beside them became victims in my hands. They begged me to forgive them, and prayed to be saved, and I simply stood back and watched as the life slowly left their eyes. I can still taste their blood on my tongue, and I hear their cries for help every time I close my eyes…”

The angel let out another scream as she shot her second hand forward. A second golden rope partnered with the first as it constricted my body, and although I wanted to wince and writhe in pain, my distraction caused Ashe to fully break free from the cage of light.

I watched through my peripheral vision as Ashe shook out her posture, and then, seconds before the angel realized what had happened, Ashe vanished into the shadows as she allowed her Infernal Darkness to take over. It gave her the ability to create, connect to, and alter the shadows around her, and it was Ashe’s greatest power during a fight like this.

“No!” the angel yelled out as she noticed her captive had slipped free.

“Perhaps you should have paid a little more attention,” I said. “Good luck finding us now…”

I closed my eyes as my newest Hell power took over my body, and then I slipped free from the golden Angel Dust ropes as my Smoke Flight took control.

My body felt as light as a feather, and my surroundings were covered in a grim haze as I took in my distorted view. I hovered in the air in front of the angel, but she no longer had the ability to see me. So, as the torturous ropes returned to their original form and fell from her fingers as golden dust, the angel spun around on her heels and tried to locate me and Ashe.

My huntress could have been anywhere in the church. She could have been hiding in plain sight, or perhaps perched in the highest peak of the ceiling, but I knew that wherever Ashe was, she was conjuring up a plan inside her brilliant mind.

We both were.

Neither of us were going to leave before we’d either killed the angel, or made her see that demons from the Hellscape weren’t to be messed with. There was a reason why we’d fought against her kind throughout our entire existence, and today was no exception.

I had to think about the angel’s weaknesses, and if I found what made her vulnerable, our victory was going to be so much easier to obtain.

From the day I arrived in my Tempest Void in the Hellscape, we were taught about the evil, disgusting angels who had made it their mission to dispose of us. My Lord Captain had informed me of their weaknesses, and given the “beauty” they lived in, there was only one thing angels despised more than demons.

Something that thrived on violence and destruction.

Fire.

According to them, fire had been created by the Dark King himself, and it was just my luck that I had the ability to create a spark with nothing but a click of my fingers.

I knew I had to be far enough away and potentially hidden to save myself from the golden Angel Dust ropes, but I also had to have the perfect view of my target. So, as I swarmed through the remains of the building, I looked out for the right hiding spot. The church was made up of solid, stone pillars that ran right up to the roof, and I just hoped they held the right amount of strength to stand up against the angel’s powers.

As I dropped to the ground behind a pillar, I returned to my physical form and glanced around the side of the stone to get a better understanding of the angel’s whereabouts. She floated through the air as she whizzed from one side of the building to the other. The golden glitter followed her every move, and the powerful wings flapped back and forth to push her forward at an increasing speed.

The angel twisted her head from side to side like she was hunting the slipperiest prey, and as she turned to view the front of the church, I took that as my opportunity.

A singular fireball grew in the palm of my hand, and I twisted it around with my fingers to allow the flames to sparkle and pop. I eyed up the angel’s right wing, and then I held my lit hand in the air and launched the fireball straight at my target.

The hellish fire hit the angel straight in the wing, and as the gold feathers instantly began to burn and crumble, the angel let out a high-pitched cry as she batted the fire out with her hands.

The angel continued to yell and scream as a hole was created within her injured wing, but I wasted no time in creating a second fireball and added it to the blaze. The angel spun around in a flurry of light and golden sparkles, I assumed to dodge the attack, but the damage to her wing limited the angel’s movements.

Then, before I knew what was happening, a golden rope rattled through the air. It was aimed straight for me, but I threw one more fireball into the angel’s direction as I dodged the dangerous rope. Then as the rope crashed into the pillar, fragments of stone blew off and rained down on me like solid water droplets.

The rope constricted around the pillar, just like it had done with my body, and the stone cracked and chipped as the angel squeezed it with all her might. I knew part of the ceiling was going to collapse on top of us if the angel brought down the pillar, so I had to make sure that didn’t happen. I didn’t have the fucking time to get stuck underneath a mound of rubble.

I was going to throw more fireballs in her direction in order to distract her once again, but a second cry filled the musty air before I could put my plan in action.

This cry was deeper and more feral than the pained yells the angel gave out, and I knew it had to have come from Ashe. I glanced around the side of the pillar and noticed a shadow form behind the angel, and my beautiful huntress returned to her physical form as she aimed her venomous nails at the angel’s jugular.

Ashe leaped onto the angel’s back with her legs curled around her waist, and a gust of air blew through the damaged church as the angel flapped her wings back and forth. I had a feeling she was trying to use that tactic to get Ashe to let go, but my huntress would rather die than let go of the angel in her hands.

Then Ashe grabbed a handful of golden-blonde hair, and she curled her fingers into talons as she attempted to scratch and gauge at the angel’s throat. But every strike was expertly blocked. The golden rope was instantly dropped from the pillar as the angel scratched and pulled at Ashe’s pale arms in return.

The difference between their skin tone was like night and day, with the icy pale of Ashe’s arms to the warm shimmer of the angel’s, but to the untrained eye, that was the only major contrast between them.

I could clearly see the feral, wicked energy practically radiating from Ashe as she hissed out smoke, and the self-righteous vengeance of the angel stood as a stark reminder of how different our kinds truly were while she scattered Angel Dust in all directions.

But both were just as strong and agile as the other, which made Ashe’s fight just as challenging as any we’d had against other demons in the past. There was a chance Ashe could have lost that fight, and I would have put my entire existence on the line if it meant my Infernal Huntress was safe.

The angel screamed as she aimed her Holy Light at Ashe, but my demon ducked and refused to untie her legs from around the angel, and she slashed through the air with her talons at an impressive pace.

As Ashe hunched herself further over the angel’s back, our enemy rolled her body forward and threw my demon huntress straight to the ground. The white light grew like a threatening cloud over Ashe’s body, and if I hadn’t stepped forward in that split second, then I knew the angel would have had the ability to solidify Ashe’s body as the angel took the demon’s life.

I also knew that Ashe preferred to win her fights by herself, and I didn’t often want to interfere, but I didn’t even question my movements. I could have stayed hidden, or I could have saved Ashe’s life.

It was an easy decision to make.

An angered growl formed in my throat as I watched the white cloud get closer and closer toward my demon lover. Then seconds before the light touched Ashe’s skin, I dashed away from my hiding spot and raced through the church as I charged toward the angel.

I created a burning fire in my left hand that ran all the way up to my shoulder, but I kept my right hand free, with nothing but a jolt of my Infernal Tempest running from one finger to another.

I locked eyes with the angel as I came toward her, and it seemed as if she stiffened in fright for a fraction of a second, but then she recovered from her shock and continued to aim her white light at Ashe.

“What a stupid move to make,” I chuckled sarcastically under my breath.

It was two against one, and unless there was another angel hiding within the rafters, then this bitch was fucked. She shouldn’t have taken her eyes away from me, her biggest threat, but she did, which made my attack even easier.

A terrifying roar spilled free from my throat as I launched myself through the air and slammed the pathetic angel to the ground. Our combined weight was enough to crack the cold stone beneath us, and every time I forced the angel further into the ground, the slabs cracked and broke even more.

She hissed through her sparkling teeth and narrowed her golden eyes, and the Angel Dust danced around us as another rope was formed in the air. I knew I had to apply my finishing move before the rope could grab me, and that was where the tempest came in.

With the fire popping dangerously close near the angel’s wings, I grabbed her by the neck with my right hand and allowed the lightning force to flow free from my palm.

I had the power to break the hardest stone with one squeeze of my fist, so with a mortal’s neck, it would have been as easy as tearing a piece of parchment in two. But it was different with an angel. Her flesh and bones weren’t as fragile as that, and it was going to take much more effort in order to break her.

But I wasn’t going to give up.

The rope fell to the floor in golden speckles, and I felt the angel quiver and shake beneath me as she screamed and hissed from the pain that pulsed through her jugular.

“I’ll… you…” she choked.

The angel closed her glistening eyes for a split second, and at first I thought she’d passed out from the pressure and pain, but then she simply vanished into thin air, and I slammed onto the cold ground as a groan left my lips.

Damn, now I knew how annoying my Smoke Flight move must be.

I smirked at the thought, but there was a chance the angel was still around, so I wasted no time in jumping to my feet as I surveyed the building. The scent of angelic perfection was still in the air, but I realized it wasn’t as strong as it had been, so it was clear that the angel had disappeared into the night like a scared animal.

“Coward,” I snorted as I ran a hand through my black hair.

“Has she gone?” Ashe asked as she wiped the dust and stone from her silver dress.

“For now,” I mumbled, and then I turned to look at my beautiful demon. “Are you okay? Did the light hurt you at all?”

She looked to be in perfect condition, but just because she didn’t have any marks or scrapes on her body didn’t mean she wasn’t injured.

“It hurts, sure, but nothing I can’t handle.” Ashe smiled. “I’m more annoyed that we didn’t get to kill her while we had the chance.”

“Don’t worry, I imagine it won’t be long before we see here again,” I said as I ran my hand up and down Ashe’s arm. “And it was probably a good thing we didn’t kill her.”

“What do you mean?” She frowned. “That angel needs to die, right now. We’re only making her stronger, and she’ll have a better understanding of our powers next time. We’re also putting everyone else at danger every minute that pathetic angel is alive!”

“Ashe–”

“Sveila, Lux and Lixiss, the mermaids!” Ashe continued to rant into the wooden beams above. “Anyone connected to us will be on that angel’s list, and the Holy King is expecting everyone to be transported into the clouds!”

“Yes, but think about the repercussions if the angel had died,” I explained as I patiently calmed my demon lover down. “She probably has an entire army of angels waiting in the clouds. They’ll swarm Rengfri before we even return to the Grimmway, and our army isn’t big enough to take on that sort of threat yet.”

“But, I–”

“No,” I cut in. “I get how angry you are, but you saw what that angel could do. She’s not just some stooge sent to spy on us. She’s a fucking soldier, and soldiers have back up. This means we’ll need to focus on building up our army, not just killing an angel.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Ashe sighed. “I mean, you always are, of course, but I got so annoyed that I didn’t even think about what else could have happened.”

“Believe me, I want her to die just as much as you do.” I kissed Ashe’s lips gently. “And she’ll get what’s coming to her, but we have to make sure we’re also ready first. This fight worked out perfectly in my opinion. Sure, she saw our powers. But we also saw hers. We needed that intel.”

“Do you think we’ll need more orcs to take on someone like the angel?” she asked.

The two of us collapsed onto one of the wooden pews as I thought through her answer. The orcs were a great addition to the army, but I needed more than that.

“If you think about the powers the angel held, her Holy Light and Angel Dust, then we’ll need someone who can fight off that pressure like we can,” I paused for a brief moment.

“Is that possible?” Ashe questioned. “I mean, even we had issues with her powers, and it’s not like we can gather more demons to take our side.”

“Well, no,” I agreed. “They may help us kill off the angels, but then they’d aim their hands at us, too. No, we need to create an army that actually wants to fight by our side, and won’t drag us off to the Hellscape afterward.”

“Sveila?” Ashe suggested. “Maybe other witches, too? I know they won’t be as strong as the angel’s holy powers, and there was a reason why Sveila stayed inside the manor this evening, but what if the witches worked together? It’s possible that they might be able to create a spell that disables the bitch long enough for me to sink my claws into her neck?”

My powerful laugh filled the entire building, and I gave Ashe an evil grin as I replayed her words over and over in my head. There was nothing she loved more than tearing out someone’s jugular.

“The witches have potential.” I nodded. “If they all gather together then they could create enough force to wipe out a good chunk of the Holy Army, but I have another idea in mind…”

I now had the power from the Shadow Quarters and the Grimmway combined, and I knew, with every undesirable that resided there, we’d have enough to take down this angel.

It was just a matter of when and where.

Made in Hell 5 Chapter 1

Sorry about the delay! I thought I uploaded some chapters but forgot.

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The wondrous world of the Grimmway greeted me as I casually wandered through the streets that led me home.

The banshees were dancing in a circle in front of their small house, a string of lights had been set up by a few mischievous tinsel fairies, and loud music came from one of the more popular taverns. The sun had already started to set, so it was prime time for the undesirables of Rengfri to visit their favorite places.

Now that Ashe, Sveila, and I felt more comfortable walking around this town, we sometimes chose to enjoy a mysterious brew, but we also liked to hide away and settle down in our manor.

It had been two days since we took down the Church and brought about the gloriously bloody death of the bishop, and I felt like I hadn’t stopped. So much had happened, and in such a short amount of time. The days appeared to blur into one, and I couldn’t tell if something had happened this morning, or the night before.

I’d had a busy day checking on a few dwarves who lived in the Grimmway, but now that that was over, it was time for me to return to my gorgeous women who waited for my arrival.

A coating of golden lights swarmed over the windows of the manor as I arrived home. The sun had already started to set, so I imagined my Red Witch, Sveila, had decided to light the candles with nothing but her powerful mind.

Our maroon manor was settled within the forest of the Grimmway, and the three of us had really made it our home since Ashe and I slaughtered the dark elves who previously owned it.

The comforting scent of meat and potatoes blew through the air as I reached the main door. Before I’d left to meet with the dwarves, Ashe had told me she’d have a feast ready for when I returned, and it was clear my Infernal Huntress had remembered her promise.

I had sampled a lot of mortal food since I arrived here on the surface world, yet nothing tasted as good as bread, meat, and potatoes. Sometimes Ashe prepared white meat whenever the little imp, Gyor, could get his hands on it, but I preferred dark meat anyway. It satisfied a strange urge deep in my gut, and the longer I lived on this surface world, the more I craved the succulent stuff.

“Atticus!” Sveila called out as she ran through from the living room.

The Red Witch wore one of her favorite purple velvet dresses that fell to the floor but showed off her ample breasts. Her purple hair fell over her shoulders in soft waves as her amber eyes glistened, and a brilliant, beautiful smile curled across her red-painted lips.

“Have you been waiting for me?” I asked as I brushed the back of my hands down her slender arms.

“We’re always waiting on you.” Sveila winked. “But the manor never feels the same whenever you’re away.”

“I left at the third hour,” I chuckled.

“And now it’s the seventh!” she giggled. “That’s a long time to be without you.”

“I suppose it is, yes.” I nodded.

“I hate to be the one to break up this sweet reunion,” Ashe said as she skipped over toward us. “But the potatoes are ready, and I hate to leave them in the water for too long.”

“I think the imps are still cleaning the residue off the walls from last time,” I chuckled as I glanced down at my little demon.

“I told them I would do it!” Ashe threw her arms in the air. “But the imps wouldn’t listen to me. And anyway, now we know that potatoes can get very soft if they bathe for too long in the pot.”

Ashe cocked her head to one side, smiled, and then turned on her foot and skipped back into the kitchen. Her silver-blue hair blew behind her, and her blue silk dress lifted up just enough to reveal her bare ass underneath.

I grinned like a heathen at the sight.

I hated my women wearing undergarments.

It meant that an extra layer came between us whenever I desired their bodies more than air.

As Sveila and Ashe brought the food over, I sat in my preferred chair at the head of the table and watched as the meal arrived in front of me. Given the amount of food Ashe had prepared, we must have received a new food supply from Gyor.

The feast was incredible, and the three of us talked and jested about our days as we shoveled thick slices of bread and meat into our mouths. But like always, we gorged ourselves on far too much food, and so we all plodded over the couch to allow the feast to settle.

I let out a deep sigh as I allowed my body to relax against the comfort of the couch, and I opened out my arms to allow my beautiful women to curl into my sides. Ashe was on my left, Sveila was on my right, and the two of them stroked my chest and drew small circles with the tips of their fingers.

That was all I really needed. It was the perfect way to end an eventful few days, and now that I’d found the time to relax, I took advantage of Ashe and Sveila’s gentle touches. All was silent, and for the first time since we’d broken into the church, my mind wasn’t full of constant thoughts.

“Did you visit the undesirables we freed from the church today, Sveila?” Ashe asked as she adjusted her position against my chest.

“I did,” the Red Witch replied. Her voice was as soft as velvet, and every word appeared to melt as soon as they left her lips.

“They’re all doing amazingly well,” Sveila continued. “My potion and the treatment they received from the mermaids has done a wonderful job, and most of them have even managed to leave the cove.”

“Good,” I said. “And how many of them still require the mermaids’ care?”

“A handful, so that’s nothing compared to how it was a couple days ago,” Sveila said with the makings of a smile on her golden skin. “The witch has created a stick to assist her in walking, and the sylph who had lost her wing is slowly learning to fly without it.”

“I’m pleased to hear that,” I replied.

“Me, too,” Ashe added. “The prisoners were in such a state, I even feared some of them wouldn’t make it out alive.”

“That’s what I thought, too.” Sveila nodded against my side. “I’d never seen anything like it.”

We knew the Church were up to something in that sacred fucking building of theirs, and once we’d slaughtered the Blessed, I knew the priests and the bishop were our next targets. During my time in Rengfri, I’d been made well aware of the Church’s hold on this place, and how they captured undesirables, but I wouldn’t stand for that shit.

I knew better than anyone when and why punishments should be delivered to anyone. As a demon, it was my very purpose to handle that sort of thing, and I could plainly see that the Church had been taking too many liberties with their punishments here.

So it was up to me to rescue those innocent creatures.

Fortunately, I’d had the help of the werewolves and the mermaids to keep a close eye on the Church as things escalated, and they’d managed to bring secret information to me in time for me to fully address the situation.

I’d never forget the look in the bishop’s eyes as we interrupted his wicked plans, and the sound of his blood curdling scream as I ended his life. The religious men had been in the middle of a ritual when we broke down the doors, and they were summoning their own Holy King to help rid the world of all undesirables. When we’d caught them deep in the basement of the church, the men had four naked, terrified elves crouched on the cold ground. Their skin was marked with red, bloody marks, and the men whipped the elves as the bishop repeated his pathetic words.

When it was finally time for us to announce our arrival, we didn’t hold back.

Ashe, Sveila, and I thoroughly delivered the punishment these men deserved. And no matter how much the leading bastard pleaded for his life and begged for me to change my mind, I didn’t listen. The bishop deserved to die for his sins, and that was exactly what I gave him.

A fucking reckoning.

Once the holy men had been dealt with, the three of us broke open every cell, and we’d managed to release the thirty-seven prisoners who were kept there. I came across a variety of creatures, which included the elves, a goblin, sylphs, and even a Green Witch. Every single one of them looked close to death, and it surprised me they hadn’t perished in those cells. An elf had the tip of his ear sliced off, and the witch had a crushed leg.

We assisted the wounded prisoners toward reaching the mermaids’ cove, and Sveila had spent nearly all her time there over the last two days. The Red Witch loved to treat those who needed it, so it only felt right that she followed these creatures during their journey to recovery.

“Atticus, have there been any more sightings of the angel?” Ashe asked a minute later.

A hint of rage instantly ignited in my chest at the reminder. Then the memory washed over me of the angel’s piercing golden eyes watching me as she perched on the turrets of the church, and I ground my jaw.

Not only did we have the undesirables to think about, but another threat had arrived in Rengfri, and it infuriated me that the little bitch thought she could fly down into my world. However, like with the bishop, I’d make the angel regret even thinking about destroying our peace.

“No,” I growled. “But I have the minions out there doing their job, so I don’t think it’ll be long before the angel appears again.”

“Do you think she’s left?” Sveila suggested.

“No, she’s still here,” I replied. “The werewolves caught on to a fresh scent trail just this morning, so I don’t think she’ll leave any time soon.”

“Yeah, I can still smell the little bitch,” Ashe snickered. “Damn, she smells disgusting!”

“But delicious at the same time.” I smirked. “The worst kind of evil. Pure, angelic evil. It makes me sick.”

“See, I still wish I could smell these creatures as well as you do,” Sveila replied. “But if someone smells like that, then I don’t think I want to smell this particular creature.”

“It comes with its advantages and disadvantages, I guess.” Ashe shrugged against my side. “But enough about her scent, what do you want to do with this angel?”

“Kill her.” I let out a dark laugh. “She’ll soon regret hanging around here and following my every step. But I’ll need to wait for her to attack before I do anything officially.”

“You won’t be able to kill her now?” Sveila asked.

“No, unfortunately not,” I replied. “As much as it pains me to admit it, the angel is clever, and she knows how to hunt and hide from me. Her kind are naturally the optimum opponent for demons. Just as we are for them. This needs to be handled carefully. We need to set a trap or catch her off guard in order to do it.”

“Do you think we can?” The witch frowned.

“Of course,” I said with certainty. “I have the werewolves and mermaids keeping an eye on Rengfri to keep tabs on the fallout since we took down the Church. But it’s also their job to tell me if they catch the scent of the angel again, too.”

“And has there been any fallout?” Ashe queried as she sat up on the couch.

The demon’s silver-blue hair glistened in the moonlight, and she glanced at me with her gorgeous pink and black eyes.

“Nothing so far,” I said with a slight smile. “The Church followers are probably too fucking scared to even start anything.”

The Church came with many dirty followers, but it was my mission to have them see who their real leader was. I was in charge of Rengfri now, and those worshippers would get what they deserved if they even thought about bowing down at the feet of their Holy King.

“They’re aware of the powers you hold.” Sveila sat up and stroked my arm with one hand. “These followers know you’re far stronger than they could ever be, and if you managed to kill the bishop so easily, then you’ll be able to do the same to them without question.”

“Exactly.” I nodded. “Plus, with the minions’ assistance, those motherfuckers won’t be able to step a toe out of line without either the werewolves or the mermaids catching on.”

“You’ve certainly addressed everything in the last couple days,” Ashe purred with pride.

“Yeah, it’s been a lot,” I snorted.

I’d spent the last two days meeting with various people to discuss the fallout, or other plans in the making, but my efforts had been worth it.

I’d met with the orcs to talk about the production of the brew, thunderclap, that the orcs created within the forest of the Grimmway. It was more of a one-sided conversation, seeing as the orcs didn’t speak my language that well, but I got the point across. As soon as things settled down, I wanted to get back into the business and see what could be done with the thunderclap, but also the tavern previously owned by a group of gorgons.

I had a lot of history with those scaly, green bitches. They hated Ashe and I ever since we killed their sisters at Medusa’s Palace in the outskirts of the Shadow Quarters. But now we had killed more of them, and I had taken over their tavern, so I felt pretty good about myself.

And my money-making prospects.

The orb mining business I ran with the imps also created a wonderful income, and I’d lost count of the number of gold pieces that sat inside this manor we lived in. But I knew the addition of the tavern would bring along even more wealth and bags of pieces. My mouth even salivated at the thought of watching the sacks of money come pouring in.

But as well as the orb mining was going, I still wanted to look for the right person to take over managing the business from me. I was a fucking busy demon, and I wanted to outsource as much of the management details as possible so I could focus on fucking my women and schemeing against the holy fuckers of this world.

I still thought the tabaxi would be the perfect person to do that, but I didn’t jump into any decisions until I was absolutely certain. The business wouldn’t be where it was without the imps’ assistance, so it only felt right to find someone who’d give them the care and guidance they deserved.

“I have an idea.” Ashe broke me from my thoughts as she jumped up from the couch.

Her blue silk dress swirled around her thighs and then settled against her icy pale skin. Ashe had a cheeky grin on her face, and that expression always excited me. I knew my demon lover was up to something, and I couldn’t wait to find out what it was.

“Why do I have a bad feeling about this?” Sveila smirked, and her amber eyes twinkled.

“Hey, it’s not that bad,” Ashe snickered. “I was going to ask if the minions are out just now?”

“I think so, yes.” I nodded. “The werewolves said they’d head out every night, as long as they’re not hunting.”

“Excellent.” Ashe grinned. “In that case, I think you and I, Atticus, should head out and hunt for the angel ourselves. Our sense of smell is ten times better than theirs, so if they’ve caught on to something, we’ll surely be able to follow it.”

“Tonight?” I asked.

“Yes, tonight.” She nodded. “If the precious angel thinks she can catch us first, then she’s got another thing coming.”

“I think that’s a good idea,” Sveila replied. “Especially with the werewolves’ assistance.”

I thought over Ashe’s suggestion for a brief second before I gave her an answer. I had to make sure we didn’t jump into anything without thinking it over first. The angel was stronger than other threats the three of us had been up against, so it wasn’t as easy as looking away and ignoring the gorgons or the incubi.

I certainly felt confident that Ashe and I were powerful enough to defeat the angel, but one mistake could be deadly.

“I think that might work,” I replied with a thoughtful nod. “Not only do we have the help from the minions, but I also remember how the angel smelled when we first encountered her, so I’d be able to tell it’s her instantly.”

“Me, too,” Ashe said. “I understand how busy you’ve been, Atticus. None of us have stopped since the battle against the Church. But I really think we should try and get as close to this little bitch as possible.”

“You also don’t know how much time you have,” Sveila added. “The angel could be planning to attack as the sun rises tomorrow.”

“You’re right.” I nodded. “The angel clearly isn’t going anywhere soon, but I want to get there first. I also want to make it my mission to see the life leave her angelic eyes.”

“Eurgh,” Ashe gagged playfully. “The word ‘angelic’ makes me sick.”

“Fuck, I love it when you say things like that,” Sveila said as she fluttered her dark eyelashes.

“It’s what I love about Atticus the most,” Ashe added as she skipped back toward the couch. “You protect your women with your life, but you have the darkest soul, and nothing turns me on more than that. Part of me hopes the angel is listening in on our conversation right now, because I want her to know what’s coming for her.”

“She’ll need more than just her Holy King to get her out of this one,” Sveila snickered.

“That’s what happens when you worship the Holy King.” I shrugged. “But it’s too late now, because soon we’ll all be celebrating as we clip the angel’s wings straight from her back.”

“Oooh!” Ashe squealed. “Maybe Iris could create another dress for me, but I want it dark yet shiny… Like smoke, ash, and molten gold! The color of the angel’s blood as it spills from her lifeless body!”

“Do you think the little elf could make a matching one for me, too?” Sveila queried with an evil shine in her amber eyes.

“You know Iris would do anything for us.” I smirked. “She would happily make an outfit for everyone in the Grimmway if we asked her to.”

“It could be part of the celebration,” Ashe said as she clapped her hands excitedly. “If anyone wishes to attend the death of the angel, then they must turn up wearing Iris’ attire in order to enter.”

“It could be a banquet to celebrate the recent events,” the Red Witch suggested. “Everyone must honor Atticus and thank him for ridding us of the evils of the Church, as well as killing the angel at the same time.”

“I cannot wait,” Ashe giggled. “I can imagine the lights and music already! I’ll enjoy so many tankards of dragon’s breaths that evening! Ooh, and imagine if I came across a sword that matched the outfit! Ah, it’ll be the perfect combination!”

“Don’t get too excited, my little demon,” I said as I placed a kiss against Ashe’s silver-blue hair. “We have to find and kill the angel first.”

“But Atticus, when it comes to mortal banquets and events, you never can be too prepared,” she replied. “I have all the confidence in the surface world that you’ll slaughter that little bitch, so the Grimmway will need to be notified and ready for your return.”

“Just as long as we have time to ourselves.” Sveila licked her plump lips seductively. “Because there’s something I much prefer over watching a group of snorting trolls collapse in front of the tavern.”

“Trust me,” I growled as I slipped my hand through her rich, purple hair. “We’ll have plenty of opportunities when it comes to that.”

I pulled the Red Witch against me, and then as our lips fused together, her tongue slipped against mine in a sign of dominance.

Everything about my women made me crazy for them, whether it was their soft skin against mine, or the delectable scent of their arousal every time I was near them. But I knew that in some ways, they held more power and control than I did. I desired them more than existence itself. Every little sinful thing they did each day made me crave them more, and the more they relied on me to care for them, the tighter my hold on them became.

I would do anything for them, and I would kill anyone who even dared to try and hurt them.

Which was exactly why I knew Ashe, Sveila, and I needed to leave the manor before the sun appeared again. I couldn’t allow anyone as dangerous and menacing as the angel to be within touching distance of my women.

Once Sveila and I reluctantly pulled apart, I spent another five minutes holding my women close to my body, and it took every ounce of my energy not to fuck them against every surface in the manor. But I had all the time in the world to fuck and worship Ashe and Sveila once the angel received the same punishment as the bishop.

As I imagined my women in various positions, a thought came to mind.

There was a high chance we could encounter the angel throughout our trek this evening, and if that happened, I wouldn’t want Sveila to be anywhere near us. When an angel and a demon clashed, anything could happen. Buildings could be knocked to the ground, or entire towns and villages could be destroyed. Sveila was mortal, and if she was to get involved in a fight like that, there was a high chance she wouldn’t make it out alive.

My veins sparked with protective fury at the idea, and I felt my hand tighten its hold around the tiny cinch of the witch’s waist.

“Sveila,” I said as that thought simmered down. “I think it’s best that you stay here this evening. There is no way of knowing what will happen if we come across the angel, and I need to make sure you’re safe.”

“I understand,” Sveila replied as she gave me a soft smile. “I had already planned to stay here.”

“You had?” I asked.

“Of course.” She nodded. “Witches and angels don’t have the same sort of feud like you and Ashe do. I realize it’s something I’ve probably never witnessed in my life, nor would I want to be a part of it if it’s as dangerous as you said before.”

“It is extremely dangerous,” I agreed. “And because of that, while you’re alone in the house, I believe it’s best that we have guards here to keep watch.”

“Whatever you think is best, Atticus.” Sveila smiled.

“I just think it’s safer.” I shrugged. “We could be miles away trying to hunt that disgusting little angel, so she could take that opportunity to come here. We don’t know what sick shit an angel might try. You wouldn’t even know she’s outside until she unleashes her powers upon you, so I think we’d all feel better knowing we had guards watching over you.”

“Like who?” the Red Witch asked. “The werewolves?”

“Perhaps the werewolves, or maybe some orcs,” I replied. “But they’ll need to be strong enough to hold her off while you fight as well, and someone who can do the job properly. If I chose a few orcs to keep watch, then one of them can also track me down should an attack take place.”

“Of course,” Sveila said. “I’ll always follow your judgment.”

“But we’ll make sure to tell you everything that happens,” Ashe giggled.

“I’ll be excited to hear all about it.” The Red Witch smirked. “Especially if she meets her demise.”

“Which is the plan.” I nodded my head once.

We remained on the couch for a further few minutes, but then as the moon slowly hit the middle of the sky, I knew it was time for us to leave. The angel would want to stalk during the nighttime hours, their kind knew that all the most evil beings were running rampant in the dark of night, so the longer we left it, the less time we’d have to find her.

I slipped a purple velvet jacket on over my black pants and white shirt, whereas Ashe decided to change into an entirely new dress, so I stood by the main door as I waited on the little demon to come back downstairs again. The jacket I wore used to belong to a dark elf when they lived here before we rightfully took over the manor. Yet I was thankful that the velvet had lost the gut-churning stench that used to cover every surface.

Everything about those dark elves made my recent feast want to reappear.

Fortunately, I didn’t have to think about them for too long before I heard light footfalls coming from the floor above. Then Ashe skipped down the stairs with the brightest smile on her face and her favorite dagger in her right hand.

The new silk dress was silver with a black corset over top, and black lace around the cupped sleeves. According to the little demon, it was a special occasion, so she required a special dress.

Ashe would have spent the rest of her life in a dress shop if she had the chance, and I certainly didn’t complain whenever she came home with a new outfit, especially when she tried it on for me.

She also spent a lot of time browsing and purchasing new weapons, even though her hell powers were enough to keep her safe. But if my sinful huntress wanted to have a crossbow slung over one shoulder, then I was not going to put a stop to that. She looked sexy as hell stroking her newest favorite weapon with her pale fingers.

“What do you think?” Ashe asked as she spun around on her foot. “Is this appropriate to hunt down an angelic angel?”

Her silver-blue hair had been tied into two neat plaits, and her black leather boots were practically a second skin all the way up to her knees. She looked delectable, and it was extremely hard to keep my hands away, especially when I noticed the slither of skin between her boots and the hem of her dress.

“You look good enough to eat,” I said as I sauntered toward her. “Perhaps I’ll do exactly that when we get home.”

Then I grabbed Ashe by the waist and pulled her close against me. My cock hardened against the zipper of my pants, and I had to remind myself of what we were doing, and why we were leaving the manor.

“Starting without me?” Sveila faked a gasp as she left the living room. “As long as I get my own time with Atticus later, then please, take as long as you need.”

“You’ve just had your turn,” Ashe snickered as she ran her hands down my back.

“Now, now,” I said as I pulled Sveila against me, too. “There’s enough of me to go around, so I can pleasure you both at the same time.”

The sweet aroma of their arousals filled the air, and my mouth began to salivate even more.

“As much as I want to feel your love right now,” Ashe said as she stroked my cheek. “We really need to get going. The angel isn’t going to hide forever.”

“You’re right,” I said reluctantly.

“I know.” Ashe smirked. “I always am.”

“Just make sure you’re not away for too long.” Sveila winked. “I don’t think I’ll be able to last with the thoughts you put in my head.”

“I’d say I was sorry, but I’m not.” I winked.

“And neither am I,” Ashe added.

“Perhaps I’ll be able to join you on a mission soon, but I doubt even an orb will help me tonight,” Sveila said.

“I wouldn’t risk it,” I replied as I gently stroked her golden cheek. “For all we know, the angel might have the ability to sniff out a fucking orb, or who’s using one. So unless we’re certain you’ll be safe, it’s best you stay here.”

It didn’t matter if the magical orbs I mined could give Sveila the ability to disappear, create a poisonous smoke, or paralyze her victim. If the angel was more powerful than those orbs, then the Red Witch required something more than just a colorful stone.

“It’s okay, I have more than enough to get on with,” the Red Witch replied. “I want to practice a new spell, but I also might take one last trip to the cove to see how the mermaids are getting on with the last few undesirables.”

Sveila was always working on improving her talents, and Ashe and I had seen a real difference in the Red Witch within the last week.

“If you see Naia, tell her I’ll be down to see them as soon as I can,” I said as I pictured the delicious mermaid with the orange hair. “But I’m grateful for everything they’re doing for us, and also the injured creatures. Also, remember to take the guard with you wherever you go. Like an escort, to make sure someone is always watching your back.”

“Of course, I will.” Sveila nodded.

Once we were ready to go, Ashe and I gave Sveila a delicate kiss on the lips, and then we headed off into the darkness. We’d decided to go without weapons, apart from Ashe’s tiny dagger, because angels weren’t affected by mortal weapons. But we also could use our hell powers to defend ourselves, which would do more damage than any sword.

Ashe had her sharp, venomous claws to torture and murder her victims with, or she could create a shadow to conceal herself entirely. Whereas I preferred my Infernal Tempest or my Infernal Blaze. There was no better feeling than strangling my victim to death with the very might of a hellish storm, or creating a raging fire to consume them.

Anything was possible when it came to Ashe and I, especially when we included Sveila’s own talents and abilities. It was what made us the perfect team.

Ashe and I ran through the streets of the Grimmway as we headed toward the orcs. I knew they would assist me when it came to guarding Sveila, and I didn’t want to get all the way to the werewolves’ home to find out they had gone hunting.

Just as I thought, the orcs were eager to please me, and three of them grunted and snorted as they bobbed their bulbous heads. I gave them a brief rundown of the plan, and I told them not to leave Sveila until Ashe and I returned, to which the orcs agreed and nodded again.

Then once that was sorted out, the orcs had headed off toward the manor, and Ashe and I continued to run in the direction of the Shadow Quarters.

I heard a few residents laughing from one of the nearby taverns, and loud, cheerful music came from one of the buildings, but given the time of night, the majority of the Grimmway had settled down for the evening.

Then we passed through the lit fire beacons that acted as the village entrance, sprinted up the grassy hill, and wandered into the alleys of the Shadow Quarters.

“Oh, fuck,” Ashe gasped as she took in the surroundings. “It’s completely changed!”

The Shadow Quarters was usually deserted by this time of night, and it was seldom that we saw large groups of people wandering around, apart from the ones who were leaving the tavern. But now it was like an entirely different village, and I heard the residents before I saw them.

A relaxed feeling wafted over me, and it was the first time since I’d arrived in the Port of Rengfri that I’d felt such a calming sensation while in the Shadow Quarters.

More undesirables filled the streets because they could leave their homes without fear of getting caught by the Church. Even the questionable human residents didn’t seem as terrified by Ashe and I as we passed them. It tended to be that they took one look at our glowing eyes, screamed, and ran in the opposite direction.

That no longer happened, and it felt pretty fucking good to know we were the reason for all of this.

And that everyone knew it.

“It’s been like this since we took down the Church, but it began shortly after the Blessed were slaughtered.” I smirked.

“I mean, I’m sure we’ll still get a few fucking cowards,” Ashe snorted. “And I’m almost certain I caught on to the scent of tension and anger from that house we just passed.”

“You’re right, we did.” I nodded. “Like we discussed with Sveila, not everyone is pleased with what we did, and I’m sure there’s a lot of tension among mortal homes, but as long as they don’t start an uprising, then I’ll leave them alone for now.”

Ashe and I let out a dark chuckle, yet we both knew I was being deadly serious.

At least when it came to those who lived outside the Shadow Quarters and the Grimmway.

Those human motherfuckers meant nothing to me,  so if they still mourned the death of their fucking Church, then I wouldn’t hesitate to end their damn lives with a single twist of my wrist. Some of their homes were made with thatched roofs, and my fingertips were itching to start a fire.

The two of us were still laughing as we ran across the cobblestone roads of the Shadow Quarters, but then we quieted down as we reached the streets of the main city and finally got to Newhall.

Newhall was the home of the Church, and where the Blessed’s headquarters used to be. The angel could be anywhere, but something told me she’d wanted to be as close to her fucking Holy King as possible.

So the church was the best place to start.

The scent of deceit and evil was still incredibly strong in the air, and the ghastly stench of the Church and the holy followers coated every surface I passed. It was clear in the air, on the grass, and against brick walls, and I even smelled it on wooden sign posts.

I knew the smell wouldn’t linger forever, and I’d look back in a few years to come and remember this moment, but it was still torturous for now. The aroma gave me the urge to kill every holy fucker who crossed my path, and the more evil someone smelled, the harder it became to keep my powerful hands away from them.

But then as Ashe and I neared the abandoned church, I caught on to a different smell altogether.

The rancid scent of pure, angelic evil.

I knew it.

“She’s in here,” I whispered to Ashe as I motioned toward the Church.

“I just caught that, too,” Ashe replied with a grin.

We took slow, careful steps toward the main door of the building, and then I placed my ear against the wood to get a better understanding of what was going on inside. I couldn’t hear anyone talking, or the sound of movement, but the angel’s noticeable scent was so strong that I knew for certain she was hiding around there.

“Maybe she wants to be closer to her Holy King,” Ashe snickered into one hand.

“It’s like you could read my mind,” I replied. “But like Sveila said, she’ll need more than him to save her now.”

My demon lover and I stayed quiet as we continued to survey the area. There was no way for us to tell whether the angel was inside the church, or hiding in the darkness surrounding it somewhere, but I knew we were going to come across her sooner or later.

“I say we go inside,” I said. “Check the place out, maybe get a clue as to where this angel is, and then go from there.”

“Of course,” Ashe replied. “You know I’ll always follow you.”

“I do.” I smirked.

Then I grabbed a hold of the gold door handle and twisted it slowly to the right, but the door was locked. I certainly hadn’t bothered to lock the damn door when we were done with the bishop and his men, so I knew it had to have been the angel.

Either that, or my minions decided to lock the door during their evening scouting sessions. But no one gave a fuck whether anyone entered the church or not.

Instead of thinking too much about the locked door, I simply slammed my shoulder against the solid wood until the door gave way, and it finally opened on the third attempt.

The door slammed open, and an echoed screech vibrated through the air. A chilled breeze whistled past my skin, and all I could smell was the musty scent of ancient items and the angel. I didn’t catch on to the scent of any humans, and the smell wasn’t strong enough to be more than one angel, so at least I knew we didn’t have two of those bitches following us around.

“Let’s take a look,” I said as I pointed further into the church.

But Ashe never had the opportunity to reply.

Because the second those words left my lips, the angel suddenly dropped from one of the high beams above us. She landed in the center of the walkway between the wooden pews, and the look of fury on her face told me two things:

The angel had been waiting for us, and she wasn’t going to allow us to leave this church alive.

Audiobook releases for May 2022

Hello fans,

Here is what is coming out in May. If you are part of my $40 Patreon tier, you'll get them on release. If you join later in the month, my assistant will give them to you the next business day.

The OP MC 08

Monster Girl Islands 13

Kane's Fate 03

Werepanther 05

Audiobook Release | Backyard Dungeon 2

Backyard Dungeon 2 audiobook is in your BF library ABLs.  For everyone else pick it up on my website or on Audiobook Guild

Overview

My life has only gotten crazier since I found the hole in my backyard that led to a magical underground world.

But I wouldn’t change it for anything.

I own my own land, my wife, Ibseth, is a beautiful Night Elf who adores me, and my gorgeous half-demon partner Amrila is the perfect companion to have at my side while I loot the underground dungeon world known as the Gloom.

But Ibseth’s insane half-brother is still hunting for her, and I need a way to take care of him for good.

And for that, I’ll need allies.

And new guns.

Narration by: Marcus Jahn, Sarah Goldstein
Length: 9 Hours, 54 Minutes

Backyard Dungeon 4 NSFW covers

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09YVM67L3

Backyard Dungeon 4 map!

I love this one.

Backyard Dungeon 4 is out!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09YVM67L3

First fan to post the character on the cover gets a heart.