by Dante King
“Your offer is most generous, God of Death,” Ji-Ko said. “And I mean no disrespect by not accepting immediately, but please, allow me to quickly discuss this matter with my brother monks.”
“Go right ahead, Ji-Ko,” I said. “I understand that it isn’t a decision to be taken lightly.”
Ji-Ko and his monks discussed the issue in the Yengish tongue, and while I could not understand the words they were saying, the looks on their faces gave their decision away. I knew that it was a resounding “yes” long before Ji-Ko came and gave me his answer.
One by one, I made him and each of his monks Fated.
Now, with Drok, Ji-Ko, and his monks made Fated warriors in service of yours truly, the God of Death, everyone in my party was now able to command a form of powerful magic. There was still Percy and his pirate crew who remained unenhanced mortals, of course, but I would make them Fated too when I saw them next. The God of Death could never have too many necromancers by his side.
With this taken care of, it was time for us all to say our farewells before we went our separate ways.
“Tonight you fly off to Brakith, to liberate my city and my people from those who besiege it. Me, Friya, and Yumo-Rezu will be heading off to Luminescent Spires. Together, we’ll steal the objects that will bring about a final end to the shitheaps that are Elandriel and the Blood God. The next time we’re all together again, I’ll be riding a living dragon, and we’ll be fighting the final battle against the Blood God’s legions. And his Demogorgon. Or Demogorgons if we’re really unlucky.”
“I don’t care how many of those awful things the Blood God raises,” Elyse said, pride sparkling in her gorgeous blue eyes. “I’ll fight them alongside you until my heart ceases to beat.”
Everyone else murmured in agreement.
“I know you will. I know that all of you will,” I said. “So now, as darkness falls and my harpy army approaches, I will bid you all farewell. Good luck in the coming fight. You’re gonna kick some ass. Do it with heart, and do it with pride.”
“Drok no need luck!” Drok growled, grinning. “Drok have new Death power!”
“And body odor that could smite a cave troll at twenty paces,” Isu muttered.
Everyone chuckled, and Drok smiled proudly.
“We wish you luck as well, Vance,” Rami-Xayon said. “The world is depending on you.”
“I may not be there personally, but I’ll be fighting alongside you all in the battle for Brakith.”
“The forces of good are on your side, God of Death,” Ji-Ko said, bowing low. “And my monks and I are honored to fight in your service. And although we are dedicated to peace, if we must kill to save the world, then we will do so. These are desperate times we are living through, and we will all do whatever it takes to bring down the Blood God and his evil servants.”
I said a bunch of individual farewells to my party members, then watched as my harpy army came flying in, blackening the starry night sky with their vast numbers. One by one, they swooped down from the sky and picked up one of my party members until finally they were all gone, and only Friya, Yumo-Rezu, and myself were left.
“That’s it,” I said. “It’s just the three of us now. It’s a long journey to Luminescent Spires, so let’s get going.”
“Finally, I will realize my destiny, to make the visions that have haunted my dreams ever since I was a little girl a reality,” Friya said excitedly. “I can feel the cord of destiny pulling me forward with an irresistible force, and you, Vance, are its instrument.”
“And I cannot wait to see and feel a living, breathing dragon again,” Yumo-Rezu said. She was just as eager as Friya was. “For too long has this world been without the presence of these majestic, regal beings. Ever since you resurrected me, I have felt … incomplete. As if one of my limbs had been amputated, without the presence of dragons around me. But no longer. Soon, I will be whole again.”
“And I can’t wait to ride one and use it to blow the Demogorgon all the way back to whatever hellish pit the Blood God dredged it up from,” I growled. “So let’s not waste any more time. Mount up, everyone.”
We climbed onto Fang and set off.
“I can’t believe this is the first time I’ve been to Prand,” Yumo-Rezu said after a while.
“Is that you speaking, Yumo, or did you never get the chance to see this continent while you were alive, Rezu?” I asked. Sometimes it really was difficult telling which part of the goddess’s personality was talking.
“I came here long ago,” she answered, and now I knew that it was the Dragon Goddess speaking, “but since my ancient memories have been merged with those of this mortal’s body, they have become much hazier. I came here many hundreds of years ago, I know that much, but I can’t remember any of it.”
“You’ll have plenty of chances to do some sightseeing when this is all over,” I said, “so don’t be too disappointed.”
She laughed drily and humorlessly. “If we make it out of this war alive,” she said. “Of all the deities, I remember most clearly just how powerful the Blood God was at his peak.”
“I thought you said you could barely remember anything from back then?”
“Most things, yes … but some things are not so easily forgotten. The world almost ended back then, Vance. All life would have been consumed by the Blood God’s insatiable appetite for blood had it not been for your ancestor Uger, this mortal’s ancestor Kemji, and my dragons. And even so, it was the most difficult battle ever fought in all the history of the world. We only barely managed to achieve victory, and only by the slimmest of margins, and with immense sacrifice and loss of life. This one will be harder.”
These words caught me by surprise, I had to admit. Rarely had I ever heard Yumo-Rezu mention anything other than how nearly invincible her dragons were, yet now she was talking about being cautious. She had come to defeat last time she and her dragons had fought the Blood God. I knew that the Blood God was powerful, having faced his servants in various guises on a number of occasions, but did he have a greater chance of victory than I did?
It didn’t matter. I didn’t fear him, no matter how strong he was, and I was about to hurl the full might of my armies at him. If it took the destruction of every last one of my undead troops to destroy him—even down to my beloved killer lizard, Fang—then that was a sacrifice I was fully prepared to make.
“Hard, maybe, but not impossible.”
I wondered if I should say anything about the bone crown that would make me ruler over all the other gods. Something told me that, of the deities I knew, Yumo-Rezu would probably be the least happy to hear about this, so I decided to hold my tongue for the moment. She would submit to me, of course—they all would—but her knees would bend with a lot more reluctance than those of other deities. Except for the Lord of Light. But if I gave that pompous ass the choice between bending the knee to me or having his severed head sit alongside Elandriel’s on the spikes above the gates of Brakith, I was pretty sure I knew which one he would choose.
Since the Lord of Light was now in my thoughts, I found myself wondering just what the hell he was doing at this point. Because of the Purge, he’d found himself elevated to the position of the most powerful of the living gods—what few gods remained alive after the Purge, at any rate—and had certainly been the most powerful deity in Prand up until very recently. How far up his own ass did his head have to be to not see what was going on? How could he have allowed things with his own High Priest, the Seraphim Elandriel, to have gone this far? I could see how, for example, someone in an out-of-the-way bishopric like Bishop Nabu could have worshipped the Blood God in secret, but with Elandriel doing it in Luminescent Spires, this was right under the Lord of Light’s nose. Either he himself was in on it, or … damn, was he dead?
This was a possibility I hadn’t even considered up until now. Yet it did, alarmingly, make sense. How else could Elandriel have become so powerful so quickly, and how else could he have gotten away with everything he’d
done unless he’d already killed the Lord of Light and drunk his blood?
“Shit,” I whispered, shaking my head.
“What’s wrong?” Friya asked.
I didn’t really want to share my suspicions about the Lord of Light’s possible fate with Friya and Yumo-Rezu, not yet. They had enough on their plates already.
“Nothing, don’t worry about it,” I said.
“You seem worried, though,” Friya said.
“It’s nothing, really.” I wanted to change the subject before these questions turned into an interrogation. “Look, over there,” I said. “That’s quite the sight.” I pointed to my right as we came out of a thickly wooded section of the night forest to the edge of a mountain lake. The still, dark water mirrored the night sky above, and it was a shimmering sea of stars, broken occasionally by the ripple of a jumping fish.
“It’s beautiful,” Friya murmured.
“A stunning scene indeed,” Yumo-Rezu echoed. “It reminds me of the mountain lakes in Yeng. Having the heart of a dragon means I yearn always for mountains.”
“It’s so damn peaceful and tranquil out here it’s easy to forget there’s a war on, and the world’s on the verge of ending,” I said.
“Yes, easy to forget…” Friya murmured, lost in thought. Suddenly, she reached into her bag and pulled out a flask. “Come,” she said, flashing me a swift smile. “We might not have another quiet and peaceful night like this, not for a long time. Maybe ever. We don’t know who will survive the battle and who won’t. Some of us will surely die. As for me, I don’t have that much longer left in this human skin of mine. Soon, I will shed it forever, and live for the rest of my days in the body of a dragon. Drink with me tonight. Let us be merry, for it might be the last chance we get. You too, Yumo-Rezu,” she added, looking at the slim, athletic enjarta with a gleam of what looked like lust in her pale eyes.
“You don’t need to ask me twice.” I grinned and took the flask from her. “What’s in here anyway?”
Friya flashed me a mischievous wink. “Try some and find out.”
I unscrewed the top of the flask and took a swig. The strong substance made me feel as if I’d sucked down a mouthful of liquid magma or molten steel. This stuff made the brandy old Grast the wagon driver was so fond of quaffing seem like a light ale.
“Fuck me, what the hell was that?” I asked, feeling the liquid burning a scalding passage through my innards.
Friya chuckled. “A special brew from my village. I brought it with me on this journey to remind me of home. This is the last of it, and I’ll never set foot in my village again—not with human feet, at least—so come; let’s finish it and enjoy the calm before the storm. Here, share this with us, Yumo-Rezu. You would honor me greatly by partaking, Dragon Goddess.” She took a sip of the fiery liquid, grinned, then handed the flask to Yumo-Rezu.
Yumo-Rezu stared at the flask for a moment or two with a look that was pure contempt. Nevertheless, to avoid insulting Friya, she took a tentative sip of the liquor. Both Friya and I watched with bated breath like two children who had just pranked their friend, waiting to see how she would react.
For a moment, the expression on her beautiful face was as cool and subtly disdainful as ever … and then her eyes almost popped out of their sockets, and she jumped up with such force that she almost toppled off of Fang’s back.
“It tastes like, like liquefied dragon fire!” she gasped, coughing and spluttering.
“Good huh?” I took the flask back from her and knocked back another hefty swig. “I gotta hand it to you Friya, your people know how to brew a stiff drink!”
“We do take pride in our liquor,” Friya said, before taking the flask back and glugging down a helping of booze that put even my large sip to shame.
“Let me try that dragon fire one more time before it’s all gone.” Yumo-Rezu grinned wickedly. Right now, I was pretty sure that the feisty enjarta section of her personality was dominating the mix. Yumo had always been one to seek thrills and push boundaries.
“Hey, leave some for me, you two!” I said. We each had one more sip of the liquor, then it was all finished.
We were by no means drunk, but the liquid packed a potent punch, so we were all buzzing a little. And ever since the three of us had set off on our own, I had noticed Yumo-Rezu and Friya subtly admiring each other. Now, after our little tipple, the checking out wasn’t so subtle anymore.
“I appreciate the sacrifice you’re making, Friya,” Yumo-Rezu said. “Becoming a living dragon is going a lot farther than most mortals would be willing to go.”
“I don’t see it as a sacrifice at all, Dragon Goddess,” Friya answered. “I see it as my destiny, my dream. I cannot wait for the transformation, truth be told. I have longed for it my whole life.”
“The sacrifice I’m referring to isn’t about your feelings, specifically.” Yumo-Rezu smiled lasciviously. “It’s a sacrifice on the part of others, who will be deprived of your immense beauty once you’re gone.”
Friya smiled, almost shyly, and batted her eyelids at the other woman. “Your beauty, Dragon Goddess, will be more than enough to fill whatever void is left by the passing of my physical body from this realm.”
“You two need to get an inn room,” I joked.
“I think a quiet, moonlit grove in the forest would suffice.” Yumo-Rezu shifted closer to Friya and traced her fingertips teasingly down the length of the wise woman’s tattooed arm. “But what I have in mind wouldn’t be half as much fun without you joining in, Vance.”
Friya took Yumo-Rezu’s hand off her arm and softly kissed the Dragon Goddess’s hand before she turned it over and gently nibbled on her wrist. In response, Yumo-Rezu bit her lower lip and sighed softly with pleasure.
“Yes Vance,” Friya said, “our desire for each other is incomplete without you. Please, join us. There’s only so much pleasure we can give each other. You, however, can take us to places we can only dream of.”
I didn’t need to be asked twice, and I stopped Fang. We all dismounted and, with one woman on each arm, I wandered over to a soft, grassy spot in the moonlight. I sat down, with Yumo-Rezu on my right and Friya on my left.
“Let’s start with a game,” I said, drawing Grave Oath from its sheath.
“This game looks like it might involve a little danger.” Yumo-Rezu liked her full lips with anticipation. “And you know how much danger turns me on…”
“Sorry to disappoint you, but there’s not much danger involved,” I replied with a cool smile. “It’s more a game of chance. Watch. I’m going to ask Grave Oath a question, and the dagger’s going to tell me what to do.”
Friya chuckled. “It sounds like the old spin the pinecone game we used to play as youngsters back in my village.”
“Something like that.” I placed Grave Oath on my palm. “Grave Oath, who should I kiss first?” I then gave the dagger a quick spin on my palm.
Friya and Yumo-Rezu both leaned in closer, watching the spinning dagger as its frantic whirring slowed to a more leisurely turnin. After it lost most of its momentum, they held their breath with anticipation.
Grave Oath came to a stop with its point aimed at my left.
“It’s your lucky night, Friya,” I said.
Her eyes lit up with delight, and a salacious smile gave her face a seductive glow. I could almost taste the sexual hunger dripping off her, and the energy of her desire quickened the blood in my veins.
I leaned in and planted my lips on hers. At once, her tongue was in my mouth, eager and voracious. I teased her, giving her a little tongue but then withdrawing it, making her desperate for more. Her hands were soon on my chest, and I reached up to caress her cheek and neck as we kissed. My hand quickly moved down her throat onto her chest, then I slipped my fingers inside her leather jerkin, sliding them over her full breast.
To my right, Yumo-Rezu leaned in, slipping her hands onto my chest and thigh, which she stroked with a keen hunger. I could feel her jealousy. She was feeling left-out
and was desperate for some of what I was giving Friya, but I wanted to tease her and draw this out. I broke off my passionate kiss and put Grave Oath on my palm again.
“What’s next, Vance?” Yumo-Rezu whispered into my ear, before tracing a teasing finger down my chest and nibbling my earlobe and the side of my neck.
“I like this game very much.” Friya caressed me on my left, breathing hard from her arousal.
“Grave Oath, who should take her clothes off first?” Again, I spun the dagger in my palm.
This time the tip of the weapon ended up pointing toward Yumo-Rezu. With an eager grin, she stood and pulled the secret thread in her enjarta suit. The garment slipped off her body and dropped to the floor. Both Friya and I marveled at the glory of her nude form in the moonlight. Her pert, perfectly shaped breasts with their two erect nipples, and the smooth, shaved cleft between her legs, glistening moistly with the first hint of her arousal.
This time, the weapon would choose between me and Friya.
“Now Grave Oath,” I said, getting ready to spin the dagger, “which of us gets to enjoy Yumo-Rezu’s body first?”
Again, I gave Grave Oath a good spin in my palm. This time, the tip ended up pointing in Friya’s direction. She gave me a deep, hungry kiss, then slipped off her clothes.
“Hey, Grave Oath didn’t tell you to do that,” I said with mock indignation. It was hard to pretend to be upset when confronted with the glorious sight of her naked, voluptuous body. Her breasts were magnificently buoyant and voluminous, her hips sensual and broad, her ass big and round.
“I guess you’ll have to punish me for breaking the rules, Vance.” She gave me a wink and a playful giggle before stepping up to Yumo-Rezu and clamping her lips onto the Dragon Goddess’s mouth.
The two women kissed passionately, moaning with sensual bliss into each other’s mouths as they explored each other’s bodies with their hands. I watched this beautiful display with my rapidly-swelling cock threatening to tear a hole through my pants and my blood running hot in my veins.