Wraith King

by Jack Porter

  Ilana saw it and flew out of the way. Smaller and able to better maneuver than the wyrm, we avoided its jaws once again, only this time we were closer. I snapped the whip again, and the flaming tip lashed out, this time catching the wyrm on the snout. It screeched and reared back, its eyes glowing in a fury.

  The whip had done nothing to the beast’s nose, but I tried again, this time aiming for its eye. The deadly tip of the whip missed, but a portion of the length fell across the intended target. Hot fire dripped into the wyrm’s eye, which then exploded in a burst of blood.

  “You got it!” Ilana yelled.

  The wyrm reared back, its wings beating the air but its tail still on the ground. Far below us, Nya and Syn appeared from behind the wyrm, lunging, driving their elven blades under the wyrm’s scales.

  The hits weren’t vital, but they caused the creature more pain, and it shrieked even louder, thrashing around as it tried to rid itself of the pain in its eye and now tail.

  “Those blades will burn it!” the succubus explained. “Do you want to get the other eye?”

  I did, but we didn’t have the opportunity. With a giant beat of its wings, the wyrm rose into the air. It blew fire out of its mouth, creating a terrible path of flames down the mountain. But all four of us avoided it easily.

  Some of the elves below us weren’t so lucky, and neither were a few retreating wraiths. They went down in flames.

  The succubus landed, and together with Nya and Syn, we watched the injured monster create a path of destruction all the way to the other side of the narrow valley.

  “The Wraith King is getting away!” Syn cried.

  She was right. The remainder of his army was in retreat, and he had already reached the valley entrance. The second wyrm flew over his head, guarding him against any pursuing enemies. Even the Hellhounds had resumed their guard around him.

  “We should go after him,” I said, preparing to slide down the mountain if I had to.

  Nya held out a hand. “No.” She was looking around at her archers. “We don’t have enough forces to pursue. The Wraith King knows that, but rather than see us completely destroyed, he’d rather run and hide.” She spat on the ground.

  “But when he returns to the Black Mountains,” I said, “we will have lost our chance.”

  The succubus shook her head.

  Nya gripped my shoulder. “You have fought well, human, but we have practically no one left.”

  I scanned the mountain. The elf was right. All around us were the bodies of slain elves. The few that moved among the dead, checking for survivors, seemed too weak to pursue anything. Most were wounded themselves.

  “Dammit!” I said, and then checked myself. What an asshole. “Nya, I’m sorry. So many have died…”

  Nya held her head high, but her expression was strained. “There is nothing to apologize for. Their struggles have ended. We must return as many of the dead as we can to their families.”

  32

  The task seemed impossible, but we spent the rest of the day caring for the injured and loading the dead onto the backs of horses. One of the elves had sought the fled animals as soon as the fighting was over, and it was tough work slinging the bodies of the elven warriors onto horses that didn’t like the smell of blood nor the lingering stench of dead wraiths.

  The wraiths we left to rot. And as more ash and embers drifted over the valley, we led our dead toward Blackhold castle. I rode a new mare, as my poor gelding had been killed by a stray Hellhound who had gone after a few horses. Luckily, it hadn’t killed many before an elven arrow brought it down. The mare’s owner was also dead, so it was fitting that I should ride her, according to Nya. I also carried a line of three horses tied together with one rope.

  Behind us, similar scenes played out. When we had counted, three elves had died for every one that was alive. With that number, I was stunned that there wasn’t more weeping. Everyone seemed to be in shock at our losses, as I was, or too proud to show their grief.

  Only Ilana wept openly as we slowly picked our way out of the narrow valley. I watched her, and she was as beautiful as ever, even with her face smudged with dirt and blood. But then I turned my attention toward Nya, who led the defeated archers back to the castle where her sister would certainly delight in the news that so many had been lost on such a foolish errand. The elf ruler, however, didn’t show her feelings. Instead, she rode with her chin high, her back straight, and her eyes straight ahead.

  And she was beautiful, too. Proud, but every inch the leader that she was born to be. A gust of hot wind blasted us from behind, tossing her braids over her shoulders and sending the banners whipping around. If it hadn’t been for Ilana and Nya, I would hate Hell worse than I did. And after seeing the atrocities of battle, I couldn’t imagine having to stay here forever, no matter how beautiful the women were.

  And yet, Nya had led her archers into battle for me. I wasn’t foolish enough to think I was the only reason, but I was the instigator here. And, in a sense, I felt the weight of all those deaths on my shoulders.

  I vowed that no one would die for me again. What had I been thinking? Urging Nya to attack? I’d had no way of knowing the cost, and my small victory against the wyrm even seemed insignificant against so much loss. The Wraith King felt like too big a boss to beat. I had no training, no skills, and it was a miracle I was still alive.

  No, not a miracle. It was thanks to Ilana, Nya, and even Syn that the wraiths hadn’t taken me down already.

  When the road opened out, and we could ride side-by-side again, I urged my horse forward. It trotted closer to Nya, with my other horses following dutifully behind.

  “I’m sorry for your losses,” I said quietly once our horses walked abreast.

  Nya looked at me, and her hard expression softened somewhat. “Remember what I told you about Hell? Here, we celebrate Death Days. Tomorrow, all of Blackhold will rejoice in their heroes’ passings.”

  “How?” I asked, unable to fathom celebrating anyone’s loss. At least the loss of so many warriors.

  “You will see.”

  Nya didn’t add any more, and I didn’t ask more questions until we camped on the plain for the night. The stop was to rest the horses more than the elves, who were anxious to get home. We removed the animals’ burdens and laid the bodies of the slain respectfully on the ground.

  I had just found a nice rough patch of ground to sleep on when I realized I needed to piss. Walking away from the main camp, I relieved myself as I watched reddish clouds whirl across the sky. By the time I returned, darkness had fallen completely. I picked my way carefully around the archers who sat huddled together or alone with their thoughts. Most were silent, but upon finding my camp, I discovered two more people there.

  The succubus and the elf captain, Syn, sat together with their legs entwined, their lips locked together in a passionate kiss. At first, I couldn’t help the flare of jealousy that rose up inside me, but the moaning sounds they made quickly turned my emotions to a different kind of heat.

  They broke apart, and Ilana beckoned to me. I hesitated, but she smiled. Syn smiled, too, and when I sank down onto the ground beside them, they turned their attention on me.

  The succubus put her hand on my crotch and kissed me, smiling when she felt my erection. Pulling back slightly, she said, “Syn is going to join us tonight, okay?”

  I kissed Ilana’s soft, full lips again before saying, “Whatever you desire.”

  “That’s my human,” she said, smiling against my lips once again. “After our battle against death, I desire to fuck. Does that please you?”

  “Yes,” I breathed.

  The succubus turned away from me and began kissing the elf again. I quickly removed my leather armor and let it fall to the ground. Syn must have removed hers, as well, because I heard a soft clink of metal next to her.

  By now it was too dark for me to see much, but the sounds of the females kissing and touching each other became heightened to me, providing one of the mo
st erotic experiences I’d ever had.

  Tonight, I thought, maybe Hell wasn’t so bad after all.

  When Syn took my hand and placed it on her stilled covered breast, I eagerly massaged it through the leather she wore under her armor. She began to moan more insistently, and I moved around to cup her other breast in my other hand while Ilana began fondling Syn between her legs. I knew because I could feel her arms working back and forth, occasionally brushing against mine when she dipped her hands into the elf’s leggings.

  Syn arched back against me, and I put my legs on either side of her to provide support as she continued to writhe and moan under Ilana’s ministrations. Syn’s ass rubbed against my erection, and I sighed as I lifted her shirt to tweak her bare nipples. She put her hands on mine, encouraging me, and I pinched them until they peaked.

  The succubus removed Syn’s riding pants in one motion, and I leaned the elf back so she wasn’t sitting on the rocky ground. I could tell when Ilana put her lips to Syn’s pussy because the elf gasped, and her hands moved from mine to grab the succubus’ raven hair. Or maybe it was her black horns. I couldn’t tell.

  None of this had been planned, and I’d never been in a threesome before, but the motions came naturally. At the moment, only one of us was receiving direct pleasure, but I was enjoying hearing the sounds of Syn’s mounting climax. She gasped and moaned appreciatively, and when I bent my head to suck on her neck, she put one hand in my hair and gripped it hard.

  Reaching down between us, I undid the laces holding up my pants and pulled my cock free. Then, I put both hands on the elf’s hips and adjusted her so that she was sitting directly in my lap. Ilana moved with us, and she paused while I rocked my cock against Syn’s backside.

  “Lay down, Jon,” the elf cooed, and I leaned back. She lifted herself and then slid onto me, her wet entrance feeling cool and slick and amazing. I rocked against her once, but then Ilana put her hands on my spread thighs. As soon as she returned her lips to Syn’s pussy, I felt the elf shudder around my length. She laid back so that her legs were open to Ilana, and I thrust inside her from that position. The succubus didn’t have any trouble following, and together, we pleasured Syn, with me thrusting into her hard and the succubus sucking her clit. I even occasionally felt Ilana’s tongue on my balls.

  I placed my hands back on Syn’s breasts as I pumped her, and after a few tweaks of her nipples, I felt her stiffen above me and her juices coat my cock. It tingled, and I increased my motion, less controlled, more frantic. Feeling my own climax approaching, I began pumping even faster, but Ilana grabbed Syn and threw her off me.

  The elf tumbled to my right, landing on the ground and still breathing hard from her own orgasm. Before I had time to regret anything, Ilana put her lips around my cock and sucked Syn’s come right off it.

  When I came, it felt like an explosion. I was still reeling from the sensation when the succubus hopped onto me and settled herself onto my still stiff cock. As Ilana began to ride me, more tension tightened in my legs and balls, and as she rose up and down on top of me, bouncing like my cock was a spring, I came again with a groan. Only about two minutes after the first time.

  Ilana came at the same time, and her cries of ecstasy must have woken half the camp. I heard a few elves chuckling, but I didn’t care.

  When the succubus sank down on my chest, breathing hard, I reached around and ripped her corset laces. The garment popped open, and her breasts spilled out on my chest once again. “I never want to go a night without feeling those perfect mounds against me,” I said.

  I heard Syn rise from her position, and felt her hand on my arm. “Thank you,” she said. And then she stood and walked away, the quiet sound of her footsteps melting into the darkness.

  “Is she upset you threw her off me?” I asked. The last thing I needed was two females fighting over me.

  Ilana kissed my chest and then put her cheek against it. Her hair tickled my ribs, and her horns pressed into my flesh. I was getting accustomed to the sensation. “Of course not,” Ilana answered. “She is sated, and that’s what she came for.”

  “No pun intended?” I asked with a smile.

  “What is a pun?”

  “Never mind.”

  33

  We moved again at first light, and once again, I was leading three horses. Today, Ilana rode beside me, and Syn rode beside Nya. But the captain of the guard stole a glance back at us once or twice, and her smile was easy.

  I felt good, too. Well, better than I had. It was still hard to contemplate all the terrible loss we had suffered, but now my head was clearer.

  “Always seek out a good fuck after a battle,” Ilana said as if she knew what I was thinking. “It won’t erase what you have seen, but it will ease the tension in your mind and body.”

  I grinned. “I’m beginning to understand.”

  “Now I know for certain you do not belong to this world,” she said thoughtfully.

  “Yeah? Why is that?” I asked.

  “You have more stamina than the men of Hell. Either that or you don’t know that men aren’t supposed to come more than once in two minutes.”

  I cleared my throat. “I admit that’s a first. I was going to give you credit, though.”

  Ilana smiled and then called up to Nya. “Not everyone got what they needed last night, and they could have.”

  Nya stiffened in her saddle, and I knew she’d heard the succubus. There was no way she couldn’t have.

  “We all mourn differently,” the elf said after a moment. “After the ceremonies, I will find my release.”

  That piqued my interest, but as usual, Nya didn’t elaborate. So the succubus prompted, “How and with whom? We want details.”

  Syn glanced back and shook her head. “Do not pressure Her Grace. She has many things on her mind.”

  “But I bet they would be easier to bear if Her Grace allowed herself to relax.”

  We rode in silence for some time after that, each lost in our own thoughts. I was weary, despite my temporary elation at having survived the battle. The ash thinned as we rode, but the air never cleared like it had been before we met the Wraith King.

  “Does he control the weather?” I asked Ilana.

  “In a way,” she mused. “The clouds and ash of Hell respond to his moods. The closer we are to him, the more they affect us.”

  “So when we were at Castle Blackhold and had little smoke, he was far away?”

  Nya turned her head. “The Dark Elves hold sway over their own lands. Our magic protects us in part from the Wraith King’s power.”

  “Only in part?”

  “We have never been able to fully banish his magic from us. That will only happen with his death.” Nya said this last part pointedly.

  34

  We were just beginning to enter the Elven Darkwood, its dark trees and blackened vegetation casting long shadows over the ground. Because we were leading horses and therefore slower, Nya had felt that we needed the protection of the trees on our journey home.

  “It is said that this wood was a place of wonder, once,” she continued. “That the trees weren’t black.”

  “Were they green?” I asked. My horse tossed her head, and I patted her dark brown neck. The animal was growing on me, and she seemed to respond well to my commands and knew what I was thinking.

  “I don’t know,” Nya answered. “No living person remembers it.”

  The forest’s gloom settled around us, and my mare continued to toss her head and prance.

  “Keep her steady,” Ilana said after my mare forced Ilana’s off the trail.

  “I’m trying,” I said. “I don’t know what’s wrong.”

  “Probably spooked by the trees.”

  “Maybe.”

  Further into the gloom, I sighted something moving the same direction we were. Blinking, I tried to follow it and wondered if deer lived in here.

  But it was too bulky to be a deer.

  The animal stayed hidden, however, and I s
oon lost sight completely.

  “What else lives in here?” I asked.

  “Some bears and wolves,” Syn replied, “and they survive mostly by eating lone travelers and the small deer. Why?”

  “No reason,” I said. I didn’t want them to think I was scared. I wasn’t, actually. Although our numbers had suffered greatly, we were still a force to be reckoned with, especially against a lone predator.

  I caught glimpses of the furry animal again later, and this time, I kept sight of it as it moved alongside my horse. It was still about ten yards out, but it was plain that the creature was limping.

  Black fur seemed matted on its back, but the overall frame was too lean to be a bear. As I watched, the animal fell over. It didn’t get back up. Curious, and bored from the day’s ride, I urged my mare off the trail.

  “Jon!” Ilana called.

  Ignoring her, I dismounted. Easing through the black vegetation, I watched where I put my feet, mindful of the snarl of tree roots that wanted to take me down.

  Pushing aside a long thorny branch, I gazed toward a fallen and rotted tree.

  The furry monster lay breathing heavily, and I couldn’t see its head, but it had the unmistakable tail and feet of a dog or wolf.

  Except its matted, bloody fur was black.

  Each ragged breath it drew sounded like a growl that sent a chill down my spine. As I drew closer, I saw the creature’s head. It was too big for a dog or a wolf.

  It was a Hellhound.

  With its lips pulled back in a snarl and eyes glowing red, the animal was terrifying even in its wounded state. I put my hand on the hilt of my sword, which I halfway drew. The creature’s eyes grew wide for an instant and then flashed in anger.

  Was that fear I’d seen at first?

  It rose up slowly as if every movement caused it great pain. When it was at full height, its head came to my shoulder.